The Podemos candidate for the general elections, Irene Montero, assured this Tuesday that her party will participate in the electoral debate among the main aspirants to La Moncloa that the Television Academy will organize. The former Minister of Equality explained that the institution has already contacted the party to summon it to a first preparatory meeting.
The announcement opens a possible way out of one of the conflicts surrounding the November 29 debates. Podemos demanded a place for Montero after the initial proposals for meetings between candidates included Pedro Sánchez, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, Santiago Abascal, and Ada Colau.
"To thank the Academy for its predisposition and its commitment to ensuring that all voices are represented in the electoral debate and to confirm that Podemos will participate in that electoral debate," Montero stated to the media after a meeting with environmental organizations.
The candidate clarified, however, that she still cannot confirm what the format will be. The Academy's call confirms Podemos's invitation to the preparations, while the number of participants and the distribution of times will have to be specified in conversations between the parties and the institution.
Podemos demanded its own spot or to share time with the Broad Front
Irene Montero's presence had become one of the pending issues of the 29N debates. Podemos claimed its participation for having been part of the Sumar coalition in the 2023 general elections, before the breakup with its former partners and the creation of the Broad Front now headed by Ada Colau.
The purple party had proposed expanding the planned debate to five among the main candidacies. As an alternative, it was willing to share the time attributed to the Broad Front to prevent Montero from being left out. That possibility was put on the table before the Central Electoral Board, but it does not equate to a closed agreement on the minutes or the format of the Academy's meeting.
The distribution of the electoral presence of both spaces has also generated discrepancies in other areas, such as information and propaganda times on RTVE. Podemos and the Broad Front compete for the representation of an electorate that in 2023 ran under a common candidacy and that will now find two differentiated ballots in much of the country.
For Podemos, participating in the debate would mean having a prime-time showcase to defend its program and differentiate itself from both the PSOE and the Broad Front. The party has insisted that Montero's presence alongside Colau would allow for a reflection of the plurality of the left running in the November 29 election.
The Academy seeks to close debates after clash between PSOE and PP
The negotiation over the candidates takes place after the agreement reached by PSOE and PP for the Television Academy to organize the electoral meetings. The socialists proposed this solution given the popular party's refusal to participate in a debate organized by RTVE. The PP accepted the formula, although it criticized that private groups were left out of the organization.
The proposal includes a face-to-face between Sánchez and Feijóo and another meeting between the main candidates. The Academy, chaired by María Casado, has offered to produce an institutional signal that interested media outlets can broadcast, as it did in previous elections.
Before Montero's announcement, the PSOE and the PP had talked about a four-way debate with their candidates, Abascal and Colau. The Broad Front had defended the presence of the four candidacies running nationwide, while Podemos demanded that its representative also be included.
Montero has celebrated what she considers a socialist rectification and has assured that her party will attend the preparatory meeting. There, the details that remain open must be addressed, including whether the debate will have five participants and how the speaking time will be distributed.
Contact
We are listening. Get in touch.
