Chapter 160 Splitting the Ministry of Industry

As time entered February 1874, the atmosphere of the cabinet election became more heated.

However, the result of the cabinet election was actually determined long before the election. The Progressive Party, to which Prime Minister Primo belonged, still occupied the majority of seats in parliament, which also meant that Prime Minister Primo would 100% become the prime minister of the new cabinet government.

The facts were as expected.

Prime Minister Primo was successfully elected as the prime minister of the second cabinet government with more than 81% of the votes and was re-elected.

The Spanish House of Representatives has a total of 208 seats, of which the Progressive Party occupies 106 seats, accounting for more than 51%.

The Liberal Party, which supports reform, occupies 42 seats, accounting for more than 20%.

The number of votes held by these two parties alone exceeded 148 votes, far exceeding the 60% of votes required to become the prime minister of the cabinet.

The Conservative Party controlled by Canovas is the second largest party in the Spanish House of Representatives, with a full 52 seats, accounting for 25% of the total seats in the House of Representatives.

At present, the seats of the Spanish House of Representatives are basically controlled by these three major parties, and only 8 seats are left for non-partisans and other parties.

This also creates a result. Even if Prime Minister Primo does not run for election, the position of the Prime Minister of the Cabinet will only be elected from the three parties of the Progressive Party, the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party.

Considering that the seats occupied by the Progressive Party have exceeded half of the total seats in the House of Representatives, whoever can succeed Prime Minister Primo as the leader of the Progressive Party in the election of the next cabinet government may rely on the help of the Progressive Party to become the new Prime Minister of Spain.

After Prime Minister Primo was successfully re-elected, he quickly submitted a list of ministers for the second cabinet government to Carlo.

Long before, Carlo had communicated with Prime Minister Primo and asked for the two positions of Minister of Industry and Minister of Agriculture.

For the Spanish cabinet government, there are three most important departments among the cabinet departments, namely defense, finance and industry.

Currently, only Serrano is qualified to be the Minister of Defense. This is not out of consideration of ability, but out of the prestige and checks and balances of Archduke Serrano in the army.

Even if the Minister of Defense cannot be controlled by Carlo, at least he must be a neutral role between Prime Minister Primo and Carlo.

The reason why Archduke Serrano is competent is that in addition to his prestige in the Spanish military that is comparable to Prime Minister Primo, his relationship with Prime Minister Primo is not close, and can only be described as a cooperative relationship.

If Prime Minister Primo's subordinates control the defense department, it will really be a combination of finance and the army, which is enough to threaten Carlo's royal power.

So no matter what the situation is, Carlo cannot give up the position of Minister of Defense, and can only let Archduke Serrano continue to serve until the Spanish military trains new outstanding generals.

Archduke Serrano is also happy with this. The Spanish Minister of Defense commands both the navy and the army, and his power is quite large.

Being able to continue to stay in the powerful position of Minister of Defense is naturally much better than retiring early. Although Archduke Serrano is already 63 years old this year, this does not mean that Archduke Serrano is willing to bid farewell to power and retire early.

Prime Minister Primo is unwilling to give up the position of Minister of Industry, but he can do nothing about Carlo's request.

Although Carlo's attitude seems to be just a negotiation, Prime Minister Primo knows that he cannot refuse.

Of course, it is nothing to refuse, but it will definitely destroy the good cooperation between the prime minister and the royal power in Spain in the past. In the future, the reforms that Prime Minister Primo wants to promote and the development plan of Spain are destined not to receive Carlo's strong support.

After thinking again and again, Prime Minister Primo finally agreed to Carlo's request and let the previous Minister of Agriculture Canovas serve as the Minister of Industry of the new cabinet government.

However, doing so will cause a new problem, that is, how to solve the position of the previous Minister of Industry Manuel Ruiz Sorrilla?

Ruiz is not a small role. He is the second person in the Progressive Party and is very likely to take over the Progressive Party after Prime Minister Primo retires.

Being able to take charge of the Ministry of Industry, one of the three major departments, is enough to prove Ruiz's prestige in the Progressive Party. It is even blunt to say that even without Prime Minister Primo, Ruiz can enter the cabinet government with his influence in the political arena, and even compete for the position of prime minister.

The Minister of Finance is of course still held by Ewald, who is very trusted by Prime Minister Primo. This also means that Ruiz can only seek other positions in the second cabinet government, and the three major departments have nothing to do with him.

Although Prime Minister Primo has a headache, he can only try his best to solve the problem for Ruiz and avoid problems within the Progressive Party.

After thinking about it, Prime Minister Primo finally came up with a solution, which is to split the existing industrial department into two departments, the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Transport.

At present, Spain's industrial sector is very large, and the business it manages is also varied. Previously, because the Spanish industry was not large, it was very normal for the Ministry of Industry to comprehensively manage all business related to industry.

But the current situation is different from before. Spain's industry has achieved significant growth, and the improvement brought by the two industrial bases is visible to the naked eye.

In addition, the development of industry must continue to be emphasized in the future. It is obvious that the industrial department cannot manage so many businesses, and it is inevitable that some aspects of development will be neglected.

It is necessary to split the departments related to railway, highway construction and transportation and set up a separate transportation department.

Although this seems to be looking for a department for Ruiz to take office, it is actually an idea that Prime Minister Primo had a few years ago.

Just like the previous division of the interior department into the public security department and the livelihood department, with the development of the Spanish country, changes in the various departments of the cabinet government are also necessary.

Thinking of this, Prime Minister Primo no longer hesitated and ordered his men to submit a report on the reorganization of the cabinet government to the House of Representatives.

Soon, after the cabinet election, the House of Representatives ushered in another large meeting.

Regarding the reconstruction of the cabinet department, the members of the House of Representatives still attach great importance to it. You know, for every additional cabinet department, there will be one more cabinet member.

There is a big gap between the ministers of the ordinary government and the cabinet ministers. The cabinet ministers are also called cabinet ministers, who can participate in the cabinet meetings and put forward their own decisions and suggestions.

Even if the departments of the ordinary government are also very important, as long as they are not qualified to participate in the cabinet meetings, they are destined to have no great power.

The previous cabinet department, including Prime Minister Primo, only had 10 people, and it was very difficult to enter the cabinet department.

Even if only one cabinet department was added, it would increase the chances of joining the cabinet in the future, which was also the focus of these members.

It was with this idea that the House of Representatives passed Prime Minister Primo's cabinet government reconstruction report with a very high vote rate, successfully splitting the industrial department into the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Transportation, and increasing the number of cabinet seats to 11.

Before Prime Minister Primo submitted the plan to the House of Representatives, he had already shown the entire plan to Carlo in advance and reported his complete ideas.

In fact, Carlo also envisioned splitting the industrial department and setting up a separate transportation department to specifically manage the construction of roads and railways in Spain.

Prime Minister Primo proposed to split the industrial department at this time. Although it seemed to be considering the development of the industrial department, it was actually to find a suitable place for Ruiz, the former Minister of Industry, and to weaken the importance of the industrial department.

After all, the leaders of the two major departments of industry and agriculture are all Carlo's confidants. In addition to Grand Duke Serrano, who is more inclined to the Conservative Party, Carlo's influence in the cabinet government is not low.

It is normal for Prime Minister Primo to do this. After all, he has to ensure his influence on the cabinet government, which is also the fundamental condition for him to promote reform.

If he can't even control the cabinet government, how can Prime Minister Primo promote reform and improve the development of the entire country of Spain? Such a proposal is obviously the best way to deal with Carlo's request for the position of Minister of Industry. It not only meets Carlo's needs, but also ensures that his subordinates will not be dissatisfied with it, and at the same time, it can once again improve his control over the cabinet government. It is simply a win-win situation.

Carlo will naturally not oppose Prime Minister Primo's plan. After all, there is no reason to oppose it. What's more, splitting the industrial sector at this time is indeed beneficial. It's nothing more than that the industrial sector in Canovas has fewer areas under its jurisdiction and less power in its hands.

The opinions of the House of Representatives no longer need to be considered. This is a plan proposed by Prime Minister Primo and it is impossible for it to be rejected by the House of Representatives.

A few days after the House of Representatives announced the approval of the plan to split the industrial sector, Canovas, who was appointed as the new Minister of Industry, came to the Royal Palace of Madrid to meet with Carlo.

Before coming to the Royal Palace of Madrid, Canovas had carefully considered it. He knew that his meeting with Carlo would not change the result, but at this time, there were obviously two outcomes.

"Your Majesty." The moment he saw Carlo, Canovas very respectfully performed a Spanish noble salute to Carlo, with a very sincere and submissive attitude.

"Are you here for the split of the industrial sector?" Carlo smiled and nodded, indicating Canovas to sit on the luxurious sofa next to him.

After getting Carlo's signal, Canovas dared to sit down. However, he was very careful in the process of sitting down, and his buttocks only sat halfway, looking like a very submissive and loyal subject.

Carlo was quite satisfied with the submissive appearance of Canovas. What Carlo saw in Canovas was that he could see his own identity clearly and stand with Carlo and the royal family in time. This is what a noble and royalist should do.

You know, nobles and kings are born and die together. If the king is gone, how can the nobles exist?

Although Spain has an extremely large number of nobles, there are not many nobles who can be reused. Nobles like Prime Minister Primo and Archduke Serrano are basically entrepreneurs, and they also obtained the noble title by their own ability.

And those nobles who have inherited the title for many generations for hundreds or even hundreds of years, there are also capable people among them, but most of them can only be said to be a mess.

Capable nobles may not be loyal to Carlo. After all, these nobles are all native factions in Spain. They have been rooted in Spain for at least a hundred years, and they will definitely not bow down to Carlo just because Carlo becomes the king of Spain.

This is also the reason why Carlo has recruited a large number of new nobles and continuously conferred new titles. Compared with these old-fashioned nobles, Carlo has more trust in the loyalty and ability of the new nobles.

As for these old-fashioned Spanish nobles with complicated power, Carlo naturally doesn't want to bother with them if they don't block Spain's progress.

But if someone makes trouble on the road to Spain's progress, Carlo will let them know how supreme the king is to the nobles.

Since the king has the power to enfeoff nobles, he should also have the power to deprive them of their titles. Although Carlo didn't use the power to deprive them of their titles, it doesn't mean that Carlo doesn't have this power.

The Spanish nobles have lost control of the army. Even if some nobles are deprived of their titles, there is no need to worry that the nobles will provoke a civil war.

It's nothing more than that Carlo still needs influence among the nobles. Before he completely controls Spain, Carlo will not take the initiative to attack the nobles.

After hearing Carlo's question, Canovas nodded first, and then said a little stiffly: "Your Majesty, what is your attitude towards Prime Minister Primo's splitting of the industrial sector?"

Canovas understood that his position as Minister of Industry was given to him by Carlo. The industrial sector is facing the situation of being split up, so he certainly can't keep silent. It is necessary to report to Carlo.

Although Canovas also knows that Carlo must have his own sources of information, and he may know the news of the split of the Ministry of Industry earlier than him.

But what does it matter? Whether he can get the news in advance is Carlo's business, but whether to report and ask Carlo's attitude is Canovas's own business.

If he doesn't report, Carlo may not blame him. But the problem is that Canovas wants to make progress! He doesn't want to stop at the position of Minister of Industry.

As the saying goes, an official who doesn't want to be prime minister is not a good official. If you can launch an attack on the prime minister's throne that represents the supreme power of officials, who would be willing to continue to waste time in his current position?

Since you want to make progress, you naturally have to consider Carlo's attitude. After all, the power of the Conservative Party alone is not enough, and perhaps only Carlo can change this situation.

As for joining Prime Minister Primo, Canovas has never considered it. Canovas is very supportive of conservative ideas, and he doesn't like Prime Minister Primo's radical reforms.

In addition, Prime Minister Primo already has a successor, Ruiz, who is the second-in-command of the Progressive Party and a future star in Spanish politics.

Even if Canovas can join Prime Minister Primo, his status is not as good as Ruiz. Joining in the middle will not gain Prime Minister Primo's trust, which also made Canovas never think of joining Prime Minister Primo from the beginning.

"Prime Minister Primo has reported to me about the split of the industrial sector, and I don't oppose this plan." Carlo said: "Overall, splitting the industrial sector is beneficial to the development of the government.

After the transportation department is independent, it can also better manage the construction of roads and railways in Spain, as well as various transportation work.

The only loss may be the industrial sector, but it may not be a good thing for you."

Canovas served as the Prime Minister of the Spanish Kingdom during the reign of Alfonso XII in history, but he did not have too prominent political achievements.

The total term of office of the six prime ministers was less than 12 years, and the longest was from 1875 to 1879, which was only four years.

The reason why he became the prime minister of Spain and was elected many times was actually because of his conservative ideas and support for the monarchy.

During Canovas' term, he formulated a new constitution for Spain, abolished universal political participation, and replaced it with limited suffrage.

The freedom of religious belief, the right to assembly and association were abolished, and the publication system of newspapers was strictly restricted. It can be seen from these systems and policies that Canovas is indeed a conservative, and his policies are more like conservative policies under the monarchy system, rather than an enlightened government after revolution and republic.

The final result is also obvious. The two King Alfonso not only failed to prevent Spain from continuing to weaken, but also completely made Spain have nothing to do with the throne of the great powers.

If Spain before the revolution, around 1868, was still qualified to be called a powerful country, then Spain after two Alfonso kings could not even reach the threshold of the top ten.

The reason why Carlo said that the split of the industrial sector might not be a bad thing for Canovas was actually because of his conservative thinking.

The future development of railways in Spain is very important, and the construction of roads can be said to be directly related to the growth of Spain's economy and industry.

The development of industry needs to develop steadily within a certain framework. Combined with the five-year development plan proposed by Prime Minister Primo and the construction of industrial bases that have been prepared for a long time, it is no problem to ensure the stable growth of industry.

As for the future development of Spain after Prime Minister Primo retires and Canovas takes over, Carlo is not too worried for the time being.

After all, the power Carlo holds at that time will definitely be much greater than it is now. Canovas still only needs to develop steadily in the development plan set by Carlo to achieve good results.

The biggest problem of Spain's development has been solved by Prime Minister Primo for the most part, which is why Carlo admires Prime Minister Primo.

No matter whether the power of the prime minister will conflict with the power of the king in the future, Carlo will not take advantage of Prime Minister Primo's misfortune.

Of course, the best result for Prime Minister Primo and Carlo is to change the term after the second term of the prime minister ends and transfer power to Carlo.

In this way, there will be no conflict between the two. Prime Minister Primo can preserve his reputation under Carlo's protection and become one of the few politicians who can retire after the reform.

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