Yesterday, Partido Popular candidate for the European Parliament Miguel Arias Cañete said of his performance during the previous night's debate against Spanish Socialist Workers' Party's Elena Valenciano on Spanish television's Antena 3 program Espejo Público, "Debating with a woman is complicated. If you demonstrate intellectual superiority or you corner her, it's sexist." 
Cañete went on to say, "If I was debating with Señor Rubalcaba, we can say all kinds of barbaric things, but with a woman it's interpreted differently."   Later on the same program, he said, "With all the provocations from Señora Valenciano, all the demagoguery and populist statements, with all the half truths and lies, if I had been myself I would fear me.  I would have gone for the kill" .  He then went on to admit he is sometimes not politically correct.
Valenciano took to Twitter while the show aired to say, "So? What shall we do?? Remove women from debate??" 
The quote was read live to Cañete, who responded by saying, "For me, it is more difficult, it is harder."   Spanish Socialist Workers' Party boss Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba  responded on Twitter, saying, "Cañete, the machismo of the sore loser." 
Both politicians spent most of the debate focusing on the failings of the other's political party.   Neither politician talked much about corruption, Catalonia or Europe.  The topic of abortion was brought up and discussed by Valenciano, but before Cañete had the chance to respond to her remarks, the debate televiser RTVE cut to commercial.  Partido Popular had supported changes in abortion law that were viewed as controversial, and led to protests by several thousand people claiming the changes encroached on the rights of women.  In the debate, Valenciano said Partido Popular had suspended their efforts to change the law in order to win this election.
The European Parliament elections are scheduled to be held on May 25.

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'Debating with a woman is complicated' says Spanish Partido Popular EU candidate