Description: On October 22, 2026, Pedro Sánchez brought a musical dog-shaped cookie jar to Spain's comedy talk show La Revuelta. The joke goes back to an insult that his own political camp turned into a meme.
The dog was a joke about Sánchez himself. “Perro Sanxe” is an internet spelling of a once-derogatory nickname for the Spanish prime minister. On the October 22 edition of RTVE's La Revuelta, he gave host David Broncano a dog-shaped cookie container, opened it to reveal a “Perro Sanxe” badge, and then wore the badge. Without the backstory, it looks like an eccentric gift. With it, the prop becomes a political in-joke that has travelled from online insults to national television.
What happened on the show?
La Revuelta is a Spanish public-television comedy interview programme, hosted by David Broncano on La 1. Guests traditionally bring gifts; the conversations mix serious questions with absurd digressions. Sánchez appeared ahead of Spain's scheduled November 29 general election. The relevant segment is documented in a separate clip published by RTVE.
His first present was a chessboard, chosen because Broncano enjoys chess. Cast member Ricardo Castella noted that chess is about taking down the king and joked about the headlines that wording might produce. That was wordplay about a board game, not a statement of intent towards Spain's monarchy.
Then came a white dog with a red cape. It was a container for dog treats, not merely a toy. Sánchez explained that he owns dogs and had received a similar object from colleagues. When the lid opened, music played and a badge reading “Perro Sanxe” appeared. The Spanish outlet El Español identified the tune as “Who Let the Dogs Out.” This account uses RTVE's official programme and clip descriptions alongside contemporaneous reporting; it does not claim independent viewing of the entire broadcast.
Where did “Perro Sanxe” come from?
Perro means dog in Spanish; Sanxe deliberately respells Sánchez in internet slang. The nickname began as a put-down used by opponents of the politician. Reports discussing its history point to an old television clip of a child complaining about a ski-area closure, although accounts differ on the exact year and it would be too neat to declare that clip the sole origin.
The more important change occurred during the 2023 election campaign. Online users started reclaiming the nickname as affectionate or ironic shorthand. Sánchez and his Socialist Party (PSOE) adopted the joke themselves, including a World Dog Day post and merchandise such as badges and shirts. The insult did not magically cease to be insulting for everyone; its meaning depended on who said it and why. But by saying it first, its original target gained some control over the punchline.
Why was the 2026 callback effective?
The show layered two gifts with two kinds of humour: a chessboard that sounds politically ominous when described literally, and a musical dog that reveals the prime minister's own reclaimed nickname. A three-year-old campaign meme became a physical object in the studio. The person once mocked as “the dog” now handed out the dog.
The interview drew an average of 4.387 million viewers and a 33.9% audience share in Spain, according to October 23 reporting. Those are figures for the whole broadcast, not views of the dog clip and not evidence that this meme trended globally. The programme also covered substantive political questions, and assessments of the interview varied.
Conclusion
The dog was a self-referential meme gift, not a mysterious symbol or a new nickname invented on the show. Understanding the 2023 reversal explains the laughter in 2026: an insult once thrown at the prime minister came back as a present from the prime minister.
References (7)
- RTVE: full La Revuelta episode, October 22, 2026
- RTVE: official gifts segment
- Infobae: the chessboard and dog gifts, October 22
- El Español: musical dog and badge, October 23
- Euronews: the reclaimed meme's electoral history, 2024
- Infobae: the 2023 meme and merchandise
- Cadena SER: October 23 audience figures
