Spanish opposition calls for disgraced ex-monarch to return from exile

The leader of Spain's main opposition party has called for the disgraced former King Juan Carlos to return from self-imposed exile, due to the role he played in the transition to democracy nearly half a century ago.

"I think it would be desirable that the king emeritus return to Spain," Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the conservative People's Party (PP), posted on social media.

"He himself has acknowledged undeniable mistakes in his past, but he who contributed to sustaining our democracy and our freedoms in a key moment should spend the last stage of his life with dignity in his own country," he added.

Juan Carlos, who is 88, took the throne in 1975, following the death of his mentor, the dictator Francisco Franco.

He helped steer the country towards becoming a parliamentary democracy and his actions were seen as instrumental in thwarting an attempted coup by pro-Franco forces in 1981, securing his popularity with many Spaniards for the decades to come.

However, in 2014 he abdicated, two years after it had emerged he had been elephant hunting in Botswana with Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, who had been his mistress, during an economic crisis in Spain.

Further scandals engulfed him after it emerged he had received a $100m (£74m) payment from the late king of Saudi Arabia and had an offshore fund in Jersey.

In August 2020, he left the country to live in the United Arab Emirates, where he has resided ever since. His son and heir, King Felipe, endorsed the move which has kept him out of the public eye, with the exception of occasional visits he has made to Spain for sailing regattas and other social events.

The PP has previously expressed a similar opinion about the former monarch. However, this appeal has been particularly bold and its timing has reopened the debate about Juan Carlos's future.

The socialist-led government, which has been critical of Juan Carlos while supporting the monarchy as an institution, sought to keep its distance from the issue.

"The decision of the king emeritus depends on him, it's up to him and the Royal Household, it's not up to the government or the opposition," said the Justice Minister, Félix Bolaños.

However, while many, mainly on the political right, support the idea of his ending his self-exile, it would not be straightforward.

In the former king's memoir, published last year, he laid bare the tensions his post-abdication life have caused with his son.

"'Don't forget that you inherit a political system that I built,'" Juan Carlos recalled telling King Felipe, after his income as former head of state had been withdrawn and his son had decided to refuse his inheritance. "'You can exclude me on a personal and financial level, but you cannot reject the institutional inheritance in which you have grown up.'"

His return would present logistical challenges, such as where he would live, his financial arrangements and his relationship with Queen Sofía, to whom he is still married but who has remained in Spain.

"For him to return he would need to want to return in the only way possible, which is accepting the rules that his son sets him: to behave in a transparent and exemplary way," said Ana Romero, an author who has written extensively about Spain's monarchy.

Juan Carlos's homecoming, she said, would hinge on him putting "in order his marriage and his financial affairs".

The Royal Household said the decision to return was his alone. However, it also specified that, in order to safeguard the "image and reputation" of both the former king and the monarchy, "Juan Carlos should have his tax domicile in Spain".