Progressive Party (Portugal)
The Progressive Party ( Partido Progress in Portuguese Paulista ) was one of the two major political parties during the constitutional phase of the Portuguese monarchy. It was founded in 1876 as the Association of Historical party with the Reformist party, and stood in the tradition of liberal Setembristen. So the party united all liberal forces who do not regard themselves as conservative.
By today's standards they could be left as a liberal- progressive call. The progressives called for, inter alia, constitutional reform, the extension of voting rights to more voters, decentralization in administration and a reorganization of tax administration and the judiciary. Its most important opponent was the regeneration party.
The Progressive Party presented 1879-1881, 1886-1890, 1897-1900 and 1904-1906 four times the Portuguese government. The main leaders of the party were Anselmo José and José Luciano de Castro Braamcamp. 1909, already in the final stages of the Portuguese monarchy, the party presented four ministers. After the fall of the monarchy in 1910, the party did not matter in the first Portuguese Republic.
Prehistory
After their victory over the supporters of absolute monarchy ( absolutism ) in the so-called Miguelistenkrieg, the proponents of a constitutional monarchy divided ( in Portugal "liberals" called ) quickly in a konserverativen ( Cartisten ) and a left-liberal ( Setembristen ) wing. For these movements, the two major parties that would characterize the Portuguese internal politics in the time of constitutionalism, the regeneration party on the conservative party and the Historical developed on the left-liberal side of the political spectrum. Since the government takeover Peter V. 1855, the system of the so-called " Rotativismus " developed in Portugal. Here, representatives of the two major parties were alternately to the Government, taking care to both parties ruled about the same time. Once a party it was no longer able to exercise the government, she returned to her mandate to the monarch, this then appointed a prime minister from the opposition. Only after the monarch dissolved Parliament, was so sure that that the straight Come to government responsibility party also got a parliamentary majority, which is necessary ensured by manipulating the elections ( which was not difficult, given the fact that anyway, only one percent of the population was eligible to vote ).
From 1865 to 1868 this system was for the first time by a coalition of the two major parties interrupted under the leadership of regeneration Party ( so-called " Governo da Fusão "). Within the historical party, there was some resistance to the grand coalition, which eventually led to the Margrave of Sá da Bandeira and his followers left the party to form their own party, the Reformist Party. The reformists were but on the whole, only a support club for Sá da Bandeira, so after his death in 1876 they were reunited with the historical party. From this union, the Progressive Party was born.
From the party's founding until death Braamcamps
The Progressive Party took over from their predecessors, the historical and the Reformist party, whose place in the system of " Rotativismus ", so changed with the regeneration Party from the government.
Regeneration party was completely under the influence of the conservative politician António Maria de Fontes Pereira de Melo, who was to characterize the Portuguese policy during his first term from 1871 to 1878 since 1861. The Historical Party, under its leader Braamcamp, and from 1876, the Progressive Party, which was also directed by Braamcamp, became a collective movement of the opponents of Fonte de Melo. Even some supporters of republican ideas took place in the party. 1879 Fontes de Melo was appointed by King Ludwig I again head of the government, which caused angry protests of the Progressive. In the same year the second government Fontes slumped over a scandal and the progressives came with Braamcamp as Prime Minister for the first time to the government. They promise a government of " freedom and morality " ( moraldade e liberdade ). The elections of 1879 the party can win.
Fontes de Melo, the opposition leader and president of the Upper House, is available in uncompromising opposition to the progressive government. He succeeds in 1881 to overthrow the government and Braamcamp to take over the government itself again. Braamcamp is leader of the opposition, but died in 1885 before he was able to recapture the government.
After the death Braamcamps
After the death Braamcamps José Luciano de Castro took over the post of chairman of the Progressive Party and opposition leader. As Fontes de Melo had to resign in 1886 because of a tax dispute was Luciano de Castro for the first time Prime Minister. About the so-called colonial crisis, when it came to a dispute between the United Kingdom and Portugal to competing claims in southern Africa, de Castro loses 1890 his office to António de Serpa Pimentel, who had taken over the leadership of the regeneration Party of the meanwhile deceased Fontes de Melo.
In the following years, the political situation in the country deteriorated progressively. Big economic problems lead to national bankruptcy (1891 ), the domestic political situation is characterized by a strong increase of the Republican forces. The king tried in the period 1890-1893 with non-party governments, but returns in 1893 back to the traditional system and appoint again a politician regeneration party, Ernesto Rodolfo Hintze Ribeiro, as prime minister. During this time, the Progressive Party is losing a number of elections, their parliamentary representation decreases in the elections of 1894 only 11 MPs.
This will change as 1897 Luciano de Castro for the second time Prime Minister is. The progressives win the elections of 1897 and 1899. 1901 there is a split within the party regeneration, João Franco leaves with his followers, the party to the Liberal party to establish regeneration. 1906, the progressives are in the opposition, it ruled again Hintze Ribeiro of the regeneration party, the Progressive Party formed an alliance with the Liberal Party in regeneration of the Liberal concentration ( concentração liberal ). The progressives support initially João Franco, who came to power in 1906, as this but increasingly turning away from its initially liberal policy towards the Republicans and pursued an increasingly authoritarian policy colored, they deprive him of their support in 1907. In the elections of April 1908, shortly after the murder of King Charles I, they can once again scored a great success and win 59 of 157 seats in parliament. The new king, Manuel II appointed 1908-1910 nonpartisan governments, in which the Progressive Party always represents several ministers. Especially Luciano de Castro has in the final stages of the monarchy over a big impact and is the substantially the appointment of governments Ferreira do Amaral, Campos Henriques and Teles de Sousa is due to a kind of " kingmaker ".
After the end of the monarchy in 1910, the party exerts no influence in the Portuguese domestic policy. A number of its members join the Republican Party (PRP ) on.