[Forum Game] - Crisis in the Reichstag

"The Reich Party will march us to war, and we will be woefully unprepared! A vote for the National Liberal Party will be a vote for preparedness, for protection against all comers!

Indeed, the Reich Party did propose useful legislation, and it is true that the Socialists voted against them in detail; however, under a Liberal Government, we will be able to hear all sides, and appealing to their sensibilities, will bring the Fatherland into a period of cooperation, moderation, and pragmatism.

The National Liberal Party will protect German workers, both through promoting freedom of enterprise and industry, and through lower taxes and sensible spending; our borders will be secure, both with strong forts and mighty garrisons of German troops, and a strong navy to guard our shore and trade vessels; our government will produce budgets to bring solvency back to the Reich, and will promote a both liberalism and progress in social reform!

The National Liberals are the true champions of moderation, of pragmatism, and of sensible governance! Lend us your vote, and you will have peace and prosperity!

A grand coalition of liberals, conservatives, moderates, of TRUE GERMANS, will lead the Reichstag in the proper course this year!

... Our good friend in the Reich Party argue that staying on the defensive will lead to defeat; I strongly oppose that view. Rather, consider this; Hannibal, once of the greatest generals of all time, won battle after battle, but failed to win the war. Why? Because the Romans had impregnable fortifications that Hannibal could not overcome; in the end, the Romans were victorious.

In our situation, we would prevent the French from entering our land in the first place, and once the French had bled themselves white (as white as the colour of their flags), the Imperial Forces, rested and well prepared, would smash them! And Paris would be in German hands again!

However, the Reich Party make no comment on the status of our navy, the defender of our colonies and our coasts, the protector of our merchants and our trade! Will they allow the Navy to continue to stagnate?

Join the National Liberal Party for a freer People! For a Brighter Future! For a stronger Germany! FOR THE FATHERLAND!"

*Address to Koenigsburg audience, 2 April 1914, delivered by Erich August von Hohenzollern*

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Maxwell500 said:

((Welcome, Riccardo!))

I declare my support towards the Reich Party, and one of its notable members, Graf Von Urlich. I wish them the best!

~ His Imperial and Royal Highness, the German Crown Prince and Crown Prince of Prussia, Wilhelm

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((Bonjour!))

Dear cousin, do not discount the National Liberal Party; should we take the Reichstag, our moderate government would be able to pass many useful reforms.

[Speech by Hermann Schmidt, March 28]

My Fellow Germans. Many of my Fellow Reichstag Members have called for Aggressive defence against what they call the French Menace. But if you always use Force someone will Use Force against you. That My friends will be the Ruin of the German Reich. Instead Diplomacy must be used to resolve disputes instead as Unanswered problems will simply generate even more Problems. Sooner or later it will lead to a war which will be the End of the German Reich.

But Ultimately Diplomacy can't last forever unsupported. Instead a Strong Army is needed to support Diplomatic efforts as needed to ensure Peace for Germany and Europe. Without it Diplomacy can only delay not halt but such force can't be thrown around it must be deployed carefully and with the utmost care. A Strong well Equipped Army is vital to German Safety against enemies utterly determined to inflict Doom upon us regardless of the consequences to themselves.

Others Claim that we Socialists will ruin the Economy but that is the last thing we want. The Ruining of the Economy will be the ruin of the worker and the Farmer who are the Backbone of Germany. Without them Germany will be nothing. We will support the Worker against Greedy Capitalists who seek to exploit them. But Equally those True German Capitalists which have made German Industry what is today must be allowed to continue you doing there Good Work Providing Jobs for Germans.

Of Course Krupp must be investigated for there Unprecedented Price Rise beyond what would seem reasonable for simply difficulties in obtaining raw materials. We Will find out if they are struggling to obtain Raw resources or are they trying to put the German Government out of Pocket. The Truth will be found out.

People don't fall for the Lies Propagated by others Only the SPD can and will protect the German people.

Thandros said:

[Speech by Hermann Schmidt, March 28]

My Fellow Germans. Many of my Fellow Reichstag Members have called for Aggressive defence against what they call the French Menace. But if you always use Force someone will Use Force against you. That My friends will be the Ruin of the German Reich. Instead Diplomacy must be used to resolve disputes instead as Unanswered problems will simply generate even more Problems. Sooner or later it will lead to a war which will be the End of the German Reich.

But Ultimately Diplomacy can't last forever unsupported. Instead a Strong Army is needed to support Diplomatic efforts as needed to ensure Peace for Germany and Europe. Without it Diplomacy can only delay not halt but such force can't be thrown around it must be deployed carefully and with the utmost care. A Strong well Equipped Army is vital to German Safety against enemies utterly determined to inflict Doom upon us regardless of the consequences to themselves.

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Thank you for endorsing the view of the National Liberal Party, Herr Schmidt!

Riccardo93 said:

Thank you for endorsing the view of the National Liberal Party, Herr Schmidt!

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Well It is true I'm finding myself wandering from the views of my Colleagues. Perhaps I should form a new party?

People of Germany! Do not fall for the lies and propaganda of those who decry us.

The SPD stands for the common German, we believe in fair government, that focuses on you, the citizen, not upon great white elephants such as a new fleet for which we have little use. Just as Krupp has sought to extort the German government, so do many capitalists seek to extort the worker. The SPD are the only party with the backbone to stand up to this scourge, the only party that will lead Germany into a new future, one where peace and prosperity are not a reserve of the rich, but are a fact of life for everyone.

It is the diplomacy of previous governments that has led Germany into such dangerous international waters. The fumbling nature of German conservatives has put us at odds with our neighbours. While I of course advocate a strong army to defend ourselves from assault, I am entirely against unnecessary conflict. The sons of Germany must not be sent to die for the glory of those that assume to be our betters.

We of the SPD have been more than willing to put aside partisan politics, indeed many of our members have supported recent government-proposed bills that we felt were beneficial to the nation. However, having the will to also oppose those bills that we see as detrimental to Germany is not a weakness, but a strength. We were willing to join a coalition government, but the Conservatives in government refused - and where did this lead? To an ineffectual government that was unable to pass nearly all proposed legislation. The government, and the Reichstag, must have the support of the people, and as the party of the people I urge my fellow Germans to vote for myself and my fellow members of the SPD in the coming elections.

~H.C.A

Indeed it is hard to govern when your part only holds 1/16th of the votes in the reichstag and the two most extreme parties hold over 40% of the seats in the reichstag! It is this extreme compositionb the reichstag that has made governance impoossible! It is for this reason peopl of Germany that you must vote for the center!

However, my greatest fear in the coming days is the potential for the economic protfolio to be left in thehands of a person with little to no economic knowledge. What the Reich Party proposes is autarky, a propsal that will only lead to higher prices for the consumer! Though he might argue that subsidies will restore goods to their previous costs, this is dubious at bst as where will these subsidies come from? Increased taxes! Indeed such a policy will not only lead to decreased standards of living for the people of Germany but also the improverishment of the nation! A nation that only just recently battled its way out from a debt of 155 million reichsmarks under my leadership.

~Chncellor Reinhart von und zu Birkenfelt

The SPD speaks of cooperation, when only a single cacus in their party voted with the government. Ndeed there were talks of forming a coalition however the demands of SPD were unconsionable. To elect them is a to elect to perpetuate the current deadlock.


People of Germany vote for progress, vote for our nation, vote for your beliefs, vote for your livelihoods, vote for Zentrum!

~Chancellor Reinhart von und zu Birkenfelt

Perhaps our good friend in the national Liberal Party should reconsider his classical history sources. I say this, because Hannibal lost only once the Romans went on the offensive. Hannibal won victory after victory, and the Romans were falling like dominoes in any battle he faced them in. But the Romans then went on their own offensive, taking Spain from Carthage, and then invading Carthage itself, which forced Hannibal to abandon his own offensive to defend his homeland. Even their own example points to the merits of an offensive war! Mind you, I am not proposing any pre emotive strikes. I only make these remarks in the opinion that Forts have rarely succeeded in actually defeating an enemy in the end, throughout history. Not to mention that I never made any remark about allowing the french into our lands. He is not just taking words out of context, but putting them in my mouth. Is that who you want running the government?

I believe that my support for the navy this past legislative session speaks for itself. Not only did I attempt to expand the marines giving the navy more options in solving a situation, but I supported the naval bill that brought such reforms to our navy! Our navy is not stagnating, it is growing at a steady and strengthening pace, and it is already among the greatest in the world.

Also, I believe the Social Democrats just proved our points for them. The either support all out war for the proletariat, or they are peace lovers who would see our military disintegrate and our budget go into massive debt and deficit! They say they have supported government proposed bills, but that says nothing of the bills the German Reich proposed and they rejected.Not to mention that half their members even voted against the budget and first naval bill of the session!

As to our FORMER chancellor, your right, there is a reason our current government wasn't working. It was because the parties that the least amount of Germans voted for were a part of the coalition government, and you didn't even have an official majority. Not only that, but you failed to propose more than a pair of bills in the first place. As to say the economic plans I have laid out are ridiculous I say this to you: I do not plan on raising taxes on anybody. Sure, there are always times when taxes must be adjusted simply because of the situation. But as it stands now, I will not raise taxes. You see, tariffs on foreign imports will pay for the initial subsidies. Yes, there will be a short month or two period where prices rise slightly. But the key thing is that they will drop again, and more importantly, it will keep marks spent in the Reich and keep our men employed.

Vote for the German Reich! Vote for security, and vote for an economy that will rise above all others on this planet! Vote to be employed, and vote for the party which is truly German in that which it is and represents.

Vote with your head, vote with your brain. And right now, the German reich is the best option for those of you who are patriotic and intelligent, and I have yet to meet a German who is not either of those two!

I have said time and time again that thelast elections created an atosphere that made effective government impossible due to the incredibley radica nature of the past legislature. This is why we need a vote for moderates!

The Reich Party continues to argue that their economic plan will bring prosperity, when it wll only bring ruin. Autarky is smething that should be reserved for war as it is grossly inefficent and only leads to higher prices. They argue that they won't raise taxes, only tariffs, but are not tariffs a tax? The argue that prices will only increase for a few months, this is blatant lie! The manufactureof tariffed goods will require the retooling of industry yet the work will be inexperienced and of lower quality at a higher price! Vote not for harebrained schemes but true progress, vote for Zentrum!

People of Germany, vote for progress, vote for our nation, vote for your beliefs, vote for your livelihoods, vote for Zentrum!

~Chancellor Reinhart von und zu Birkenfelt

OOC: PS: I have degrees in economics...

I hereby appoint Mr Gebhard Lothar Freiherr von Richthofen of the SPD as Chancellor of Germany and order him to form a majority coalition. If he is unable to do this I will appoint another person to the Chancellorship.

Congratulations to both my party leader, Herr Thaumen, and to the leader of the Centre Party; should the SDP be unable to form a majority, perhaps a moderate alliance would be more successful... especially with support from the Conservatives and Progressives.

I would also suggest his Majesty, the Kaiser, my dear cousin and magnanimous sovereign, to reconsider supporting the Socialists; unlike the Centrists or the Liberals, they lost seats, a clear mandate against a potential government led by them.

Farmers of Germany!

The Farmer's League thanks you for your support in the recent elections. Together, we doubled our representation in the Reichstag. Together we can work toward a better Germany for all farmers.

OOC: Spectre, I get the feeling you just like to make it pointlessly difficult to get anything done.

Spectre17 said:

I hereby appoint Mr Gebhard Lothar Freiherr von Richthofen of the SPD as Chancellor of Germany and order him to form a majority coalition. If he is unable to do this I will appoint another person to the Chancellorship.

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If it may please his majesty, I strongly advise against the appointment of a memeber of the SPD as Reichkanzler, I and many of my fellow members of the Reichstag believe it would better to appoint a member of either the Zentrum or the National Liberals, I am sure my fellow conservatives would back such a government as I would hope the German Reich party as well.

Sincerally
Graf Franz von Lanstein-Pranow

The Farmer's League asks the Kaiser to appoint a member of the Centre Party to the Chancellorship, as they received a Plurality of votes in the election.

Even if the SDP managed to get all the smaller parties (those smaller than the Conservatives), they would have absolutely nowhere near enough seats to form a majority; even if Zentrum supported that, they would still fall short!

However, a Centrist or Liberal joint-coalition supported only by the Conservatives could form a working majority, and would arguably gain more support from the minor parties that the SDP possibly could hope to gain.

Furthermore, the General Staff and most of the Army, as well as the majority, is opposed to a SDP Government; therefore, on the merits of all these points, I beseech our dear Kaiser to support a National Liberal or a Zentrum chancellor!

Due to the opposition of the General staff I hereby announce that the previous Chancellor, Reinhart von und zu Birkenfeld, will be Chancellor for a second term.

I would happily offer to join the Centrist government; however, it is not my place, and I will defer such a move to our party leader, Herr Thaumen.