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When Franco's demise had seemed imminent a week earlier, the transfer of power appeared to present no real problem. Within eight days of the dictator's death, Juan Carlos would have been named King by a joint declaration of the Cortes (parliament) and the 17-member advisory Council of the Realm. But for Juan Carlos to come to full and permanent power before Franco died would have required either 1) the dictator's resignation, or 2) a decree by the Cabinet, ratified by the Cortes and the National Council, stating that Franco was not competent to rule. Encouraged by his family, el Caudillo made it clear last week that he wanted to die with all his power and titles, and thus would not resign. Arias and his Cabinet, moreover, were worried about insulting the dying man by stripping him of his authority.
Thus the only alternative was a "temporary" transfer of power to Juan Carlos—maintaining the fiction that Franco retained ultimate authority and might even recover from his illness. The trouble with the plan was that Juan Carlos, at least at first, would have none of it. He had served in such a temporary capacity in mid-1974, when Franco was stricken with phlebitis and was expected to die or retire. When Franco returned to office after a mere 45 days of hospitalization and recuperation, he abruptly elbowed the Prince aside. Humiliated, Juan Carlos vowed that if a similar situation ever arose he would accept office only on a permanent basis.
Late last week the Prince bowed to intense pressure from Arias and other top officials. Juan Carlos accepted the designation as Spain's temporary ruler when Arias invoked Article 11 of Spain's Organic Law and declared that Franco was currently unable to function in office "in view of the circumstance of illness." Observed a European diplomat in Madrid: "It seems that the Prince is accepting temporary powers in the knowledge that they are in fact permanent."
Juan Carlos assumed all of Franco's powers, except the positions of head of the Movimiento National and of generalissimo of "the Three Armies"—posts el Caudillo retains for life. The Prince, however, already wields sufficient authority to launch Spain's post-Franco epoch. His first official function, in fact, clearly symbolized that power had been transferred to him; he presided over Friday's Cabinet meeting, which was held around the dining-room table of his Zarzuela Palace rather than in the dining room of Franco's El Pardo.
Not until he becomes King is Juan Carlos expected to start making the pronouncements, policy decisions and changes in top government offices that will indicate how he is likely to respond to demands for reform of his country's political system. Only after Franco's death, explains one government official in Madrid, can there be "a clean end and a clean beginning." Even then, most observers expect Juan Carlos to emphasize some continuity by keeping Arias as Premier. But he could signal a receptiveness to change by gradually shaking up the rest of the Cabinet and bringing in reform-minded ministers. There are a number of prominent center-rightists, for example, who have criticized the Franco regime and would give a distinctly evolutionary-reformist tone to the new Cabinet. Among those who might assume senior posts in the next six months: