Post date: Apr 16, 2012 8:33:52 PM
Spain's king gets criticism for poor example at time of crisis, after making an elephant-hunting trip to Botswana that ended with an accident in which he broke a hip.
MADRID, SPAIN (APRIL 16, 2012) (REUTERS) - Spain's queen Sofia on Monday (April 16) visited her husband King Juan Carlos I in hospital, two days after he fractured his hip and had to be flown back urgently to Madrid from Botswana where he was on an elephant-hunt trip which has stirred controversy in Spain.
Queen Sofia, who was in Greece celebrating Orthodox Easter with her family at the time of the Kings' accident, told reporters that the monarch was in good condition. "The progress is good and he will be discharged soon," she said as she left the the hospital, where the king is currently being treated.
King Juan Carlos came under intense media fire on Sunday for hunting elephants in Botswana when his country was being sucked back into the euro zone's financial crisis and one young Spaniard out of two was unemployed.
Spanish media pointed to the cost of his trip and criticised the lack of transparency of the Royal Household, three months after it promised to disclose its income following a corruption probe linked to the king's son-in-law.
The royal holiday last week would have remained secret if the king had not tripped on a step, fractured his hip and had to be flown back urgently to Madrid to undergo hip replacement surgery on Saturday (April 13) morning.
Juan Carlos had earlier called on Spanish leaders in his annual Christmas message to set a good example during the crisis.
"I know you will have in mind that all members of the parliament and senators are under the obligation to effectively contribute to overcome this crisis and its negative effects for citizens. A task that demands a supportive, responsible and effective action, " the King said.
More recently, he said there were times when he could not sleep because of concern about Spain's youth unemployment problem.
Last week he cancelled his regular weekly meeting with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy because he had already left for Botswana, several newspapers said.
Most Spanish dailies and TV channels on Sunday showed a picture of the king in front of a dead elephant, taken on a similar trip to Botswana in 2006.
The picture drew many internet and Twitter comments, some linking it to a Russian hunting trip in 2006 when the king was reported to have killed a bear which had been made drunk.
News of the king's latest trip came at a time when Spain's political leaders face growing social anger. Support for Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy fell sharply in April after his government announced deep spending cuts and health and education reforms to fight the sovereign debt crisis, an opinion poll showed on Sunday.
ABC newspaper said it was Juan Carlos's "bitterest year"
Members of Spain's Socialist and Conservative People's parties have avoided making public comments on the controversy surrounding the king's trip, while minority parties have openly criticised the monarch.
"This has always happened. The king's life is a story of hunting and a double life. There has to be political control in a democracy but during all these years, neither the Social Party nor the People's Party (PP) wanted to establish a political control. We have asked the government many times about the king's double life," Inaki Anasagasti, a senator from the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), told Reuters TV.
Madrid residents offered mixed reactions.
"Four days away aren't a big deal, he is away is not a big deal, poor man. I 'm sorry but I love him so much," said Maria De Las Nieves Delai De Diego.
"We are in a very bad situation to be throwing money away. That is what I think. But, of course, they are the royals," said Juana Congosto.
King Juan Carlos he came to the throne and became head of state shortly after the death in 1975 of dictator Francisco Franco.
A separate accident also drew media attention to the royal family on Monday (April 9), when Felipe Juan Froilan, the 13-year-old son of the king's eldest daughter Infanta Elena, accidentally shot himself in the foot with a shotgun during target practice outside a family home north of Madrid.