"That frame of thought is only possible through a naivete which is completely unbecoming of a member of His Majesty's Cabinet. Austria has no tangible capacity to wage a successful force against our empire, and if the record of the Empress Dowager's entire career in Hispanian politics is worth consideration, perhaps the truth shall be made evident... That is, that the only reason why the Empress Dowager would desire a 'strong military' is so that she could embark upon a new set of foreign conquests, wasting the lives of the countless Cremonans who are now taxed, violated, cajoled, and drafted - all of which serve not to aid in their safety within our borders, but rather to sacrifice their well-being for the 'good' of a Hispanian elite which has continually rejected the notion of even so much as listening to its citizenry.
"Furthermore, I believe we can all gather from the Empress Dowager's insistence upon refusing the perspectives of the people who are most impacted by the exorbitant taxes that she believes necessary to the furtherance of her warmonger-state that she would sooner render all control over this nation's affairs to a Valencian elite! Yes, what a 'beautiful' world she believes in! My, I am glad that His Majesty made the decision to eject her from the Prime Ministry based upon her lack of a capacity for well-reasoned judgment and genuine care for those outside of her close circle of elitist sycophants!
"With this in mind, I motion that the Empress Dowager be delivered a non-binding reprimand by the Assembly."
Juan de Salcedo,
Barón del Balcón de las Marcas,
MA for the Southern Marches
"Members of the Cortes, I like you am very concerned about the recent objections coming from certain members of the Assembly. The people of Cremona themselves have been brought into the discussion, from what I have heard, again by certain members of the assembly, as being "taxed, violated, cajoled, and drafted" all of which apparently do not serve to aid their safety.
I would politely request that those certain members of the assembly not speak for the people of Cremona, who I have long known and served. I take it as a grave insult that this certain member deems to speak for all of the people of North Italy despite the many injuries Austria has committed to us. I trust that the Speaker of the Assembly will take actions to insure that such speech out of turn does not occur again.
I trust and hope several of the MP's from Northern Italy will speak up to voice their thoughts on the war against Austria."
Altair Spoleto
Heir to the count of Cremona