With confidence in the present and the future and “through the memory of the path traveled” over the past 50 years, when Spain began its transition to democracy, Philip VI I came back this evening to Royal Palace of Madrid address … to the Spaniards in their traditional Christmas message and to claim the importance of preserving our democratic coexistence at a time when our country is going through “a worrying crisis of confidence”.
From the Hall of Columns – where the treaty by which Spain joined the European Communities, today’s European Union, was signed 40 years ago – the king pronounced the Shortest Christmas message of his reign and also the more energeticbecause there were several moments when his words were interpreted as a call to the attention of politicians, to whom he attributed this lack of confidence on the part of the Spanish people when he perceived a tension in the public debate that provokes “boredom, disenchantment and disaffection”which generates polarization and “seriously affects the morale of citizens and the credibility of institutions”.
After explicitly defending the Transition, “which was above all a collective exercise of responsibility” and “born from the shared desire to build a future of freedoms based on dialogue”, Don Felipe warned that “We live in truly demanding times” and listed some problems that the Spaniards suffer from and for which decision-making is urgent. “Many citizens believe that the increasing cost of living limits their possibilities for progress; that access to housing constitutes an obstacle to the projects of so many young people; that the rapidity of technological progress generates uncertainty regarding employment; or that climatic phenomena constitute a growing and sometimes tragic situation. We are facing many challenges and citizens also perceive that the tension in the public debate causes boredom, disenchantment and disaffection”, denounced Felipe VI. Immediately afterwards, he sent his first message to the political class declaring that these realities that the Spaniards suffer “They cannot be resolved either through rhetoric or voluntarism”.
Don Felipe recalled that throughout these 50 years, “our country has repeatedly demonstrated that it knows how to respond to internal and external challenges when there is will, perseverance and vision of the country” – as seen in economic crises, emergencies or natural disasters – which is appreciated every day “in the quiet and responsible work of millions of people.” In this sense, he stressed that “Spain progressed when we were able to find objectives to share.” “And the root of any shared project is necessarily coexistence”added the King, once again recalling the central requirement of this Christmas message: that “we must all make the concern for coexistence our daily work and for that we need trust”.
The King, in another moment of this year’s Christmas message
“In this turbulent world, where multilateralism and the world order are in crisis, democratic societies are going through, We are going through a worrying crisis of confidence. And this reality seriously affects the minds of citizens and the credibility of institutions,” said Don Felipe. He then warned that “extremism, radicalism and populism feed on this lack of trust, disinformation, inequalities, disenchantment with the present and doubts about how to approach the future.”
“The lack of trust seriously affects the minds of citizens and the credibility of institutions”
“It is not enough to remember that we have been there before, that we already know this chapter of history and that it has had disastrous consequences,” the King said of the effects of extremism and the lack of consensus. “It is up to all of us to preserve confidence in our democratic coexistence,” he said. To this end, the main objective of society and its institutions is always prioritize collective interest over individual interest. To achieve this, he looked for options for change: “I am talking about dialoguebecause the solutions to our problems require competitionTHE responsibility and the everyone’s commitment; I’m talking about respecting language and listening to the opinions of others; I am talking about a particular exemplarity in the exercise of all public powers, but also of empathy; and the need to place the dignity of human beings, in particular the most vulnerable, at the center of discourse and all politics“.
“In this turbulent world, where multilateralism and the world order are in crisis, democratic societies are going through a worrying crisis of confidence”
On Christmas Eve, Don Felipe remembered that “In democracy, each person’s ideas can never be dogmas, nor those of others threats”. He warned that “moving forward consists of taking steps, with agreements and renunciations, in the same direction, without running to the detriment of the downfall of the other” and “that Spain is above all a shared project: a way of bringing together – and realizing – individual interests and aspirations around the same notion of common good”. The claim of common good – as a set of conditions that allow the development and well-being of society, achieving peace, justice, freedom and access to essential resources and services such as health, education and infrastructure – has been constant in the twelve Christmas messages that Felipe VI has delivered since his proclamation.
The shortest Christmas message
The total length of the speech, including the title and hymns, was 10 minutes and 29 seconds. The king’s words spread everywhere 9 minutes and 2 seconds. Dressed in a navy blue suit, white shirt and terracotta-colored tie with geometric print, Don Felipe said goodbye congratulating Christmas in the co-official languages. It was the third time that he delivered the Christmas message from the Royal Palace of Madrid and the second from the Hall of Columns, where he did it last year, decorated with a fir tree and a birth of the first quarter of the 18th century with the The Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Josephfrom the national heritage collection kept at the Descalzas Reales Monastery in Madrid.
“Extremism, radicalism and populism thrive on lack of trust, misinformation, inequality, disenchantment with the present and doubts about how to approach the future”
Don Felipe observed before concluding that “each historical period has its own challenges”, that “easy paths do not exist” and that “ours are neither more nor less than those of our parents or grandparents”. And then he remembered that “We have a great asset”: “Our ability to travel together”. He looked to the memory of these 50 years of democracy so that we can do so with confidence, because “fear only builds barriers and generates noise, and barriers and noise prevent us from understanding reality in its full extent.” In this time of hope, he celebrated that “we are a great country”: “Spain is full of initiatives and talents, and I believe that the world needs more than ever our sensitivity, our creativity and our capacity for work, our sense of justice and fairness and our determined commitment to Europe, its principles and its values.”
Until almost the last of 1,126 words speech, the king encouraged the Spaniards to preserve this democratic coexistence: “We can achieve our goals, with successes and mistakes, if we undertake them together; all participating, proudly, in this great project of common life that is Spain.
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