It appears it is true what they say: an hour is a long time in politics.
I retire but for a short while, and return to find the country in chaos. Suspicion and distrust reign supreme, where once there was friendship and familiarity. The Senate has become a fortress, assailed on all sides by those who fear a darkness dwelling in its soul. Conspiracies are afoot, from the halls of government to the barracks of the army. I can see but one source: a political malcontent, thwarted in his electoral ambitions, engineering the destruction of the Republic for the sake of his own power.
Honourable members of Congreso, do not make yourself a party to this man's ploy. He cares neither for your cause nor your concerns; he is motivated purely by ambition, and exceeds himself. He will destroy you and your party by association, if you allow him to sow the seeds of confederacy in your mind. His conspiracy is spurred on by vanity and megalomania, not pragmatism or principle, and like all conspiracies of this nature, it is doomed to failure. He wants to make his enemy, your enemy. He wants you to believe that your ambitions - and not his - are at stake. But he is wrong.
I am not a liberal turncoat. I am not a syndicalist subversive. My loyalty to the conservador cause has never been in question. I have secured the Republic from insurrection time and time again. I was offered absolute power by Senor Andonie in his liberal dictatorship; instead, I performed my duty as defender of the Republic and stood against the coup. I am a proud Catholic, with the support of His Grace, the Archbishop, and the Church in general. The only thing you need fear from me is a government guided by Christian principles; honesty, integrity and empathy.
Let the election proceed as planned. Where there is anarchy, let there be harmony. Where there is dissent, consent. And where there is a Chile consumed by chaos and discord, let her be restored to her peaceful self. The eyes of the nation are upon us.
- General Charles Maximilien, Prince de Conti
I retire but for a short while, and return to find the country in chaos. Suspicion and distrust reign supreme, where once there was friendship and familiarity. The Senate has become a fortress, assailed on all sides by those who fear a darkness dwelling in its soul. Conspiracies are afoot, from the halls of government to the barracks of the army. I can see but one source: a political malcontent, thwarted in his electoral ambitions, engineering the destruction of the Republic for the sake of his own power.
Honourable members of Congreso, do not make yourself a party to this man's ploy. He cares neither for your cause nor your concerns; he is motivated purely by ambition, and exceeds himself. He will destroy you and your party by association, if you allow him to sow the seeds of confederacy in your mind. His conspiracy is spurred on by vanity and megalomania, not pragmatism or principle, and like all conspiracies of this nature, it is doomed to failure. He wants to make his enemy, your enemy. He wants you to believe that your ambitions - and not his - are at stake. But he is wrong.
I am not a liberal turncoat. I am not a syndicalist subversive. My loyalty to the conservador cause has never been in question. I have secured the Republic from insurrection time and time again. I was offered absolute power by Senor Andonie in his liberal dictatorship; instead, I performed my duty as defender of the Republic and stood against the coup. I am a proud Catholic, with the support of His Grace, the Archbishop, and the Church in general. The only thing you need fear from me is a government guided by Christian principles; honesty, integrity and empathy.
Let the election proceed as planned. Where there is anarchy, let there be harmony. Where there is dissent, consent. And where there is a Chile consumed by chaos and discord, let her be restored to her peaceful self. The eyes of the nation are upon us.
- General Charles Maximilien, Prince de Conti