The king says he wants critical journalism?

First, I had to recover from the shock, of course. Because when I read that they had given the Cavia journalism award to Jorge Fernández Díaz, I choked on the toast until I saw that they weren't talking about the former minister and surgeon (very good, the Catalunya operation) but about the writer. They are the awards of the Vocento group and theAbc understandably featured them on the front page. The photo featured the royal family, who have the usual T-card for front-page appearances in right-wing newspapers because, no matter how inconsequential and ornamental the event they're participating in, they're guaranteed a friendly headline and photo. In this case, the newspaper featured the following quote from the reigning monarch: "Journalism must preserve its essence: truthfulness, debate, and criticism."

It's ironic that this comes from one of the very few people in Spain who enjoys special protection, by virtue of their lineage, in the form of the crime of insulting the Crown. All citizens are equal before the law, they say, but if you slander the president of the government, the sentence will be the same, and if you say exactly the same thing to the king, then it will be higher, and you could be invited to spend the next 24 months in prison. And, beyond the provisions of the Penal Code, the institution and its person have enjoyed the servility of the vast majority of the Spanish media establishment. It is this second effect that allows Felipe VI to utter that empty phrase in which he shouldn't recognize himself, and for the newspaper to publish it without a hint of irony. If the king is truly concerned about press freedom and its ability to exercise criticism, a productive first step beyond blah blah blah would be to publicly advocate for the eradication of an obsolete and fiercely feudalistic crime. Just in case, I'll sit back and wait.