Spain's king stood his ground under a mud barrage. What will the iconic
moment mean for his reign?
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[November 05, 2024]
By JOSEPH WILSON
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Mud splattered the cheek of Spain's monarch as
survivors of catastrophic floods unleashed their fury in a barrage of
muck and mire. Felipe VI took it, literally, on the chin, and his
determination to stay and speak to the enraged crowd could redefine his
reign.
It instantly became an iconic moment. But what it will mean remains to
be seen.
Spain’s royals, prime minister and the Valencian regional president were
greeted by a crowd hurling mud and other debris on Sunday when they
tried to visit Paiporta, where over 60 people perished in last week's
floods. The deluge has killed over 200 people in Spain and shattered
communities.
It was the officials' first visit to the devastated area.
Sticky brown globs hit Felipe on the face and all over his black jacket,
while Queen Letizia's hands were streaked with the mud that, nearly a
week after the floods, still coats street after street of the southern
outskirts of Valencia city. Many in the crowd wielded the shovels they
are using to dig out their homes.
The anger appeared directed not at the king specifically but at the
entire state for its management of the worst natural disaster in Spain's
living memory. The government is also saying there were far-right
agitators among the locals, implying they wanted to go after the
Socialist prime minister.
In any case, for Montserrat Nebrera, professor of constitutional law at
the International University of Catalonia, the shocking sight of a
muddied monarch could set a precedent for more fervent protests, since
"never had such anger been shown to the king.”
Monarchists like Nebrera and even republicans agreed that Felipe, who
holds a largely ceremonial position, cut the figure of a man of state.
The king insisted that his bodyguards, who tried to cover him with
umbrellas, let him get close to talk with residents, some of whom
screamed “Get out!” and “Killers!” Letizia has likewise been praised for
staying put and speaking with distraught people.
A monarch seen as aloof extends himself
“It could go down as the greatest day of Felipe’s reign,” Oriol
Bartomeus, a political science professor at the Autonomous University of
Barcelona, told The Associated Press.
“If he had sought protection from his bodyguards and run away, now that
would have been the darkest day of his reign. Instead he showed why he
is king, demonstrating composure and serenity, and by getting as close
as he could to the people.”
There is no doubt it was the most memorable moment of his reign.
The 56-year-old Felipe took over a Royal House whose reputation was in
tatters after the financial and lifestyle scandals of his father, Juan
Carlos, who abdicated in 2014. Earlier in his reign, Juan Carlos was
loved or at least grudgingly respected after helping Spain’s restoration
of democracy after the death of dictator Francisco Franco. He was seen
as down to earth and fun-loving compared to other European royals.
His son, by contrast, has been perceived as aloof, and has relied on
Letizia, a former journalist, to help him run a relatively frugal palace
in a nation where republican sentiment is strong.
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Spain's King Felipe VI speaks with people amidst angry Spanish flood
survivors in Paiporta, near Valencia, Spain, Sunday Nov. 3, 2024.
(AP Photo/David Melero)
Felipe heard some jeers when he took part in a tribute to the dead
of the 2017 terror attack in Barcelona, but that was nothing
compared to Sunday’s reception.
The prime minister and others were struck
On Sunday, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was whisked away by his
security detail after he also was pelted. Interior Minister Fernando
Grande-Marlaska said “there was a clear danger and (Sánchez) had
received a blow.”
The back window of the prime minister’s car was broken. The minister
did not specify what hit the prime minister. One of Letizia’s
bodyguards had a bloody forehead.
An investigative judge has opened a preliminary probe into possible
assault.
Felipe stood his ground for over half an hour. It was impossible to
hear what was said, but he spoke to several shouting people in an
intimate and apparently serious tone.
Bartomeus, who said he is not a fervent defender of the monarchy,
noted what the king didn’t do: He didn’t appear to patronize the
people.
“He didn’t console the people, like for example you see the British
royals do,” Bartomeus said. Instead, “he dialogued with them. He put
the state on his back, got down off the pedestal and went down to
the people who were telling him that the state had not arrived, and
he told them that it will.”
Did Felipe's involvement promise more than he can deliver?
Later Sunday, Felipe attended a gathering of the heads of the
emergency response in Valencia, along with Sánchez and other
politicians. He asked them to give “hope to those affected by the
flood and attend to their needs, guaranteeing that the state is
there for them.” On Monday, he presided over the government's crisis
committee at a military airbase outside Madrid.
But that, Nebrera said, could compound his problems.
In going to Paiporta with elected officials, Nebrera said, Felipe
has created the impression that he has a real role to play in
managing the gargantuan recovery effort, when his powers are mostly
representing Spain on state visits and playing an institutional role
in the post-election process.
In other words, it looks like he owns it.
“If there already existed a certain confusion among some people as
to what powers the king has, now he runs the danger of people
thinking he is responsible for something which he is not,” she said.
“It is very likely that regardless of how many meetings he presides
over, there will be nothing but more bad news coming from Valencia.
They are only going to find more and more of the dead.”
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