This is very interesting, thanks for translating it. I hadn't really thought much about why the Millerand affair set off such an intense conflict in the Second International but Kautsky gives a clear explanation of why entering a cabinet (via appointment) was different than winning a mayoralty (via election). This reminds me of late 2020 when Bernie was reportedly angling to be appointed Secretary of Labor in the Biden cabinet: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/22/bernie-sanders-biden-labor-secretary-431266. In our timeline, Bernie took a lot of justified criticism for his conciliatory relationship with Biden, especially in the second half of the administration. But in retrospect there was a very big difference between him remaining as a senator with an independent political profile and, on the other hand, becoming a cabinet secretary ultimately responsible to Biden, a la Millerand. We really dodged a bullet there.
Seems pretty obvious and non-controversial. People in the Biden administration who opposed the genocide in Gaza had to stay quiet or quit (as some did). Mayors are in fundamentally different positions.
This is very interesting, thanks for translating it. I hadn't really thought much about why the Millerand affair set off such an intense conflict in the Second International but Kautsky gives a clear explanation of why entering a cabinet (via appointment) was different than winning a mayoralty (via election). This reminds me of late 2020 when Bernie was reportedly angling to be appointed Secretary of Labor in the Biden cabinet: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/22/bernie-sanders-biden-labor-secretary-431266. In our timeline, Bernie took a lot of justified criticism for his conciliatory relationship with Biden, especially in the second half of the administration. But in retrospect there was a very big difference between him remaining as a senator with an independent political profile and, on the other hand, becoming a cabinet secretary ultimately responsible to Biden, a la Millerand. We really dodged a bullet there.
Seems pretty obvious and non-controversial. People in the Biden administration who opposed the genocide in Gaza had to stay quiet or quit (as some did). Mayors are in fundamentally different positions.