Chapter 80: Chapter 79 – Dirtiest Congress

Soon, the talk on the streets of Frankfurt changed from the German question and the rights of workers and farmers to the backgrounds of the delegates who had assembled from across Germany. Many even questioned whether Prussia was planning to use the Frankfurt Parliament to annex other German states. Even the headlines of the local newspapers were filled with exposé of the delegates.

"'A Capitalist's Dog!' A foreman who is believed to be personally responsible for the deaths of over six workers claims to represent the working class and its interests!"

"'Poor farmer or wealthy noble?' A farmer representative has recently been found to be the owner of over 1000 acres of land! It has also been reported that he is the grandson of a Viscount through his mother."

"Are wealthy capitalists attempting to hijack the Frankfurt Parliament?"

"Are these delegates even truly elected?"

As if affected by the happenings of Frankfurt, major newspapers such as the British Guardian and Observer, the French Le Correspondant and La Réforme, and and ' Neue Rheinische Zeitung also began reporting on it. Articles with provocative headlines flooded the streets of Frankfurt and every other major city in Europe. Many articles also included hand-drawn images and political cartoons based on the delegates.

Unlike its previous reputation as a humble event which was mocked as play-pretend for commoners, the Frankfurt Parliament had seized the front page headlines of mainstream media and had become the most talked-about topic in Europe. The truth mixed with rumors made it difficult for people to distinguish the truth from the lie. In fact, the dark history of capitalists exposed by the media was not far from the truth.

In addition, since the Frankfurt Parliament had been an attempt to undermine the authority of the kings of most monarchies in Germany, the monarchs of most states in Europe willingly became part of this public opinion war started by Franz.

 

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Inside a mansion in the affluent district of Frankfurt, the faces of the delegates of the Frankfurt Parliament were grim. As if the public opinion storm wasn't enough, the Austrian delegation had launched a strong protest and stated that the Austrian Empire was a whole and its integrity could not be damaged.

According to the rules, seats within the Frankfurt Parliament were allocated based on the population of the states as one seat was granted for every 50,000 people. Therefore, if the non-German speaking regions of the massive Austrian Empire are not excluded, the Frankfurt Parliament would turn into a one-man-show led by Austria.

The year was 1848 and, so, the of 1864 had not yet taken place. Therefore, the two regions of Schleswig and Holstein which had a german-speaking majority still belonged to Denmark, not Prussia. In addition, Austria still controlled most of northern Italy where the Italian population was concentrated. Unsurprisingly, in terms of population, Austria exceeded not just Prussia, but the entire proposed Kleindeutschland.

What made matters worse was that the Austrian delegates had been very cavalier in front of the reporters about the exclusion of much of its population. By now, everyone had realized that the Austrian delegation was only here to crash the party. However, even if they knew this, they couldn't do anything about it. If the Austrians leave, especially while possessing the moral high ground, the Frankfurt Parliament, which claimed to want a unified Germany, would turn into a laughing stock.

"Gentlemen, we must take action. The recent public opinion has been very detrimental. If this continues, our efforts will be in vain!" said Heinrich von Gagern, the President of the National Assembly.

In fact, even after the media revealed their dark past, it did not arouse their vigilance. All the capitalists in the world were ruthless. Who didn't have a dark past? However, they were worried about the machinations of the Austrian delegation.

As the largest state in Germany, Austria was the veritable boss. Even if Prussia had become the leader in North Germany, Austria's overall influence in Germany otustripped Prussia. Thus, without Austria's participation in the Frankfurt Parliament, it would not be possible for it to gain public approval.

"How about we simply rename it to Kleindeutschland Parliament and kick the Austrians out?" A Prussian delegate suggested.

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"Impossible! Werner, you are splitting the great German empire. If you turn this into the Kleindeutschland Parliament, we shall also withdraw!" A delegate from Bavaria objected.

The establishment of Kleindeutschland might be in the interest of capitalists in North Germany as they would be able to avoid competition from Austrian capitalists, but it is different for many capitalists in South Germany, especially those belonging to the Kingdom of Bavaria. The Bavarian economy was closely connected to the Austrian economy, so their separation would be nothing short of disastrous.

In fact, the main purpose of the Frankfurt Parliament was to expand the political influence of the bourgeoisie. The unification of Germany was actually only secondary. Unfortunately, its provisions were too idealistic as they infinitely expanded the rights and interests of the bourgeoisie. In the end, even Prussia had to openly oppose the Frankfurt Parliament.

 

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After a week of dispute, the delegates finally reached a compromise. They now allowed the participation of the delegates from Bohemia and Hungary, but they placed a limit on the number of seats that any one state could possess. Of the total 649 seats in the Frankfurt Parliament, the seats held by any one state would be capped at 200. As a result, despite having almost three times the population of Prussia, Austria would receive the same number of seats.

The Austrian delegation headed by Adelson had come to Frankfurt just to crash the party, so naturally he wouldn't give up such a sweet opportunity.

The next day, he once again found the reporters and stated that Austria must receive the largest number of seats. After all, it is widely accepted that Austria has the largest population. Also, there are no professional statistics in this era so who knows how much of its population was composed of Germans.

The Prussians, who wanted to obtain the same status as Austria, naturally disagreed. After all, the Frankfurt Parliament was planned by Prussian interest groups with the purpose of excluding Austria. As a result, the Austrian and Prussian delegations began a tug-of-war, which soon spread, and turned into a conflict between North and South Germany. In the end, the scandalous Frankfurt Parliament turned into a joke.

The Vienna Daily described it as "a feast for capitalists," accompanied by a political cartoon of a group of chubby capitalists eating a sumptuous steak with forks and knives.

The Munich Post published a series of reports on the Frankfurt Parliament, detailing the lives of all the delegates. Unsurprisingly, the reports were filled with their dark and shady past.

Ultimately, the Frankfurt Parliament was deemed to be the "Dirtiest Congress in history." There was no longer any way to salvage the reputation of the Parliament or its delegates.

Many reports also detailed the election fraud that had been committed by the delegates. For example, a certain delegate claimed to have been elected with 30,000 votes, but, in fact, the voter turnout was less than one hundred; meanwhile, delegate claimed to have been elected with 25,000 votes, but he was the only candidate, so naturally he won the election by default.

In addition, many reports pointed out that the elections took place within the span of a week, which was insufficient to even inform the voters about the election. On many occasions, the people and the newspapers were informed less than a day before the elections took place, leaving no time for the voters to reach the booth and give their votes. Numerous questionnaire surveys showed that over 90% of Germans were unaware of the elections, and that less than 1% of the Germans had participated in the elections.

At this point, Franz no longer needed to continue to do anything. Insults and threats were hurled at the delegates every day. Soon, most could no longer stand the pressure of public opinion and voluntarily withdrew. By July, due to changes in the political mood and internal and external concerns, the Frankfurt Parliament spontaneously collapsed.

 

-TO BE CONTINUED-

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