Leader of the Conservative Opposition in SpainAlberto Nunez Feijo, agreed today to take part in a teleconference with the Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in connection with the parliamentary elections on 23 July.

Sanchez decided last week to dissolve parliament and call early elections after his Socialist Party suffered a heavy defeat in local and regional elections on May 28.

On Monday, Sanchez offered his rival to host six TV fights – one a week before election day – but the Feijo People’s Party (PP) dismissed the offer as “outrageous.”

Today, the Conservative candidate replied that he would take part in at least one debate and added that the parties and their campaign headquarters must decide how much, when and where.

“I have no problem participating in a TV fight with Mr. Sanchez, where we will be together. There will be debates between me and Mr. Sanchez during the election campaign,” he told radio station Onda Cero.

Labor Minister Yolanda Diat, who is seeking a key role in the new parliament with the newly formed Sumar coalition of progressive parties, criticized Sanchez’s proposal and said bipartisanship is a thing of the past.

“Spain is more than a telephone battle between two men,” he commented.

Polls show the PP is likely to win the parliamentary elections, but it needs to forge an alliance with far-right VOX to win a working majority.

However, polls continue to show that the balance in parliament could be upset if the left-wing Podemos, a junior partner in the Socialist-led coalition government, allies with Sumar.

^{Source: APE-MEB, Reuters}