Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 467 Summary of 1907
1907 was a significant year for Spain. During this year, Spain announced plans to expand its army, established airborne troops for its air force, and the construction of dreadnoughts proceeded smoothly.

The first generation of tanks has already been produced, and the second generation is expected to be officially equipped by the Spanish Army in the new year. These represent the continuous expansion of the Spanish army, navy, and air force, and the continuous increase in overall military strength.

Carlo was quite satisfied with the achievements of the Spanish government in 1907 and tacitly allowed several cabinet ministers to continue their terms in the cabinet elections held in 1907.

Prime Minister Angelo Orcajo, who enjoys Carlo's deep trust, will begin his third term as prime minister. This makes him equal to Prime Minister Canovas, becoming the second prime minister under Carlo's rule to serve three consecutive terms.

The Spanish government under Carlos was quite stable, and with a few exceptions, most prime ministers were able to complete their full terms without incident.

However, winning re-election is not so easy. After all, in addition to having enough loyalty and ability, one's performance during the term must also be recognized by Carlos and the people.

Like Prime Minister Olcajo, Count Menotti was also successfully re-elected as Minister of State. Had he not been of non-Spanish origin, he might very well have become Prime Minister in the next cabinet.

Of course, Count Menotti's ability and loyalty to Carlo were highly recognized, given that he was not of Spanish descent and had risen step by step to the high position of Minister of State.

His brother Jordi served three terms as Minister of Defense, making the Garibaldi family a very important force in Spain. With a count still holding a high-ranking government position and a retired military duke, the Garibaldi family is undoubtedly one of the most prestigious families in the entire Spanish aristocratic system.

After Defense Secretary Jordi retired, the new Defense Secretary was Andrew Rosso. Andrew's name needs no introduction; like Kaman, he is from Italy and was one of Carlo's earliest and most meritorious followers.

Carlo had great trust in Andrew and Kaman, who held the positions of Secretary of Defense and Deputy Commander of the Army, respectively, both of whom were truly high-ranking military officials.

Finance Minister Orr Acosta and Industry Minister Roger Wells were both re-elected. These are relatively important positions in the cabinet, and those who hold these positions have a high probability of running for prime minister.

Former Prime Minister Canovas, former Minister of State Howeil Soller, and current Prime Minister Angelo Orcajo, among other important government officials, have all served as Minister of Industry or Minister of Finance, highlighting the importance of these two positions.

Given that the current Minister of State, Count Menotti, is not of Spanish descent, the next Prime Minister will most likely be chosen from either Orléans Acosta or Roger Wells.

Both men are of pure Spanish descent. The former is from the Progressive Party and is seen by many Progressive Party members as the hope for the party's revival.

The latter comes from the newly emerging Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, which also places high hopes on the party.

These two are considered the most promising candidates for the next prime minister. Spain urgently needs a non-conservative prime minister to prove that the government is not completely controlled by the conservative party.

Since Juan Carlos became King of Spain in 1869, Spain has had five prime ministers. Apart from the first prime minister, Primo, who came from the Progressive Party, the other prime ministers were either like the Duke of Serrano and Evan Bradley, who were independent due to their military backgrounds, or like Canovas and Angelo Orcajo, who were actually conservatives due to their status as members of the old aristocracy.

The two Conservative prime ministers will most likely serve six terms, or 30 years, in government. Meanwhile, the combined terms of other non-Conservative prime ministers are only slightly over 10 years, which explains the Conservative Party's dominance in Spain.

Carlos did not want the conservative party to remain dominant. In addition, the term of office for the Spanish prime minister is limited. After serving three consecutive terms, any prime minister must temporarily withdraw from the re-election of prime minister. This is also to prevent power from being concentrated in the hands of one person and to reduce the occurrence of prime ministerial dictatorship.

If the prime minister wields absolute power, the monarchy will inevitably be rendered powerless. This is bad news for the royal family, as its fate will be directly in the prime minister's hands.

Carlos could accept the future King of Spain losing some power, but he could not accept the Spanish monarchy being overthrown by the Prime Minister's dictatorship.

The best option is to avoid the prime minister wielding absolute power. Even if the monarchy is overthrown, it must be the choice of the people, not the choice of a government dictator.

Aside from some re-elected cabinet ministers, the new cabinet also features many new faces. The Conservative Party also has a candidate for the next prime minister: William, who successfully secured a second term as Foreign Secretary.

Foreign Secretary William also comes from the Spanish aristocracy and is a member recognized by the Conservative Party.

Although the Foreign Secretary doesn't have as much say in the cabinet, considering that William has also successfully served three consecutive terms as a cabinet minister, he still has a certain chance of running for Prime Minister.

Unfortunately, apart from William, the Conservative Party doesn't have any other good candidates to run for Prime Minister.

Carlos had long understood that Spain's development required the participation of multiple parties, and that the Conservative Party's dominance was not good news for Spain.

This is why, in recent years, members of other non-conservative parties have frequently emerged in the Spanish cabinet, state governorships, and other important positions.

In particular, the Progressive Party, which advocates moderate reforms, and the newly emerging Socialist Workers' Party have made great strides during this period, effectively improving the current structure of the Spanish cabinet government.

Currently, of the 298 seats in the Spanish Congress of Deputies, the once dominant Conservative Party has only 126 seats left, accounting for 42.2%, which is far less than the number of seats it once held during its heyday.

Following the merger of the Workers' Party and the Liberal Party, the Socialist Workers' Party has gradually developed into the second largest political party in Spain. Currently, the Socialist Workers' Party holds 72 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, representing 24.2%, making it a political force that other parties cannot ignore.

The Progressive Party has fallen to become the third largest party in Spain, but its actual influence is not much weaker than that of the Socialist Workers' Party. The Progressive Party also holds 65 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, accounting for 21.8%, making it the last major party in Spain.

The remaining 35 seats were divided among other smaller parties and non-partisan individuals, which shows that the current political landscape in Spain has been re-established as a three-way balance of power among the three major parties, and the survival of smaller parties and non-partisan individuals has been further eroded.

The gradual formation of a three-party system is what Carlos wanted to achieve. A three-party system provides a better environment for development than a two-party system and is more suitable for the current development trend in Spain.

The ruling party will not become excessively dominant, because the opposition party has two reasons for not attacking the ruling party without considering right or wrong.

In a tripartite balance of power, the previously overlooked monarchy becomes crucial. Just like the current situation in Spain, even with a dominant Conservative Party, the support of the monarchy allows other parties to solidify their position in the Conservatives' shadow and even gradually erode their parliamentary seats.

Without the support of the monarchy, the Progressive Party and the Socialist Workers' Party could not possibly have won so many parliamentary seats.

This is also one of Carlos's trump cards for checking the prime minister. If a future Spanish prime minister stands against the monarchy, the King can use the three-party system to rally the other two opposition parties, forming a force independent of the ruling party to confront the prime minister who opposes the monarchy. Of course, given the current political climate in Spain, most Spanish prime ministers will not stand against the monarchy.

After all, the King of Spain has the right to choose his prime minister. If the King is dissatisfied with the prime minister elected by parliament, he can request a new election.

Even before the election, if the King is not satisfied with the candidates for Prime Minister submitted by each party, he can also request that each party replace them.

Under such a system, it can be largely ensured that the prime minister elected by parliament is someone the king wants, or at the very least someone the king can accept, and not someone who is too extreme and easily stands against the monarchy.

In Carlo's mind, there were actually only these three candidates for the next cabinet government.

The reason is simple: to prepare for the possibility of a war in Europe at any time.

If World War I had broken out, Spain would have needed a prime minister with considerable political prestige to maintain order and enhance the government's credibility.

If war were to break out in the next few years, Carlo could have allowed Prime Minister Olcajo to continue serving by forming a wartime cabinet.

However, if war breaks out during the term of the new cabinet five years from now, even if Carlos is able to form a wartime cabinet, he will not be able to temporarily replace the prime minister.

Doing so will not only fail to stabilize the government, but will also create some turmoil within the government.

For this reason, after Prime Minister Olcajo's term ends, the next prime minister must be a highly respected figure.

Currently, whether it's members of the House of Representatives or cabinet ministers, only three people actually meet this requirement: Orr Acosta, Roger Wells, and William.

Although the Spanish constitution also stipulates that a prime minister who has served three consecutive terms can be re-elected in the next cabinet election after withdrawing from the next cabinet election.

However, it is rare for a prime minister to withdraw from the prime ministerial election and then hold another prime ministerial election five years later.

The reason is simple: the political influence of a former prime minister will gradually decrease over time. After a full term, even a former prime minister is not as competitive as one might imagine when running for prime minister.

Furthermore, most of the candidates who are eligible to run for prime minister are actually quite old. They must undergo sufficient testing in a variety of positions before they can be recognized by various parties and Carlos as true prime ministerial candidates.

Even if they succeed in becoming prime minister in the prime ministerial election, they will be quite old by then, making it difficult for them to meet the requirement of serving three consecutive terms as prime minister, withdrawing from the next prime ministerial election, and then running again in the next prime ministerial election.

Take Juan Canovas, who served three terms as Prime Minister of Spain, as an example. When he was first elected Prime Minister of Spain, he was already over 50 years old.

After serving three terms as prime minister, he will be 64 years old. If he waits another 5 years to run for prime minister again, he will be 69 years old, which will be a huge disadvantage in terms of age.

Even if Carlos supports it, most people would not choose a prime minister who is already 69 years old.

After all, life expectancy was still very short in this era. Most ordinary Europeans only lived to be 40 years old. It was hard to imagine how a 69-year-old prime minister could work. Surely he couldn't be sleeping or in a coma for 20 hours out of 24?

Current Prime Minister Angelo Orcajo, at his age, may be able to meet this requirement.

Prime Minister Olcajo served as the Prime Minister of Spain from 1897, when he was just over 40 years old.

When he began his third term as prime minister, he was only 50 years old, which is still the prime of a politician's career.

After his three terms as prime minister end, he will only be 55 years old. Even if he waits another 5 years, he will still be able to run for prime minister at the age of 60. At least his age will not be such a big disadvantage.

However, considering the possibility of a world war breaking out in the next few years, it is unlikely that Prime Minister Olcajo will be able to serve his fourth term as prime minister.

After all, a prime minister's term lasts for five years, and it is already quite good to be able to pass through five years unscathed. To be re-elected or even three terms as prime minister is actually very rare, let alone to usher in a fourth term as prime minister. During Carlos's rule, this was absolutely unprecedented and probably will never be repeated.

In addition to the cabinet elections held in 1907, bullfighting was also successfully held in the Portuguese region in 1907.

Today, bullfighting has developed into a major event throughout the Iberian Peninsula, attracting the attention of millions, even tens of millions of people. Every event is extremely popular, and tickets for bullfighting are easily sold out.

According to statistics from the Portuguese government, bullfighting has attracted at least hundreds of thousands of Portuguese people to watch since it was first held in Portugal.

Bullfights held in Portugal sell tens of millions of tickets, generating millions of pesetas in revenue from ticket sales alone.

In addition to the revenue from food and beverage sales and the indirect economic stimulus, bullfighting has acted as a stimulant for Portugal's economy, enabling it to grow rapidly.

Riding on the popularity of bullfighting, Portugal has also seen a surge in Spanish tourists. Many Spaniards who visit Portugal eventually choose to settle there, contributing to a significant increase in Portugal's population.

At the beginning of 1907, Portugal's population was only 530 million, but by the end of 1907, it had grown to 550 million. Such a rate of population growth was unimaginable to the original Portuguese government.

Of course, at least half of this net population increase of 20 is from immigrants from Spain. Portugal's native population has not yet recovered due to the civil war. Portugal's birth rate is relatively low, partly because a large number of young adults were injured or killed in the war, and partly because Portugal's current per capita annual income is not high, and many people at the bottom of society are unwilling to have children when they cannot even afford to live.

(End of this chapter)