When El hormiguero started, one of its first signs of identity was the experiments section. Pablo Motos, his collaborators and even the guests were subjected to tests that brought the tension to the set and to the houses, resulting in priceless television moments. Well, yes: they were paid by Motos and his partner, Jorge Salvador, who never skimped on means and resources. Those of us involved in television production often ask ourselves the same question: how much must this have cost them?
This week El hormiguero, probably without intending to, has proposed the most difficult yet. The program has experimented with an entire country, which at the end of June was paralyzed to watch two interviews with the two politicians competing to be president of the government. The anthill had never taken such a risk.
In a country polarized and confronted by the media as we have rarely seen, Pablo Motos has risked his life. This time yes. All of Spain waiting for your questions. Of his gestures. Of his grimaces. Of his rictus. Because for some time now interviews have not only examined the politician being interviewed, but also the interviewer. In terms of cost, the two programs may have been the cheapest that El hormiguero has made in its entire history. Two unboxed interviews for guests. Point. But Pablo Motos was well aware that these two programs could be very expensive.
From the interviews, only two conclusions. First, a greeting to all those who repeat every day that "TV is over". Television continues to be the only means of communication capable of congregating more audiences in front of a screen at the same moment, at the same time and on the same channel.
Undoubtedly, for Sánchez and Feijóo, going out to El hormiguero will be the most important electoral spot until the face-to-face. For this reason, these could become the elections of El hormiguero, as those of 1993 were those of the debates between Felipe González and José María Aznar; as those of 2004 were those of jihadist attacks, or those of 2015 those of the end of bipartisanship. In these elections there is a before and an after passing through the set of Pablo Motos.
The second conclusion. Another greeting to all those who repeat that there will be little participation. The hook that most programs devoted to politics and the exponential increase in the number of citizens who have requested to vote by mail do not portend that participation will be low, even though July 23 is an unprecedented date for a general election.
I've known Pablo for 25 years, when Juan Ibáñez and Damián Moya still had no idea that they would end up under a table, releasing some plush ants. We were able to enjoy a legendary night at the presentation of the Calabuch awards in Peñíscola.
If I have to tell you anything about the interviews, I will do so personally, especially considering that in this country, apart from a national football manager, we discovered this week that we all also carry inside us an interviewer of candidates for the presidency What a lot of journalists who have never done a television interview in their life but they knew perfectly well the questions that had to be asked and the attitude that they had to have.
What I did feel was envy: I would have loved to interview Feijóo, as I did with Sánchez. But it seems that the Galician wants to hide more than to show himself: now he doesn't want to go to the four-way debate on TVE. That the campaign does not end up being long and that these elections become remembered for the debates with an empty podium.
