Spanish candidates face off in a tense televised electoral debate

With the streets overheated by the second heat wave of the summer, Spain witnessed on Monday a heated debate between the two main candidates for the presidency of the Government after the July 23 elections.

For just over 100 minutes, the outgoing head of government and the opposition leader interrupted each other, called each other liars and forgot to make proposals for the future. Nobody is perfect, acknowledged the socialist Pedro Sanchez:

“I tell the Spanish that I am not perfect, nor do I aspire to be. I have made mistakes, I have had a very difficult mandate. We have faced a pandemic and now a war at the gates of Europe. But you know what I am saying, sir. Feijoo, I am a clean politician, I am a clean politician”Sanchez said.

the conservative Alberto Núñez Feijóowhich according to the polls could only govern with the support of the extreme right, called for a solid majority and recalled the inconsistencies of the Sánchez government in relying on the extreme left.

“I am not going to tell Mr. (Volodimir) Zelenskyy that I am going to help militarily while a part of my coalition says that what we have to do is reduce military spending and flirt with (Vladimir) Putin. I am not going to do this. I am a predictable politician, I am a European, pro-Atlantic and constitutionalist politician”said Feijóo.

Who won the only televised debate of the campaign? Analysts are divided when it comes to responding, but most agree that it was not Sánchez, who, on paper, had a good chance of beating Feijóo.