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DE RUEHMD #2123 3201529
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161529Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3809
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 5300
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 1255
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ NOV LIMA 1898
RUEHMU/AMEMBASSY MANAGUA 0262
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 1390
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 0504
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS MADRID 002123 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
WHA/AND FOR LOURDES CUE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL SP
SUBJECT: ROYAL SMACKDOWN OF CHAVEZ MEETS WITH SPANISH 
PUBLIC APPROVAL 
 
REF: A. SANTIAGO 1825 
 
     ¶B. CARACAS 2187 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY:  Judging from the reaction in Spain, King 
Juan Carlos seems to have been speaking for many when he 
asked Venezuelan President Chavez to shut up at the 
Iberoamerican Summit (ref a).  His angry rebuke of Chavez has 
gone over well with the Spanish public, and the recording of 
it is reputedly the most popular cell phone ring tone 
download in Spain.  The Spanish Government, on the other 
hand, is trying play down the story even while the opposition 
Partido Popular is trying to take advantage of the incident 
by suggesting it was a result of President Zapatero's weak 
handling of Chavez.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) The defining moment in Santiago continues to be 
recycled in the Spanish media.  Between the TV replays, 
YOUTUBE, and the proliferation of related jokes and songs 
making their rounds on the Internet, the Spanish Government 
is, at least for now, fighting a losing battle in trying to 
turn the corner on this one.  The major dailies carried 
front-page photos of the King gesturing angrily toward Chavez 
earlier in the week.  An editorial cartoon printed November 
15 in independent daily El Mundo depicted a disgruntled 
Chavez at a desk being asked by an open-mouthed globe, "why 
don't you just shut up?"  But while many Spaniards seem to 
have enjoyed the news of the royal shushing -- and the 
international spotlight for standing up to the Venezuelan -- 
the opposition Partido Popular has tried to make political 
hay, insisting Spain recall its Ambassador to Venezuela, who 
has not yet presented credentials.  The Partido Popular has 
also suggested that Zapatero is somehow to blame for Chavez's 
behavior because his government has been tolerant of Chavez. 
(Note:  There is a certain irony here since the incident was 
provoked when Chavez insulted former Spanish President Aznar 
-- of the Partido Popular -- and Zapatero gamely rose to 
Aznar's defense.  It was apparently Chavez's interruptions of 
Zapatero that finally snapped the King's patience.  The press 
has reported on Aznar's subsequent phone call to thank 
Zapatero.  End note.) 
 
¶3. (U) Editorialists sympathetic to the Partido Popular have 
cataloged the incident along with Spain's failure to win the 
November 14 election to select the NATO Military Committee 
chairman as yet another example of the Zapatero Government's 
alleged incompetence in foreign affairs.  There have also 
been suggestions in the media that Zapatero was too gentle in 
his handling of Chavez, while others have blamed him for 
putting the King in such a position.  A distinctly minority 
view is that the King's outburst was a mistake because it 
will merely serve as grist for Chavez's populist tactics. 
The left-wing media, perhaps trying to burnish Zapatero's 
handling of the summit, has reported that the King's 
subsequent walk-out during Nicaraguan President Ortega's rant 
about Spanish business and alleged Spanish interference in 
his country's elections was orchestrated by the King and 
Zapatero on the fly, with them agreeing that one needed to 
make a gesture while the other stayed behind to hold the fort. 
 
¶4. (U) Attempting to calm the situation, FM Moratinos has 
publicly supported the King's words and actions while 
attempting to tone down the dispute.  Moratinos has said he 
does not think the spat should affect Spanish-Venezuelan 
relations and that he wanted dialogue with Venezuela to 
continue, provided that Spain and its institutions were 
respected.  Addressing a Europa Press breakfast November 15, 
Moratinos explained the government preferred not to recall 
its Ambassador for consultations so as not to risk a negative 
backlash against Spanish business and residents in Venezuela. 
 Moratinos told attendees that Spanish companies otherwise 
critical of Chavez had asked Spain to remain calm in defense 
of their interests and said an ambassador is most necessary 
when things do not go well. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Comment:  This too will fade, although the King's 
wonderfully succinct message to Chavez and the evident anger 
with which it was delivered will not be forgotten.  As the 
Ambassador told the press (while declining to comment on 
Venezuela or Chavez), Spain has a "rey de lujo" (luxury model 
king).  It seems most Spaniards would agree. 
LLORENS