King Felipe VI has decided to send a clear and blunt idea this Sunday, in his tenth Christmas message to the Spanish people. The Monarch has placed emphasis on highlighting the alarm about the times we live in, in a direct and harsh speech, with a political tone in which he has managed to find the balance so as not to lose the neutrality that his role as Head of State demands of him. Forcefully, Felipe VI assured that there were many specific issues that he could address, but he has decided to focus on the two that most urgently need to be addressed: “It is the Constitution and Spain that I want to refer to,” he announced as soon as the conversation began. address.
This 2023, in addition to celebrating the Monarch’s tenth speech, the Magna Carta has turned 45 years old. A democratic model that the Spanish people voted for in a referendum and that is still in force today, as demonstrated by the swearing-in of the Princess of Asturias: “It is the best example of union and coexistence between the Spanish people,” said the King. This coexistence is, for the Monarch, “one of our great assets in democracy”, because it is based on “shared feelings and the common search for the well-being and prosperity of all.”
The Head of State studies the Constitution and his mandate is what guides his steps, and also that of all Spanish citizens. The King recalled that, just as democracy offers the right to all citizens to live in freedom and respect, this system “also requires basic and broad consensus on the principles that we have shared and that have united us for several generations.” And these principles are included in the Constitution, “the greatest political success in our recent history,” said Felipe VI.
The Magna Carta began the Regime of ’78 and thanks to it Spain managed to overcome the division, “the cause of many errors in our history,” the King recalled. “Overcoming that division was our main success almost five decades ago,” he reflected. And it was then that the Monarch, after a studied pause, stated, looking at the camera, what is the mandate to which we are all obliged: «Preventing the germ of discord from ever establishing itself among us is a moral duty that we all have. Because we can’t afford it,” he said in reference to the errors he had spoken about before.
If the Constitution establishes the values ??that support the parliamentary monarchy, the Magna Carta also, the King has indicated, “ensures our model of life, our way of living and understanding life.” Felipe VI has listed those daily acts that the Constitution “protects, guarantees and protects.” Thus, he has cited the fact of “expressing oneself freely, receiving an education or protecting oneself from illness (…) accessing housing, starting a family…”.
The Magna Carta as guarantor of values ??and the welfare state are the reasons that have led the King to express a wish: “I want to vindicate the Constitution as an essential instrument and guarantee so that the lives of Spaniards can continue to flow with confidence.” Once the Monarch has explained the purpose for which the Constitution is called, Felipe VI has said that for this objective to be fully developed it does not only require respect for the Magna Carta, and has asked the Spaniards “to preserve their identity, its reason for being as a collective agreement of all and among all for a shared purpose. The King, what’s more, wanted to insist on that idea with a call on the Constitution: “It demands that we preserve its integrity.”
«Outside respect for the Constitution there is no democracy or coexistence possible; there are no freedoms but imposition; There is no law, but arbitrariness. “Outside the Constitution there is no Spain in peace and freedom.” A new pause and something essential expressed in just six words: “And together with the Constitution, Spain.”
Once the first part of the message dedicated to the Magna Carta had been expressed, Don Felipe wanted to talk about Spain. He has once again recalled the need for unity and, also without ambiguities or messages between the lines, he has spoken of respect between institutions.
“The ultimate reason for our successes and progress has been the unity of our country.” This unity, he stated, “will be the key for us to successfully face the serious and complex future challenges that Spain faces today.”
To address this future, Felipe VI has insisted that all State institutions, “starting with the King”, have the duty to “always pursue the general interests of all Spaniards with loyalty to the Constitution.” Each institution must, according to the Monarch, “place itself in its rightful place” and, in addition, they must “also respect other institutions”, as well as “always ensure the good name and respect for our country.”
Don Felipe wanted to end the message with a more optimistic tone: “We should become more aware of the great country we have,” he stated, and then insisted that “Spain will continue forward.” “The Crown will always be on that path, not only because it is my duty as King, but also because it is my conviction.”
There was little doubt about the image that would accompany Felipe VI during the Christmas Message. The King carefully chooses the staging for this address to the Spaniards and this year he wanted a photograph of the Royal Family during the swearing in of the Constitution of the Princess of Asturias to be the one that made up the set that is set up every year in the audience hall of the Zarzuela Palace.
The photograph was taken on October 31, when the Princess of Asturias swore allegiance to the Constitution in Congress and with that gesture vindicated the validity of the parliamentary monarchy that the Spanish chose 45 years ago.
The set was completed by the flags of Spain and the European Union, a Christmas tree and a mystery that belongs to the private collection of Felipe VI. Two books were also placed in the audience hall: The Prado Museum and Masterpieces. Royal Collections.
After the Message, five photos were projected: Leonor on the day of her swearing-in, Infanta Sofía with the women’s soccer team, the Queen with the families affected by the fire in Tenerife, the King in Yuste and a last one of the coronation of Carlos III.
