The support for His Majesty King Felipe of Spain has never been higher than it is now according to a poll done by “Socio Métrica” and published in the Spanish newspaper “El Español” this weekend. The survey gives the King a score of 7.2 out of 10. This is the highest score King Felipe has had during his reign. The last time a ruling Spanish monarch had a score this high was in 1995 when Felipe’s father, Juan Carlos, was King of Spain.
Those who have participated in the survey justify their good impression of the King in light of the King’s attitude towards the current crisis in Catalonia. Another thing which is new is that the King scores equally high in all age groups, both men and women, including those with long and short education. This paper has conducted similar surveys for decades measuring the popularity of both the Spanish monarchy and the Spanish regent. At the time of the abdication of the King’s father, Juan Carlos I, the popularity of the monarchy was at 3.7 out of 10.
His Majesty King Felipe of Spain. Photo: Gabri Solera (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)/Flickr
The crisis in Catalonia has led to the King’s commitment to holding Spain even closer together. The King has stated his opinions on the matter, and at the beginning of last month, the King gave a lengthy speech where he asked for Spanish unity.
In his speech, King Felipe said: “We believe in our country, and we are proud of our democracy which has given us freedom and prosperity. I am committed to defending the unity of Spain.” King Felipe finished off his speech by saying: “To all Catalonians concerned with this aggression against Spanish democracy, my message is clear – you are not alone.”
King Felipe, Queen Letizia, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía at the 2017 events for Spain’s National Day. © Casa de S.M. el Rey
SocioMétrica also held a short survey shortly after the monarch’s televised speech where he urged for Spanish unity. This study showed that a vast majority of Spaniards viewed this intervention positively. Almost 61% said that they supported the monarch and that the monarchy came out strengthen by this speech.
Early in October, Royal Central’s European Correspondent Oskar Aanmoen predicted that the Spanish monarchy would come out strengthened by the failed independence referendum. As Aanmoen wrote in early October, “In the recent weeks, Spanish royalists and monarchists have become more visible throughout Spain as a result of the Catalonia referendum. Several pro-Spain demonstrations have been organised – even in Catalonia where people have had Spanish flags with them and pictures of the King.”
