The
Spanish monarchy is, of course, centuries old but it suffered a
hiccup when Spain turned republican in the 1930s and then continued
in suspense during the Franco "Caudillo" era which ended
with the man's death in 1976. The institution was then restored in the
person of Juan Carlos Burbón Burbón (sic), the man who would still
be king. Things, though, are not that simple any more. According to
El Mundo
(a right-of-centre paper) more than 60% of Spaniards want Juan Carlos
to step down in favour of his son. Worse, for the first time for a
long time, the majority of Spaniards want Spain to be a republic
rather than a monarchy.
Among
other things, this disaffection with things royal reflects the fact that the
king has suffered from association with the corruption trial of his
son-in-law, a legal process that may yet suck in his daughter,
Cristina - currently out of sight in Geneva. A
spokesperson for the palace this week went so far as to call on the
judge to accelerate the trial and, in doing so, to exculpate the
princess. I'm guessing this wasn't seen by the king as interference
with the judicial process.
However
low the king's poll ratings are right now, they'll probably sink
further when it becomes known here that, back in the 1980, he told
the the British Foreign Office that Spain "did not really want"
Gibraltar back as it would lead to claims from Morocco for Spanish
territories in North Africa. Spain has always - speciously -
differentiated these 'enclaves' from Britain's 'colony' of Gibraltar
but, of course, Morocco, doesn't buy into this nonsense and anyone
with half a brain has always seen that any movement in the direction
of loosening Britain's hold on Gibraltar would lead to Moroccan
demands at the UN for the transfer of Spain's 'colonies' in North
Africa. So why does Spain keep banging the drum on Morocco and, for
example, inciting massively increased incursions into Gibraltar
waters? Well, maybe the cynics are right and that it's a wonderful way
of distracting attention from the government's failure to solve (or,
in the case of corruption, even address) far more important issues.
All I know is that my daughter didn't suffer long delays when she
walked across the border last Friday.
Some
indisputably good news . . . . The number of deaths on Spanish roads
fell for the 10th year in succession last year. I put this down to
drivers learning from the good example I've set for them. Except when it comes to wearing earphones, of course.
Finally
. . . I cleared out my car boot last evening. There was a large
cardboard box which had held a bottle of Bailey's, a bottle of
vinegar, a carton of milk and a bottle of greasy olive oil. Guess
which one had fallen over and leaked over all the papers and books in the box.
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