Euskal Herritarrok was a coalition created in 1998 that replaced Herri Batasuna. It was intended as an expansion of this coalition to include a wider spectrum of sympathizers. The name played with the rather usual acronym EH that also means Euskal Herria: the Basque Country

Basque Country (historical territory)

The Basque Country is the name given to the home of the Basque people in the western Pyrenees that spans the border between France and Spain on the Atlantic coast....

.

That year, Euskal Herritarrok obtained 14 deputies in the Basque Parliament

Basque Parliament

The Basque Parliament is the legislative body of the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain and the elected assembly to which the Basque Government is responsible....

 with 18% of popular support (one of the highest ever for the Nationalist Left

Basque National Liberation Movement

The Basque National Liberation Movement is an umbrella term that comprises all social, political and armed organizations orbiting around the ideas of the illegal armed organisation Euskadi Ta Askatasuna , proscribed internationally as a terrorist organisation.The wide variety of organizations and...

). In 1999 it signed a pact to support the government of Juan José Ibarretxe

Juan José Ibarretxe

Juan José Ibarretxe Markuartu is a Basque politician of Spain. A leading member of the Basque Nationalist Party , he was President of Spain's Basque Country autonomous community from January 2, 1999 to May 7, 2009....

 (EAJ-PNV). The agreement broke in 2000 after the failure of a year-long ETA

ETA

ETA , an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna is an armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization. The group was founded in 1959 and has since evolved from a group promoting traditional Basque culture to a paramilitary group with the goal of gaining independence for the Greater Basque Country...

 truce (see: Lizarra Agreement) on which they accused each other of being responsible.

After these events Herri Batasuna started a new process of debate that ended in the formation of Batasuna

Batasuna

Batasuna was a Basque nationalist political party based mainly in Spain, where it was outlawed in 2003, after a court ruling declared proven that the party was financing ETA with public money. Batasuna is included in the "European Union list of terrorist persons and organizations" as a component...

 and the split of Aralar

Aralar Party

Aralar is a Basque socialist and separatist political party in Spain. The party is led by Patxi Zabaleta. It is opposed to the violent struggle of ETA....

.