France24 – AFP, 31 January 2013
AFP -
Losing popularity and besieged by a corruption scandal that has reached an
official in the palace itself, Spain's royals are looking to the dashing heir
to the throne, Prince Felipe, to save their image.
At 75, King
Juan Carlos shows no sign of abdicating as his contemporary Queen Beatrix of
the Netherlands has done -- but he said in a recent interview that Felipe was
"well prepared" to take over when the time comes.
The palace
spent last year turning Felipe, who turned 45 on Wednesday, into its most
visible public representative. He had more official engagements than any other
member of the family in 2012, while Juan Carlos recovered from operations to
replace both hips -- one due to a fall during a luxury elephant-hunting safari
in Botswana, for which he apologised to the nation.
Felipe
spent part of his 45th birthday on Wednesday charming the crowds as he
inaugurated a tourism fair in Madrid. In line with the palace's new
recession-era regimen, no official celebration was announced.
A typical
item on his diary of official engagements, it received less media coverage than
the other news story concerning the palace: a corruption case affecting
Felipe's brother-in-law, Inaki Urdangarin.
An
investigating judge ruled on Wednesday that Urdangarin and an associate must
post eight million euros ($11 million) in civil bail, while waiting to see if
they will go on trial accused of embezzling public funds.
Separately,
the palace reacted to the judge's decision to summon Carlos Garcia Revenga,
secretary to the king's daughters Elena and Cristina -- Urdangarin's wife -- to
be questioned in the case.
The palace
said it was keeping Garcia in his post and would take no action until he goes
before the judge on February 23 -- when Urdangarin himself is also due to
appear, for the second time.
Juan Carlos
won wide respect for helping guide Spain to democracy as a parliamentary
monarchy after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, and for helping
quell an attempted military coup in 1981.
It is a
hard act for Felipe to follow. A generation after those historic events, the
palace faces a challenge to convince the nation that the monarchy is still
needed.
A poll in
early January by El Mundo newspaper showed support for the monarchy as an
institution overall fell to a record low of 54 percent.
Felipe said
in a speech in 2011 that he wanted to "constantly adapt and adjust the
institution to the times we are living in, working to unite our history with
our future, to link our traditions to a cutting-edge spirit and progress".
The
towering prince -- who according to Spanish media is 1.97 metres (almost six
feet, five inches) tall -- appears smiling and approachable when greeting the
public and can give speeches in English with a cut-glass English accent.
His wife
Letizia, a former television journalist, and their blonde daughters, the
Infantas Leonor, eight, and Sofia, five, are darlings of the glossy celebrity
magazines.
Observers
say Felipe needs to work his charms still harder to win over a sceptical
nation, currently suffering its worst economic hardship since Juan Carlos
helped steer the country to democracy in the late 1970s.
Abdication
by Juan Carlos would be a risky move currently, "with the Urdangarin case
up in the air and with Felipe still not having broken the wall that separates
him from the public", said Pilar Urbano, a prominent author specialising
in royal matters.
"Letizia
represents an opportunity to make the monarchy more sociable. It is still all
about balconies, protocol and the throne," she said.
"It
would be good to see them both out shopping in the sales."
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