What is required to be president of Congress? The King has listed five virtues with which the presidents of Congress have exercised since the Transition, in the solemn act held this Thursday in the Lower House in which he has imposed -on six of them posthumously- the Medal of the institution . “Serenity, firmness, measure, temperance and empathy”, Felipe VI has detailed, among the traits of the winners, whom he has put in his speech as an example of public servants. “They knew how to put the priority task of establishing our collective life on the bases of mutual respect and appreciation for constructive dialogue and reasoned debate before any other concern”, praised Felipe VI, referring to the twelve former presidents of Congress, after the imposition of medals
It is the first time that the Congressional Medals have been awarded, an award that was created last March, and whose granting to former presidents was approved by the Board of the Chamber on May 19. There are twelve medals in total, including those awarded, posthumously, to Fernando Álvarez de Miranda and Antonio Hernández Gil as first presidents of the Constituent Legislature or that of the father of the Constitution Gregorio Peces-Barba, who presided over the Lower House in the II Legislature, and that of Landelino Lavilla, former minister during the Spanish transition, and president of Congress in the I Legislature, during which the coup attempt on February 23, 1981 took place.
The act, in which the president of the Congress, Meritxell Batet, has participated, began at six in the afternoon. Batet received the King in the courtyard of Congress, together with the Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, and inside, in the Queen’s Lobby, Felipe VI greeted the former presidents of Congress Federico Trillo (VI Legislature with the PP), Luisa Fernanda Rudi (VII Legislature with the PP), José Bono (IX Legislature with the PSOE), Jesús Posada (X Legislature with the PP), Patxi López (XII Legislature with the PSOE) and Ana Pastor (XIII Legislature with the PP); and the relatives of the deceased former presidents, the aforementioned Hernández Gil, Álvarez de Miranda, Lavilla and Peces-Barba, as well as Félix Pons (III, IV and V Legislature with the PSOE) and Manuel Marín (VIII Legislature with the PSOE).
At the beginning of the act, Batet assured that pluralism, openness, cooperation and the “reach of agreements from diversity” are the essence of Parliament and stressed that “strengthening its institutions” is “the best guarantee of a future in peace, freedom and justice”. Next, the King presented the decorations and the six presidents who attended took the floor to highlight some important moments of the presidency and personal memories of him.
At the closing of the act, the head of state highlighted the role of the presidency of Congress, which acts as a “support point” for the balance of the House, and has ensured that the powers to carry out this position are “so important”. as the virtues with which it is exercised, among which he has highlighted the “serenity, firmness, moderation, temperance or empathy” of the honorees.
Felipe VI has also taken advantage of his speech to make some personal reference to those who have exercised since 1977, with the constituent legislature, as the third authority of the State. “I have been fortunate to know all of them, even some of them as a child”, he affirmed. And he recalled the day he was sworn in as King to the Constitution, nine years ago, with Jesús Posada as president of Congress, and when he did so, in 1986, as Prince of Asturias.
He has also underlined the “permanent improvement efforts” of coexistence, to which the presidents of Congress have shown their commitment, and among them the figure of Landelino Lavilla has stood out, “preserving with his firm attitude the dignity of Parliament in the face of the attempted of rupture of the constitutional order”, with the attempted coup d’état.
