New Spain generation in mind as king abdicates to revive monarchy
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NEW Spain generation in mind as king abdicates to revive monarchy
Spain’s King Juan Carlos said yesterday he would abdicate in favor of his son Prince Felipe, aiming to revive the scandal-hit monarchy at a time of economic hardship and growing discontent with the wider political elite.
“A new generation is quite rightly demanding to take the lead role,” Juan Carlos, 76, said on television, hours after a surprise announcement from Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy that the monarch would step down after almost 40 years on the throne.
The once popular Juan Carlos, who helped smooth Spain’s transition to democracy in the 1970s after the Francisco Franco dictatorship, seemed increasingly out of touch in recent years.
He took a secret luxury elephant-hunting trip to Botswana in 2012, a time when one in four Spanish workers was jobless and the government teetered on the brink of default.
A corruption scandal in the family and his visible infirmity after repeated surgery in recent years have also eroded public support. Polls show greater support for the low-key Felipe, 46, who has not been tarnished by the corruption allegations.
The king’s younger daughter, Princess Cristina, and her husband, Inaki Urdangarin, are under investigation and a judge is expected to decide soon whether to put Urdangarin on trial on charges of embezzling 6 million euros (US$8.16 million) in public funds through his charity. He and Cristina deny wrongdoing.
The king, who walks with a cane after multiple hip operations and struggled to speak clearly during an important speech earlier this year, is stepping down for personal reasons, Rajoy said.
But a source at the royal palace said the abdication was for political reasons. The source said the king decided in January to step down, but delayed the announcement until after the European Union election on May 25.
Political analysts said the ruling conservative People’s Party was eager to put the more popular Felipe on the throne to try to combat increasingly anti-monarchist sentiment, after small leftist and anti-establishment parties did surprisingly well in the election.
Long recession
The country is just pulling out of a long recession that dented faith in politicians, the royal family and other institutions. The PP and the Socialists, which have dominated politics since the return to democracy, are committed to the monarchy, but they polled less than 50 percent between them in the recent election.
Smaller leftist parties Podemos, United Left and Equo green party, which together took 20 percent in the European vote, all called yesterday for a referendum on the monarchy.
“People are calling for political regeneration, a change in the institutional functioning of the state after around 40 years of democracy, and they’ve started with the royals,” said Jordi Rodriguez Virgili, professor of political communication at Navarra University.
Spain does not have a precise law regulating abdication and succession. Rajoy’s cabinet was scheduled to have an extraordinary meeting today to set out the steps for Prince Felipe to take over as Felipe VI. The transition will likely be accomplished by passing a law through parliament, where the PP has an absolute majority.
“We’ve been hearing continuously over the last few months on the necessity for deep change. The feeling is that the European elections have been a turning point and I believe the decision has been made in this context," said Rafael Rubio, constitutional expert at Madrid’s Complutense University.
Juan Carlos will be the second European monarch to abdicate in just over a year. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands stepped down in April 2013 to make way for her son Willem-Alexander.
Felipe married divorced journalist Leticia Ortiz in 2004 and they have two daughters.
The prince was in Spain yesterday but had no official events planned until today when he is to appear with the king at the El Escorial monastery and former royal palace.
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