Jan
7
Controversy seems to follow Spanish King Juan Carlos these days. He was once considered among the world’s most popular monarchs. Yet in his 38th year on the throne an overwhelming number of his constituents want him to abdicate. The last year and a half has been particularly tumultuous for the leader and royal family as a whole. In the summer of 2012 Carlos was forced out of his honorary position as World Wildlife Fund (WWF) President.
The Telegraph reports that while on a summer 2012 trip to the African nation of Botswana, Carlos broke his hip. Normally this would be cause for sympathy, not outrage, but why exactly was the then-honorary President of the WWF in Botswana? Well, he was hypocritically hunting elephants for sport! This was the first strike against the longtime King.
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And all last year a different batch of bad news surrounded the elder statesman. Spanish newspaper El Mundo wrote that 2013 showed “the gap between Spaniards and the monarchy has widened.”
Yet the bulk of the abdication talks are not centered on what the King did wrong, but rather what he didn’t do to prevent familial corruption per Fox News Latino. Carlos’ daughter Princess Cristina and her husband Iñaki Urdangarin, Duke of Palma de Mallorca, are embroiled in various scandals that have shaken Spain to the core. The Duke has allegedly been funneling millions of Euros into his own business, despite the money being earmarked for public use. The Princess has also drawn criticism for holding a job while being a royal.
Fox News Latino also got hold of a statement by the Agence France-Presse describing the Princess’s uncustomary behavior.
“Princess Cristina has always been the wayward daughter of the family, I think some of the monarch’s mistakes when it comes to family matters began there, by tolerating that she work at a private firm like La Caixa and collect a salary without renouncing her status as a princess,” Emilio de Diego, a history professor at Madrid’s Complutense University, told AFP.
More than 60 percent of Spaniards think the King should step down. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
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