1891: The violence finally erupts
The matter of Italy continued to take center stage in German politics. The liberals continued to crow about their achievements, particularly ex-Chancellor Franz Meningen, while the conservatives, imperialists, socialists, and communists united to attack the liberals. As long as the liberals held a majority in the Assembly, they could prevent the end of Italy's autonomy, but the opposition still controlled the Conclave, and they would happily prevent any further devolution of German centralization. The average German, however, didn't care. They cared about the price of food, the wages they earned in Germany's factories, the conditions their children suffered through. The standard of living had steadily improved, without question, but the construction of seemingly endless naval bases gave them no real security. Some influential Germans asked what would happen if Germany's natural enemies banded together against the republic; fortifications were seriously out of date and tactically, German troops were out of sync with modern developments. Matters came to a head in early February when thousands of angry socialists, demanding immediate social equality, the redistribution of property, and an end to preferential treatment for minority groups, took to the streets in Germany and Italy.
The leader of the German defense was Viktor Wittmann, a dynamic General who wanted to take the fight to the enemy. General Wittmann drove his troops hard, but it was largely due to his efforts that the socialists were quickly overwhelmed. His operations were not without cost, but with supplies limited due to the liberal economic policies, they were as good as could be expected. One way to try to defray some of those costs was suggested by Minister of War Konrad von Schwaben, who recommended training Filipino troops and offering them citizenship in exchange for taking over garrison duties in German cities and towns.
General Wittmann received a commendation for his efforts, but the international community turned on Germany. They deplored the violence and brutality used by the German army to put down what some British politicians called "an unfortunate misunderstanding." The head of the British Labour Party even said that "the German army is the most tyrannical institution in modern times, ruthlessly suppressing freedom of speech and assembly without mercy." Non-Germans in Croatia and Berlin agreed, and began agitating for freedom from the regime that oppressed them. The KPD wasted little time in pressing their advantage. Clarissa Rafanelli-Askanier, the leader of the KPD, denounced the capitalist owners of a factory in her native Turin as punishing their workers for the crimes of the German separatists. When the Italian Parliament demanded that she stop "stirring up mistrust," she openly defied their order, calling the Italian Parliament "an illegal body imposed upon us by the cancer that is liberalism." Encouraged by her words, a sabotage campaign spread throughout Turin, with a sympathy rally held in Mannheim, Baden. The Minister of the Interior, Socialist Franz von Bavel-Timmermans, had little choice but to order a full investigation into the business in Turin and arrested the demonstrators in Mannheim. Stadtholder Rafanelli-Askanier was briefly detained, but there was no direct evidence linking her to the sabotage attempts.
As the KPD loudly and angrily protested the government's violent crackdown, nothing but praise came from the privileged classes. Minister of Education Walther Herwig shifted his attention from pure theory to practice, offering prizes and awards for those individuals who came up with new methods of efficiency. Chancellor HF Gutfreund was also recognized for his close ties to the business community, although some politicians attributed that to the steadying hand of Minister of Finance Friedrich Thiessen. Foreign Minister Maria Victor got credit for a new business arrangement with Canada that included a defensive alliance and lent Canada's support to counteract the increasingly aggressive British Empire.
For all of the rhetoric and incidents the KPD was involved in, nothing compared to the outright rebellion of French patriots who sought reunion with their homeland to get away from "the nightmare of Communism." While homegrown socialists posed little threat to the German army, the French nationalist were well armed, drilled, and supplied. Some officers of French ancestry even defected to join the anti-German forces. The army handled the uprising, but with an even larger bloodbath and, worse still, a disaster at Cambrai, where French snipers killed the German officer and the army fled from the field in terror.
The Reichstag met in 1892 under a cloud of domestic unrest. The government had much to answer for.
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@Warlord Skorr, we'll need a couple more techs to get us through 1892 and 1893. I started that last economic tech in September 1891.))
There are no current items demanding the Reichstag's attention; ministerial proposals may be adjusted and legislation proposed until Wednesday at 10 PM (-6 GMT).
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
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