Chapter 396

"It's finally done!"

"This is only the first step. It still needs to be passed by the state parliament and approved by His Majesty before it can take effect!"

"It's just a revision. What are you afraid of?"

…

That's right. This was the new Holy Roman Empire's Constitutional Committee. Everyone present was a representative of the state governments.

The Constitutional Committee had been established as early as 1854. Due to the huge differences between the parties, it had dragged on until now.

Now, the draft constitution was finally out. Before this, the new Holy Roman Empire still used the unification agreement signed by the states.

The draft constitution soon appeared on Franz's desk.

After reading it from beginning to end, Franz's brows slightly furrowed. This constitution was actually the result of a compromise between the parties. Its biggest advantage was probably that it protected the imperial power.

This was the inevitable result. The members of the Constitutional Committee were all royalists. Except for the free cities, all states had a king.

If the emperor's authority was limited, could the king's authority still be guaranteed?

From the perspective of authority, the kings of the states were Franz's best allies. The imperial power and the royal power were on the same side, and both sides would suffer.

The other provisions were similar to the current situation of the new Holy Roman Empire.

It was almost a copy of the two empires. The state governments had a high degree of autonomy. Apart from prohibiting secession, unifying the currency, and keeping in line with the central government in foreign affairs, there were basically no restrictions.

The command of the army belonged to the emperor and the king. According to the constitution, Franz and the king had the right to command the state army, but the central government did not have this right.

The army was divided into two types: the central army and the state army. The central army was directly under the emperor, and the state governments shared the military expenses. The state army was directly under the king, and the state governments bore the military expenses themselves.

In theory, as long as the state government had the money, it was legal even if it had a million troops. The central government had no right to interfere, but the emperor had the right to command.

The new constitution directly separated the army from the government. The national army became the private army of the emperor and the king.

The same was true for taxes. The people paid taxes to the king and the emperor, while the central government and the state governments only managed it on their behalf.

In this respect, they are a little like the British, except that the Emperor has more power.

The senior officials of the central government were appointed by the emperor. All senior officials must have local or ministry experience and have achieved certain political achievements.

This directly cut off the possibility of ascending to the top in one step. In other words, the prime minister must rise from the state.

It was worth mentioning that the election of members of parliament was open, but it was a standard version.

Franz estimated that no more than one percent of the people would be eligible to vote according to this standard, and even fewer people would be eligible to run.

Following the example of the British, the parliament was divided into the upper and lower house. The upper house was composed of nobles, and the lower house was elected by the people.

To be eligible to vote, one must meet the following conditions: Possess the citizenship of the new Holy Roman Empire, reside in the empire's mainland or a colony for a long period of time, be at least 30 years of age, have a secondary school education or above, have more than 10 years of social work experience, have some achievements in the industry, have no criminal records, and are politically correct …

The qualifications for the candidates were even stricter. After meeting the above qualifications, there was also a social contribution assessment, a personal comprehensive ability assessment, and a political and ideological and moral assessment …

There was no doubt that the new Holy Empire would be very harmonious in the future if they followed this standard.

Those who could fight their way out of the encirclement were basically all old men. Whether it was scolding or fighting, they were powerless.

There is no doubt that this electoral pattern is a heavy blow to the political parties. The voters had a certain level of knowledge and were elites in the industry. They had long passed the second stage. These people didn't have much desire to change the status quo of society. It was not easy to fool them.

The voters all had a certain level of knowledge, and they were the elites of their respective industries. They had long passed the middle school stage, and these people didn't have much desire to change the current state of society, so tricking them wasn't easy.

To become a prime minister, you still had to climb up from the bottom. Elections were not a shortcut. These restrictions were not set by Franz. He only hinted at it. The rest were made by the Constitutional Committee.

These restrictions were not set by Franz. At most, he only hinted at it. The rest were all done by the Constitutional Committee.

Don't think that the bureaucrats who were born as commoners would have the right to vote.

Don't think that the bureaucrats who were born as commoners would have the right to vote. The end result was often the opposite. These people were the most opposed to the expansion of the right to vote.

The human heart was complicated. Before gaining the privilege, they were against it. After gaining the privilege, they had to protect the privilege.

As the elites of society, they naturally didn't want more people to come in and share the power. In the end, it became a meritocracy.

Whether meritocracy was good or not, Franz couldn't answer this question. But as the Emperor, this was in line with his interests.

A group of rational and conservative elites entering the circle of power was more beneficial to the development of the country than a group of arrogant people.

After seeing the political contributions, Franz didn't hesitate to cross it. He also added a note: Any political contributions are considered bribery and will be investigated according to the relevant regulations.

After thinking for a while, he added: Media, companies, and individuals are prohibited from doing any political propaganda. Violators will be punished for manipulating the political election.

As for the question of how the voters should vote or not, it was none of Franz's business. Anyway, everyone was the same. It was fair and just. No one would gain an advantage.

It was better than letting the power of capital intervene. The Parliament would become a slave to the capitalists' money.

Since it was a constitution, there were naturally provisions to limit the Emperor's power.

For example, the constitution had to be followed. The proportion of the royal pension was clearly defined. For example, they had to abide by the constitution, which clearly stipulated the withdrawal ratio of the royal family's annuity, and so on.

That was about it. Don't expect a constitutional committee appointed by the Emperor or the King to really write a constitution to limit the Emperor's power.

These provisions were tacitly approved by Franz. At most, the power of the cabinet was strengthened. However, the power of the cabinet came from the Emperor, so it was nothing more than a scapegoat.

It was worth mentioning that Franz made changes to the law of succession. If the first heir was unable to bear the responsibility of the Emperor due to physical or mental reasons, the throne would be directly inherited by the second in line.

It couldn't be helped. After experiencing Ferdinand I's rule, the Habsburg Royal Family was scared and was afraid that it would happen again. After all, he wouldn't be so lucky every time and be able to avert danger.

If it weren't for the many loyal ministers in the House of Habsburg, Austria would have become a constitutional monarchy during Ferdinand's era. Franz wouldn't have had the chance to write his own constitution.

After checking it a few times and finding no problems, Franz passed on his opinion. When the time came, someone would naturally find a reason to carry out his will.

This was only the draft. There was still a long time to wrangle. The central government and state governments still had to play political games to fight for their respective rights.

The constitution, to put it bluntly, was just a big framework. The specific provisions still depended on the results of the political games between the parties.