The emeritus king got tired of waiting and has decided to return to Spain. It is scheduled to land this week and he informed Fernando Ónega, the most discreet of journalists in this country and the least interested. Without pending legal cases, although with the recognition of actions that are not honorable, Juan Carlos de Borbón has decided to return, despite the fact that the House of the King wanted to delay his return. Delay it until the most opportune moment. But often the opportune moments are neither. His return will bring a stir impossible to manage. Because of the media noise, because of the popular reactions. And if there is an institution that needs calm, it is the Crown, but the times are what they are, not what we would like, so the high officials of the Zarzuela have work to do. His subtlety is going to be put to the test once again.
It is a little difficult to understand that last weekend Felipe VI went to the United Arab Emirates to express his condolences for the death of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan and did not see his father, who has lived in Abu Dhabi for almost two years . As Serrat sang in one of his songs from the seventies, “so lluny i so a prop / com el riu i el xop; / The walker and the other quiet”. It must be that, from so much applying firewalls to the figure of the King so that some behaviors of his father do not contaminate him, proximity has become a problem.
The king emeritus has precipitated his return. The House of the King would have wanted to carry it out later and, when it happened, control the time and forms in detail. But Juan Carlos, who since his abdication has tried not to further complicate life for his son and the institution he embodies, has taken the initiative. And now that he is free of charges, he has decided on his account. In the Zarzuela they are in a hurry modulating how to make the return not turn into a show and how to make the encounter between father and son as natural as possible.
The king emeritus wants to go to Sanxenxo and will be received by Felipe VI at the Zarzuela. We know little else. We do not know where he will stay in Madrid or if his residence will continue to be in Abu Dhabi. But everything that is to normalize normality – and sorry for the pun – will be a success.
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