July 1842 – July 1843: Rumblings of discontent
Michael von Hohenzollern bowed to the King of the British Empire, then turned to Dr. Gotha, the architect of one of the most landmark diplomatic maneuvers in the history of the German Republic.
“Dr. Gotha, I know we are not political friends, but I do believe you have done more for peace in Europe than anyone else in the past thirty years.”
Dr. Gotha beamed. “Thank you, Herr von Hohenzollern. I do it all for your family and the greatness of our mutual home.”
However, not everybody was pleased at the news that the German Republic had surrendered the provinces she had shed bled for, among them some of the garrison commanders in Bath and Bristol.
The settlement was incredibly popular in the Assembly, but not everywhere. A group of students at the University of Venice led a big demonstration against the heavy-handed policies of the Wächtersbach administration towards German minorities. One of their spokesmen, when interviewed, asked why Germany was so kind to foreigners, but so cruel to her own citizens?
Although the gendarmerie were able to put down those riots, the next stirrings came in German held Croatia. There, a German factory manager was, according to some disaffected workers, lining his pockets at the expenses of the native Croatian workers. When a group of the workers approached the Stadtholder, he refused to replace the factory manager, citing that the owner of the factory was perfectly content with the performance of the factory.
Indeed, most of the factories of the German republic were performing well.
The one dark spot was a bankrupt Canned Food factory in Franche-Comte, but the presence of another factory in the same area meant that there would be no real loss of jobs. [1] The new railroads were already proving profitable, and as more miles of track were laid, they would perform even better.
In other foreign policy news, a Treaty of Commerce and Friendship was signed between Japan and Germany in the early hours of 2 July 1843, which showed that Foreign Minister von Bern was still very much in charge of his department.
Overall opinion in Castille was Friendly towards Germany, and they looked forward to signing a similar agreement in the new few months. Of the so-called “Great Powers”, only Ak Konlyu exercised any serious interest in Asian affairs, as demonstrated when they backed Kashmir for independence; Qara Konlyu approached many nations, but found nobody willing to support them.
Even Africa was discussed among the Great Powers; the icy relations between Germany and France worsened when Minister von Bern, in a joint statement with Minister Unger of Education, announced a German scientific mission would be sent to a French colony to further investigate plants that might prove medicinally valuable.
The government’s entire weight was brought to bear on the medical problems facing Germany, especially after the new rifles were distributed among the Armies of the Republic.
Going into the last year of the Chancellor’s administration, domestic politics began to heat up. The New Society’s record seemed very positive, but with the problems among the minorities, there were some who thought that there was a real chance for the UAI or even the Alliance to gain some ground, not to mention the fact that the Imperialists were more popular than ever.
A couple of extra screens; trade:
And the budget:
To make the upcoming election as smooth as possible, now would be a great time to start discussion behind the scenes for Chancellor candidates.
[1] Idhrendur, apologies for the factory screen – the label “Franche-Comte” got cut off.
48 hours starts now for new/changed proposals!
