Marconi stands up
I stand here, before Congress, regretting my decision of presenting the referendum to these Chambers and actively pushing for Congress to pass the motion to hold it. At that time, I was convinced that the only way to solve the issue of monarchies within the Federation was to hold a national referendum on it. I realize that this was a mistake. Holding a referendum for such a controversial issue only led to violence, bloodshed, and rebellion. The result was equally controversial and was barely rejected by Congress. If I had never proposed it in the first place, thousands would not be dead and the Federation would not have experienced the instability that it has in the last few months.
Now, I do believe that states should have the choice to determine what form of government they should have. I do not view constitutional monarchies as being undemocratic as long as the monarch is only symbolic. Despite my personal views, I decided to vote to uphold the referendum, in part because I presented it and in part because I thought that the will of the people should be followed. I pushed for Congress to uphold it and continued to believe that it should be upheld even after it was not. However, I have come to the realization that bringing this issue back up on a national level only resulted in violence and instability, which would not have existed had the referendum not been held. As such, I find myself feeling guilty about my actions and the betrayal of my own beliefs.
I feel that we should put this whole referendum behind us now. It has caused more trouble than it was worth and has achieved nothing, other than almost plunging our nation into another civil war. This is the very referendum I thought would solve this issue once and but only made it worse. My idealism got the better of me and blinded me to the reality of the situation. To the fact that things were find they way they were and did not need to be tampered with. But now I wish to put this behind me as well. I feel that we must now focus our efforts on more important issues, such resolving our current war with Spain and rebuilding the Hofburg. The referendum and its aftermath have distracted Congress for long enough.
Marconi sits back down
~ Silvestro Marconi, President of and Councillor for Cisalpina