Who will go and who will not to the events of the National Holiday of 12-O: one of them is 'erased' for the second year

The National Holiday of Spain is celebrated this October 12. Madrid once again hosts the traditional military parade, with the now usual route along the Paseo del Prado and Paseo de Recoletos. It is the most notable institutional event and will be, as every year, chaired by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia.

In that parade, along with the monarchs, will be the main authorities of the State, and among them, the regional presidents and the leaders of the political forces. But as on previous occasions, there will be notable absences, especially taking into account that we are in the pre-campaign of the 29-N elections.

The president of Vox, Santiago Abascal, is going to be absent again this year from the central event of the 12-O party. Nor will it appear at the subsequent reception offered by their majesties at the Royal Palace. In his place, the far-right leader will be in Ceuta, accompanied by the president of the Patriots group of the European Parliament and leader of the French National Rally party, Jordan Bardella.

It is the second consecutive year that Abascal decides not to attend the National Holiday parade. In 2025 he justified his absence by alleging that he did not want to coincide with the president, Pedro Sánchez, in institutional events so as not to "legitimize" or "whitewash" him and continued the military parade at street level, near the Plaza de Colón.

Nor will the representatives of the Catalan independence parties, ERC and Junts, and the Basques from Bildu, attend, as usual. Likewise, representatives of Podemos will not be seen. Its current secretary general, Ione Belarra, attended the parade in 2024 but because she was acting minister of Social Rights.

As far as the authorities are concerned, the novelty of the 2025 military parade was seeing, for the first time in 14 years, the president of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Salvador Illa. It remains to be seen if this year it will repeat. Yes, the other socialist regional presidents will be present: Adrián Barbón (Asturias); Emiliano García-Page (Castilla-La Mancha); and María Chivite (Navarra).

On behalf of the PP, the presidents Juanma Moreno (Andalusia) will attend; Jorge Azcón (Aragon); Marga Prohens (Balearic Islands); María José Sáenz de Buruaga (Cantabria); Alfonso Fernández Mañueco (Castilla y León); Isabel Díaz Ayuso (Community of Madrid); Juanfran Pérez Llorca (Valencian Community); María Guardiola (Extremadura); Alfonso Rueda (Galicia); Gonzalo Capellán (La Rioja); and Fernando López Miras (Murcia Region).

Lehendakari Imanol Pradales, of the PNV, will not be in the parade on October 12. Pradales's behavior is the same as that of his predecessor, Íñigo Urkullu, who never attended the central event of the festival. It remains to be seen if the president of the Government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, will come to Madrid, who excused his presence in 2025.

"October 12 is a celebration of unity, of twinning, in which we also show our bond with the international community," the Ministry of Defense assures today. The most notable institutional event is the military parade of the Armed Forces, which is held once again in Madrid.