Empire Rising: Spain

Chapter 182: Chapter 143: Annual Work Report (Part 2)

Compared to members of the House of Representatives, the Senate does not have the power to supervise the government. However, this does not mean the Senate is unimportant, as the Senate’s attitude is crucial for the final implementation of any bill.

Currently, the Spanish House of Representatives has the most seats, totaling 208, allocated to each region according to the population proportions of different regions and colonies.

The Senate’s seats are relatively fixed, totaling less than 30. Each region and colony has only one seat, usually held by the regional head or the Governor of the Colony.

In addition, the only other members who can join the Senate are the Cabinet Ministers and the Prime Minister, which essentially means that the Senate’s members are high-ranking officials within the Spanish Government.

After all, whether a bill is suitable for execution across the various regions of Spain, these officials have some degree of authority to express their opinions. Members of the House of Representatives often consider matters from a single perspective, frequently overlooking the government’s concerns.

At this point, the Senate’s opinions become particularly important. Under the Senate’s guidance, the laws enacted by the House of Representatives can be steered in a direction more conducive to Spain’s development, at least ensuring the laws have a beneficial impact rather than a harmful one.

The meeting to retrieve the Spanish Government’s work report for the year 1872 was quite grand.

All 208 representatives from the House of Representatives attended, along with the Cabinet Ministers and Carlo, making the meeting scene exceptionally lively.

Leading the meeting was naturally Prime Minister Prim, whose job was to establish a tone for the government work report meeting, while leaving space for each department minister to showcase their achievements.

For Prime Minister Prim, these accolades are already insignificant. As long as he is willing, he can retain victory in the next cabinet council election.

After all, more than half of the 208 representatives support him and the Progressive Party. In this situation, unless Prime Minister Prim voluntarily withdraws, it’s hard for the House of Representatives election to lose.

“Honorable His Majesty the King, all representatives. It’s an honor to report the annual work of the Spanish Cabinet Government for 1872 as the Prime Minister of Spain in such an occasion.

The development of Spain’s various industries throughout 1872 has been very rapid. According to the estimates from the civil affairs department, Spain is projected to have a population of 17.45 million by the end of 1872, an increase of at least 230,000 from the previous year.

The total national production last year reached 7.212 billion Pesseta, an increase of 8.1% compared to the prior year.

With the growth of the total economic scale, the government’s fiscal revenue also hit a new high, approximately reaching 525.9 million Pesseta.

However, our total fiscal expenditure still exceeds fiscal revenue, with last year’s total fiscal expenditure reaching 557.5 million Pesseta, resulting in an annual fiscal deficit of 31.6 million Pesseta.

By the end of 1872, our total railway mileage has exceeded 6900 kilometers, and is expected to surpass 7000 kilometers in three months.

From late 1868 to the end of 1872, we have surpassed the railway mileage built by the previous government from late 1858 to late 1868 within just four years.

In the future, we will continue to emphasize the construction of Spanish railways and plan to increase Spain’s total railway mileage to at least 7500 kilometers by February 1874.”

Prime Minister Prim’s report was brief, but Spain’s progress in 1872 was very apparent. Almost every area saw significant development, and the railway mileage increased at a rate of at least 300 kilometers per year.

Moreover, according to Prime Minister Prim, the railway total mileage will be increased to about 7500 kilometers by February 1874.

Currently, there is just over a year left until February 1874, and more than 600 kilometers of railway need to be constructed.

This is not a small challenge for the Cabinet Government, but if completed, it would also be a substantial achievement.

Although the five-year plan promulgated by the Spanish Government began after the establishment of the Cabinet Government, the timeframe is calculated in conjunction with the Cabinet Government’s establishment.

It makes sense, after all, if the five-year plan is completed, the achievements brought to the cabinet members would be immeasurable.

The Cabinet Government naturally cannot leave such a significant achievement to the next session, even if it means a little less time; they must ensure the five-year plan is completed during their term.

Even if the results come a bit late, the accolades will still be within their grasp. But if completed during the next government’s term, the credit may have little to do with them.

The Cabinet Ministers are not foolish, which is why the term of the Cabinet Government and the development plan both span five years.

This phenomenon occurs frequently in various countries, and Carlo naturally will not stop it. After all, when the development plan closely relates to their own achievements and future prospects, these officials will earnestly strive to fulfill the plan.

The real concern is a government that constantly changes, where policies promulgated by the previous government are not executed by the succeeding government.

In Spain’s history, the period of Amadeo’s reign and the subsequent republic period was like this. To say that all prime ministers during this time were incompetent? Probably not.

But the biggest issue is the rapid change of the Spanish Government during this period, where every cabinet government often just enacts laws, and the succeeding government is already in place.