Alberto Núñez Feijóo and Pedro Sánchez will face each other again in front of cameras next Thursday 19 November, at 10.00 p.m., in the main head-to-head of the general elections of 29N. With ten days until the polls, the candidates of the PSOE and the PP will discuss their proposals on housing, the economy, public services, corruption and immigration in a meeting that brings back the debate format between the leaders of the two main parties and that can be followed live on television, radio and the internet.
Radiotelevisión Española has confirmed this Saturday that it will broadcast the debate on La 1, Canal 24 Horas, TVE Internacional, RNE, RTVE.es and RTVE Play. The public corporation will also offer special programming before and after the meeting, hosted by the journalist Pepa Bueno, to analyze the interventions of both candidates and the main questions of the night.
The face-to-face meeting will be organized by the Academy of Television Sciences and Arts, which has agreed with representatives of the PSOE and the PP on both the thematic blocks and the overall development of the meeting. The moderation will be handled by María Casado, president of the institution, while the order of interventions has been decided by draw: Feijóo will open the debate and Sánchez will have the final turn.
When is the debate between Pedro Sánchez and Feijóo
The event will take place in studio A of Madrid Content City, the audiovisual facilities of Secuoya Content Group, where the Television Academy will bring together the two candidates for the Presidency of the Government.
It will be one of the central meetings of the election campaign, which began on 13 November and will end on Friday 27, before the day of reflection on Saturday 28 and the general elections on Sunday 29.
Sánchez and Feijóo will debate face to face again after the meeting they led during the general elections campaign of July 2023. Then, both discussed the economy, political agreements and the management of the Government in a debate broadcast by Atresmedia.
Three years later, the political context is different. Sánchez appears after a legislature shaped by parliamentary difficulties, corruption investigations and the rail crisis, while Feijóo aims to achieve a majority that will allow him to reach La Moncloa.
Where to watch the Sánchez-Feijóo debate live and for free
RTVE has announced a simultaneous retransmission through its main channels and platforms. Viewers will be able to choose between the following options:
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La 1 de TVE: broadcast of the face-to-face live by television.
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Canal 24 Horas: full retransmission of the meeting.
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TVE Internacional: signal intended for viewers who follow Spanish programming from abroad.
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RNE: radio coverage of the debate.
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RTVE Play: live broadcast on the internet, accessible from its website and application.
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RTVE.es: follow-up of the meeting through the corporation’s official page.
The broadcast can be followed free of charge through RTVE’s public services. The Television Academy will also make an institutional signal available to interested television stations, so other channels may be added to the retransmission.
RTVE has also prepared special programs from its News Services, with Pepa Bueno leading the pre- and post-analysis. The corporation has not yet detailed the start time schedule for these spaces.
The five topics of the great electoral face-to-face
The Television Academy has reached an agreement with the PSOE and the PP on five thematic blocks that will be addressed in a previously established order.
1. Housing
It will be the first issue of the debate and one of the main problems for citizens, especially young people who are trying to become independent. Sánchez will have to defend the measures adopted during his term, while Feijóo will be able to explain his proposal to build a million homes and create a vice presidency of the Government dedicated to this matter.
2. Economy and taxation
The evolution of wages, prices, taxes, and economic growth will be part of the second block. It will also make it possible to contrast the Government’s tax policies with the tax cuts that the PP advocates.
3. Social policy and public services
Pensions, healthcare, education, and the operation of public services will occupy the third section. Railway management could enter into this discussion, after the Urda accident and the resignation of Óscar Puente, although it does not appear as an independent block in the announced format.
4. Fight against corruption and democratic renewal
The fourth block will allow both candidates to discuss the investigations that affect officials and former public officeholders, as well as their proposals to modify the functioning of the institutions and strengthen controls.
5. Migration and foreign policy
The debate will conclude with Spain’s migration policy and international relations, two areas in which PSOE and PP maintain differences regarding border management, European cooperation and diplomatic priorities.
These are the five matters agreed upon by the parties. The Academy has not yet publicized the exact breakdown of minutes for each block, nor the detailed rules for the reply turns.
Who will moderate the debate and who has the first and last turn
Journalist María Casado will be in charge of running the event. Current chair of the Television Academy, she has extensive experience at RTVE, where she presented news programs and interview segments.
The order of the interventions has not been negotiated between the parties, but has been decided by drawing lots. Alberto Núñez Feijóo will open the debate and Pedro Sánchez will close it.
This distribution will allow the popular candidate to speak first and the head of Government to deliver the final message of the night. Other details of the format remain to be known, including the total duration of the meeting and the distribution of time between the two participants.
The 2023 precedent and the return to a face-to-face
Next Thursday, Sánchez and Feijóo will again share an electoral stage three years after their first face-to-face as candidates for the Presidency of the Government.
That debate, held on 10 July 2023, was organized by Atresmedia and moderated by Ana Pastor and Vicente Vallés. It was one of the television events of that campaign and was accompanied by an intense political debate about both leaders’ statements.
The meeting on 19 November will have a different organization. The Television Academy will take on production and will distribute an institutional signal so that interested networks can broadcast it, a formula that has already been used in previous general elections.
The institution organized the debates between José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Mariano Rajoy in 2008, between Rajoy and Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba in 2011, and other electoral meetings in 2015, 2016 and 2019.
What other electoral debates are there before 29N
The one-on-one between Sánchez and Feijóo will not be the only televised debate of the campaign. RTVE has also confirmed for Monday, 23 November, at 10.00 p.m., a meeting between the parliamentary spokespeople of eight formations with representation in Congress.
Ester Muñoz will take part, for the PP; Patxi López, for the PSOE; Pepa Millán, for Vox; Emilio Delgado, for Frente Amplio; Gabriel Rufián, for ERC; Míriam Nogueras, for Junts; Oskar Matute, for Bildu, and Maribel Vaquero, for the PNV.
The debate will take place in Prado del Rey, will be moderated by Xabier Fortes, and can also be followed on RTVE channels and platforms.
Before that, on Friday 13 November, laSexta hosted the first nationwide economic debate of the campaign, with Carlos Cuerpo, Juan Bravo, Pablo Bustinduy and José María Figaredo and, followed by DEMÓCRATA as representatives of the PSOE, PP, Frente Amplio and Vox.
With the one-on-one on the 19th, Sánchez and Feijóo will have their main televised confrontation before the appointment with the ballot boxes. Voters will be able to hear their proposals directly and compare their answers on the issues that have dominated the legislature and the campaign.
Atresmedia maintains its debate proposal while the candidates multiply their interviews on television and YouTube
The one-on-one on 19 November is not the only election appointment being negotiated between the main networks and the parties. Atresmedia maintains its proposal to hold a four-way debate between Pedro Sánchez, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, Santiago Abascal and Ada Colau, after moving the date to 23 November. PP, Vox and Frente Amplio have confirmed their participation, while the PSOE has not yet accepted the invitation. The audiovisual group also does not give up organizing another confrontation between Sánchez and Feijóo, such as the one it broadcast in July 2023, followed then by almost six million viewers.
The campaign is also contested outside the traditional debates. Sánchez has gone on La Revuelta, La Séptima and El perro andaluz, while Feijóo has gone to Horizonte and El Hormiguero. Abascal starred in an interview with David Broncano that brought together 4.8 million viewers, and Ada Colau also visited La 1’s programme.
In addition to these appearances, there are the interviews by Jordi Wild in The Wild Project, published on November 13 with Sánchez, Feijóo and Colau as the protagonists. Abascal canceled his participation after the clash of Vox with RTVE and El Terrat over the fragments not broadcast from his interview in La Revuelta. The presence of the candidates in these formats reflects the importance that entertainment programs and the large YouTube channels have acquired in the campaign for the 29N.
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