The Diplomat
Most of the media from other countries that dealt with the debate held on Monday by Pedro Sánchez and Alberto Núñez Feijóo consider that the PP candidate for La Moncloa won the face-to-face with the current Prime Minister.
The international press is more busy these days with issues such as the NATO Summit that began yesterday in Vilnius, with an eye on Ukraine, but some media did deal with a debate in Madrid in which allusions to international issues were limited practically to the change of position of the Executive regarding Western Sahara, supporting the proposals of Morocco.
In any case, the interventions of Sánchez and Feijóo lead, for example, the Financial Times to headline that both exchanged accusations “in a tense electoral debate.”
Much more evaluative, the British The Times stresses that “the Spanish prime minister’s commitment to a televised electoral debate fails” And considers that “the socialist leader arrives at the early elections this month with a ‘disastrous’ performance against his opponent of the right-wing”.
Bloomberg, for his part, points out that Sánchez does not achieve the much-needed victory in the electoral debate, while the Associated Press does not hesitate to affirm that “the leader of the Spanish right-wing opposition puts the socialist president on the defensive.”
In Germany, Süddeutsche Zeitung indicates that “the conservative opposition Feijóo was well prepared to face the socialist prime minister.” And add. “It’s surprising how easily the latter wrinkled.”
Der Spiegel, for its part, indicates that the two candidates got involved in a “heated” television duel and points out that “Pedro Sánchez fears for his position, while his opponent, Alberto Feijóo, goes on the attack, partly with false accusations. “In the only televised duel before the elections, this strategy seems to have worked,” he says.
In France, Radio France International, indicates that Sánchez was nervous “in front of a more serene Feijóo.” And in Italy, Il Seccolo points out that the Prime Minister missed the opportunity and that Spain is “on its way to becoming center-right.”
In neighboring Portugal, Público underlines that “Feijóo dominated a debate in which Sánchez lacked initiative”, while Expresso believes that the PP candidate “was more skillful in his debate” with his opponent.
