Xabier Arzalluz, the biggest of Basques

摘要

It is odd, on the face of things, that Xabier Arzalluz, the leader of the largest (and non-violent) political party in Spain's once again terror-stricken Basque region, is one of the most hated and reviled men in the whole country. After all, he has been a consistent advocate of negotiation and peace between Basques and Spaniards. Yet, to listen to people in Madrid, on the liberal left as much as on the conservative right, you would think that Mr Arzalluz is as foul as the men in hoods who shoot young city councillors in the back of the head because they do not happen to believe in Basque independence. "Mr Arzalluz just makes my flesh creep," says a well-known liberal commentator in Madrid.