What a coincidence that Antena 3 invited Alberto Núñez Feijóo the same day that Zapatero had to testify before the judge of the Audiencia Nacional. A strategy to add more media pressure. The PP leader appeared on El hormiguero visibly nervous. Before the interview began, Feijóo asked to send a warm greeting to Ilia Topuria, who was beaten up at Donald Trump's birthday. A disconcerting reaction considering the bloody context of that decadent party. But the gesture seemed like an allegory of the new evening we were about to witness. The great theater of shadowboxing, those training sessions where the boxer fights against a shadow, against an imaginary opponent, practicing blows in the air and dodging invisible hooks. Pablo Motos acted as his trainer, as a corner man devoted to the cause.
The presenter kept referring to the great social pessimism: “You go to bed for a nap and when you wake up there's another scandalWhat can Spaniards expect from you if one day you reach La Moncloa?What can Spaniards expect from you if one day you reach Moncloa?Is it possible that the PSOE ends up indicted?Is it possible that the PSOE will end up indicted?”, “Is democracy in danger?”, “What more has to happen for Pedro Sánchez to call early elections?” The only thing that bothered Feijóo was having to admit his incompetence with English.
Journalistically, a verification process for all of Feijóo's responses is urgent. Motos did not question any data from him. But all the figures and assessments related to immigration and its regularization were jarring. Andreu Buenafuente also took a hit. The PP leader assured that, in the past, the comedian told him that he had 40 scriptwriters for his program. “I only have eleven...”, Motos let slip, a little awkwardly. It was uncomfortable that the presenter questioned him three times about the abortion law. And it was ugly that Feijóo used Noelia Castillo's case for political purposes regarding euthanasia.
At the end of the interview, Feijóo was proclaimed the winner of the farce. The crescendo of the conversation was a parody of that Rocky climbing the stairs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and punching the air to celebrate his rebirth. Feijóo, unlike Topuria, came out without a scratch from a fight that never happened.
