3.1.3 Managing Nationalist Rivalries

• Despite growing Nationalist rivalries, Franco was determined to retain personal control of the regime and focused on attaining popular support so that he wouldn't have to rely on the support of one group
• Problems With Restoring the Monarchy:

  1. Would undermine Franco's position as the head of the government
  2. Different groups wanted different people to be the king
  3. The Falange opposed it
• To appease the monarchists, Franco agreed that the new state would eventually restore the monarchy but argued that the period immediately after the civil war would be inappropriate. In 1947, Franco supported the Law of Leadership Succession which formally established Spain as a monarchy
• The Falange supported Franco because they thought he would establish a fascist state. Franco made the Falange the only legal party and granted many of its members leading roles in the government
• Reasons For the Decline of the Falange:

  1. They had been merged with the Carlists during the war
  2. They became increasingly dependent on Franco after the death of Primo de Rivera
  3. They did not have widespread support in Spain