The second government of Raimundo Fernández-Villaverde was formed on 27 January 1905, following the latter's appointment as prime minister of Spain by King Alfonso XIII and his swearing-in on that day, as a result of Marcelo Azcárraga's resignation from the post on 26 January over disagreements within his cabinet on the date of re-opening of the . It succeeded the third Azcárraga government and was the government of Spain from 27 January to 23 June 1905, a total of days, or .

The cabinet comprised members of the Conservative Party, mostly from its Villaverdist faction, as well as one military officer. As neither Conservative leader Antonio Maura nor the Liberals under Eugenio Montero Ríos and Segismundo Moret were willing to support Villaverde, his government was left in a clear parliamentary minority, surviving only for as long as the parliament remained closed. Once the were re-opened on 14 June 1905, Villaverde's government suffered a string of parliamentary defeats until it was brought down in a vote of confidence on 20 June.

Formation Overview The Spanish Constitution of 1876 enshrined Spain as a semi-constitutional monarchy during the Restoration period, awarding the monarch—under the royal prerogative—the power to appoint government members (including the prime minister); the ability to grant or deny the decree of dissolution of the , or the adjournment of legislative sessions, to the incumbent or aspiring government that requested it; and the capacity to inform, inspect and ultimately control executive acts by granting or denying the signature of royal decrees; among others..

The monarch would play a key role in the system by appointing and dismissing governments, which would then organize elections to provide themselves with a parliamentary majority. As a result, governments during this period were dependent on royal confidence, which was frequently secured or lost based on the leaders' ability to guarantee the internal unity and parliamentary cohesion of their parties.: "... according to the political practice of the Restoration, since voters did not determine majorities due to electoral manipulation, the requirement demanded of any leader to retain power was to guarantee the unity of the Party. []" In practice, the royal prerogative was not exercised freely by the monarch, but was carried out through the opening of a round of consultations—with the presidents of the chambers, the leaders of the main parties, the potential candidates and other notable figures—prior to government formation, or when prime ministers raised a matter of confidence to the monarch.

Cabinet crisis King Alfonso XIII held a round of consultations on 26 January 1905 to determine a solution to the political crisis arising from Azcárraga's resignation.

ConsultationsKing of Spain Date Consultee Office/position Party 26 January 1905 Francisco Romero Robledo President of the Congress of Deputies Romerist 2nd Marquis of Pidal President of the Senate Conservative Alejandro Pidal y Mon President of the Congress of Deputies (former) Conservative Francisco Silvela Prime Minister (former) Conservative Antonio Maura Leader of the Conservative PartyPrime Minister (former) Conservative Raimundo Fernández-Villaverde Prime Minister (former)President of the Congress of Deputies (former) Villaverdist Nominations Outcome → Sources

The outcome of the consultations led Alfonso XIII to entrust the formation of a new government to Francisco Silvela, who declined the nomination due to him "having retired from politics" and not wishing to "get involved in the parties' infighting"; then to Antonio Maura, who declined the nomination on the need to re-open the as soon as possible to deal with the previous government crises (his own and Azcárraga's), among other reasons; then to Raimundo Fernández-Villaverde, who accepted the nomination.

Cabinet changes Villaverde's second government saw one cabinet change during its tenure: Disagreements over the management of a widespread student conflict—started by the perceived unfairness of certain legal provisions approved during the tenure of Lorenzo Domínguez Pascual at the helm of the Ministry of Public Instruction, as well as the government's inflexibility in addressing the issue—led to the resignation of Public Instruction Minister Juan de la Cierva on 8 April 1905, being replaced in the post by Carlos Cortezo.

Vote of confidence Motion of confidenceCongress of Deputies Ballot → 20 June 1905 Required majority → Simple Not voting Sources

Council of Ministers The Council of Ministers was structured into the office for the prime minister and eight ministries.

← Villaverde II Government →(27 January – 23 June 1905) Portfolio Name Party Took office Left office Prime Minister Raimundo Fernández-Villaverde Villaverdist 27 January 1905 23 June 1905 Minister of State Wenceslao Ramírez de Villa-Urrutia Villaverdist 27 January 1905 23 June 1905 Minister of Grace and Justice Javier Ugarte y Pagés Villaverdist 27 January 1905 23 June 1905 Minister of War Vicente Martitegui Military 27 January 1905 23 June 1905 Minister of the Navy Eduardo Cobián Villaverdist 27 January 1905 23 June 1905 Minister of Finance Antonio García Alix Villaverdist 27 January 1905 23 June 1905 Minister of Governance Augusto González Besada Villaverdist 27 January 1905 23 June 1905 Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts Juan de la Cierva Conservative 27 January 1905 8 April 1905 Minister of Agriculture, Industry, Trade and Public Works 8th Marquis of Vadillo Villaverdist 27 January 1905 23 June 1905 Changes April 1905 Portfolio Name Party Took office Left office Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts Carlos Cortezo Villaverdist 8 April 1905 23 June 1905

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Bibliography

External links The governments of the first period of the Conservative Party (1902–1905) (under Alfonso XIII). Lluís Belenes i Rodríguez History Page (in Spanish).