King Felipe and Queen Letizia will visit Ceuta and Melilla on October 13 and 14. The trip is classified as "historic", as it is the first visit in 20 years by a head of state to the autonomous cities and the debut of the Monarch and his wife there. Although Felipe VI had been expressing his desire to go to the city since he was proclaimed in 2014, until the attempted violation of Spanish territorial sovereignty with the swimming of 70,000 immigrants from Tarajal, the Executive had not accepted this request.
Although the trip has been agreed upon by the Royal House and the Government, the weeks since July 30, when the attempted invasion took place, have been marked by disagreements between the Executive and Zarzuela. Don Felipe made himself available from the first moment to go to the autonomous cities. He experienced, as he stated in a statement, with "great concern" and "indignation" the security threat posed by the entry of migrants. But also with the frustration of those who want to exercise their constitutional mandate of being a "symbol of unity and permanence" and not being able to fulfill it due to the Government's refusal. Don Felipe made a point of regularly calling the regional president, Juan Jesús Vivas; and he made an exception when receiving him in Marivent, the summer headquarters of the Head of State. Once in Madrid he did not stop making gestures until he found a date for the trip. He held an off-schedule meeting with the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, and the commanders of the Ceuta Commands. The King, as the first soldier and captain general, wanted to know how events were developing. He also gave orders that on the regional celebration days of Ceuta and Melilla, the emblems of both cities be placed in the Zarzuela Audience Hall, something unique that does not happen with the rest.
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, set the King's visit on an uncertain time horizon by using the term "in the coming weeks" after his return from vacation. However, this newspaper published that the deadline to have a day was October 12, when the National Holiday is celebrated. Zarzuela has cleared more dates on its calendar, but none of them suited the Government for one reason or another.
As this newspaper published then, there was a wish that on October 12 the trip would have taken place or the date would be announced. It would be an anomaly to celebrate Spain's big day without a greater commitment to Ceuta. Thus, Don Felipe's wish to make the trip on October 13 and 14 is fulfilled. One day in Ceuta and another in Melilla. Although few details have been revealed, the Kings will spend many hours in each city, where they will combine the institutional with time with the citizens. They will be accompanied by a day minister, everything indicates that it will be the Minister of Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres; and the President of the Government will be absent. Sources from Moncloa rely on the excuse that Pedro Sánchez never accompanies the King on trips throughout national territory, but other people consulted slip a "personal decision" by Sánchez that responds more to avoiding subjecting himself to popular scrutiny so as not to repeat an image similar to that of Paiporta. "He could have attended and the security device would adapt to the level of representation on the ground," they argue.
Don Felipe and Doña Letizia prepare this visit with love and time, where they are clear that they want to spend hours in each city to understand its complexities. Unlike what Don Juan Carlos did, who telephoned Mohamed VI before traveling, the King is not going to do it. Although El País published that a minister asked the Monarch to call him to congratulate him on his management of the Ceuta crisis, the King has never considered carrying out any negotiations with the Alawite court. There has not been a direct request in this regard either. Don Felipe and Mohamed do not share the same approaches.
Although that call is not going to happen, diplomatic sources confirm to this newspaper that there are efforts to minimize the impact of the visit, which has already been conveyed to the Moroccan government. Members of the Armed Forces consulted by this newspaper are aware that the trip will have some response from Rabat, but they believe that it will remain something more declarative, once again insisting on the Moroccan identity of Ceuta and Melilla, something that is not true.
Yesterday, the King telephoned Vivas for the fifth time since the assault. He did it to inform him of the date of the trip a few minutes before Zarzuela told the press the days chosen for the visit. It was a perfectly orchestrated operation so that there were no leaks. And in the House there was interest in ensuring that the people of Ceuta and Melilla were clear that the Head of State was going to keep its promised word.
