***Today, twenty-five years after Franco’s death. Spain is a different country. It has undergone an amazing metamorphosis from the laughing stock of Europe to one of the most respected nations of the continent. There have been enormous political, social, cultural and economic changes in the country. The only ghost from the past which still haunts the nation is ETA terrorism. The feeling of collective shame has disappeared from the Spanish mind. It is a full-fledged democracy based on the principles of human rights

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I still remember the night when Franco died (Nov 19-JO. 1975) It was a hittrrh cold winter night. For weeks rumours had been circulating in the country that Franco was seriously ill. that he was on a lite support machine, that he waK being kept artificially alive by his son-in-law. the Marquess o( Vtllavcrde for political reasons. On the streets, there was a mixed sense ol unerrmintx. tear and hope After all hr was > ordinary man Francisco Paulino Teodulo Hermenegildo Franco Bahamonde was tin Caudillo' and Head of state ol Spain (by the grace of Godl. Commander-iti-cmcJ and Generalissimo of all its armed forces He had been at the helm of affairs in Spain for nearly forty vears and without his direct or indirect approval nothing could happen in the country. That night, as my wile and I remained awake In bed. huddled under several blankets. listening to our old faithful transistor radio, we half-expected the news of the death of the dictator.

Next day (quite sunny but ven cold), some of my friends and elderly members (not the younger onesl ol my wiles faintly wept and stood tor hours in a ven- long queue outside the royal palace at Plaza de Oriente in Madrid to pay homage to the memory of the dead man. while others rejoiced Unlike the mourners who showed their

grief openly, the young and the intellectuals could not celebrate the occasion in public hri -.uise n> one was absolnieh sure which wav the wheels ol lot tune would turn and Francos jails were not the happiest places to be in. They knew how alter the end ol the civil war in 1939. with implacable cruelty, the regime hud carried out the exc niton. expulsion, Incarceration and purge of hundreds ol thousands ol so-called dissi-denis On that chilly November morning, ail across the couniry manv people fell worried about an uncertain 1utur- and there were nood reasons to Jvl Illa

। that.

I Tv roitnirv was hi’ the mid dlr o| an conbmi' and political iisis hl the Sixties, the decade-long economic boom in Europe had provided employment to a million or so Spanish migrant workers In the factories of Germany. France. Italy and Switzerland. Thanks to a revised economic policy (lor almost twenty vears Franco ami his ministers had tailed to undeisiami dir basic prim iplrs of a modern ri onotnyi. at auont the satin film (1961 Io 7973T Spam too had undvrgonr great changes and had come out ol its economic isolation with an astonishing average yearly growth rate of 7 per cent (political isolation from Europe and the rest of the western world still continued). The Spanish economy had been opened up to outside Investment which

had led to rapid mdustrialis.i-tion ol the country

These Iwo phenomena had hanged Ilie social and political ' limatr ol the country. From basically an agricultural socl iv. in a matter of only a few years Spain had become transformed into an industrialised urban society Industrialisation had meant a significant movement of population. It had virtually depopulated many villages by forcing Its inhabitants to migrate to newly created industrial areas, close to the cities, which, in turn had helped to break down the old rural social order by creating a new class ol industrial workers with plenty ol cash in their ixxkets. In 1973. all this was brought to an abrupt halt by I he Middle East war and the subsequent decision of the OPEC countries Io raise the prices of oil substantially. The tactories in western Europe started laying off hundreds of thousands of Spanish guest workers, who first stopped sending money (much needed Hrrign exchange for industrialisation). then started coming hack h‘•m< therein Increasing the number of unemployed.

Looking back I now realise that the time was ripe hn a political < h.illge I here was a new reality (he society both from social and economic points of view had undergone profound changes. \ct Franco had hardly made any changes in the political structure ol Ilie country. Actually Franco and his ministers were so sell complacent and so far removed from reality that It did not even occur to them that economic and social changes would eventually pul pressure on (he political establishment to change They did not undei-stand that the new problems could not he solved with remedies ol the p.isi Problems t-laied to industrial labour ielutions could not be solved without mdc|X’ndent labour unions (the existing unions were sponsored and controlled by the government). One could not even think of having something akin to a welfare state with free primary and secondary education and a good healthcare system without an adequate fiscal policy (hardly anyone paid any direct taxes). Almost 25 per cent of national wealth was concentrated in one per cent of the population. Spain is a big. diverse and disparate country with different languages and cultures in different regions.

The Spanish government, under Franco was so centralised in Madrid and so much emphasis was placed on Castilian as the only Spanish language that people in other regions like Catalunya and Basque country were hostile to the idea of being called as Spaniards. Even the Catholic Church, which had given its whole-hearted backing to the regime withdrew 'its support partially becatise of its repressive measures. As the gap between the social reality and the rigid government policies grew, there were more student demonstrations, social protests and industrial strikes (In 1973. the number of days lost in strikes was the highest in the history of the regime) and terrorist attacks. And with every demonstration. protest or strike, the government became increasingly more repressive. (There were five executions by Franco's firing squad only fifty days before his death). Franco was aghast to find that many students who participated in •demonstrations and demanded something called "democracy" came from well-to-do middle class families. He Just could not understand why this ungrateful nation was going through a process of "moral, religious and political degen-

eratlon" Only God understands me . he confided to one <>( his dixlors

Today, twenty-five years after Franco s .death. Spain is a different country. It has undergone an amazing metamorphosis from the laughing stock ol Europe to one of the most respected nations of the continent. There have been enormous political, social, cultural and economic changes in the country. The only ghost from the past which still haunts the nanon is ETA terrorism. The i< ding ol l ollecHve shame has disappeared from the Spanish mind h is a full-fledged democracy based on the principles of human rights. There is no censorship. Complete freedom of expression has been restored. Political parties from extreme right to extreme left can freely participate in the democratic process. People are no longer afraid of the army. On the contrary, the Spaniards are proud* of the fact that their soldiers are serving as peacekeepers in different parts of the world. Military dictatorship. It seems has been banished from the political scene for ever. Isolation is a thing of the past.

Spain has become fully integrated into the western world, both politically and economically. It is a member of the NATO and the European Economic Union. During his last years. Franco had opened the Spanish economy to outside investment. Now it is the turn of the Spaniards to invest abroad. They are buying up companies in Europe. North and South America, often in the New Technology sector. The fiscal system has been completely overhauled. Today-, most Spaniards pay their taxes. Hundreds of millions of dollars (often coming from the EU as subsidies) have been invested to modernise the country's infrastructure. education and healthcare system. During this period, more jobs have been created in Spain than anywhere else in Europe. Women, in large numbers, have entered the labour market. Today, more than 60 per cent of university students are women. Franco's centralised government in Madrid has given way to a decentralised structure with power on many matters devolving to the seventeen autonomous regions. Unity among diversity is the theme of the day. People are no longer afraid of being hauled up by the police for writing or speaking in one of the regional languages. There is religious freedom. No one is going to bat an eyelid if you said that you were a Muslim, a Jew or a Protestant. The Catholic Church which was definitely one of the pillars of the'Establishment has lost most of its power. Today, there are mosques, synagogues and protestant churches, where one can pray openly, which was forbidden under the Franco regime. How did this miracle happen in such a short time?

Unlike the two other fascist dictatorships (Hitler and Mussolini) in Europe. Franco did not come to power as a result of a political movement. His was a military uprising against the Republic In 1936. he rose up in open rebellion against the constitutionally elected government of Spain and thus started the civil war which lasted for three and a half years and left more than a million dead. In his endeavour to capture power, he soon obtained support from the Catholic Church, the Falange (a fascist party) and (he monarchists (who wanted to abolish the Republic and restore monarchy). By no means were these groups friendly to each other. Neither did they have a common cause except the destruc-

• lion ol the republic, which Irom their point o( view was too lelt-ist Franco, who. no doubt was very shrewd, united these diverse groups into one entity called The Movimiento Na ' loual" whic h him Honed as the only political partv In Spam.

Iiamo was persuaded by the l■.stabllshmeul to think ol the future (I not for anything else but for the sake ol a smooth transition alter his death No one wanted to have another civil war. The objective was to have a constitutional framework which would give the governing clique (basically the armed forces under Admiral Carrero Blanco) some respectability and under which Francoism could continue alter Franco's death Franco did not understand democracy and was distrustful of the Falange. Even though Franco did not like Don .Juan. the legitimate heir to the Spanish throne, at heart hr was a monarchist. So it came as no surprise when his health started to fail, approximafelv six years betorc his death he chose Don Juan's sou. Prince

young prince had been brought back to Madrid from exile at the age ol ten In 1948 and had been given an immaculate Spanish education under the personal guidance of Franco ( The prince's parents continued to live in exile.) He had been carefully indoctrinated with (he principles of the Movimtcnto. The day after the Prince was named as Francos successor, he was made to swear allegiance to (he Movimiento and to the "fundametUal laws ol the re.dm Franco's men feh reassured that restoration of monarchy would not affect their powers and prerogatives adversely because tne country would be run according to "the fundamental laws of realm'. which could be described as Francos political philosophy, his doctrine, his grand design for Spain. They thought that Franco would merely be replaced by the king, (even though on paper he would inherit immense powersl'not as a dictator bin as a titular bead. Fveiything else would remain (he s.um Thus Francoism would continue even when Franco himself was gone. They did not know that the king had other ideas. The only hint he gave that things were going to be different when in his inauguration speech as the king of Spain on November 22. 1975. he said that he wanted to be the king of all the Spaniards, not of one faction or the other

Today, we realise that bv an amazing stroke of fortune which probably happens only once in a blue moon. Spain found exactly what it needed at this juncture of history - a leader with a very rare virtue, that was a leader, who. instead of amassing power for himself would return most of his nearabsolute power to the people. In other words, instead ol being a dictator, he would become a constitutional monarch. This was a revolutionary idea even though it came from a king. The most difficult part of the project was that democracy had to be achieved with the help of existing laws, without any bloodshed and without an open rebellion from Francoist Establishment with powerful vested interests in every field It was indeed a formidable task.

The Spaniards did not expect much from the new king, who was only thirty-seven years old at that time. He was not even considered to be an intelligent person. (How Intelligent one has to be to look like an Idiot for such a long time!) At best, they thought the country would be run by the Movimiento with the king as (he figurehead. At worst, they feared that sooner or later there will be a military' take-over bv a section of the army the chances ol the latter happening was greater Even Franco himself was worried about the transition. He knew that a smooth transition hinged on the loyalty of the armed forces. So. munediatelv before his death, he wrote in longhand a personal message to the commanders of the armed forces asking them to be as loyal to the Prince as you have been to me during my lifetime. " Since he did not trust his prime minister Arias Navarro, nor his wile for this purpose, he handed over the note to his daughter (<>i (ran'•mission after his death. What' ■ i ranco did during his lileiimv. Hie Spaniards should be thankful to him lor thiswise

Although there was hardly any jxissibilitv of a leftist revo-

ludoii like the one (hat overdrew (he Salazar dfciaiorshlp In Portugal only a vear and .1 half before Francos death, because of geographic al proximity. (hero was genuine (car In certain sectors that something similar could hap|>cn In Spain as wi ll There was fear and confusion everywhere. Not many, in their wildest imagina-lion could think that the voting king had a plan to dismantle Francoism, surrender his (lowers and put In place a constitution by which parliamentary democracy would be restored, in short to transform a dictatorship into democracy. The situation was getting worse on the streets. There were violent (lemonsfratlons and shootings by the pollcx*. The king knew that he had to act quickly In order to stop the cycle of violence and take the Movimiento by surprise In choosing die man who would execute the plan. He also knew he had to make the right choice. He had to choose a man who would be relatively young, well conversant with the functioning of the Movimiento and Francos gov-ernment. And. above all. he had to he a reformer, genuinely interested in parliamentary democracy. By July. 1976. the king had made up his mind about his choice. He persuaded Prime Minister Arias-Navarro, a die-hard Francoist to step down and with die inestimable help of his tutor and advisor Prof. Fernandez-Miranda, manoeuvred an obscure politician from the Franco apparatus called Suarez to the position of Prime Minister . For tlie second time tn a course of several months, by another stroke of fortune. Sjiain found the right

man io ram out the reform.

TIk ii the events ux>k pla< r in quick stircesston The wind of change was blowing and nothing could stop It. On 18th November. 1976 (not even a full year after Franco's death), a political reform bill, which would Introduce universal suffrage and a parliament consisting of two houses, was passed by Franco's parliament. A referendum endorsed the bill on December 15. 1976 by an overwhelming majority. Immediately afterwards. political parties, including the Comuiu-nlsi party were recognised, trade unions were legalised and the right to strike was officially acknowledged. In April. 1976. the Movimiento. the cornerstone of Franco establishment was abolished. Then came amnesty for political prisoners, the Moncloa Economic Agreement (1977) and finally the Constitution (Dec. 6. "78). Thus the stage was set for the con-' solldation of democracy and a modern economy. The kings position as the defender of democracy was further strengthened after a coup attempt in 1981 was thwarted by his decisive Intervention. He remains immensely popular among the Spaniards and is widely accepted as the symbol of unity and stability. Prime minister Suarez, resigned from his office in 1981 In a recent interview, he confessed that he did not have a magic formula for such phenomenal success in political transition No doubt, it required a- lot of hard work, steely nerves, dogged determination and unequalled negoti-riting skills Spaniards owe an immense debt of gratitude to tlu-se two extraordinary men.