Basque Parliament set to vote on referendum about Spanish monarchy

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - A left-wing political block in the Basque Country registered a motion in the regional parliament on Thursday to hold a “referendum about the continuation of the monarchy in Spain or the establishment of a republic.”

The left-wing political coalition Elkarrekin Podemos-IU submitted the proposal on the same day as Spain’s exiled King Juan Carlos celebrates his 85th birthday in Dubai.

The Basque political group argues that King Juan Carlos was named head of the Spanish state by former dictator Francisco Franco and that the Spanish people never had a say.

Since then, Juan Carlos was embroiled in major corruption and adultery scandals, eventually abdicating in 2014. His son, Felipe VI, is Spain’s current king.

“We cannot talk about a full democracy as long as the head of state is the result of blood inheritance,” says the initiative signed by Elkarrekin Podemos-IU’s spokesperson Miren Gorrotxategi.

The political bloc only has six of the 75 seats in the Basque Parliament, but the argument for abolishing the monarchy has been popular in the Basque Country for years.

In 2020, the Basque Parliament voted in favor of a motion that included the phrase “the end of the monarchy” in one of its points. The motion, however, ended up going nowhere.

Basque politicians now have around a month to consider how they will vote on the question of opening up a referendum, as the regional parliament does not reconvene until February.

Even if Basque politicians vote in favor of a referendum, there would still be a long road to ending one of Europe’s most unpopular monarchies.

Instead, it would oblige the Basque politicians to advocate for a referendum on a republic at the national level.

While the Basque Country is one of Spain’s wealthiest regions per capita, it is only home to around 2 million people out of Spain’s population of 47 million.