If the Spanish government really believed that there was little grassroots support for Basque independence, they would have allowed the separatist candidates to stay on the ballots in last month's elections, as they would have constituted no threat whatsoever. Whether or not such grassroots support exists is anyone's guess (have there been public-opinion polls about this?), but obviously the national government is afraid that a substantial percentage of Basque voters would support the successors to Batasuna.