The first ‘face to face’ TV debate by the main political leaders for fifteen years attracted an estimated audience of 12 million viewers as Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Partido Popular leader Mariano Rajoy spent an hour and a half discussing a wide range of previously agreed subjects.
The broadcast, the first of two ‘live’ debates, had been criticised by other, smaller political parties involved in the general election process as they had not been invited to participate. They see it as just a means for the two major parties to get free air time.
The debate itself, as expected, revealed nothing new as the two men basically exchanged stock answers to stock questions, resorting to the odd insult towards the end of proceedings. The most heated moments came during discussions relating to immigration and terrorism, two subjects on which the two major parties have serious differences although, once again, nothing new was said or proposed.