There had been ugly rumours of military' juntas, and in the
end, General Primo de Rivera committed PalitiCAL hara-kiri by stating his intention of defening to the wishes of the seventeen .highest officera of the ArMy and Navy. This - extraordinary step was taken aPparezitlY without - the' knowledge of • the King, • and when the Dioatoi was charged with subordinating-the chit. life • of the country-tO • military opinion (the Array has • alWays;:of course, had - real power in the wings, masked by -the prOcession of lay-figures on the political stage), he declared with ingenious sophistry that he was taking the sense of the Army Cammitteee only in his personal capacity, not as Prime Minister. This was too subtle a distinction, only possible in the land of Don Quixote, and it was not, of course, appreciated by the Spanish public, which was prepared for the collapse of - the - Government, and was only waiting to see how it would come about.
