Krüger Letter

An Open Letter to my dear constituents, and to the people of Germany, and in support of the Kaiser;

As I write, I am reminded of the position from which I overlook the rest of the people which I am bound to serve, in return for their service to me, and to my house. I am the ruler, from this castle, over the many who work the lands of my family, the lands to which I shall be heir and my children heir after me. As somebody who was born into my position, and as an individual who has from this position been largely concerned with the affairs of those who would be considered the subjects of my house, the hand which has been dealt by the course of recent events has proved unfavorable to what I hold dear and which serves as the core for everything which I base my beliefs in. For if the people are to be ruled, they must be ruled by a fair monarch who acknowledges the people whom are the stewards of their power, and they must recognize the will of god from which their power is first derived. The powers of the monarch must be bound by a constitution so that the freedoms of the people may be ensured, and yet the monarch must have the appropriate powers under that constitution to act as an independent and energetic executive to guide the people of the nation. In order for a monarch to rule over and enlighten their people, it is ESSENTIAL that the representatives of the people, the members of the legislature, are loyal to and willing to serve at the will of the executive and form a government which he feels shall serve the needs of the nation.

Those who are familiar with my campaign and my beliefs know that I hold three things very dear to myself and to the success of this nation and its government. The first is the Constitution, the second is the Kaiser, and the third are the freedoms of life and of expression and of representation in government to which every German is entitled. Thus, for the objective of government to be fulfilled as defined above is only possible with the support of all three of the aforementioned elements. From the perspective of the average citizen, indeed from my perspective, it seemed as though the party which could best accomplish this in government was the Nationalliberale Partei, a well established and longstanding organization which on its face was committed to the furthering of liberal thought and German freedoms in government, of course with the full respect and support of the Kaiser to pass their reforms. Perhaps under the leadership of the late Karl von Birnbaum and certainly under the leadership of the late Leopold von Hofmeinster such a noble vision was what the party was in actuality. However, in this time and under the leadership of Ernst Krüger, such a thing cannot be said about the party. Herr Krüger, according to a record of a meeting between the Kaiser and Karl Jürgen von Krieger, and the accounts of Hans Friederich von Röhm, and of Otto Hessler, repeatedly refused to acknowledge the displeasure of the Kaiser towards a coalition of the liberals and the socialists, and repeatedly refused to form a coalition government with the conservatives despite a series of common agreements which had previously been made between them. When the Kaiser then refused to consider the minister recommendations of the newly re-elected Reichskanzler Krüger, he then claimed that the Kaiser was acting in violation of the constitution and the principles outlined therein. When a situation such as this arises, where compromise between the head of the representatives of the people and the executive cannot be reached and in fact conflict takes its place, a government, despite the numbers in the legislature, CANNOT exist, especially when the executive is entirely within his rights to reject the advice of his advisor and, using his powers, select his own cabinet which he feels shall govern effectively for the betterment of his subjects.

My dear constituents, it is for this reason that I have elected to abandon the name of the liberals and shall be registering as a new member of the Deutschkonservative Partei in the coming days. I understand that my family name and the history of the conservatives are deeply intertwined. It was the recommendation of those around me that I join their cause from the beginning before I was elected to the position that I now hold. I was skeptical at first, because of the nature of my uncle’s actions as a member of their movement I felt that it may prove to be detrimental to my attempts to further the cause of my family and my beliefs to label myself among them. However, now that it is has become clear that the Nationalliberals are being led by a man who places himself in direct opposition to the Kaiser to form a leftist government with the socialists, the DkP seems to be the only place where my beliefs, and my attempts to ensure that the freedoms of Germans are protected, and where the power of the monarch as an enlightened and guiding hand of the people is respected. It is the party which holds the values of tradition and of the church and of the monarchy in equal regard to those of the constitution and of the people and of reform. It is from a seat at the Conservative bench from which I shall be able to further the wishes of my constituents in good conscience, whereas I cannot do as such on the bench of those who would oppose the two most fundamental constructs of our system of governance. Should you, people of Flensburg and the surrounding regions find yourself displeased with my choice or my policies, you always have the opportunity to deny me the opportunity for re-election in 1890. Should any of you take issue with my leadership, know that I am always open to letters from those who’s voices I represent and those who look to the government as a beacon of democracy and of the rights of man.

Joseph von Klopp.