Feijóo stumbles in Spain's Congress and Sánchez finishes him off

Feijóo's stumble in Congress that Sánchez turned into a humiliation

In politics, a minute of silence can be worth more than an hour of speech. The leader of the opposition found this out live when, in the middle of his remarks about the film to be made about Sánchez's government, he fumbled a word and uttered an unintelligible "A-NO-TOP". The Speaker of Congress cut off his microphone for running over time, and Sánchez wasted no opportunity to mock him, pointing out that he is not a skilled parliamentarian.

A mistake that becomes a symbol of the opposition's weakness

The incident, which took place during a plenary session of Congress, has been read as the image of an opposition with no message and no reflexes. Some argue that the current opposition is a "non-opposition", incapable of casting a shadow over a prime minister who, for all that, convinces no one but the sectarian. In that sense, Sánchez's mockery would be the finishing touch to a session in which the Government's superiority prevailed with barely any resistance.

Theatre or incompetence?

There is no shortage of people who see in this episode a choreographed routine: two parties that need each other to keep the show going, with the citizen as spectator. The theory of political "performance", in which both sides play a role, gains ground when you observe how easily they go from confrontation to applause. But there are also those who point out that Feijóo is not so clumsy in private, and that the mistake may simply be that: a mistake.

To what extent can a simple verbal stumble define the perception of a leader? The question remains open.