How is that any worse than the way the Chancellor chooses the President in their OTL system?

The fact the President is supposed to be more politicized than this new monarchy? One of the reasons you would want a monarch is the stabilizing influence. But if parties can mess around to get their favored heir on the throne, it create a whole lot more tension.

It's all right for the president because it's designed to be this way. But here, The Congressman says the vote is just supposed to ensure the next in line is suitable. I just pointed out it's easy to abuse the spirit of the system.
 
Interesting system. It could be abused to choose a candidate more friendly to your ideology though. Even if the monarch is only symbolic, a symbol's support can amount to a lot.
How is that any worse than the way the Chancellor chooses the President in their OTL system?
The fact the President is supposed to be more politicized than this new monarchy? One of the reasons you would want a monarch is the stabilizing influence. But if parties can mess around to get their favored heir on the throne, it create a whole lot more tension.

It's all right for the president because it's designed to be this way. But here, The Congressman says the vote is just supposed to ensure the next in line is suitable. I just pointed out it's easy to abuse the spirit of the system.
The vote requires a 2/3rds majority in both houses
 
Got a question for the thread. Who in modern day German politics (1995-present) would make good leaders for the Freyist left?
I know little of nothing of German politics, but doing some digging I suppose an argument could be made for Hans-Jochen Vogel, though he would be more of a temporary torch-bearer for whoever would come after him, and this is assuming I haven't missed it and he remained a member of the SPD leadership. Gesine Schwan I suppose would also be a possibility.

The main concept I have I suppose would be to look towards right-leaning members of the SDP, those associated with the Seeheimer Kreis which is the equivalent of a "Third Way" faction.

Ultimately though I don't know, as what you are looking for is a prominent person who I imagine is supportive of the more nuanced SDP domestic program in many respects but is still very much a hawk when it comes to the Communist East, and it's a bit hard to pinpoint such persons when the SDP has been able to, at least at this point, maintain a relatively centrist course under Schmidt until recently.
 
Reading at both bios, I find Gesine Schwan is the one who sounds the closer to what would be a Freyist, regarding her foreign policy hawkish views and her participation in Seeheimer Kreis. She would be 45 years old in 1988.
 
The Bear Awakened

“Our nation deserves whatever will come our way.”

-Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn-

The morning rush of traffic passed by the window of the Zhiguli limousine in a drab blur. Aside from the bright onion domes of St. Basil’s that graced Red Square, Vladimir Semichastny felt that there was so little color in Moscow – hell, the entire Soviet Union. He had been to America before, seen the brightness and life that sparkled in the eyes of its citizens. Nothing like that existed here. Only a dull monotony that came with being the cog in the machine to serve the state. Of which I am a part of. The Limo’s placement in the center lane reserved solely for Party leadership gave credence to that.

In the summer months such as these, he could sometimes see the happy and carefree youths frolicking in the woods and rivers near his Dacha, but since the past December those were rare indeed. Semichastny could tell Capitan Putin was eyeing him quizzically, but let it alone. He was content with his musing.

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Red brick of the Kremlin walls to his right, Semichastny could see that the latest propaganda contained the passion missing from day to day life. Aleksandr does excellent work. The Minister of Culture was very competent, even while all knew he disagreed with the subject matter. All the latest regurgitations by the Soviet State media focused on the Germans, their last election only two weeks before. One showed a line of German stormtroopers staring menacingly on a crowd of Soviet peasants, another depicting Frey gazing upon the Rodina with the ghost of Hitler behind him. A final one showed a Red Army soldier standing proudly while an older man watched- its caption reading “I prepare today as my grandfather prepared before.” Yes, all brilliant, Semichastny thought as the limo finally reached the Kremlin. Marital air had swept the nation, though what it served he was still in the dark about.

Luckily, the former General Secretary wouldn’t be alone in the march to the conference room. “Good to see you Vladimir Yefimovich,” Mikhail Gorbachev said with a small smile. “I trust your rest during these trying times did you well.”

“That they did, Mikhail Sergeyevich.” The two proceeded inside, the corridors of the ancient palace drafty and dreadfully dark. Teeth gritting, hand clutching white on the ornate handle of his cane, Semichastny cursed the pain from the aircraft crash long ago. The best opioids flown in from London helped, but not enough. “What have you heard?”

Gorbachev’s wan smile had morphed into a frown. “Not much, surprising considering how Politburo staff leak like a sleeve. There was a meeting of the Defense Council last night.” Such consisted of only the most senior members of the Politburo, which now were the Committee plotters and Party Secretary Romanov. Unabashed Stalinists all.

It merited one simple word on Semichastny’s part. “Govno.

The Politburo meeting room dated back to Tsarist times, still holding the creature comforts and garish decoration that had disappeared almost everywhere else in the name of Socialist Progress. ‘Why should we get rid of it?’ went the general thinking. Leading the cause of world socialism to victory, the Party leadership had earned such luxuries. Combined with a life worthy of any millionaire or celebrity in the West, they deserved such for their service to the state and to the people. Or so it was thought. Seated with his faction, Semichastny glanced at the distinctive bearded Solzhenitsyn, who was drinking the common brand of Vodka available to the vast majority of the populace. He, Semichastny, Gorbachev, and Dinmukhamed Kunayev were the last of them, the ones who found this system rotten to the core. They had lost, had their control wrested by the others.

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In any case, the General Secretary began the meeting tersely – dispensing the usual formalities and inane chit chat about grandchildren and new lovers. It caused Semichastny’s eyebrow to raise, but he said nothing. “Comrades, allow me to be blunt. Our glorious state is in the greatest danger since the Germans were at our gates.” Vladimir Khryuchkov adjusted his glasses, many members shocked that he would be so candid about the unsaid issues facing the USSR. “Our economy is currently in the peak of health, but the current economic and trade assault from the west and betrayal by the Chinese are going to hurt us, and threaten the very engine of World Socialism with collapse.”

“What do you proport to do, Comrade General Secretary,” Semichastny asked sarcastically, being one of the only people who could get away with borderline seditious statements. If they could have gotten rid of him, he’d be living in retirement next to Yakovlev, counting trees. “Are you reconsidering the reform of the economy, because I would support it in a heartbeat.” Solzhenitsyn, Gorbachev, and Kunayev fought back smirks.

Instead of the General Secretary, Finance Minister Yuri Maslyukov piped up. “There is no need for those ineffective measures, Comrade.” Ineffective? Rather threatening to the State control over the populace. Economic freedom leads to political freedom. “Our system has been propped up in the past decades through international trade between our Socialist brothers. We need to return to the proven system of prosperity.”

“So you propose to begin further expansion?” Gorbachev remarked half-jokingly. The iron stares from the Committee members caused all the jokes to drain from his system. Is this what they discussed last night?

“The time is before us, Comrades,” Defense Minister Pyotr Demichev said, glancing at every member of the room. “What the capitalist perfidy will get us is a ruined economy, a lessened world standing, and a discontented populace.” All were afraid of the masses, more than the first two. “Somalia and Mozambique are joining China in drifting away from us. We must strike now, while we are strong.”

“You are proposing that we attack NATO?” a candidate member asked, addressing the elephant in the room.

“Yes.”

There it was. It was out. No one could pivot to something far less or claim that they were misheard. War with NATO and its allies was no fully on the table. “This is madness,” Semichastny ground out, injuries throbbing in pain. “You would risk nuclear annihilation?”

Demichev’s lips curled in a grin. “Nonsense. The arms reduction agreements you pioneered, Vladimir Yefrimovich, have made such a scenario unlikely. Our commanders have the plans already. Mechanized assault by our forces in Western Europe combined with our allies in the Middle East, Africa, and South America. We need not defeat the Americans, just back them and the British into a corner where they have no choice but to sue for peace.

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“Our forces are ready, and at the best fighting capacity since the Great Patriotic War,” Demichev continued to the rapt attention of the Politburo (many of whom were seeking to get as drunk as possible at the latest news). “Time to better prepare might help, but there is no better time than the near future, for the purposes of political and internal casus belli. The Germans, bless them, have elected a government so radically different from ones before them. Ones that we can easily mischaracterize.” If there was anything the Russian people feared, it was Germany. If there was anything the world hated, it was the Nazis. Potent. “They will do something in the coming months, something that we can use. Nations will then have a choice, stand with us or stand with Nazis.”

They can’t believe this madness? “Your confidence could be mistaken, Comrade,” Semichastny said tactfully.

“Nonsense,” said Boris Pugo, Interior Minister. “France already hates the new German government. We could easily play them against each other to an easy victory… perhaps an alliance between us.”

“That will never happen.” He couldn’t believe the almost willful naiveté. Was I once the same? Decades of paranoia and hawkishness from Western leaders had only fed the innate Russian paranoia. “The West will stand together Comrades, mark my words. We will see nothing but death and destruction of the home of World Socialism if we allow this to happen.”

“If we don’t allow this, then our economy will collapse and our people will rise against us!” Demichev thundered.

“Military defeat will lead them to rise against us anyway.”

The General Secretary ended the line of conversation. “Our military is ready for this task, and the militaries of our Fraternal Socialist Brothers are ready as well.”

Arguments continued for hours and hour, vodka flowing and lunches brought in by white-uniformed staff barely eaten. Cigarette smoke permeated the air as each side screamed at each other. The candidate members seemed as squeamish as Semichastny’s faction to go to war, but their vote didn’t count in matters of the state – in matters governing the whole world. Only the full members, only they held the fate of tens of millions in their hands.

And when it came down to it, there really was no doubt in the outcome no matter how Semichastny and his allies begged. The vote was 15-4 for war.
 
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Well, we know the world doesn't end over that.

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East Germany exists at least up to 1991. And one can wonder why this guy ends up in Chile.

Then:
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The photo legend implies the White House still stands by 2004.
 
Maybe not, but you really think the hardliners in control are going to tell the rank-and-file how screwed they are?

No, probably not. But someone less idiotic may leak it out.
At this point, even an all out civil war would be better than the spanking they are about to receive.
 
The white house could have been rebuilt later you know or the war was limited nuclear or Star Wars worked and Europe is a radioactive wasteland.I don't expect anything good to come out of this
 
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