Speech by President of the Government at ceremony to award Grand Crosses of the Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise

Madrid

Mr Minister for Education, Culture and Sport, Mr President of the Board of Trustees of the Prado Museum, public officials, ladies and gentlemen award-winners, dear friends,

For me it is an honour to accompany all of you here at this ceremony to award the decorations of the Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise. This is a tradition that represents the maximum recognition of the whole nation for those whose talent, ideas and enthusiasm enhance our history. And I cannot think of a better place to pay tribute than the Prado Museum, an institution that is the leading benchmark of Spanish culture.

The claim that the Prado Museum was the most important asset in Spain has been attributed to a former President of the Government of Spain, whereas I would only dare to say that it is the history of Spain in paintings. The Prado Museum is the living memory of the universal vocation of our culture, of the historical experience of our nation as well as bearing witness to the ambitious project of shared success that we have built together.

Our history is long, old and full of admirable contributions and personal projects such as those we have recognised here today; projects of commitment, of merit and excellence, of talent, of integration and of hard work. Examples of the finest civic values and conduct towards Spain, the main virtue of which is creating closer and indivisible ties between generations, between people, between regions and also between nations.

It is precisely these values and conduct that we reward here today with these 17 Grand Crosses of the Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise, the presentation of which gathers us here today in tribute, combined with affection and friendship.

Dear friends,

Alfonso X has become an indisputable symbol of the progress of our nation for various well-known reasons: for his contribution to the formation of culture and European legislation; for his backing of astronomy, physics, mathematics, history and language; and also for his support for scientists, scholars and troubadours.

But he has also been associated, in all its greatness, as an example of co-existence, with collaboration with people of different origins and backgrounds that build something together and that are capable of creating and carrying through projects that today belong to us all. His legacy, a contribution to the intellectual heritage of Humanity, is unique and fundamental; is a wonderful example of the fine results that this spirit of cooperation and unity has provided the Spanish people with over the course of our history.

And I must add that this spirit, and the commitment to knowledge and to the future that we acknowledge in Alfonso X, did not disappear in the 13th Century, but has continued to flourish in our country thanks to many people, to their commitment, to their capabilities and to their tenacity, and has enabled Spain to move forward and make progress.

We have some good examples that we should not forget; you don't need to go far to see them. This year we will commemorate the 40th anniversary of a milestone in Spanish democracy that precisely took place thanks to a commitment to the future of the Spanish people and to their knowledge of the past; an event that many of those here today were able to play a fundamental role in: the elections of 15 June 1977.

These were the first elections of our democracy and the Spanish people voted freely for the representatives that we considered most suitable to write the next chapter in our history: that of the construction, between us all, of a democracy and the rule of law.

The Constituent Parliament was born out of those elections, made up of politicians - some of whom are present here today - tasked with drafting and presenting a Constitution that allowed all the people of Spain to benefit from it, while being the only ones able to approve it.

Hence, 40 years ago, Spain took a united step towards liberty, with the political parties taking on the responsibility to seek a future pact and to urge the Spanish people to sign up to a common project, and the Spanish people embraced this challenge: we adopted concord to ensure dialogue, debate and, of course, to contrast ideas and projects, and we decided to move towards democracy, as a nation for us all.

40 years ago Spain began to be the political, social and economic nation of all Spaniards, and, with that, our culture, our creations, our thoughts, even our opinions are broader, more diverse, more plural and freer.

Dear friends,

Some of the achievements of this Spain, whose success I have just outlined, of the progress of culture, of the promotion of art and of the assertion of thought and of reflection as the basis for progress, are due to those people whom we decorate today in the name of H.M. the King.

From the world of study, politics, communication, cinema, writing and the stage, they represent, in an exceptional manner, the greatness of contemporary culture and we have a duty and are proud to reward them and thank them for their special influence in Spain. Through their work, they have gone beyond the barriers of knowledge, they have taken the capacity of culture, reflection and art to unprecedented heights, added to which they are a great stimulus to young people, who will be able to use the experience gathered over the course of these years by these people as guides for the future.

Thank you very much for having made your talent, your illusion and your dedication a unique legacy. Thank you all very much.