From Palma de Mallorca, in the middle of an election campaign.- Pedro Sánchez has chosen this Saturday school grades to launch one of his most direct attacks against Alberto Núñez Feijóo. Before some 5,000 socialist activists and supporters gathered in Son Fusteret, the president of the Government reviewed the alleged failed grades of the leader of the Partido Popular in English, chemistry and economics before setting him a final subject ahead of the general elections of next November 29: "Civic Education". The test, according to the PSOE secretary general, will consist of accepting the result at the ballot box, which he has assured will give victory back to the socialists.
"What I hope is that at least he passes next November 29 in Civic Education, accepting the election result," Sánchez proclaimed, before adding that "the Partido Socialista is going to win the elections and will continue governing for four more years". The statement constituted one of the central moments of a rally in which the candidate for reelection sought to convey confidence to his supporters and turn the mobilization of the progressive electorate into the axis of his speech.
The event, held on the second official day of the campaign, brought together a large part of the socialist leadership of the Balearic Islands. Francina Armengol, president of the Congress and head of list of the PSIB-PSOE for the islands, has spoken before Sánchez, along with other regional leaders. Among the attendees, a poster with the message "La Peter lo peta", a reference to the nickname with which the actress Candela Peña addressed the president on the program La Revuelta and that has found its place among the winks of the socialist campaign, also stood out.
Sánchez turns Feijóo’s statements about English into an election exam
The socialist leader took advantage of the interview that Feijóo granted this week to content creator Jordi Wild to ironize about the preparation of the popular candidate. During that conversation, the PP president acknowledged that he does not speak English and that he had also not made a special effort to learn it, although he considered that a president of the Government should master that language.
Sánchez has recovered those statements to question the leader of the opposition. "They’ve had four years even to, I don’t know, to learn a little English", he said, referring to the time that has passed since the start of the legislature. Immediately afterward, he broadened his criticism to other matters in which he believes Feijóo has shown a lack of knowledge.
"Failing English, failing chemistry", he said, before reproaching him for not knowing how to tell hydrogen from nitrogen. He also attributed to him a "failing in economics", recalling a confusion between the risk premium and interest rates. The president has used this succession of examples to argue that the PP has had enough time to prepare an alternative Government and that, in his view, it has not presented a convincing project.
The clash over English had been preceded by a response from Feijóo himself. The Popular candidate defended this Friday that his lack of knowledge of the language does not prevent him from carrying out political responsibilities: "I don’t know English, but I know how to govern and I don’t insult in any language", he said. The discussion has thus become a new episode in the confrontation between the two candidates, who are scheduled to face each other in an electoral debate next Thursday, 19 November.
Sánchez’s demand that Feijóo accept the result of the ballot boxes does not, for the time being, respond to an announcement by the Popular leader that he will disregard it. It is a political challenge from the Socialist candidate, which he has linked that acceptance to his own prediction of victory.
"An ultra who wrinkles"
Sánchez has also directed his attacks against Santiago Abascal, whom he has claimed "does not represent the Spain that gets up early, but the ultra that cringes". From Palma, the president of the Government has questioned the international support received by the leader of Vox and has reminded that Giorgia Meloni, Matteo Salvini, Viktor Orbán and other leaders of the European far right have conveyed their backing to him ahead of the elections on 29 November. The messages, broadcast in video form at the start of Vox’s campaign in Madrid, have served Sánchez to link Abascal to the forces he considers opposed to the project of European integration. Against those alliances, the general secretary of the PSOE has asked for the vote from those who "love Europe", asserting Spain’s membership in the European Union and presenting the election as a choice between strengthening the community project or moving toward the nationalist positions that he attributes to the far right.
"Good politics in the face of bad manners," the PSOE message from Palma
Before turning his focus to Feijóo, Sánchez devoted the first minutes of his intervention to asserting the institutional role of Francina Armengol. The president has recognized her work leading the Congress over the last three years and has denounced the atmosphere of confrontation that, in his view, has taken hold in the lower house.
The socialist general secretary has argued that insults, noise and shouts have taken up too much space in parliamentary debate, to the detriment of proposals aimed at solving citizens’ problems. In light of that situation, he has presented Armengol as an example of institutional calm.
"You have been a president who has kept her composure and has defended good manners in public debate," Sánchez said, who has extended that assertion to the entire campaign. "That’s also what these elections are about. Whether we assert good politics in the face of bad manners", he argued.
For the head of the Executive, good politics consists of putting forward solutions and managing institutions, while bad manners are expressed through personal attacks and put-downs. "That’s what the citizens pay us for: to propose solutions and not to hurl insults", he summed up.
The speech has maintained, however, a marked tone of confrontation with the opposition, especially during references to Feijóo's knowledge. Sánchez has also directed his criticisms against Santiago Abascal, whom he has reproached for considering gender equality policies a superfluous expense—a position that the president has placed among the examples of what he calls "bad education".
In that context, the PSOE leader has stated that 29N will mean a new confrontation between two models of country. "We are going to defeat the involution of Feijóo and of Abascal", he said, presenting a possible majority of PP and Vox as a threat to the social policies promoted during his years in government.
Armengol asserts the co-official languages and the PSOE seeks to mobilize the vote in the Balearic Islands
Sánchez's intervention was preceded by that of Francina Armengol, who has asserted her management at the head of the Congress and, especially, the reform of the Rules of Procedure that allowed the use of Catalan, Basque, and Galician in parliamentary debates alongside Castilian.
The Balearic leader, who delivered much of her speech in Catalan, has defended this measure as a recognition of Spain's linguistic diversity. She has also placed housing among the priorities of the socialist campaign, a problem especially relevant in the Balearic Islands due to the difficulties of accessing rentals and pressure on the residential market.
The rally also featured Rosario Sánchez Grau, socialist candidate for the presidency of the Balearic Government; Amanda Fernández, candidate for the Consell de Mallorca; and Iago Negueruela, candidate for Mayor of Palma. The call thus brought together the state campaign with the territorial aspirations of PSIB-PSOE, which seeks to strengthen its institutional presence on the islands.
The choice of Palma is part of Sánchez's intense election agenda, which officially kicked off the campaign on Thursday in Seville and took part on Friday in events held in Arnedo, La Rioja, and Pamplona. Meanwhile, Feijóo has headlined this Saturday a rally in Santiago de Compostela, while Santiago Abascal has scheduled interventions in Almería and Murcia.
Sánchez again proclaims his victory despite an open campaign
The President of the Government has closed his address in Palma with a new appeal to socialist mobilization. Sánchez argues that the PSOE can make a comeback and secure another four years in La Moncloa, despite the fact that several opinion polls published over the past few days place the Partido Popular ahead of the socialists in voting intention. The CIS, by contrast, places the PSOE as the leading force, reflecting the differences between the available polling estimates.
The confidence expressed by Sánchez constitutes a campaign forecast, not an anticipated result. With the ballot boxes still to be opened and two weeks of electoral activity still ahead, the makeup of the next Congress will continue to depend on citizens’ vote and on any subsequent parliamentary agreements.
The Son Fusteret rally has left one of the day’s political images: Sánchez putting Feijóo through an imaginary exam and saving the final test for November 29. In a campaign marked by reproaches between the main parties, the socialist leader has sought to combine his defense of “good politics” with a verbal offensive against PP and Vox.
The conclusion of his speech was unequivocal: Sánchez asks Feijóo to accept the verdict of the ballot boxes because he is convinced that the PSOE will win again. The result of that exam, however, will not be known until election night.