Part 138: History of the Reichstag, Part One

History of the Reichstag by Servant

The Political History of the Reichstag: The Rise and Fall of The Progressive Rulers of Germany

"To be fair to the Reichstag, while their blunders have been horrendous, their successes were nothing small. Their economic policies were responsible for seeing Germany into the top Industrial Power up til' the Depression, keeping infrastructure and social welfare issues that put the rest of the world to shame. Things could be far worse in Germany had the Reichstag been less schizophrenic and far more elitist and prone to keeping the lower class under their thumbs."---Crazy Joe Wilson, 1936

"The Reichstag does not make mistakes. It is the average German who fails in the execution of our brilliant and noble ideas."---KnoxZone

All the progressive peoples of the world watched in abject horror at the White Terror. We watched as innocent comrade workers were gunned down by reactionary forces. Many people within the Union of Rome condemned the reactionary monarch within Germany, and praised the Reichstag for its policies of reconcilication with the working class. We welcomed several Reichstag members as they fled into exile, which aroused several critics.

Some of the radicals within our Union of Rome disliked our policy of talking to the Reichstag, and called them rival reactionaries, only different in degree to that of the evil Holy Roman Emperor. However, this is a gross manlipuation of the facts. The Reichstag is in fact a progressive force for change within Germany, and while they have not reached the same sort of Communist enlightenment as the UoR, the Reichstag have embraced a distinict and unique blend of Liberal and Socialist ideas (even as they sought to distance or even attack Marxism and Communism), which I will call "National Socialism". They may be brothers in error, but they are still our brothers-in-arms.

Other critics, the Roman Nationalists, view this as irrevelant. They dislike the Reichstag members not because they are reactionaries, but because they are German. The Roman Nationalists believed in resurrecting the glory of the Roman Republic, and view all non-Romans as potential rivals who much be contained, not helped. While it is true that the Roman Republic of the old was very progressive, the Roman Nationalists must realize that for the Union of Rome to survive and thrive, it must ally with other workers' movements, and abandon its adherence to the false ideology of Nationalism, which only divides the working class. Had the Roman Nationalists had their way, we would still be fighting against the Arabs and the French.

Due to the massive interest generated as to the internal policies of Germany, I have been commissioned by the Charilaos Trikoupis Univeristy to write a book detailing the history of the progressive Reichstag insitution since its foundation in 1399, and the creation of National Socialism. By showcasing the revolutionary spirit of the Reichstag, by pointing out its flaws and its greatness, we should get a greater understanding of how the Marxist revolution has progressed in Germany. Hopefully, this will encourage all the progressive peoples of the world to support the Reichstag's goal of reclaiming the German state from reactionary forces, and by liberating the Workers from the grasp of a reactionary and fedual dictatorship.

PART 1: The Fedual Reichstags

On December 10th, 1399, the Holy Roman Emperor (Waldemar II) called the Reichstag into session in order to pass "The Golden Bull", three Edicts, which, for all intents and purposes, acted as the first "de facto" consitution of the Holy Roman Empire. However, in order to pass The Golden Bull, Waldemar needed the support of the Prince-Electors, who were afraid that they would lose power under a newly-empowered Holy Roman Emperor. Waldemar II was forced to pass the Third Edict which granted the Reichstag advisory powers. The Reichstag would serve as a check against the Holy Roman Emperor, but they were severe limits on its application. The Emperor is required to call the Reichstag once every 10 years, the Reichstag may only pass one "Imperial Proposal" at each convening, and the Emperor is allowed to follow the "Imperial Proposal" 'by the methods of His Imperial Majesty's own discretion'. Still, the Reichstag would remain as a powerful force in its own right, and the limits imposed by the Third Edict would slowly decay away.

The Reichstag was never a parliament; instead, it was a collection of "Imperial Estates", entities that report directly to the Holy Roman Emperor. It was composed of two "colleges", the Prince-Electors, who were allowed to both vote on proposals and elect the Emperor, and the other local rulers of the Imperial Estates (dukes and princes). In theory, all the rulers of these Imperial Estates must attend a Reichstag session, but in practice, the rulers appointed special "ambassadors/bureaucrats" to represent their views. These Imperial Estates chosen these ambassadors based on loyalty to the Imperial Estate, not based on merit. At the time, most observers believed that the Reichstag was nothing more than a rubber stamp parliament, and that any Emperor would easily manlipuate the Reichstag. These observers would be proven wrong.

Waldemar II's own pet proposal was the "Imperial Culture and Dignity Act", which would direct money to increase the prestige of Mainz, and, by extension, Swabia and the Empire. The main slogan was "soft power". One Reichstag member, Arujei, said "Soft power can be even more effective than military strength. By ensuring your court as the premier location for artists of all disciplines, you shall be praised to the heavens by them." Due to the immense support by Waldemar, and the dominance of the "Soft Power" Ideology in the First Reichstag, the Imperial Culture and Dignity Act was passed on Janurary 2nd, 1400. It is necessary to take a look at the other two Imperial Proposals that was circulating in 1399, though.

The Militarists, backed by the border states of the Sopron, Danzig and Dauphine, proposed the "Imperial Army Standards Act", which wanted to establish common standards so as to professionalize the Empire's army, and make it a fighting force. Supporters believed that the Standards Act would eventually lead to the HRE protects its border, and possibly lead to reclaiming the Rheinland from France.

Most of the Militarists showcased far less tact and sense than the "Culture and Dignity" supporters. A strong militarist, Whitecloak, said, "By forging the greatest army within Europe we can claim the Centers of Trade that would otherwise vex for ourselves. Why trade in a foreign market when we can make that foreign market our own?" Apocalypse Nyao was recorded as saying "His Holiness won't idle while the European heartland is being pulled out from under him." There were a few sane Militarists though; Atrayonis asked "What good is being a patron of arts when your country is ruthlessly assaulted by all sides?" However, the Militarists' advice was ignored, and the calls for "Soft Power" was defeaning.

The merchant class supported the "Writ of Trade and Prosperity" in order to further their economic control over the HRE, but they found few supporters within the Reichstag. Of their supporters, Crazy Joe Wilson tried to appeal to the greed of the Reichstag members by stating, "Who need top quality troops when you can by ten times the number of mercs that your enemies have as total army dudes?" However, the political campagin was for naught and the Merchantalists was seen as the weakest of the three factions. However, Waldemar II did appease the Merchantalists by having more free trade agreements with other nations, such as Venice.

***

The Reichstag met inconclusively in 1410, 1420, and 1430, merely acting as a rubber stamp body and cheering the Holy Roman Empire on in its various enterprises and wars. However, in 1434, the Reichstag was called into an emergency session by Emperor Konrad II to discuss the Holy Roman Empire's foregin policy towards France, which was seen as a growing world power...and as a threat. Konrad did not state what policy he supported, and allowed the Reichstag the freedom to debate the options as it pleased. This set a precedent, as it made the Reichstag more of an independent entity as opposed to a rubber stamp. The Reichstag would have real power.

Three options presented itself: --Diplomatic Solution: "A diplomatic solution would mean attempting to repair relations with France, and maintaining a neutral if not friendly attitude. While this means we can likely keep France from attacking Swabia and the Empire, it also means that we must break our alliance with Aquitaine and cannot intervene if they decide to expand outside the borders of the Empire."

This solution never really ganered enough popularity to be seriously considered. skipThings was the primary supporter of the Diplomatic Solution, but only because he was fearful of the Hammadid Caliphate that was currently occupying most of Iberia: "Just a few minutes ago I would've voted for everything that meant more dead Frenchmen, but now that the Hammadids are so deep in Europe we're much better of with a friendly France.

Maybe even an alliance with them, instead of England, against the Caliphate would yield much more prestige and riches."

Even with the fear of Iberia, most of the Reichstag harbored desires to regain the Rhienland from France, and thus saw cooperating with France (even temporarily) to be treason. Most contemporaries saw that France would be able to serve as a buffer state against Iberia anyway.

Another defender of the Diplomatic Solution, Serisothikos, took a more realpolitik approach: "England is a mediocre ally, its armies bound to an island across a treacherous channel. Conquer half of Europe alongside your strong brother, France... and then when there's no one else, take their half." Again, though, France was so unpopular that Serisothikos' pleas were heard by deaf ears.

--Defensive Solution: "A defensive solution would mean maintaining the balance of power against France through alliances and by guaranteeing the independence of its neighbours to keep it from expanding unchecked. Under this solution, if given the chance, Swabia would set up a buffer zone in the Rheinland by forcing France to release Trier."

The Defensive Solution (offically known as the "Imperial Proposition of a Balanced Solution to the French Question") became very popular, and it was what the Reichstag eventually adopted after some debate.

This solution was backed by Dr. Video Games 0031: "The French would rather see our heads hanging outside of the gates of Paris than deal peacefully with us, and the concessions we'd have to make with them would be too great. Yet, we are not yet strong enough to start an overt war of aggression against them. The solution is to limit their avenues of expansion with alliances and guarantees, and undermine their country from within via espionage."

Cyria also supported the Defensive Solution: "All out war seems like it would be suicidal. And with so much of the world in the Empire's pocket, there's not much room to expand but westward, so that rules out the peaceful solution, not counting that France is too dangerous to let free. Defensive is my vote too."

--Aggressive Solution: "An aggressive solution is exactly what it says - an attempt to conquer and divide France through espionage and war. Under this solution we would incite rebellion in its conquered lands, attempt to push it into drawn-out wars with other great powers, and attack France when a favorable opportunity arises. This solution is a significant gamble, as our allies may prove unreliable and Swabia can presently not stand against the French alone."

The only main supporter for the Aggressive Solution was Octavian: "An aggressive solution is required to deal with the French menace. The sooner the Empire strikes, the less time that the French have to consolidate their recent gains."

***

The Defensive Solution proposal failed to contain France, partly because the Electors sought to limit the power of the Emperor. To make matters worse, skipThings' fears were confirmed when the Hammadid Caliphate declared a jihad against Provence in April 1473, and the Holy Roman Emperor Werner II was obligiated to defend the Holy Roman Empire from the Muslims. However, he was dragged into a "crusade" by the Pope to reconquer Iberia and Aquitaine. Werner II quickly liberated Provence, and later occupied most of Hammadid's non-Iberian holdings, but was unable to negogiate a peace deal.

It was during these dark times that the next major Reichstag meeting, in Janurary 1480, was held. The Militarists' proposal for the "Imperial Army Standards Act" suddenly seemed like a reasonable idea, and it was soon seriously considered. Serisothikos represented most of the Reichstag when he said "The Imperial Army Standards Act will allow us to counter the numerous and uncouth French barbarians. They may throw thousands at our hundreds, but what will it avail them if their peasant rabble runs at the sight of our glorious arms?"

A second proposal, the Establishment of the Imperial Mint, was designed to reduce inflation, thereby helping the economic prosperity of Swabia. This gained much of the support with the more capitalist-inclined of the Reichstag members. Clayren said, "We have the numbers but we still have to pay for them. I vote for the Establishment of the Imperial Mint to help reduce inflation, a task necessary to keep paying for our army." It was a sentiment that many people agreed with. (I myself must admit that some of the rhetoric supporting the Imperial Mint was indeed quite cynical; Nick Buntline infamously claimed, "Glory may inspire a soldier, but money inspires everyone." But it was no more cynical than Vander's claim: "We must go with the Imperial Standards Act to better protect and serve our brethren and ourselves.")

However, the Militarists did not want to see their pet project dismissed. Ever since the first Reichstag meeting in 1499, the Militarists wanted the Imperial Army Standard Acts, and after 10 Reichstags (9 regular Reichstags, and the Special Reichstag of 1434), they would not let themselves be defeated again. One of the supporters of the IASA, Moquel, stated that "Inflation is part of the natural order of things. Go for The Imperial Army Standards act. Our armies must be made stronger so that we may face France and the Moor on equal terms on the field of battle."

It was a narrow vote, but 12 people voted in favor of the Imperial Army Standards Act, and 10 people voted for the Imperial Mint. The Imperial Army Standards Act was adopted. Still, die-hard supporters of the Imperial Mint knew that there would be a chance to pass its proposal during the next major Reichstag session.

The Merchants proposed the Proposition of the Sound Revisions to Imperial Tolls and Tariffs (or the Tolls and Tariffs Act), a combination of protectionalist measures and granting the power of the Emperor to declare "Imperial Embargos". The Merchants hoped that the Emperor would use these embargos to force other nations to grant special benieft the Swabian merchants. However, the fear of both war and inflation means that the Merchants received no votes at all. The merchants fumed at their defeat.

After the passage of the Imperial Army Standards Act, the Hammadids withdrew from the frontlines and later on, was finally forced into signing a treaty with the Holy Roman Empire. France also fought and won a quick war against the Hammadids.

In 1491, the French Empire declared war on the member state of Gelre, and the Holy Roman Empire fought the French. The HRE army were outnumbered, but the French army was tired of war. Soon the French were defeated, and the Rheinland were finally liberated from French control. The Militarists cheered, believing that their victory on the battlefield was due primarly to the Imperial Army Standards Act and the 10th Reichstag.

***

In this Fedual world, religion played a major (some say fundmental) role in binding societies together and justifying the rule of the rich. But it is just as often a force for instability, sparking many various wars and conflicts. It was often a tool used by various political forces, all seeking to gain power, wealth, and glory.

After the death of Konrad II in 1436, Emperor Waldemar III made a treaty with the Pope. The Pope agreed to end the excommunication interdict over Swaiba, in exchange for money, a guarrante of the Papal States, the right to crown (but not confirm) the Emperor, and passage of the "Swabian Blasphemy Act". All this led to the reconcilation of Swabia with the Catholic faith, an alliance that continued for quite some time. For example, in 1472, the Pope convinced the Emperor Werner II to crush the Cathari sects in Lombardia, by sending in its military and burning the sect leaders on the stake. So when the Protestant Reformation began in 1500, the Holy Roman Emperor Ernst II eventually sided with the counter-Reformation and sought to stamp out the Protestant heresy within the Swabian borders, often times using extermly violent means.

However, nothern German rulers were attracted to Protestanism, and other rulers converted to Catharism. Some of the newly converted states even left the Holy Roman Empire, refusing to be ruled by a Catholic monarch. In addition, Swabia's intervention in the War of the Urbinese Succession on behalf of the Catholics (Cathar Verona and Catholic Austria fought over possession of the Duchy of Urbino), and Swabia's harsh punishment (Verona had to give up the province of Mantua to the Imperial Demesne and pay 100 ducats), made the Holy Roman Emperor even more hated in the eyes of the Electors. Verona became yet another state to resign from the Holy Roman Empire (and was later conquered by Venice).

Swabia only retained a narrow majority in the Holy Roman Empire as a result of its policies. The unity of the Holy Roman Empire was in jeopodary, with the Pope seeking to use Swabia in order to subdue the Protestants and the Cathars, and the Swabian Merchant class seeking to peserve what's left of the Holy Roman Empire. Religious tensions was high when Emperor Waldemar V offically convened the 14th Reichstag in 1520.

Catholic countries and the Pope backed the Defense of the Indivisble Church Act, which would allow the Holy Roman Emperor to wage a war of religious conversion within the Empire, at the risk of causing heretical nations to leave the HRE. RabidWeasel stated, "The Defense of the Indivisible Church Act will give you a free hand to forcefully convert those heretics back to the one true faith, and possibly gain some vassals / territory in the process. It will do the prestige of the Empire good for it to be united under god, and surely the electors will not mistake your actions for sheer naked expansionism."

Another supporter of this proposal, Spirit Tree, was recorded as saying in a Reichstag speech "The Defense of the Indivisible Church Act would not only give new avenues for conquest but could give us the ability to regain and reintegrate many cities of the Holy Roman Empire that have seceded. At the least, plunder from random acts of hostility will fill our coffers enough to never need to mint again."

This was however very unpopular with the Cathars and the Protestants, who would prefer the Holy Roman Emperor to focus on economic matters. The idea of the Imperial Mint was brought up again, as a way to unite the Empire through a common monetary unit, as opposed of dividing it through religious war. Peel led the charge by stating, "The worthless French are rising again on our borders and we can't waste our time on petty religious squabbles while they sieze the advantage. We need a strong financial base to fund the armies that will keep the Empire safe in these troubled times."

skipThings, a previous supporter for the Mint, reaffirmed his support for the Mint: "Killing a third of our population, or maybe even the whole empire can't be the solution to problems, instead we should get finally a grip on our financial problems.

The French are once again on the rise and our main goal is protection of the empire, all of it member states, catholic or not, not being the guard dog of the pope and his corrupt underlings."

Some of the Reichstag members did not even bother to conceal their desire for wealth and profit. enuma elish possibly revealed more than he intended when he said, "Who cares what religion they are if they have money?" Geshtal also said, "With enough cash we can just buy our own religion." This pursuit of wealth for wealth's sake frankly disgusts me, but it was not a sentiment shared solely by the Mint's supporters, as I said before.

The question of how serious the inflation threat actually is to the Empire was raised. Atrayonis, a Militarist Catholic and proud supporter of the Imperial Army Standards Act suprised many by siding with the establishment of the Imperial Mint, stating that "[a]lthough the heretics need to be beaten back desperatly, without a solid financial base, this is impossible." KnoxZone also stated during expert testiomony, "I can only assume fielding a 40k man early army (see: tons of cavalry) inflation must be getting a bit up there. go with the Mint."

Dr. Video Games 0031 countered however, "Inflation can be fought any time. The reformation needs to be fought now. The Holy Roman Empire must stand, and in order to effectively reassemble it to its former glory, we must be able to march on those who seceded with minimal impact at home." The final vote however was 14-11, and the Imperial Mint proposal was established. Dr. Video Games 0031 fumed, "I hope you guys are happy, you have doomed the rest of germany to the horrors of the reformation, with nobody there to come to their aid."

There was also a minor proposal introduced during this Reichstag, the Imperial Navy Expansion Proposal (otherwise known as the Grand Navy proposal), which was seen as an stepping stone to colonization of the New World. Only 5 Reichstag members supported the idea, with MasturbatoryMeme stating, "We won't really need the protestant member states when our colonies make us rich." Nick Buntline also expressed this sentiment, "Control of the seas is control of the world." While the proposal failed, the fact that it made a better showing than the "Tolls and Tariffs" Act meant that it still had some support, enough support to have its supporters claim a moral victory and wait for it to be re-introduced.

The 14th Reichstag was very important. Even though religious tension continued, the 14th Reichstag prevented the Holy Roman Empire from collasping into a religious war, and it allowed for the Holy Roman Empire to become a pluralistic nation rather than a nation following Catholicism. Religion eventually faded away as a political force in Germany, and would instead be replaced by Nationalism. But why was this the case? In order to determine this, I took a look at the voting records of politicans that have voted in both the 1480 Reichstag and the 1520 Reichstag, and compared the voting records to see if I can learn anything.

Support for "Defense of the Indivisible Church" came from both an IASA supporter (Vander) and a previous Imperial Mint supporter (Hey Sesus), but the rest of the supporters seemed to either be new or have not been active during 1480. Support for the Imperial Mint came from two IASA supporters (Atrayonis and KnoxZone) and one previous Imperial Mint supporter (skipThings). Support for the Grand Navy actually came from three Imperial Mint supporters (MasturbatoryMeme, Clayren, and Nick Buntline), suggesting that they were more interested in gaining wealth through any means necessary, than they were in taming inflation.

Suprisingly, it seemed that 24 members of the 1520 Reichstag did not vote in the 1480 Reichstag. "Experts" within 1480 did not show up to vote in 1520, and those who were denied a seat in 1480 was granted one in 1520. This does suggest that the Reichstag, far from letting old and experienced cadres stay in office as career politicans, tried to allow for new opinions and ideas to circulate in the Reichstag bodies by appointing new elites to join up with the Reichstag.

This does not mean the entire Reichstag was constanly replaced though by new and naive members. There are indeed several experienced members who voted in previous Reichstags before 1480, but for whatever reason, decided to abstain in 1480, only to latter vote in 1520. A famous example would be Dr. Video Games 0031, who voted in the emergency 1434 session and in the 1520 session, but did not vote in 1480.

A reason for this can be deduced by a famous quotation by a Reichstag member: "I'm sorry, I have a life." Several Reichstag members were also nobles and landlords, and they desired to use the perks of Reichstag office and their wealth in order to enjoy themselves. Many did not even bother to show up to the Reichstag sessions, and so the operation of the Reichstag essentially fell into the hands of those few experienced noblesmen who did show up, or to the new Reichstag members who eager to get to work. Those that did not attend the previous Reichstag session (for whatever reason) were referred to as the Luysschen, or the "lurkers".

What this means is that the Reichstag votes became increasingly unpredictable, and victory became based solely on who showed up, and not at all based on the merits of the propositions at hands. If a few more or less represenatives arrived on that fateful Reichstage meeting in 1520, the "Defense of the Indivisible Church" Act would have passed.

The Luysschen were evenly divided between the Defense of the Indivisible Church and the Imperial Mint. 10 Luysschen voted for the Defense of the Indivisible Church, and 12 Luysschen voted for the Imperial Mint. Only 2 Luysschen voted for the Grand Navy.

Complicating matters was the Grand Navy proposal. Most of the previous Imperial Mint supporters in 1480 who did show up in 1520 were instead seduced by the prospects of New World gold, and instead supported the Grand Navy proposal in 1520. The Grand Navy had the potential of acting as a "spoiler" third-party proposal, drawing away Imperial Mint sympathizers and letting the "Defense of the Indivisible Church" Act pass instead.

However, since 12 Reichstag members who did not vote in 1480 ended up supporting the Imperial Mint proposal, the Imperial Mint was adopted.

Since the Imperial Mint proposal won by 3 votes, it can be said the Luysschen voting bloc (12 versus 10) contributed to the Imperial Mint's victory, but did not explain everything. Credit must also belong to the IASA swing voters (2 versus 1). These two voters, happy that their pro- Military agenda was adopted in 1480, was likely more receptive to calls for the establishment of the Imperial Mint.

Still, this draw attention to the fact that the decision in 1520 was decided by those who managed to vote; it was not decided on by the same experienced people who were in the 1480 Reichstag meeting. As long as this dynamic refuse to change, the Reichstag would remain instable and easy to sway.

***

The 18th Reichstag session was called into order on Janurary 1560, the last major Reichstag session of the Fedual Reichstags. Two major events helped to shape the direction of the 18th Reichstag.

The first major event was the Swabian-French War, a war that brought newfound interest in hte powers of the navy. The British managed to force the mighty French empire into suing for peace by blockading their ports. This was used by supporters of the Grand Navy as proof that the Holy Roman Empire needs its own navy to survive and thrive in the new age of Colonalism, with the subtext that the naxy may pay for itself by being used to acquire colonies in the New World. The Imperial Navy Expansion Proposal was reintroduced and granted a new lease on life. Clayren, a previous supporter of the Imperial Navy, led the charge to reintroduce the bill: "We have found a way to beat France, we must keep it up! The Imperial Navy Expansion Proposal would allow us to not only blockade Frances coastline, but will also allow us to keep French ships from landing troops in Italy. Then we can focus more troops in mainland Swabia, instead of having to keep several divisions in Italy." Gul Banana tried a different track when arguing for the proposal: "Naval power and wealth would give Swabia a nice edge over its landlocked neighbours."

The second major event was the Iberian reform effort, turning the caliphate into an Administrative Empire so as to more effectively run its territories and handle trade. Several reformers were impressed by the Iberian reforms, and proposed the "Imperial Administration Reform Act" in an attempt to turn the HRE into an Administrative Monarchy. One supporter, Cyria said, "Swabia has been given a duty as Holy Roman Emperor to protect and lead the people of the Empire, not whatever may be in the new lands." Catchphrases were coined by Reichstag members in order to campagin for the bill. Naar yelled "Go for Bureaucracy!" while The Grundtvigian was reported as saying, "¡Viva la Bureaucracy!"

A third act was introduced, the Battlefield Commissions Act, which promised to improve the quality of the HRE army and its officers. This propsal was introduced by Militarists who were worried that a Grand Navy would essentially devote funds away from the army. It did not stand much chance of passage, but the Militarists hoped that the proposal would be reconsidered and passed at a later date. BklynBruzer, a supporter of the proposal, said, "We need stronger, better trained military to combat the French threat." Some more luke-warm support came from Peel: "I'm torn. I'd dearly love to reform the bureaucracy but with France's resurgence and belligerence we need the strongest military possible to break and sack them like last time. Investment in the future will not help when the present hangs in the balance. Battlefield Commissions Act."

The Grand Navy proposal received 12 votes. The Imperial Administration Reform Act received 15 votes, and by a margin of 3 votes, the Reform Act was passed. 4 people, meanwhile, voted for the Battlefield Commissions Act as an alternative. Because it was such a close race, I again looked at the voting records to determine where each Act was receiving its support from.

Since the Grand Navy proposal was introduced in 1520, it was likely it picked up a few die-hard supporters. Three supporters of the Grand Navy in the 1520 Reichstag voted again for the Grand Navy proposal in 1560.

Most supporters of the failed "Defense of the Indivisible Church Act" ended up supporting the Grand Navy proposal. Three "Defense" supporters voted for the Grand Navy, while IARA and Battlefield Commissions Act received 1 "Defense" vote each.

Meanwhile, most Imperial Mint supporters in 1520 ended up supporting the IARA. 6 Imperial Mint supporters voted for the IARA, 2 Imperial Mint supporters voted for the Battlefield Commission, and only 1 Imperial Mint supporter voted for the Grand Navy. Most of the support for the IARA comes from the belief that a more effective bureacracy would receive more money. Since a similar rationale was used for promotion of the Imperial Mint (a strong Mint would reduce inflation, and thus allow for the HRE to receive more money), it would make sense that support for the Imperial Mint would also lead to support for the IARA.

The Luysschen appear to be key for IARA's passage. If you exclude all Luysschen from the voting total, you would see that the IARA and the Grand Navy proposals are tied, 7-7. Therefore, the Luysschen were the only tie difference that decided passage or failure. Only 5 Luysschen voted for the Grand Navy proposal, while 8 Luysschen voted for the IARA, and so the IARA was passed. No Luysschen voted for the Battlefield Commissions.

Examining the demographics of the Luysschen carefully, we see that three of the Luysschen actually attended and voted during the 1480 Reichstag. All of them voted for the Imperial Army Standards Act. It is possible that these people may have decided that, after passage of the Imperial Army Standards Act, that the HRE was well-defended, and thus now the HRE could afford to look inward. It is possible that this core "IASA Luysschen" was the force that caused for the IARA to be passed.

The Imperial Administration Reform Act is important because it reformed the bureacracy and created an an effienct tax collection system for the Holy Roman Empire, causing it to transcend its fedualism roots and become a Administrative Monarchy. It also affected the Reichstag; the same standards used to reform the bureacracy also was used to reform the Reichstag membership. New Reichstag members would be based on their competence and their merit, greatly improving the debating and reasoning skills of the Reichstag's membership. The age of the Fedual Reichstags were over.

After the 19th Reichstag, the Holy Roman Emperor, Ernst III, set an important precedent after the by holding "informal consulations" with the Reichstag, outside of the regular sessions mandated by the Golden Bull. Ernst III used these "informal consulations" to pass a pet bill of his, the Militia Act of 1564, which granted Ernst III the power to wage his infamous military campagins.

These "informal consulations" would later be used as a Reichstag as a way to put pressure on weaker monarchs in order to follow their advice. Essentially, these "informal consulations" turned the Reichstag into a semi-permenant parliament.