Xabier Arzalluz - Later Career

Later Career

Later in the 1980s, Garaikoetxea, the ruling lehendakari, struggled for autonomy from the party. Arzalluz, however, asserted the authority of the organization over individual members. This issue, among others, led in 1984 to a schism within the PNV, and to the creation of a new party Eusko Alkartasuna, led by Garaikoetxea.

Arzalluz was the main spokesman for the Basque Nationalist Party, publishing his opinions every Sunday in the Basque newspaper Deia and in many public speeches during PNV rallies, some of which took place on Party Day and on the Day of the Basque Homeland. While beloved by PNV voters, he was the least popular party leader among the general Spanish public.

He had a reciprocal admiration for the Italian Christian Democrat leaders Francesco Cossiga and Giulio Andreotti(Needs reference). In spite of his contacts with European Christian Democrats, the PNV had to leave the Christian Democrat International in the 1990s because of pressure from the Spanish conservative People's Party(Needs a reference).

Besides his political role, he had also been a professor of Constitutional Law (in the Basque language) at the University of Deusto in Bilbao until 1999.