Bussines as usual
After two peaceful years, the end of Manuel García Prieto's tenure did not came in the usual way, that is, a crisis or a military coup d'etat, but because his frail health. After suffering a heart attack, garcía Prieto stepped back and was replaced by an old veteran, no one else but Álvaro Figueroa y Torres Mendieta, earl of Romanones.
Romanones had been somewhat in the wilderness since 1918, but had briefly return to politics between 1922 and 1923 when he had been brought back in by Primo de Rivera to take control of the interior ministry. And while Europe was on the verge of chaos and madness, Romanones led the country without too much ado.
Just as France saw an overwhelming victory for the right coalition led by André Tardieu (March 1926) and Germany voted in mass for the return of the monarchy under the former Kronprinz Wilhelm, the elder son of the former kaiser, Wilhelm II, in September 1926, Spain simply went on. The General Election Law of 1926 was enacted and extended the vote to all male citizens over the age of 25, but kept women without the right to vote..
Romanones kept also reducing government spending, making enemies in the military, as the Armed Forces were streamlined by the cuts in the expenses. When France saw the failed "revolution" of October 1927, when a General Strike degenerated in street firefighs between the armed forces and the strikers in several cities, Romanones was pressed to increase again the military expenditure, as the ghost of the "Red Terror" that was taking place on the other side of the Pyrenees brough fear into many hearts, specially among the Conservative minded ones.
Then came the Financial Crisis of 1928.
After two peaceful years, the end of Manuel García Prieto's tenure did not came in the usual way, that is, a crisis or a military coup d'etat, but because his frail health. After suffering a heart attack, garcía Prieto stepped back and was replaced by an old veteran, no one else but Álvaro Figueroa y Torres Mendieta, earl of Romanones.
Romanones had been somewhat in the wilderness since 1918, but had briefly return to politics between 1922 and 1923 when he had been brought back in by Primo de Rivera to take control of the interior ministry. And while Europe was on the verge of chaos and madness, Romanones led the country without too much ado.
Just as France saw an overwhelming victory for the right coalition led by André Tardieu (March 1926) and Germany voted in mass for the return of the monarchy under the former Kronprinz Wilhelm, the elder son of the former kaiser, Wilhelm II, in September 1926, Spain simply went on. The General Election Law of 1926 was enacted and extended the vote to all male citizens over the age of 25, but kept women without the right to vote..
Romanones kept also reducing government spending, making enemies in the military, as the Armed Forces were streamlined by the cuts in the expenses. When France saw the failed "revolution" of October 1927, when a General Strike degenerated in street firefighs between the armed forces and the strikers in several cities, Romanones was pressed to increase again the military expenditure, as the ghost of the "Red Terror" that was taking place on the other side of the Pyrenees brough fear into many hearts, specially among the Conservative minded ones.
Then came the Financial Crisis of 1928.