1889 and the Election of 1890
Every newspaper in Germany worked, hard, to push their agendas to the voters of Germany. Liberal newspapers trumpeted the success of the Bundespartei/all-liberal regime. Conservatives attacked the liberals for not including political minorities and for unhealthy subsidies of the working class. Socialists attacked the liberals for not being progressive enough. Communists attacked everybody, but especially targeted the
ersatz "Liberator," Franz Meningen, blaming him for substituting class struggle with issues purely of race, nationality, and ethnicity.
The Meningen administration tried to alleviate some of those concerns. They pushed a social agenda that included new safety standards in German factories and attacked corruption in local administration with vigor, improving efficiency considerably while also allowing academics to focus on theoretical works. Theoretical economists throughout Germany were given grants to write papers about the true nature of the capitalist system. Few wanted to do away with capitalism, but several offered harsh critiques of past practices. Minister of Education Walther Herwig also pushed for more scientific discoveries, including the telephone (the first one of which was installed in the Hohenzollern family home, the second installed in the Reichstag), but were always mindful of the sensibility of the press, calling for careful but non-invasive archaeological work in the Philippines. Minister of Finance Friedrich Thiessen was especially pleased that the economy continued to boom.
The Communists, however, worked tirelessly to promote class struggle, particularly through underground portions of the minimum wage movement. Those individuals were furious that safety standards were pushed before their own agenda, and many took up arms, secretly, against the government. Separatist movements were continually suppressed by Minister of the Interior Johannes Carile, but social movements went unchecked. One particular individual, known only as Hermann von Leute, actively incited riots at every possible polling place, denouncing the entire government apparatus. Attempts to arrest von Leute were constantly frustrated, as he never stayed in the same place for more than one night. A local campaign out of Harper, Liberia, saw a Hermann von Leute elected to the Reichstag as a member of the Assembly; whether this was the same person stirring up trouble or a different person using the same name was anybody's guess. The day von Leute was sworn in, two assailants attacked Ferdinand von Hohenzollern in prison, leaving the disgraced scion of Germany's first family severely wounded but not mortally so.
As Germany burned, the rest of the world was even worse. While German relations with a few places improved, particularly the Asian nation of Pegu, Venice and Byzantium fought over territory in South America. When asked why Germany played no role in settling the crisis, Foreign Minister Konrad von Schwaben merely stated that "America is not our affair; if Venetians and Byzantines want to slaughter each other over a few acres of jungle, who are we to intervene? Perhaps this will leave Europe... ripe for the taking." However, ideologues in all parties argued about military policy, demanding the expansion (or the contraction) of the army in an effort to prevent revolution from spreading at home. A small piece of India had already revolted from the British Empire, called Travanacore.
However, the problem was not contradiction, but agreement: the Conservatives, NLPD, and Bundespartei all argued to expand the military, but merely differed about how to do it. They similarly wanted to see the role of religion expanded in Germany, tolerating other faiths but insisting on Catholicism's superiority over all branches. Many Germans, confused about the central issues, simply ticked the box they ticked the last election. The result was little movement for the liberals or conservatives; both lost seats, but not to each other. The DSU picked up ex-liberal votes, while the Imperialist share of parliament improved slightly at the expense of the Conservatives. The Bundespartei took the lead of the liberals, but the difference was tenths of a percentage point. The Socialists were the big winners, their 25% share in the Conclave entitling them to a government ministry. Even the Communists gained slight ground. True to his word, Fritz von Hohenzollern retired, leaving his capable nephew to help guide the Conservatives and defend the family interests.
Key - Bright red = KPD; Lighter red = DSU; Yellow = DDA; Bright green = NLPD; Seafoam green = UAI; Ochre = Bundespartei; Blue = Conservative; Grey = Imperialists. Includes some rounding to get to 500 and 100 seats, respectively.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
((Assassin rolls -- 14, 14 -- +5 = two 19s. Detection 5. Two Assassination attempts remaining for this election cycle.))
New character for me --
Name: Hermann von Leute
Birthplace: Unknown (resides in Harper, Liberia)
Age: "30"
Position: Assemblyman, KPD
Bio: It is unknown if Hermann von Leute is one man, one woman, or many. He or she rarely speaks in the Reichstag, refuses to serve in any government position, and wears a heavy cloak that obscures his or her identity. All votes are made in writing and handed to the Secretary of the Reichstag, who enters them into the record. Newspaper editorials under the von Leute byline are always extremely hostile to the government, regardless of who is in charge or what they are trying to achieve. von Leute has vowed to reveal his or her identity on "the day of the proletarian revolution and not before."
((This character is partially a placeholder, but partially genuine, and I do have plans for them. I reserve the right to kill them off if I need to make a new character to fill a party. Admin hat on.))
After playing tonight's update, I think I know why the liberals tend to win, and I partially explained it in the update: the NLPD, Conservatives, and Bundespartei all have roughly the same platform. That means that, absent other alternatives, they'll vote ideology first and ruling party second. The only "true" liberal party is the UAI, which is why the UAI almost always comes in third among the liberals. The Bundespartei is actually conservative in platform, not really liberal, except for Andre Massena himself; if another person took control of the party, I could see them switching ideologies. There's other political weirdness too -- the KPD, as made by Sakura_F, is more conservative than anyone but the Imperialists and possibly the Conservatives. Again, this is a reflection of the character's personality.
The only way to "fix" this is to a) get some economic election events, which is the only way I can force the electorate conservative or anything but liberal right now; b) force the NLPD and/or Bundespartei to change their military stance [or the Conservatives] to differentiate themselves from each other; c) force the liberals to roleplay properly, according to their platforms -- i.e., UAI should be fighting the Bundespartei and NLPD on the military; NLPD should be the fighting the UAI and Bundespartei on minority issues; Bundespartei should be fighthing the NLPD and UAI on economic issues -- which will reduce their ability to vote
en bloc; d) introduce some artificial events to bump the Conservatives.
Here's the thing: all of those are bad options, except maybe d). A) is unpredictable, B) probably isn't enough, and C) makes me an ogre and would probably kill the iAAR dead. If we really want to "get stuff done", break the deadlock, it's ultimately up to you. The liberals should, in all honesty, hate each other and/or want to work with other parties, but that's not something I can fix, short of mandatory brain surgery for everyone (which would be extremely expensive). The engine probably won't fix our problem for us, unless/until the Socialists start eating a substantial portion of the vote. It's up to you guys to sort things out via the coalition mechanic, or hell, even the coup mechanic/assassination mechanic.
If somebody has a detailed solution that I just can't see, I'm honestly eager to hear it. Remember, originally our problem was utter conservative dominance; seeding the game with events to boost conservatism worked then, and we can always do the opposite. However, I don't think it's genuinely an engine problem, because this stuff is cyclical; it's a people problem.
((Admin hat off.))
The Supreme Court has one item up for consideration:
A Central Bank of Germany would permit us to borrow money at cheaper rates at the expense of tax revenue. We may also pass a social reform.
The first order of business is to form a new coalition. Chancellor Meningen may serve a second four year term, if he can get the support to do so, of course. As a reminder, one minister
must be a member of the DSU. Naming a member of the DSU as the Commander of the Gendarmerie is not sufficient, as that appointment must be affected by the Minister of the Interior. Whoever becomes Commander of the Corps of Gendarmerie has one remaining year to interrogate suspects before making an arrest in the Frau Victor case. The attempt on Herr von Dwyer-Frauenkirche may no longer be investigated, as more than five years have elapsed since the original attempt, which occurred in 1885.
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
