Rufián and Montero strike a deal on Broncano's sex scoring system

Rufián and Montero strike a deal on TV that they never struck at the ballot box

The paradox is striking. Two politicians who failed to reach an agreement to run together in the November 29 election sat down the night before on the same TV set to close, with no red lines and no vetoes, a consensus that politics had denied them: how many points oral sens should score in the classic questions on La Revuelta. Gabriel Rufián and Irene Montero did talk about housing, left-wing unity and electoral pacts. They ended up reforming David Broncano's sens scoring system. There, at least, they had a common program.

From the Congress briefcase to the dog leash

It began with gifts. Broncano asked for "gold, frankincense and myrrh" and received a briefcase from the Spanish Congress with the Constitution inside, olive oil from Jaén, an alarm clock for Abascal —with the message that "the Spain that gets up early, my ass"— and a photo of Pablo Casado for Feijóo. Montero added knee pads for Abascal and Feijóo, whom she accused of kneeling before Trump and Netanyahu. There was also a leash for the dog that Sánchez had symbolically given the host: if he wanted rents to come down, he would have to keep the prime minister on a tight leash.

The metaphor had a lot going for it and fell halfway short. Because the underlying message was that the PSOE (Spain's Socialist Party) is the dog that needs to be held, subdued and controlled. The unanswered question is who holds the leash.

Why the left did not run united on November 29

Broncano asked where it had all gone wrong. Montero said they had tried everything, even holding primaries, and pointed to differences over pacts with the PSOE. Rufián explained that his intention was never to bring everyone under the Socialist umbrella, but to offer an alternative to those who did not want to vote for the PSOE. Both insisted that adding up votes mattered, each on their own. They had gone together to a TV set to explain why they could not go together to an election.

The question Broncano never lands

The host fires off the question, senses the sustancia ilegal and moves on. With Sánchez he had seemed like a whirlwind incapable of listening; with Rufián and Montero he let them talk more, though the result was not brilliant either. The guests came with rehearsed messages and carefully measured rapport. Rufián brushed off the question about sens and racism with "it's a shitty question." Montero reflected on those men who boast about being deconstructed and turn out to be questionable allies. Then came the money: Rufián declared around 40,000 euros, more than the previous year thanks to publishing a book; Montero gave no figure.

The sens scoring system as a political program

And then the sens. Montero wanted to know how many points oral sens scored and Broncano explained his rating system. That was the end of normality and the start of the orgy of consensus. While rent is eating the younger generation alive, the left finally found common ground with no vetoes. The leash detail defines the rest: a PSOE that people want to tie down, a left that won't tie itself to anything even with cable, and a host who presides over the only negotiation that got anywhere.

How long will it take for that sensual consensus to translate into something people can actually vote for?