Podemos accuses PSOE and Frente Amplio of trying to leave Irene Montero out of the 29N debate: "What they do with the left is beat them and leave them voiceless"

Two days after announcing that the Television Academy had invited Podemos to prepare for the 29N electoral debate, Irene Montero accused the PSOE and Frente Amplio this Thursday of trying to leave her out of the meeting. The candidate stated in Alcalá de Henares that the Academy had submitted a query to the Electoral Board to clarify whether it could invite her party. Socialist sources consulted by 'ElConstitucional.es' deny that the PSOE will veto Podemos and refer the decision to whoever is responsible.

Montero maintains that the Academy counted on her party from the beginning and attributes two attempts to stop her participation to the two government partners. According to the candidate, PSOE and Frente Amplio have proposed that if she participates, Alvise Pérez, leader of the far-right party Se Acabó la Fiesta, should also participate. Furthermore, she accuses them of having threatened to miss the preparatory meeting if Podemos attends. "What they do with the left is beat them up and try to prevent left-wing organizations from having a voice in debates," she reproached.

In Ferraz, they deny that they will veto any formation, "and even less Podemos", and assure that they will not enter into what they consider "the PP's game" either. "Let whoever has to decide, decide," say the socialist sources consulted by this newspaper. PSOE sources have defended that there should be the same number of left and right candidates. Frente Amplio, for its part, had supported at the beginning of the week the Academy's formula to carry out a debate with the four candidacies initially planned.

The Sánchez-Feijóo face-to-face and the fight for the fifth lectern on 29N

The PP and the PSOE agreed on Monday to entrust the Television Academy with the organization of the debates, after the popular party's rejection of RTVE organizing one of the encounters. There are two formats on the table. The first is a face-to-face between Pedro Sánchez and Alberto Núñez Feijóo. The second would also bring together Santiago Abascal, from the far-right Vox, and Ada Colau, from Frente Amplio, in the initial scheme. The Academy has offered to produce a signal that all interested media can broadcast live.

Podemos demands a fifth lectern with the argument that it ran within Sumar in 2023 and obtained five deputies in that candidacy. Its parliamentarians later moved to the Mixed Group and on 29N the party competes with its own candidacy in much of the country against its former partners. The formation has even offered to share intervention time with Frente Amplio if the debate is not extended to five, a possibility that still has not resulted in an agreement.

The PP proposed holding the face-to-face on November 16 and the meeting with more candidates on the 26th, although the dates are still pending agreement. Podemos plans to attend this Friday's preparatory meeting, and Montero hopes that the Electoral Board will clarify whether the Academy can include their formation in the debate.