The ceasefire by ETA has not been well received in all quarters in Spain. The cool response of the conservative Spanish Government to the "indefinite ceasefire" is no doubt mirrored in much of Spanish society. It is certainly shared by the Socialists, the main opposition party, which governed Spain during some of the worst years of ETA's campaign of terror in the 1980s.
Both parties have warned that it may be simply a stratagem to regroup and resupply ETA's depleted military structure and advance its political aims through next month's elections to the autonomous Basque parliament. The caution is understandable. ETA's bombs and mortars did not distinguish between the security forces and civilians, and bereaved hundreds of families all over the country. Madrid has little reason to trust ETA, let alone embrace the idea of engaging with the group's political programme.
ETA also provided the context for the Socialist administration's most damaging error, the organisation of a "dirty war' which used terrorism against the terrorists. That cost 27 lives and, in the view of many, inflicted mortal damage on the democratic credibility of the Socialist leadership. The investigation of this campaign, which resulted in the jailing of a former Interior Minister only days before ETA's ceasefire announcement, has dangerously undermined the relationship between the Spanish judiciary, executive and legislature.
The scepticism in Madrid about ETA's intentions contrasts sharply, however, with the warm response to the ceasefire from the democratic Basque nationalist parties, and from the communist-led United Left. For many moderate Basque nationalists, who have suffered sustained violence and vilification from ETA and its supporters, the issues in the Basque country look very different from the perspective from Madrid.
The ETA decision potentially creates a scenario in which a coalition of radical and moderate nationalists may govern in the Basque region from next October, and pursue much greater sovereignty than the region already enjoys. The very idea of the disintegration of Spain strikes horror into the hearts of many Spaniards. One has to wonder whether it is this prospect, rather than that of ETA's duplicity regarding a renewal of violence, which has created such a muted governmental response to the ceasefire.
Basque self-determination, however, is a political goal as legitimate as any other, as long as it is pursued by democratic means. While it would be wrong to suggest that the Irish peace process provides a blueprint for the Basque country, the general lesson that it is necessary to take great risks for peace, however unpalatable, surely applies to both situations.