Six in 10 Spaniards want king to abdicate, poll shows

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/05/spaniards-want-king-abdicate-poll

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Almost two-thirds of Spaniards want their king to abdicate and hand the crown to his son, according to a poll released on Sunday, the monarch's birthday.

King Juan Carlos, who has been on the throne for 38 years, was once one of the world's best-loved sovereigns, respected for his common touch and for helping guide Spain to democracy in the 1970s after the death of Francisco Franco.

But Spaniards have become increasingly frustrated by a long-running corruption investigation into the king's daughter, Princess Cristina, and her husband, Iñaki Urdangarin - particularly at a time of economic crisis and widespread unemployment. Urdangarin has been charged with embezzling €6m in public funds. The couple deny any wrongdoing.

The king's approval rating took a hit in April 2012 when he fell and broke his hip during an elephant-hunting safari in Botswana, a lavish, privately funded trip that was secret until his accident.

The Sigma Dos poll published for El Mundo found 62% of respondents thought the king should step down, compared with 44.7% a year ago.

His popularity rating fell to a record low, with 41.3% saying they had a good or very good opinion of the king, down from more than 76% two years ago.

Younger Spaniards, who were not alive during the Franco years, were overwhelmingly in favour of abdication, the poll showed. Prince Felipe, 45, held on to a positive rating of 66%, and most of those polled said the monarchy could recover its prestige if he took the throne.

A series of hip and back operations and other health problems have fuelled speculation that the king, 76, might abdicate, but in his annual Christmas Eve speech he reiterated that he was not contemplating such a move.

The telephone poll of 1,000 adults was carried out between 28 and 31 December.

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