The royal enchantment and the defense of the crown: the strategy of Scheherazade in King Juan Carlos I abdication speech

Abstract

This paper analyses the argumentative strategies which underpin the abdication message of Juan Carlos I de Borbón. In particular, the need for the former king to resort to the so-called strategy of Scheherazade is discussed, as a means to ensure the continuity of the Monarchy and rehabilitate the tarnished image of the Spanish Crown. Recalling the most significant landmarks of his reign, Juan Carlos I tells a ‘moralising story’ that aims at making the audience feel at the centre of the stage, producing a sense of security and involvement in a ‘common saga’. Moreover, the central function of analogy in the argumentative plot is examined, pointing to the possible fallacies and to the comedian’s paradox in a speech in which conditions of success seem to have priority over sincerity conditions.