On the morning of Wednesday, October 8, two heavyweight journalists from the same Antena 3 TV channel faced off live on air. Vicente Vallés, host of the network’s most influential news broadcast, visited the morning show “Espejo público” hosted by his colleague Susanna Griso. The occasion was the release of his new book, but the literary conversation never began. Instead, Griso seized the moment to steer the discussion straight into high politics, leading to a sharp yet civil exchange of words.
The show’s host shared her view—which she believes Vallés would agree with—that the executive branch skillfully shapes a narrative to its own advantage, leaving the media little choice but to follow that lead. She listed several recent headline topics—from the situation in Gaza and the recognition of Palestine to debates over abortion and renewed focus on the figure of Franco. In her opinion, these are all calculated moves intended to rally the left-wing electorate and distract attention from pressing problems.
Valles, maintaining his trademark composure, presented a completely different perspective on the situation. He argued that criticizing Moncloa for using timely and resonant topics is pointless—this is the essence of political struggle. Instead of criticizing the government, he suggested looking at the issue from another angle. The journalist shifted the focus to the political opponents of those in power, raising a rhetorical question about their ability to propose and, more importantly, to impose their own agenda on society, one that would truly interest their electorate.
As an example, he cited the Middle Eastern conflict. Valles noted that the government demonstrated top-level political skill, managing to shift the discussion onto linguistic grounds—debates about whether the events can be called genocide. This maneuver allowed them to completely outplay the opposition on this field. He said plainly: «Moncloa acted very skillfully, and the opposition—not so much». He also criticized the People’s Party for their missteps, particularly for supporting Vox’s abortion initiative in Madrid. Valles described this move as “shooting themselves in the foot,” as it was absolutely unnecessary to maintain Mayor Almeida’s hold on power.
In conclusion, the journalist once again emphasized that politics is essentially about capitalizing on issues that work to one’s advantage. True skill lies not in the choice of topics themselves, but in the finesse with which they are handled. Thus, two perspectives collided: Griso’s critical view, concerned with manipulation of public opinion, and Vallés’s pragmatic analysis, focused on professionalism and the competence of political actors. And although the host ended the conversation with a smile, it was clear that the guest’s cold logic had completely disarmed her main argument.
