King of Spain faces calls to abdicate after elephant hunt "The head of state must choose between his obligations and the duty of service of his public responsibilities, or an abdication that would allow him to enjoy a different kind of life," Tomas Gomez, the leader of the Madrid branch of the opposition socialist party, said on Sunday. The party said it will present a list of questions to parliament calling for details of the financing of the trip to be made public. The budget for the Royal Household was reduced by only 2 per cent in 2012 - from 8.43 million euros last year - whereas government ministries faced cuts of 16 per cent across the board. This year, for the first time, the Palace will publish a breakdown of its accounts in a step towards greater transparency. So far the Royal Household has declined to give details on the trip except to say it was a "private matter." King Juan Carlos also faced calls to resign his position as patron of the Spanish branch of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) over his hunting of elephants. A petition on the online forum Actuable had already attracted 40,000 signatures by Monday lunchtime calling for the King to renounce his presidency of the WWF in light of the recent hunting trip. El Mundo, a newspaper normally supportive of the Monarchy summed up the feeling in Spain with an editorial, Sunday, entitled: "An irresponsible journey at an inopportune time." Mariano Rajoy, Spain's Prime Minister, will meet with the monarch later this week when he is discharged from hospital, the government website said.