The German government needs the approval of…
1864 CE to 1875 CE
Conservative in nature, the Bundesrat is usually docile and needs little wooing.
Compliant in the early years of the empire, the Reichstag, by contrast, becomes less so with time.
The easiest means of controlling the Reichstag is to threaten it with new elections in the hope of getting a legislative body more attuned to the intentions of the government.
During elections the government campaigns for the parties it favors, sometimes cynically conjuring up fears of national catastrophe if particular parties win many seats.
The government also bargains with parties, granting them what they seek in exchange for votes.
A last means of taming the Reichstag is to spread rumors of a possible coup d'etat by the army and the repeal of the constitution and universal suffrage.
This technique is used repeatedly in imperial Germany and can even frighten the conservative Bundesrat.
However little many of the Reichstag members might like the empire's political order, the prospect of naked despotism pleases them even less.
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