Future and Popularity of the Spanish Monarchy

[janelarn]

Interesting. I was referring though to Isabel Diaz Ayuso, who has gathered the press attention in the latter days.. I understand she represents the 'new right' in Spain; is she also a committed monarchist?

You can see Isabel Díaz Ayuso bow to the king or queen in the acts in which they coincide

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

Interesting. I was referring though to Isabel Diaz Ayuso, who has gathered the press attention in the latter days.. I understand she represents the 'new right' in Spain; is she also a committed monarchist?

The Partido Popular is not at all "the new right". Together with the PSOE (Labour) they are the two traditional powerhouses of Spanish politics. The Prime Ministers from the last 35 years were always the leaders of Labour (like the current PM) or the Partido Popular.

The Partido Popular was actually established by Francoists. The first leader was Manuel Fraga, once a hardline Minister of the Interior under the dictatorship of Franco. So it is very "old right" to say so.

They tend to be more royalist than Labour but opportunism is never far away. If parties sense the mood is anti-monarchy, they will follow the trend, for their own survival. See Greece. See Italy.

 

[Blog Real]

The Partido Popular is not at all "the new right". Together with the PSOE (Labour) they are the two traditional powerhouses of Spanish politics. The Prime Ministers from the last 35 years were always the leaders of Labour (like the current PM) or the Partido Popular.

The Partido Popular was actually established by Francoists. The first leader was Manuel Fraga, once a hardline Minister of the Interior under the dictatorship of Franco. So it is very "old right" to say so.

They tend to be more royalist than Labour but opportunism is never far away. If parties sense the mood is anti-monarchy, they will follow the trend, for their own survival. See Greece. See Italy.

Opportunism is everywhere. But PP is much more traditional than PSOE.
PP, VOX and Ciudadanos openly defend the monarchy and the King. The PSOE, on the other hand, also defends the monarchy but in a less fierce way, since the current leader of this political party and the current prime minister is not a monarchy and has sided with the left.
But the monarchy is still safe in Spain and the majority of the population still prefers this regime, it seems.

 

[Blog Real]

The Spanish value very positively the figure of Felipe VI at the head of the main institution of the State. The King obtains an average grade of 6.4 points (out of 10) and half of the citizens (49.5%) approve of the monarch's management during his years of reign, compared to only 27.1% who disapprove . The good health of the image of Don Felipe as a monarch, despite the scandals that have surrounded his immediate relatives in recent years, is one of the main conclusions drawn from the results of the survey conducted by the IMOP Insights institute for Vanitatis on the occasion of the seventh anniversary of the proclamation of Felipe VI as King of Spain, an event that is celebrated this Saturday, June 19.
https://www.vanitatis.elconfidencia...-felipe-gana-monarquia-pierde-brecha_3135016/

 

[Royalist.in.NC]

The Spanish value very positively the figure of Felipe VI at the head of the main institution of the State. The King obtains an average grade of 6.4 points (out of 10) and half of the citizens (49.5%) approve of the monarch's management during his years of reign, compared to only 27.1% who disapprove . The good health of the image of Don Felipe as a monarch, despite the scandals that have surrounded his immediate relatives in recent years, is one of the main conclusions drawn from the results of the survey conducted by the IMOP Insights institute for Vanitatis on the occasion of the seventh anniversary of the proclamation of Felipe VI as King of Spain, an event that is celebrated this Saturday, June 19.
https://www.vanitatis.elconfidencia...-felipe-gana-monarquia-pierde-brecha_3135016/

I am saddened to see that Letizia’s popularity is not where I think it should be. I would have thought that journalists would love her as one of their own. She wears lots of Spanish brands including earrings. Did she do something to make Spaniards dislike her? Are people still appalled that she “interrupted “ Felipe at their engagement interview? Was the average Spaniard mad because she wasn’t in the aristocracy? I honestly don’t get it and would appreciate some people from Spain explaining. Thanks so much!

 

[Somebody]

Letizia scored the highest increase from 4.8 to 5.4 (still below 5.5 which would be the bare minimum 'pass').

My take from when I lived in Spain is that she is considered as cold and arrogant. Nor is she loved by the monarchists who would have preferred a bride from their own social circle and not a divorced atheist with republican leanings (which is how she is seen by some of her critics) who distanced Felipe from his family and friends.

At least it is good to see that her approval ratings went up a bit although I don't see her move up to the same level as Felipe himself or her mother-in-law.

 

[An Ard Ri]

I am saddened to see that Letizia’s popularity is not where I think it should be. I would have thought that journalists would love her as one of their own. She wears lots of Spanish brands including earrings. Did she do something to make Spaniards dislike her? Are people still appalled that she “interrupted “ Felipe at their engagement interview? Was the average Spaniard mad because she wasn’t in the aristocracy? I honestly don’t get it and would appreciate some people from Spain explaining. Thanks so much!

As always opinions need to be taken with a pinch of salt and on these Letizia has never enjoyed popularity.
Over the past few years Letizia has always polled just slightly above King Juan Carlos.
There's a slight drop in Queen Sofia's approval figures but is level peg with the King.

Sofia and Felipe are consistently the 2 most popular members.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

I am saddened to see that Letizia’s popularity is not where I think it should be. I would have thought that journalists would love her as one of their own. She wears lots of Spanish brands including earrings. Did she do something to make Spaniards dislike her? Are people still appalled that she “interrupted “ Felipe at their engagement interview? Was the average Spaniard mad because she wasn’t in the aristocracy? I honestly don’t get it and would appreciate some people from Spain explaining. Thanks so much!

I have asked the same question regarding journalists in Spain on this Forum. Why don't they have Letizia's back? Where are her friends and former colleagues in the Press??

 

[Somebody]

For Felipe they also specify differences between subgroups. There is little difference in gender (with women being slightly more positive; 6.5 vs 6.3)

Larger differences exist in other categories:

Age:
lowest score (5.4): 25 - 34 years
highest score (7.5) 65+ years

Political ideology:
left: 4.7
center: 7
right: 8.5

Highest educational level:
Primary: 7.4
Secondary: 6.3
Tertiary (University): 6

They also compared Madrid (6.8) to Catalunya (3.9)

 

[Denville]

I have asked the same question regarding journalists in Spain on this Forum. Why don't they have Letizia's back? Where are her friends and former colleagues in the Press??

perhaps her press colleagues perceive her as selling out. I get the impression that she's not liked by the monarchists because of her coming from a lower class family, being perceived as not religious, etc etc.

 

[Prinsara]

Why are they asking about Leonor and Sofia this year?

 

[An Ard Ri]

Why are they asking about Leonor and Sofia this year?

Possibly as were seeing more and more of them and both of them are members of the RF.

 

[Royalist.in.NC]

I have asked the same question regarding journalists in Spain on this Forum. Why don't they have Letizia's back? Where are her friends and former colleagues in the Press??

Yes! I just don’t get it!

 

[Denville]

Yes! I just don’t get it!

Dont see why. She seems to be seen as cold and not very friendly, she's from a middle class background, she was married before marying Felipe, and was seen as republican and atheistic...

 

[Prinsara]

Dont see why. She seems to be seen as cold and not very friendly, she's from a middle class background, she was married before marying Felipe, and was seen as republican and atheistic...

Because she's a pretty, stylish, intelligent person who works very hard, mostly keeps her mouth shut, has been more devoted to the Spanish monarchy and not embarrassing it than Juan Carlos for the past several years , has produced and raised two kind, respectful daughters who are universally adored...

...and just as a side note the king appears to love her and benefit from that.

She's just an easy target. But if there are some people who still don't like her mother-in-law and others who have made Sofia the previously most popular member, Letizia still has plenty of room to rise in esteem.

 

[Denville]

OK Juan Carlos did make a lot of awful mistakes, but he was a good king, at a very difficult time in Spanish history... I think he earned the good reputation he had at first.
And I can see why older conservative monarchists esp of the upper crust would problaby be cool towards Letizia.

 

[Blog Real]

Because she's a pretty, stylish, intelligent person who works very hard, mostly keeps her mouth shut, has been more devoted to the Spanish monarchy and not embarrassing it than Juan Carlos for the past several years , has produced and raised two kind, respectful daughters who are universally adored...

...and just as a side note the king appears to love her and benefit from that.

She's just an easy target. But if there are some people who still don't like her mother-in-law and others who have made Sofia the previously most popular member, Letizia still has plenty of room to rise in esteem.

I agree. Letizia is a good queen, but she is also the Spanish Royal Family's easiest target. A lot has been invented about her. But Letizia represents SRF well, she does a good job and raised her two daughters well.
Letizia is a beautiful, elegant and intelligent person who works hard for the Spanish Crown. Letizia deserves more respect.

 

[BriarRose]

Actually, I wonder if some of the members of the Press were a bit pissed off that one of their own successfully kept a massive secret from them. The engagement was a big surprise.

To me, it's not a shock that Letizia and Sofia poll so differently as they are quite different (royal pedigree vs. middle class; age; degree of religiosity; etc.).

I don't live in Spain, so I have no particular insight into why Letizia isn't more popular. I do personally hypothesize that she is an introvert and that comes off as very stiff. I have a friend who met her a few years ago, and she said she is very friendly one-on-one, but if no one was talking with Letizia, she seemed perfectly content to observe others.

In fairness to Letizia's detractors, I don't personally think her middle-class roots are the cause of her unpopularity. Felipe, to my knowledge, never dated among the nobility, and I can't recall any public push for him to do so prior to marrying Letizia. I can't remember if there were any polls about Eva Sannum's popularity when she was Felipe's girlfriend, but I don't remember criticism that she wasn't noble.

I do personally think that Letizia and Felipe appear to have a strong marriage. I also think she must have been madly in love with him to marry him. I don't think she wanted to be a royal at all- but she happened to fall in love with someone who was.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

Felipe did indeed have a serious romance pre-Letizia with a beautiful, brainy aristocrat named Isabel Sartorius.

She didn't meet then King J-C's or Queen Sofia's approval because...wait for it...her parents were divorced.

And Isabel herself ran with what was considered a dicey social set.

I don't really have a strong opinion one way or another re: Letizia. There is something about her that rubs me the wrong way,(the infamous Easter video comes to mind) I will admit that. And no....I do NOT think Felipe's choice of her as wife and future queen was inspired.

But she is beautiful, intelligent and stylish. She and Felipe seem to love one another. And their daughters are lovely.

 

[Somebody]

Because she's a pretty, stylish, intelligent person who works very hard, mostly keeps her mouth shut, has been more devoted to the Spanish monarchy and not embarrassing it than Juan Carlos for the past several years , has produced and raised two kind, respectful daughters who are universally adored...

...and just as a side note the king appears to love her and benefit from that.

She's just an easy target. But if there are some people who still don't like her mother-in-law and others who have made Sofia the previously most popular member, Letizia still has plenty of room to rise in esteem.

Which is why Juan Carlos has had the lowest score of all members of the Casa Real. So, Letizia scored higher than her father-in-law (which shouldn't be too hard) but still has a lot of room for improvement compared to her husband, children and mother-in-law.

 

[Prinsara]

I think it was pretty smart of Felipe to marry someone who was known for hard work, intelligence, and expressing herself clearly rather than Eva, who is a perfectly nice person but was chiefly known for taking her clothes off. (Which complicates things for a monarchy that worries about image.) For being a divorced supposed republican atheist, Letizia has become a great asset for her new job.

(And yes, obviously currently being more popular than JC is a no-brainer. But people loved him for decades. Letizia will likely not implode the same way.)

It might have been smarter and easier to marry someone who was not Spanish, but as it is, Leonor is set to be the most Spanish monarch of Spain in ages.

 

[BriarRose]

I completely forgot about Isabel!

It must have been quite a difficult road when Felipe told his parents he was serious about Letizia. I don't doubt Sofia is strongly anti-divorce (how else has she stayed married all these years?). On the other hand, one of her daughters is now divorced, and that has a way of humanizing things for a parent.

 

[Stefan]

(And yes, obviously currently being more popular than JC is a no-brainer. But people loved him for decades. Letizia will likely not implode the same way.)

One never knows. Queens Sofia was for along time also not very well liked in Spain and only became popular about 25 yerars ago.

 

[Blog Real]

There was always a certain prejudice on the part of the Spaniards towards Letizia from the beginning, but I think she is used to living with that.
I think a lot of people don't like her for a lot of reasons, maybe because she was a journalist, divorced, and she's gotten to where a lot of people probably would have liked to go.

 

[An Ard Ri]

One never knows. Queens Sofia was for along time also not very well liked in Spain and only became popular about 25 yerars ago.

Casa Real should utilize the kings mother more and give her a few more events.

Letizia has suffered from negativity from day one and attracted a lot of unfair media scrutiny .They seem to relish the fact that she doesn't seem to get on with any of Felipe's family.Her loud mouth aunt and ex husband too have not helped matters.

I do hope she can turn it around as she's been a working royal for 17 years now and still in the bottom of the poll doldrums.

 

[Royalist.in.NC]

Because she's a pretty, stylish, intelligent person who works very hard, mostly keeps her mouth shut, has been more devoted to the Spanish monarchy and not embarrassing it than Juan Carlos for the past several years , has produced and raised two kind, respectful daughters who are universally adored...

...and just as a side note the king appears to love her and benefit from that.

She's just an easy target. But if there are some people who still don't like her mother-in-law and others who have made Sofia the previously most popular member, Letizia still has plenty of room to rise in esteem.

Thank you - I agree! I think it is pretty snobby these days to look down on someone for being middle class yet well educated and very successful professionally before she got married to Felipe. And her getting divorced makes her “worse” than JC who was certainly not a faithful husband - I’ve always felt sorry for Sofia!

Did t Letizia win some award for “journalist under 30.”? That sounded pretty prestigious to me.

 

[Royalist.in.NC]

Casa Real should utilize the kings mother more and give her a few more events.

Letizia has suffered from negativity from day one and attracted a lot of unfair media scrutiny .They seem to relish the fact that she doesn't seem to get on with any of Felipe's family.Her loud mouth aunt and ex husband too have not helped matters.

I do hope she can turn it around as she's been a working royal for 17 years now and still in the bottom of the poll doldrums.

I thought she got along with the family very well until the Inaki/Noos scandal and then she was furious at how this impacted Felipe.

 

[Blog Real]

Thank you - I agree! I think it is pretty snobby these days to look down on someone for being middle class yet well educated and very successful professionally before she got married to Felipe. And her getting divorced makes her “worse” than JC who was certainly not a faithful husband - I’ve always felt sorry for Sofia!

Did t Letizia win some award for “journalist under 30.”? That sounded pretty prestigious to me.

In 2001, Letizia received the "Larra" award, given by the Madrid Press Association to the journalist under the age of 30 who distinguished himself the most during the year.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Because she's a pretty, stylish, intelligent person who works very hard, [...]

Her popularity would almost certainly be lower if she were not pretty. Her sister-in-law has been targeted by attacks on her appearance for decades. And the other members of the small working family surely also work hard.

I have asked the same question regarding journalists in Spain on this Forum. Why don't they have Letizia's back? Where are her friends and former colleagues in the Press??

Is it not the other way around? I seem to recall Queen Letizia's remarks about members of her former profession being posted on this forum.

 

[Prinsara]

I think part of it is Letizia very much treats this like her job, which it is, but it means that while she's extremely professional and competent, she's a bit too guarded most of the time (not without some very good reason, but still). People want a bit more warmth and openness, especially in Spain. Queen Ena was not adored for similar reasons.

However, this being Spain and the monarchy being complicated, I'm not sure even having Maxima's ebullience or Mathilde's tranquility would work. I think people would pick on the spouse no matter what, because she's the outsider and the easiest target. (See her mother-in-law.)

I think she will probably get more popular, ironically, as her daughters get older and take more of the spotlight.