Spaniards in lockdown came out banging pots and pans to demand former King Juan Carlos hand over to ... [+]
Every evening across Europe shouts, applause, and banging can be heard in neighborhoods as people lean out of their windows, cheering the efforts of hospital workers amid the coronavirus pandemic.
But on March 18, Spaniards in lockdown bashed their pots and pans in protest of King Felipe VI during his national broadcast over multiple scandals involving his father.
Heeding a call on social media and from Catalan separatist parties, people in Madrid and Barcelona tried to drown out the speech, demanding Spain’s former King Juan Carlos give away the millions of dollars he allegedly received from a Saudi Arabian fund to the squeezed hospitals.
With Spain being Europe’s second-worst hit country by coronavirus after Italy and the economic consequences of the virus already being felt, Spain’s monarchy and its finances are now directly in the firing line.
King Felipe VI of Spain renounced his father’s inheritance amid an alleged corruption scandal. ... [+]
Despite King Felipe’s announcement on March 15 that he had renounced his father’s inheritance and would strip him of his retirement allowance, the protest still rang out over Felipe’s speech, which aimed to uplift the country in lockdown.
The monarch said in a statement he had decided to “relinquish any inheritance from Juan Carlos he might be entitled to, as well as any asset, investment or financial structure whose origins, characteristics or purpose may not be in accordance with the law.”
‘Poisoned Chalice’
Juan Carlos abdicated from the throne in 2014 after reigning for 39 years.
Many Spaniards are eternally grateful for his role in helping to restore democracy after the Franco dictatorship and uniting the moderate left and progressive right.
In 1975 he was proclaimed king after Francisco Franco’s death and managed to keep right-wing forces under control and steer the country to a parliamentary system.
Juan Carlos, the former King of Spain, and his son Felipe. (Photo by Daniel Gluckman/Getty Images)
But that image was dented in the years leading up to his abdication.
The former king is being investigated by Swiss financial authorities following media reports he received $100m in 2008 from Saudi Arabia via an offshore account.
He has also been plagued by corruption allegations involving his youngest daughter and her husband and slammed for an elaborate elephant-hunting trip in Botswana in 2012 during the financial crisis.
“Felipe inherited a poisoned chalice,” said Sir Paul Preston, a professor of history at the London School of Economics.
“He (Felipe) doesn’t have his father’s qualities of being amiable and is rather stiff and distant,” Preston added.
Felipe has tried to rebuild the image of the monarchy and attempted to distance himself from his father. But it has not worked.
Former King Juan Carlos (L) played a pivotal role in returning Spain to a parliamentary system. ... [+]
His visit to Catalonia during the height of the crisis in 2018 resulted in public boos and much of the public did not even want to hear his attempt to boost Spain’s morale during the coronavirus pandemic.
It is genuinely too soon to tell King Felipe’s future and focus will be placed on Covid-19 and the ongoing Catalan crisis.
But chinks are in the royal family’s armor, which will be difficult to repair.
