Members of Congreso,
In times of crisis, a man has little time for thought. He must react as events arise. A desperation permeates his very soul; he succumbs to hysteria, fearing that if he does not immediately act, all could be lost. In the battle of words and wits, speed is necessity and slovenliness a sin. You must act with haste or be destroyed. It is only when the initial shock has receded, and imminent disaster averted, that a man may now allocate time to think. Think about all that has occurred. Think about how he should have responded, and how he did. Think about where he went wrong.
I know now where I went wrong. The moment Senor Rios appeared in Congreso with a torrent of abuse on his lips, I should have stepped back and said nothing. I should have defended myself and left it at that. I should have waited for him to return to the table, as he eventually must, and resume negotiations. But I was so outraged by his assault on my person, so intrinsically betrayed by the fact that he had broken off negotiations without informing me, and so immediately concerned about his aspersions against my character and reputation that the logical option eluded me. I debased myself in debate, instead of remaining aloof.
It was in this spirit that I published my appointments list to Congreso. This was the gravest mistake of all, which has haunted me throughout this crisis. Contrary to the opinion of my opponents, I was not in fact trying to appoint generals without the consent of the Chief of Staff. I was merely asking for Congreso to voice its dissent or approval, in order to force a resolution to the impasse. I did not intend to order my army appointments to take effect; I merely requested opinions. But I see now why it was so easily misinterpreted. By way of my phrasing, I made it sound as if I was demanding these appointments take effect immediately. By ambiguous phrasing, I transformed a personal dispute into a constitutional crisis. Though this was not my intent, I can only apologise.
We all must apologise. We are the representatives of the people. We are the voice of their interests and desires, their needs and their concerns. But their voice has been drowned out in a cacophony of conflict. When we should have cooperated to produce consensus, we drew our daggers and plunged into the fray. For this, thousands of brave soldiers were butchered at the hands of the Argentinians. For this, the beginning of a glorious five-year term was transformed into a perpetual congressional bloodbath. The executive has been paralysed, the army thrown into disarray, and Congreso ground to a halt. All the apparatus of state has been drowned in discord. We cannot go on like this. We cannot have five years of cut-throat conflict and violent rhetoric.
I left the army and came to Congreso to restore unity to the Republic. I see now that I have failed. But I must make amends. I shall restore the Republic to its unified self. I call upon all members of Congreso, conservador or liberal, left or right, to come together to bring back peace to the Republic. Let us put this conflict aside, once and for all. Let us cease this endless name-calling and rabble-rousing, which has reduced the legislative branch to the discourse of a nursery.
You were right. This is not a solution; it is merely a single victorious battle in a long war of attrition, that threatens to erode our Republic into ruin. We cannot fight illegality with illegality. In order to achieve a permanent solution, we must have unity. We must end the enmity that has dominated our country since this crisis began. We must have peace in order to have prosperity. We must have consensus to avert further conflict.
I humbly request that General Rios return to the table, so that together, we may confirm the commanders and composition of the Chilean armed forces in the traditional manner. Face to face, as President and Chief of Staff. Let us put this debacle to bed and restore honour and integrity to our sacred offices. In the name of God and Chile, let us end this feud and do our duties by the Republic.
These are the appointments I wish to implement, incorporating all the amendments and suggestions made by General Rios in our original discussion:
I shall now seek the approval of the Chief of Staff for their implementation. Until then, the original appointments will stand and be implemented by the Initiative:
- President Charles Maximilien de Conti
In times of crisis, a man has little time for thought. He must react as events arise. A desperation permeates his very soul; he succumbs to hysteria, fearing that if he does not immediately act, all could be lost. In the battle of words and wits, speed is necessity and slovenliness a sin. You must act with haste or be destroyed. It is only when the initial shock has receded, and imminent disaster averted, that a man may now allocate time to think. Think about all that has occurred. Think about how he should have responded, and how he did. Think about where he went wrong.
I know now where I went wrong. The moment Senor Rios appeared in Congreso with a torrent of abuse on his lips, I should have stepped back and said nothing. I should have defended myself and left it at that. I should have waited for him to return to the table, as he eventually must, and resume negotiations. But I was so outraged by his assault on my person, so intrinsically betrayed by the fact that he had broken off negotiations without informing me, and so immediately concerned about his aspersions against my character and reputation that the logical option eluded me. I debased myself in debate, instead of remaining aloof.
It was in this spirit that I published my appointments list to Congreso. This was the gravest mistake of all, which has haunted me throughout this crisis. Contrary to the opinion of my opponents, I was not in fact trying to appoint generals without the consent of the Chief of Staff. I was merely asking for Congreso to voice its dissent or approval, in order to force a resolution to the impasse. I did not intend to order my army appointments to take effect; I merely requested opinions. But I see now why it was so easily misinterpreted. By way of my phrasing, I made it sound as if I was demanding these appointments take effect immediately. By ambiguous phrasing, I transformed a personal dispute into a constitutional crisis. Though this was not my intent, I can only apologise.
We all must apologise. We are the representatives of the people. We are the voice of their interests and desires, their needs and their concerns. But their voice has been drowned out in a cacophony of conflict. When we should have cooperated to produce consensus, we drew our daggers and plunged into the fray. For this, thousands of brave soldiers were butchered at the hands of the Argentinians. For this, the beginning of a glorious five-year term was transformed into a perpetual congressional bloodbath. The executive has been paralysed, the army thrown into disarray, and Congreso ground to a halt. All the apparatus of state has been drowned in discord. We cannot go on like this. We cannot have five years of cut-throat conflict and violent rhetoric.
I left the army and came to Congreso to restore unity to the Republic. I see now that I have failed. But I must make amends. I shall restore the Republic to its unified self. I call upon all members of Congreso, conservador or liberal, left or right, to come together to bring back peace to the Republic. Let us put this conflict aside, once and for all. Let us cease this endless name-calling and rabble-rousing, which has reduced the legislative branch to the discourse of a nursery.
You were right. This is not a solution; it is merely a single victorious battle in a long war of attrition, that threatens to erode our Republic into ruin. We cannot fight illegality with illegality. In order to achieve a permanent solution, we must have unity. We must end the enmity that has dominated our country since this crisis began. We must have peace in order to have prosperity. We must have consensus to avert further conflict.
I humbly request that General Rios return to the table, so that together, we may confirm the commanders and composition of the Chilean armed forces in the traditional manner. Face to face, as President and Chief of Staff. Let us put this debacle to bed and restore honour and integrity to our sacred offices. In the name of God and Chile, let us end this feud and do our duties by the Republic.
These are the appointments I wish to implement, incorporating all the amendments and suggestions made by General Rios in our original discussion:
Army of Arica ((18 brigades (10inf 6art 2cav))) - General de Porto ((Zagoroth))
Army of Patagonia ((18 brigades (10inf 6art 2cav))) – General Hidalgo ((MastahCheef))
Army of the Republic ((20 brigades (12inf 6art 2cav)) – General Ferrari ((King5000))
Metropolitan Army ((18 brigades (10inf 2art 2cav)) – General Gonzalez ((yourworstnightm))
Panama Canal Garrison ((8 brigades (5inf 3art)) - General Rivera ((AtomicSoda))
Navy and Marine Force ((6 brigades (5inf 1art)) - Admiral Alvarez ((Gloa))
Capital Guard ((12 brigades (9inf 3art))
I shall now seek the approval of the Chief of Staff for their implementation. Until then, the original appointments will stand and be implemented by the Initiative:
Army of Arica ((18 brigades (10inf 6art 2cav))) - General Ferrari ((King5000))
Army of Patagonia ((18 brigades (10inf 6art 2cav))) – General Hidalgo ((MastahCheef))
Army of the Republic ((20 brigades (12inf 6art 2cav)) – Colonel de Porto ((Zagoroth))
Metropolitan Army ((18 brigades (10inf 2art 2cav)) – Colonel Rivera ((AtomicSoda))
Panama Canal Garrison ((8 brigades (5inf 3art)) - General Navia ((Lyonessian))
Navy and Marine Force ((6 brigades (5inf 1art)) - Admiral Alvarez ((Gloa))
Capital Guard ((12 brigades (9inf 3art))
- President Charles Maximilien de Conti
Last edited: