The election of 1870
Immediately after the disgrace of Michael von Hohenzollern as Chancellor, interim Chancellor Konrad von Schwaben showed his loyalty to the family that had, essentially, made him as a politician by naming Michael as interim Foreign Minister. Michael immediately asked for Germany to intervene against Athens, and the Reichstag voted in favor.
The Foreign Minister also negotiated the surrender and integration of Ryazan into the Republic of Germany. With no army and no fleet, the people of Ryazan thought it best to accept their fate. 3rd Army was stationed temporarily in Ryazan to quell any possible disturbances while the fleet returned to Venice.
These small personal triumphs lent strength to the Hohenzollerns and, in particular, Michael's decision to remain in politics. At the same time, though, the HUN had been dealt a serious blow. Chancellor Schwaben wasted no time in showing himself to be a demonstrably different Chancellor, willing to listen to the needs of the people, and when a sabotage incident occurred in Luxemburg, he wasted no time in arresting some of the wealthy factory owners for instigating the conditions which led to the sabotage.
The combination of popular support and high taxes (which were deftly blamed on the previous regime's warmongering) saw a sea change in German politics.
The Socialists doubled their representation in the Assembly, a huge electoral victory for them. They now controlled 42 seats and were almost as large as the Imperialists. The DDA remained the smallest party in the Reichstag, but even so picked up a couple of seats, surpassing 20 for the first time in their history. Most impressively, the two liberal parties -- the NLPD and UAI -- controlled 244 seats, almost an absolute majority. If they agreed to work together, they could select any other party they wished to form a coalition. On the other side of the spectrum, the bottom fell out of the good times for the Conservatives. The HUN dropped to a scant 14% of the vote, or 68 seats. They were the fourth largest party in the Reichstag and had slightly more than half the votes of either the UAI or NLPD. The New Society fared better, but saw a crash of its own, stumbling to 81 seats.
The story in the Conclave was not as bleak for the Conservatives, but still depressing.
Possessing 27% of the Conclave jointly, at least one Cabinet member was required to be Conservative (either New Society or HUN). However, the biggest winners in the Conclave were, once again, the Socialists. They now possessed 14 seats and slightly more power than either of the Conservative parties individually. The easiest answer to the question of "Why are the Socialists so powerful?" rested in the fury of the people of Germany.
Without meaningful social reform, over 8 million Germans might take up arms against the government. Increasingly, the poor started to see that every party in the Reichstag had, from time to time, supported wars and the higher taxes those wars brought except one: the SP. Therefore, it was the SP, far more than the liberals, who reaped the benefits. Finance Minister Frederick Carile took to the podium a few hours before results became official, citing the fact that the economy was in fact doing very well and showing a profit despite fighting two concurrent wars. His critics pointed out that taxes were nonetheless high, reaching as high as 75% for the poorest members of society.
Certain factories were an economic burden on the state. Not a significant one, but they were a burden, and even the heretofore exceptionally popular Friedrich Meier heard some boos as he was re-elected to his seat in the Conclave.
It was up to the UAI and NLPD to work out an agreement to seize power from the Conservatives who had held it for so long. For their sake and the sake of the people of Germany, they needed to produce a decisive leader as Chancellor.
Party leaders, please negotiate to form a new coalition. New ballot initiatives may also be proposed, but as always, do
not vote on anything until I have formally announced the ballot. We have the capacity to pass Social Reforms; apart from that, any other constitutional amendment may be considered.