Spain: Back to the Borb

“Conscious of my responsibility before God and history and taking into account the qualities to be found in the person of Prince Juan Carlos of Borbón, who has been perfectly trained to take up the high mission to which he might be called, I have decided to propose him to the nation as my successor.” Thus Generalissimo Francisco Franco, who has ruled Spain for the past 32 years, presented his chosen successor to the Cortes, Spain’s tame Parliament. In a roll-call vote, the Cortes overwhelmingly and obediently endorsed Franco’s choice.

The next morning a delegation from the Cortes drove to the Prince’s palace outside Madrid to inform him officially that he would succeed Franco as Chief of State when the Caudillo, now 76, steps down or dies. Later the same day, Juan Carlos, whose new official title is Prince of Spain, drove to the Cortes for the investiture. Kneeling at Franco’s left, the Prince swore his loyalty “to his Excellency the Chief of State and fidelity to the principles of the National Movement, and the fundamental laws of the Kingdom.”

New Dynasty. Then the Prince of Spain made a five-minute speech that raised some doubts about whether he is really as tame and tractable as he is supposed to be. After declaring his sympathy for Spain’s rebellious youth, the Prince declared that “the cult of the past must not be a brake on the evolution of a society that is changing with dizzying rapidity.” Despite the obvious allusion to a need for reform and accommodation in Spain’s archaic social structure, Franco smiled at the Prince throughout the speech.

Franco insists that selection of Juan Carlos, whose ancestors ruled Spain for 231 years before his grandfather fled the throne in 1931, does not represent a restoration of the old dynasty. On the contrary, he argues, Juan Carlos represents the start of a new dynasty that owes nothing to the past. From a legal standpoint, Franco’s ploy blocks the claims of Juan Carlos’ father Don Juan, (who now lives in Portugal) and those of other pretenders to the throne, since Franco has not restored the old line but started a new one, whose first-born sons will from now on become the Kings of Spain.

Father’s Title. Until this year, Juan Carlos vowed that the throne belonged to his father. “I will never be King as long as my father is alive,” he pledged repeatedly. Why did he change his mind? Ambition? His friends doubt it. More likely, Juan Carlos became convinced that only Franco could put a King back on Spain’s throne; the Prince feared that after Franco’s death antimonarchists in the government would block any such move. Since he knew that his father would never make a deal with Franco, who is in only moderately good health, Juan Carlos decided to go ahead and secure the throne for a Borbon before it was too late. When he is formally crowned, perhaps by Franco, Juan Carlos will take the title that his father intended to use: King Juan III of Spain.

Despite their prejudice against Kings, the antimonarchists in Franco’s ranks rallied to his proposal because they understand that the regime may need a monarchy in order to survive after his death. Franco’s followers fear that Spain, without some institution to maintain continuity, might erupt in civil strife that would sweep them out of power. Behind the figure of a Franco-appointed King, they hope they will be able to carry on Franco’s policies even after the Caudillo is gone.