The government of Antonio Aguilar y Correa, Marquis of Vega de Armijo, was formed on 4 December 1906, following the latter's appointment as prime minister of Spain by King Alfonso XIII on 3 December and his swearing-in the next day, as a result of Segismundo Moret's resignation from the post on 3 December in the wake of the "crisis of the letter" (). It succeeded the second Moret government and was the government of Spain from 4 December 1906 to 25 January 1907, a total of days, or .
The cabinet comprised members of the Liberal–Democratic alliance and two military officers. With the Liberals deeply divided over the Law of Associations and a proposal to reform consumption taxes, the government collapsed on 23 January, unable to arrange an agreement between the various party factions.
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 The political fallout from the "crisis of the letter" (), which had brought down the previous cabinet under López Domínguez, was instrumental in causing the downfall of Segismundo Moret's second government after only four days in power. Having been rejected by several high-profile Liberal members during the cabinet's formation, internal turmoil within his party—with resignation threats from the presidents of the Congress and Senate (José Canalejas and Eugenio Montero Ríos, respectively) and the tabling of a motion of no confidence in the Senate by members of his own group—forced Moret to preemptively resign on 3 December 1906 to avoid a major parliamentary defeat.
Unlike common practice, and due to the previous round of consultations having been held only five days earlier on 28 November, King Alfonso XIII opted instead for directly summoning prospective prime ministerial candidates to determine a solution to the political crisis arising from Moret's resignation.
ConsultationsKing of Spain Date Consultee Office/position Party 3 December 1906 Eugenio Montero Ríos President of the SenatePrime Minister (former) Lib–Dem/Dem Marquis of Vega de Armijo President of the Congress of Deputies (former) Lib–Dem/Dem Nominations Outcome → Sources
The outcome of the consultations led Alfonso XIII to entrust the formation of a new government to Eugenio Montero Ríos, who declined the nomination out of his desire to prevent further divisions within the Liberal Party; then to the Marquis of Vega de Armijo, who accepted the nomination. A cabinet comprising members of the Liberal–Democratic alliance and two military officers was formed and sworn in the next day.
Council of Ministers The Council of Ministers was structured into the office for the prime minister and eight ministries.
← Vega de Armijo Government →(4 December 1906 – 27 January 1907) Portfolio Name Party Took office Left office Prime Minister Marquis of Vega de Armijo Lib–Dem/Dem 4 December 1906 27 January 1907 Minister of State Juan Pérez-Caballero Lib–Dem/Lib 4 December 1906 27 January 1907 Minister of Grace and Justice Antonio Barroso y Castillo Lib–Dem/Dem 4 December 1906 27 January 1907 Minister of War Valeriano Weyler Military 4 December 1906 27 January 1907 Minister of the Navy Minister of Finance Juan Navarro Reverter Lib–Dem/Dem 4 December 1906 27 January 1907 Minister of Governance Count of Romanones Lib–Dem/Lib 4 December 1906 27 January 1907 Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts Amalio Gimeno Lib–Dem/Dem 4 December 1906 27 January 1907 Minister of Development Francisco de Federico Lib–Dem/Dem 4 December 1906 27 January 1907 Changes December 1906 Portfolio Name Party Took office Left office Minister of the Navy 4th Marquis of the Royal Treasury Military 9 December 1906 27 January 1907
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External links The governments of the second period of the Liberal Party (1905–1907) (under Alfonso XIII). Lluís Belenes i Rodríguez History Page (in Spanish).