Feijóo wins Spain's general election TV debate against prime minister Sánchez

Spain’s acting prime minister and socialist leader, Pedro Sánchez, and the leader of Partido Popular, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, went head-to-head in a tense pre-election debate on live TV on Monday night, just two weeks before the country goes to the polls.

The latest polls forecast the opposition leader’s center-right Partido Popular will win the election, but Sánchez has been closing the gap in recent weeks, raising the stakes ahead of the ballot on 23 July.

The pair tore into each other on a range of topics, but it was Feijóo who went on the attack right from the onset on 10 July and came out as the winner of the heated duel.

He attacked Sanchez over PSOE's pacts with the Catalan independence movement, and the Basque separatist party EH Bildu - linked to the now-defunct terrorist group ETA - for votes to pass laws. Feijóo said a prime minister with those kind of partners in parliament had “no right to give lessons on governing pacts.”

Sánchez criticised Feijóo for his dealings with the far-right Vox, which wants to roll back gender equality legislation and LGBT rights across Spain, and with which the Partido Popular now governs in over 140 cities and in regions like Valencia, Extremadura and the Balearic Islands."He has gone from 'Superglue' to 'SuperVox' to unite Spain," Sánchez said.

'Only yes is yes'

The candidates debated economic issues, where Sánchez spoke about his government creating two million jobs, containing inflation and implementing social measures such as the increase in the minimum wage.

The pair traded accusations, criticising one another for "not having a clue". The 'only yes is yes' law led Feijóo to blame Sánchez for "107 rapists who are on the street", while the prime minister blamed the opposition leader for a rise in machismo.