DanBaque
Let's Have Fun
- Location
- Occupied Catalonian Countries
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Could you elaborate on what you mean by "colonial" here?
Springtime of Nations II: A European Republic Quest
- Thread starter Etranger
- Start date
- Original Alt. History
Anchises
Le Charismeur
- Location
- Germany
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I have a few things to say here:
1) The decision to abandon revolutionary action in favour of sober European power politics already bit us in the ass during the first Republic.
2) I think people are awfully convinced that this is a long-term healthy political choice when to me it reads like caving now gives us short term benefits but long-term we look weak and will encourage further attempts to cow us into submission with the threat of military force.
3) I don't think the Entente is going to give us much extra leeway because we release Schnäbele now when we start seriously fucking with their colonial ventures. The fact that Boulanger was able able to harness this much political hostility against us shows that we will never have quiet co-existence with a Bonapartist polity. Instead of appeasing them we need to deter them.
Anti-colonial actions that we may or may not take in the future. It's the same kind of "..." with the "reasonable" European power.
Zed.
Cannon Fodder
Oh yeah, it's totally unreasonable for the public to be mad when a Frenchman is arrested under flimsy pretenses when attending a conference that explicitly extended to Entente visitors. If the same thing happened to us, we would be baying for blood.
Oh yeah, he entered through checks notes the Franco-German border. What should've he done, teleported to Berlin to avoid suspicion?
And how is colonial cred even coming into this? No prospective revolutionary would give two shits that we released some french policeman.
Anchises
Le Charismeur
- Location
- Germany
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Specifically meeting Landwehr members that are under surveillance because they are smugglers are nit flimsy pretexts. As you surely have noticed we are merely holding the man for a few days and the French Senate authorized all measures including war before we even transferred our accusations.
At the point where they escalated Schnäbele might have killed 5 people in broad daylight for all they knew. Of course its quite obvious Boulanger knew what Schnäbele was doing all along and had the PR campaign ready to fire before he ever entered Germany. Its naive to pretend this is about guilt or innocence or even diplomatic immunity when its clearly a political provocation we have to answer too.
edit: Also the update is literally explicit that he didn't immediately travel to Frankfurt. Had he merely stopped in Saarbrücken and meet with friends we wouldn't be where we are. However to get from the French border to Frankfurt you don't have to actually stop in Luxembourg and meet Landwehr soldiers that are suspected smugglers.
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Aranfan
Team Plasma Grunt
Aren't they family members? Are we saying visiting your cousin is a hanging offense if your french?
We have police, they did an investigation, the guy is guilty. As @Aedan777 pointed out, the text of the voting options also supports this—even the let him go option doesn't mention the possibility that he might be innocent at all. I'm voting release but the continual "but he might be innocent" from people is frankly tiresome.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[X] Release Schnäbele with a full apology.
Anchises
Le Charismeur
- Location
- Germany
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Awfully convenient that you happen to meet distant relatives who are all serving in the Landwehr, some of them being known smugglers, in a crucial border fortress France has revanchist designs on. Utilizing distant familial ties as a cover is just basic spycraft and doesn't mean someone is suddenly immune to allegations of spying.
Vote closed
- Location
- the Republic
- Pronouns
- He/They
Nate700
The Great Lurker
- Location
- USA
- Location
- Not the asylum anymore
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Oh yes~
- Location
- an unseen void
- Pronouns
- Any
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Anchises
Le Charismeur
- Location
- Germany
- Pronouns
- He/Him
CRISIS: The Schnäbele Affair of 1887, Continued
- Location
- the Republic
- Pronouns
- He/They
CRISIS: The Schnäbele Affair of 1887, Continued
All information made known to the National Assembly save its own deliberations is derived from reports provided by the Frankfurt-Darmstadt Police, the National Gendarmerie, and the Commission for External Relations. These reports are related from the perspective of the participants and may be inaccurate, incomplete, or biased.
April 25: Following a bitterly contentious vote in the National Assembly, in which even the normally marginalized seven-member Moderate Democrats are mobilized to lend their support, a slim majority emerges in favor of a plan: don't try Schnäbele, but don't release him, either. Then, or so the theory goes, the internal tensions exhibited by the French can further develop, and the Assembly can make a decision with more information.
The next day, the National Gendarmes issue a confidential report to the Assembly, supplementing their earlier findings. They conclude that Schnäbele's relatives in Luxemburg have confessed to cross-border smuggling and misappropriation of military goods, but either cannot or will not implicate Schnäbele himself in any plot, nor will they confess to their own involvement in any sort of treason. Schnäbele's friends in the Saar do not offer any damning testimony either; as far as they knew, he was there on vacation prior to his official business. Schnäbele himself denies everything, of course.
The only firm piece of evidence, besides the suspicious nature of Schnäbele's movements, is a rather cryptic notebook confiscated from his belongings, in which he seems to have sketched out guard stations in both cities, as well as notes on patrols. Schnäbele claims that these sketches and notes were to better inform himself and his inspectorate about the state of German policing, in accordance with his official business. The Gendarmes present this information without further comment.
April 26: A missive is transmitted directly to the High Commissioner from Napoleon IV, Emperor of the French. In the diplomatic note, the Emperor requests a top-level meeting in Switzerland to directly negotiate the Schnäbele Affair with the Steering Commission. He indicates that he is prepared to hear the German case regarding Schnäbele in full, and to discuss matters of policy beneficial to the two states, but ends the note by cautioning that "a general calamity will befall both our nations" should they fail to take him up on his offer.
Meanwhile, Boulanger is giving daily speeches in the French Senate calling for the destruction of the "libertine and endlessly provocative German regime."
The National Assembly meets in secret session to discuss what to do with this new information.
What is to be done?
[] Authorize the meeting and prepare to negotiate in good faith.
Now that the French have come to the table, it is time to be magnanimous. The Emperor is a champion of social reform, Boulanger a bellicose lout, and Schnäbele's guilt is in question. Cooperation is the only way forward.
RESULT: Crisis concluded. Schnäbele will be released and a friendly agreement reached on future diplomatic exchanges, as well as the rights of foreign nationals. In exchange, the Emperor will agree to quietly table the proposed treaty with Italy. The Emperor's position and that of the reform movement will be strengthened within France, while Boulanger and his warhawks will be weakened. Relations with the Entente will be restored and further improve.
[] Authorize the meeting and stand firm as a matter of principle.
We will allow a negotiated settlement, but it will be on our terms. The Emperor is a roadblock to true change, Boulanger a thug who cannot be appeased, and Schnäbele a spy in intent if nothing else. Caution is the only way forward.
RESULT: Crisis concluded. Schnäbele will be released, a somewhat adversarial agreement will be drawn up regarding the rights of foreign nationals, and both nations will agree to mandatory escorts for all of its official visitors to the other in future. The Emperor will publicly renounce the proposed treaty with Italy. The Emperor's position and that of the reform movement will be weakened within France, while Boulanger and his warhawks will be in the ascendant. Relations with the Entente will decline further.
[] Refuse the meeting.
It isn't enough. The spy must be dealt with in the manner prescribed for his kind and the French taught an important lesson about infringing upon German territory, unless we want more of this nonsense in the future. The Emperor is a weak boy sitting in his father's chair, Boulanger a cretin, and Schnäbele the worst kind of criminal. Strength is the only way forward.
RESULT: Crisis concluded. Virtual guarantee of war with France. Schnäbele will be detained pending trial and very likely executed. Any further terms and consequences will likely be decided on the battlefield. Relations with the Entente will decline sharply.
24 hours to vote. If no option receives a majority, we move to a run-off between the top two. Pick ONE option from the three provided. Please remember to be civil and thoughtful in your rhetoric at all times. Thank you.
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- Location
- an unseen void
- Pronouns
- Any
[X] Authorize the meeting and prepare to negotiate in good faith.
what's that? it's the internationale's theme music??
what's that? it's the internationale's theme music??