Image designed by: Oleg Pfff, король (king) (All rights reserved/ Flickr)
Last 7th of March, US talk show host Oprah Winfrey interviewed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The event put the spotlight on the British Monarchy as several accusations were made against the Crown, including episodes of racism.
This may have sparked a reflection for many, as we wonder about the appropriateness of such Royal institutions in our times.
The world has more monarchies than you may think. Only in Europe, there are ten: Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Liechtenstein, and Monaco.
Their medieval character often leads these institutions into contradictions with the standards of modern societies, generating all sorts of scandals.
The Spanish Monarchy is not an exception.
However, many try to shield the Crown from accountability and an inexorable debate for progress.
Recent scandals in the Spanish Monarchy
In August 2020, ex-king of Spain Juan Carlos I rather discreetly left the country he had reigned over from 1975 to 2014.The Spanish Royal House released a statement explaining the former King had decided to leave the country for an unspecified location due to emerging public repercussions concerning “past events of his private life”.
His whereabouts were confirmed, two weeks after the statement, to be in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). His host in the UAE is crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed, a powerful actor in the Middle East and mentor to Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Bin Salman. The UAE has a history of torturing political dissidents and has taken part in bombings on Yemen. This all makes the UAE a controversial choice for Juan Carlos, not to mention that some of his affairs being investigated are connected to the Arab Peninsula.
Juan Carlos is currently involved in three ongoing court cases, including the possession of accounts in tax havens, hidden funds, and the receipt of illegal commissions for mediating business negotiations in Saudi Arabia. An investigation by Eldiario.es showed that, contrary to what Spanish Vice-President Carmen Calvo had declared, the stay, trips, and wages of assistants accompanying the former King are financed with Spanish public funds. The latest revelation at the end of February came from El Pais, proving Juan Carlos had handed over 4 million € to the Spanish Treasury, having previously paid almost 700,000 € in December 2020. Both amounts were to cover unpaid tax debts, one of which amounts to 8 million euros. The Spanish Supreme Court is currently investigating whether these transactions are “comprehensive and accurate” as required by the Criminal Code.
“If we had asked, the Monarchy could have failed”
The above mentioned affairs are providing momentum for the on and off debate about the Spanish monarchy since the 1970s. From 1975 to 1982, the country was in what is known as the “Transition Period”, when a constitutional monarchy was established following almost 40 years of fascist dictatorship. Before his death in 1975, General Francisco Franco appointed Juan Carlos I as King. A year later, the young Head of State established a provisional government led by Adolfo Suarez, a former Civil Servant under Franco’s regime. In 1977, political parties were legalised and the first elections since 1936 took place. A year later, in 1978, the Parliament passed a new Constitution instating the monarchy, which was ratified by referendum.
Adolfo Suarez confessed, off the record, during a 1995 interview with journalist Victoria Prego that “the monarchy and king were included in the law to avoid consulting the people directly on their prefered state form, since surveys indicated the monarchy could fail.” “This process,” explains journalist Raul Novoa, “was orchestrated by the Fascist elites, to establish the Monarch appointed by Franco as Head of State, ensuring status quo and the ‘amnesia’ (see footnote 1.) surrounding actions committed during the Dictatorship.” Raul works for El Salto Diario, an independent media platform.
As new Parliamentary King, Juan Carlos I soon gained significant popularity. Ander Balanzategi, also from ElSalto Diario, argues that public opinion saw the monarch as the sole guarantor of stability in the country, amid concern about a return to military dictatorship or civil unrest. When the Guardia Civil (Spanish military police) attempted a coup in 1981, Juan Carlos I was presented as essential in its failure and his popular support dramatically increased.
Debate around the monarchy became taboo and was neglected by the political establishment and media, until, points out Ander, “the onset of the 21st century and advent of independent and digital media.”
The Monarchy is not debatable, yet.
Today, however, the debate still isn’t receiving massive attention.
Mainstream media are not interested in opening the debate, explain both Raul and Ander. Investigations like the one carried out by El Pais reveal essential information that could bring the King before the Courts, but rarely address how the affairs may affect the legitimacy of the Spanish Royal House.
Besides the lack of media attention, Raul argues that inaction from the government - led by PSOE- also hinders the debate. Ander explains that PSOE owes much of its popularity to the Monarchy, as Juan Carlos I offered the party great support during its long stay in power from 1982 to 1996. Both (see footnote 2.) times minority coalition Unidas Podemos attempted to open a Parliamentary commission to investigate Juan Carlos’ business activities, PSOE blocked it.
According to Ander and Raul, another reason the debate won’t take off is that since 2015, the most important public research institute in Spain (the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas, or CIS) doesn’t ever ask any questions in their surveys about the monarchy.
Calls for a referendum
Given all the abovementioned, it is unlikely to see Spanish society debating this issue any time soon.
However, it may.
In October 2020, ElSalto Diario, came together with 14 other independent platforms to finance a landmark survey directly questioning people about the monarchy.
The results showed that over 60% of the population thinks a referendum about the desired state form is necessary.
FOOTNOTES
(1) This term has been used in academia to highlight how, during the transition period, political elites agreed to ‘forget’ about past events occurred during the Civil War (1936-39) and the Dictatorship (1939-1975). Today, wounds are still open and problems with the past are unresolved.
(2) The first request submitted on the 13th of January 2021 and the second one on the 5th of march 2021.
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