With less than a week before Spain’s General Election, Partido Popular (PP) leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo, was facing backlash for getting facts wrong in a live television interview.
The prime ministerial hopeful provided incorrect information about his party’s pensions record in a conversation with National Television journalist Silvia Intxaurrondo.
Feijóo claimed while in power, the PP raised pensions each year relative to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of inflation. The Socialist Party (PSOE) had been the only party to freeze pensions, he went on to say.
A tense exchange ensued when Intxaurrondo quickly pointed out Feijóo’s mistake.
“That is not correct, Mr Feijóo”, she interrupted. “It is absolutely correct”, Feijóo answered. “You did not do it in 2012, or 2013, or the year 2017”, she replied.
— Le reitero: revise usted los datos.
— Mis datos son correctos, señor FeijóoAsí ha sido el momento en el que el candidato del PP ha exigido a la periodista una rectificación sobre la revalorización de las pensiones. Luego ha tenido que matizar https://t.co/2Fa0lFVbKs pic.twitter.com/W23zaH2v4F
— EL PAÍS (@el_pais) July 17, 2023
“I do not know where you got that. I repeat, we have always revalued pensions in accordance with the CPI, we even raised them a quarter of a point,” Feijóo said.
However, the PP did not revalue pensions according to the CPI. PP Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy reformed the pensions system but raised pensions below the inflation rate, which his ministers have acknowledged in the past.
#FeijooMentiroso (Liar Feijóo) rose quickly on lists of trending topics.
Criticism from adversaries and social media backlash forced Feijóo to rectify his comments, tweeting “the PP never froze pensions, the PSOE did, with [Prime Minister] Sánchez’s vote”, and that his party “raised pensions every year, the PSOE did not”.
Feijóo did not refer to inflation in the tweet.
Como comprometí, aclaro:
Reitero que el @ppopular nunca congeló las pensiones y el PSOE sí, con el voto de Sánchez.
El PP subió las pensiones cada año y el PSOE no.
Hasta cuando lo fácil era congelarlas como lo hizo el PSOE, también las subimos.
— Alberto Núñez Feijóo (@NunezFeijoo) July 17, 2023
Opponents to Feijóo’s left did not miss an opportunity to make political capital from his misstep.
The PSOE released a video with the caption “Stop Lying”.
Lying “is Feijóo’s way of doing politics”, said Yolanda Díaz from progressive-left party Sumar, who at a Pamplona rally also shared data showing the PP did not raise pensions above inflation.
With Spain headed to vote this Sunday, polls predicted a victory for Feijóo, though it remained unclear if he would govern alone or in a coalition.
