Moderate nationalist Inigo Urkullu was Thursday confirmed as the new prime minister of northern Spain's Basque region, while separatist parties held talks on forming a government in nearby Catalonia, dpa reported. Urkullu, who wants the 2.2 million Basques to "decide their future" but avoids talk about independence, was elected prime minister by the local parliament after winning the October 21 regional elections. His Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) will form a minority government. It failed to form a coalition with Bildu, the region's second political force, which is seeking a stronger push for independence. The PNV cannot join forces with the region's two big pro-Spanish parties, the conservatives and the socialists, as they want the Basque region to remain a part of Spain. The election victory of the PNV, which has ruled the region for 26 of the past 32 years, put an end to a brief period of Socialist rule. Meanwhile in Catalonia, two pro-independence parties were holding cooperation talks following the November 25 regional elections. Artur Mas, leader of the Catalan nationalist formation CiU, was expected to remain prime minister with the support of the more radical separatist party ERC. The two parties were expected to announce a referendum on the independence of the region of 7.6 million by the end of 2014.
