Chapter 258 Late-night talks and revision of resolutions
For the cabinet ministers, their positions were confirmed, from cabinet ministers to cabinet ministers, and the title became more like a monarchy.
But the bad news is that if this resolution is implemented, the Prime Minister will have the power to appoint deputy ministers to intervene in the affairs of various departments in their hands.
After this resolution came to the cabinet government for discussion, the cabinet's attitude was very ambiguous and it was basically divided into two factions.
Led by Prime Minister Walter, Foreign Minister Andrew, Industry Minister Pierre, and Education Minister Richard did not express any opinions on this resolution. On the surface, they seemed to be in acquiescence.
Needless to say, Prime Minister Walter naturally does not have too much authority. It would be good news if he could appoint a deputy minister.
Several other ministers are also candidates for the next prime minister. Although their ministerial powers will be weakened in the short term, what if they ascend to the position of prime minister?
The other group, which has some different opinions, is led by Minister of People's Livelihood Henris and the two new Ministers of Agriculture and Transport.
They believe that while it is a good thing for the prime minister to appoint deputy ministers, it will also increase the possibility of internal disputes between departments.
This is not a good thing for the development of the government. The administrative efficiency of a government department that is busy with internal fighting will also be greatly reduced.
Different opinions emerged in the cabinet government, and in the end only Arthur could decide.
On the evening of May 31, before the end of the election month, several cabinet ministers jointly asked Arthur to state the unreasonable aspects of the cabinet reform and asked Arthur to make certain modifications to the unreasonable aspects.
Although Prime Minister Walter is happy to see his power increase, he cannot openly stand up to support the previous resolution.
Doesn't this mean that he is a man who strives for power? If he does this, he may lose Arthur's trust and goodwill in him.
This is also where Prime Minister Walter is smart. Although he tends to support the previous resolution, he understands that only Arthur can ultimately decide on this matter, and he only has the right to wait quietly for the result.
Arthur also took this incident very seriously. In the final analysis, it was his negligence that led to this incident.
On this night near the beginning of June, Arthur held an impromptu cabinet meeting and discussed the cabinet reorganization all night long.
Although no one knows exactly what was discussed at the meeting that night, Arthur's changes can be seen from the revised resolution issued by the Royal Parliament the next day.
According to the resolution issued by the Royal Parliament on June 1, the reorganization of the cabinet and the increase in seats remain unchanged, but the authority of the prime minister to appoint deputy ministers is cancelled, so that the powers of various departments can be unified, increase the administrative efficiency of the government, and reduce the cost of government departments The possibility of infighting.
At the same time, for the two extremely important departments of finance and defense, the ministerial candidates are not directly appointed by Arthur. Instead, Arthur proposes three to five candidates, who are elected by the House of Representatives to determine the final minister of defense and finance.
For Arthur and the House of Representatives, this can be regarded as a step back and a result that is satisfactory to both parties.
After all, the candidates proposed by Arthur must be loyal to him, which also means that the final minister of defense and finance will be loyal to Arthur, even if they are elected by the House of Representatives.
In addition, several new cabinet seats have also undergone certain changes.
The Minister of Royal Affairs is personally appointed by Arthur, and his general duties are responsible for handling affairs between the government and the royal family. After all, for a monarchy, the most important thing is the unity of behavior between the government and the monarch.
The justices and ministers of state (deputy prime ministers) are elected in the same way as the ministers of finance and defense. Arthur nominates three to five candidates. After the final election by the House of Representatives, the final justices and ministers of state are born.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives is elected by the House of Representatives. This is a relatively special position. The Speaker of the House of Representatives only serves for two years. This also means that the Speaker of the House of Representatives is the position with the fastest rotation in the cabinet government.
Next came the Archbishop of Australasia, a position appointed by Arthur himself.
The Archbishop of Australasia is responsible for the overall management of the Australasian Protestant Association and also serves as the Archbishop of the Australasian Protestant Church.
Arthur also planned to establish the Australasian Christian Association to ensure that the rights of other Christians were protected and to prevent non-Protestant European immigrants from losing interest in Australasia.
The Archbishop controls the religion of Australasia, and because of his special status, it also means that this will be a lifelong position.
Therefore, the choice of archbishop must be in the hands of the royal family. This is also the only position in the cabinet department, other than the minister of royal affairs, that is appointed by Arthur himself and does not require any election.
If the old proposals made the House of Representatives a little scared, then the new proposals are sunny for members of the House of Representatives. The new proposal would leave 10 of the 16 cabinet seats to be elected by the House of Representatives, and four positions including finance, defence, state affairs and justice would also have the right to vote after Arthur's nomination.
The only positions that Arthur can personally appoint are the Minister of Royal Affairs and the Archbishop. Although there is basically no limit on the tenure of these two positions, even as long as Arthur does not remove them from their positions, these two positions can basically be said to be lifelong. system.
But after all, these are only two, which is only a small fraction compared to the remaining more than ten seats.
Both members of the House of Representatives and the cabinet government welcome the new proposals after the changes.
Even after this election of the House of Representatives, the Speaker of the House of Representatives will be elected, which makes this election more seriously taken by other political parties.
After all, the Speaker of the House of Representatives is also a position that directly enters the cabinet. Although the term of office is only two years, this is the cabinet!
At the same time, several important positions after this cabinet reorganization have also been coveted and expected by many officials.
After all, the new cabinet positions added this time are all of high authority. Needless to say, the justice will control the judicial system of Australasia and compete with the chambers of the House of Representatives.
There is no need to think about the archbishop. This is a clerical position. I believe that the British Protestant Church also has certain ideas about this position.
The position of Minister of State, which is similar to that of Deputy Prime Minister, even makes some cabinet ministers excited about it.
You know, some experienced cabinet ministers have served three terms. They must make changes in the next term, otherwise they will have to bid farewell to their cabinet seats.
But what’s beyond cabinet ministers? Previously there was only one position of Prime Minister, but now there are the Lord Chancellor, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of State for the Crown and the President of the House of Representatives.
These positions are different from cabinet ministers, and are the only way they can stay in the cabinet government in the next term besides the prime minister.
Since all these positions require Arthur's nomination, it is conceivable that Arthur's Sydney Palace will not be too clean in the near future.
Through this cabinet reorganization, Arthur also clarified through legal means the way in which governors of various states, territories, and colonial governors serve.
The governors of each state are elected by the state House of Representatives. After the House of Representatives approves the election, they begin to serve for a period of four years.
The governors of each colony and the governor of the capital territory were elected by a vote of the Royal Parliament and appointed by Arthur himself.
At the same time, cabinet officials no longer served as members of the Royal Parliament, which consisted of members of the royal family, the Archbishop of Australasia, the Grand Nobles, and members appointed by Arthur himself.
All members of the Royal Assembly have unlimited terms and this will become a new life-long position.
The fully independent cabinet was directly responsible to Arthur and subject to the supervision of the Royal Parliament and the House of Representatives.
Under the various changes in the system, although Arthur's royal power seemed to be weakened on the surface, in fact, for a monarch like Arthur who controlled a huge reputation and army, his power secretly became higher.
However, Australasia has indeed become more democratic on the surface. After all, among the 16 cabinet positions, as many as ten are directly elected by the House of Representatives. The cabinet positions directly controlled by Arthur have been reduced to two, and one is a clergy position.
On June 1, after the Royal Parliament, the House of Representatives voted to agree, and the cabinet seat reorganization resolution unanimously approved by the cabinet was officially implemented. The political arena in Australasia also experienced considerable changes.
Among them, the most delighted ones should be those ministers who have served in three cabinet governments.
The reorganization of the cabinet gave them hope of continuing to stay in the cabinet. Although they needed Arthur's special favor, it was still better than having several people competing for the position of prime minister, wasn't it?
But this also means that they want to get a few more cabinet seats. Expressing absolute loyalty to Arthur and gaining Arthur's trust is the first step.
How to gain Arthur's trust? Several ministers had some difficulties for a while, but some had already set their sights on Grant, or the Unionist Party behind Grant.
Fine Gael is the only openly royalist party in Australasia, and it is also the party closest to Arthur.
If we can establish contact with the United Party, does it mean that our relationship with Arthur has taken a further step?
Although this situation is only a hypothesis, in order to obtain a higher position in the cabinet and continue to stay in the cabinet, perhaps taking a chance is really a last resort.
Arthur was on the sidelines of the changes in the political arena after the resolution was promulgated. After all, no matter how much changes happened, it would not be harmful to the royal family.
This cabinet reorganization is still good for Arthur or future kings of Australasia. After all, the king determines the ownership of several cabinet positions that are different from ministers. Cabinet ministers want to stay in the cabinet or go further. , the attitudes of Arthur and the future king became very important.
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