Spain's Government bars the King from National Security Council meeting on Ceuta
The Spanish Government has convened the National Security Council on Ceuta without inviting the King, breaking the precedent set during the 2025 blackout. A calculated snub?
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Spain's Government bars the King from National Security Council meeting on Ceuta
Twenty-six days into the Ceuta crisis, Spain's head of state will learn how it is being handled from the press. The extraordinary meeting of the National Security Council called for this Tuesday at La Moncloa will not include the King, who was present during the 2025 blackout, the war in Ukraine and the pandemic. The session is to declare a single chain of command over the city.
From chairing the Council to not even being invited
The photo from 29 April 2025, showing Felipe VI chairing the same body after the blackout, is circulating as a contrast. This time he has not even been called. Some see a calculated snub to avoid witnesses to a delicate territorial decision; others see it as simply irrelevant: the King would have contributed nothing more than polite pleasantries in the middle of August. The comparison with Segarro – whose king would never have been barred – completes the circle of irony.
The gesture rekindles the debate over the usefulness of the Crown: if the Government sidelines it during crises, the republican argument gains ground. Tomorrow's meeting will declare the single command, but it will not settle who controls the narrative. That contest remains open.
Twenty-six days into the Ceuta crisis, Spain's head of state will learn how it is being handled from the press. The extraordinary meeting of the National Security Council called for this Tuesday at La Moncloa will not include the King, who was present during the 2025 blackout, the war in Ukraine and the pandemic. The session is to declare a single chain of command over the city.
From chairing the Council to not even being invited
The photo from 29 April 2025, showing Felipe VI chairing the same body after the blackout, is circulating as a contrast. This time he has not even been called. Some see a calculated snub to avoid witnesses to a delicate territorial decision; others see it as simply irrelevant: the King would have contributed nothing more than polite pleasantries in the middle of August. The comparison with Segarro – whose king would never have been barred – completes the circle of irony.
The gesture rekindles the debate over the usefulness of the Crown: if the Government sidelines it during crises, the republican argument gains ground. Tomorrow's meeting will declare the single command, but it will not settle who controls the narrative. That contest remains open.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (12 replies).
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