The cabinet comprised members of the Liberal Party and two military officers. It resigned on 9 February 1910 as a consequence of an internal crisis within the Liberals over the issue of collabotation with republican parties seeing Moret disavowed by leading party figures and the King himself, serving until the next government was sworn in.
The monarch would play a key role in the turnosystem by appointing and dismissing governments, which would then organize elections to provide themselves with a parliamentary majority.[3] 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.[4][5] 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.[6]
Cabinet crisis
In July 1909, a decision by Antonio Maura's government to mobilize reservists from Barcelona for the second Melillan campaign unleashed a wave of anti-war unrest among the working class—motivated by anger at wealthier families being able to "exempt" their offspring from military service by paying a fee (the redención en metálico or "cash redemption") or by hiring a replacement ("substitution")—that reached its peak during the events of the Tragic Week.[7][8] The state's heavy-handed response (with over 100 killed and 1,700 arrested in the riots and a two-month suspension of constitutional rights across the country)[9] and the execution of anarchist activist Francisco Ferrer on 13 October sparked widespread outrage, with the scale of the international outcry being compared to that of the Dreyfus affair.[7][10]
During a heated parliamentary debate in Congress between 18 and 20 October, Governance MinisterJuan de la Cierva aggressively accused the Liberals under Segismundo Moret of attempting to incite a revolution over their criticism of Maura's management of the situation, with a handshake from Maura to La Cierva being interpreted as a gesture of approval from the former.[11][12] The Liberals protested to the president of the Congress of Deputies, Eduardo Dato, arguing that La Cierva's accusations put them outside the system and ruling that the episode meant a complete breakdown of relations with the government.[13] The liberal and pro-monarchy newspaper El Imparcial published an editorial titled "Can the Liberals be monarchists?", in which it denounced the parliamentary episode the previous day as "a very serious situation" and defended the fundamental role of the Liberal Party in maintaining the Restoration regime; it also demanded clear evidence "that proves that the Monarchy has not dispensed with the Liberal Party".[14][15]
On 21 October, Maura, having been informed of the Liberal position to sever all relations with his government, went to the Royal Palace and raised a matter of confidence to King Alfonso XIII by submitting his resignation and that of his cabinet.[16] A round of consultations ensued the same day,[17][18][19] with Maura allegedly expecting the King to reject his resignation and ask him to form a new cabinet.[20]
Instead, the outcome of the consultations led Alfonso XIII to entrust the formation of a new government to Moret, who accepted the nomination and formed a cabinet—sworn in that same day—comprising members of the Liberal Party as well as two military officers.[22][23] This episode became the first occasion in the Restoration system that political pressure from the dynastic party in opposition was successful in bringing down the party in power,[24] which would result in Maura declaring the liquidation of the Pact of El Pardo and "implacable hostility" to the Liberals in power.[25][26][27]
↑ Ferrera Cuesta, Carlos (2022). "Personajes: Segismundo Moret y Prendergast". Historia Hispánica (in Spanish). Royal Academy of History. Retrieved 18 August 2025.: "...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. [Spanish: ...según la práctica política de la Restauración, dado que los votantes no determinaban las mayorías a causa de la manipulación electoral, el requisito exigido a cualquier líder para conservar el poder pasaba por garantizar la unidad del Partido.]"
↑ Seco Serrano, Carlos (2022). "Personajes: Eduardo Dato Iradier". Historia Hispánica (in Spanish). Royal Academy of History. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
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