European Conferences: where to see the debates starting today | European elections

Two former party leaders, three newcomers and three veterans will enter, four by four, into a television studio, six times over the next two weeks, to present their arguments for the European elections which, in Portugal, will take place on the 9th of June . In an unprecedented model but which was the only consensual one, there will be six debates between the heads of the list of parties with parliamentary seats.

The first debate takes place tonight on SIC and pits Marta Temido (PS), Sebastião Bugalho (AD), João Cotrim Figueiredo (IL) and Francisco Paupério (Livre) face to face. And it will be inevitable that the issues involve more domestic politics than the major themes of Europe’s future – even though it can be said that national problems are a reflection of European affairs.

In a situation of great instability – with a fragile government and a Parliament more divided than ever –, national political life is tense as if it were in a continuous electoral campaign, with all parties showing signs that they are already preparing the next legislative elections. “We are going to win the European Championships so that we can then win Portugal”, said, for example, the secretary general of the PS, Pedro Nuno Santos, when presenting the electoral manifesto for the European Championships.

The fact that the head of the socialist list is a former minister of health could help to “nationalize” the debate, after health was one of the major themes of the campaign for the legislative elections and continues to be one of the right’s favorite subjects – and in particular from IL – to criticize the previous Government.

The debate may heat up, but it should not touch on the European Union’s divisive issues, such as the recognition of Palestine as a state, the creation of a European military force, the sending of troops to Ukraine or how enlargement to new countries will impact on European funds. The growth of the far right and climate issues will be unavoidable, not least because of the impact they have on national political life.

The second debate – between Catarina Martins (BE), Pedro Fidalgo Marques (PAN), Tânger Correia (Chega) and Francisco Paupério (Livre) – will take place on Wednesday on RTP and the third, where the CDU candidate takes the field , João Oliveira, takes place on Friday on TVI, with the rest taking place next week (20th, 21st, 24th and 28th). It was the solution found on the third attempt to respond to the objections that were being raised.

The first model proposed by television stations had 28 debates, which was considered excessive by some parties, arguing that it would affect the electoral campaign. The second model envisaged three debates with all parties with parliamentary seats and one face-to-face between socialists and the AD.

This single duel motivated a wave of protests: the Bloco de Esquerda promised to present a precautionary measure, the PCP asked television stations to find another solution, Livre and PAN also criticized the model and the Liberal Initiative ended up proposing that debates be held on four. This ended up being the winning model, although it was not exempt from criticism.