The King demands serenity in the face of “the thunderous political conflict”

From the Royal Palace – chosen for the second time in his reign for the Christmas message – the King appreciated that “we must never forget those first images of the flood that devastated everything.” For this, in the Hall of Columns –where this year he decorated 19 citizens for the anniversary of his proclamation–, this year the King accompanied a photograph that shows the joint effort of those affected, volunteers and members of the Armed Forces after the devastating consequences of the dana. “We have recognized this solidarity in its purest and most concrete sense day after day in the enormous work of anonymous volunteers and public servants,” the King told the Spaniards, while adding that “we have verified – and understood – the frustration, the pain, the impatience, the demands of greater and more effective coordination of administrations», in what was a clear allusion to the first days after the dana, when he and the Queen accompanied the people of Paiporta in the suffering and pain of the desperation and abandonment they felt on the part of the institutions and Public Administrations after having lost everything.

«All these emotions – those that move and comfort and those that hurt and distress – arise from the same root: the consciousness of the common goodthe expression of the common good, or the demand for the common good,” said the King. In this sense, he appreciated that above “the divergences and disagreements”, in Spanish society “a clear idea of ​​what is appropriate” and “what benefits everyone” prevails. “We have the interest and responsibility to protect and strengthen it,” he stated, while pointing out that this “is something” that he and the Queen have been able to “verify and value even more throughout this decade of reign.” In the only mention in his Christmas message to the 10th anniversary of his proclamation as King, Don Felipe, as head of the Head of State, also endorsed these duties towards society and recalled that “it is the responsibility of all institutions, of all Public Administrations, that this notion of the common good continues to be clearly reflected in any speech or any political decision.

In “this agreement on the essentials”, he addressed other issues “that deserve to be addressed.” As “the climate in which our public debate frequently takes place” and for which “our great reference” must always be the 1978 Constitutioninspired – in “its letter and its spirit” – by the common good: “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 State, are enshrined. Democratic of Law. «The harmony of which it was the fruit continues to be our great foundation», stressed the King. “Cultivating this spirit of consensus is necessary to strengthen our institutions and to maintain the trust of society in them,” he said. In this context, Don Felipe recalled that “a coexistence pact is protected by dialogue”, for which he sent a message to the Government and the opposition parties, to urge them that, above disputes, consensus must prevail: ” It is necessary that the political conflict – legitimate, but sometimes thunderous – does not prevent us from hearing an even more clamorous demand: a demand for serenity.

A serenity that, as the King stated, must be “in the public sphere and in daily life, to face collective or individual and family projects, to prosper, to care for and protect those who need it most.” As a “good example of what we can achieve together,” he recalled the recent reform of article 49 of the Constitution, referring to people with disabilities: “We cannot allow discord to become a constant background noise that prevents us from hearing the authentic pulse of citizenship.

In this need to address the concerns of the Spanish people, Don Felipe referred to “the difficulty in accessing housing”, especially among the youngest and “the most unprotected.” He sued “all the actors involved” that they “reflect” and “listen to each other” so that dialogue “leads them to solutions” that “facilitate access to housing in acceptable conditions”, since “this is the basis for the security and well-being of so many life projects.”

Don Felipe spoke of immigration as “a complex phenomenon with great social sensitivity”, which has become “an everyday reality” and which is an issue that must be addressed because “Without proper management, it can lead to tensions that erode social cohesion.». He also addressed the “growing international instability”: “Spain and the other member states of the European Union must continue to defend, with conviction and firmness, the bases of liberal democracy, the defense of human rights and the achievements in social welfare.” ».

The King concluded his speech – which lasted 15 minutes and 9 seconds– remembering that “Spain is a great country” whose future “lies mainly in our youth”, that “seeks opportunities and overcomes obstacles based on merit and effort” and that “has filled us with pride by coming en masse to give our best of themselves in the streets of the towns affected by dana. And so the King referred again to the catastrophe to require “that aid reach all those who need it.”