King Felipe VI gave his traditional Christmas Eve speech last night calling for Spain´s constitution to be respected.

Putting some distance between the royal house and the newly newly formed coalition government of Pedro Sanchez, the king underlined the need to preserve the integrity of the constitution “as a place of mutual recognition , of acceptance and encounter of all Spaniards, as legitimate holders of national sovereignty.

The speech which comes at a time of political instability following the investiture of the coalition government with the support of the nationalist Catalan and Basque parties, Philip VI  firmly defended the unity of Spain, stating: “The ultimate reason for our successes and progress in recent history has been precisely the unity of our country.” The King added: “I have no doubt that unity will also be the key for us to successfully face the serious and complex future challenges that Spain faces today.”

The King has also distanced himself from the government’s attacks on the fundamental law of Spain, with a firm defence of the constitution: “Outside respect for the constitution, there is no democracy or coexistence possible; there are no freedoms but imposition; there is no law, but arbitrariness.

Outside the constitution there is no Spain in peace and freedom”, said the king.

The king went on to say that “each institution, starting with the king, must place itself in the place that constitutionally corresponds to it, exercise the functions attributed to it and comply with the obligations and duties that the constitution indicates to it,” he declared.  And, he added, institutions must respect each other “in the exercise of their own powers.”

READ KING¨S SPEECH ENGLISH TRANSLATION HERE