Spain's army is no longer the Crown's last stronghold

The Crown loses the last pillar it had left: the army

The erosion of military support for the Spanish monarchy has become a commonplace of political analysis. The economic argument carries weight: the average officer is assumed to be more interested in securing an advisory post in the defence industry at the end of their service than in defending any notion of homeland. The troops back whoever pays best, like any other group covered by a collective agreement, and those nostalgic for military patriotism see honour replaced by money.

The economic reading of military disaffection has direct consequences for the institutional balance. If loyalty can be bought, any higher offer could realign the barracks. Meanwhile, defenders of the status quo point out that a social majority remains monarchist and that the army is no exception.

One detail that never fails to appear: the king's unique legal position. He is the only person in Spain who cannot be prosecuted, which in a hypothetical march on Ceuta could turn into a scene unfit for judges. That impunity feeds the idea that the institution rests on a legal shield impossible to ignore. Monarchies, the argument goes, exist only to secure their dynasty, and the Spanish one openly flirts with the modern left. The army's profession of republican faith may be an exaggeration, but the direction of the current is clear. And without an army, the Crown is basically left with its mother.