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| New King or, Spaniards Ask, Is It Time for No King? | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| MADRID — There is no doubt that King Juan Carlos played an essential role in ushering Spain toward democracy, and later remained a respected voice that could speak for his nation abroad while also providing a necessary balm at critical moments to heal old wounds and mediate disputes at home from above the political fray. | |
| Yet almost four decades into the country’s democratic journey, his announcement on Monday that he would abdicate in favor of his son Felipe, 46, immediately raised the question of whether Spain needed a monarchy at all. Only hours after the king addressed the nation, thousands of Spaniards took to the streets of Madrid, Barcelona and other cities to demand a referendum on whether to maintain the institution. | |
| Those who might actually vote to abolish the monarchy are probably a vocal minority. Even so, just under 50 percent of Spaniards said they supported the monarchy, according to an opinion poll published in January by conservative newspaper El Mundo and carried out by Sigma Dos. | |
| Those divided feelings reflect the challenge that even a king from a new generation will face in rehabilitating an institution whose approval ratings were badly eroded by recent family money scandals and by questions about the high living of the 76-year-old king at a time when Spaniards were suffering through the worst economy in generations. | Those divided feelings reflect the challenge that even a king from a new generation will face in rehabilitating an institution whose approval ratings were badly eroded by recent family money scandals and by questions about the high living of the 76-year-old king at a time when Spaniards were suffering through the worst economy in generations. |
| Some argue that Juan Carlos may have preserved the monarchy by stepping aside, however belatedly. | Some argue that Juan Carlos may have preserved the monarchy by stepping aside, however belatedly. |
| Felipe’s coronation should “absolutely help decrease anti-monarchy feelings in this country,” said José Antonio Zarzalejos, a political columnist and former editor in chief of the conservative newspaper ABC, who is an ardent supporter of the monarchy. “The Republican movement would have got stronger if King Juan Carlos had insisted that he should hold on, but we’re now talking about a new king who comes with an absolutely clean trajectory and is in tune with the issues of our time.” | Felipe’s coronation should “absolutely help decrease anti-monarchy feelings in this country,” said José Antonio Zarzalejos, a political columnist and former editor in chief of the conservative newspaper ABC, who is an ardent supporter of the monarchy. “The Republican movement would have got stronger if King Juan Carlos had insisted that he should hold on, but we’re now talking about a new king who comes with an absolutely clean trajectory and is in tune with the issues of our time.” |
| Even so, the king’s recent problems have gone well beyond age and health issues, touching on the increasingly raw nerves over the sense of privilege that has insulated Spain’s elites from the pains of austerity as the income gap widens. Primary among the king’s problems was a court investigation into whether his son-in-law, Iñaki Urdangarin, embezzled millions from sports events. | Even so, the king’s recent problems have gone well beyond age and health issues, touching on the increasingly raw nerves over the sense of privilege that has insulated Spain’s elites from the pains of austerity as the income gap widens. Primary among the king’s problems was a court investigation into whether his son-in-law, Iñaki Urdangarin, embezzled millions from sports events. |
| Writing in El Mundo, Jorge de Esteban, president of the newspaper’s editorial board, said that “the abdication would have been more sensible three or four years ago, when the Urdangarin scandal had not yet contaminated the Spanish crown.” | |
| In response to the recent scandals, the Spanish royal household had already become more transparent about its spending. In February, it unveiled an annual budget of 7.8 million euros (about $10.6 million), down 2 percent from 2013. It included a salary of €292,752 (nearly $400,000) for Juan Carlos and half that amount for his son. The household also revealed that the king’s health problems and surgeries had cost just over €165,000 in a year. | |
| But the Spanish royal family has not disclosed the value of its assets, nor provided the kind of details available in Britain, where royal spending is made public down to laundry costs. In the most recent financial year, the British government spent 33.3 million British pounds — or about $60 million — on the monarchy. | |
| Herman Matthijs, a professor of public finance at the University of Brussels who analyzes government spending on Europe’s royalty, said that the Spanish royal family’s annual budget looked “quite cheap” compared to other monarchies, but “on the other hand we don’t know anything about the wealth of the royal family, which is treated like a state secret, and they also really live for free because all the expenditure of their houses and palaces are in the state budget.” | Herman Matthijs, a professor of public finance at the University of Brussels who analyzes government spending on Europe’s royalty, said that the Spanish royal family’s annual budget looked “quite cheap” compared to other monarchies, but “on the other hand we don’t know anything about the wealth of the royal family, which is treated like a state secret, and they also really live for free because all the expenditure of their houses and palaces are in the state budget.” |
| Mr. Matthijs suggested an abdication was “an ideal moment to make some changes and the protests in Spain showed that it might be time to move to more of a protocol system, like in the Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands, where there is less power for the king.” | Mr. Matthijs suggested an abdication was “an ideal moment to make some changes and the protests in Spain showed that it might be time to move to more of a protocol system, like in the Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands, where there is less power for the king.” |
| Since Monday, the anti-royal movement has spread beyond the streets of Spain. Helena Fernández de Bobadilla, a Spaniard who works for an insurance broker in London, said she felt that the monarchy was “obsolete” and signed an online petition calling for a royal referendum. | Since Monday, the anti-royal movement has spread beyond the streets of Spain. Helena Fernández de Bobadilla, a Spaniard who works for an insurance broker in London, said she felt that the monarchy was “obsolete” and signed an online petition calling for a royal referendum. |
| “Spaniards as citizens should have the right to vote which way we want to go forward and the monarchy should earn democratically their right to reign,” she said. “Unfortunately the Spanish royal family has disappointed us a lot lately.” | “Spaniards as citizens should have the right to vote which way we want to go forward and the monarchy should earn democratically their right to reign,” she said. “Unfortunately the Spanish royal family has disappointed us a lot lately.” |
| Among those who support a referendum is Podemos, a new anti-establishment party that won almost 8 percent of the Spanish vote in last month’s elections to the European Parliament. In a statement, Podemos argued that Spaniards should be treated as citizens and not subjects, with a right to decide on the monarchy’s future that, if ignored, could “deepen the system’s already very serious legitimacy crisis.” | |
| Such a call, however, is largely falling on deaf ears. Instead, the conservative government, whose Popular Party has a parliamentary majority, drafted on Tuesday a law that Parliament is expected to adopt, allowing for the coronation of Felipe VI on June 18. | |
| Asked about the anti-royal movement, Mariano Rajoy, prime minister of Spain, said on Tuesday that such a referendum would require a change in the Constitution, and, besides, “the monarchy has the support of the great majority in Spain.” | |
| The limited prospect of a referendum has left supporters and detractors of the monarchy little alternative but to place hopes of restoring and changing the institution on Felipe, who has shown already that he can steer clear of scandal, even while increasingly substituting for his ailing father. | The limited prospect of a referendum has left supporters and detractors of the monarchy little alternative but to place hopes of restoring and changing the institution on Felipe, who has shown already that he can steer clear of scandal, even while increasingly substituting for his ailing father. |
| But Felipe will also start out “with a lot less power to change things than his father, whose authority was almost unlimited when he came to the throne,” said Josep Ramoneda, a writer and philosopher. | But Felipe will also start out “with a lot less power to change things than his father, whose authority was almost unlimited when he came to the throne,” said Josep Ramoneda, a writer and philosopher. |
| While the handover in Madrid follows the similar abdication and succession of monarchs last year in both the Netherlands and Belgium, the case of Spain is “quite specific” and different to that of other European countries, said Mary Vincent, the head of modern European history at the University of Sheffield. | While the handover in Madrid follows the similar abdication and succession of monarchs last year in both the Netherlands and Belgium, the case of Spain is “quite specific” and different to that of other European countries, said Mary Vincent, the head of modern European history at the University of Sheffield. |
| “It’s the only monarchy in southern Europe and southern Europe was particularly affected by the financial crisis,” she said. “I wouldn’t expect it to be reflected in prosperous countries to the north,” she added of the anti-monarchy sentiment. | “It’s the only monarchy in southern Europe and southern Europe was particularly affected by the financial crisis,” she said. “I wouldn’t expect it to be reflected in prosperous countries to the north,” she added of the anti-monarchy sentiment. |
| Juan Carlos projected the impression of “privileged aristocratic life,” Ms. Vincent said. In the rest of Europe “there’s definitely republican feeling, but whether people care enough to push it up the political agenda, I’m rather skeptical.” | Juan Carlos projected the impression of “privileged aristocratic life,” Ms. Vincent said. In the rest of Europe “there’s definitely republican feeling, but whether people care enough to push it up the political agenda, I’m rather skeptical.” |