Adolfo

Suárez

President of the Spanish Government

Speech made to the Assembly

Wednesday, 31 January 1979

All speechesQuestions and answers

Mr President, as I address the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, I feel an emotion compounded of widely different feelings, all of them deep and powerful.

In expressing my thanks for the honour and satisfaction that I feel at this moment, I should like to acknowledge the prominent role played by the Assembly in Spain’s entry into the Council of Europe and, in my gratitude, I wish to pay a deep-felt tribute to President Karl Czernetz, your predecessor, who contributed so much to bringing about the final return of Spain to the European institutions.

The idea of Europe has often served in the history of Spain as a reference mark: to reject it has been a sign of political incapacity and impotence; to affirm it, a stroke of imagination and an act of faith in the future. Europe was believed in because it constituted the best example of the ideals of democracy and freedom. Europe was thought of, in the last analysis, not as an abstract aspiration, but as if it were a programme of the utmost political urgency.

A great Spanish writer – José Ortega y Gasset – wrote that “Europe’s existence as a society pre-dates that of the European nations”. And we came to believe that Spain would not be a full and integrated society until it affirmed its European character with the same strength and persistence with which we maintained that Europe would not be wholly itself until it could count on the presence of a democratic Spain. This was the principal idea behind the words of His Majesty the King in the Message from the Throne to the Spanish people, which marked the opening of the new political process:

“The idea of Europe would be incomplete without a reference to the presence of the men of Spain and without taking into account the achievement of many of my predecessors. Europe must include Spain in its reckoning, for we Spaniards are Europeans. It is highly important at the present time that both parties should understand this and that all of us should draw the relevant conclusions.”

In the debate held in this Chamber on 11 October 1977, the chief Spanish political forces entered into an undertaking towards the European peoples: to continue working together so as to establish democracy fully in our country. You trusted their word and the Assembly adopted the recommendation which opened the doors of the Council of Europe to Spain in a space of time and under conditions that were quite unprecedented. In so far as this was an act of faith in the Spanish people and in its legitimate democratic representatives, I wish to tender you my thanks.

Just two years and a few months have passed since our country embarked on the process of transition to democracy. Two years are a short time in human life and are almost always imperceptible in the history of peoples. It often happens, too, that periods of warfare are memorable, but it is very rare for two years of orderly change to take on such great significance. Herein perhaps lies the peculiarity of the case of Spain: in having been able to carry out so intense and sincere a change in such a short period.

Political reform was first envisaged under difficult circumstances of economic crisis, with political parties leading an underground existence, with serious concern among the citizens over the present and future of Spain, and with street demonstrations against the existing power structures. The radical nature of the different positions gave rise to daily conflict between the desire for continuity and for a revolutionary break with the past. The risk, consequently, was very great, because both positions implied a rejection of the possibility of an overall solution that would lead us to reconciliation. The great merit of the political reform was to convince those who clung doggedly to irreconcilable positions that, in harmony with the wishes of the Spanish people, they should seek a peaceful formula for national concord.

The political reform which took place in Spain consigned to the past, consequently, the sociological pattern which had led to the Civil War. For decades a profound change had been taking place in Spanish society which the political system had necessarily to assimilate. It was essential to have the courage to confront the new society and discuss its problems publicly and truthfully. We had changed from a rural society to an urban one, from a basically agrarian economy to an industrial one, and from a country of conflicting classes into a society of middle classes. This was the background against which the great challenge of political change was to be taken up. We had to assess the difficulties correctly and find the correct approach to their solution.

Amid all these preoccupations, I took office in July 1976 as President of the Government. From the outset I explained what my programme of action would be. I believe that if now, two and a half years later, the programme of government which was made public on 16 July 1976 is reviewed, it will be seen quite clearly that the political reform which took place in Spain was the direct consequence of an examination in depth of the problems of our country and a determination to tackle them with the aim of surmounting the whole of our recent history.

In that initial programme, the government in fact indicated its intention of embarking energetically upon the process of political transformation and expressed its conviction that sovereignty lay with the people; it undertook to set up a democratic political system based on the guarantee of civil rights and freedoms, the acceptance of genuine pluralism and equal political opportunities for all democratic groups. All this – it was said – was to be carried out within a framework of legitimate authority, supported by the people and showing the respect for law as behoves any state, where the rule of law is supreme.

Thus the declaration of July 1976 sets out all the objectives which have characterised the Spanish political process: those objectives which were stated in the following explicit and specific terms:

First, to submit to the decision of the nation matters relating to constitutional reform;

Second, to hold general elections before 30 June of the following year;

Third, to reform legislation to bring it into line with national reality, concentrating especially on the recognition and exercise of public freedoms;

Fourth, to make the political parties legal;

Fifth, to facilitate regional autonomy; and

Sixth, to propose to the King the granting of a wide amnesty for politically motivated offences or offences of opinion.

For this, however, it was necessary to take an overall view of the different stages of the reform, because this was the only guarantee of successfully attaining the final aim. We knew that the Spanish political process called for great delicacy, not only because we were going to try to remove age-old obstacles, but also because there might be extremist attempts to make this impossible, both inside and outside the country. None of the resistance and misunderstanding that we were to encounter took us by surprise or weakened our faith in the democratic process. But it was imperative that we should act coolly and responsibly, confident in the knowledge that what we were doing was what the Spanish people had been awaiting for many centuries of its history.

Any political change involves uncertainty and difficulties. And the transformations which have affected the Spanish people have, because of their exceptional nature, implied difficulties and risks that were similarly exceptional. To carry out this change in a genuine and radical manner, without yielding an inch in our demands, without camouflaging our intentions, without making do by touching up the surface, and to do so gradually and peacefully without revolutions or insuperable traumas, whilst fully respecting the laws, would be a difficult undertaking and therefore it had to be well thought out.

It was our intention, in short, to govern in a thoughtful manner, mindful of the highest interests of the state, seeking at all times loyal cooperation with the political and social forces which at that time, for obvious reasons, were not yet representative but were certainly significant and which it was necessary to accommodate in the normal life of citizens.

The government undertook this first stage of the transition with the dual aim of carrying out the reform on the principle that no Spaniard, whatever his ideological origin, should be excluded from the building of the democratic future and, at the same time, of modifying the fundamental legislation through the machinery laid down therein, with the approval of the institutions.

The Political Reform Act – approved on 6 December 1977 in a national referendum – brought into the Spanish legal order a fundamental ruling institutionalising the inviolability of rights and freedoms and establishing machinery for holding the first general elections for over forty years and the subsequent drafting of the Constitution.

For this act to take its full effect, it was important later to define the spokesmen who could represent the different political options in the Spanish ideological spectrum. More than three hundred political parties aspired to articulate the sectors of opinion of the new democracy. A legal framework was established for them and we called elections from which the new political legitimacy was to emerge.

As you know, these elections were held on 15 June 1977, resulting in the two-chamber parliament which was to draw up a new Constitution. The government then decided, and gave its solemn undertaking to the electorate that if its offer attracted sufficient popular support, it would tackle the task in accordance with the following guidelines:

First, to endeavour to ensure that the Constitution was valid for all Spaniards and was drawn up by all the political forces represented in Parliament;

Second, to find points of agreement with the other political forces so as to fashion solutions for the economic and social problems and govern on the basis of dialogue, negotiations, and agreement throughout the constituent period.

To negotiate conditions for coexistence is a sign of strength and a guarantee of effectiveness. For in the last analysis the social structure becomes stronger and more vigorous when it is built with the help of all, much more than if a political majority tries to impose the rules of social life on the other political forces.

I believe that we Spaniards have developed the necessary political tact for this process to move ahead in a climate of dialogue and mutual respect. I also believe that we have made a great effort to control the frustrations of past years, lest impatience gain the upper hand. We have advanced coherently and gradually and the results are there to be seen. Only two years after the beginning of the process with the Political Reform Act, the first general elections have already been held, the Constitution has been adopted and new parliamentary elections are to take place on 1 March from which a constitutional government will emerge. And all this, I repeat, is the result not of the victory of one group of Spaniards over another, but of mutual respect and responsible compromise among the different political tendencies in our country.

I should like here and now to pay my tribute to the Spanish political parties, and to those who were their representatives in the Congress and Senate, for facing up, in full awareness of their responsibility, to the historical moment which it was our lot to traverse.

This policy of consensus was due to the requirements of an exceptional situation and for this reason it will no longer be possible or necessary, in the same terms, once the Constitution has normalised the procedures of Spanish political life. Now a new way of governing is needed and each party must define the type of society it is putting before its electors. It was the need for this process of clarification that made me decide to propose to His Majesty the King the dissolution of the Cortes and the calling of new general elections. But the fact that the consensus will no longer be the dominant note of our political life does not mean that we can forget how necessary it was nor overlook the fruit it bore. Not the least of these is the habit of dialogue and moderation which has entered Spanish political life and which we are determined not to relinquish.

It was thanks to the spirit of concord, indeed, and in very unpropitious circumstances because of the economic situation and the social problems arising from it, that compromise formulae were found for drafting the Constitution and negotiating a social pact that allowed us to face up to the crisis – the so-called Moncloa Pact – determine the bases that would permit an initial, temporary framework for self-government and mould public rights and liberties to the new democratic system. From now on, a government inspired by a party programme must enable the model of Western society to take firm root.

Mr President, the political process that the Spanish people has followed is the fruit of long experience. It is a lesson learned from a history marked by a succession of bids for organised liberty and repeated failures. It may seem tragic, and indeed to a certain extent it is, that until 1978 Spain should not have had a Constitution accepted unreservedly by its main political forces. This acceptance of the constitutional text brings a constant factor of historic discord to an end, and at the same time, a reason for optimism and a guarantee of future stability.

We Spaniards wished to make it perfectly clear that it was one thing to establish a political system geared to the real needs of society, a sincerely democratic system open to all the social forces, and quite a different thing, and an unacceptable one, to admit any hypothesis of revenge, turning back the clock or reopening the dialectics of the Civil War. I think we were right in this because we placed the horizon of democracy in the new society and not in sterile discussions about the past.

Perhaps it is not for me to stress the difficulties we encountered. But I would like to suggest to you that perhaps the chief problem was to distinguish properly the different stages of the reform process and not to complicate the task of building the future with emotional considerations which were a heritage of the past.

The political system, the state and society were for many years aspects of a single monolithic bloc and it was inevitable that those who called for a change of the political system should confuse the three elements. The consequences of this confusion were, among others, the following:

First, an alarming erosion of the state’s and society’s capacity for self-defence;

Second, the radicalism of the political debate and the use of a permanent range of claims which not only undermined the foundations of the political regime but also struck against state and society;

Third, the impossibility for political parties to confront one another within a system of co-operation and legitimacy accepted by all.

Added to this was the serious problem of having to govern without any constitutional norm to base ourselves on, without reference to any legal system adapted to the sort of claims that were being made. For, without falling into the void, we were carrying out the whole process, dwelling in the old edifice, trying to avert the dangers of staying outside in the cold and reconstructing its structures at the same time as we carried on the normal daily activity of an advancing society.

These were the basic elements of the problem with which we had to reckon, in the firm belief that prudence, judiciously timed, would finally prevail and that moderation would very soon become – as has in fact happened – the predominant note of the Spanish political system.

Thus we Spaniards undertook the search for a peaceful solution, backed up by the institutions of the state and with the encouragement of the Crown: a solution from which no citizen and no democratic political force would be excluded. I believe that the monarchy, as an institution alien to the civil conflict which divided Spaniards and consequently as a neutral arbiter unaffected by the historical confrontation between the political forces, has been a decisive factor in the success of the operation.

To put it another way, I believe that only the fact that Spain is a monarchy has enabled us to undertake an operation of this kind. It is also undeniable that the deep hold that their Majesties the King and Queen have gained over the hearts of the Spanish people and the sincerity with which the operation has been carried out have contributed to the unquestioned consolidation of the institution of the monarchy.

Mr President, this process has been the result of the collective effort of the Spanish people. For me it has been an honour to preside over it and today I feel honoured to submit this report to you. But above all it must be reiterated that the tremendous change that Spain has undergone has been possible thanks to the moderating influence of the Crown, as the supreme symbol of the unity of the nation and as the guarantee of support and protection for the fundamental rights of the individual; it is due too to the maturity of the Spanish people, whose sense of proportion and balance have been fundamental in regaining sovereignty and acting as the sole source of legitimacy; and it is due, lastly, to the responsibility of the political parties represented in Parliament, which have shown themselves able to unite at the most difficult times so as to serve above everything else the national interest.

Under the Constitution recently approved by the Spanish people, the basis of political order and social peace lies in respect for the dignity of the person and the inviolable rights inherent in the individual.

This solemn declaration is inspired by a definite position of respect for human rights, in both domestic and external policy.

We consider that these principles must be universally respected because there can be no real easing of tension unless respect for the rights and freedoms of the individual is guaranteed, as the basis and ultimate aim of peace. The Spanish Government in this area has established a line of action in its human rights policy based on the following guidelines:

– the persistent breach of human rights, wherever it may occur, is to be condemned;

– the flagrant suppression of basic human rights, wherever it may occur, constitutes a threat to peace;

– states cannot escape their international responsibilities by claiming that this is a matter of their exclusive domestic competence, because the safeguard of human rights is a question which goes beyond national and domestic limits and takes its place in the international setting;

– consequently, the principle of non-intervention in the domestic affairs of other states, as enshrined in the Final Act of Helsinki and fully and scrupulously respected by my government, cannot be invoked to prevent serious violations of fundamental human rights from being examined by the international community;

– we consider that poverty, hunger and destitution are likewise grievous breaches of human rights, and we believe that this notion cannot be reduced to its traditional dimensions (civil and political rights) but that it must rather strive to embrace new frontiers that will envisage the unfolding and development of economic, social and cultural rights;

– to safeguard these rights, it is indispensable to improve the institutional machinery for guarantee and control available to the international community, because this issue of human rights cannot remain at the mercy of selective criteria of a subjective nature.

Pursuant to these principles, we signed and ratified, in April 1977, the International Covenants on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Civil and Political Rights, concluded under the auspices of the United Nations; we have supported the setting up of a High Commissioner for Human Rights and we have requested that the United Nations should be able, when circumstances so require, to set up and dispatch fact-finding missions to bring to light breaches of human rights.

In the framework of the Council of Europe, we have signed in the last few months the European Social Charter and the European Convention on the Legal Status of Migrant Workers, which seeks to defend the rights of those men and women, who, because they work outside their country, are in particular need of protection. Finally, we have signed the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and the government recently agreed to refer to the Cortes the question of its immediate ratification and the voluntary acceptance of the Court’s jurisdiction.

Whilst on the subject of human rights, I must express the concern of my government over the issue of terrorism, the most odious and brutal way of violating the fundamental rights of all persons to safety and life.

The general satisfaction and the hope with which the Spanish people has witnessed the evolution towards free and democratic institutions has been darkened by the frequency of acts of terrorism which appal citizens and threaten to upset the hard-earned stability of political life.

Spain believes in the necessity of a global strategy, in which together with political, legal, social and police measures within each country, indispensable joint action on an international diplomatic scale will also be carried out, without which the individual efforts of states would be futile.

As is pointed out in the excellent report by Mr Tabone submitted by the Political Affairs Committee to this Assembly for consideration, the main feature of terrorism in our time is that in addition to the improvement of its organisation it uses the support of international groups, making it difficult to combat through the action of the directly affected state on its own.

There are by now enough examples which bear witness to the historical proof of this assertion to dispel any doubts as to the urgent need for international co-operation in this matter.

Apart from the treaties and conventions signed by Spain in this area, we have been following with special attention the contacts and meetings of experts on this question, particularly the report submitted to this Assembly and the discussions which it has prompted, as well as the recommendations that have been approved, which enable us to catch a hopeful glimpse of joint action by all European countries.

Free and democratic institutions, open to the necessary changes called for by historical development or new ideological or philosophical views, deprive terrorist action of all justification.

The establishment of a European juridical area, and close police co-operation within it, periodic meetings of Ministers of the Interior and a permanent international organisation to combat the terrorist activity of armed gangs and groups, are essential measures for eradicating swiftly and effectively this evil we all suffer.

Let it be clear, however, that Spain does not hesitate when it is a question of defending its political unity, the right to life of its citizens and the rule of law. Terrorism causes sorrow and victims, but it will never obtain political victories. Consequently, we shall not give way, and the defence of democratic institutions will continue to be pursued with the necessary vigour, and without hesitation.

Mr President, I began my address by recalling Europe’s act of faith in Spain, which made possible the speedy entry of democratic Spain into the Council of Europe.

Faith and hope are likewise the tools with which we have removed obstacles that seemed insurmountable; we must go on and tackle new objectives with more hope still, because only the conviction that we will be capable of achieving all our ends gives us the assurance that we will be able to fulfil our purpose.

I am aware how difficult it is to keep hopes alive for such a long time, and amid such great difficulties. But hopes without continuous unflagging effort are unlikely ever to be realised.

History is always a human creation. There are no irreversible premonitions nor can we accept a mechanical conception of the development of human societies. The future is forged by the effort of peoples, and it is rendered possible by men with their work and their sacrifices, and sometimes even with their pain. Man is and always will be master of his time. This is why we believed in the effectiveness of the Spanish process. We believed in it because we believed in ourselves, because we wanted to build a tomorrow in dreams and hopes, ready to survive disappointments and suffer no small number of injuries and misunderstandings. And for this reason we also have faith in European man, because he can project all his strength, in the immense stream of culture and civilisation which have formed our peoples, into the dream of a great Europe.

Spain’s European policy – conceived multilaterally and without prejudice to bilateral relations – has the following main centres of interest:

First, the Council of Europe, which is the organ of democratic control for the exchange of political ideas among all those countries which share the same ideals and aim to establish common standards of behaviour;

Second, the European Communities, which Spain conceives as the kingpin of European unification;

Third, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which will be held in 1980 in Madrid and of whose importance we are well aware.

To this we might add, from a trade standpoint, the agreement recently signed with the EFTA countries.

From the security standpoint, Spain participates in the defence of the West through the treaty of friendship and co-operation signed in 1976 with the United States.

Spain would betray its historical essence if it did not launch a solemn appeal for Europe to recognise the vital role that is to be played nowadays by the peoples of the Mediterranean and the Latin American world.

With this world, with which Spain has had political ties for centuries and to which it is spiritually and culturally linked today and without which my country cannot be understood, we wish to implement a policy of fraternal co-operation and mutual respect. We believe that in our close links with the peoples of Latin America, we Spaniards may discover the root of our own particular character, within the Europe to which we belong.

Moreover, Spain cannot conceive of Europe without its Mediterranean dimension, without the development of a European Mediterranean policy the bases of which are, in our opinion, détente, peace and co-operation among the coastal states in the following areas:

– the intensification of any action favouring common interests, particularly in pollution control, the fostering of personal exchanges, management of the sea, etc.;

– more co-operation, so as to reduce the imbalances that exist today between North and South, in fields such as raw materials, industrial products, tourism, trade, etc.;

– the creation of a complementary security system for riparian states.

In the life of peoples, there are moments when a choice must be made and Spain chose solidarity with Europe. With our full participation in the various institutions, not only will we share in this joint effort, but we will also have to call for the reinforcement of integration, so that Europe may not continue to be the result of national compromises, but the supranational consequence of common effort and thought.

I should like, as a final appeal, to address the Europe of ideas and feelings to ask it to prevent the Europe of vested interests from reducing its possibilities and its hopes.

Only if we are able to set up a coherent structure of ideas, feelings and interests, economic, political or strategical, will Spain come to realise that its faith in Europe is borne out by the inner truth of Europe.

The Europe in which we believe is the Europe of freedoms. It presupposes a pattern of society we consider to be free and pluralistic and demands the close co-ordination of the policies of its various states, because if it is thought that Europe is too big to live in unity, I nevertheless believe that it is too small to live in separation.

(Loud applause)