With the right reviving, the Socialists moving away from their former Republican allies, and the Radicals manoeuvring for power, the feeling was general by the summer of 1933 that the era of Azaña's dominance over Spanish politics was nearing its end. The government actually fell in early June, but the delight of the Carlists and Azaña's other critics was cut short by his immediate return at the head of a reshuffled, clearly caretaker cabinet. The Carlists called repeatedly for a general election, and somewhat self-righteously taunted the Republican parties with reluctance to submit themselves to the ‘popular will’. These accusations were not unfounded, given the electoral potential of the CEDA and the poor prospects of the Left Republicans should the Socialists, as seemed likely, choose to sever the 1931 alliance.

The coup de grâce for Azaña came from an unexpected quarter. In September the first elections took place to the Court of Constitutional Guarantees, the Republic's supreme court which would consider the constitutionality of all legislation passed subsequent to its formation. The contest, which involved the election of fifteen members and alternates by municipal councillors voting in large, regionwide constituencies, aroused little public interest. The Carlists mixed apathy with scorn, ‘[it is] a body of picturesque activity,’ El Siglo Futuro sneered, ‘and Spaniards know what kind of guarantees it is going to guarantee them.’ As in the April local elections, however, Carlist advocates of boycott like Fernando Contreras were overruled in the interests of defending religion and property; candidates were presented in Navarre and the Basque region, the two constituencies where Carlist strength in local government offered hope of success.