And on the third day of his return to Spain, the king emeritus spoke. Although, it seemed that people were working to create a protective capsule to whitewash the corruption cases, and to try to protect the monarchy in this way, what they received has been a blunt statement of position by the former king Juan Carlos I who has temporarily ventured away from his residence in Abu Dhabi: "Are you going to give some kind of explanation?", the reporter asked him at the gates of the residence of his friend Pedro Campos, where he has been staying in Sanxenxo these days. "An explanations of what? Ha ha!"
This phrase, a dreadful one for the Spanish monarchy, on the eve of Juan Carlos's meeting in Madrid with his son Felipe and the rest of his family, reflects the current situation to perfection. A corrupt king who was forced to go into exile in the United Arab Emirates and has not been able to return to Madrid in two years, returns to Spain after justice has cleared him of the court cases, not without noting that he would have been prosecuted if the laws had not passed the statute of limitations or he had no immunity, and what he does, the first time he opens his mouth, is let out a loud chortle, laughing at everyone.
Relieved of any need to act with circumspection, not even the obligation to say, as in 2012, after the controversy caused by his elephant hunt in Botswana: he was very sorry, he had made a mistake and it would not happen again. Ten years later, he has ostentatiously given the Spanish monarchy a slap in the face with the devastating phrase "An explanation of what? Ha ha!" A phrase with which he responds, not only to the Galician journalist asking it, but to all those who have asked him for an explanation, starting with the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez. And now that Sánchez has his answer, what does he plan to do with it? Because on June 10th, there will be another visit to Sanxenxo for a new regatta.
From the outset this trip has been an absurdity, with media coverage unbecoming of a modern country and adulation laid on by the print newspapers and television commentators, so humiliating in a country that defines itself as democratic. How embarrassing it will be when he visits the Zarzuela, the residence of the head of state. Although it presents itself as a private visit it is obvious that it goes much further. It is the return to what was his home for several decades and the setting for his frantic act of illicit enrichment. A private visit would have been a meeting in Abu Dhabi last week, when Felipe VI travelled to the capital of the Emirates to convey condolences for the death of the emir Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a great friend of the emeritus.
This was not done on the 14th and now they want to pull the wool over our eyes. I don't know if inside the palace they will be having a good laugh or not, not even at the father and son reunion, but right now the visit is dishonourable.