Chapter 682 - 317: Changes in the Upper House

The administrative division reform in Spain is proceeding vigorously, with the constitution undergoing significant amendments. Spain’s political system is changing rapidly.

The proposal of the recommended election system, which was hotly debated in the parliament, finally received 185 votes in favor, 68 against, and 45 abstentions in the 298-member Lower House, and was successfully submitted to the Upper House for review with an approval rate of over 62%.

The Upper House, having fewer members, passed it quickly, especially since the so-called recommended election system was also beneficial to it.

On May 20, 1885, the Spanish Parliament issued another announcement, declaring that from that day on, the recommended election system would be implemented in each state and special city to elect the mayors in a more suitable manner.

This proposal, passed by parliament, seemed rather ordinary to the Spaniards, as the election of high officials like governors was not of great concern to them.

However, in the Spanish political arena, the so-called recommended election system caused quite a stir.

After implementing the recommended election system, the Spanish Parliament’s control over each state was significantly enhanced. This also meant that any party capable of controlling the Spanish Parliament could control both the Cabinet Government and the state governments.

Compared to the Upper House, the Lower House is a mix of different elements. The three major parties in Spain—the Conservative Party, the Progressive Party, and the Liberal Party—naturally need no further mention. These parties each have at least dozens of seats in the Lower House and wield significant influence over whether a parliamentary proposal is implemented.

Besides these three major parties, there are also some small parties in the parliament that have passed the Upper House’s review. Among them is the secretly established Worker’s Party by Carlo, aiming to unite the workers under the monarchy.

Connecting monarchy and workers seems absurd from a modern perspective. But in Spain at this time, linking monarchy and workers is not absurd; it is even quite normal.

As the King of Spain, Carlo regards all Spaniards, regardless of their profession, as his subjects.

If they are subjects of Carlo, wouldn’t it be normal and reasonable for Carlo to protect their rights as the King of Spain?

With this mindset, the monarchy and workers stood together. The capitalists who infringed on workers’ rights naturally stood in opposition to the monarchy and the workers.

It was by cleverly exploiting this loophole that the Spanish Worker’s Party gained considerable support from workers while adhering to the Spanish constitution and supporting the monarchy and Carlo.

At this time, Spain was not the underdeveloped industrial country it had been a dozen years ago. It now had hundreds of thousands of workers, who were definitely a formidable political force.

Compared to the more conservative peasants, the workers were more concerned about their rights and were more inclined to use protests and strikes to assert their demands.

If this workers’ power could be harnessed properly, any political party would find itself in a difficult position facing this special Worker’s Party.

Mishandling the situation could lead to widespread worker strikes and protests throughout Spain, and at that time, officials of any rank or status would be pushed out to take the blame, calming the workers’ anger.

For these reasons, the Worker’s Party’s development in Spain has been very smooth, and it is now becoming the fourth largest party in Spain, just below the Liberal Party.

For Carlo, the growth of the Worker’s Party represents the success of his plans. As the party grows, Carlo, as the orchestrator behind the scenes, can effectively utilize this powerful political force of workers.

However, simultaneously, the development of the Worker’s Party is also affecting Spain’s existing three-party system.

The so-called three-party system involves the alternating governance of the three largest parties—Conservative Party, Progressive Party, and Liberal Party—while the non-governing parties oversee the ruling party, ensuring long-term political stability in Spain.

This approach is still quite successful at the moment. Each of the three major parties holds a certain number of cabinet members, and they can supervise one another to ensure no single party becomes overwhelmingly dominant.

With the rise of the Worker’s Party, the original three-party governance system in Spain might be disrupted. How to handle the increasing number of political parties in Spain is also a question that needs consideration.

Of course, there’s no immediate rush to address issues about political parties.

With the advancement of the political division reform plan, there are many areas in Spain requiring changes. Carlo needs to ensure that every aspect is considered, allowing Spain to progress further and higher.

Post administrative division reform, the changes also involve the Upper House.

The composition of the Upper House itself suggests why these changes are necessary. Officially known as the Royal Senate, the Spanish Upper House consists of representatives from the former regions and noble members.

After the regions were reformed into states, the regional representatives naturally became state representatives. Since some regions were merged, the representation of these regions also underwent certain changes.

Furthermore, the method of electing state representatives and the number of Upper House members will also require certain changes.

However, since these changes are confined to the Upper House, Carlo can easily carry out the reforms he envisions.

Firstly, the number of members in the Upper House was increased from about 100 to 122. Noble members constitute 54% of the total in the Upper House, numbering 66 in total.