State Constitutional Association

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Ludwig Windthorst from the former Kingdom of Hanover was one of the most famous leaders of the federal constitutional and later the Center Party .

The federal constitutional association was a parliamentary group in the constituent Reichstag and in the ordinary Reichstag of the North German Confederation . It brought together eighteen politically differently oriented MPs, mainly from those Prussian provinces that had only been annexed by Prussia in 1866 .

The group called itself "federal" because it called for strong federalism in the sense of strong individual states, and " constitutional " because it advocated institutionally sound constitutional principles. Overall, it remained small and of little importance.

elections

In the elections for the constituent Reichstag in February 1867, the North German particularists performed unexpectedly poorly. In the election for the first ordinary Reichstag in August of the same year, the federal constitutional electoral association suffered only a few losses, despite a poorly committed election campaign. The candidates were hampered by a lack of homogeneity in the parliamentary group and a vague idea of ​​their goals.

MPs and parliamentary group

The association was supported by representatives from the Prussian provinces of Hanover and Schleswig-Holstein . It is true that they were united by the rejection of Prussia's hegemonic position. But it was difficult to find a programmatic basis beyond general liberties and constitutionalism. The Schleswig-Holstein Augustenburger were liberal, the Hanoverians " Welfen" were conservative. The latter deviated from their old stance on the Hanover constitutional question, because they needed a liberal-constitutional basis for their criticism of Bismarck's draft federal constitution. The Saxon group, which insisted on the independence of the kingdom within the state, did not join the association because of the endangered situation of Saxony .

Officially there was no protest against the Prussian annexations. Nevertheless, one always pointed out the incorporation, which was perceived as wrong. The joint program advocated freedom of the press , assembly and association as well as a federal constitution, a federal court of justice and parliamentary control over the budget. When building the state, they demanded great autonomy for the individual states.

fraction

As with the Free Association , factional discipline was weak; the group had decided against making majority decisions binding for the members. Accordingly, the number of dissenters in votes was high, only exceeded by the Free Association. In addition, the state constitutional association did not trust the system of parliamentary delegates negotiating individual issues with one another. She was excluded from the “institutional contacts” in the constituent Reichstag, which were all the more important because this constitutional body did not have any committees. Although the association submitted many applications, it needed a certain amount of time to start up: the rules of procedure of the Reichstag were adopted by the Prussian House of Representatives and the former non-Prussians were unfamiliar with them.

The association, like the Left and the Free Association, was seen as an opposition to Bismarck . Like the left, it wanted a centralized power that was clearly institutionalized but limited in its power. The unclear state of affairs that Bismarck's original draft constitution would have prepared without a responsible minister would have opened all the gates to centralism, they feared. In addition, a large part of the MPs campaigned for the introduction of diets and some for legal ministerial responsibility . In the final vote on the North German Federal Constitution , the leaders of the federal constitutionals voted no.

Even if Klaus Erich Pollmann conceded to the federal constitutionalists that after liberals and conservatives they rose to become the third force with “increasing weight”: Overall, the group remained “ineffective”. It suffered from the different or unclear goals of its members. Your relationship with the federal constitution was strained. Although they had been formally recognized after they came into force, internal approval was often not given. The liberal Augustenburgers in particular would only have been able to adopt a positive attitude towards the Federal Constitution if they had seen prospects for a greater German-free development.

Development after 1870

The Catholic leaders in the constituent Reichstag had voted for the federal constitution and also in 1870 for the new constitution , with the exception of Hermann von Mallinckrodt and Ludwig Windthorst . While the federal constitutional association was still non-denominational, in December 1870 a new parliamentary group was formed in Prussia and in the Reichstag: the center . In times when Catholicism was increasingly confronted with Protestantism and liberalism, and when Catholic Austria was finally ousted from Germany, they preferred such a denominational basis.

While the Schleswig-Holstein constituencies were soon represented by the other parties, some Protestant Guelphs stayed with the center faction until 1912. Then they joined the German-Hanoverian Party , which had been founded in 1869.

See also

literature

  • Klaus Erich Pollmann: Parliamentarism in the North German Confederation 1867-1870. Droste Verlag, Düsseldorf 1985.

supporting documents

  1. ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber: German constitutional history since 1789. Volume III: Bismarck and the realm. 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart a. a. 1988, p. 649.
  2. ↑ Klaus Erich Pollmann: Parliamentarism in the North German Confederation 1867-1870 , Droste Verlag, Düsseldorf 1985, p. 269, 273.
  3. ↑ Klaus Erich Pollmann: Parliamentarism in the North German Confederation 1867-1870 , Droste Verlag, Düsseldorf 1985, p. 170.
  4. ^ Klaus Erich Pollmann: Parliamentarism in the North German Confederation 1867–1870 , Droste Verlag, Düsseldorf 1985, p. 162.
  5. ↑ Klaus Erich Pollmann: Parliamentarism in the North German Confederation 1867–1870 , Droste Verlag, Düsseldorf 1985, pp. 170–172, 181.
  6. ↑ Klaus Erich Pollmann: Parliamentarism in the North German Confederation 1867-1870 , Droste Verlag, Düsseldorf 1985, pp. 200, 230, 233.
  7. ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber: German constitutional history since 1789. Volume III: Bismarck and the realm. 3rd edition, W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart a. a. 1988, p. 666.
  8. ↑ Klaus Erich Pollmann: Parliamentarism in the North German Confederation 1867-1870 , Droste Verlag, Düsseldorf 1985, p. 156, 289, 516.
  9. ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber: German constitutional history since 1789. Volume IV: Structure and crises of the empire . Verlag W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart u. a. 1969, pp. 50/51, 654.
  10. ^ Ernst Rudolf Huber: German constitutional history since 1789. Volume IV: Structure and crises of the empire . Verlag W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart u. a. 1969, p. 60 f.