Monarchy
is supposed to be above politics, but with effigies of the King and
Queen being burnt by Catalan nationalists and the media increasingly
disrespectful towards the Crown, the public standing of King Juan
Carlos and his family has become a key subject of Spain's increasingly vocal
election campaign.
Jose Maria Aznar, who was Prime Minister of Spain between 1996 and 2004,
has turned on the current incumbent, the socialist Jose Luis Rodriguez
Zapaterro. Aznar believes his successor has failed to publicly support King Juan Carlos’s
family following a spate of ugly attacks on the royals.
The most potent symbol of how the standing of the Royal Family has fallen came
earlier this Summer when Crown Prince Felipe and his wife, Crown Princess
Letizia, were subjected to public humiliation with the publication of a crude
cartoon depicting the royal couple having sex.
The cartoon was published in an attempt to highlight a
story about the Government’s promise to pay couples to produce more
children to help solve the significant decrease in the country's birth
rate.
This was just the latest in a series of barely concealed media attacks
on the monarch, the likes of which had rarely been seen in Spain.
Last year, the King was the subject of huge speculation after he was reputed to have killed a drunken bear
during a holiday in Russia. He was later cleared of this act by an
official inquiry undertaken by officials in the country. However, the
version of events proffered by the Royal Palace came under intense
scrutiny from journalists who appeared to doubt the King's word.
More
recently, however, it is the actual institution of monarchy which has come under attack.
In September, Catalan nationalists took to the streets and burnt
effigies of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia. Such visually effective
protests were carried out by a minority of people who wish to see
Spain return to its Republic roots.
However, in the face of police and judicial
'repression', such protests have since spread throughout other sections
of Spanish society and into the popular conscious.
