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Felipe VI, Spain´s new king Posted by on Jun 26, 2014 in Spanish Culture

¡Muy buenas!

Estoy segura de que habréis leído sobre las últimas noticias de España: el hecho de que la “Roja”, el equipo de fútbol nacional, ha vuelto a casa avergonzado (lo siento por los fans del fútbol, yo no soy una como podréis comprobar si leéis mi post “Sobreviviendo al mundial”) y la abdicación de nuestro anterior rey Juan Carlos I, con la proclamación (no fue una coronación ya que no hubo corona en la ceremonia) del nuevo, su hijo Felipe.

Así que desde el 19 de Junio España tiene un nuevo rey, Felipe VI, una nueva reina que no es noble, Leticia Ortiz, y una nueva princesa de Asturias, la hija mayor Leonor, quien probablemente heredará el trono tras su padre.

Durante su discurso, Felipe VI pareció ser muy consciente de la pérdida de aceptación de la monarquía española debido al escándalo de corrupción de su hermana Cristina y el marido de ésta, Iñaki Urdangarín, entre otros motivos, así que describió su reinado como “una monarquía renovada para nuevos tiempos. Afirmó que “la corona debe estar constantemente ganando la apreciación, el respeto y la confianza de los ciudadanos”, y añadió que “Hoy, más que nunca, los ciudadanos demandan con derecho que los funcionarios públicos den ejemplo”, una afirmación que puede considerarse no solo un intento de restaurar la reputación de la monarquía sino como una clara referencia a la crisis económica y moral española, con tantos políticos y representantes ciudadanos envueltos en casos de fraude y corrupción.

Los monárquicos tienen grandes esperanzas de que este Nuevo rey realmente traerá una renovada forma de gobierno basada en el mejor interés de los españoles, aunque no tiene poder ejecutivo. Por otro lado, hay gente que demanda un referéndum acerca de lo apropiado de una monarquía (donde el rey no es elegido por el pueblo) en una sociedad democrática en pleno siglo XXI.

Ya que ese referendum aparentemente no se llevará a cabo, tendremos que esperar para juzgar. El rey Felipe terminó su discurso con una cita de Don Quijote: “no es un hombre más que otro, si no hace más que otro.” El tiempo nos dirá de su valía.

 

Hello there!

I´m sure that you´d have read about Spain´s most recent news: the fact that The Red, the Spanish national football team, had come home in shame (so sorry for football fans… I´m not one of them as you will see if you read my post “Surviving the world cup” ), and the abdication of our former king Juan Carlos I, with the proclamation (it was not a coronation, there was no crown in the ceremony) of the new one, his son Felipe.

So since June 19 Spain has a new king, Felipe VI, a new Queen who is a commoner, Leticia Ortiz, and a new Princess of Asturias, their oldest daughter Leonor, who will presumably heir the throne after his father.

During his speech, Felipe VI seemed to be very conscious about the lost favour of the Spanish monarchy because of his sister Cristina and her husband Iñaki Urdangarín´s corruption scandal among other things, so he described his reign as “a renewed monarchy for new times.” He said that “The Crown must constantly earn citizens’ appreciation, respect and trust,” and added that “Today, more than ever, citizens are rightly demanding that public officials lead by example”, a statement that can be considered not only as an attempt to restore the monarchy´s reputation but also as a clear reference to Spain´s economical and moral crisis, with so many politicians and citizen representatives involved in fraud and corruption cases.

Monarchists have high expectations on this new king that he will truly bring a fresh kind of governance based on the best interest of Spaniards, although he has no executive power. On the other hand, there are also people who demand a referendum on the appropriateness of a monarchy, (where the king is not elected by the people) in a 21st century democratic society.

As this referendum will not apparently take place, we will have to wait to judge. King Felipe ended his speech with a quote from Don Quixote: “A man is not worth more than another man if he does not do more than him”. Time will tell us how much he is worth .

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About the Author: Magda

Hi all! I’m Magda, a Spanish native speaker writing the culture posts in the Transparent Language Spanish blog. I have a Bachelor’s in English Philology and a Master’s in Linguistics and Literature from the University of Granada, in Spain. I have also completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Education, and then worked as an English teacher in several schools and academies for several years. Last year was my first at university level. In addition, I work as a private tutor, teaching English and Spanish as a foreign language to students and adults. In my free time, I’m an avid reader and writer, editing and collaborating in several literary blogs. I have published my first poetry book recently. And last but not least, I love photography!