Socialists satisfied that doubts have been sown over PP government's intentions

The Socialist candidate and his team feel that Monday's debate served to achieve their overarching goal: "To lift the veil of silence surrounding the Popular Party's platform." Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba's team also noted that his speech had been deliberately aimed at "the undecided voters and the progressives."

Rubalcaba brought the spotlight on the issues he was interested in raising, and asked his rival several thorny questions that remained unanswered. Given the lack of clarity from Mariano Rajoy, the Socialist went on to offer his own public assessment of what the PP will do if it wins the November 20 general elections, as all polls indicate it will. The conservatives, said Rubalcaba, might reduce unemployment benefits; citizens could end up paying for banks' toxic assets; and the PP's plan to review the pension system every two years.

Rubalcaba gleaned this information from the PP's own campaign platform, and asked Rajoy to be more specific during the head-to-head. But the center-right leader declined to do so, leading Rubalcaba's team to proclaim that Rajoy "has choked on toxic assets, health, education, pensions and unemployment benefits," according to deputy campaign coordinator Antonio Hernando. The fact that Rajoy also failed to take a clear stand on same-sex marriage (legal since 2005 thanks to a Socialist-sponsored law) or on electoral reform, enabled his rival to keep up the line that a PP government leaves too many questions up in the air.

The Socialist campaign team was also relieved that the first part of the debate, which dealt with the economy and unemployment, did not go as badly for Rubalcaba as it could have, considering that he was until recently a key member of the government that has overseen unemployment rising to five million. The audience peak came precisely when Rubalcaba asked Rajoy to say whether he will modify unemployment entitlements if he wins the elections.

Rubalcaba himself argued that things went quite well for him, despite all viewer polls showing Rajoy as the winner. "The most important thing about the debate is that millions of Spaniards now know that if they place their trust in us, we will come out of this crisis with social protection, with a reorientation of the economy to create jobs and with an emphasis on education, innovation and training," he said.