Reporter Mike Elkin writes from Spain:
In Spain there are both written and unwritten rules that prohibit any criticism or mocking of the Spanish monarchy, evident in Tuesday’s court decision to fine two employees at El Jueves magazine – similar to Mad magazine – for slandering Prince Felipe. This summer the cover of El Jueves decided to make fun of the government’s plan to subsidize new parents with 2,500 euros per child. The illustration showed a caricature of Felipe having sex with wife Letizia and saying, "Have you heard? If you get pregnant, this will be the closest thing to work I’ve ever done!"
It was not the most outrageous Jueves cover, but a judge ordered the magazine’s recall, which of course ensured that everyone in Spain saw it instead of the magazine’s usual staple of teenage boys. The court, enforcing a law specifically designed to protect the monarchy’s honor, fined the Jueves cover writer and illustrator 3,000 euros each for deliberate slander against the monarchy (they are appealing). In a way, however, the cover illustrates a growing anti-monarchical feeling in Spain. Pro-republic marches seem to be taking place more frequently and it’s unlikely that a future King Felipe will enjoy the same unflappable sway over Spaniards that his father, King Juan Carlos, does now.
There’s an interesting paradox in Spain when it comes to the king, and it’s common to hear people say that they don’t like the monarchy but are pro-Juan Carlos – they are known as juancarlistas. The king played an instrumental role in the transition from dictatorship to democracy in the late 1970s, and also saved the infant democracy from failure by defusing an attempted military coup in 1981. As a result, Juan Carlos is untouchable. The press follows an unwritten rule of blindness and deafness when it comes to anything that could tarnish the king’s reputation. Spaniards are keen to mock almost anyone in the public eye, but Juan Carlos avoids most public scrutiny. When he tells the president of Venezuela to shut up on international television, Spain says, "Well said!"
One exception is the recent burning of the king’s photo by a few young nationalists in Catalonia. The generations of the late 1970s and early 1980s only know of Juan Carlos’s deeds from reruns, and it appears the royal family’s protective shield is cracking. As El Jueves’s lawyer told the court: "No one can be free of criticism."
