With the marked absence of the favorite of the 21D, the president of the regional government of Extremadura and candidate for re-election of the PP, María Guardiola, who rejected the invitation of RTVE, the unusual three-way debate between the PSOE, Unidas por Extremadura and Vox, which took place this Thursday, three days before the Extremadura elections, showed the fear of the left of losing social rights and public services in the region in case on Sunday the right could join forces to govern the region again. The far right, on the other hand, avoided formulating concrete proposals and focused on disqualifying its opponents during the face-to-face meeting.
“We are risking the future of public services. The right wants to damage what belongs to everyone and give work to a few,” warned Irene de Miguel, Unidas candidate for Extremadura, at the start of the debate moderated by journalist Xabier Fortes. “We risk an Extremadura for all, that public services are of quality and that public health and education are protected,” warned, for his part, the PSOE candidate for President of the Council, Miguel Ángel Gallardo.
Guardiola’s refusal to participate in the match was recalled several times throughout the more than 75 minutes that the face-to-face lasted. The representatives of the left rightly considered that the presence of the current president was “more necessary than ever” given the developments of the last days of the campaign during which various sexist scandals linked to the PP arose.
Gallardo said Guardiola could have explained during the debate “how he had a driver convicted of gender-based violence”, referring to the driver fired on Wednesday after learning he had been found guilty of coercion of his ex-partner. Gallardo also mentioned the case of alleged harassment of the mayor of Navalmoral de la Mata, of the PP, revealed by elDiario.es. “The Navalmoral affair reminded us of the Nevenka affair,” declared the socialist leader, who accused the PP of “defending the harasser” instead of the victims.
Both the PSOE and Unidas por Extremadura candidates worked hard during the race to identify the unknown Vox candidate, Óscar Fernández, as Guardiola’s “spokesman” and even as the PP leader’s “front man”, assuming that the two right-wing parties will agree if they win in Sunday’s elections.
The representative of the far right, visibly nervous, opted for disqualification and stirred up xenophobia during the debate. Fernández assured that his two opponents at the meeting belong to “two parties that, when they governed, took rapists to the streets, put women without protection and brought in Islamists for whom women are little more than a piece of furniture or an animal.” Addressing the PSOE candidate, the leader of Vox told him that the socialists “more than a party, they form a pack”. “They represent a danger for women, but especially for yours,” he said. In addition, he asked Unidas por Extremadura to “apologize for releasing the rapists from prison or to reduce the sentences of the attackers.”
Miguel’s warning to Gallardo
In the bloc of possible political pacts, Gallardo reached out to Unidas por Extremadura. “There are only two paths, that of the PP and Vox or to govern with a progressive majority. Above our differences is Extremadura,” he said. In this sense, he assured that “if there was a progressive majority” on 21D, it would be possible to “protect and protect health, education and give hope” to their children.
De Miguel defended a similar idea, but with nuances. “There are two alternatives, a reactionary and conservative bloc and a progressive bloc,” he noted. But he then suggested that this agreement could not take place if the negotiations were led by Gallardo, accused of the case of the hiring of Pedro Sánchez’s brother. “I want to lead a progressive government and some will have to step down,” he said, before addressing Gallardo and declaring that he was “very embarrassed by the arrest” of the socialist leader, just as he was being charged. “The PSOE deserves in-depth reflection,” he said, in addition to emphasizing that there are leaders who maintain a backpack “incompatible with the conclusion of agreements.”
Representatives of the left also insisted on the lack of independence of the Vox candidate. “No matter what Mr. Fernández says, it will be what Abascal says,” assured Irene de Miguel. And Gallardo, for his part, assured that Guardiola “left his leader of Vox to come and defend her”, while Fernández tried again and again to dissociate herself from the PP, despite the fact that her party made her president in 2023 and governed with her until the national leadership of Vox decided to break with the popular, in the summer of 2024.
De Miguel rightly joked about the hyper presence of Abascal in the campaign. “Those who come to Extremadura to ride horses do not come precisely to defend family farming, but rather the landowner,” he said. “Abascal comes to disguise himself as Mr. Iván,” he added, while the Vox spokesperson tried to cut him off. De Miguel asked farmers in Extremadura to “stop listening to the siren songs of those who only want to destroy the countryside”, in reference to the far right. And the Vox candidate told him that every time Abascal goes to Extremadura, “he is acclaimed” by the neighbors.
Vox calls Gallardo ‘more than a criminal’
The debate began with an exchange of reproaches between the left and the far right. Miguel Ángel Gallardo and Irene de Miguel consider Óscar Fernández as a “spokesperson” for the Guardiola government. “It is represented by Mr. Fernández, even if they are in Pimpinela mode,” quipped the socialist Gallardo for his part.
The representative of the far right called the PSOE “more than an alleged criminal” and called the Unidas por Extremadura “representative of misery.” “He looks like vice-president if they give him figures,” De Miguel insisted, addressing Fernández Calle.
About The Author
