Thursday, February 5, 2015

The Olózaga incident





Salustiano de Olózaga was one of the most outstanding members of the Progressive Party during Isabella II's reign. He replaced Joaquín Mª López as prime minister in November 1843, but his government lasted only 10 days. Olózaga had a good relationship with the queen. His children had been Isabella 's playmates when she wasn't still the queen and he had made a passionate defense of her in the Cortes during Espartero's regency. He made a famous speech in which he repeated several times the sentence " God save the Queen!" and he had earned the nickname of the Salve politician (el político de la Salve). 


Salustiano Olózaga

Cartoon representing Olózaga during his time in Paris as ambassador


When Olózaga became prime minister, the Cortes had a majority of moderate deputies. Olózaga asked the Queen the decree of dissolution of the Cortes to call new elections and she signed it without any problem on the 28th November. But the moderates manoeuvered and put pressure on the queen. Narváez scared Isabella II telling her that if the progressives won the elections and armed the National Militia, she would lose the crown as her mother had. Finally, Isabella dismissed Olózaga and sent a note to the Cortes explaining that Olózaga had threatened her to oblige her to sign the decree and, as she had rejected to do it, he had forced her to do it. Olózaga tried to defend himself in the Cortes, but he was harassed by the police and was finally forced to take up exile. He didn't come back until 1847. Slander about Olózaga allowed the moderates' return to power.

During the Democratic Sexenio, Olózaga was the ambassador in Paris. That's why he appeared on this famous cartoon, looking for a monarch for Spain: 



And her you have him, with a lantern like Diogenes, looking for a monarch for Spain: 


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