Austerity or Death #11: The Emergency Decree
Immediately after the third rejection, every newspaper and political faction in the country turned its full attention to the Chancellor. Under normal circumstances, three consecutive defeats in the Reichstag should have forced the cabinet to abandon the policy without protest. Yet on November 30th, the very next day, Heinrich Brüning took to the radio and declared:
Which meant he had no intention of withdrawing the austerity measures. Having sworn to push his agenda to the bitter end, only two paths remained: either accept democratic responsibility and resign from the chancellorship after a mere ninety days in office, or invoke the Emergency Decree he claimed to have discussed with the Emperor.
Bypassing parliament through military force. Article 48 of the constitution. The highest state of emergency permissible under the German Imperial Constitution, short of martial law invoked only during war or military insurrection. If he used it, the “democracy” Brüning so often spoke of would vanish completely.
That was why the press reaction split so sharply.
That was the stance taken by most centrist and liberal outlets. Even the editorial written by the renowned liberal economist Waldemar Koch reached the same conclusion.
Overall, the tone was optimistic. To be fair, our side hadn’t sounded all that different. Our position stemmed from a refusal to surrender a victory won by the people’s will to the military and the Emperor.
On the conservative side, however, the thinking ran rather differently.
In other words, since democracy had failed, the Chancellor would naturally use the emergency decree to neutralize it. These people simply did not understand what democracy meant.
In any case, with the vote concluded and no new budget proposal submitted by the Chancellor, there was nothing left to debate. The Reichstag, which reconvened on Monday after the weekend, accomplished nothing and simply adjourned. After his weekend declaration that he would not yield, it seemed he might actually be giving up. Yet given what he had done after the second vote, no one could feel at ease.
“Something feels wrong,” I said.
That evening at Communist Party headquarters, debate raged on.
“Brüning is not the sort of man to give up so easily.”
“Three rejections can hardly be called ‘easily.’ Maybe he really is folding?”
“Considering the symbolic importance austerity holds for both Brüning and his government, that’s impossible. He genuinely believes Germany cannot recover through democratic means without austerity.”
Would the Chancellor proclaim the emergency decree or not?
“Democratic means? Is it undemocratic for working people to become the masters of their own economy, fulfilling their own needs?”
“He clearly thinks it is. He believes the Russian economy is run by the Party alone.”
“In the end, these are all just theoretical arguments, Konrad,” Ernst Thälmann said, listening quietly.
“Then what does Comrade Thälmann think?”
“I tend to believe he will not proclaim it, but…” Thälmann’s voice lacked conviction. “Brüning is a stubborn man. He is not blinded by power, yet if circumstances place power in his hands, he will wield it without hesitation. Still, I believe his narrow political base will prevent him from taking such a drastic step.”
“Personally, I think the opposite is more likely. If he judges that only an emergency decree can constitutionally save Germany, wouldn’t he use it?”
“Comrade Thälmann’s point is also valid. For the Chancellor, abandoning democratic procedure would mean abandoning even his already precarious position. With neither the people’s support nor the aristocracy’s, what could he do?”
As everyone said, the actual probability that Brüning would truly invoke Article 48 seemed extremely low.
“Emilia, what about you?”
“I…”
In real history, the Nazis had seized power after this point. That alone gave me enough to make an educated guess.
“Honestly, I think he will proclaim it.”
“Really? Why?”
“He built his entire program on the premise of austerity. Parliament has now rejected it three times. At this point he can either stop or push forward somehow. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t stop.”
If I really were Brüning, I don’t think I’d stop here either.
“But that would be ignoring parliament.”
“It’s only an excuse. He’ll justify it by claiming parliament created the governmental paralysis described in the emergency decree, then ram the policy through anyway.”
“Your trust in the Chancellor is at rock bottom, I see.”
“You don’t trust him either, do you, Comrade Thälmann?”
“…No, I don’t.”
“Besides, from our perspective as those who must fight, the result is the same whether austerity is implemented or not. Workers won’t suddenly get more bread just because austerity is abandoned, and Germany’s economy won’t recover just because it is enforced.”
And Brüning’s austerity would fail. Everyone had become so fixated on whether the policy would pass that they were overlooking this crucial point.
“Do you remember the debate the Chancellor and I had the day after the Reichstag opened?”
“Of course.”
“That’s exactly why he couldn’t refute me. People call socialist economics utopian, yet now that capitalism has collapsed, clinging to the invisible hand and claiming everything will fix itself is an even greater fantasy. Capitalism has already failed once. It will fail again, and it will fail forever. Power will then flow either to opportunists seeking one-man dictatorship through capitalism or to warmongers who claim they will destroy capitalism through nationalistic exclusion. As Marx, Lenin, and Luxemburg all taught us, Brüning’s policy is doomed to fail.”
“Are you certain?”
“I am.”
It is, after all, the very essence of Marxist economics.
“Yes. In the end the people will starve whether Brüning’s goal fails or succeeds. Therefore revolution becomes even more essential.”
Thälmann seemed to have organized his thoughts.
“We will continue to make our opposition clear. At the same time, we must prepare for the possibility that he really does issue the decree. Contact trade unions across the country and draw up plans for a general strike. First, reach out to every local party branch and tell them to begin consultations with the unions.”
“Understood, Comrade Thälmann.”
“And…” Thälmann hesitated for a moment. “We will also ask the Comintern about cooperation with the Social Democrats.”
While we were busy contacting unions nationwide to set the scale and schedule of the general strike and waiting for the Comintern’s reply, the Chancellor… simply kept stalling.
Tuesday.
“Make your position clear, Chancellor. Will you present another proposal or not?”
“The cabinet is still discussing the matter.”
Wednesday.
“The people’s patience is running out, Chancellor. Do you realize that in the three months since your cabinet took office you have done nothing but waste time on deadlocked issues?”
“I am aware. The cabinet is still in discussion.”
Thursday.
“This meeting is taking quite a long time, isn’t it, Chancellor?”
“I have already asked you not to rush me. Drafting and submitting a new budget will require several more weeks.”
Several weeks? Was he insane?
“You seem determined to evade responsibility to the very end. The starving people on the streets are waiting for you to make a decision. Did you really not anticipate that your austerity bill would be rejected?”
“I did not expect this! We are preparing a new budget, so please wait!”
“Good heavens. It would be faster if you simply resigned. At this critical moment…”
And on Friday, the Chancellor did not even appear.
“?”
Everyone was dumbfounded by Brüning’s no-show without a single word of explanation, yet he had asked for several more weeks.
“For now, shouldn’t we simply wait for the Chancellor’s decision?” asked Ludwig Kaas, leader of the Centre Party.
“Tell us exactly how much longer we are supposed to trust and wait for your party’s Chancellor, Deputy Kaas.”
“I do not know either. Let us all exercise patience for the time being.”
“We may have patience, but the people may not.”
“…I will urge him to reach a decision as soon as possible.”
Once again, with nothing decided, the Reichstag adjourned early at noon.
“This is ridiculous. What on earth is the Chancellor doing?”
Grumbling, I returned to party headquarters to sort out the situation. That was when a broadcast came over the radio.
“A sudden announcement?”
“Does the Chancellor have something to say?”
Ernst adjusted the dial and turned up the volume. Through the crackling static, Brüning’s voice emerged.
The nightmare had become reality.