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((I am here, but also there.))
 
NOVEMBER 1, 1902:

The Ambassador from Sweden has asked for our aid in recovering ancestral Swedish lands from Norway. Norway is protected by Ethiopia and Denmark. Sweden has initiated the war.

The Foreign Minister has yet to respond to the Ambassador's request.

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
 
On this one, I am agreed. Sweden needs to handle their own problems. We could fight and win this war, but frankly, our allies need to stop depending on us to fight their wars, especially wars against our other allies.

~Johannes Carile, Minister of the Interior
 
I honestly think we should just stay out of this. Sweden may have a casus belli, but they need to fight their own wars.
 
I concur with most of the Reichstag. It is one thing to help an ally, but another to aid them in an aggressive war against another of our allies. The Swedes should know better than to request our assistance when it would force us to turn on another ally.

- Reichspräsident Eva von Vandenburg
 
The Forign Ministry is rather disappointed with Sweden as this violates on of the most reiterated red lines in German forign policy and that is that we do not condone or support fights withen the system of German alliances. I propose that we decline the call of the trouble making swedes who have decided to disobey our explicit instruction.
 
As it is the Foreign Minister's prerogative to not take action, no vote is necessary to confirm the Foreign Minister's statement. Individuals displeased with his decision may call for a no confidence vote, but the Supreme Court advises against this, given that the general election is coming up in the next few months.

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

((I should be able to finish playing and update tonight, as long as we don't keep getting called to arms.))
 
Election of 1903: The decline of the Bundespartei

One of the strangest political phenomena in German history occurred in the election of 1903. Most observers had nothing but praise for Franz Meningen, who had served his first term as Chancellor Germany. Generally speaking, he had steered Germany well, dealing with the occasional crisis with aplomb and skill. Meningen had every reason to expect that he and his party would continue to grow and receive a mandate for four more years in charge. The electorate, however, had other ideas.

The Schwabing Circles were the first sign that something was wrong in Germany or at least unexpected. This incredibly popular measure passed the Reichstag easily, but once the area was set up in Munich, it was not greeted with enthusiasm, but apathy. The Minister of Education, Walther Herwig, opined that German intellectuals were already free and therefore had no need of a special area to discuss exciting new ideas. His suggestion was well considered, but while he applauded the intellectual free spirit of Germany, he simultaneously funded engineering schools, looking for ways to improve power generation. Whatever pretty speeches he might give, the Minister knew that most Germans did not esteem the lofty intellectual or the snooty artist, but the practical engineer and the stalwart soldier. The beloved heir to the Hohenzollern name and fortune, Erich von Hohenzollern, chose the German army rather than any of the universities that would have happily accepted him. At the age of 17, Erich enlisted, choosing to become a cavalryman, pleasing his father, the Chief of the General Staff Karl Friedrich von Hohenzollern.

dP0X02.jpg


The other major change was the surprising upsurge in popularity for Conservative Foreign Minister Hubert Schaumburg. When his original idea to support the Krakovian war for parts of Norway fell through, he did not bluster or complain; he submitted a much more moderate plan that easily won approval. German pounds were sent instead of German soldiers. Krakow was, not surprisingly, defeated, but Krakow's relationship with Germany was not affected at all. Similarly, when Sweden sought to grab their piece of Norway, Germany refused support of any kind and still Sweden was eager to resume the formerly broken alliance. Just as the once fiery revolutionary Meningen had mellowed over time, so too had the warmonger Schaumburg become much more reasonable.



The election was not the landslide that German political observers had thought, and as the election began, there were plenty of warning signs that the Bundespartei might be in real trouble.



Sensing the weakness of the centrist Bundespartei, critics from both the left and right wings of German politics criticized Meningen's cool and calm policy decisions. The KPD and DDA looked for cuts to the German army, as the new peaceful position of the Foreign Ministry suggested that the powerful and expensive German military machine was a needless luxury and a symbol of German aggression. Conservatives were horrified at the mismanagement of German funds under Meningen's Finance Minister Albrecht von Württemburg. Instead of maintaining a balanced budget, the German treasury had run a heavy deficit for the last two years of the Meningen administration, thanks in large part to an economy based on reparations from the recent Great War. When those reparations evaporated, there were no changes to the tax base. The DSU had the strongest argument, complaining that the liberals had continued to discriminate against socialist ministers in their government.









The resulting elections turned German politics upside down. The Bundespartei, instead of gaining more seats in the Assembly, lost almost 10% of the popular vote, which the DSU, Imperialists, Conservatives, DDA, and KPD picked up. For the first time, the DSU was the largest party in the Assembly at 25% of the vote; the Bundespartei fell to fourth place, behind the DLP (who lost a few seats as well) and resurgent Conservatives. Even the KPD, the smallest party in Germany, had 5% of the vote, a significant improvement from past returns.

LLT3zv.jpg


In the Conclave, too, the Liberals lost seats, which the Conservatives picked up. The DDA and KPD roughly doubled their returns from the previous election. Centrism, to put it mildly, had lost most of its appeal. Germans wanted action and dynamism, not lethargy and cool reason. Elderly Germans demanded pensions, while the unemployed were almost as vocal. A tiny fringe party demanded Bohemian independence, although nobody took them seriously. It was the economy that ultimately undermined the Bundespartei. In 1899, the German treasury was over £3 million; in 1903, it was less than half of that. Whichever party took the lead in the new coalition had a lot of work to do, and could use the new tool of radio to do it.







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((No fancy political diagrams from me this time; somebody else is free to supply them, if they like.))

The Supreme Court calls for a new coalition, reminding all parties that the Socialists are entitled to a seat in the government. Since no other party has 25% of the Conclave or Assembly, that is the only requirement for the new coalition.

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

((One other thing: I had intended to use random numbers for all election events, but I'd already saved the game and written most of the update before I realized I hadn't done that this time around. It will change for the next election. I don't know what difference it would have made in this election, since the only major choice I had was to bump one of the parties. I chose the Conservatives for RP reasons, but I think the BP would have been nerfed no matter what.))

EDIT: ((One final note. I've updated the active/inactive list. If you are inactive, a single post will have that status removed. Remember to select from active members only for the purposes of filling ministries.))
 
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The time has come for action! The markets, and the German people, crave conquest and a strong hand. For too long has the German nature, that of the battlefield, the fife and the drum, lain dormant. For too long has our true place in the center of European politics become that of another power, a weaker power. Germany is the potential, we are the potential, for a new and glorious future upon which an Empire is to be built! For too long, the centers of power has been the weak-kneed liberals! For too long has the so-called 'Liberator' used the facade of leadership to cover up what every good German knows, that the nation has stagnated, that our leaders are bored with her, that our armies are weak, that division is rife. I ask this 'Liberator' to step down, and to let a new generation of Germans, hardier and better prepared for the challenges of a new age. The age of Germany!
 
It becomes obvious now that Comrade Liberator no long holds the wills of the people. I, with the highest respect, call upon him to resign and allow for a new chancellor to take office from the DLP. I am most pleased at hearing that the people of Germany are beginning to see the KPD's appeal. We look forward to working with all parties towards a resolution of the deficit, and the management of political intricacies.

Germany's sun shines brighter than ever, really.

- Clarissa Rafanelli
KPD Party Leader, President of Italy
 
((Oh, I think so...))
 
I respect the democratic will of the electorate, even if I disagree with it

((This was my second term as chancellor so I wouldn't have been able to serve another term anyway, correct?))

((Weren't you forced to resign in disgrace almost instantly the last time you were elected?))