(no subject)
In the Bundesrat Prussia held 17 places out of a total of 58. For a law to be put forward there must be less than 14 votes against it otherwise it would be vetoed. Since Prussia supported Bismarck this meant that if he was against a law he could nearly always count on the Prussian majority to veto it. One source described this constituency as “An autocratic, semi-absolutist sham… because the real power relationships had not undergone any decisive alteration”.
At that period of time there were several different parties within the Reichstag, these were:
+ The German Conservative Party
+ Free Conservatives
+ The Centre Party
+ National Liberal Party
+ The Progressive Party
+ Social Democratic Party
Up until 1878 Bismarck could always rely on the support of the National Liberals. In the 1874 general election the National Liberals managed to win 155 seats out of a total of 399 in the Reichstag; and with the Progressive Liberals and Free Conservatives seats, which were won, Bismarck had a comfortable majority of control and influence over the Reichstag.
Bismarck could rely on National Liberal support because they were ‘for’ unification and backed many of his policies such as the ‘kulterkampf’. The kulterkampf, which means ‘a struggle for culture’, was aimed as an attack on Catholics as Bismarck felt they threatened the unification of Germany. He aimed to reduce its financial independence and role in education. The Liberals did not like the Catholics or the Centre Party; formed in 1870; because of their lack of enthusiasm towards unification. But, in the 1871 election The Centre Party were the second largest party as they won 63 seats. So here, Bismarck is effectively controlling The National Liberals to his advantage but not the Centre Party. Bismarck’s attempts at reducing Catholicism only made Catholics more determined this is proved because church attendance almost double. Not only that but the Centre Party won more seats each year in the Reichstag:
Year Number Of Centre Party Deputies in the Reichstag from 1871 - 1890
1871 63
1874 91
1877 93
1878 94
1881 100
1884 99
1887 98
1890 106
Rather than the kulterkampf controlling the growth of the Centre Party it only made them stronger so Bismarck failed to control them.
But in 1878 Bismarck changed this. He wanted to introduce tariffs and despite the National Liberals normally giving in to Bismarck and letting him have his way they strongly supported Free Trade. Bismarck found a way to effectively control this problem. When Pope Pius IX died Bismarck took this opportunity to drop the kulterkampf [or the majority of May Laws formed by Falks] and also say that the National Liberals along with the Papal Bull produced by Pope Pius IX were responsible for the formation of the kulterkampf… this not only decreased the National Liberals popularity but also let him break free from the kulterkampf and still maintain his reputation. As he was not tied to the National Liberals any more Bismarck was then able to introduce tariffs on foreign imported goods to maintain German’s industry in 1879. Bismarck then began to move closer to the Centre Party as they would support him in his new economic policy.
Bismarck effectively controlled the two party’s; this can be seen by the election results 1871 to 1890:
Party Year No. of Seats Won In Reichstag
At that period of time there were several different parties within the Reichstag, these were:
+ The German Conservative Party
+ Free Conservatives
+ The Centre Party
+ National Liberal Party
+ The Progressive Party
+ Social Democratic Party
Up until 1878 Bismarck could always rely on the support of the National Liberals. In the 1874 general election the National Liberals managed to win 155 seats out of a total of 399 in the Reichstag; and with the Progressive Liberals and Free Conservatives seats, which were won, Bismarck had a comfortable majority of control and influence over the Reichstag.
Bismarck could rely on National Liberal support because they were ‘for’ unification and backed many of his policies such as the ‘kulterkampf’. The kulterkampf, which means ‘a struggle for culture’, was aimed as an attack on Catholics as Bismarck felt they threatened the unification of Germany. He aimed to reduce its financial independence and role in education. The Liberals did not like the Catholics or the Centre Party; formed in 1870; because of their lack of enthusiasm towards unification. But, in the 1871 election The Centre Party were the second largest party as they won 63 seats. So here, Bismarck is effectively controlling The National Liberals to his advantage but not the Centre Party. Bismarck’s attempts at reducing Catholicism only made Catholics more determined this is proved because church attendance almost double. Not only that but the Centre Party won more seats each year in the Reichstag:
Year Number Of Centre Party Deputies in the Reichstag from 1871 - 1890
1871 63
1874 91
1877 93
1878 94
1881 100
1884 99
1887 98
1890 106
Rather than the kulterkampf controlling the growth of the Centre Party it only made them stronger so Bismarck failed to control them.
But in 1878 Bismarck changed this. He wanted to introduce tariffs and despite the National Liberals normally giving in to Bismarck and letting him have his way they strongly supported Free Trade. Bismarck found a way to effectively control this problem. When Pope Pius IX died Bismarck took this opportunity to drop the kulterkampf [or the majority of May Laws formed by Falks] and also say that the National Liberals along with the Papal Bull produced by Pope Pius IX were responsible for the formation of the kulterkampf… this not only decreased the National Liberals popularity but also let him break free from the kulterkampf and still maintain his reputation. As he was not tied to the National Liberals any more Bismarck was then able to introduce tariffs on foreign imported goods to maintain German’s industry in 1879. Bismarck then began to move closer to the Centre Party as they would support him in his new economic policy.
Bismarck effectively controlled the two party’s; this can be seen by the election results 1871 to 1890:
Party Year No. of Seats Won In Reichstag