The interview of Pedro Sánchez on "Salvados", scheduled for this Sunday, November 1, has been canceled from the laSexta lineup after the serious railway accident that occurred last Wednesday in Urda (Toledo), which has left 69 fatalities. The program hosted by Fernando González, known as Gonzo, had announced the return of the Prime Minister to the program in the midst of the pre-campaign for the general elections of November 29, but the tragedy has altered the plans of both Moncloa and the Atresmedia network.
The conversation, which was initially to be recorded on Thursday, October 29, has been postponed without a new confirmed date. According to sources from Atresmedia, political leaders are reorganizing their commitments after the accident, so the network cannot specify when the meeting can finally take place.
In its place, "Salvados" will broadcast this Sunday at 21:30 an interview with the former Olympic gymnast Almudena Cid, focused on the economic and professional difficulties faced by numerous elite athletes once their sports career ends.
Sánchez was going to return to the same bar where Jordi Évole interviewed him in 2016
The canceled interview had an important symbolic component for Pedro Sánchez. The president had planned to return to the same Madrid bar where he gave one of his most remembered interviews to Jordi Évole in October 2016, after leaving his seat in Congress and losing the General Secretariat of the PSOE.
That meeting, held in the HD cafeteria in the Madrid neighborhood of Chamberí, took place in one of the most difficult moments of the socialist leader's political career. Sánchez had just faced an internal crisis that had led to his departure from the party leadership, while a caretaker committee temporarily assumed the direction of the party.
During that conversation, the then former general secretary defended his positions against the socialist leadership and conveyed his intention to run again for the leadership of the PSOE. Months later, in May 2017, he regained the General Secretariat after prevailing in the primaries, and in June 2018 he reached the Presidency of the Government through a motion of censure against Mariano Rajoy.
Ten years after that interview, Sánchez intended to return to the same setting, this time as President of the Government and candidate for reelection. The meeting with Gonzo was planned as one of his main television appearances before the November 29 elections.
However, the Urda railway accident has interrupted that communications strategy and has forced the suspension of a recording that laSexta had been promoting for several days.
The interview of Pedro Sánchez is postponed without date
Although the interview will not air this Sunday, Atresmedia has clarified that this is a postponement and not a definitive cancellation. The network remains awaiting the team of the President of the Government to be able to offer a new date to carry out the recording.
laSexta had begun promoting the conversation on October 25, announcing Sánchez's return to the place where a decisive stage of his political career had begun. The program was scheduled for the usual time of "Salvados," starting at 21:30 hours.
However, the accident recorded on Wednesday, October 28 between two high-speed trains of Renfe and Iryo has completely altered the political agenda. The Government has focused its actions on the response to the tragedy, the attention to the victims and the follow-up of the investigations to clarify the causes of the accident.
The modification of the interview also comes at a particularly relevant moment for Sánchez's television strategy. The socialist leader had intensified his appearances in entertainment and interview formats, with the aim of reaching different audiences before the electoral campaign.
Among his recent appearances is his participation in "La Revuelta," the program presented by David Broncano on La 1. The interview with Gonzo was going to become another of his main television appointments in the weeks prior to the general elections.
Almudena Cid replaces Pedro Sánchez in "Salvados" this Sunday
Given the impossibility of airing the planned interview, laSexta has announced that Almudena Cid will be the protagonist of "Salvados" on Sunday, November 1, with a report titled "From the podium to oblivion".
The installment will address a little-known reality of professional sport: the difficulties that numerous athletes encounter after retiring from competition, especially when they must face the end of their careers without sufficient economic or labor protection.
The former gymnast, who participated in four Olympic finals, will speak with Gonzo about the lack of institutional support that many athletes denounce when they leave the elite, as well as about the problems of contributions to Social Security and the difficulties in accessing a decent retirement.
The report will also include the experiences of the former basketball player Fernando Romay and the former skier Lola Fernández Ochoa, who will address the social protection conditions of athletes and the demands to improve their rights once their competitive stage is over.
The network has already begun promoting this new installment through its social media, thus confirming the programming change planned for Sunday night.
The Urda accident also forces postponing laSexta's first electoral debate
Pedro Sánchez's interview is not the only political content affected by the train accident. laSexta has also decided to postpone its first four-way electoral debate, initially scheduled for Monday, November 2, in which representatives of PSOE, PP, Vox and Frente Amplio were expected to participate.
The meeting, moderated by Ana Pastor, was going to focus on two of the major issues of the pre-campaign: housing and the economy. However, the tragedy of Urda has led the network to modify its debate schedule, which must be reorganized before the official start of the electoral campaign.
The change comes less than a month before the general elections of November 29, in a context in which the parties are reviewing their agendas and their communication strategies after the accident.
For now, Sánchez's interview on "Salvados" remains pending a new recording and broadcast date. The head of government will not appear this Sunday on Gonzo's program, which will keep its usual schedule with the report devoted to Almudena Cid and the difficulties faced by elite athletes when their professional career ends.