Second Castilla y León debate clarifies nothing

1. Castilla y Leon. The PP-Vox battle on the right. This morning, the Vox candidate, García-Gallardo, said in an esRadio interview that he doesn't want "to be Mañueco's deputy” (PP) but if that were the case, “we don't want to repeat the elections”. Link

2. García-Gallardo wanted to talk about Vox's election ideology (birth rate, countryside, industry, etc.) and not about kicking out PP political appointees after the election on Sunday. “Which PP do you want to be?”, asked the host. “We don't want to be the PP,” he replied.

3. There is another poll in OKDiario that is similar to all others except the CIS: PP and Vox would get 44 seats in the regional parliament. A right-wing majority, together. They would have to try to understand each other, despite mutual reluctance. Link

4. García-Gallardo said that he is not going to be an obstacle to a right-wing government in Castilla y León and made it clear that they are really playing against the Left: “We are here so that the Socialist Party, which is the real enemy of Spain, does not win power”.

5. In the hypothetical case that Igea won his seat again on Sunday (most polls give Ciudadanos between 0 and 1, the CIS gives them up to 4), would the new government in Castilla y León depend on that one vote? Via @CiudadanosCs Link

6. La Verdad reports farmers in Murcia are preparing three columns of tractors in from the countryside for their demonstration in the regional capital on the 16th. When they did this in 2017, they collapsed city traffic for two whole days. Link

7. Farming associations also want a total stop to work in the Murcian countryside on Wednesday, so more people can go to the march. Farmers, exports, irrigators, warehouses, transport. They want the whole lot shut down so everyone can go to the demonstration.

8. The second election debate for Castilla y León begins in one hour. Will it be more interesting and lively than the last one? Will there be difficult questions and tension or more party-political monologues? You can watch it live here: Link

9. This second debate is organized by the regional television channel in Castilla y León. The first few minutes of the party-political monologues do not suggest there will be an energetic exchange of ideas tonight.

10. The dynamics of the debate is just the candidates using their minutes to talk by themselves about the issues on the agreed list. The moderators at for now are just clock watching.

11. Meanwhile, in Mexico, President López Obrador has proposed something unexpected: a pause in diplomatic and commercial relations with Spain. “We don't want to be robbed”, he said earlier today: “we shouldn't be seen as a land of conquest”. Link

12. In Castilla y León, the moderator interrupts Mañueco (PP)... but not to ask him an incisive question. She reminds him of the time, the clock. The candidates continue with their political monologues split in to minute-long segments.

13. Spanish Foreign Secretay Albares surprised by López Obrador's “sudden” statements about pausing relations with Spain on the way to a meeting in France. The Mexican President needs to explain: “This government will always defend the interests of Spain”. Link

14. Has a major diplomatic crisis just begun between Mexico and Spain?

15. In Castilla y León, the role of moderators with the time and robotic reading of agreed upon questions could be done perfectly well by an app, with no need for artificial intelligence. A clock, some recorded questions and the machine cuts off the mic if they speak too long.

16. “35 years of government of Popular Party government”, says Mañueco (PP): “must be a reason for that”. Regional democracy in Spain. Igea (Ciudadanos), whose seat is at risk according to the polls, reminds him that this time he will probably have to do a deal with Vox.

17. “If all this is going so well, Mr. Mañueco”, Igea (Ciudadanos) asks the PP candidate: “why did you call these elections?”

18. Remember the CIS survey announced the other day that up to 60% of people in Castilla y León were not paying attention to the election campaign and 40% did not know if they were going to vote on Sunday. I am not surprised, watching the mixed political monolgoues in the debate.

19. Igea says Ciudadanos will ensure the centrality of a new regional government. “We are here because Francisco Igea only cares about Francisco Igea”, says Mañueco (PP). The party that will likely end up as Mañueco's new partner, Vox, is not present in this debate.

20. “I'm the one at risk in Castilla y León, not Pablo Casado,” says Mañueco (PP). Is he distancing himself from the national leader of his party or trying to create a firewall against results on Sunday they fear will be worse than expected before calling the elections?

21. The debate is over. There have been even fewer developments in terms of content, tension or electoral drama tonight than during the first one. Has any voter in all of Castilla y León, a land larger than the entire island of Ireland, changed their vote tonight?