Federico Jiménez Losantos harshly criticized the magazine this Wednesday on his radio program Hello! and the writer Laurence Debray for the publication of the report that presents the king emeritus, his daughters and several of his grandchildren celebrating the 87th birthday of Juan Carlos I. For Losantos, the cover story of the weekly, developed on the inside pages, is another example of the attempt to wash the image of the former monarch while undermining the figure of the current head of state, Felipe VI. According to Jiménez Losantos, the exclusive published by the magazine is nothing more than a propaganda strategy that favors the emeritus king and his entourage, while sending a surreptitious message of discredit towards the current head of state and his immediate family.
The report is signed by Laurence Debray, self-proclaimed biographer of Juan Carlos I. It includes images and a text that, according to the journalist, present the Emeritus as a misunderstood and isolated figure, highlighting his loyalty to Spain and his personal sacrifice by living outside the country. . Jiménez Losantos spared no criticism of the content, describing it as “a production worthy of Cecil B. DeMille in Technicolor” but lacking substance and objectivity.
Photos of “tourist mobile”
Losantos remembers that King Juan Carlos resides in Abu Dhabi so as not to be accountable to the Spanish treasury and added that he comes when he wants. He also pointed out that the photographs included are of low quality and more typical of a “tourist mobile” than of a high-level exclusive.
In the report, Hello! tells how Juan Carlos’s friends organized a celebration in the United Arab Emirates to honor him, highlighting the presence of institutional figures such as the Portuguese ambassador and the United States ambassador in the region. However, Jiménez Losantos questioned the focus of the text, especially the references to Juan Carlos as an “isolated” and “expatriated” king. According to him, these words are lies, pure propaganda that seek to construct a false reality that ignores the real reasons why the emeritus king resides outside of Spain.
Jiménez Losantos was particularly critical of the way the article addresses the relationship between Juan Carlos I and his son Felipe VI. He accuses the author of the text and the publication of trying to divide the followers of the monarchy, promoting a “caspous monarchism” that glorifies the emeritus king while delegitimizing the current monarch and his heir, the princess of Asturias, Leonor.
“You cannot, in the same magazine, feature the Princess of Asturias on page 28 and, at the same time, attack the legitimacy of the throne that she is destined to inherit,” he said. The announcer also questions Laurence Debray’s supposed impartiality. “Let her now become the spokesperson for Juan Carlos I and do so through Hello! It is an insult to the intelligence of readers,” he said.
“Juan Carlos is not ‘expatriated'”
The journalist also took the opportunity to attack the emeritus king and his close circle. According to him, the residence of Juan Carlos I in the Arab Emirates is not a forced exilebut a decision motivated to avoid tax obligations in Spain.
“Juan Carlos is not ‘expatriated’, he fled to avoid paying taxes. If he returned to Spain for more than six months a year, he would have to pay taxes like any citizen. But his assets, hidden in tax havens and obtained through questionable practices, are the real reason for his absence,” he said.
In addition, he highlighted the former monarch’s relationship with controversial figures, such as an arms trafficker pursued by Interpol, who would have made his life easier in the Emirates. According to Jiménez Losantos, Debray and the magazine Hello! deliberately omit these aspects in their coverage, opting instead to a sweetened approach that ignores the love, financial and legal scandals associated with Juan Carlos I.
For Jiménez Losantos, Hello! is with this report favoring and actively participating in a campaign of whitening of the image of the emeritus kingwhich indirectly benefits political groups interested in weakening the monarchy.
“This is not journalism or information; it is pure and simple propaganda,” Losantos concludes. “Hello! does the dirty work from another front, promoting Juan Carlos I as a victimized figure“, he denounces.
Losantos dismantles and criticizes the report, pointing out that it does not mention the multiple scandals that led to the abdication of the king emeritus in 2014. “The magazine limits itself to presenting Juan Carlos as an endearing and longed-for grandfather, omitting that his departure from the crown was necessary to save the institution from its mismanagement and numerous accusations of corruption,” he added.
The response of the defenders of Juan Carlos I
In contrast to Losantos’ opinions, the report Hello! It has been well received by some business and monarchical sectors that continue to support the emeritus king, despite the controversies that surround him. These groups believe that Juan Carlos I played a crucial role in Spain’s democratic transition and argue that his legacy should not be overshadowed by his personal mistakes.
However, for Jiménez Losantos, this argument does not justify the actions of the emeritus king or the “propaganda” that he tries to impose. Hello!: “It is not about being in favor of one or the other. Felipe VI is the institution. Attacking him is attacking the continuity of the parliamentary monarchy in Spain.”
For Jiménez Losantos, the problem is not only the content of the article, but the impact it can have at a critical moment for the Spanish monarchy. “King Felipe VI is fighting against all odds to maintain institutional stability in a divided country. That Hello! choose this time to publish propaganda in favor of Juan Carlos I and his interests is, at the very least, irresponsible“he concluded.
While some see in the king emeritus a symbol of a bygone era, others, like Jiménez Losantos, consider that his figure is an obstacle to the future of the institution and to the legitimacy of his heir.
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