Spain's ruling Popular Party has confirmed today that Interior Minister Mr Jaime Mayor Oreja, a leading figure in Madrid's battle against armed Basque separatists ETA, would run for regional president of the Basque Country.
The government then named Deputy Prime Minister Mr Mariano Rajoy to replace Mr Mayor Oreja as interior minister, a position which heads all internal security with a special emphasis on the troubled Basque region.
Mr Mayor Oreja's candidacy for the May 13 regional parliamentary elections, first made by the Basque Popular Party yesterday, is expected to further divide those who favour Basque independence and those who want to remain firmly part of Spain.
Mayor Oreja (49) a Basque-born politician, head of Interior Ministry since 1996, has gained national popularity for his quest to stamp out ETA with police force and his vows never to negotiate with a group he brands as terrorists .
But Basque nationalists see him as an uncompromising opponent of their cause, despite his Basque roots.
The early electoral campaign has been dominated by how to deal with ETA, which is blamed for 26 murders over 14 months and about 800 in all since 1968 in its drive for a separate state in northern Spain and southwestern France.