The word versus the shout, respect versus contempt, agreement versus imposition. At a time when the country is immersed in great political, social and institutional polarization, it calls for dialogue and harmony. At the institutional event for the 50th anniversary of the parliamentary monarchy being held this Friday at the Royal Palace, the King has resorted in his speech to the values that in 1975 catalyzed the transition from the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco to a liberal democracy; and has also recognized the role that his father, Juan Carlos I, had in the celebration by decision of La Zarzuela. “[El rey emérito] “He contributed decisively to opening the path to democracy in our country,” remarked the current head of state, who rarely refers to his father in public, especially since his sentimental and financial scandals led him to make the decision to
The absence of the one who led the Crown for 39 years had already marked the low profile of the event, which has been limited to the ―highest distinction of the Crown― to Queen Sofía, the former president of the Government Felipe González and the two parents of the Constitution still alive, Miguel Herrero Rodríguez de Miñón and Miquel Roca. Felipe VI has, however, postponed until tomorrow – the official day of the anniversary – the meeting with his father, his mother and his sisters, the infantas Elena and Cristina. A family reunion that will translate into El Pardo, say La Zarzuela, something that has not occurred since 2023, when the entire King’s family celebrated the heir’s coming of age. This time every activity, public or private, is also enveloped by the hangover of the publication of Reconciliation (Stock, 2025), those published at the beginning of the month in France and that will be released in Spain in a couple of weeks.
The current political climate has also contributed to weakening a celebration that in itself was conceived as “complex”, according to La Zarzuela sources, due to the absence of Juan Carlos I. The still Attorney General of the State, Álvaro García Ortiz, one of the officials invited to this type of event – such as the presidency of the Congress, the Senate, the Constitutional Court and the General Council of the Judiciary -, informed La Zarzuela last night of his absence at the event due to, of the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, also absent from the Royal Palace.
Others absent from the event were the Lehendakari, Imanol Pradales; the Navarrese president, María Chivite; the acting Valencian president, Carlos Mazón; the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso; and the acting president of Extremadura, María Guardiola. On behalf of the Government, in addition to the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, the Ministers of Defense, Margarita Robles; of Justice, Félix Bolaños; the vice president and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero; of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska; of Territorial Policy and Historical Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres; and of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares. No member of Sumar’s Council of Ministers has attended. Alberto Núñez Feijóo has also attended as opposition leader, as have former presidents José María Aznar and Mariano Rajoy. José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has not attended the event either.
In a solemn speech given in the Throne Room and loaded with criticism of the current political environment, Felipe VI also recognized that “the Transition was not perfect.” “It was a gradual, uncertain process, with risks and open in its results, in which each step was preceded by conversations, pacts and concessions (…), it was only possible because it was sustained on a firm basis: mutual respect (…). It was a revolutionary political gesture,” said the monarch, dressed in civilian clothes and groomed only with the insignia of the order of the Fleece that he received from his father in 1981, when he was only 13 years old. The King wanted this Friday to be a tribute “to a generation that knew how to put dialogue before confrontation.”
“In times when disagreement is expressed with tension, looking back to that period [los años 70 y 80 del siglo pasado] “It can be useful to us,” said the head of state in front of a hundred personalities, many of them first-person protagonists of that process, also clarifying that we should not idealize that entire period either.
Shortly before 10:30 in the morning, and under the cold winter sun of Madrid, the Kings entered the Royal Palace by car through the Plaza de la Armería, followed by Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía. Inside, the two were already waiting for them. parents of the Constitution, the former President of the Government and the Queen Emeritus, for whom Felipe VI had words of affection at the closing of the event: “[Ha tenido] a lifetime of exemplary service and loyalty to Spain and the Crown, supporting King Juan Carlos with conviction in his successful and early commitment to democratic opening and freedoms. Thank you for your commitment sustained for decades ─still today─ and exercised with a deep sense of duty,” Felipe VI remarked. “You have forever earned the respect and affection of the Spanish people,” Felipe González added.
Felipe VI has valued the former president of the Government and former leader of the PSOE that he “consolidated political alternation.” González also signed the treaty of Spain’s accession to the European Community, a milestone that Felipe VI remembers, and values, in his speeches, as well as the entry – at the time controversial – of Spain into NATO and its foreign projection, especially to Latin America. It was “one of the greatest stages of economic, institutional and social modernization of the country.” González has admitted, excitedly, that the day he joined the community club was one of the “most relevant” days of his entire career.
Of the fathers of the Constitution, Felipe VI has valued their “capacity for dialogue and willingness to agree” because they knew how to convert the “need for consensus” into an “effective guide” to build a framework of freedoms. “The will to do everything possible was stronger than accommodating ourselves and inventorying the difficulties,” Roca said.
According to one , almost a quarter of young people between 18 and 28 believe that a non-democratic system may now be preferable. This Friday’s event is celebrated precisely one day after 20-N, the anniversary of Franco’s death, and the King also wanted to address them, the generation of his daughters Leonor and Sofía, also present at the ceremony: “Perhaps the generations that were born in a consolidated democracy do not get an idea of everything that involved giving shape to that coexistence, giving channel to that desire for freedom ‘without anger’ – a nod to the well-known anthem, symbol of Transition―and being part of democratic Europe.”
Throughout his speech, Felipe VI has praised the role of the Crown as the backbone of stability in turbulent times – with the “vile scourge of terrorist and extremist violence”, in reference to ETA and jihadism – and has forcefully stated that it supported a country project “of everyone and for everyone.”
