Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 394 Socialist Workers' Party

The first flight test of the Eagle 1 aircraft was a complete success, which is good news for Carlo and Spain.

But secrets don't stay hidden forever. In order to maintain a high degree of secrecy regarding the aircraft experiments, a similar alternative was needed to attract the attention of European countries.

What could replace airplanes? Airships, of course, were invented and developed around the same time as airplanes.

Airplanes and airships are essentially human explorations of soaring through the sky. Both products have shown great potential, but also have significant drawbacks.

Leaving aside the experience of later generations, from the current perspective alone, it is really impossible to determine whether airships or airplanes have greater potential.

Using airships to attract the attention of European countries, even if it doesn't guarantee complete success, can at least achieve its goal of delaying the progress of European countries in developing aircraft.

It's important to understand that European countries have historically placed great importance on airships. Even without Spain's encouragement, airships would have enjoyed a golden age from the early 20th century until World War II.

What if Spain were to fuel the trend and encourage European countries to pay more attention to the development of airships? Undoubtedly, airships would usher in a golden age of development that is even more prosperous than in history, and capital from various countries would invest heavily in airship companies, establishing flights to earn huge profits.

Before airplanes and airships existed, people could only travel to distant places by train or ship.

The ship was too slow, and a voyage across the ocean would take at least a month. The rough seas would also make people uncomfortable, and seasickness was common.

Although trains are more comfortable than ships, they need to run on railways.

For inland areas, ships are simply not a viable mode of transport. For a country like the United Kingdom, whose territory is composed of multiple islands, traveling to other regions becomes quite difficult, sometimes requiring a combination of ships and trains.

Compared to ships and trains, airships do not have this disadvantage.

An airship only needs two relatively spacious areas, one for takeoff and one for landing.

The entire flight takes place in the air, where there are no obstructions. The construction of the flight path is quite simple and does not require a large financial investment.

This is actually why airships are valued by various countries. Whether it is a landlocked country, a coastal country, or a country composed of multiple islands or archipelagos, airships can strengthen the connection between different places, which is something that trains and ships could not do.

To make the fakes indistinguishable from the real thing, Carlo had an airship research and development project team set up, and set up the entire research and development team in a factory on the outskirts of Barcelona.

Carlo also invested more than two million pesetas in the airship project and asked them to collect ideas from the public in various European countries on airship development and design an airship that could be used for flight tests.

Unlike the completely secret aircraft flight tests, the airship flight tests are open to the public, attracting the attention of European countries.

If airship technology were to mature, Carlo would even organize a round-the-world voyage by airship, completely attracting the attention of European countries and capitalists.

Then, by selling the airship technology he has, the income from selling the technology alone will be enough for Carlo to recoup his investment with a profit.

As for whether European countries will take their airship technology a step further from Spain and develop airships with even better performance, this is not a concern for Carlo.

No matter how excellent the airship's performance was, it couldn't change the fact that it was too large and cumbersome. As long as Spain mastered aircraft technology, destroying the airships in the air would be a simple matter.

Airplanes and airships follow different tech trees. Airplanes are more maneuverable and have much greater aerial agility than airships.

Airships excel in carrying capacity, but their maneuverability and flexibility in the air are far inferior to those of airplanes.

Even as European countries' airship technology matured, it couldn't pose much of a threat to Spanish aircraft. Carlo even hoped that European countries would invest more in airship development, since airships and airplanes were products based on completely different concepts; prioritizing airships meant relatively downplaying airplane technology.

While Carlos was using airships to replace airplanes to attract the attention of European countries, the political situation in Spain was also quietly changing.

As mentioned before, there are currently four major political parties in Spain: the Conservative Party, the Progressive Party, the Liberal Party, and the Workers' Party.

These four major parties each have their own history. The Progressive Party and the Conservative Party have both had their glorious periods, while the Workers' Party, as a relatively new party, is gradually becoming more prosperous.

Conversely, the Liberal Party, which rose to prominence alongside the Progressive Party, is seeing its presence diminish in Spain. This phenomenon is not limited to cabinet and congressional elections but also appears in state assembly elections.

Simply put, the Liberal Party's ideology no longer resonates with the Spanish people. Without the support of the grassroots, the Liberal Party is unable to attract new members.

Without fresh blood, a political party is doomed to perish sooner or later. Moreover, the Liberal Party faces more than just this problem; it also suffered a significant disadvantage in the cabinet election.

A party that has little presence in the House of Representatives and state legislature elections has a predictable future.

If the Liberal Party doesn't change anything, perhaps in the next few decades, Spain will revert to a three-party system, and the Liberal Party will disappear into the dustbin of history.

The Liberal Party has held numerous discussions within its ranks to change this situation.

Spain's four major political parties each have their own party charters and platforms, and each party's political goals are completely different.

Prime Minister Primo's Progressive Party, which he has expanded, is pursuing comprehensive reforms to a certain extent in order to change Spain's backward situation.

The oldest Conservative Party in history seeks to respond to all changes by maintaining the status quo.
Maintaining the existing political situation and ensuring stable development is best. The Conservative Party resists overly radical reforms, which is why it did not maintain its status as the largest party during Prime Minister Primo's tenure.

The Workers' Party, on the other hand, advocates for protecting workers' interests and expanding their voice. This party has already gained significant worker support and, although a relatively new party in Spain, its political influence is considerable.

The Liberal Party pursues more radical reforms; during the Spanish Revolution, it even advocated for a full republic to improve the status quo in Spain.

The political pursuits of these four major parties reveal that the Liberal Party is naturally opposed to the Conservative Party, and its relationship with the Progressive Party is not particularly good either.

More importantly, Spain has already completed comprehensive reforms under its monarchical system, so the radical reforms demanded by the Liberal Party are unnecessary.

Spain had already become a powerful nation; did it still need radical reforms? Absolutely not.

The radical reforms demanded by the Liberal Party would only disrupt Spain's existing development and destabilize the previously peaceful political situation. This alone is practically a death sentence for the Liberal Party. It was only to avoid a two-party divide in Spain that Carlos allowed the Liberal Party to continue existing.

Now that the Workers' Party exists, the necessity for the Liberal Party to continue to exist is no longer so strong.

Liberal Party members also held several meetings to discuss the party's future direction.

There are essentially two paths before us: either completely change our party constitution and platform and seek a development path for the Liberal Party that suits the current situation in Spain.

They could either completely abandon the development of the Liberal Party and choose to merge with other parties to preserve their political power.

No matter which path you choose, implementing it will not be easy.

It's important to know that besides the four major parties, there are many other parties of varying sizes in Spain.

Finding a path that aligns with Spain's current political situation, allows the Liberal Party to grow and thrive, and avoids overlapping with the party charters and platforms of other parties is no easy task.

The same logic applies to merging with other parties. Merging with parties that are too weak would not benefit Liberal Party members in any way.

However, if it merges with those stronger parties, it's really hard to say whether it will be a merger or an absorption.

Carlo was also paying attention to the internal discussions within the Liberal Party. For Carlo, whether the Liberal Party revised its political agenda or merged with other parties, it was in his and Spain's political interests.

Of course, merging with a major party like the Conservatives is out of the question. A merger between two parties that are both among the four major parties would result in the merged party holding more seats in the House of Commons.

This is not a good thing for the election of the next cabinet government, and Carlos does not want to see a single party dominate in Spain.

For Carlos, if the Liberal Party were to merge with other parties, the most suitable option would be the newly emerging Workers' Party.

After the merger of the Liberal Party and the Workers' Party, their political power will only be on par with the Conservative Party and the Progressive Party, and will not affect the current political situation in Spain.

The merged Spanish political landscape will revert to a three-party system, which is more stable and offers a more balanced political environment compared to a two-party system.

At Carlos's behest, senior members of the Workers' Party began contacting the Liberal Party to explore the possibility of a merger between the two parties.

Although the Liberal Party and the Workers' Party seem quite different, it was very easy for them to merge under the mediation of Carlos, who held the highest power.

Moreover, neither party is thriving. The Liberal Party has problems with its own constitution and platform and urgently needs significant changes to salvage the situation.

Under these circumstances, the merger of the Liberal Party and the Workers' Party proceeded somewhat smoothly than expected.

By mid-December 1897, the merger negotiations between the Liberal Party and the Workers' Party had gone through three rounds.

The first two rounds of meetings only confirmed the Liberal Party and the Workers Party's intention to negotiate. With the start of the third round of meetings, the senior leaders of the Liberal Party and the Workers Party officially began the process of merging the two parties.

The first issue is the naming of the merged political party; it certainly cannot retain the names of the Workers' Party or the Liberal Party.

If the merged party is still called the Workers' Party or the Liberal Party, then it is not a merger of parties, but rather one party being swallowed up by another.

After several days of discussion, the third round of meetings finally decided that the party formed by the merger of the Liberal Party and the Workers' Party would be called the Socialist Workers' Party.

The new Socialist Workers' Party, while seeking to protect workers' interests, also emphasizes social justice, social welfare, and social responsibility.

Both the Liberal Party and the Workers Party leadership were able to accept this outcome. This new party appears to be a blend of the Workers Party and some Liberal Party ideas, but essentially retains most of the Workers Party's political ideology.

For Carlos, with the Liberal Party's involvement, the political force of the working class that the Workers' Party has united can be better controlled and limited.

The social justice and social welfare emphasized by the Socialist Workers' Party are easy to understand; in reality, they refer to welfare benefits, subsidies, and fair treatment guarantees for all Spaniards.

Social responsibility is not something the Spanish government addresses to the public, but rather something the public and NGOs address to the entire society.

The social responsibilities of the public are simple: obey the law, uphold morality, stay at their posts, and love the country, etc.

In addition to the points mentioned above, the social responsibilities of factories and enterprises, as non-governmental organizations, also include a series of responsibilities such as production responsibility and economic responsibility.

The social responsibility emphasized by the Socialist Workers' Party is also aimed at strengthening social stability in Spain and ensuring the healthy, stable, and sustainable development of society.

Carlo was generally satisfied with the Socialist Workers' Party, which was formed by the merger of the Liberal Party and the Workers' Party.

The Socialist Workers' Party retained the role of the Workers' Party, enabling Carlo to integrate the Spanish working class and create a political force at his disposal.

The Socialist Workers Party can also seek the support of all Spaniards, except for the working class, by emphasizing social justice and social welfare.

Although it has integrated the working class, the Socialist Workers' Party will not stand in opposition to the monarchy. As long as the Spanish government can improve the social justice and welfare that the Socialist Workers' Party demands, the party will only become an asset to the kingdom and help Spain prosper forever.

With the new party name finalized, the process of merging the Liberal Party and the Workers' Party has been accelerated.

Since the Liberal Party and the Workers' Party began merger negotiations, the news has immediately attracted the attention of the Spanish people and other political parties.

The merger of two ordinary political parties would not attract much attention, but the Liberal Party and the Workers' Party are both among the four major parties in Spain.

The new party formed by the merger of these two parties is not intimidated by either the Conservative Party or the Progressive Party.

This also signifies a major shift in Spain's political landscape, particularly for the Progressive Party, which, as the current runner-up, may not be able to maintain its position against this new party.

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(End of this chapter)