“Sanchismo? The PP and Vox are the same”, Pedro Sánchez repeated over and over again throughout the almost two hours of debate. It was the strong message with which he tried to impact the entire speech of Alberto Núñez Feijóo. “I do not govern with Bildu or with ERC, and you govern with Vox”. He even referred to “SuperVox” as right-wing glue and his “vote you Txapote.”
The President of the Government promised “an intense debate, but with good manners”. His gesture, however, immediately twisted as soon as the rough duel with Feijóo started, between continuous mutual interruptions. The attacks of the leader of the PP placed him on the defensive. “Don’t say I lie, I don’t lie.” “Don’t lie, man, I don’t lie.” “Don’t give me lessons.”
And if the best defense is a good attack, Sánchez accused Feijóo of lying, linking ETA to the 11-M attacks. He also alluded to the alleged bonus of the PP leader, noting that he can explain where “every last cent of my checking account” comes from. Sánchez even referred, in a veiled way, to the old photo of Feijóo aboard the yacht of the drug trafficker Marcial Dorado, assuring that he is also transparent with all his trips, “by land, by air and by sea.” “I am a clean politician,” he settled.
And he was amazed, and “outraged”, as he acknowledged, with many of Feijóo’s statements. “But in what world does he live?” He even made fun of it. “I was unaware of this sense of humor that you have,” he ironized.
An old tactic in the PSOE, in any case, ensures that whoever first says that they have won it wins the electoral debate. And the PSOE, even before its leader’s golden minute began, was quick to affirm it: “Pedro Sánchez wins the debate.”
