Spanish Smack-Down

Investors Business Daily ^ | November 12, 2007

[Mount Athos]

Spain's King Juan Carlos delivered the repartee heard 'round the world Saturday by ordering Venezuela's abusive dictator to "shut up" at a summit. [...]

The last straw came as he interrupted the speech of Spain's socialist Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, by calling his predecessor, Jose Maria Aznar, "a fascist" [...]

Not only does the smack-down from Spain's beloved king undercut Chavez's pretense of being a respectable democratic leader, it provides some first points of unity in Europe about how to deal with Chavez. Many western European nations now signal they're getting tired of Chavez's antics. The king expressed what many were thinking. [...]

As Chavez seeks to seize dictatorial power in Venezuela on Dec. 2, the Spanish monarch is a man who did exactly the opposite and is loved for it. Back in 1975, the king was in a position to take dictatorial powers after he was chosen to succeed ailing strongman Francisco Franco.

Unlike Chavez, the Spanish king turned that down and moved Spain to a constitutional monarchy, because he really wanted to make Spain a democracy. Not only did the king put himself last by this choice, he later thwarted a 1981 military coup to end Spain's democracy. For this, King Juan Carlos is a hero in Spain — and in all places where democracy is valued.

For Latin America's democracies, most of which shook off their military dictatorships about the same time Spain did, Spain offers a live example of what's possible if the king's selfless example is heeded