NEWS: King Juan Carlos steps down

Taken from 'The Local' online newspaper

King Juan Carlos of Spain with Sofia. File Photo: Gerard Julien/AFP

King Juan Carlos of Spain to abdicate

  :

In a shock announcement, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has announced at a special press conference that King Juan Carlos is to abdicate.

"His Majesty King Juan Carlos has just told me of his wish to renounce the throne and begin the succession process of succession," Rajoy said during the press conference.

Spain's Crown Prince Felipe is to take over the reins, he added.

The 76-year-old king who took the throne in 1975 was "convinced" of his decision, and would give his own reasons for this abdication, the Spanish Prime Minister said during the brief press conference.

Rajoy described the king as the "best symbol of unity and peace" for the country, and said the abdication process would be carried "in the context of instutional stability".

The Spanish leader called an emergency press conference shortly before 10am on Monday, with immediate speculation in the Spanish press being that the annoucement concerned the position of King Juan Carlos.

VOX POP: The Local spoke to Spaniards on the street in 2013 about whether King Juan Carlos should abdicate 

Spain's monarch took power after the country had experienced nearly 40 years of dictatorship under Francisco Franco.

He won widespread respect for his role in restoring Spain's democracy during the so-called 'Transition' but a series of scandals have taken the shine of the country's royal family in recent times.

 

SEE ALSO: The Local's opinion piece on whether Spain's King Juan Carlos should abdicate 

 

The king's youngest daughter Cristina and her husband Iñaki Urdangarin are embroiled in a long-running corruption case involving alleged embezzlement of €6 million ($8.3 million) in funds from a charitable sports foundation.

 

The monarch himself was also criticized for participating in a luxury elephant hunting trip during the country's deep economic crisis.

 

The abdication of Juan Carlos is an extraordianary opportunity to give legitimacy to the throne through a democratic referendum, Ramón Lobo, veteran Spanish journalist with El País tweeted.

The resignation of the king will help the verb RESIGN become conjugated in Spain, Lobo also tweeted, a reference to the fact that very few Spanish public figures step down.  

Spain's online newspaper El Confidential said the king had resigned to save the monarchy from an institutional crisis.

Published: 02 Jun 2014 10:35

VIDEO: Mother's Day

Enjoy!

Bienvenida al blog del Departamento de Inglés

Bienvenidos al blog del Departamento de Inglés del IES El Espinillo de Madrid.

Este blog se crea con la finalidad y teniendo como intención última la de servir como herramienta de comunicación entre el departamento y los alumnos, padres o cualquier otro miembro de la Comunidad Educativa. En este blog podrán encontrar los profesores miembros del departamento así como las materias y los grupos que imparte cada uno de ellos, para que en todo momento puedan saber que profesor imparte clase a un determinado alumno de un determinado grupo. Por otro lado podrán encontrar información sobre los libros de texto necesarios o recomendados para cada una de las asignaturas que imparte el Departamento así como un extracto por materia de toda aquella información relacionada con los criterios de calificación que rigen la nota de los alumnos, con la forma de recuperar la materia cuando se tiene pendiente de cursos anteriores, exámenes de Septiembre, etc. Por último, en la parte de abajo del blog podrán encontrar un calendario en el que la intención es publicar la fecha de los exámenes de manera que aquella persona que visite el blog, tanto alumnos como padres, pueda saber en todo momento dichas fechas.

Esperamos desde el departamento que toda esta información les sea particularmente útil.

Atentamente.

Departamento de Inglés.

IES El Espinillo. (Madrid)