ESCARMENTADO EL REY BUSCA SU REDENCIÓN PARA SU MONARQUIA EN ESPAÑA
Escarmentada rey busca la redención, para España y su monarquía
Por DOREEN CARVAJAL y RAPHAEL MINDER
MADRID — Con España sumida en una recesión económica, muchos españoles
están cuestionando a su rey, largo reverenciado por su papel en llevar la
democracia a la nación pero ahora objeto de escrutinio por su estilo de vida de
lujo y fortuna opaco.
Un accidente esta primavera, cuando el rey rompió la cadera mientras la
caza del elefante en Botswana, expone un mundo enrarecido de contactos
comerciales y partió de una inusual protesta pública sobre por qué el monarca
español, Juan Carlos I, fue apagado en un safari africano caro durante una
época de penuria nacional.
El episodio dio lugar a una inusual disculpa real, pero el daño colateral
ha dejado al rey, 74, recalibrando su monarquía. Él ha intensificado sus
apariciones públicas, abrazando su papel como un refuerzo de negocios
internacionales y conciliador en medio de la furia creciente sobre las medidas
de austeridad impuestas por el Gobierno pretende ayudar a apuntalar la
confianza en las finanzas del país.
"La monarquía continuará siempre y cuando la gente quiere una
monarquía", dijo el rey en un columpio a través de Nueva York la semana
pasada, parte de una estrategia de Palacio para reunirse con los creadores de
opinión superior para ayudar a promover la confianza en España.
La crisis económica de Europa tiene políticos y contribuyentes luchando
desde Bélgica a Inglaterra pesaje abiertamente los costos del subsidio royals.
A diferencia de otros monarcas europeos, Juan Carlos llegó al trono tras la
muerte del dictador General Francisco Franco en 1975 con prácticamente nada y
ha trabajado duro para generar su propia fortuna más allá de los 8,3 millones
de euros de presupuesto anual, o $10,7 millones, otorgado en el Palacio por el
Gobierno español.
El rey es ampliamente valorado en círculos empresariales para actuar como
un fabricante de trato ocasional y Embajador económico para su nación, pero
cómo ha amasó su considerable riqueza personal sigue siendo secreto. La riqueza
de la familia real española se ha estimado en hasta $2,3 billones, una suma que
partidarios afirman fue inflada por la inclusión de propiedades del Gobierno.
Para promover las empresas de España y ayudar a reparar su imagen, Juan
Carlos tomó los controles de este mes de un helicóptero NH90 vanguardia durante
una visita a una planta de fabricación de Eurocopter en Albacete. El jueves,
inauguró una nueva terminal de contenedores de Barcelona.
Es parte de su campaña para promover la "Marca España", como lo
puso el rey en respuesta a preguntas escritas, otro paso de Palacio para
demostrar transparencia. Su mensaje para la empresa española, añadió, es
sencillo: "Exportación, exportación y exportación".
El papel peripatético de Juan Carlos como un fabricante de diplomático y
trato de negocios fue traído a la fama después de safari, subvencionado y organizado
por Mohamed Eyad Kayali, un magnate de la construcción Siria.
Los dos amigos desde hace mucho tiempo habían trabajado juntos en un
contrato de tren bala $9,9 billones que el monarca ayudó a corredor el pasado
otoño por un consorcio español en Arabia Saudita. Aprovechando su amistad con
el rey de Arabia Saudita y otros royals, Juan Carlos deshizo una oferta
francesa.
Partidarios y asesores al Palacio insisten que el rey no recibe comisiones
sobre las ofertas él media o promueve.
"Ellos han tratado de ser más transparente al revelar su presupuesto
anual," dijo Herman Matthijs, profesor de Finanzas en la Universidad de
Bruselas, que analiza el gasto del Gobierno en la realeza de Europa y buscó sin
éxito obtener información acerca de la fortuna personal del rey. "Al menos
supongo que es millonario, pero la pregunta es: es un multimillonario? ¿Cuál es
su verdadera riqueza?"
España vivió sin un rey durante 38 años después de la familia Borbón
español fue exiliada en 1931 y sus propiedades expropiación. Franco, que opera
como un dictador desde el final de la Guerra Civil española en la década de
1930 hasta su muerte, cuidadosamente seleccionados con el rey en 1969 para
sucederle.
La autoridad del rey está limitada por la Constitución española
principalmente ceremonial competencias — esencialmente un monarca nonruling.
Antes de su ascensión al trono, el rey fue ayudado por asesores financieros
que ha creado una campaña de suscripción cuando él se casó para ayudar a
construir un colchón financiero. Durante ese período, el futuro rey "se
obsesionó con la construcción de una fortuna personal," dijo José García
Abad, autor de dos libros sobre el monarca.
En este "annus horribilis" para la familia real española, el rey
ha mantenido a sí mismo con el extendido brazo de un caso de tráfico de
influencia dirigido a su yerno, Iñaki Urdangarín, quien es acusado de utilizar
una fundación sin fines de lucro para desfalcar dinero público de eventos
deportivos y de explotar su fondo real para saltar los procedimientos de
licitación estándar.
En sus viajes, el monarca puede aceptar regalos en nombre del Gobierno
español, pero no hay ninguna lista pública de los regalos. Con los años, ha
recibido yates, una isla de casa y autos de lujo para agregar a su colección de
coches, provocando cáusticos mensajes de Twitter como, "Los españoles en
zapatillas y el rey con 70 coches".
En medio de la crisis económica de España,
el rey y su hijo, el Príncipe Felipe, de acuerdo a
Chastened King
Seeks Redemption, for Spain and His Monarchy
Allison Joyce/Getty Images
King Juan Carlos I of
Spain, at a Clinton Global Initiative forum in New York recently, has come
under increasing scrutiny at home.
MADRID
— With Spain
mired in an economic slump, many Spaniards are questioning their king, long
revered for his role in bringing democracy to the nation but now being
scrutinized for his deluxe lifestyle and opaque fortune.
Pool photo by Paco Campos
After Juan Carlos
broke his hip while elephant hunting in Botswana this spring, austerity-minded
Spaniards were outraged.
An accident this spring, when the king broke his hip
while elephant hunting in Botswana, exposed a rarefied world of business
contacts and set off an unusual public outcry over why the Spanish monarch,
Juan Carlos I, was off on a pricey African safari during a time of national
hardship.
The episode led to an unusual royal apology, but the
collateral damage has left the king, 74, recalibrating his monarchy. He has
stepped up his public appearances, embracing his role as an international
business booster and conciliator amid rising fury over government-imposed
austerity measures intended to help shore up confidence in the country’s
finances.
“The monarchy will continue as long as the people want
a monarchy,” the king said on a swing through New York last week, part of a
palace strategy to meet with top opinion makers to help promote confidence in
Spain.
Europe’s economic crisis has politicians and
struggling taxpayers from Belgium to England openly weighing the costs of
subsidizing royals. Unlike other European monarchs, Juan Carlos came to the
throne after the death of the dictator Gen. Francisco Franco in 1975 with
virtually nothing, and has worked hard to generate his own fortune beyond the
annual 8.3 million euro budget, or $10.7 million, bestowed on the palace by the
Spanish government.
The king is widely valued in business circles for
acting as a sometime deal maker and economic ambassador for his nation, but how
he has amassed his substantial personal wealth remains secret. The Spanish
royal family’s wealth has been estimated at up to $2.3 billion, a sum that
supporters contend was inflated by the inclusion of government properties.
To promote Spain’s businesses and help repair his
image, Juan Carlos took the controls this month of a cutting-edge NH90
helicopter during a visit to a Eurocopter
manufacturing plant in Albacete. On Thursday, he inaugurated a new Barcelona
container terminal.
It is all part of his campaign to advance “Brand
Spain,” as the king put it in response to written questions, another palace
step to demonstrate openness. His message for Spanish business, he added, is
straightforward: “Export, export and export.”
Juan Carlos’s peripatetic role as a business diplomat
and deal maker was brought into the limelight after the safari, which was
subsidized and organized by Mohamed Eyad Kayali, a Syrian construction magnate.
The two longtime friends had worked together on a $9.9
billion bullet-train contract that the monarch helped broker last autumn for a
Spanish consortium in Saudi Arabia. Leveraging his friendship with the Saudi
king and other royals, Juan Carlos outmaneuvered a French bid.
Supporters and advisers to the palace insist the king
does not receive commissions on the deals he mediates or promotes.
“They have tried to be more transparent by revealing
their annual budget,” said Herman Matthijs, a finance professor at the
University of Brussels, who analyzes government spending on Europe’s royalty
and unsuccessfully sought information about the king’s personal fortune. “I
suppose at least that he is a millionaire, but the question is: Is he a
billionaire? What is their real wealth?”
Spain lived without a king for 38 years after the
Spanish Bourbon family was exiled in 1931 and their properties expropriated.
Franco, who operated as a dictator from the end of the Spanish Civil War in the
1930s to his death, handpicked the king in 1969 to succeed him.
The king’s authority is limited by the Spanish
Constitution to mostly ceremonial powers — essentially a nonruling monarch.
Before
his accession to the throne, the king was aided by financial advisers who
created a subscription campaign when he got married to help build a financial
cushion. During that period, the future king “became obsessed with building up
a personal fortune,” said José García Abad, the author of two books about the
monarch.
In
this “annus horribilis” for the Spanish royal family, the king has kept himself
at arm’s length from an influence-peddling case aimed at his son-in-law, Iñaki
Urdangarín, who is accused of using a nonprofit foundation to embezzle public
money from sporting events and of exploiting his royal background to skip
standard bidding procedures.
On his travels, the monarch can accept gifts in the
name of the Spanish government, but there is no public list of the presents.
Over the years, he has received yachts, an island home and luxury autos to add
to his large collection of cars, provoking caustic Twitter messages like, “The
Spaniards in slippers and the king with 70 cars.”
In the midst of Spain’s economic crisis, the king and
his son, Crown Prince Felipe, agreed to a 7 percent cut in the royal budget.
But some opposition lawmakers see Spain’s downturn as
further reason to challenge the monarchy.
“There is absolutely zero control on the activities of
the king and his household,” said Joan Tardà, a national lawmaker from Esquerra
Republicana, a Catalan party that wants Spain to hold a referendum on the
monarchy.
Polls taken after the king’s hunting trip accident in
April showed that Spaniards forgave him, but most yearned for more
transparency.
Supporters of and advisers to the royal palace
describe the king as an irreplaceable resource with unmatched relationships
with world leaders. They credit his skills in smoothing tensions between
Spain’s former Socialist government and the George W. Bush administration and
helping to resolve disputes in Latin America.
“From a corporate point of view, he is Spain’s No. 1
ambassador,” said César Alierta, chairman of Telefónica, the Spanish
telecommunications giant.
Some allies also consider him a crucial resource in
advancing Spain’s economic interests outside the country. The Saudi high-speed
train is their case in point.
“Without the king, this contract would not have gone
ahead,” said a former Spanish foreign minister, Miguel Ángel Moratinos. “This
kind of contract comes down to a personal decision by King Abdullah of Saudi
Arabia.”
The Botswana trip was subsidized by Mr. Kayali, who
also serves as a key adviser to Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the crown
prince in Saudi Arabia who played a role in awarding the Saudi train contract.
Mr. Kayali declined to comment.
Along on the expedition was a German princess, Corinna
zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, 47, and her young son and former husband. The Spanish
gossip press labeled her the monarch’s longtime mistress — something she denied
in an interview. She also denied that she had somehow benefited from her
association with Juan Carlos through a now defunct Spanish-Saudi investment
fund.
Ms. Sayn-Wittgenstein called the king a family friend
and described her role on other royal trips as a strategic adviser to the
Spanish government through her company, Apollonia
Associates, which offers advice about high-end Middle East deals.
“The
king is a national treasure,” she said. “When he walks into a room, he radiates
warmth and charisma and he connects with everybody. Nobody remains untouched by
it.”
Casillas, atendido en la calle. | @AcampadaDonosti
Casillas, el pasado miércoles en un reportaje en EL MUNDO. | Bernardo Díaz
