Spain's
King Felipe VI has used his first Christmas speech as monarch to condemn
corruption in his country. He made no reference to his sister, who faces jail
on fraud charges.
Deutsche Welle, 25 Dec 2014
In his
first Christmas Eve address since being crowned in June, Felipe said corruption
must be stamped out, and angered voters should take heart that high-level
figures accused of "irregular conduct" are being held legally
accountable.
Felipe's
speech is seen as particularly singling out his sister, Cristina de Borbon,
although it made direct reference neither to her nor the charges she faces.
Cristina, the first Spanish royal to face prosecution since the restoration of
the country's monarchy in 1975, was indicted two days ago on two counts of tax
fraud.
"There
must not be favored treatment for those occupying a position of public
responsibiltiy," Felipe said. "Public office must not be a means to
profit or becoming rich."
"Few
subjects arouse such a unanimous opinion. We mustn't hesitate to cut corruption
at its roots."
The case
against Cristina and her husband, Inaki Urdangarin, as well as several other
instances of high-profile corruption have come during a major economic crisis
in Spain and a government austerity drive.
Cristina
faces eight years in prison if convicted over an alleged scheme operated by her
husband's non-profit organization, which allegedly embezzled public funds and
syphoned them into another private company owned by the couple.
Felipe also
addressed Spain's economic woes, saying it was "unacceptable" the
country had a jobless rate of 24 percent. He said younger Spaniards were
becoming disillusioned with their job prospects.
He also
attempted to reduce secessionist sentiment in the northeastern region of
Catalonia.
"Millions
of Spaniards have Catalonia in their hearts," Felipe said.
He ended
his televised address by wishing viewers a Merry Christmas in four languages -
Spanish, Basque, Catalan and Galician.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.