page_title: Electoral Carlism (Restoration)
section_title: Program and alliances
hierarchical_section_title: Electoral Carlism (Restoration) / Program and alliances
caption_attribution_description: Català: Cartell dels Senadors de la Solidaritat Catalana de 1907.
context_page_description: Electoral Carlism of Restoration was vital to sustain Traditionalism in the period between the Third Carlist War and the Primo de Rivera dictatorship. Carlism, defeated in 1876, during the Restauración period recalibrated its focus from military action to political means and media campaigns. Accommodating themselves to political framework of the Alfonsine monarchy, the movement leaders considered elections, and especially elections to Congreso de los Diputados, primary vehicle of political mobilization. Though Carlist minority in the Cortes remained marginal and its impact on national politics was negligible, electoral campaigns were key to sustain the party until it regained momentum during the Second Spanish Republic.
context_section_description: Initially the Carlists preferred not to compete on an ideology-driven program and limited themselves to arguing that only Traditionalism would be a genuine representative of local interests in Madrid. Actually, it was the “Fueros” part of their ideario which was put on the forefront, materialized as support for the Fueristas in the 1880s, local regional alliances of the 1890s, Solidaritat Catalana of 1907 or Alianza Foral of the 1920s. However, support for traditional local establishments has never amounted to clear endorsement of autonomous designs for Vascongadas, Catalonia or any other region, which kept undermining the Carlists-Nationalist relations. Another typical feature of Traditionalist propaganda was defense of rights enjoyed by the Roman Catholic Church and constant references to Christian values. Carlists tried to obtain an exclusive “Catholic” license from the hierarchy and criticized alleged abuse and inflation of the term, granted by the bishops even to Liberal candidates. Dynastical claims were usually veiled and the party avoided open challenge of the Alfonsist rule.
  As the turnista system degenerated, in the 20th century the Carlist propaganda focused increasingly on political corruption, presented as inevitable consequence of liberalism. Campaigns of Carlist candidates, always ultra-conservative and anti-democratic, at the turn of the centuries became even more reactionary and included increasingly frequent calls to defend traditional values against “red revolution”. In the late 1910s and early 1920s, with the Carlist policy of tactical alliances in full swing, they sidelined ideological threads again and shifted attention to practical issues. On the contrary, it was the Integrists who excelled in lambasting the Jaimistas for allying with the arch-enemies Liberals. Finally, the last years of Restauración were marked by outward rejection of the political system and “farsa parlamentaria”.
  There was no clear Carlist system of alliances applicable through all of the Restauración period. Initially, when refraining from fielding own candidates themselves, the followers of Carlos VII sympathized mostly with right wing factions of the Conservatives, local groupings centred on defence of regional identities or with the independent Catholic candidates. The Liberals, victorious at battlefields, remained their arch-enemy.
  The alliance pattern changed following the 1888 split; both groups considered each other primary enemy and contended with venomous hostility, occasionally supporting even the Liberals. Enmity turned into rapprochement in early 1899, first locally in Guipuzcoa, and later nationally. In early 20th century two factions allied again against the Liberals, particularly against Ley de Jurisdicciones. Opposition to liberal governments made Carlists swallow their enmity for Republicans and backtrack on their caution towards Catalanism; access to Solidaritat Catalana produced the largest Carlist parliamentary contingent in 1907, though the grouping fell apart few years later and its emulations elsewhere, like in Galicia or Asturias, were only moderately successful. Provincial alliances under a broad monarchist-Catholic-regional umbrella continued until around 1915, concluded mostly with Integristas, Mauristas and independent candidates, though there were skirmishes also among petty local Traditionalist factions.  The last years of Restauración are marked by mainstream Carlism entering into pivotal tactical alliances, including those with the Liberals and Nationalists, concluded at the expense of the enraged Integristas. Finally, the Mellista secession divided Carlism further on.
caption: senators at Solidaritat Catalana postcard
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