Spain's Basque separatist party Bildu could win regional ballot

A worker prepares a polling station ahead of Sunday's elections in Spain's autonomous Basque Country, where left-wing separatists of EH Bildu party seek to dislodge the conservative Basque Nationalist Party, in power almost continuously since the 1980's, in Bilbao, Spain, April 19, 2024. REUTERS/Vincent West

BILBAO/MADRID (Reuters) - A Basque separatist party with origins in the political wing of the now-defunct armed group ETA could win a regional election in Spain's Basque Country for the first time on Sunday, with potential implications for the shaky national government.

Opinion polls show the left-wing pro-independence EH Bildu with a narrow lead over the moderate right-wing nationalist PNV that has long governed the northern region - one of Spain's, and Europe's, wealthiest.