As if to demonstrate it was far from down after the battering received at the polls last Sunday, the Basque terrorist movement, ETA, injured a leading Basque journalist in a powerful parcel-bomb explosion at his home in Zarauz near San Sebastian yesterday.
Mr Gorka Landaburu (49), a columnist for the news magazine Cambio 16, lost part of his right hand and suffered serious injuries to the face, abdomen and left hand when he opened a packet delivered to his home.
This is the not first time he has been an ETA target. He was born in Paris, where his father was president of the Basque government-in-exile during the Franco regime. Mr Landaburu is a long-time socialist who has been deeply involved in antiETA movements for many years. In 1998 he escaped unhurt when a fire-bomb caused damage to his house in Zarauz and to the apartments of other family members living in the same building.
When I saw him only two weeks ago he admitted receiving death threats and, like so many other Basques, was accompanied round the clock by three bodyguards.
But he said he was not suspicious yesterday when he opened the packet because it appeared to contain his regular subscription copy of an international publication.
The latest attack has been a bitter blow to the Basques, who have been celebrating in a mood of euphoria their sweeping victory over the non-nationalist Popular Party (PP) and the socialists.
The Basque parliament will be more representative than ever, since never before have 80 per cent of the electorate turned out to vote. But PNV failed by just five seats to win an overall majority and will either have to form a coalition or attempt to govern in a minority.
The parliamentary leader, Mr Juan Jose Ibarretxe, will almost certainly stand as the Lehendakari (president) for the second time and has already spoken by telephone with leaders of all the political parties, including Mr Arnaldo Otegi, leader of Euskal Herritarrok (EH), the party close to ETA. But Mr Ibarretxe told him there could be no collaboration so long as EH refuses to condemn ETA terrorist violence.
Mr Xabier Arzallus, president of PNV, called for a dialogue of all parties "along the lines of Northern Ireland" to reach a peaceful solution. But they will first have to convince the Prime Minister, Mr Jose Maria Aznar, that negotiation is the solution to ETA problem.
Mr Aznar and his party have long insisted that hardline police repression is the only answer and that, in spite of the message given to them at the ballot boxes last Sunday, they refuse to consider any contact with ETA until terrorism has ended.