Official Spain rewards Felipe VI with the same passion that it dedicated to Juan Carlos

Few things reveal as much difference between official Spain and real Spain as the monarchy. The political system has no doubts. 293 deputies belong to parties that support it. 57 are part of critical parties or that identify as republican. This imbalance is also repeated in the media. Televisions do not stop offering images of the king taking care of his affairs, nothing spectacular, but it is what the Constitution establishes.

In these days, which marks the tenth anniversary of the ascension of Felipe VI to the throne – a piece of furniture historically related to the monarchy, but which has fallen into disuse – it has been read that the king “has an overwhelming affection popular”. That is debatable or almost false if we stick to the survey published a few days ago in El Mundo. The thing is that, although the establishment insists that the debate on monarchy and republic is closed, people cannot help but have their own opinion on the matter, which is quite normal in a democracy.

The official verdict is conclusive. Felipe VI has managed to improve the reputation of the institution that had been seriously damaged by the behavior of Juan Carlos I. Curiously, some of those who defend this interpretation never dared to affirm in public that the previous king was a disaster. In fact, they also maintained that the people passionately supported the father of the current monarch.

The abdication was an emergency solution to save the monarchy, or at least that was thought at the time, because it was later learned that Juan Carlos had thought about it for a long time, because He refused to accept that the Spaniards rejected his behavior, evidenced by his eventful trip to Zimbabwe with Corinna Larsen and the photo of the elephant. Her adulation and personality had isolated him from reality. The political system was no longer in a position to hide her personal misdeeds, including tax crimes.

The Sigma 2 survey for El Mundo indicates that Not all the population believes that the king has achieved erase that stain completely in this decade. When asked if they believe that “the institution is now in a better situation than in 2014”, and it couldn’t be worse then, 47.9% say that it is much or quite a bit better. Those who think little or nothing are 43.5%. The difference is not very big.

In surveys, sometimes the same question is asked twice to see if a different formulation gives a different answer. Well, not even for those. 47.4% believe that Felipe VI has managed to “renew the monarchy.” 45.1% think otherwise. The difference is less than the poll’s margin of error. It’s like passing an exam with a bare five.

There is always the option of raising the question with examples that suggest that certain decisions have been correct and also fruitful. He wonders if measures such as withdrawing “the financial allowance” from his father have served to regenerate the image of the Crown. Only 22.5% believe this, while 32.8% rule it out. 39.1% value this decision as positive, but consider it insufficient, which is something you will not read in most of the media. That is probably the highest praise that has been heard these days among politicians who support the king.

The example is very relevant. Beyond all the legal tricks carried out to prevent Juan Carlos from being prosecuted – they always say that with strict respect for the rule of law, more would be missing – his reputation was plunged into misery when Felipe withdrew the annual official funds that corresponded to him and waived the amounts he could receive in the event of an inheritance for the money hidden abroad.

It was a recognition that the previous monarch had a fortune abroad, which could only have been obtained outside the law, and therefore did not need to receive more money from the General State Budgets.

No matter how much right-wing politicians and media try to highlight his role in the Transition, Juan Carlos’s image is irrecoverable. After his first visit to Spain in two years, 64% of Spaniards disapproved his performance, according to a 2022 Metroscopia survey. The data gave him one of the best pieces of advice that Felipe VI could receive: just not being like his father will benefit him. Not cheating on his wife, not receiving 100 million in Saudi money and hiding it from the treasury, not giving 65 million to his mistress to keep for herself… that kind of thing.

But anyway, there are politicians on the right who, to exonerate him, say that we all make mistakes.

Surveys carried out by the media usually confirm something almost obvious. The debate about monarchy or republic will always be present in Spain, because it is part of the country’s history and because the last republic was destroyed by a coup d’état and a dictatorship. A survey by this newspaper from 2023 shows that 51% of people want a referendum on the monarchy, compared to 43.2% who oppose it.

As with any institution, citizens have the right to give their opinion on the functioning of the Royal House and make it known. The monarchy is not running for election, so the only option left is polls. The CIS has not included it in its studies since 2015 and everyone is aware that it is due to the fear that the results will not live up to the endless praise that official Spain dedicates to the king.

Everything remains under a certain level of mystery. On the one hand, the monarchy is limited to intervene in public and thereby improve its image. You cannot take a position on political issues if you want to represent all Spaniards, even those who do not want to be. Otherwise, it cannot be a symbol of unity. In that sense, it is a success that at Wednesday’s anniversary events, decorations were awarded to 19 citizens representing civil society. Among them, a veterinarian, a restaurateur, an engineer, a bagpiper or the director of an association that helps sexually exploited women. A small representation of real Spain.

However, the 21st century demands something more in terms of transparency. Public communication policy continues to be archaic, as demonstrated the dissemination of some photos of the monarch this weekend. That’s almost more incompetence than secrecy.

“The most intimate Felipe VI,” said a newspaper. What a strange idea of ​​intimacy. He was only seen in the office standing or sitting, sometimes with a perplexed expression that certainly did not reflect modernity in any way. The inability to look for a different scenario showed that they had not cared much, that it was just an annoying procedure that had to be gotten rid of or that they simply did not know how to do it better. It seems that in Zarzuela they are unaware that Felipe always looks better in the photos accompanied by the queen and her daughters. He even smiles.

“It is the image that the King has always wanted to offer, that of the monarch prepared, educated for the role and present in public life,” wrote El Independiente with the kind of servility that characterizes the courtly press. The same attitude that was given to Juan Carlos and that in some way is at the origin of the impunity with which he acted. There are people who are obsessed with repeating the mistakes of the past.