cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/46537396
Once I was the king of Spain.
Now I eat humble pie. 🤷
The idea that early kingdoms are despotisms in which the people exist only for the sovereign, is wholly inapplicable to the monarchies we are considering. On the contrary, the sovereign in them exists only for his subjects: his life is only valuable so long as he discharges the duties of his position by ordering the course of nature for his people’s benefit. So soon as he fails to do so, the care, the devotion, the religious homage which they had hitherto lavished on him cease and are changed into hatred and contempt; he is ignominiously dismissed and may be thankful if he escapes with his life. Worshipped as a god one day, he is killed as a criminal the next. But in this changed behaviour of the people there is nothing capricious or inconsistent. On the contrary, their conduct is quite consistent. If their king is their god he is or should be, also their preserver; and if he will not preserve them he must make room for another who will. So long, however, as he answers their expectations, there is no limit to the care which they take of him, and which they compel him to take of himself.
- J. G. Frazer, Taboo, The Burden of Royalty
The violent protests during the visit of the Spanish royal couple and Prime Minister Sánchez to the flood disaster area may have been organized by right-wing extremist groups.
As the Spanish Interior Minister Grande-Marlaska explained, there are clear indications of this.
having kings and queens in the year 2024 is just entirely ridiculous.
Does the Spanish royalty have any actual power?
Not really, just representative. They are useless. They are just eating spanish money because yes.
Right. But that doesn’t really make sense to blame them when they had no power to prevent this either. This should be put onto the actual politicians and all the voters who did not vote for Green politicians (which I would guess includes a lot of the people now trying to scapegoat the royalties here).
The problem with the monarchy is that it costs money and is useless, except for visiting affected places, as if that did any good; they don’t provide solutions. At the same time, they have cleaned the streets where they were going to pass but haven’t cleaned the rest of the streets, which angered the people.
All of this happened because the monarchy, the president of Spain, and the president of the Valencian Community all came at the same time. Everything added up and ended up like this.
