SPAIN: Father Knows Best

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When Spain's lean, ingratiating Prince Juan Carlos, 22, visited the U.S. in 1958, every political pundit and social gossipist hailed him as the man aging Dictator Franco had picked to some day become the King of Spain. All signs pointed that way. At Franco's invitation, he was in Spain studying at military academies while his father, Don Juan, 46, heir to the Bourbons and pretender to the empty throne, remained in self-imposed exile in Portugal. Only young Prince Juan Carlos dissented. "It is my father who is going to be "King," he insisted.

Last week there were strong signs that Prince Juan Carlos was right, and the smart money was wrong. With a platoon of army generals and government ministers. Franco traveled 100 miles from Madrid to meet Pretender Don Juan at a hilltop castle in western Spain. It was their first meeting since 1954. Out of the eight-hour talk came a cautiously worded communique that all but named Don Juan as Franco's choice to take over when he is gone.

Symbol of Unity. Ostensibly the meeting was to settle details of Prince Juan Carlos' final years of university education. Actually, it was to make peace. In Portugal. Don Juan makes no bones of his opposition to the idea of becoming a mere figurehead for Franco. He favors a liberal, constitutional system, similar to that in Britain, is outspokenly opposed to strongman dictatorship. "Portugal," he once told New York Timesman C. L. Sulzberger. "is a republic where, if you mention the word republic, you are clapped in jail; Spain is a monarchy where, if you mention the word monarchy, you are clapped in jail."

Until recently, Franco could shrug off such criticism. But now, at 67, Franco is worried about the future. He fears that his National Movement may splinter into fighting factions of Monarchists and Falangists, hopes to use the monarchy as a rallying point to unify the movement. The change in balance has given Don Juan an important ace to play: the continued presence of his son Juan Carlos in Spain is vital to Franco as a symbol of unity and the monarchy to come.

Consolidation & Continuity. At last week's meeting. Franco apparently recognized Don Juan's legal claim to the throne, and in return got a much-needed promise of support. The communique issued after their meeting stated that Prince Juan Carlos will return to Spain to complete his university education "in the atmosphere of his country." But this "does not prejudice either the question of succession or the normal transmission of dynastic obligations and responsibilities."

Reading between the lines, Madrid's monarchists were jubilant. Franco gave no hint of when he would step down, if ever during his lifetime. But as Don Juan the Pretender crossed the border back into Portugal, he cracked to a customs guard: "Hasta pronto [See you soon]."