I’m confused about Felipe’s role in this situation. Why isn’t he sending the army to help the people out, judging by the incompetence of the PM?
Spain, like all European monarchies, is a parliamentary monarchy, and parliamentary monarchies have a symbolic role that is subject to the decision of the government.
The King has a symbolic role as Captain General of the Armed Forces, but not an executive power that corresponds to the Government and the Ministry of Defense. The King constitutionally can only command the Royal Guard (which is a group formed by army personnel) and he offered troops. For many, this announcement by the King contributed to the politicians reacting and mobilizing more personnel.
The 23rd of February was a different era, with a very recent democracy and an army that was the direct heir of Franco's and where the role of the Head of State was still very important. But the main reason why Juan Carlos could intervene was that the President and the members of the government were locked in Parliament and therefore could not make decisions.
On other comments... Spanish politics has been very messy in recent years, with politicians who think more about their image and political gain than governing for the citizens... and in the end that affects everything, especially when there are two administrations that have to come to an agreement and they are from opposing political parties. They have not coordinated well, but it is also true that the level of destruction is enormous and affects many towns, and first they have had to clear access roads and bridges destroyed so that the machines can arrive, and then the priority has been to look for the victims. There are currently thousands of soldiers, police and firefighters in the area deployed to help.
Los efectivos de la UME y el Ejército de Tierra se asientan en Feria Valencia y en el puerto atraca un buque de la Armada
www.lasprovincias.es
I don't think the press has done its job well in this catastrophe either. They are more concerned with the political confrontation and the personal drama of the victims, which are what attract viewers to television, and they are less concerned with providing a public service in the face of the tragedy and transmitting information that is useful to the population. The town that the King and Queen visited was the town that was most easily accessible on foot from the city of Valencia, where it was easier for citizens and the press to access and it had become a bit of a show of the tragedy... they showed a bit of a reality that was much broader. Probably that also influenced what happened.
It seems that what happened on Sunday has made many people react, politicians are beginning to focus more on management and the press is reporting on other places, other initiatives and helping to spread useful information to help the victims.
www.elespanol.com
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