MADRID (AP) 鈥� Spanish King Felipe VI used his traditional Christmas Eve speech to remember the , and urged the country to remain calm despite public debates around hot-button issues such as immigration and housing affordability.
In a pre-recorded speech that usually reviews the year's most relevant issues, Felipe said Spain 鈥渕ust never forget the pain and sadness" the flood have caused.
The in eastern Spain, damaging countless homes and leaving graveyards of cars piled on top of each other. In some towns, the heavy downpours that caused the floods dropped as much as a year's worth of rain in just eight hours.
In early November, as Spaniards' shock at the wreckage turned into frustration, a who failed to send timely emergency alerts to cell phones on the day of the floods.
The frustration of residents in hard-hit Paiporta near Valencia was on display when in early November when they made their first visit to the town.
鈥淲e have seen 鈥� and understood 鈥� the frustration, the pain, the impatience, the demands for greater and more effective coordination," Felipe said about how the disaster was managed, adding that he had asked that aid be sent to everyone who needed it.
He also addressed the country's housing crunch and high rents, in this European Union country that is the eurozone's fourth-largest economy. Fast-rising rents are especially acute in cities like Barcelona and Madrid, where incomes have failed to keep up, especially for younger people in a country with chronically high unemployment.
Felipe urged that 鈥渁ll the actors involved reflect鈥� and "listen to each other鈥� so that they facilitate bringing access to housing under 鈥渁ffordable conditions.鈥�
Spain's and immigrants' countries of origin, Felipe said, warning that 鈥渢he way in which we are able to address immigration ... will say a lot in the future about our principles and the quality of our democracy.鈥�
Felipe said Spain need to remain calm in the public sphere, even in the face of a 鈥渟ometimes thunderous鈥� contest in its politics.
Suman Naishadham, The Associated Press
