Spain: court order for moving Franco's remains
The remains of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco (1892 - 1975) are to be exhumed and moved from a state mausoleum to a different site, Spain's Supreme Court has ruled. With this ruling the court agreed to a request by the Socialist government and upheld a parliamentary decision taken in September 2018. The mausoleum where Franco current lies has become a shrine for right-wing extremists. Franco's relatives plan to appeal the decision.
Sánchez rehashing old stories
ABC criticises Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's approach:
“PSOE and the entire left have instrumentalised the culture of remembrance in a sectarian manner and purely for the sake of election interests. They used the civil war as an argument to address an issue that is no longer a social priority. An emotional vendetta, late revenge and the division of society were more important to them than the legitimacy of a political decision. Pedro Sánchez has prevailed, but now he must finally stop casting Francisco Franco as the biggest problem of our society, as a debt of democracy or a burden on our coexistence. Spain has long since overcome all the things Sánchez tried to revive in his own interest.”
Implement the ruling without delay!
The verdict comes after 40 years of democracy and two years of political and legal negotiations, which goes to show how difficult this subject still is for Spain, Ignacio Escolar comments on eldiario.es:
“A part of Francoism is still alive, and anyone who tries to touch its symbols will meet with this kind of resistance. ... The Supreme Court's verdict had to be this one: a democratic government and a democratic parliament are above the whims of a family. The law was respected to the letter. Now the ruling must be implemented as quickly as possible, despite all the criticism that the current government and Pedro Sánchez are exploiting it for electoral purposes. The whole affair has already dragged on for far too long.”