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The bad image of the Spanish monarchy has now reached Belgium. The country's leading newspaper, Le Soir, published today that all of Spain is in "shock" after it was revealed that former king Juan Carlos I had 100 million dollars in Switzerland. The newspaper concludes, as did France's Le Monde yesterday, that “the Spanish monarchy is trembling”.

According to Le Soir, this case is beginning to have political repercussions in Spain. "It's a shock for the whole of the Iberian country! Juan Carlos, who abdicated the throne to his son Felipe in 2014, has been accused of using fraudulent methods to conceal part of his fortune. We're not talking about a small amount but about 100 million euros hidden in Switzerland. The daily Tribune de Genève made headlines about the story this week. The dispute is so serious that it already has political consequences that could put the Spanish government coalition in a delicate position," it says, in reference to the contradictory positions of the Spanish Socialists (PSOE) and left-wing Unidas Podemos.

After explaining that the issue also includes the 60 million dollars that Juan Carlos might have given Corinna Larsen, Le Soir concludes that all this has been seen as a scandal. "The news fell like a bombshell in a country where the monarchy is already heavily criticised. The Spanish government, with the support of the socialists of PSOE, the radical left of Podemos and the Catalans, has been destabilised. While the former are opposed to any parliamentary commission of inquiry under the pretext that Juan Carlos had immunity at the time, the others do not share this view.

Le Soir recalls that the Spanish monarchy has been involved in scandals for ten years now. "In 2010, the Nóos case already shook the royals with the investigation into Princess Cristina and her husband, for misappropriation of public funds".