Constitution Day: All bar five regional presidents boycott 35th anniversary act in Madrid

The president of Castilla-La Mancha, María Dolores del Cospedal, is also the secretary-general of the central government, meaning she attended in both capacities, and Alberto Fabra, PP president of Valencia, was also at the event along with Ramón Luis Valcárcel, leader of the region of Murcia, and the presidents of the Canary Islands and Aragón.

Among the other 12 absentees, even Ignacio González, president of the region of Madrid – where the act was held – did not attend.

The sovereignty debate surrounding Catalunya meant its president, Artur Mas, did not turn up.

Now 35 years old to the day, the Spanish Constitution is under scrutiny as to whether it should be reformed to reflect changes in society since 1978.

Rosa Díez, from UPyD (Unión, Progreso y Democracia) says one of the first changes should be to cease referring to members of the public within the Constitution as 'Spanish' or 'citizens', given the multi-cultural nature of Spain today.

Government vice-president Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría said until there was consensus on the content, it could not feasibly be rewritten, and socialist leader Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba called for the government to 'seek it' in order to 'make it happen'.

President Mariano Rajoy recalled that the Constitution is 'not a corset' designed to 'prevent people from moving', but a framework defining their rights and freedoms which has 'allowed pensions, education and healthcare to become universal' whilst permitting 'decentralised politics' through the 17 regional governments.

December 6 and 8 are national holidays in Spain every year – the first being for the anniversary of the Constitution and the second, for the Immaculate Conception.

This year, however, the December 8 bank holiday will be lost, since it falls on a Sunday which is not a working day in Spain.