Spanish king warns compatriots against "discord" in Christmas speech
The Spanish constitution adopted 45 years ago was the "greatest political success of our recent history" because it had overcome the "division" of the country, Felipe VI continued. The previous division had been the cause of "many mistakes in our history", had "opened up wounds" and separated people from one another. The constitution adopted in 1978 had consolidated Spain' s transition to democracy after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.
The king delivered his Christmas speech a few weeks after the re-election of head of government Pedro Sánchez with the help of Catalan independence supporters. The social democrat Sánchez had promised the Catalan independence supporters an amnesty in return for their support.
The background to this is the failed attempts to secede Catalonia from Spain in 2017. The promised amnesty has deeply divided Spain and led to major demonstrations, some of which were called by the right-wing opposition.
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Felipe VI, in his Christmas speech, highlighted the Spanish constitution as a significant political achievement, having addressed the country's past divisions. Pedro Sanchez, the newly re-elected head of government, delivered this speech following his amnesty promise to Catalan independence supporters. This amnesty, however, has caused widespread dissent in Spain, leading to numerous demonstrations. The right-wing opposition has even organized some of these protests. In his speech, the King warned against the escalation of "discord" within Spain, urging unity and cohesion among compatriots. This warning came a few days before King Felipe VI's address to the nation on Sunday.
Source: www.stern.de
