After days of speculation, Spain’s former king Juan Carlos has ruled out making a dramatic return home from self-exile in Abu Dhabi over the Christmas holiday. The belated payment has fuelled reports that Juan Carlos is plotting an imminent return to Spain. Revelations in 2012 that Juan Carlos had been elephant hunting in Botswana, at the height of Spain’s banking crisis, were seen as particularly damaging. Both investigations reach back to when Juan Carlos enjoyed regal immunity, making it unlikely he would face prosecution even if guilty, many believe. Sánchez’s Socialist Party has a long tradition of republicanism, which it put to one side four decades ago in order to support Juan Carlos and the Transition.

Source: The Irish Times December 22, 2020 20:03 UTC