The public exposure and the absence of explanations for the filed cases further cloud the political environment
Far from contributing to a normalization of the scenario after the filing of the investigations into his fortune, the return of the emeritus king to Spain has further clouded the political environment. The sought-after public exposure of him in Sanxenxo has neutralized the plans of the Royal House and the Government so that “discretion” would guide the visit and not disrupt efforts to separate his behavior from the monarchical institution. And, at the same time, his refusal to apologize or even give explanations for the accredited tax irregularities despite his inviolability has stirred up broad political sectors, especially on the left and even in the Executive itself.
His first stay on Spanish soil after almost two years of voluntary exile in Abu Dhabi, where he will return tomorrow after meeting with Felipe VI in Zarzuela, has certified that the situation is not yet mature. Although he was received with cheers and applause by hundreds of onlookers in the Pontevedra town, the truth is that his visit has caused deep institutional discomfort to the point that the Royal House has reduced the expected meeting with his son to a private act. Juan Carlos I, on the other hand, has ignored the commotion and has striven to exhibit a normality typical of the times in which justice had not yet put a magnifying glass on his heritage.
Images that, in the eyes of prominent political representatives, have become almost a display of “impunity” by a former head of state. “All of Spain knows that this person is a thief, he is an accredited criminal,” Alberto Garzón said this Saturday. The Minister of Consumption, always critical of the Monarchy, observes in the visit “a clear expression of the impunity” with which he would have been acting, although he also recognized that the emeritus can do what he wants in his private life: “I, honestly , I’m not going to assess if he wants to do regattas, see his son, walk with kittens… I don’t care, it’s the private sphere and you have to respect it».
The socialist wing of the Government tries to play down the trip and denies, at least in public, any irritation with the emeritus’s agenda. “What does bother us,” countered Miquel Iceta, “is that the explanations that citizens deserve are not given.” As other PSOE ministers and also Vice President Yolanda Díaz have been doing, the head of Culture and Sports wanted to focus on the public responsibility of Juan Carlos I, who in his opinion “has disappointed the trust of many people” for more that Justice, “an independent power that we all have to respect”, has filed the cases for its inviolability and the prescription of possible crimes.
We can implicate Felipe VI
In Moncloa there is fear that the commotion will disrupt the Monarchy’s modernization campaign and that it will drag down his son, whose figure is to be shielded with signs of transparency such as the publication of his personal assets and the decree on the functioning of the Royal House approved a month ago. But the coalition’s minority partner, Podemos, does not make it easy. The secretary of Organization, Lilith Verstrynge, linked this Saturday the behavior of Juan Carlos I to his son: “In our country there are two kings and neither of them is accountable to the citizens. He is not the king, it is the monarchical structure».
The PSOE, on the other hand, differs from its ally in the Executive and tries to build a containment dam with respect to Felipe VI so that his image is not damaged. The deputy secretary general, Adriana Lastra, reiterated this Saturday the socialist “support” for the monarchical institution and said that in Ferraz they feel “very proud of the current head of state, of his transparency, exemplary character and accountability.” In any case, Pedro Sánchez’s number two in the match assumed that the king emeritus still owes an explanation to the Spanish “about everything that has happened.”
The reactions
-
Alberto Garzon
“All of Spain knows that this person is a thief, he is an accredited criminal” -
miquel iceta
“What bothers is that the explanations that citizens deserve are not given” -
Jose Antonio Bermudez de Castro
“He is a Spanish citizen with no pending cause, you have to see him normally”
Some duties that do not share in the right. PP, Vox and Ciudadanos, the latter with nuances when noting “deplorable” behavior, do not believe that the former monarch has to clarify anything. “He is a Spanish citizen without any pending cause, it must be seen as normal that he can be in Spain,” said the popular José Antonio Bermúdez de Castro. The president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, even wished him “the best” on his return. Meanwhile, Alberto Núñez Feijóo remains in the background about the visit to his homeland, although he has already been “absolutely in favor” of its taking place and denounced an attempt to “erode” the Crown by the Government.
Topics
Alberto Garzón, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, Felipe VI King of Spain, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, Miquel Iceta, Pedro Sánchez, Yolanda Díaz, Casa Real, PP Popular Party, PSOE Spanish Socialist Workers Party, Podemos, Vox, Spain, Zarzuela
#commotion #trip #king #emeritus #fractures #Government #parties