The pandemic has shown in the Spanish State – also in the Basque Country – the pockets of poverty and social exclusion, unemployment, precariousness, the abandonment of nursing homes, health cuts... It is clear that all this will have consequences, such as the closure of companies or the loss of thousands of jobs. Administrations and governments should prioritise their objectives in the allocation of economic resources.

In this context, let us remember the expenses to be totally eliminated or reduced: army, military investment, excessive diets of political parties, anti-social works such as the TAV, as well as the Spanish monarchy. We are going to focus on the costs of the latter, because the Basques also pay our taxes on the too many of the Bourbons.

In total, EUR 8 million is allocated to the Spanish Royal House. As regards salaries, the real family receives EUR 679,559. Felipe VI.ak earns €242,769 per year, i.e. €19,517 per month. His wife Letizia, another 133,530 euros. Until recently, Juan Carlos I.ak received EUR 194,000 – until his barabbas were known in Switzerland in March – and Sofia EUR 109,260. In the zarzuela, in addition, some 2,000 people work in the service of the monarchy: Some 300 in their offices and another 1,500 people as members of the royal guard. That guard costs us another EUR 7 million a year.

While one family is given that money, despite being very king, millions of people live with a minimum wage (950 euros), with scarce widows’ pensions (639.50 euros), with aid to the IGR (680 euros) or with the Minimum Income (562 euros), and tens of thousands are invisible because they receive nothing. Why does the king have to collect every month what millions of citizens do not charge in one, two or three years? And what do those 1,500 guards come to? It is a disgrace. But more embarrassing still is that politicians accept it.