KING Felipe VI's annual Christmas Eve speech once again included a covert appeal to secessionist politicians, as well as raising concerns about young adults' struggle to afford housing and violence against women.
King Felipe VI as he appeared on live TV at 21.00 mainland Spain time to deliver his 11-minute Christmas Eve speech (photo: EFE)
The monarch's 10th festive speech since he ascended to the throne following his father, King Juan Carlos I's abdication, opened with his now-habitual references to the Spanish Constitution and a subtle reminder that without it, 'there is no freedom, there is no peace'.
Spain's Magna Carta, drawn up partly by Felipe VI's father as a guarantee the country would never again find itself in the grip of a dictatorship, establishes the autonomous governments of the nation's 17 semi-federal regions and two city-States of Ceuta and Melilla, whilst outlawing any action that 'threatens the unity' of the land.
This means the attempts made in 2017 to declare Catalunya an independent country were illegal, although fervid support for secession continues among the regional parties national president Pedro Sánchez was forced to strike deals with in order to take up office following the elections.
As a result, socialist (PSOE) leader Sánchez is in the difficult position of having to appease the wishes of secessionists without infringing the provisions of the Constitution, and leaving him open to criticism by the right-wing opposition.
The Monarchy is required to be politically neutral and, for reasons of protocol, must never state an opinion in public about the governing of the nation, meaning an appeal to 'everyone' to 'respect the Constitution' is as near as Felipe VI can get to showing his disapproval of attempts at secession.
But the Constitution – signed on December 6, 1978 and now 45 years old – goes far beyond independence politics, as King Felipe recalled its true purpose: That of 'allowing us to safeguard our way of life'.
“It guarantees and protects the rights of the people of Spain to think and express themselves freely and defend their views provided they respect others in doing so, receive an education, have a job, be protected from illness, access housing, form a family, access social assistance, and have a dignified retirement,” the Monarch recalled.
“Outside the Constitution, there is no democracy and our coexistence is impossible; there are no freedoms, only impositions; there is no law, only arbitrary rule. Outside the Constitution, there is no peace, there is no freedom,” he stated early on in his 11-minute discourse.
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