Austerity or Death #1
The same moment, in the square before the parliament building.
“What the hell, why is it taking so long?”
“It always takes this much time. Just wait patiently.”
“Always? Good grief, my stomach’s about to burst from the stress.”
As time dragged on, the demonstrators grew more and more restless.
“Parliament, I swear, they’re famous for moving at a snail’s pace.”
“There are over five hundred people in there. They have to listen to every single opinion. Of course it’s going to take forever.”
“Weren’t they only supposed to hold the vote today?”
“Parliament doesn’t stick to a rigid schedule. They might do more after the vote.”
“Anyway, the moment I hear the result, I’m heading home.”
People who normally wouldn’t even glance at the Reichstag had gathered here today like a massive cloud.
“I hope it gets rejected.”
“Hope it gets rejected? If it passes instead of being rejected, we’ll starve to death that very day! It has to be rejected! The Chancellor is trying to starve us all!”
“We’re all in the same boat, so calm down. In the end, whether we live or die is in the hands of the deputies inside that building.”
They waited from the moment the deputies entered the chamber until the voting ended and the results were tallied.
“The Central Party, the Democratic Party, the People’s Party… basically the National Front will obviously vote in favor, and the minor conservative parties will follow suit. That alone should give them a comfortable majority. There’s no way the Social Democrats or the Communists will vote yes.”
“So the National People’s Party is the key after all.”
“Why the hell do those damn aristocrats get to decide our fate?”
“Because they hold most of the seats, that’s why.”
“Looking at their recent moves, the Social Democrats seem pretty dangerous too.”
“Hey, not everyone in the SDP has shifted to the center. They still dream of social reform.”
“Then why are they so obsessed with ‘reform within the system’? If they haven’t changed after hearing what Deputy Heinz has to say, that’s even stranger, isn’t it?”
Besides, the person who had gathered all these countless workers in front of the parliament building was none other than Heinz herself.
“Heinz? Talking about that woman again. Sure, she only says the right things, but her ideology is far too idealistic.”
“Still, the SDP’s reforms are just too unintuitive. All this time they’ve been going on about democracy—what exactly have the Social Democrats actually done for us?”
“It’s true that many welfare laws were passed, though.”
“If the SDP fails to act this time and the vote passes, what was the point of any of it!”
“That’s true. Even so, revolution is far too radical a method.”
“In a radical situation, don’t we need radical measures? The Chancellor is trying to starve us to death, so we have no choice but to rise up!”
“That doesn’t mean the Social Democrats’ approach is wrong. Revolution can easily slide into dictatorship. Sometimes a flawed democracy that manages to survive is the lesser evil.”
“But isn’t Heinz saying that this flawed democracy is killing every single one of us workers?”
“Enough! For heaven’s sake, stop fighting. Whether you’re SDP or KPD, the priority right now is making sure this austerity bill gets rejected. Fighting among ourselves only gives strength to the right wing.”
In the end, another worker stepped in to break up the argument between the two.
“The vote is about to—”
[We will now announce the results.]
As the Speaker’s voice crackled through the loudspeakers, the square fell instantly silent.
[In favor: 286 votes. Against: 291 votes. Since the against votes exceed the in-favor votes by five, the motion has been rejected by majority opinion.]
The instant the word “rejected” rang out, the square erupted in cheers.
“Rejected! It’s rejected! We’re not going to starve!”
For workers and the common people, this rejection truly was a matter of life or death.
“Our votes have finally been answered! German democracy is not dead yet!”
The workers proudly pulled out red flags and waved them high. The solid red banner of the Social Democrats, the yellow hammer and sickle of the Communists, the white rose and cogwheel of the Labor Party… For the first time, the state—its so-called “democracy”—had protected them.
-----
“The motion has been rejected.”
The Speaker’s words fell.
“...!”
Rejected. It was rejected.
In that instant, the taut tension filling the chamber snapped like a thread.
“Hey!” Konrad shouted beside me.
“We won…!”
The thrill was electric.
“Oh my god, woooooo!!!”
Cheers burst out before anyone could even think.
“We won! The power of the workers has won!”
“The people are victorious! The capitalists’ empty rhetoric can step aside now!”
“We won…! We won!”
Without thinking, I jumped up and down like an excited child and threw my arms around Konrad.
“We won~!”
“Ugh—”
Inside the chamber, the cheers came only from our Communist side, so it wasn’t overwhelmingly loud, but already jubilant roars could be heard pouring in through the windows. To the citizens outside, this was a victory bulletin. It meant they wouldn’t have to starve to death right away.
A clearly uncomfortable Konrad gently pushed my face away with his hand. Thälmann had abandoned his usual stern expression; his face was flushed with excitement as he thrust his fist into the air.
“The workers will surely triumph!”
Of course he was overjoyed.
I steadied my soaring heart and glanced around. My eyes landed on the Social Democrats, who were wrapped in an oddly quiet atmosphere. A few, like Deputy Krischpin, had stood up to applaud, but most remained seated in silence. Since nearly all the SDP deputies must have voted against the bill, this was probably a silence of relief. Stability of the system mattered, but expanding welfare and achieving social reform mattered more. It was only natural they would feel relieved that the austerity measures—which would have nullified all the reforms Germany had achieved under its constitution—had been defeated.
The sight of the National Front, where the Chancellor sat, sinking into despair was quite satisfying. From their perspective, the very democracy they had trusted had driven them into this corner. They must have been absolutely certain of victory. ‘I did not wish to exclude Deputy Heinz from politics,’ he had said. Since he couldn’t win me over, it was highly likely he had allied with the National People’s Party precisely to exclude our side instead. So of course he had been confident. With the three parties of the governing National Front plus the National People’s Party, there was no way they could fail to reach a majority.
In other words, the Chancellor had been thoroughly stabbed in the back by the very conservative forces he had placed his faith in.
“H-how is this possible…! Have you all been bewitched by those agitators’ tongues and sold out the future of the nation?! Is this truly democracy?!”
A deputy from the People’s Party screamed, but once the vote had already been rejected, his words meant nothing. You trusted the right wing, didn’t you? Then you should bear the responsibility for their betrayal, shouldn’t you?
The Chancellor himself, however, showed no change in expression. He simply stared straight ahead with trembling eyes. At a glance, it seemed the minor parties seated to the right of the National Front were voicing what he could not.
“This is a conspiracy! A Bolshevik plot by the Communist bastards to turn Germany into a den of Soviets!”
A perfect right-wing interest group composed almost entirely of capitalists.
“Have you even thought about what will happen to the stock market tomorrow?!”
“This… this vote is invalid! Chancellor! Reverse the result immediately!”
No matter how much they called for the Chancellor, the outcome would not change. Ah, how delightful. They must be losing sleep worrying that their coffers will grow thinner.
The National People’s Party side, surprisingly, showed almost no reaction. After all, those people lived off unearned income, so whether the bill passed or failed probably made little difference to them… But when I saw the aristocratic deputies in the back rows glancing at the Chancellor with sour expressions while stroking their beards, I understood. They had clearly betrayed him. Whether they were chasing immediate gains or thinking further ahead, I couldn’t tell. Either way, the fracture within the conservative camp was something worth watching from our side.
The one I had half-expected to leap up shouting something like, ‘This is a great victory for the German nation and the first sign that we are reclaiming the sovereignty stolen by the West! Now is the time for unity—Germany must rise!’—that Hilter fellow—was unexpectedly quiet. Or rather, he looked extremely sinister. Well, knowing his nature, he was probably already calculating his next move. In any case, that kind of schemer…
“Everyone, quiet! The vote has concluded. Today’s parliamentary session is now adjourned. All deputies are asked to leave the chamber in an orderly fashion.”
Once the vote ended, they gave everyone a brief moment to react before immediately dissolving the session. I didn’t even try to calm my excited heart as I hurried down from my seat.
“We won~!”
This might very well be the happiest moment of my entire life.
-----
That evening.
“So, does victory taste sweet?”
Parliament had ended, and tomorrow—Sunday—was a day off. I had planned to return to my hometown of Essen after so long, but I decided to answer the Chancellor’s summons first. I still didn’t understand why he was showing this much interest in a Communist like me.
“If I said no, that would be a lie, wouldn’t it?”
“I believe I once prayed that you would make the right choice.”
“And I did make the right choice. At least, this is the choice I believe is correct.”
It seemed Brüning still harbored some lingering attachment.
“Weren’t you betrayed by the National People’s Party?”
“How did you…?”
“It was obvious. After all, you must have assumed the left would oppose you no matter what, so you tried to bring the National People’s Party on board, didn’t you?”
Brüning looked surprised, but in truth there was nothing surprising about it.
“…I should not have trusted them.”
“No one told you to trust them.”
“If only Deputy Heinz and the left had shown a little more cooperation, this could have been resolved.”
“We represent the voices of the workers above all else. How could we possibly support a policy that starves those very workers? I simply spoke on behalf of my supporters. In fact, I would say we are carrying out the institutional democracy you speak of rather faithfully.”
At that, Brüning let out a bitter, incredulous chuckle.
“What? Did I say something wrong?”
“You mentioned you were returning to your hometown today?”
He stood up as he answered. A sudden non sequitur… or rather, since he answered a question with another question, was it an eastern question and western answer?
“Well, it’s not that far, and I only go when I have time, so it doesn’t really matter.”
With a clink, he opened a cabinet and took out a glass bottle.
“Do you like wine?”
“I don’t exactly avoid it… so yes?”
What was this? His intentions were growing increasingly opaque.
“I would like to have a candid conversation. What do you say, Deputy Heinz?”
He poured the deep red wine into a glass and handed it to me.
“…That’s fine.”