The Vote That Shook the Republic
III. The Plenary Session Vote
Time passed quickly. Or rather, there wasn’t much that demanded my full attention. After that massive clash with Hitler, both sides seemed to be holding their tongues. The daily meetings had become Brüning’s relentless campaign to hammer home the absolute necessity of austerity and somehow scrape together a majority.
Yes, just as he claimed, Brüning carried a genuine sense of mission. He believed he had to pass this budget no matter what.
“You witnessed the madness of Representative Hitler yourself, Representative Heinz.”
That was why he had summoned me directly to the Chancellor’s residence. The situation was that urgent for him too. At first I thought the invitation was spam, but…
“I know. Representative Hitler insulted me with words I can barely repeat, and the German National People’s Party—the very face of German conservatism—is shielding him. Nevertheless, I trust your convictions and the integrity of your party. Among those who call themselves ‘communists,’ I have never met anyone with principles as clear and unyielding as yours, Representative Heinz.”
“In case you didn’t know, I spent eleven years in the Communist Party before I left and founded the Workers’ Party. If the only reason you called me here was to badmouth my former comrades, I’ll be on my way.”
“This matter is far more complicated than you seem to realize. The people’s councils you advocate for, the economic sovereignty of the nation—those are all fine ideas. But this is not the time. As you know, Russia has been diplomatically and economically isolated since the revolution. Abandoning austerity now would be tantamount to declaring that we are severing ties with the West.”
“The reason the Communist Party—and I—oppose your austerity so fiercely isn’t simply because we dislike Britain and France. What matters most to us is exactly what you mentioned: the peace and economic sovereignty of the people. If Germany continues its pro-Western stance, the irrational structure of production will never change, and genuine democracy will remain impossible.”
“Even so, if a revolution were to break out in Germany as you wish, the Western powers would intervene without hesitation. They might have been too busy with the Great War to stop the 1917 Russian Revolution, but they will not make that mistake again.”
Brüning believed he could persuade even the Communist Party through me to support austerity.
“The world is not divided neatly into the evil of capitalism and the virtue of communism. Diplomacy is a tangled, complicated affair. Suppose austerity fails and a revolution occurs in Germany, transforming it into something like the Russian Soviet system. And by ‘Soviet,’ I mean the ideal democracy you describe—not the ‘totalitarian dictatorship’ you rejected. Even then, Britain, and especially America, would never stand by. These are states built on the power of capital. Would they simply watch a vast market like Germany slip from capital’s grasp? If the worldwide union of workers that communists speak of actually triggered a global revolution, I would hand over the power of this cabinet to the people without hesitation. But realistically, isn’t that impossible? If revolution comes to Germany, the German people will simply fall into the hands of foreign powers even more irrational and oppressive than the current system.”
In short, Brüning’s argument was crystal clear. Communism in Germany will be overthrown and crushed by foreign powers. Therefore, wouldn’t it be better to support austerity now and extend the lifespan of this nation, even if only a little?
“…You’re right.”
It wasn’t wrong. The “communism” of the world I came from had concentrated power in the Party rather than the people in order to survive external threats, and in the end it collapsed under the pressure of capitalist forces. In that sense, Brüning’s words held some truth.
“But even if revolution brings another form of oppression, that does not justify the endless oppression of the current capitalist system.”
The French Revolution gave rise to Robespierre and Napoleon, yet that does not legitimize the absolute monarchy of the Bourbons that came before.
“You’re correct. The West will crush any popular revolution in Germany by any means necessary. But at least in that process, the means of resistance will be used. We cannot know whether we will win or lose, but the people must resist this oppressive and irrational system. As I told you before, what I value above all is ‘the equal right of all people to self-determination.’ For that to happen, social ownership rather than private ownership of capital is inevitable. Your austerity policy, Chancellor, does not extend the life of Germany. It merely uses the lives of Germans as a shield to prolong the life of the German Empire. Therefore, I cannot support your austerity under any circumstances.”
Even if that gave the West an excuse to invade and ravage Germany at will…
“This is the unified position of myself, my Workers’ Party, and my comrades in the Communist Party. You may consider it certain that we will not cast a single vote in favor of austerity.”
“……”
In the end, neither of us would yield.
“How regrettable. I did not want to exclude you from politics, Representative Heinz.”
“If you were truly the ‘democrat’ you claim to be, you would not ignore the Communist Party, which represents the voice of the workers—the majority of the nation.”
“That is to protect German democracy. Both the far right and the far left are equally enemies of democracy.”
“Then it seems we cannot even stand in the same political space. I’m not sure what you imagine when you say ‘far left,’ but if that term refers to the thought of Comrade Lenin in Russia and of Rosa Luxemburg, I cannot see how it could possibly be considered anti-democratic.”
“Democracy is a system, Representative Heinz. It is a system in which the legislative, executive, and judicial branches check one another so that power does not concentrate in any one place, and all decisions are controlled by a constitution and laws enacted by a parliament elected through the will of the people. That is democracy.”
“No. Democracy is a reality. It is the political and economic reality in which every citizen, without bias, possesses an equal right to self-determination and the opportunity to pursue their dreams. That is democracy.”
“…It seems persuasion is impossible.”
“Because the democracy you speak of is not democracy at all.”
“I have heard you well. I sincerely hope we reach a good conclusion. You may go.”
“I hope you will also reflect on who your policy is truly meant to save, Chancellor.”
And with that, we parted.
A little time passed. September 20th.
Today is the day of the vote. We now present for a vote the First Cabinet Budget Bill, which the cabinet has drafted and which has been adjusted and supplemented through debate within the parliament. Each member shall mark ‘Ja’ or ‘Nein’ on the ballot you have received, fold it twice, and place it in the ballot box. Ballots marked on both options or on neither will be considered invalid. Please take care.
With the Speaker’s words, the ballots were distributed. It really was simpler than I expected. Just two circles: ‘Ja’ and ‘Nein.’ The single vote I cast here would determine Germany’s future.
Wow. When I thought about it that way, I really had climbed to an incredibly high place, hadn’t I?
After spending every day arguing and fooling around, the moment had finally come to cast an actual vote. Suddenly the fact that I—of all people—was a member of parliament hit me with full force.
Whoa. I’m nervous.
I picked up the pen with a click. I wasn’t completely without hesitation, but with fairly high accuracy and quick hands… I checked ‘Nein’ (No).
There had never been any chance I would change my mind. I had zero intention of starving Germany’s workers and people just to fill the bellies of Western capitalists.
Once I finished marking it, I set the pen down, folded the paper in half, then in half again.
“Hoo…”
My heart pounded. Thump. Thump.
With my racing pulse, the vote collectors moved between the seats, neatly gathering the ballots. They were all dumped out in the center of the chamber, counted, and the yeas and nays tallied.
“Emilia, where did you vote?”
While the Speaker and assistants counted the votes, Konrad whispered from the seat beside me.
“Obviously against it. What are you even asking?” I whispered back.
We had already met at the Communist Party headquarters the day before and agreed: “We’re all voting no on this one.”
“What about you?”
“Me? Against.”
“Then why did you ask?”
“Just because! I was curious. This is my first time participating in a vote too.”
Come to think of it, Konrad was also a freshman legislator. I’m nervous too, you know. You’re not the only one.
What if the yeas win? Then there really won’t be any way to stop it within the bounds of the law…
No way. No way. No way…
“Total number of votes cast: 577. No invalid ballots.”
They must have finished counting. The Speaker took the microphone.
“I will now announce the results. In favor…”
Gulp.
A heavy silence fell over the chamber.
“Two hundred eighty-six votes.”
Two hundred eighty-six… Is that a majority? The total was 577 seats, right? I can’t do the mental math… No way. It can’t be. No way.
“Against,”
Please…!!!
“Two hundred ninety-one votes. Since the nays exceed the yeas by five votes, the motion is rejected in accordance with the will of the majority.”