Clash between the Spanish government and the monarchy: Puente insists on criticizing the king

BarcelonaSince there has been a coalition government in Spain, criticisms from Sumar ministers against the king have occurred to the point that they are already part of normality, as are the no-shows at official royal house events. However, this is not the case for socialist ministers. In fact, the socialist part of the state government has always fiercely defended the Head of State, also in the face of the "criticism from the right and far-right of certain speeches or actions, taking into account that everything Felipe VI does must be endorsed by the Spanish government. However, this week a sudden crisis has emerged between the Spanish government and the Crown, which represents a plot twist, after harsh criticism from a socialist minister like Óscar Puente, one of the main henchmen of the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, for a recent photograph of the king with the far-right agitator Javier Negre in Colombia, within the framework of the investiture of the new leader, Abelardo de la Espriella.

The controversy emerged last Monday, but has been escalating this Tuesday, as Puente insisted on his criticism for the monarch's relaxed contact with Negre, known for spreading fake news and for having the agitator Vito Quiles, a former collaborator of the far-right MEP Alvise Pérez, working for his media outlet EDA TV. On Monday, he republished a comment from an anonymous profile that called for a "Republic now" after Felipe de Borbón's controversial video with Negre. "This situation seems an absolute disgrace to me," concluded the Minister of Transport.

This Tuesday Puente has redoubled his criticism. "The king is a symbol and is not innocuous with whom he is photographed or whom he greets in a context that is not protocol, nor is it part of any institutional relationship," he warned. And he added that "his image is contaminated and that of the subject with whom he is photographed is cleansed" and "both things are unacceptable." In fact, Puente recalled that "Negre is a far-right activist who practices harassment of progressive politicians and their families," like his own, and who is dedicated to "defamation." But he also stressed that Negre "has gravely insulted the king" and "the queen of Spain." "At this point it would be necessary to remember that there are people in prison in this country for insults to the Crown," he added. This is the case of Pablo Hasél, convicted of insulting the king, among other crimes, although the minister did not mention him.

The Spanish minister's words caused an uproar in Spanish politics. So much so that the PP's general secretary, Miguel Tellado, has launched a strong attack against Puente, stating that the "ignominy" is that "70,000 illegal immigrants are invading the autonomous city of Ceuta" and that the executive is "on vacation." On the other hand, Vox deputy Jorge Campos opined that "what this government intends is to overthrow the parliamentary monarchy to advance towards a republic".