And the Spanish leader with the best English is…?

Political leaders from English-speaking countries admittedly have it easy and rarely need to be concerned about speaking in a language that’s not their own, given that English still reigns supreme as the world’s lingua franca. 

US President Joe Biden only speaks English, as do his predecessors Donald Trump and Barack Obama. 

A few recent UK Prime Ministers could string a few sentences together in French, but without great levels of fluency.

When the tables are turned however, most international leaders from non-English speaking nations tend to hold their own in inglés/anglais/Englisch.

France’s Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni can all speak English without reading from a script.

So how about Spanish leaders? Spaniards had the second lowest level of English proficiency in the EU in 2022, but a 2015 study found that 95 percent of the Spanish population thought it was important for their PM to know English. 

They’re also rather self-deprecating when it comes to their own and the country’s overall lacklustre English levels, meaning their leaders get given a hard time if they don’t make the mark.

Recently, opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo and likely winner for the July 2023 general elections admitted that his “problem is English” and that he’d rely on translators at international summits. 

So we’ve reviewed the English level of Spanish leaders of the last fifty years, from Prime Ministers to royals, with the help of video proof wherever possible. 

Pedro Sánchez

If there’s one thing Spaniards can’t criticise El Guapo (The Handsome One) for is his command of ‘business English’. He seems more confident when reading from a script (logically) but Sánchez has given dozens of fluent English-language interviews and shown a strong grasp of syntax and varied vocabulary, with only a few minor mistakes and a few common Spanish mispronunciations. Mark: 8/10

 

Mariano Rajoy Brey

Pedro Sánchez’s proficiency in English is particularly impressive when compared to his direct predecessor - the Popular Party’s Mariano Rajoy. The right-wing leader appeared to be truly aghast at the prospect of having to speak in English in public, much to the enjoyment of the Spanish press. He famously told a BBC journalist “Come on man, no” when asked to respond to a Brexit question in English and looked positively lost on more than one occasion at EU and international summits. Once, when he did decide to say a few words in English, he mistook “week” for “hour”.  Mark: 1/10

 

José Luis Zapatero

The Socialist PM of Spain from 2004 until 2011 had a pretty poor level of English, perhaps just slightly better than Mariano Rajoy’s. When meeting Tony Blair in London in 2005, he replied to a journalist’s question “are you going to tell us how the talks went?” by saying “no, thank you”, followed by an awkward silence and when the journalist insisted, he smiled and said “Hablo en español” (I speak in Spanish). On another occasion, French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder looked perplexed when Zapatero tried to speak to them in English. He seemed more comfortable when delivering a speech at Oxford University in 2017, but it was entirely read. Mark: 3/10

 

José María Aznar

The moustachioed right-wing Spanish leader of the late nineties and early noughties had plenty of confidence talking ad-lib in English, but often spoke slowly, dropping pronouns and not conjugating verbs correctly. During a speech at Georgetown University in 2006 he told the audience “Yesterday I went to White House to talk President Bush. Why reason? One reason. Because he is my friend”. However, what Aznar is most famous for is for adopting a ‘Texan’ accent in English which he then hilariously kept whilst speaking in Spanish. Mark: 5/10

 

Felipe González, Calvo Sotelo and Adolfo Suárez

Unfortunately, there is no record of Spain’s first three post-dictatorship and democratically elected Prime Ministers (1978 to 1996) ever speaking English. 

 

Francisco Franco

According to one of the fascist dictator’s biographers, Franco started studying English before the Civil War broke out, in case things didn’t go his way in the fight against the Republicans and he had to go to live in exile in England. Apparently he could read and understand English, but speaking wasn’t his forte. Amazingly, there is a video of the Generalísimo reading English, not that it’s really possible to understand a word he says! Mark: 2/10

 

 

Juan Carlos I

We’ve decided to add Spain’s two most recent monarchs to the list, as even though their role as Heads of State means they don’t/didn’t govern, their English level is worth remarking upon. Cue the troubled Juan Carlos I, once the hero of Spain’s transition to democracy but now embroiled in financial scandals and in exile. The emeritus king is somewhat of a polyglot (he speaks six languages to varying standards) and although he has a bit of a Spanish accent, decades of tuition and mingling with high society have ensured his enunciation is clear and his syntax elaborate. Mark: 7/10

Felipe VI

Juan Carlos I’s son spoke English to his mother Queen Sofía (who is Greek) whilst growing up, ensuring an unrivalled level of fluency and bilingualism among Spanish leaders. He studied at Georgetown University in the US but he has an almost Transatlantic accent, with hints of poshness fit for a royal. Felipe VI’s English is pretty much flawless. Mark: 10/10

 

Nadia Calviño 

We’ve decided to finish off this list with Spain’s current Deputy PM and Economy Minister not only because otherwise there wouldn’t be any female representation, but also because her English is exceptional. Calviño has been interviewed on a number of American and European news channels, talking with ease, with fantastic pronunciation and barely a hint of a Spanish accent. Mark: 9/10