political situation", thought to be hints about the need to seek rapprochement with the regime. Together with Jose Maria Arauz de Robles and Jose Luis Zamanillo, within Carlism he was soon getting perceived as an advocate of "tendencia colaboracionista". Leader: ascent (1955-1963) Around the mid-1950s, the growing feeling among the javieristas was that the intransigent opposition, pursued by Manuel Fal Conde, produced few if any results. Don Javier seemed to agree. Following the resignation of Fal Conde, in 1955 he created Secretariado General, a new collegial governing body of the movement, naming Valiente its provisional president. Consistently opposing the plans of monarchical union, pursued by José María Arauz de Robles, Valiente engineered a more collaborative approach towards Francoism. The time seemed particularly opportune in 1957, when totalitarian plans of the Falangist leader José Arrese were rejected by Franco; the dictator started to make references to Traditionalism and to movimiento-comunión. The law on Principios Fundamentales del Movimiento, adopted in 1958, declared Spain to be a Monarquía Tradicional. The new strategy of posibilismo was welcomed with mixed feelings among the Carlists; older regional junteros grumbled and a young Navarrese, disguised as a priest, assaulted Valiente in a Pamplona street. His key ally against the internal opposition turned out to be the son of Don Javier, Carlos Hugo, who made a fulminant Príncipe de Asturias entry at the 1957 annual Carlist Montejurra amassment. The prince, greeted with exploding enthusiasm of the youth, delivered his La Proclama de Montejurra which, apart from social novelties, presaged modernization of the party and a more activist policy; it might have been interpreted as an offer to Franco. However, this in turn triggered two secessions, which Valiente was not able to prevent; in 1957 so-called Estorilos declared Don Juan the legitimate Carlist heir, and in 1958 the anti-Francoist intransigents created a splinter faction named RENACE. Valiente enjoyed full confidence of the claimant and in late 1960 his position within the organisation was enhanced; he was nominated Jefe Delegado, the position vacant since Fal's resignation in 1955. However, his single-handed leadership was relatively brief. In early 1962 Carlos Hugo moved permanently from France to Madrid and set up Secretaría Política, a team of his young collaborators, led by Ramón Massó. Their cooperation with Valiente went well, even though the prince enforced restructuring of the party command layer and introduced new internal regulations; they shifted some power from jefe delegado