Both PP and Socialists celebrate after debate

Faced with the reality of an imminent crushing defeat, the Socialists on Tuesday said they were optimistic over the previous night's prime ministerial debate, calling it a wake-up call for many undecided and abstentionist voters from the left.

The opposition Popular Party (PP), meanwhile, was celebrating the results of various media and independent polls that gave its leader Mariano Rajoy a victory in Monday night's face-off with Socialist Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba.

On a visit to Melilla, Rajoy appeared more relaxed with reporters, and relieved. As Juan José Imbroda, the Melilla PP regional chief said: "It was like he had just beaten [Rubalcaba] up." Buoyed by strong poll showings, the PP had been hesitant about taking part in a debate at all.

The outcome of the face-to-face didn't concern Rubalcaba, who told a group of supporters in Talavera de la Reina, Toledo, that the debate allowed him to tell millions of viewers that the Socialists stand "for one cause."

According to party sources, Rubalcaba's campaign committee believes that many who had planned to boycott the elections, especially on the left, are now geared up to go to the polls.

Some 12 million viewers across Spain watched the face-off ? the only debate between the two candidates this election.

As many were discussing the media's surveys and polls, the PP, announcing a major and controversial undertaking, said that it intends to merge state broadcaster RTVE with the state-news agency EFE to ensure "better organization."

The proposal came as a shock to former EFE chief Alfonso Sobrado, who called it "outrageous." See EDITORIAL Page 2