Fellow members of the Reichstag,
It is with a grave heart that I address you today, my esteemed colleagues, for a great responsibility has been placed upon my shoulders. Although I have directed men in battle and made strategic decisions during wartime, I find these tasks to pale in comparison to the duty with which I presently find myself burdened. Indeed, my use of such a term is not by accident -- deciding who will lead our august republic as head of state for the next four years is indeed a burden, however, when it is a burden shared by many, its weight is not felt so heavily; when it is that of a single man then it weighs very heavily upon him. The nature of democracy itself assumes that decisions by the many are preferable to those made by the few, for it is when responsibility is concentrated that it becomes hardest to bear.
My dear associates, it is this concentrated responsibility that now burdens me. Perhaps it is a reflection of the state of our republic that an issue of such import should be left to one man -- to one man whose family once ruled as Kaisers and as Popes; indeed, the irony is not lost on me. My late father once remarked, when asked by an Assemblyman whether he would accept a crown, that he would only ever consider donning the Reichskrone if the German people willed it; even if it was handed to him "on a silver platter," he would remain faithful to the democratic ideals of the Republic. Now, it seems, I have been handed a crown, that I should have authority to anoint with orb and scepter the next Reichspräsident so that he may continue the legacy of my forebear Friedrich IV, who proclaimed this Republic. Friedrich IV, who then declared himself a dictator a mere seven years later. Would I, too, thus serve the Republic as progenitor and undertaker, as guardian and executioner, as servant and assassin?
Good Assemblymen and Stadtholders, I would be very much relieved to be able to denounce these titles, to deny this destiny, and to condemn these calumnies. Yet, to do so would be to repudiate the very truth to which I am beholden. I cannot honestly claim to be entirely devoted to democracy when despotism is so ignominiously thrust upon me. I must, therefore, fulfill my role, lest I live forever with a black stain of cowardice upon my honour, lest my tombstone say "Traitor," lest my legacy be that of an equivocator.
I must therefore choose, as we all must eventually choose, to do my duty, rather than to turn tail and flee. I must take up the mantle of responsibility which I have been given, and I must do so with conviction and firmness of purpose. Thus, I cast my vote. I cast it not for my own self-interest, I cast it not for the interests of my party, and I cast it not for the good of the German people, for surely such a momentous decision that so divides our nation can be but foul poison to all three. I cast aside my pretensions of nobility and my facade of high ideals, for when one is given power one is reduced to his most naked form, and he can no longer shield himself from the slings and arrows of his enemies.
Therefore, I do cast my single vote for Eva von Vandenburg. May God save this Republic, and may God save us all.
~ Konrad Friedrich von Hohenzollern
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