WITH five weeks to go before the November 29 election, the growing fight between Pedro Sanchez and Alberto Nunez Feijoo has culminated in a bitter campaign clash over abortion, feminism, war and AI.
At a rally in Granada, prime minister Sanchez warned that a vote for Feijoo’s centre-right People’s Party (PP) could bring far-right Vox into government as well.
He put it this way: “Feijoo is the wrapping and Abascal is the gift. And some gifts are not worth opening.”
Feijoo, who leads the PP, has answered with attacks of his own. At a rally in Valencia, he said Spain needed ‘a servant, not an impostor’. He also urged PP supporters to work so the party is not denied what he called ‘the result Spain deserves’ on November 29.
The row grew louder during a visit to Madrid by Argentina’s President Javier Milei. He called Sanchez a ‘dictator’ and a ‘delinquent’, and said the Socialists should be ‘kicked out’.
In a video call with Vox leader Santiago Abascal, Milei said: “There’s nothing more fun than kicking left-wing asses.”
Abascal praised his remarks. Sanchez responded by proudly calling himself left-wing, while Spain’s Foreign Ministry condemned Milei’s words.
PP politicians were divided: some criticised Milei’s language, while others defended or excused it.
Abortion and the meaning of “feminist”
Abortion has become one of the sharpest fights within the election promises. Sanchez says that, if re-elected, he will put the right to abortion into Spain’s Constitution. He also says he will protect the right to euthanasia, which allows some people with serious, incurable illnesses to ask for help to end their lives.
Feijoo says he would reopen the debate about whether girls under 16 should need their parents’ permission to have an abortion. He has also said he would change the euthanasia law. He believes doctors should have a stronger role in those decisions.
The argument over feminism began when Feijoo was asked if he considered himself a feminist. He said yes, pointing to equal rights and the pay gap between women and men.
But he also said a PP government would close the separate Equality Ministry and move its work to another department. He said equality work would continue, and that he wanted a smaller government.
Sanchez seized on the contrast, joking that Feijoo was ‘so feminist that he proposes abolishing the Equality Ministry.’
A campaign message beside Guernica
Sanchez has also brought the debate over war into the campaign. In a video filmed beside Picasso’s Guernica at Madrid’s Reina Sofia museum, he defended his government’s opposition to war and to raising military spending.
The painting was inspired by the 1937 bombing of the Basque town of Gernika during the Spanish Civil War, now a world-famous image of the harm war causes to civilians.
The PP accused Sanchez of using the painting and a public museum to make an election advert. The dispute has become a fight over who can claim the painting’s anti-war message and whether a prime minister should use a public museum in a campaign video.
READ MORE: Political round-up: From Madrid with love
AI videos add a new row
Another clash concerns artificial intelligence. The PP responded to Sanchez’s ‘“’proudly left-wing’”’ campaign video with an AI-made parody featuring fake images and voices of several people linked to the PSOE. In one scene, a simulated Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero says: “If hiding jewels in a safe is left-wing, then yes, I’m left-wing.”
The PSOE is considering legal action over the video.
The row puts a new question into the campaign: should parties have to label videos made with AI? The technology can create convincing scenes that never happened, so voters may find it harder to tell what is real. The PSOE has not yet announced whether it will take legal action.
Promises on homes, wages and taxes
Feijoo says a PP government would build at least one million homes, cut taxes, protect pensions from inflation and strengthen public healthcare. He has promised a new law to remove squatters within 48 hours.
For first-time buyers under 40, he proposes tax breaks, savings schemes and state guarantees to help them get a mortgage.
These are campaign promises; the final details and costs would depend on future laws and budgets.
Sanchez says he would raise the minimum wage every year he remains in office. He argues that higher wages help workers and bring money into the public pension system. He has also defended giving legal status to migrants who are already working and paying into social security.
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The offers reflect two different campaign messages. The PSOE stresses wages and social protections. The PP focuses on tax cuts, home ownership and tougher action on squatting and irregular migration.
Voters will be asked not only which promises they prefer, but whether the parties explain how they will pay for them and put them into practice.
Nine coalitions, and deals still being discussed
Nine coalitions have registered for the election. The largest, Frente Amplio, includes Sumar, United Left, Mas Madrid and regional parties.
There are also deals for the Senate, Spain’s second chamber of parliament. The PSOE and several left-wing parties are sharing Senate lists.
The PP and Vox are discussing how to avoid splitting their votes in some provinces. One option is for Vox not to stand where it is unlikely to win a senator, but no agreement has been finalised.
The Basque nationalist party PNV says it will never support a situation in which the far right comes to power. Its position points to a central question after election day: even if one party wins the most seats, it may still need other parties’ support to govern.
TV debates will test leaders
Sanchez has agreed to a one-to-one TV debate with Feijoo on November 16. The PSOE also wants a four-party debate on public broadcaster RTVE. The PP has rejected that plan and says it would take part in a four-party debate on a private channel instead.
The argument over debate formats is another sign of how tense the campaign has become. In the coming weeks, the leaders will face pressure to move beyond attacks and explain how they would deal with housing, wages, pensions and rights.
At the end people must decide who would govern Spain after November 29.
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