The ex-King Affair touches many raw nerves in Spanish society with some seeking to protect him and others to roll back the inviolability he has long enjoyed.
There are those that want to defend him in order to defend the instituion rather than the person fearing a constitutional crisis. In the early years after Franco’s death, King Juan Carlos was seen as a foundation of democracy that should never be weakened for fear of another Civil War, So his questionable behaviour, even though well known, has always been hushed up. The media wouldn’t touch any story that threw a bad light on the monarchy, in complete contrast to how the British tabloid press has long treated the Royal Family.
Yet others saw the ex-King as the appointed successor by Franco, groomed by Franco since childhood. There was an old joke: why is Juan Carlos balding on top? Because that was where Franco always used to pat him.
Without Juan Carlos I Spain would have probably become a federal republic, which is seen as inevitable. Spain at present is a monarchic, psuedo-federal state as it is.
Some claim (pushed by the media) his intervention on the 23rd of February, 1981, stopped the coup in its tracks… others consider that he was in on it but got cold feet; his wife and children had been sent to the UK on a royal visit days before the coup, which is held up as proof of it.
Indeed the thwarted military plot of 27th of October, 1982, planned to take the King prisoner, no longer trusting him to play ball. In fact, another planned military coup for June 1985 included the assassination of the King, his family, leading military figures (loyal to the Government) as well as the PM, VPM and the Minister of Defence.
Yes, the Spanish far-right in the 80s was constantly trying to bring back a military dictatorship, hence the importance of protecting a constitutional monarch. Today, although the far-right is on the rise again, manifesting itself through the Vox political party, the old-school Franco nostalgics have almost all died off and the military is not the far-right monolith of yesteryear.
All of the above is merely a preamble to what has happened in Cádiz, so it can be better understood. The City Hall, governed by a far-left coalition, has decided to rename its principal avenue from Rey Juan Carlos I to Avenida Salud Pública. They justified this decision by considering that there will never be a time like the present to honour our public-health workers and what better way than to name a main thoroughfare after this public service.
The Spanish right wing is livid, especially within the said City Hall: the PP, Cs and Vox voted against, claiming that now was not the time to be spending money on this in the midst of the pandemic. The left consider that these parties did not dare give their true reasons as to vote against honouring National Health workers in defence of the ex-King would be political suicide for them. The socialists abstained, thus allowing the motion to be carried.
(News: Metropolitan Area, Cádiz, Andalucia)