“From today I will serve all Spaniards with respect and loyalty. There is no greater honor. I ask for your trust, just as I have placed my trust in the future of our nation”.
So said Spain’s future queen, Crown Princess Leonor, when she, together with the royal family, swore allegiance to the Spanish constitution in the country’s parliament.
Boycotted by ministers
At the same time, the ceremony has been overshadowed by political conflict. The Spanish Prime Minister, the Social Democrat Pedro Sanchez, attended the ceremony and welcomed Leonor as Crown Princess. At the same time, three of the ministers in his government chose to boycott the ceremony in protest against the monarchy.
Social Affairs Minister Ione Belarra, and Gender Equality Minister Irene Montero from the left-wing party Podemos chose not to appear. So did consumer minister Alberto Garzón, party leader of the radical left party Izquierda Unida.
In a statement, Gender Equality Minister Montero says that she and her party will oppose the monarchy and that the Crown Princess will become Queen.
“The monarchy as an institution and its hereditary principle is not only from another time, it is also incompatible with democracy,” she writes on X.
Does not recognize the monarchy
Several members of parliament from regional parties also boycotted the ceremony, including the Catalan parties ERC and Junts.
The Basque parties PNV and Bildu, as well as the Galician party BNG also boycotted, in a joint statement they write that they do not recognize the monarchy and that it is a legacy of the dictatorship.
The action has received harsh criticism, including from Santiago Abascal, leader of the right-wing party Vox, who in a post on X calls the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez a traitor who is supported by “Spain’s enemies”.