The King's speech vindicating the unity of Spain and the Constitution in front of Sánchez

@ElentirENG ES 11·29·2023 · 18:53 0

Today in Congress the opening session of the 15th legislature took place, which begins in the midst of a serious institutional crisis.

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The socialist blow to the separation of powers and equality before the law, which is the cause of this serious institutional crisis, has received rejection from a multitude of institutions, including 11 of the 17 autonomous governments, the Supreme Court, the 17 Superior Courts of Justice, the 4 largest associations of judges and all associations of prosecutors, including associations traditionally related to the Socialist Party (PSOE). It is an unprecedented event in our democratic history, which shows the difficult moment that Spain is going through.

In this opening session, H.M.'s speech was highly anticipated. King Felipe VI, whom we have been able to see with a significantly very serious face in all the institutional events that he has been involved in lately with members of the government. The King represents one of the few institutions that remains firm and resists the assault of the Socialist Party, which is determined to appropriate all the resources of the State to put them at the service of its partisan interests.

Without departing from his moderating role, Felipe VI has recalled the duty of the Crown: "to symbolize the unity of Spain and its permanence", a unity that is seriously threatened by the pact between the socialists and the separatists. Likewise, the King has recalled "the history of the great collective success of our democracy, supported by the Constitution. A Constitution that establishes freedom, equality, justice and political pluralism as values on which our democratic coexistence is based. Values that are not anchored in the past and that must be permanently projected into the future."

Likewise, and in the face of a government that confronts the Spanish people and degrades coexistence, the King has demanded "a cohesive and united Spain" and has recalled the obligation we have towards future generations: "Each generation is the repository of the achievements of previous generations and has the civic obligation to perfect and increase those achievements; it has the moral duty to protect and preserve what has been achieved and the responsibility of handing it over to the generations that succeed it."

Felipe VI also claimed a way of understanding politics that is very far from the sectarianism that is being exhibited the Spanish left, determined to build a "wall" (as Sánchez himself pointed out) in front of the right, as if this were the Berlin of 1961: "The search for understanding, the recognition of our differences together with mutual respect as citizens, the certainty that only by overcoming divisions do freedoms and rights have a secure basis, were all ideas and attitudes that were decisive in opening a new page in our history. That historical moment is a constant source of motivation because it represents the noblest spirit in the exercise of politics."

Likewise, the King has recalled the importance of trust in the face of a government that lied about the amnesty, stating that it was unconstitutional before the elections and later defending it out of pure partisan interest. These have been the words of the Head of State:

"The Spanish people have placed in their honors the most precious political asset: trust. They have entrusted them with the task of ensuring that the political pluralism represented here promotes the improvement of people's living conditions and groups in which it is integrated.

The performance of the powers attributed to the Chambers constitutes a high honor for all their honors. An honor that also entails the obligation to perform the constitutional functions entrusted to them, always seeking the common good of all Spaniards.

This is, unequivocally, the return due to the trust granted by citizens."

Some will believe that the King's speech is irrelevant because it is just words. On the contrary. At a time when the government degrades the value of the given word, subordinating it to lies and its particular interest and sowing distrust in institutions, the words of the King are very valuable and they place the Crown as an institution that deserves trust, because it is, I repeat, one of the few State institutions that continue to fulfill their obligations scrupulously.

There are people who do not know how to recognize the value of the Crown, perhaps because they have not known anything else. I only wish that the day does not come when you have to miss it, because a regime like the one that the socialists and communists have implemented in countries like Cuba, Venezuela or Nicaragua has been implemented in its place. . For my part, I thank the King for his words and he has my total support.

¡Viva el Rey!

P.S.: here you can see the video with the King's speech in today's opening session (the video is in Spanish, you can activate the automatic English subtitles in the bottom bar of the player):

And here is the translation of the speech into English, based on the transcription published in Royal Household website:

WORDS OF HIS MAJESTY THE KING AT THE OPENING OF THE XV LEGISLATURE

Congress of Deputies. Madrid, 11.29.2023

I begin my words by thanking – along with the Queen and the Princess of Asturias – the welcome of the President of the Congress of Deputies and greeting with all due respect the group of deputies and senators.

Since my proclamation as King before the Cortes Generales, this is the 3rd occasion on which I have the honor of addressing your Lordships from this rostrum in a joint session of the Congress and Senate to solemnly open a new legislature.

The regularity of this act throughout our democratic life does not deprive it of its constitutional meaning since it is an expression of the link between the Crown and the Cortes Generales, and between their respective functions: For the Cortes Generales, to represent the Spanish people, holder of national sovereignty. For the Crown, symbolize the unity of Spain and its permanence.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Legislatures are the measure of the future of political life. Each new parliamentary mandate forms a ring of the trunk of our democracy. After the general elections on July 23, the 15th legislature now opens.

I appreciate the collaboration of the political groups of the Chamber that appeared in the consultation procedure, thus facilitating the exercise of the function that the Constitution entrusts to me.

I congratulate Don Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón for his election as President of the Government by the Congress of Deputies, having obtained the confidence of the Chamber, as well as the members of the Government for his appointment. I also congratulate his Honorable Members for the great honor of his election as deputies and senators. And I wish you all success in the responsibilities you have assumed.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Before these Cortes Generales, on October 31, the Princess of Asturias took the oath provided for in the Constitution, as Heir to the Crown. She thus assumed the institutional responsibility that corresponds to her and proclaimed her permanent willingness to serve the Spanish people. And today I want to thank the affection received in this chamber, as well as all the expressions of support from citizens on a day of such importance for Spain.

For the Crown, the oath of the Princess is a condition of its continuity in the performance of the mission assigned to the Parliamentary Monarchy in the Constitution.

It is also, for all the institutions that make up the State, the celebration of a parliamentary act through which the Princess's solemn adherence to constitutional values and principles is made public.

It means, finally, for citizens, the certainty of stability in the loyal performance of the functions of the Head of State.

In the general elections of July 23, as well as in the municipal and regional elections of May 28, thousands of young people of the same age as the Princess exercised their right to vote for the first time. A fact – always exciting on a personal level – that represents, from a social point of view, the expansion and renewal of our political community.

Our collective life must be enriched with your aspirations, needs and concerns. Young people are the ones who develop social energies the most, driven by the enthusiasm of those who have a broad horizon ahead of them and a natural capacity to adapt to new times. The future always promises something better and our young people, who will be its protagonists, rightly aspire to that improvement.

But, to face that future with confidence, to face a time of great changes and transformations, they need a democratic framework - such as the one represented by the Constitution - that allows them to live together and prosper in freedom, and they need to receive a cohesive and united Spain in the that they can develop their lives and project their dreams.

Each generation is the repository of the achievements of previous generations and has the civic obligation to perfect and increase those achievements; It has the moral duty to protect and preserve what has been achieved and the responsibility to hand it over to the generations that succeed it.

For young people, democracy is not an aspiration, as it was for their parents and grandparents, but a reality in which they were born, have grown up, and in which they have been formed as people.

And that reality—let us remember—is caused by the history of the great collective success of our democracy, supported by the Constitution. A Constitution that establishes freedom, equality, justice and political pluralism as values on which our democratic coexistence is based. Values that are not anchored in the past and that must be permanently projected into the future.

The search for understanding, the recognition of our differences together with mutual respect as citizens, the certainty that only by overcoming divisions do freedoms and rights have a secure basis, were all ideas and attitudes that were decisive in opening a new page in our history. . That historical moment is a constant source of motivation because it represents the noblest spirit in the exercise of politics.

Claiming the profound meaning of that great pact between the Spanish people that is at the origin of our democracy is not, at all, looking back with nostalgia; Yes, it is, on the other hand, a proud and conscious reaffirmation of our best capabilities as a country and of the best achievement that orders, in our days, the life of Spanish society: the Constitution. And therefore, we must honor its spirit, respect it and comply with it, to make effective the definition of Spain as a Social and Democratic State of Law.

Three dimensions of our State that, as I pointed out before these same Chambers at the opening of the previous legislature, are the three essential pillars, inseparable and indissociable from each other of the same historical and political reality, which is Spain, and that guarantee our collective coexistence. .

Ladies and gentlemen,
For our young people, voting is the democratic way of expressing a will for the future, but it is also exercising, in an exciting and conscious way, a right and a responsibility that have to do with the value of our common history.

Because each choice is the result of a previous path; It is the consequence of a historical evolution in which we have been configuring our identity. For centuries, Spain has been a reality shared and built by women and men of diverse social or geographical origins with different ideologies, but with a common idea: a better country for all.

A country that in 1978 reached its best expression in mutual understanding without impositions or exclusions and in the will for integration that enriches, with diversity and pluralism, our common project, our emotional and supportive bond as a Nation.

This is what the Spanish did 45 years ago. They left us a Constitution, which is the soul of our democracy and freedom, with an inclusive spirit of ideals and convictions and a common purpose like we had never had before. A serene, excited Spain, confident in its future. We must honor that legacy; a legacy of greatness, responsibility and sense of History.

Our obligation, the obligation of all institutions, is to bequeath to the youngest Spaniards a solid and united Spain, without divisions or confrontations.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Parliament as a representative institution generates, as a primary political value, the integration of different options and projects within our Constitution.

The Spanish people have placed in their lordships the most precious political asset: trust. He has entrusted them with the task of ensuring that the political pluralism represented here promotes the improvement of the living conditions of the people and groups in which it is integrated.

The performance of the powers attributed to the Chambers constitutes a high honor for all your honors. An honor that also entails the obligation to perform the entrusted constitutional functions, always seeking the common good of all Spaniards.

This is, unequivocally, the return due to the trust granted by citizens.

Well into the 21st century, the magnitude of the challenges we face demands – from all of us – a great responsibility. This is what the Spaniards deserve and the exercise of their representation demands it.

I conclude, Madam President and Ladies and Gentlemen, by wishing you success once again in the performance of your high office.

It is now my honor and privilege to declare the XV Legislature open.

Muchas gracias / Moltes gràcies / Eskerrik asko / Moitas grazas.

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Photo: Casa Real.