1905: Tensions in Eastern Europe
As Chancellor Franz von Bavel-Timmermans neared the end of his first term in office, he had to admit that overall, things had gone pretty well for Germany. Domestic tensions had been mostly quiet, and Axel Wouters was proving to be a remarkable Foreign Minister. Wouters aggressively protected the interests of the Republic of Germany, but did so in a way that merely
threatened force without ever employing it. The German military remained revered by the average German, but the army and navy had done virtually nothing of consequence for years. There were certainly potential cracks in Germany's armor: for example, German fortifications were woefully out of date and had not been upgraded for decades. A serious overhaul of the army was probably necessary too, as Konrad von Schwaben had only ever promoted the cause of the navy during his lengthy tenure of Minister of War. Thankfully, Wouters could skillfully use the appearance of force to manage German interests, even engineering a rapprochement between Tver and Poland while France and the United Kingdom fought to dismember the hapless republic. German neutrality in the crisis was so ominous that both parties simply agreed to let the matter drop rather than continue to what might become a world war.
However, the domestic peace that Germany had enjoyed started to falter. On the heels of German athletes returning home with several medals (including a bronze medal for shooting for Erich von Hohenzollern), a generation of young Germans began to question the peaceful conciliatory tone set by the Socialist government. While none of these Germans were yet of voting age, they grew angry that Germans had grown so complacent. Some of them even insisted that the absence of war was a negative, not a positive. One of the centers of this new movement was Anhalt, which was wracked with unemployment. Germans who could not find factory jobs had traditionally joined the army, but with army budgets failing to increase, there were many angry Germans with nothing to do.
Matters came to an end when the German Olympic Team toured Anhalt with the victorious athletes. A group of these angry young Germans threw rotten fruit and vegetables at the athletes, but one such protester was unsatisfied with produce. He threw a brick and hit Erich von Hohenzollern between the eyes, knocking him unconscious. A group of the Gendarmerie fired into the air to disperse the crowd, restoring order in record time. This response did not go uncriticized, and an anonymous writer castigated the Ministry of the Interior for "excessive force", despite the fact that the young von Hohenzollern was the only person injured in the fracas. As people began to campaign openly for the office of Reichspräsident, other editorials appeared, many of them aimed at the "liberal treason" of Johannes Carile, the Minister of the Interior, who had "betrayed the true patriots of Germany by joining with the socialists." It quickly became apparent that officials in the Bundespartei had sanctioned these editorials as a way to win votes for the Presidential election. To most outside observers, there was no difference between the DLP and Bundespartei. Conservatives and Imperialists alleged that the real victim of the story was the once great family Hohenzollern, which had been subverted by liberals to serve their own nefarious ends.
Another avenue of attack for the angry young Germans was the DSU. After all, it was socialists who controlled the German economy, and while the national treasury continued to grow, Germans were going hungry and without work. A campaign demanding new factories and infrastructure upgrades quickly gained popularity. Voices from other German provinces, such as Thuringia and Puglia, joined what was rapidly becoming known as the Anhalter People's Party. The Anhalters (as they were often known) demanded room for Germans to expand, even at the expense of other cultures and countries, if the socialists could not properly manage the domestic economy. Some questioned the wisdom of democracy at all, believing fervently in the power of the Hohenzollerns to end the injustice of German society. The mood of the Anhalters threatened to supplant the Presidential elections, which were held very nervously in the capital in early 1906.
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((Admin hat on))
I obviously intend the Anhalters to be the seeds of our fascist movement, when it eventually forms. Whoever decides to create the party when fascism fires need not necessarily use that name or even these specific issues, but you do have a backstory to build off of. Another possible outcome of this update could be the merger of the DLP and Bundespartei, especially since the BP has been so weak of late (apart from our good friend 'The Liberator'). These are merely suggestions, of course.
The game files won't even fire fascism until 1905, with an MTTH of 300, so I would not expect fascism to appear any time soon. If in-game events permit and your decisions persist, the APP/ALP/AVP (your mileage may vary) may or may not still be a force by then.
Before we consider Presidential elections, I want to resolve the issue of crises. They simply happen too frequently and delay updates. We have several options to resolve this.
1) End crisis teams. I created them as a way to give multiple people voices in foreign policy, but as membership in the AAR dwindles, they may not be necessary.
2)
@Warlord Skorr suggested we make a list of countries that Germany is officially "interested in" a mandatory part of Foreign Ministry plans.
3)
@NachoEater has noted a solution that he might have, although he has yet to present it.
4)
@DutchGuy has offered a possible path from another iAAR, but did not go into details: if he or anybody else wishes to explain the system in that iAAR, we can explore that option.
5) Simply adjust defines.lua to increase crisis cool down times to make them more impactful/important when they do occur.
For the moment, let's just present alternatives. Be as specific as you can when proposing solutions: don't say "go check with this other person" or "look at this other AAR", because that's unhelpful to people who may not be familiar with the system. If you feel comfortable proposing something, you should be able to explain it in detail.
So, have at it, my friends, let's hear what you've got to say!