The parade held yesterday for Armed Forces Day in Granada was filled with cheers and applause. Without the President of the Spanish Government – who, by tradition, has never attended this celebration -, Kings Felipe and LetÃcia were welcomed with enthusiasm in the Andalusian city, through which they paraded more than 3,000 military personnel, 150 vehicles and 70 airplanes and helicopters.
No President of the Executive usually goes to the Armed Forces Day events. Neither did President Pedro Sánchez do it yesterday, five days after announcing the electoral advance following the Socialist coup at the polls on 28-M, who like other leaders who have preceded him in office limited himself to congratulate the Armed Forces for this celebration.
Yes, the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, and the head of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, went there. There was no whistle for them. And if there was any nightmarish cry for the members of the Government, the ovations for the kings of Spain overshadowed everything.
The parade, which lasted more than two hours, began after the kings greeted the authorities. After that, the traditional parachuting jump with the Spanish flag took place, which for the first time in history was done by a woman: Corporal Carmen Gómez of the Parachute Acrobatic Patrol of the Air Force and Space. The flag was raised, the fallen were honored and the Eagle Patrol passed by, dyeing the Granada sky with the colors of the Spanish flag.
70 aircraft flew, including F-18, Eurofighter, Harrier and Pilatus aircraft, as well as helicopters from the Land and Air Forces, the Navy and the Civil Guard. Then, more than 150 combat and armored vehicles and tanks. The main focus of the foot parade was taken, once again, by the Legion and its mascot, which this time was a dwarf goat from North Africa, named Julius Caesar.
The minister took the opportunity to reiterate the message that the advanced holding of the elections, which may lead to a change of Government, does not in any case break the commitment acquired by the Executive before NATO to reach 2% of GDP before the end of the decade. “The Armed Forces have never been used in a partisan way, since investing in them is investing in peace, freedom and security.”
