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's Christmas speech focuses on Catalunya
25/12/2017
KING Felipe VI's Christmas Eve speech contained clear references to Catalunya's political crisis, although without specifically mentioning the region.
Royalty are expected to be politically-neutral, meaning the Monarch would not have been able to make a direct condemnation of the independence movement, but in an unusual move, he did not hesitate to name Catalunya.
HRH Felipe said 2017 had been 'a difficult year for our life together' as a country, adding: “Spain is, today, a mature democracy where any citizen can think, defend and weigh up, freely and democratically, their opinions and their ideas; but cannot impose their own ideas on other people's rights.”
In the same vein, the King called for 'the principles and values of our social and democratic State and rule of law' to be 'respected and preserved', warning that 'once these basic principles are broken' the cohesion of the community 'firstly deteriorates and later becomes impossible'.
The Monarch conceded, however, that the path taken over the history of Spain's democracy 'has not always been the right one'.
“Difficult and complex situations which need to be corrected continue, and they need the commitment of the whole of society to get over them,” he said.
Felipe VI called for the people to 'continue building, improving and updating Spain' upon the 'solid base of democratic principles and community values of respect and dialogue' which are 'the foundations of our harmonious coexistence'.
King Felipe sent out a message to the politicians who will make up Catalunya's new regional Parliament from January, following the elections on December 21: “You now need to face up to the problems that affect all the people of Catalunya by respecting multiculturalism and thinking responsibly about the common good.
“The way forward cannot be one of confrontation or exclusion, since this only generates disagreement, uncertainty, despair and moral, civil and financial poverty in an entire society.”
Felipe VI called for the 'social fracture' that the independence process had brought with it to be 'halted', saying: “Let's not let ideas distance or separate friends and families.”
He expressed his concerns about the exodus of companies from Catalunya, now said to be well over 2,000, saying he hoped 'confidence, prestige and the best possible image' of the region could 'be reborn'.
This is the second televised message given by the King since the disputed independence referendum – his earlier one was on October 4, three days after the vote, in which he accused the regional government led by Carles Puigdemont of 'disloyalty' and attempting to 'divide and conquer' society.
But his Christmas speech took on a more conciliatory tone.
Other than Catalunya, the Monarch mentioned other issues such as domestic violence, which he said needed to be brought to an end, plus the economy, inequality and unemployment.
“Creating stable jobs should always be an essential and priority aim,” the King stated, and, “inequality and social differences generated by the financial crisis have not just damaged families, but have affected the future of many young people.”
As expected, Felipe VI mentioned the terrorist attacks in Barcelona and in Cambrils (Tarragona province) on August 17 in the context of international terrorism.
“The people of Spain know very well that only through democratic union, the firm nature of the rule of law, and the efficiency of global cooperation, can we beat and defeat terrorism – and that's how we will do it, always bearing very much in mind the memory of and eternal respect for its victims,” the King said.
Corruption remains 'one of society's main worries', HRH Felipe recalled, and stressed that there should always be 'correct management of public money' in order to eradicate the problem and to enable people to 'have complete trust' in their leaders.
Climate change also came up, with the Monarch admitting that society was 'already suffering' from the effects of global warming and calling for society to be 'very aware of it' and for everyone to 'get involved much more', whilst urging the government of Spain to 'remain firm in its commitments in the face of a problem that affects the entire planet and requires not just global, but truly urgent solutions'.
Domestic violence was the Monarch's final subject, and he called it 'an unacceptable blight on society' that 'hurts our deepest feelings', 'makes us feel indignant' and 'embarrasses us'.
Authorities need to 'maintain their firmness and political support' in order to 'help and protect victims', and society needs to 'increase its awareness' of this 'criminal and cowardly violence' which 'degrades our community cohesion'.
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KING Felipe VI's Christmas Eve speech contained clear references to Catalunya's political crisis, although without specifically mentioning the region.
Royalty are expected to be politically-neutral, meaning the Monarch would not have been able to make a direct condemnation of the independence movement, but in an unusual move, he did not hesitate to name Catalunya.
HRH Felipe said 2017 had been 'a difficult year for our life together' as a country, adding: “Spain is, today, a mature democracy where any citizen can think, defend and weigh up, freely and democratically, their opinions and their ideas; but cannot impose their own ideas on other people's rights.”
In the same vein, the King called for 'the principles and values of our social and democratic State and rule of law' to be 'respected and preserved', warning that 'once these basic principles are broken' the cohesion of the community 'firstly deteriorates and later becomes impossible'.
The Monarch conceded, however, that the path taken over the history of Spain's democracy 'has not always been the right one'.
“Difficult and complex situations which need to be corrected continue, and they need the commitment of the whole of society to get over them,” he said.
Felipe VI called for the people to 'continue building, improving and updating Spain' upon the 'solid base of democratic principles and community values of respect and dialogue' which are 'the foundations of our harmonious coexistence'.
King Felipe sent out a message to the politicians who will make up Catalunya's new regional Parliament from January, following the elections on December 21: “You now need to face up to the problems that affect all the people of Catalunya by respecting multiculturalism and thinking responsibly about the common good.
“The way forward cannot be one of confrontation or exclusion, since this only generates disagreement, uncertainty, despair and moral, civil and financial poverty in an entire society.”
Felipe VI called for the 'social fracture' that the independence process had brought with it to be 'halted', saying: “Let's not let ideas distance or separate friends and families.”
He expressed his concerns about the exodus of companies from Catalunya, now said to be well over 2,000, saying he hoped 'confidence, prestige and the best possible image' of the region could 'be reborn'.
This is the second televised message given by the King since the disputed independence referendum – his earlier one was on October 4, three days after the vote, in which he accused the regional government led by Carles Puigdemont of 'disloyalty' and attempting to 'divide and conquer' society.
But his Christmas speech took on a more conciliatory tone.
Other than Catalunya, the Monarch mentioned other issues such as domestic violence, which he said needed to be brought to an end, plus the economy, inequality and unemployment.
“Creating stable jobs should always be an essential and priority aim,” the King stated, and, “inequality and social differences generated by the financial crisis have not just damaged families, but have affected the future of many young people.”
As expected, Felipe VI mentioned the terrorist attacks in Barcelona and in Cambrils (Tarragona province) on August 17 in the context of international terrorism.
“The people of Spain know very well that only through democratic union, the firm nature of the rule of law, and the efficiency of global cooperation, can we beat and defeat terrorism – and that's how we will do it, always bearing very much in mind the memory of and eternal respect for its victims,” the King said.
Corruption remains 'one of society's main worries', HRH Felipe recalled, and stressed that there should always be 'correct management of public money' in order to eradicate the problem and to enable people to 'have complete trust' in their leaders.
Climate change also came up, with the Monarch admitting that society was 'already suffering' from the effects of global warming and calling for society to be 'very aware of it' and for everyone to 'get involved much more', whilst urging the government of Spain to 'remain firm in its commitments in the face of a problem that affects the entire planet and requires not just global, but truly urgent solutions'.
Domestic violence was the Monarch's final subject, and he called it 'an unacceptable blight on society' that 'hurts our deepest feelings', 'makes us feel indignant' and 'embarrasses us'.
Authorities need to 'maintain their firmness and political support' in order to 'help and protect victims', and society needs to 'increase its awareness' of this 'criminal and cowardly violence' which 'degrades our community cohesion'.
Related Topics
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