Santiago Abascal went through La Revuelta of RTVE, and not precisely to have fun. After several days of controversy over the interview of the far-right leader in the public medium, exacerbated by Vox’s request (accepted by the network) for to choose their own audience, the conclusion is that, at least judging by audience and the reading of the analysts, the interviewee’s gamble paid off. But there is a question that lies behind the commotion, namely whether the program presented by David Broncano had an obligation to invite Santiago Abascal.
To try to approximate an answer, one must turn to several rules. Among them, Law 17/2006, of 5 June, on radio and television of state ownership, which, in its article 28, says that “the RTVE Corporation will ensure in its programming the expression of the social, ideological, political and cultural plurality of Spanish society”.
The point 2.a of the same provision reads as follows: “The right of access through the RTVE Corporation will be applied: in a global manner, through the participation of significant social and political groups, as sources and holders of information and opinion, in the entirety of RTVE programming”.
Another important aspect is reflected in the Fourth.3 section of Instruction 4/2011, of 24 March, of the Central Electoral Board, which establishes that “it corresponds to the directing bodies of the media the decision to organize or broadcast electoral interviews or debates, but if they do so they must respect the principles of political pluralism, informative neutrality, equality and proportionality”.
Lastly, it is necessary to highlight article 66.1 of Organic Law 5/1985, of 19 June, of the General Electoral Regime. This is its literal wording: “Respect for political and social pluralism, as well as for equality, proportionality and informative neutrality in the programming of public media outlets during the electoral period, will be guaranteed by the organization of such media and the control provided for in the Laws”.
What does RTVE say?
There is no official response from RTVE to this question, although there are statements to Público which, according to the information, are “official sources of the public body”. And these assure that the Electoral Board does not oblige them to invite Santiago Abascal to La Revuelta, but that they had sent invitations to the four main candidates for the Presidency, “like all late shows”.
In the same article they recall that, in a previous program, Broncano himself referred to this alleged obligation with the phrase “the Electoral Board has spoken”.
What happened in the interview?
Although, more than an interview, it was a debate, the presence Santiago Abascal in La Revuelta was marked by political dispute and management of the audience, which Vox asked to control in order to avoid heckling and interruptions. In fact, Broncano warned that the favorable reaction of those in attendance could offer an unrepresentative image of public opinion.
A paradigmatic example of this warning occurred when the leader of Vox described Pedro Sánchez as a "dictator" and justified that description with what he considers a political occupation of institutions and oversight bodies. He also criticized the Government’s response to violence against representatives of his party. Regarding gender violence, he acknowledged that violence against women exists, but questioned the approach of current policies and defended the need to review legislation.
Abascal brought a flag of Ceuta to the program and explained that he had conveyed to Benjamin Netanyahu his condemnation of the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, his rejection of an eventual Israeli backing of the independence of Catalonia, and his request for support for Spain against Morocco.