Germany:
Berlin: Reaction to Reichsbank President Hjalmar Schacht’s broadside relative to
the Young Plan (see Dec. 5) is fierce, both from inside and outside
of Germany. The federal government says
that for Schacht even to make such statements risks violating Germany’s
agreements following the World War. And
sources within the government are letting it be known that Schacht may not be
asked to attend the second round of meetings on the Young Plan, scheduled to
start in a couple of weeks in The Hague.
Outside of Germany, the
French press see Schacht’s comments as political maneuvering for leadership of
the nationalist movement within Germany (especially with Alfred Hugenberg in decline
after his Liberty Law fiasco), as well as posturing in advance of the upcoming
Hague conference at which the debt payments will be discussed.
Schacht’s memo,
though, is already producing a divide within Germany. Bankers and big industry are tending to line
up behind Schacht’s analysis, hailing the statement as just the kind of strong
tonic Germany needs to solve its economic problems. The government of Chancellor Hermann Mueller has called
for a vote of confidence in the Reichstag next Wednesday.
Weimar: Meanwhile, elections for the legislature (or
“Landtag”) of the central German state of Thuringia are being held today. By nightfall, when results are coming out, it
is clear that the national socialist party (nazis) have scored another victory,
though their numbers are still small.
The nazis have garnered 11% of the popular vote, which will give them 6
seats in the Landtag, making them the 3rd-largest party. That’s far below the 34% earned by the leading
Social Democrats. But enough that it
will make forming a coalition government difficult without including the
nazis.
Vienna:
The Federal Assembly (parliament) approves the
constitutional revisions that Chancellor Johann Schober has been working on for
five weeks. The changes: reduce the
autonomy of socialist-leaning Vienna within the country, but retain its status
as a state; reduce Vienna’s tax contribution to the federal government but
steer part of it to an adjoining state; introduce direct election of Austria’s
President; broaden some of the President’s powers, for example emergency powers
and to dissolve Parliament, but also restrict others in an attempt to avoid
dictatorship; and call for absorption of the Social Democratic militia into the
state police. Of immediate practical
importance, the changes are thought to defuse the potential for a coup by the
nationalist Heimwehr paramilitary, as both nationalists and socialists got some
of what they wanted.
China:
The nationalist
government capital of Nanking is cut off from communication, as rebel troops have
it under siege. Many of Chiang
Kai-shek’s best generals have defected. Communist
rebel forces are also still reported to be advancing on Canton. Both Nanking and Canton, as well as Shanghai
and Hankow, are under martial law.
British gunboats are preparing to remove British nationals. Chiang is reportedly mustering 70,000 troops
for a last stand in his capital.
