The government of Pedro Sánchez will send only a secretary of state to the peace event in Gernika, presided over by King Felipe VI and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. This choice comes amid PNV demands for the Spanish state to apologize for the 1937 bombing. The event features visits to the cemetery and the Peace Museum with Lehendakari Imanol Pradales.
The peace event in Gernika, set for the coming days, will bring together key figures in a moment of historical symbolism. King Felipe VI will join German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Basque Lehendakari Imanol Pradales for visits to the town's cemetery and the Peace Museum. The Spanish government, however, will be represented only by Secretary of State for the EU, Fernando Mariano Sampedro, a presence described as "testimonial" that blurs the role of Pedro Sánchez's executive.
This decision follows controversy over the PNV's demand that "the State" apologize for the April 26, 1937, bombing carried out by Nazi Condor Legion aircraft. In April 2023, Minister Félix Bolaños attended Gernika to lay a wreath and emphasized that Spain is "una democracia avanzada, europea, de valores y derechos," recalling the attack by "nazis, golpistas y fascistas." Those words implicitly addressed then-Lehendakari Iñigo Urkullu's call for a "gesto de justicia restaurativa."
Two years on, the PNV continues its pressure. Lehendakari Pradales reiterated the request last week in the Basque Parliament, and PNV Bizkaia president Iñigo Ansola stated today: "El Estado alemán nada tiene que ver con el Estado de Hitler, con la dictadura de Hitler. El Estado español tampoco tiene nada que ver con el Estado franquista, con la dictadura de Franco, pero sí que hay que reparar, hay que restituir. Estamos hablando de la comunidad, de la paz de esa gente que necesita gestos. Es lo que estamos reclamando."
Other attendees include PNV president Aitor Esteban, who will speak to the media before the heads of state's arrival; PSE general secretary Eneko Andueza; and Basque PP president Javier de Andrés. The event will start with a meeting between Steinmeier and Pradales at Vitoria's Ajuria Enea palace.