Don Juan Carlos announced yesterday that he will resign as King of Spain after 39 years of service, marking the end of a stage that started when Spain became a democratic nation with a royal family. The announcement comes at the end of a year rife with big events that surely played a part in the king's decision. For example, another major figure in Spain's transition to democracy, Adolfo Suárez, passed away on March 23.
King Carlos passes the crown to his son, who will ascend the throne as Felipe VI. In his resignation, the King tried to make it clear that in addition to mounting health problems, his decision will help Spain regain stability at a time when "a new generation is poised to take over." To depict symbolically what this transition will look like, at the King's speech there were two carefully-chosen photos on a screen: one of Juan Carlos with the Prince of Asturias and Princess Leonor and another with Juan Carlos and his father. The effort to keep the monarchy alive in Spain shows that the King is committed to the institution and the nation following several years of unfavorable press and falling public opinion according to the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS) polls. His luxury elephant hunt in Africa, his ties to Princess Corinna, the Noós case and Planeta's publishing of the book La Gran Desmemoria by Pilar Urbano all won the King intense scorn from the Spanish citizens. Pilar's book looks at the King's role on February 23, the date of a suppressed coup d'état that convinced many Spaniards to back Juan Carlos instead of Zarzuela.
The King has made a good decision in stepping down now before turmoil in the Spanish Socialist Workers Party upset Parliament anymore and before Judge Castro finalizes his sentence for Princess Cristina and her husband, both of which can further tarnish the King's rule. His rule began with a major economic crisis and ended with another, although the situations are hardly comparable. Spain's young and shaky democracy in the late 1970s was born out of a dictatorship and had to forge the Pact of Moncloa to get out of a budget hole. Spain gradually regained strength, joined the EU and NATO, started using the euro, freed up economic markets, helped fight international terrorism and took millions of euros from the EU to heal a collapsing financial sector. Throughout these years, the stock market has risen 950% and GDP has grown by 2.2% per year on average. The corruption cases and the latest economic crisis have increased the youngest generation's democratic spirit. In Catalonia citizens are questioning how unified Spain really is, and the two leading political parties, which built the nation's democracy, are hurting at the ballot box. The King understands these challenges and trusts an energetic younger generation to strengthen the crown.
