King Felipe VI has made a clear defense of “dialogue”, “consensus” and “serenity” in politics to “work for the common good”, which is, in fact, the central motto on which his entire Christmas message this year has revolved to face the challenges that Spain faces and, above all, to address the management of the “terrible” DANA from last fall. This tragedy, the problems of access to housing, the migration phenomenon or the turbulent international scene have been the axes of the monarch’s speech and in which he believes dialogue is more necessary than ever in the face of a “political conflict” that, although “legitimate “, he considers that at times it is “thunderous.”
In his eleventh Christmas message, and the second he has delivered from the Royal Palace, the head of state has called for the political discussion “not to prevent us from hearing an even more clamorous demand: a demand for serenity”, both in the ” public sphere” as well as in “daily life”, with the aim of “facing collective, individual and family projects, to prosper, to care for and protect those who need it most.” “We cannot allow discord to become constant background noise that prevents us from hearing the authentic pulse of the citizens,” he stated.
As an example of this dialogue and consensus that calls for the political class, Felipe VI has given the example of the reform of article 49 of the Constitution – referring to people with disabilities. As he has been doing in all his Christmas messages, the king considers that the Magna Carta is the “great reference in Spain” And that agreement that made the constitutional text come to light is what we must focus on today as well.
Working for the common good is preserving the great pact of coexistence where our democracy is affirmed.
“Working for the common good is precisely preserving the great pact of coexistence where our democracy is affirmed and our rights and freedoms, pillars of our social and democratic State of law, are enshrined. Despite the time that has passed, the harmony of which it was the fruit continues to be our great foundation. Cultivating this spirit of consensus is necessary to strengthen our institutions and to maintain the trust of the entire society in them,” he stressed.
And this “coexistence pact”, he noted in a speech lasting just over fifteen minutes, “is protected by dialogue”, a dialogue that must be carried out “with height and generosity”which is what “must nourish the definition of the common will and action of the State.”
Felipe VI began his speech by remembering the DANA of last October and expressed all his “respect” to the people who died and those who are still missing due to the floods, which caused “thousands of people” to see “how what even Not long ago it was your town, your neighborhood, your work, your home, your business, your school, They were reduced to rubble and even disappeared.“.
The monarch does not forget the images of “the flood that devastated everything, the rescues of people”, to those who “opened their homes to welcome the most vulnerable, opposing the overwhelming force of the water and mud to the solidarity and humanity”. And also makes a special mention to neighbors, volunteers, Civil Protection teams, firefighters, security forces, Armed Forces, NGOs and companies who organized collections and donations for all the “help and collaboration” that is “promoting that, little by little, the more than 800,000 affected people gradually recover a certain degree of normality in their lives,” and that “the medium and long term remain equally attended to really ensure recovery.
It is the responsibility of all Public Administrations that the notion of the common good continues to be clearly reflected.
All this solidarity, said the Head of State, has been seen “day after day in the enormous work of anonymous volunteers and public servants”, but it has also “verified—and understood—the frustration, the pain, the impatience, the demands for greater and more effective coordination of administrations“.
In the part dedicated to DANA is when the king pronounced the words “common good” for the first time, an expression that he repeated up to seven times during the Christmas message and on which his entire dissertation revolved. And, as he stressed, all the emotions seen as a result of the tragedy experienced especially in Valencia, “those that move and comfort and those that hurt and distress”, arise from “the same root: the awareness of the common good, the expression of the common good or the demand for the common good.”
Thus, the head of state has asked that “the solidarity that has united us in the most difficult moments continues to be present in every gesture, in every action, in every decision”, and also that “help reaches everyone who needs it”because “the sooner” it happens, the more the “sense of community” and the “sense of country” can be reinforced.
The sooner the aid arrives, the more the sense of community and the sense of country can be strengthened.
“Above the possible divergences and disagreements, a clear idea prevails in Spanish society of what is appropriate, of what benefits everyone and that, therefore, we have the interest and responsibility to protect and reinforce it. It is the responsibility of all institutions, of all Public Administrations, that this notion of the common good continues to be reflected clearly. in any speech or any political decision. Consensus around what is essential, not only as a result, but also as a constant practice, must always guide the public sphere. Not to avoid the diversity of opinions, legitimate and necessary in democracy, but to prevent this diversity from leading to the denial of the existence of a shared space,” he said. In this “agreement on the essentials” it is, in his opinion, of the monarch, from where it is necessary to “address the issues that concern and that affect collective life.”
Among these issues, Felipe VI makes special mention of the migratory phenomenon, without which “present societies could not be understood.” But although it is an “everyday reality”, the king also highlights that “migrations can lead, without adequate management, to tensions that erode social cohesion.” For this reason, he has highlighted that the “integration effort that corresponds to allrespect for the laws and basic norms of coexistence and civility, and the recognition of the dignity that every human being deserves are the pillars” that must guide when addressing this issue. “The way in which we are able to address immigration, which also requires good coordination with our European partners as well as with the countries of origin and transit, will say a lot in the future about our principles and the quality of our democracy“, he pointed out.
The effort to integrate immigrants corresponds to everyone
Next, the monarch gave way to the problem of access to housing, an issue that worries “especially the youngest” and for which “it is important that all the actors involved reflect, listen to each other, examine the different options and that this dialogue leads to solutions that facilitate access to housing in acceptable conditionsespecially for the youngest and most unprotected, since this is the basis for the security and well-being of so many life projects.”
Felipe VI also did not want to ignore the “increasingly complex and changing, and even convulsive, external scenario.” In this context, he regretted that “too often international law is questioned, violence is resorted to, the universality of human rights is denied or multilateralism is called into question to face the global challenges of our time, such as climate and environmental crises, pandemics, the energy transition or trade and the scarcity of natural resources.” In fact, it warns that in the In recent times we have witnessed speeches that discuss “the very validity of democracy as a system of government.”
Housing is the basis for the security and well-being of so many life projects.
In this sense, he considers that “Spain and the other EU member states” must “continue to defend with conviction and firmness the bases of liberal democracy, the defense of human rights and the achievements in social welfare on which our great political project is based.” “Because Europe is an essential part of our shared identity, of the legacy that we owe to future generations,” he highlighted.
And the future, Felipe VI has highlighted, “lies mainly in the youth”, those young people who “seek opportunities and overcome obstacles based on merit and effort”, and who have also “been filled with pride” by their massive response “to give their best on the streets of the towns affected by DANA“.
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