Feijóo's Failed Investiture Turns Into Personal Attack

Óscar Puente turns Feijóo's investiture into a personal vendetta

The investiture debate of Alberto Núñez Feijóo ended before it truly began. With 137 PP deputies, 33 from Vox, and two from minor parties, the Popular Party candidate fell short of the absolute majority needed to oust Pedro Sánchez from La Moncloa. The session, which started at noon and lasted over nine hours, confirmed what was already known: there were no numbers. What nobody expected was the spectacle staged by former Valladolid mayor Óscar Puente, tasked with the Socialist rebuttal.

Puente did not go to debate. He went to destroy. His intervention, a chain of jokes, imitations, and jabs, turned the hemicycle into a neighborhood comedy stage. The scene left an unforgettable image: the Popular Party candidate sitting, listening as he was repeatedly reminded he would not govern. "Mr. Sánchez, you asked me for six debates during the electoral campaign, and now you can't even do the second one?" Feijóo said in his counter-rebuttal, according to forum comments. The reality is that the damage had already been done.

The 'review' that outraged even allies

Puente's intervention generated an unexpected reaction: vicarious embarrassment within his own political space. It wasn't just the right who put their hands on their heads. Voices usually critical of the PP described the speech as "vulgar, low-brow, chaining easy jokes one after another like a crude aspiring stand-up comedian." The reproach was not political, but aesthetic. "Even insulting requires style, something the Valladolid deputy lacks," another comment stated.

The underlying argument was simple: if your entire defense is limited to "too bad, you're not going to govern," we are in trouble. The most repeated criticism pointed out that Puente did not dismantle Feijóo's program, did not refute his figures, and did not address the substance of any proposal. He simply humiliated his rival. And in politics, that has a cost. The scene of the former mayor screaming and crying after suffering a quadriceps tear while inaugurating a project became a recurring meme to ridicule him. Spanish politics is no longer decided by programs, but by clips.

The CV Puente didn't want to remember

The Socialist rebuttal quickly turned toward Puente's own past. The accusations were direct: he was linked to alleged assets in the Andorran bank Sarracena, with a million-euro account whose origin, according to published reports, could not be explained by his salary. The episode of the €200,000 Mercedes he used, allegedly loaned by a company that received municipal contracts during his time as mayor, was also recalled. And mention was made of the companion traveling with him, a 20-year-old woman, while his vvife found out via social media.

None of these accusations have been firmly proven. They are mostly information published by media and replicated without independent verification. But the fruta damage is real. "A thief calling someone else a thief," summarized a comment. The paradox is evident: the person tasked with delivering the harshest rebuttal against PP corruption carries a CV that makes him the least suitable messenger. Spanish politics has these things.

The amnesty Puente refused to mention

The most uncomfortable moment came with the amnesty issue. In his speech, Puente had attacked Carles Puigdemont: "He is an irresponsible politician. You cannot make governance depend on independentist parties. Stop putting on this show already." Minutes later, the same Puente hinted that the PSOE "will evaluate the amnesty when the time comes." The contradiction hung in the air. The opposition was quick to point it out: a party promising not to depend on separatists while simultaneously opening the door to granting them amnesty.

This episode summarizes the internal tension facing the PSOE. Feijóo's failed investiture was not just a parliamentary formality; it was the prelude to a much more complex negotiation. And Puente, with his verbosity, put on the table the debate the party preferred to keep buried. The amnesty was not voted on, but it was named. And in politics, that is half the battle.

The result: 172 votes and a legislature yet to be written

The PP bloc gathered 172 votes in the investiture, insufficient for an absolute majority. The second vote, requiring a simple majority, would also not grant him the presidency. Feijóo displayed his loneliness in a session destined for failure. The 137 deputies of his party, the 33 from Vox, and the two from UPN and Coalición Canaria were not enough. The arithmetic was stubborn.

Meanwhile, the PSOE celebrated the spectacle. "Pedro, warm up, you're coming out," a comment summarized. Feijóo's investiture became a sort of anticipated election campaign, with Puente as the battering ram and Sánchez as the beneficiary. The question remaining in the air is whether the Puente style—closer to insult than argument—is sustainable in the long term. Spanish politics has entered a dynamic where the headline is worth more than the proposal. And in the long run, that takes its toll.

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Key Data

• Feijóo gathered 137 PP deputies, 33 from Vox, and 2 from UPN and Coalición Canaria.
• The investiture session lasted more than nine hours.
• Puente mentioned an alleged million-euro account in Sarracena.
• The Mercedes used by Puente was valued at €200,000.
• The former mayor's companion was 20 years old.