Pair push

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A pair push was an instrument in constitutional monarchies to influence the majority in parliament in favor of the government by appointing a larger number of new members of the first chamber (pairs) by the monarch.

background

In the 19th century, parliaments with two chambers were established in a large number of countries . While the second chamber served to represent the population, the first chamber (e.g. the Prussian mansion or the House of Lords ) typically had the seat of representatives of the nobility. On the one hand, these were those nobles who inherited their mandate due to their Ranges received. In Germany these were often the rulers , the heads of the mediatized , formerly imperial families. These had lost their sovereignty in the context of the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss and were supposed to be compensated politically. In addition, the monarchs reserved the right to appoint additional members of the first chamber.

This gave the monarch the opportunity to change (or threaten to) the majority in parliament by appointing new pairs.

Monarchies in the German Confederation

As a result of the French July Revolution , in particular , several German monarchs resorted to the pair push instrument to ensure majorities. In the Duchy of Nassau, for example, an edict of October 29, 1831 ordered the appointment of further members of the Herrenbank. So the duke achieved a majority in the estates.

A well-known example of a pair push was the conflict over the new Prussian district order in 1872. In order to secure a majority for this law, the Prussian King Wilhelm appointed a number of new pairs. In the Prussian manor house , the proportion of appointed members, which was only 11% before the first Prussian Pairs push in September 1860, rose to almost 30% by 1914.

France

On March 9, 1819, King Louis XVIII appointed Sixty new pairs in a pair push to secure a majority in the Chambre des Pairs for the reforms of Duke Élies .

United Kingdom and Canada

A peer push is a term from Canadian and British parliamentarism and describes an institutional mechanism there. A strong Prime Minister who is in disagreement with an opposition majority in the Senate or House of Lords can exceptionally apply to the British Crown to increase the Senate, for example in Canada by up to eight members. Political majorities can be achieved through a peer boost, for example to break opposition blockades.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Nassau parliamentarians. Part 1: Cornelia Rösner: The Landtag of the Duchy of Nassau 1818–1866 (= publications of the Historical Commission for Nassau. 59 = Prehistory and history of parliamentarism in Hesse. 16). Historical Commission for Nassau, Wiesbaden 1997, ISBN 3-930221-00-4 , p. XIIX.
  2. ↑ cf. Minutes of the meeting of the Privy Council of November 8, 1872 in: Acta Borussica . Row 1: The Protocols of the Prussian State Ministry 1817–1934 / 38. Volume 6: Rainer Paetau: January 3, 1867 to December 20, 1878. Olms-Weidmann, Hildesheim et al. 2004, ISBN 3-487-11003-2 , p. 288 .
  3. ↑ Guillaume de Bertier de Sauvigny: Metternich. Statesman and diplomat in the age of restoration. Unabridged license edition. Diederichs, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-424-01341-2 , p. 346, for the names and biographies of the new pairs see also: Tablettes biographiques de la Chambre des pairs, pour servir d'explication a tous les tableaux statistiques de cette chamber . Martinet et al., Paris 1821, ( digitized version ).
  4. ^ Werner J. Patzelt : Parliaments and their functions. Institutional Mechanisms and Institutional Learning in Comparison. Westdeutscher Verlag, Wiesbaden 2003, ISBN 3-531-13837-5 , p. 320.

literature