Joaquín Almunia
Former Spanish Socialist Party MP and politician who was an eyewitness to the 1981 failed coup when MPs were held hostage in the Cortes; later served in government and as an EU commissioner-level figure and is now a policy think-tank board member.
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Feb 23, 2026 • 11min
The storming of Spain's parliament
Joaquín Almunia, a former Socialist MP and later EU commissioner, was an eyewitness to the 1981 storming of Spain’s parliament. He recalls hearing gunshots and seeing armed Guardia Civil enter the chamber. He describes the tense hours of captivity, makeshift coping tactics, the blackout of information and the king’s decisive broadcast that helped defuse the coup.
