A Worry: The Next Coup

By Frederick Painton

Madrid's post-putsch euphoria has faded fast

From the way Spain's political leaders were behaving, it was hard to believe that democracy had just triumphed over a carefully planned coup attempt. No profound sense of relief pervaded the nation. Instead, the briefly celebrated victory seemed to be turning sour in the realization that, far from being dispelled, the threat of another uprising by franquista military leaders persisted. So cautious was the government in dealing with rebellious elements that, only days after the 18-hour, Feb. 23 takeover of the Spanish parliament by gun-toting soldiers, one neo-fascist agitator was bold enough to declare at a rally that the plotters' jails should be regarded as "temples of honor."

In this explosive atmosphere, the new Prime Minister, Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, chose to proceed as if he were walking through a minefield--which he was. To assert civilian control over restive soldiers, Calvo-Sotelo had to crack down on the known conspirators, but not so hard as to trigger another putsch. To remove the roots of discontent in the armed forces, he also needed to show rapid progress in curbing the Basque separatist terrorists, whose bloody attacks against the paramilitary Guardia Civil and police had inflamed the franquista officers. Here too, Calvo-Sotelo had a problem.

As soon as the coup collapsed, "moderate" Basque separatists, fearing a subsequent and successful military takeover, announced a cease-fire and released three foreign consuls they had held hostage for eight days. But more militant guerrillas blew up a national police patrol car in the Basque town of Portugalete, injuring three policemen; a few days later they killed the police chief of Bilbao. As pressure mounted from the right to declare a state of emergency in the Basque region, Calvo-Sotelo flew to Bilbao to pay respects to the dead man's family.

The Prime Minister, 54, a conservative technocrat from one of Spain's most prominent political families, has tried to fill the power vacuum created by the resignation of Adolfo Suarez six weeks ago with what aides describe as "calm preoccupation." He has named a Cabinet of holdovers from the Suarez government, but he has also undertaken a round of consultations with opposition leaders.

Socialist Chief Felipe Gonzalez, backed by Communist Party Boss Santiago Carrillo, renewed an earlier offer to help form a grand-coalition government "to save democracy" until the next elections, slated for 1983. Gonzalez pointed out that between the Socialists and Calvo-Sotelo's ruling Union of the Democratic Center Party, such a government could claim the support of 80% of the electorate. "The time has come now," said Gonzalez, "and the warning light has been lit." But, once again, Calvo-Sotelo rejected the offer, evidently out of fear that such a coalition would be too left of center for the military to tolerate. Despite the failed coup, the military's clout in Madrid remains as great as ever.

For some officers and their civilian supporters on the extreme right, Colonel Antonio Tejero Molina, the mustachioed Guardia Civil officer who led the attack on the Cortes, already was something of a hero. Spray-can salutes to "Tejero the Brave" appeared on walls all over Madrid. He and 27 other officers--among them four generals, two colonels and a navy captain--have been arrested as participants in the golpe. The plotters are hardly being treated harshly. General Jaime Milans del Bosch, former head of the Valencia military region and a key figure in the rebellion, is being held at the military headquarters at Getafe, near Madrid. He has been given the commanding officer's quarters and has been permitted to entertain guests and bring any personal possessions he wants from his Madrid home.

Tejero's fate has not been much worse. The military prison at Alcala de Henares, east of Madrid, where he was being held, was described in the Spanish press as a "four-star jail." Reached by telephone, Tejero told a reporter that he was in "splendid" shape.

The government has named an air force general, Jose Maria Garcia Escudero, to head the investigation of the failed coup. He says he hopes to have a case ready within the next two weeks. Meanwhile, in the welter of fact and surmise that followed the uprising, one thought ran through the conversations of political leaders and army men--the next attempt.

No one questioned that only the deep personal loyalty to the King among senior officers had prevented the rebellion from succeeding. Perhaps with that in mind, Juan Carlos made his first post-coup appearance in northeast Spain at the Saragossa Military Academy, where he took his cadet training in the 1950s. Verging on tears at some points, the King noted that he relied on Spain's soldiers "to be able to interpret the constitution with accuracy, and to understand that thoughtless actions cannot contribute to the security of the nation." For the King and for Spanish democracy, the question is whether that message will be heeded by the younger officers--colonels and captains--who share the passionate views of their elders but not their old-fashioned loyalties.

--By Frederick Painton. Reported by Jane Walker/Madrid

With reporting by Jane Walker/Madrid

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