Kurt Von Schleicher - Presidential Government

Presidential Government

In late 1926-early 1927, Schleicher told Hindenburg that if it was impossible to form a government headed by the German National People’s Party alone, then Hindenburg should "appoint a government in which he had confidence, without consulting the parties or paying attention to their wishes" and with "the order for dissolution ready to hand, give the government every constitutional opportunity to a majority in Parliament". This was the origin of the "presidential governments". Together with Major Oskar von Hindenburg, Otto Meißner, and General Wilhelm Groener, Schleicher was a leading member of the Kamarilla that surrounded President von Hindenburg. It was Schleicher who came up with the idea of a presidential government based on the so-called "25/48/53 formula". Under a presidential government, the head of government (in this case, the chancellor), is responsible to the head of state (president), and not to a legislative body. The "25/48/53 formula" referred to the three articles of the Constitution that could make a presidential government possible:

• Article 25 allowed the President to dissolve the Reichstag.
• Article 48 allowed the President to sign into law emergency bills without the consent of the Reichstag. However, the Reichstag could cancel any law passed by Article 48 by a simple majority within 60 days of its passage.
• Article 53 allowed the President to appoint the Chancellor.

Schleicher′s idea was to have Hindenburg use his powers under Article 53 to appoint a man of Schleicher′s choosing as chancellor, who would rule under the provisions of Article 48. Should the Reichstag threaten to annul any laws so passed, Hindenburg could counter with the threat of dissolution. Hindenburg was unenthusiastic about these plans, but was pressured into going along with them by his son along with Meißner, Groener and Schleicher. During the course of the winter of 1929-30, Schleicher, through various intrigues, undermined the "Grand Coalition" government of Hermann Müller with the support of Groener and Hindenburg. In March 1930, Müller′s government fell and the first presidential government headed by Heinrich Brüning came into office.