Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 160 Splitting the Ministry of Industry

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

However, the results of cabinet elections are actually determined long before the election. The Progressive Party, to which Prime Minister Primo belongs, still holds the majority of seats in parliament, which means that Prime Minister Primo will 100% become the prime minister of the new cabinet government.

The facts turned out to be just 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.

Spain's House of Representatives has a total of 208 seats, and the Progressive Party holds 106 seats, accounting for more than 51%.

The pro-reform Liberal Party took 42 seats, more than 20%.

The votes from these two parties alone exceeded 148, far exceeding the 60% required to become prime minister.

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.

Currently, the seats in the Spanish House of Representatives are basically controlled by these three major parties, with only 8 seats left belonging to independents and other parties.

This also leads to a result that even if Prime Minister Primo does not run for election, the position of Prime Minister will only be chosen from the Progressive Party, the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party.

Considering that the Progressive Party already holds more than 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 will have the opportunity to become the new Prime Minister of Spain with the help of the Progressive Party.

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

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

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

The only person who can be the Minister of Defense is Serrano. This is not because of his ability, but because of the prestige and checks and balances of Archduke Serrano in the army.

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

The reason why Archduke Serrano was qualified for the position, besides the fact that he possessed prestige in the Spanish military that rivaled that of Prime Minister Primo, was also because his relationship with Prime Minister Primo was not close and could only be described as a cooperative relationship.

If Prime Minister Primo's subordinates took control of the defense department, they would really be in control of both finance and the military, which would be enough to threaten Carlo's royal power.

So no matter what the situation was, Carlo could not give up the position of Minister of Defense, and could only let Archduke Serrano continue to hold the position until the Spanish military trained new outstanding generals.

Archduke Serrano was also pleased with this. The Spanish Minister of Defense commanded both the navy and the army, and had considerable power.

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

Prime Minister Primo was unwilling to give up his position as Minister of Industry, but he had no choice but to accept Carlo's request.

Although Carlo's attitude seemed to be just a negotiation, Prime Minister Primo knew that he could not refuse.

Of course, it would be fine if he refused, but it would definitely undermine the good cooperation between the prime minister and the king in the past. In the future, the reforms that Prime Minister Primo wanted to promote and the development plans of Spain were destined not to receive Carlo's strong support.

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

However, doing so will lead to a new problem: how should the position of the previous Industry Minister Manuel Ruiz Sorrilla be resolved?
Ruiz is no small figure, he is the second-in-command of the Progressive Party and is very likely to take over the Progressive Party after Prime Minister Primo retires.

Being in 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 bluntly said that even without Prime Minister Primo, Ruiz can still enter the cabinet government with his influence in the political arena, and even compete for the position of prime minister.

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

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

After much deliberation, Prime Minister Primo finally came up with a solution, which was to split the existing industrial sector into two departments: the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Transport.

Currently, Spain's industrial sector is very large and manages a wide variety of businesses. Previously, because Spain's industry was not large, it was normal for the Ministry of Industry to comprehensively manage all industrial-related businesses.

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

In addition, we must continue to pay attention to the development of industry in the future. It is obviously difficult for the industrial sector to manage so many businesses, and it is inevitable that it will neglect the development of certain aspects.

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

Although this may seem like finding a department for Ruiz to work in, it was actually an idea that Prime Minister Primo had had several years ago.

Just as the interior department was previously split into the public security department and the civil affairs department, with the development of Spain, changes to 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 held another larger meeting.

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

There is a big gap between a regular government minister and a cabinet minister. A cabinet minister is also called a cabinet minister and can participate in cabinet meetings and make his own decisions and suggestions.

Even if ordinary government departments are equally important, as long as they are not qualified to participate in cabinet meetings, they are destined to have little power.

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

Even if only one cabinet department is added, it will increase their chances of joining the cabinet in the future, which is also the focus of these lawmakers.

It was with this idea in mind that the House of Representatives passed Prime Minister Primo's cabinet government restructuring report with a very high vote rate, successfully splitting the industrial department into the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Transport, 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 up the industrial sector and setting up a separate transportation sector to specifically manage road and railway construction in Spain.

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

After all, the leaders of the two major sectors of industry and agriculture are all Carlo's confidants. Coupled with Archduke Serrano who is more inclined to the Conservative Party, Carlo's influence in the cabinet government is already 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 reforms and improve the development of the entire country of Spain? This 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, and at the same time, it can once again improve his control over the cabinet government. It is a win-win situation.

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

The opinion of the House of Representatives no longer needs 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 in Madrid to meet with Carlo.

Before coming to the Royal Palace in Madrid, Canovas had thought carefully. He knew that his request to see Carlo would not change the outcome, but coming or not at this time would obviously result in two different outcomes.

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

"Are you here to discuss the splitting of the industrial sector?" Carlo nodded with a smile, motioning Canovas to sit on the luxurious sofa beside him.

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

Carlo was quite satisfied with Canovas's submissive appearance. What Carlo valued was that Canovas could see his own identity clearly and stand on Carlo and the royal family's side in time. This was what a noble and royalist should do.

You know, the nobles and the king are born and die together. If the king is gone, how can the nobles still exist?
Although Spain has a huge number of nobles, not many of them can be reused. Nobles like Prime Minister Primo and Archduke Serrano are basically entrepreneurs who obtained their noble titles by their own abilities.

Among those nobles whose titles have been inherited for hundreds or even thousands of generations, there are also capable people, but the abilities of most of them can only be described as a mess.

Capable nobles would not necessarily be loyal to Carlo. After all, these nobles were native Spanish factions, and they had been rooted in Spain for at least a hundred years. They would certainly not bow down to Carlo just because he became the king of Spain.

This is also the reason why Carlo recruited a large number of new nobles and continuously granted new titles. Compared with these old nobles, Carlo trusted the loyalty and ability of the new nobles more.

As for these old-fashioned Spanish nobles with complicated power, Carlo naturally would not want to bother with them if they would not hinder Spain's progress.

But if anyone caused trouble in Spain's path, Carlo would let them know how supreme the king's power was over 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 did not use the power to deprive them of their titles, it did not mean that Carlo did not have this power.

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

It's simply that Carlo still needs influence among the nobles. Before he completely controls Spain, Carlo will not take the initiative to take action against 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 knew that Carlo had given him the position of Minister of Industry. The industrial sector was facing the situation of being split up, so he certainly couldn't remain silent, and it was necessary to report to Carlo.

Although Canovas also knew that Carlo must have his own sources of information, and might know about the split of the Ministry of Industry earlier than him.

But what does it matter? Whether or not to get the news in advance is Carlo's business, but whether or not to report it and ask Carlo's attitude is Canovas's own business.

If he didn't report it, Carlo might not ask. But the problem is that Canovas wants to improve! 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 one can challenge the prime minister's throne, which represents the supreme power of officials, who would be willing to continue wasting time in their current position?

If we want to make progress, we 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 had never considered it. Canovas was very supportive of conservative ideas, and he did not like Prime Minister Primo's overly radical reforms.

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

Even if Canovas could join Prime Minister Primo, his status would not be as high as Ruiz's. He would not gain Prime Minister Primo's trust if he joined the Prime Minister halfway, which was why Canovas never thought of joining Prime Minister Primo from the beginning.

"Prime Minister Primo has reported to me about the split of the industrial sector, and I have no objection to the plan." Carlo said, "Overall, splitting the industrial sector is beneficial to the development of the government.

After the transportation department becomes independent, it will be able to better manage the construction of roads and railways in Spain, as well as various transportation tasks.

The only sector that might lose out is the industrial sector, but that may not be a good thing for you.”

In history, Canovas served as Prime Minister of the Spanish Kingdom during the reign of Alfonso XII, but he did not have any outstanding political achievements.

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

The reason why he became the Prime Minister of Spain and was re-elected many times was actually because of his more conservative ideas and support for the monarchy.

During his term, Canovas drafted a new constitution for Spain that abolished universal suffrage and replaced it with a limited franchise.

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

The final result was obvious. The two Alfonso kings not only failed to stop Spain's continued decline, but also completely eliminated Spain's connection with the throne of the great powers.

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

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

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 the industrial base that has already been prepared, there will be no problem in ensuring the stable growth of the 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 held at that time must have been far greater than it is now. Canovas still only needed to develop steadily within the development plan set by Carlo to achieve good results.

Most of the biggest problems in Spain's development have been solved by Prime Minister Primo, which is why Carlo admires Prime Minister Primo.

Regardless of whether the power of the prime minister will conflict with the royal power in the future, Carlo will not add insult to injury to Prime Minister Primo.

Of course, the best outcome for Prime Minister Primo and Carlo would be a change of leadership after the second term of prime minister ends and the transfer of power to Carlo.

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

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(End of this chapter)