If I were Felipe, i'd decline to read a speech written for me by Rajoy..who has only enflamed the situation.
Rather his own words will be the ones likely to calm the Nation. Obviously the speech must be approved by the Government, but a choice of words that satisfies both King and PM MUST be found, and by 9pm...
The Spanish constitution, I believe, says that the ministers are responsible for the King's actions. Having said that though, I remember an interview King Juan Carlos gave early in his reign where he said that a Spanish king cannot be like a Scandinavian or a British monarch in the sense that there are times when he will have to be more proactive in state affairs. Juan Carlos certainly was proactive when needed and I wonder if the police reaction we saw on Sunday would have happened the way it did if Juan Carlos were still king instead of Felipe.
The problem for Felipe is that the separatists and the republicans still identify the Bourbon monarchy with the unitary Castilian state or, worse than that, even with Franco's regime. So, there is no way the King can be an impartial, honest broker or a symbol of unity for them.
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