The king has appealed this Friday for unity in the face of the threats and risks faced by parliamentary democracies, which are today, he said, the soul of Europe.
It has done so in León, the cradle of parliamentarianism, and in the presence of high-level representatives of parliaments from 20 countries who have gathered to celebrate the Conference on the occasion of the International Day of Parliamentarianism.
Don Felipe has pointed out that these threats, which transcend borders and are common to all, must have a shared and urgent response.
Don Felipe values the solidarity and union of the EU parliaments in the face of the invasion of Ukraine
He recalled that in the face of the attack on European values caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU parliaments have shown not only their solidarity with the Ukrainian people, but also their willingness to unite in defense of these values and principles.
“That moment of unity in the face of the threat that is illegal war must also be replicated in the face of the different threats and risks that parliamentary democracies face,” he added.
He has also underlined that the vitality of our institutions depends to a large extent on the adherence and trust that they arouse among citizens.
It is the ideas, the shared beliefs about its value and usefulness that contribute -he has said- to its legitimacy.
The king claims democracy as a debate
Don Felipe has vindicated democracy as a debate -under the principles of truth, respect and tolerance- and as a plurality, which must be articulated by parliament.
Finally, he highlighted the “deep meaning” of the Royal Collegiate Church of San Isidoro, a place that houses the parliamentary summit.
In that place, in 1188, under the newly established reign of Alfonso IX of León, the first historically documented Cortes were held.
The presidents of Congress and the Senate warn about the enemies of democracy
For their part, both the president of Congress, Meritxell Batet, and the president of the Senate, Ander Gil, have warned in their speeches about the enemies of democracy.
And both have stressed the need for action and union of parliamentarianism to stop them.
Batet has paid tribute to the democratic values that parliaments embody.
And that in his opinion they have been threatened in recent years “by phenomena of a different nature and scope that have in common the questioning of the strength of our system.”
The president of Congress recalled the images of the serious attacks on the institutional framework in established democracies.
And it has warned of a growing polarization in democratic societies that has a direct impact on the quality of public debate and on the agenda of issues that generate media attention.
He has referred to the “simplification and spectacularization” of the messages, the propagation of hate and the misinformation that has led to the emergence of channels such as social networks.
And he has pointed out that we are witnessing the competition of “authoritarian regimes that in different ways try to condition the proper functioning of our democracies.”
For this reason, and in this context of threats, it is crucial – he said – to establish a common framework for action because parliaments, as representatives, are “the first line of defense of democracy”.
Populism, nationalism and the extreme right
Along the same lines, the president of the Senate has shown himself “concerned and outraged” by those who question the most important advances achieved in Spain in terms of fundamental rights.
He has remarked that the deterioration of democracies and the degradation of institutions is not born by chance, but by “conscious decisions, through people and organizations that operate within our democracy.”
There are, he continued, external enemies, but also internal ones, among which he has cited the populists, the radical nationalists and the extreme right.
While the former want the abrupt end of democracy, the inmates “are slowly undermining it, until they distort it.”
Faced with this “worrying” reality, he has proclaimed, the only solution is “more democracy” from his active and committed defense. EFE