Economic debate live blogging

Pedro Solbes, the Economic Minister, is debating Manuel Pizarro, former CEO of Endesa electrics, and PP candidate.

Solbes is hitting hard, giving lots of data and explaining it well. Pizarro is trying to go into abstract issues. Solbes should keep it up, go hard on Pizarro, he's twice the man.

Household economy now... the trickiest part for us, let's see.

Solbes presenting data, might need to simplify a bit the discourse, too technical I think. Salaries growing over inflation and attacking PP on the famous 'decretazo' that froze salaries for two years in the early 2000s.
Pizarro now attacking with polling data and the last economic data since the credit crunch...Solbes needs to hit hard in his reply now, this is the most crucial point of the debate!!

Another graph by Solbes, nice little touch, a big bar graph with Spain at the top of GDP growth in the EU.

Solbes turn now...

Great point by Solbes, Pizarro wants polling data, Solbes just hit him with polling data showing Socialists are more trusted to deal with the present crisis. Nice!

30 billion euros would be the cost of the fiscal reform proposed by PP, Solbes is asking Pizarro which cuts are they going to make to pay for it.

Pizarro is going nuclear now, saying they will cut the money from the negotiation with terrorists! PP's classical strategy, no solution then demagogy.

Solbes just called Pizarro a demagogue, read my mind. He's attacking Pizarro on housing policy because PP proposes to scrap the housing ministry, bad call by PP, housing is a key issue these days with young people in Spain. And they get to vote...

Solbes on a great Socialist policy, pensions gone up and he's showing graphics on live prime time TV, classic! Pizarro's face has just gone pale.

Solbes has just shown the cover of conservative El Mundo newspaper from 1994 where Pizarro defends the privatisation of the pension scheme. Ouch!

Pizarro is not coming out well... going back on the apparent lack of trust on PSOE to run the economy, which polls show isn't true. He goes back to macroeconomic data showing a slowdown in the past months because of the global credit crunch. That's not a good strategy when you talk about household economy, one should stick to easy examples people can relate to. I'd say Pizarro 0 Solbes 1 so far in the debate.

Little break on the debate, the moderator in his concluding remarks has mentioned 'the scrapping of a ministry', little nice hiccup that leaves viewers with the image of PP scrapping PSOE's popular housing policy.

Debate back again with next block of questions, electoral proposals...

Pizarro is far too liberal for the Spanish electorate, I'm pretty liberal but I know my co-citizens aren't there yet.

Pizarro has first defended the fight against climate change and is now talking about keeping coal as a source of energy!! nice shot at the marginals in Asturias, big mining region in northern Spain.

R+D investment under PP was 0.5%, Solbes mentions how he has put it up to 1.5% and pledging up to European standards in the next four years. Solbes now going into education policy and how is dependent on regional governments and PP regions are bottom of the table.

84 bilion euros spent on infrastructure under the Socialist Government, the same amount as all the cohesion funds ever received by Spain from the EU since its inclusion.

Pizarro is showing graphs as well now, quick aides during the break.

Solbes showing Socialists policies on gender equality and the new dependency law. Two popular policies with the women vote.

Solbes back to housing, good issue for us.

Closing statements...

Pizarro's closing statement on the current crisis as PSOE's fault. Also how PSOE has been creating political division and partisan economic institutions. Not very good I would say.

Solbes talking about how Spain is best prepared to face the current crisis. He's proposing a choice of vote, pessimism versus optimism. Solbes going on his record, healthy public finances and high social spending on competitiveness. PP, he points out, tax cuts and social spending cuts. Solbes points out how he has always worked in the public sector serving the country unlike his opponent.

The debate is finished... Antena 3 is producing a poll in 40 minutes but I feel Solbes has won big time. Solbes 4 - Pizarro 1, in no single issue Pizarro has won. Talking heads in Onda Cero radio, conservative radio station, are spinning for PP but I think people will see through the smoke screen. Nevertheless they are saying Solbes has won.

These talking heads are shameless, outrageous spinning, not a single Socialist on the after-debate commentary. They are even defending demagogy as a campaign technique! Voters will definitely see through, let's see the poll though.