Parliamentary Government in Southern Europe? The Model of the Cádiz Cortes and the Ideal of the Moderate Monarchy

Abstract

This chapter argues that the political practice of the Spanish parliament in the ‘liberal Triennium’, 1820–1823, and that of the Two Sicilies, 1820–1821, gave birth to institutions in these countries that usually form integral elements of parliamentary governments. In three steps, it explains how Southern Europeans conceived of the ideal parliament in this period. First, it deals with the relations between the Cadiz Cortes and the Spanish nation. Second, it considers the transnational perception of the Cadiz Cortes by examining how Italians reacted to it. Third, it concentrates on the parliaments in Madrid and Naples by analysing the social background of the deputies, their ideals, the parliamentary culture and the relationship between constitutional theory and parliamentary practice.