[5] He served as the spokesman of the party in the Basque Parliament during its first term,[6] due to him being considered one of the key figures behind the Statute of Autonomy.
[2] In the year 2000, he wrote an opinion piece in Deia criticizing Xabier Arzalluz and the sovereigntist strategy of the Basque Nationalist Party, which caused some members to ask for his expulsion.
[9] One of the most prominent party members to support him was longtime mayor of Vitoria-Gasteiz José Ángel Cuerda.
[12] During the campaign of the 2003 election and afterwards, he strongly criticized Lehendakari Juan José Ibarretxe and his plan towards political sovereignty.
[13][14] In 2005, he was named as the leading candidate of the Socialist Party for Álava in that year's election to the Basque Parliament, while remaining an independent.