Divide and Conquer

Aside from a few propaganda slides where the Emperor's face was replaced with either Marx Stahl's or Archduke Franz Ferdinand's, and a few slogans painted in a slightly deeper shade of red, the performance itself was virtually identical. However, the difference in the audience's reaction was night and day.

The Sokol event and its Slet were the absolute heart of Slavic nationalism. Under normal circumstances, it was packed with such extreme nationalists that no one would have blinked an eye if the Kaiser had ordered a cavalry charge to disperse them.

"An 'unfortunate' incident may occur. Please be prepared to make a swift escape in case of an emergency."

"See, Representative Stahl! I told you we shouldn't perform this piece!"

"I didn't expect the atmosphere to be this hostile."

"Would it be possible to change the performance content even now?"

"Artist Hitler, it is far too late to change the program now."

Viktor Adler had assured them that the Slovenian Social Democratic Party was also participating in the Sokol event. It wasn't strictly a nationalist rally, but rather a grand gathering ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the Empire's various "opposition" factions.

However, Stahl had not realized just how deeply the nationalists—who had recently been pushed aside by the rising social democrats—were grinding their teeth.

"What on earth did we do to make them this hostile?!"

"Director Stahl... put your hand on your heart and search your memory."

"It can't be helped. We had always planned to stir up a certain amount of friction anyway."

In the end, the mass game team's performance proceeded without a single alteration. At first, the audience was utterly spellbound by their incredible coordination.

"My god. To think the SDAP possessed such organizational power."

"Over a thousand people moving as if they share a single body. Shouldn't we be organizing events like this as well?"

Although the social democrats in Austria had already integrated into mainstream politics and were currently the fastest-rising force in the Empire, in the non-Austrian territories—such as Hungary, Bohemia, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and Slovenia—they were still relegated to the fringe opposition. Consequently, the relationship between the nationalists and the socialists wasn't terribly hostile. After all, weren't they both oppressed opposition parties sharing the same boat?

Thus, the nationalists watched Stahl's mass game with genuine admiration—right up until the scene where the Russians and Turks, depicted as pigs and wolves, used evil black magic to manipulate the nationalists into committing massacres and starting wars.

"What... what on earth is that..."

"How insolent! Utterly insolent!"

The moment that scene played, the crowd began pelting the mass game team with tomatoes, eggs, and whatever snacks they had on hand. And as the narrative reached its climax—the exact moment Kaiser Joseph swept in to vanquish the wicked nationalists—the crowd stopped throwing food and shouting. Instead, they simply stood in the stands, trembling with pure, unadulterated rage.

The moment the performance concluded, chaos erupted.

"Hurrah! Long live class liberation! Long live the Emperor!"

"You bastards! We are not devils!"

"You lot are traitors! If you're Slavs, go back to Russia! Boo!"

"You are the true traitors to your people, you imperial dogs!"

"What did you just say?!"

The Sokol event was, at its core, an opposition rally. In terms of numbers, the ratio was roughly three socialists to seven nationalists. Because both factions were relatively minor, they had maintained a fragile, live-and-let-live non-aggression pact.

While modern sensibilities place radical nationalists on the far-right and radical communists on the far-left, in this era, both nationalism and socialism were lumped together under the umbrella of the "radical left." Yet, their core ideologies were fundamentally incompatible. It was a classic case of sharing a bed while dreaming different dreams—a fragile alliance not unlike the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Stahl's mass game had just detonated that ticking time bomb.

As demonstrated by the rivalry between Stahl and Karl Lueger, the moment universal suffrage was enacted, these two groups would have to fight over the exact same slice of the voter pie. The moment yesterday's ally became today's enemy. With the Emperor already baiting the political landscape with the promise of universal suffrage to consolidate his grip on power, this latent fury had erupted in the Slovenian Slet a few months ahead of schedule.

"Kill them! Kill the Emperor's dogs!"

"Kill the traitors! They are trying to divide the working class by nationality!"

Just as Stahl had anticipated when he first designed the event, the clash began with fists. Before long, they were beating each other with clubs and various gymnastics equipment.

"Stahl, this is your handiwork. How does it look to you?"

"...Let's get out of here first. If you think about it, we're the ones who benefit."

"What?"

"The Slet is a nationalist stronghold anyway. It will be a long time before this many nationalists gather in one place again."

"...I suppose that's true."

No matter how much Stahl altered the timeline, one specific future remained entirely unavoidable: the 1905 Slovenian Sokol Slet ending in a chaotic raid by mounted police.

The Hungarian Crisis of 1905 ultimately concluded with a victory for the socialist camp. Naturally, the discontent of the extreme nationalists was on the verge of exploding—or rather, it had already detonated in all but name.

However, the public anger stirred up by the 1905 crisis was channeled entirely through the medium of socialism. Consequently, nationalism had suffered a crushing defeat. The final nail in the coffin was the Emperor's grand declaration.

Having confirmed that nationalism was thoroughly isolated, the Emperor gleefully drew aggro exactly as I had set up. Protect the workers in the name of Christ. Attack the nationalists in the name of Christ.

Hmm. This brings back fond memories of my clashes with Karl Lueger.

That bastard Lueger went out of his way to run a media campaign claiming I was curing syphilis in the name of Christ. Of course, our strike this time is infinitely more precise. After all, we have both the Vatican and the Emperor backing us.

Thank you, Lueger. I learned a lot from you!

In any case, alongside that declaration, the Emperor officially proclaimed universal suffrage across the Empire.

"Your Majesty, it is time to officially announce universal suffrage."

"Marx Stahl. The nationalist traitors of each nation are running rampant. Their votes might consolidate."

"But if we do not act, a rebellion may break out. Use the election to absorb the revolutionary energy. This is the SDAP's chance to become the largest party in parliament."

"In the countryside, the nationalist and Christian parties will still hold sway."

The Emperor pondered my advice. He had invested so heavily in the SDAP; if they lost the election, it would all be for naught.

"On the contrary, Your Majesty's popularity is soaring. Furthermore, I assure you we can secure a victory in the rural elections."

"And if we lose?"

Honestly, it didn't matter if we lost. Why?

"German and Hungarian speakers make up barely forty percent of the Empire. The other ethnicities are minor fragments."

"And?"

"They are divided anyway. It is actually better for them to secure stable seats. Whether it is Germanic nationalism or Slavic nationalism, they will eventually clash and be forced to hold hands with us."

Indeed. Even if we failed to secure the largest party in the Imperial Parliament, it didn't matter. Thanks to the fragmented ethnicities, no single party would ever hold a majority. Therefore, they would have no choice but to ally with us, the largest and most stable force. Surely a German nationalist party and a Slavic nationalist party wouldn't hold hands? No matter how much I racked my brain, such a scenario was unimaginable.

"In short, you will use my prestige to secure a decent number of seats in the countryside, sweep the urban areas, and even if we lose, we still win."

"Exactly."

"Very well. I shall announce universal suffrage immediately. By the way, what of Hungary?"

Indeed. The root cause of this entire mess was the Hungarian separatist movement. In the original history, the 1905 ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Hungarian Crisis spiraled out of control because the Hungarian Independence Party clamored for hardline separatism, and the Emperor unilaterally bypassed them—the largest party—to form a puppet cabinet.

But things were different now. While Austrian nationalism had been quieted by the rise of socialism, the Hungarian Independence Party—which still held a majority in Hungary, where parliament possessed far greater authority—was still throwing a wrench in the gears.

"Should we dissolve the cabinet while the Independence Party is weakened by the socialists?"

"...That would be a misstep, Your Majesty. Nationalism only grows stronger the more it is suppressed."

"But we cannot simply leave them be."

"Indeed. Use the introduction of universal suffrage as a pretext to declare the previous election invalid."

The Emperor was right. We couldn't leave the Hungarian Independence Party alone. The moment Hungary broke away, the Empire would collapse. And would it stop there? In my eyes, Hungary's departure would inevitably trigger a world war. Thus, we couldn't let them be. Yet, we couldn't simply dissolve the cabinet without a proper justification either.

"Refuse to confirm the Prime Minister, declaring that any election failing to reflect righteous representation is void. Hold out until the next election."

"Will the Independence Party just sit back and watch?"

"The Hungarian Independence Party is a coalition that includes many left-wing elements. We will instigate the socialists within their own ranks to paralyze their decision-making."

Through this series of maneuvers, in November 1905, the Kaiser proposed the universal suffrage reform. Naturally, the Independence Party went absolutely wild with rage. But what of it? If they didn't like it, they could try starting a rebellion.

I had already factored a potential rebellion into my calculations. The moderates would prefer to settle things through the ballot box, and even if the radicals did rebel, we held the moral ground. Thus, the Hungarian Crisis of 1905 drew to a close, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire transitioned into an emperor-dominant constitutional monarchy.

The election of 1906, as expected, concluded with an overwhelming victory for the social democratic forces. While the various nationalist parties managed to save face by consolidating their core bases, that was the extent of their success. In the Austrian Imperial Parliament, the SDAP easily secured a comfortable majority.

The only disappointment was that I couldn't personally assist in the campaign. Though I occasionally forgot it myself, I was still technically a military officer. While I could handwave things like mass games and business management under the pretexts of "imperial security" or "loyalty to His Majesty," a planning officer attached to the General Staff openly giving campaign speeches on a soapbox was a bridge too far.

And so, I spent the rest of 1906 focusing entirely on managing my businesses. With advancements in refrigeration and freezing technology making long-term storage and distribution possible, penicillin was finally beginning its small-scale commercialization. Ammonia production was also fully on track. While its price ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠competitiveness was still roughly on par with natural saltpeter, stable domestic production was now guaranteed.

And just like that, January 1907 arrived. With only seven years remaining until the outbreak of the First World War, it was finally time to start stirring up some international trouble.