The Spanish ex-King Juan Carlos, who is accused of corruption, should not have left the country in the opinion of the population. A good 63 percent of Spaniards consider it a bad idea that the 82-year-old former monarch has left the country, according to a survey by SigmaDos for the newspaper „El Mundo“ (Sunday edition).
Four out of five respondents suggested that Juan Carlos should face a possible trial. The palace had announced at the beginning of the week that Juan Carlos had left the country to allow his son Felipe to work undisturbed. The exact whereabouts are not officially known.
Whereabouts unclear
A government spokeswoman in Madrid declined to comment today. The newspaper „ABC“ reported on Friday that Juan Carlos had traveled to the United Arab Emirates in a private plane. According to other media, he is said to be in the Dominican Republic or Portugal. The news website Niusdiario.es published an unconfirmed photo yesterday, according to which Juan Carlos is leaving a plane at the airport in Abu Dhabi.
The ex-monarch abdicated in 2014 in favor of his son Felipe. After the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, Juan Carlos had played an important role in the democratization of Spain and thus gained great sympathy among the population. According to the survey, around 69 percent of Spaniards believe Juan Carlos to play an important role in this transition from dictatorship.
Most recently, however, he mainly made a name for himself with affairs. Pressure on Juan Carlos grew as prosecutors in Spain and Switzerland examined corruption allegations against him in connection with a contract to build a high-speed rail line in Saudi Arabia.
