This will be a world premiere! The journalist Olga Viza, moderator of the third most-watched political face-to-face in history, – that of Zapatero versus Rajoy in March 2008 – emphasizes the fact that we have never seen Pedro Sánchez and Alberto Núñez Feijóo face to face in public. In the Senate, both have seen each other sideways, in the distance, each from their seat, telling each other everything. Today, from ten o’clock at night, we will see them argue with nothing in between. Separated by exactly two meters on the Atresmedia television set.
Much will be written about the significance of this face-to-face, but of the six precedents since the first was held in 1993 – that of Gonzalez-Aznar – none has had catastrophic consequences for one of the contenders in the opinion of Manuel Campo Vidal, the journalist who moderated four of the six held.
They have been important, but decisive? Campo Vidal maintains that the face-to-face meetings “act as what chemists call a catalyst, not only among the electorate, but also internally”. They strengthen convictions or weaken them. It is perhaps what Feijóo is looking for at the moment when he risks a debate despite the fact that he is clearly ahead: to consolidate the leadership he already has. Sánchez, on the contrary, clearly needs to reverse the trend. This is more difficult. Of the six face-to-faces held, only one later resulted in a change of government; that is to say, of the majority.
Felipe González did not do well in this first face-to-face broadcast by Antena 3. He had not prepared for his contender. He confessed it to Manuel Campo Vidal when they said goodbye to the evening at the door of the studio: “This guy can handle a debate!”. Aznar, on the contrary, strengthened himself with this first round. He had prepared it very well, especially in everything that referred to the march of the economy – one of the classic crises of the Spanish economy was then beginning – and it was noticeable. González went face-to-face without even looking at his opponent manifestly – in fact he was always addressing Campo Vidal, as if he were interviewing him – until his advisors, during the pause in the program, warned him of the your mistake It was the first debate in this format and everyone was learning on the fly.
The second face-to-face, broadcast by Telecinco and moderated by Luis Mariñas, was the result of González’s misstep seven days earlier. Aznar was not anxious to return. But this time González, who would continue at the head of the government for another three years, arrived better prepared and changed the sign. Here we learned one obvious thing: that face-to-faces are only held if both parties want to. For the purposes of the present: there could be another face-to-face if today’s one does not satisfy Sánchez and especially who is in front, in Feijóo.
This has so far been the most watched face-off in television history. Produced by the Television Academy and moderated by Manuel Campo Vidal, it is remembered because in the final minute, when Rajoy addressed the audience to ask for the vote, he spoke of the famous girl to whom he promised a family, a house and a job. Few understood this figure of speech. The debate, despite the fact that just this year the worst crisis that would end up destroying the Spanish economy was unleashed, focused on the reform of the Statute, the Ibarretxte plan and the negotiations with ETA. However, both maintained a conciliatory tone. In this sense, Manuel Campo Vidal indicates that the personal relationships between the two leaders play an important role in how the program develops. Despite everything, Zapatero and Rajoy did not get along badly.
In this case there was also a second round of the first head-to-head. Moderated by Olga Viza, it was held eight days later and may be remembered for the white paper, the document with government data that Zapatero put on the table and to which he constantly referred throughout the face-to-face. “It’s all here” said Zapatero, putting his hand on the book every time Rajoy refuted some official data. For the first time in history, the document was shared at the same time on the La Moncloa website. It is no longer available today. The original, the one that Zapatero brought to the studio, is kept by Olga Viza at home. The debate focused less on the territorial question than the first. Nevertheless, Rajoy launched an accusation that we may hear again today: “With you, Mr Rodríguez Zapatero, ETA has returned to the town halls”.
The PSOE continued at the head of the government until 2011.
Everyone assumed that Rubalcaba – who was one of the most brilliant orators in Spanish politics – would topple Rajoy. He arrived with the electoral program of the PP perfectly studied and dismantled it in front of Mariano Rajoy – another magnificent speaker – who found it difficult to place his messages. It was a face-to-face model in terms of form – Rubalcaba and Rajoy got along well – and Rajoy narrowly won it, according to later polls, which shows us, as Campo Vidal recalls, that face-to-faces are not alien to existing expectations. The PP won the elections with an absolute majority.
It was the most bitter face-to-face in history. In the midst of the PP corruption cases, an angry Pedro Sánchez told Mariano Rajoy that he was not a decent person. This sentence marked the entire debate with a Rajoy who lost his temper. “You are young. And you will lose the election. But what he has said is foolish, mean and miserable, and it will always haunt him.” The progressive press gave the victory to Sánchez; the conservative, Rajoy, who won the elections. Three years later, after the conviction of the PP for corruption, a motion of no confidence would overthrow Rajoy.
