Dear my fellow Stadtholders, and honourable Assemblyen,
I come to you today to address a few issues raised by Herr Siegfred Gotha. While I have no doubt or concern about his ability in his current position, he seems to have rather strange ideas about how we should run our Republic, that I respectfully disagree with. While it sounds admirable in theory, I fear that there are many flaws in his policy of
Wächterpolitik that will become clear when it is put into practice.
Our Fatherland is not unlike an oak, the most majestic and ancient of trees, extending its many branches far and wide. The German oak towers above the fields of Europe, and over 19 million people have their homes, their families, their land under the protection of our branches. Our roots reach from the Mediterranean to the North Sea. Seven more nations cling on to the furthest reach of our might: Astrakhan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Krakow, Morea, Ragusa and Siebenbürgen are firmly in our sphere. It is fair to say that Germany is the dominant nation of Europe.
With power comes responsibility. The British, the French, the Polish, the Norwegians, they all seek to grab their own piece of the European and international pie. During my many years as ambassador to Britain, I learned that they could not tolerate any other colonial power, that the French and Scandinavians aspire to be Emperors, that the Polish want to establish a European buffer at the cost of our Republic. As the dominant nation of Europe, Germany must stand above such matters. It must pursue a Wächterpolitik, guarding the European balance of power from undue influence. Let the French rule France, and the Norwegians rule Scandinavia. Let Britain and Poland keep their colonies. This forms no threat to the balance of power. But should one nation encroach on the sphere of influence of another, thereby disrupting the balance of power and bringing the entire civilized world at danger, then Germany should act. We should act as protectors… This is Wächterpolitik.
It is true, our Fatherland stands great above the rest of Europe.. Our glorious nation has had many great opportunities, and we are fortunate to be in the position we are in. I must give my highest thanks to the von Hohenzollerns for leading us from the Prince-Electorate of Bavaria, to the Holy Roman Empire, and now our Republic of Germany. It is now in our hands to shape the future of our Republic, and we are in a fortunate position high above the rest of the European, and global scene. However, I believe that attempting to
bully Europe into remaining as it is, is simply the wrong way to approach things. That is the flaw at the heart of
Wächterpolitik.
I believe in the strength of Germany, and as such one might expect me to propagate a devastating war over Somerset. I will not do so, for I am not a warmonger. Let me point out that Somerset was a German colony - in Europe. Civilized powers frown on this, and rightfully so! Let me also point out that our failure at Somerset, which is not a German majority province, is due to our own past mistakes. Mistakes that have been made, mistakes that can’t be rectified, mistakes on which the British have already capitalized. It is too late to do anything but banish the Stadtholder, but we can take this opportunity and say to the world: “This far, but no further.” We need to take a firm stance against further foreign annexation of our possessions, not in order to solve issues like the Somerset Question, but to prevent them from ever happening.
Here, I must disagree. I come from humble beginnings outside of our borders, and the land I would call home is no longer within these borders either. Somerset was not a colony! Somerset, and Wales proper, were principalities within the Holy Roman Empire, and rightful states of our Republic!
I must take blame. I had a large part in the build-up to the Somerset people, and I have failed my people. However, these people are rightfully people of Germany. They may not be German - I do not claim to culturally be German myself - but I am a Citizen, and Stadtholder, of Germany! Are the German lands in Northern Italy only colonies, as hey do not have a German majority? How about the Low Counties? Or Croatia? Or Poland? Nein! Dim! Nee! No! Ne! Nie!
I speak to you in many tongues, but these are all tongues of the members of our Republic, and should not be thought of as any less! The Welsh in Somerset andGlamorgan may be culturally British, a term similar to German - a collection of many different peoples under one flag, but even they agree that these lands, and these citizens, are both de facto AND de jure German!
Of course, the successful execution of Wächterpolitik requires our own situation to be stable, our rights determined and absolute, our government steadfast. We must be able to stand firm in the face of foreign aggression; only then can we take the role of guardian. Whilst Germany is not entitled to a British-majority Somerset, the very same logic applies to the British, French, Norwegian, Polish nations. We cannot allow a German or Italian people to remain under foreign oppression; Heligoland must be liberated! The Lord may know why we ever ceded this small, German island to the British, but one thing is certain: One way or another, sooner or later, Heligoland must be reincorporated. Vital is that our Foreign Minister is capable, reasonable on one hand and steadfast on the other. If the British would be willing to sell the island, that could prove the beginning of a prosperous cooperation between our two nations. Should they not be willing, then we shall take up arms. Not for wealth and the Somerset colony, not for the shipping lobby or the Liberal’s pride, but to defend the German people from foreign tyranny.
As I have already outlined, the people of Somerset fully consider themselves to be German, not British, and this renders your arguments against reclaiming these lands null and void. We must act not just as guardians, but curators of Europe. This means maintaining the natural order of things, and keeping them as they should be. And for this reason, I believe that it is not just Heligoland, but Somerset that we must liberate. It is not just a Heligoland, or Somerset Question that we are presented with, but it is in fact a British, and even European Question. This is my main problem with your idea of
Wächterpolitik.
It is winter now, and our Fatherland has lost its colourful leaves. Yet, like always, winter will not kill the oak, and enduring its hardships will only serve to grant another growth ring. Spring will come, and when it does, we will stand taller than ever, knowing that we fought off the very worst nature had to offer. United under an Emperor, the world will once again tremble and yield to our might. Maintaining a policy of Wächterpolitik, we will show that Germany is a united nation, a guardian of all European peoples’ liberty. We will demonstrate that through wars and revolutions, long after the demise of great Empires and Republics, as Europe changes irreversibly, one thing will remain to be: Germany will forever stand with pride.
Für Deutschland. Für den Kaiser.
- DDr. Wolfram Siegfried Gotha
I admire your metaphor of an Oak tree, to characterise our Fatherland. However, I find your last point somewhat hypocritical - How can we "show that Germany is a united nation, a guardian of all European peoples’ liberty" if we will not protect the liberty of our own citizens in Somerset? How can we "forever stand with pride" if we will not stand up to the British, who have invaded
our lands and are oppressing
our people as we speak?
Germany must stand with pride, as a beacon of liberty! We must shoe the world that we are not a force to be feared, but a voice to be respected! We must protect our citizens, be they German, or Dutch, or Italian, or Welsh or Croat or Pole!
Für Deutschland! Für den Kaiser! Für Deo et Familia! Für den Bürgern!
Ich Werde Dien!
))
