The “face to face” debate between Miguel Arias Cañete and Elena Valenciano has been postponed

The debate, organized by the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Television and Spanish Television, will take place at TVE's Buñuel Studios next Thursday.

The political commotion due to the murder of Isabel Carrasco, president of the PP in León and of the Provincial Council, has led to the postponement to Thursday the 15th of the electoral debate that was going to take place tonight at ten on TVE between the popular candidate, Miguel Arias Cañete, and the socialist Elena Valenciano.

The Academy of Sciences and Arts of Television and Spanish Television has announced in a press conference all the details of the “face to face” debate between the candidates for the European Elections of the Popular Party and the Socialist Party, Miguel Arias Cañete and Elena Valenciano, which will be held at the Buñuel Studios of TVE and will be moderated by the journalist and academic María Casado.

The president of the Television Academy, Manuel Campo Vidal, was grateful that both parties had trusted the Institution, for the third time, to organize the 'face to face' event. "On April 24, they asked for our intervention since there were several networks interested in broadcasting the debate and the political parties were only available to hold one. In addition, we have participated in the negotiation of the blocks and, finally, on Saturday, May 10, we reached a definitive agreement." Campo Vidal has expressed the importance of “Spain returning to normality so that there is no important election without face-to-face debate.” He also wanted to thank TVE for its availability to organize it and to open the signal to other television channels.

For his part, Julio Somoano, director of News at TVE, explained the structure of the debate. "It will consist of a two-minute introduction for each candidate and five thematic blocks that will be developed in the following order: economic policy, social policies, sectoral policies, rights and freedoms and the future of the European Union. The first two blocks will last 12 minutes with three two-minute interventions for each candidate. After a three-minute pause, the last three blocks will be addressed, lasting eight minutes each and with two two-minute interventions for each candidate. The debate will end with a one-minute conclusion turn for each one.” The turn to speak has also been drawn and the PSOE candidate Elena Valenciano will begin the introduction and the blocks of economic policy, sectoral policies and the future of the European Union and the candidate of the Popular Party Miguel Arias Cañete the blocks of social policies and rights and freedoms. Furthermore, the director of TVE News has thanked the work of Manuel Campo Vidal "not only in mediation with the parties, but also for his permanent work to promote electoral debates that enrich democracy."

Pepe Quílez, vice president of the Television Academy, has pointed out that in "the Academy we defend the existence of electoral debates, above all, the 'face to face' ones. These have to do with what we call the chain of trust: trust in the Institution that organizes it, trust in the chain that produces, analyzes and broadcasts it, and trust in the moderator of the debate. In this sense it is important to underline the trust placed in TVE, in the moderator María Casado and in its director Ángel Povedano.”

To conclude, the academic and moderator of the 'face to face' María Casado has expressed the importance of the debates. “They are necessary and are part of that public service that we offer every day.”
Numerous television networks and print media with streaming services such as El País, El Mundo, La Vanguardia and Público have requested the institutional signal of the debate.