Kalstad, Adwest (1 Quartyr 1584)

The Count of Laxenhive paced back and forth with slow, heavy steps across the hall. With each moment the heel of his polished black shoes met the floor, a significant thud bounced from the dark wooden floorboards. Every so often he would glance at his wristwatch, imported from Eskkya and seemingly crafted from a diamond or three. The shimmer of the luxurious accessory - collecting such being a habit of the count - tested the patience of his attendees. Two members of the Royal Adwestene Constabulary standing guard in particular often had to look away as their superior passed in front of them; the afternoon sunlight from the open windows at the opposite side of the hall refracted from the count's watch right into their eyes.

Nonetheless, the Count of Laxenhive paid them no attention. Time mattered to him, and he was irritated with tardiness and other means of disrespecting time.

One of the doors leading to the expansive room gave way, although the Count of Laxenhive refrained from drawing to it; he had not heard the sound of a vehicle stopping outside his summer residence and so inferred it was not his guest that had just walked in.

He was right, as he heard a maiden's voice. "Tea, your most honorable eminence?"

For a second, the Count of Laxenhive stopped his repetitive walk and faced his female servant. His brows puckered as he told her "You may use your previous way of addressing me, Belinda. And no. Inform me when the Lord Halnish arrives."

The servant smiled and gave a curt bow of the head, before scurrying out with a steel tray of cups and a kettle skillfully balanced in one hand. Before doing so however, the maiden shot a flirtatious flick of her eyes at one of the guardsmen.

The affair of his household assistants escaping his notice, the Count of Laxenhive went over and opened a sliding glass door which led to one of the larger patios in the residence. Although he enjoyed the ambiance of the high-roofed guest room which was supposed to be the venue of a meeting today, the thought of fresh air to recollect his thoughts enticed him to exit for a while.

The 1st of Quartyr would be a hectic day for Neil Gore-Culross, the Adwestene Lord Protector. Already he found himself displeased that he would not be able to attend the first sermon of the Argent Church this month - he was a pious Adwestene. More than that though, he was set to discuss with the head of the Round Table Council the long-term agenda of reclaiming lost territories. This would be a normal day of affairs for the Lord Protector had it not been for several factors, however.

First, he was disliked immensely by that man he was set to plan the course of the empire today. Gore-Culross likewise reciprocated his bereftness of good graces. Robert Halnish was that man who headed the Ducal Council and who was a primary advocate of the use of force in the Round Table, and who seemed disinclined to serve under the new Lord Protector merely for the fact that Gore-Culross was a mere Count, and he a Duke. Antagonism between the High Nobility - who under the patronage of the late Lord Ashford and supposedly Queen Sophia I - and the Lower Nobility regularly flared when it came to political appointments.

Second, the fact that his consultations were now wholly with the Round Table and its members and did not include representatives say from the Foreign Ministry made it clear that the "second generation" of National Rejuvenation leaders would go on the war path. The Count of Laxenhive was, of course, at the head of this generation. An array of policymakers which included the new Chairs of the Round Table and the Ducal Council, the ministers of War and Foreign Affairs, and the generals of the Grand Army of Adwest. Gore-Culross professed earnestly as a militarist himself, but not to the extent of deviating from the Lord Ashford's "Diplomacy before War" approach.

The effective occupation and slow but sure assimilation of Westenne in the beginning of this year marked the second Adwestene triumph in her efforts at imperial restoration. The few battles that were fought in the Northern Territories and the exile of the homosexual Jonathan Rhys allegedly to Oslanburg now gave Adwestene leaders freedom to look west, the notoriously termed "Final Frontier" that would be the third and final step towards the quest for glory.

This Final Frontier encompassed the territory of three sovereign states; the People's Republic of Falsea, the Republic of Cynas, and the Grand Duchy of Sindar-Astrasia. The Lord Protector wanted their reconquest to be in one fell swoop, but he knew this would be a difficult if not outright impossible task altogether. In addition, foreign reaction was an ever-present danger that threatened not only to stop the reclamation of the Final Frontier but destabilize the region and Adwest as well. The silence of the world regarding the takeover of the Northern Territories was a boon that would not last long, the Lord Protector knew.

Through this thinking, a plan to achieve their final aims and at the same time shore up Adwest's safety and security in the international community was hatched by him. And this was none other than to build a coalition of nations that would support Adwestene imperial ambitions and take a slice of the pie for themselves. It was a win-win situation, as Gore-Culross had already acknowledged the security umbrella Taeunas had over Cynas and the difficulty of pushing historical territorial claims onto Falsea - which did not entirely become part of the First Kingdom of Adwest in reality.

The strategy the Count of Laxenhive wanted to pursue, in his mind, did not differ from that pursued by his predecessor. The late Lord Ashford courted a number of fellow reactionary regimes from Nerysia to as far as Tieguo as a safeguard in case the international community with their "international laws" and "democracy & freedom" came knocking around. The proxy conflicts in Brigidna and elsewhere helped to stave off attention from Kvaenna save for the exception of Kolhar, yet even Kolhar's issues were settled without the participation of outside powers.

Today's balance of power was different from that of the time of Lord Ashford, and pickings for reliable failsafes were now slim. Concessions had to be given, and eventually the grumblings of several of the Lords were silenced when the new Lord Protector presented his plan to cut up the Final Frontier between Adwest and a number of other powers; what he named the Great Partition.

Five minutes after lounging around in the patio, the Count of Laxenhive reentered the house only to catch sight of Lord Robert III Halnish entering as well. The Duke was in full military dress, in the shade of a midnight blue. He stared at the Count, stiff more because of his formality than out of anxiety.

"Good afternoon Neil" greeted the Lord Halnish.

The Count of Laxenhive returned the greeting, offering him a seat and a lukewarm smile. He held back a sigh of amusement at the fellow's get-up; both he and Halnish knew the latter wore that military uniform only because he was part of the Round Table and not because he was a soldier in any sense, unlike the former.

He took a seat as well, glancing one last time upon his watch. The Lord Halnish arrived five minutes after the set time of one in the afternoon. They now need only wait for the representatives of the other stakeholders.

The beginning of the end had come.

Severyane: Election 1584
Elections for the Konsul, Natsional'noye Sobraniyea and the Predstaviteli

• Severyanskaya Perovskaya Partiya/Severyanian Perovist Party - "SPP" (Communists)
  
  Show ContentPlatform:

  The SPP's platform is largely to maintain the "status quo". They support a regulated "entitled wage" for each citizen, central planning of the economy, limited imports/exports as well as a limit on immigration and emigration. The SPP is pro-military yet largely anti-war.
• Partiya Svobody i Demokratii/Freedom and Democracy Party  - "PSD" (Democratic Party)
  
  Show ContentPlatform:

  The PSD is Severyane's first democracy oriented political party. They seek to expand political freedoms for the citizens of Severyane. They oppose any and all Perovist policies. They are in favor of government welfare, healthcare, and unemployment but do not support an "entitled wage". They seek to turn Severyane into an export-oriented economy and seek to make Severyane resource independent. The PSD is in favor of relaxed immigration laws and opposes laws forbidding emigration. The party is pro-military.
• Konservativnyy Soyuz/Conservative Union - "KS" (Conservatives)
  
  Show ContentPlatform:

  The KS runs a platform centered on supporting "family values" and a "tradition-oriented society". Their leaders are pro-military and pro-war, supporting an increase in Severyane's military size and expenditure. They oppose LGBTQ+ rights on the basis of "keeping society from becoming corrupted". The party opposed the "modern feminist movement" as a corruption of traditional feminist movements and ideas. They are against state-sponsored healthcare, welfare and "entitled wage".
• Dvizheniye za Vosstanovleniye Monarkhii/Party for the Restoration of the Monarchy - "DZVM" (Monarchists)
  
  Show ContentPlatform:

  The DZVM's platform is largely centered on their desire to turn Severyane into a Constitutional Monarchy by reinstating a relative of Severyane's last Emperor to the throne. They argue that it would be easy enough to make the prospective King the Head of State, replacing the newly formed office of Konsul.
• Partiya Mira i Svobody/Party for Peace and Freedom - "PMIS" ("Green" Party)
  
  Show ContentPlatform:

  The PMIS runs a platform of "anti-war, pro-people". They oppose any and all expansions of the military and actually advocate for cutting it by 75% of its current size. The PMIS are also heavily in favor of LGBTQ+ rights, immigration/emigration rights, and consider themselves "pro-feminism", boasting the fact that over 65% of their party is female.
• Liberal'noye Narodnoye Sobraniye/Liberal People's Assembly - "LNS" (Liberal Party)
  
  Show ContentPlatform:

  The LNS supports many state-sponsored programs, such as welfare, healthcare and "entitled wage". They are pro-LGBTQ+, and support the "modern feminist cause". The LNS Party leader labeled his party the "antithesis of the backward and ignorant Conservative Union" during a recent speech. They are pro-military yet anti-war.
• Nezavisimyy/Independents - "IND" (Not a party)
  

• Gregory Tokaryev - SPP
  
• Ruben Degtyaryov - SPP
  
• Eva Yuryeva - PSD
  
• Egor Alekseeva - DZVM
  
• Daria Fedorova - KS
  
• Sviatoslav Boholyubov - IND
  
• Maximilian Alexandrov - IND
  
• Arkhip Woronoff - IND
  
• Anastasia Balashova - IND
  

Proposal 1:National Level:
Unicameral or Bi-Cameral:Bi-Cameral
Number Seats:550(400 Local ,150 list)
25 Judges to judge whether law is constitutional and protects freedoms
All Elected/Appointed by state/Part Elected:All Elected
Head of Government: Prime Minister
Head of Government Seperate election:Yes
Powers: Domestic policy, Healthcare, Education policy, Welfare policy,Economic policy etc
Head of State: President
Head of State Seperate election:Yes
Powers:International Trade, Defence, Intelligence, Foreign Policy etc
Executive Order:No
Elections System:MMP
Winners Bonus: No
List seats:Yes
Ban on donations, full public funding

State Level:
Governor Seperately Elected?: Yes
Unicameral or Bi-Cameral:Bi-Cameral
Upper chamber to contain judges to check on laws constitutionality and protection of freedoms
Executive Order:No
Elections System:MMP
Winners Bonus: No
List seats:Yes
Funding:Ban on donations, full public funding

Further dubdivisions: Municipal or Regional Authorities

Human rights:
1:Freedom of Assembly
2:Freedom of Speech
3:Freedom of Media
4:Freedom of Religion
5:Freedom of Movement
6:Equality of oppurtunity regardless of caste
7:Equality of oppurtunity regardless of religion
8:Equality of oppurtunity regardless of neurotype
9:Equality of oppurtunity regardless of disability
10:Equality of oppurtunity regardless of gender

Proposal 2:National Level:
Unicameral or Bi-Cameral: Bi-Cameral
All Elected/Appointed by state/Part Elected: All elected
Head of Government: President
Head of Government Separate election: Yes
Powers: Executive Authority, Head of State, commander-in-chief of the Armed Force
Head of State: N/A
Head of State Separate election: N/A
Powers: N/A
Executive Order: Yes
System: Parliamentary/Federal etc Federal
Elections System: FPTP
Winners Bonus: No
List seats: No
Funding: Donations

State Level:
Governor Separately Elected?: Yes
Unicameral or Bi-Cameral: Bi-Cameral
Executive Order: RelgionNo
System: Federal
Elections System: FPTP
Winners Bonus: Yes
List seats: No
Funding: Donations

Further Subdivisions:

Human rights: Human Rights granted via constitution
-Freedom of Speech
-Freedom of Expression
-Freedom of Religion
-Freedom of Association
-Freedom of Movement
-Equal Opportunity regardless of race, gender, disability, religion, and criminal.

Proposal 3:National Level:
Unicameral or Bi-Cameral:Unicameral(550 seats including list seats, dhon't model)
All Elected/Appointed by state/Part Elected:Elected
Head of Government:Cabinet(All ministers but ministers cannot vote in National Assembly)
Head of Government Seperate election:Yes(Voted by legislature and governors with appointments by party based on their vote)
Powers: All areas of policy
Head of State: President
Head of State Seperate election:N/A
Powers:Reperesent interests of nation abroad(Elected by Cabinet)
Executive Order:No
System: Parliamentary
Elections System: PR
Winners Bonus: No
List seats:Yes
Funding: Public

State Level:
Governor Seperately Elected?: No
Unicameral or Bi-Cameral:Unicameral
Executive Order:Yes
System: Parliamentary
Elections System: PR
Winners Bonus:No
List seats:Yes/No
Funding: Public

Further Subdivisions:Muncipal/County Authorities

Human rights:
1:Freedom of Assembly
2:Freedom of Speech
3:Freedom of Media
4:Freedom of Religion
5:Freedom of Movement
6:Equality of oppurtunity regardless of caste
7:Equality of oppurtunity regardless of religion
8:Equality of oppurtunity regardless of neurotype
9:Equality of oppurtunity regardless of disability
10:Equality of oppurtunity regardless of gender

Proposal 4:
National Level:
Unicameral or Bi-Cameral: Bi-cameral
All Elected/Appointed by state/Part Elected: Lower House elected by PR/FPTP; Upper House elected by lot from local/federal representatives
Head of Government: Prime Minister
Head of Government Seperate election: No
Powers: He appoints the national cabiet, direct domestic policy with the support of the parliament
Head of State: President
Head of State Seperate election:Yes
Powers: Commander-in-chief, he directs defence and foreign policy with the support of the National Cabinet
Executive Order: No (limited veto power)
System: Semi-parliamentary / Semi-presidential
Elections System: Preferently mixed system
Winners Bonus: No
List seats: Yes
Funding: Public

State Level:
Governor Seperately Elected?: Yes
Unicameral or Bi-Cameral: Unicameral
Executive Order: No
System: Semi-Parliamentary
Elections System: FPTP
Winners Bonus: No
List seats: No
Funding: Public

Further Subdivisions:
Local governments, which members are elected through FPTP and which may serve for one/two year term in the Upper House

Human rights:
Free speech and assembly, free press, Freedom of region, No discrimnation for ethnic, race, sex, sexual orientation or caste, separation of powers and rule of law, independent judiciary, respect to private property, etc.


About your System:
-The President is the commander-in-chief, signs treaties and represent the nation abroad. He is supposed to lead the defense and foreign policy, but it would require cooperation with the Prime Minister and the parliament to implement it. He may have veto powers on laws passed by the parliament, but both houses of parliament may overrun it with a 2/3 or 3/4 majority. He may be elected through a runoff system or through an electoral college.
-The Prime Minister and the National Cabinet are required to have parliamentary support, and they direct the country's domestic policy. If the President has not support of the parliament, then the largest political party/coalition leads the domestic policy.
-The Upper House is supposed to have a secondary role, proposing amends to laws passed by the Lower House, approving the national budget and constitutional ammends. As it may change often its composition with only indirectly influence of voters, it may impulse more consensus in the parliament. The lot system could serve as well to assure a number of ethnic/religious minorities have a minimum of seats in the Upper House.

Additional (optional) features:
The President may be reelected only once (for a four-year presidential term) or even not able to be reelected (for a 5 or more year term).
The President may call national referendums (with/without approval of the parliament or majority of states)
A majority of the states (2/3 or 3/4 of all states) may call for a referendum to decide if the president continues or early presidential elections are called (unlike an impeachment vote, the president would be able to run as candidate in those elections). This early presidential referendum can only be called once per term.

The People's Will
For Humanity Against Neoliberalism



Ulrick Brandt re-elected to NPA leadership by Congress

1584

Ulrick Brandt was re-elected to the leadership of the NPA by the Congress of the NPA. Despite his overwhelming victory, he needed to regain the confidence of the Congress and party members due to the disappointing election results so far. One of the criticisms by the party members is that the NPA has been invisible in recent years, and that Brandt isn't showing enough zeal to stand up for the interests of the marginalized classes of Nyland. ''Neoliberalism dominates Nyland now unchallenged'', one member complained.

Ulrick Brandt accepted the criticism, but defended himself he was confronted with the task of reorganizing and building the party from the base in the past few years. He shared the concerns about the growing dominance of neoliberalism in Nyland, a plague which he considered ''a crime against humanity''. ''The Nyland Liberals have dominated Nylander politics for decades. The other parties take turns in facillitating their destructive economic agenda, ever aimed at growth rates to satisfy the boardrooms of International Greed. I have very well understood the message of the members: Take off the gloves, and fight the criminals that dominate this political system.''

The Marxist Caucus within the NPA officially proposed to put the expulsion of the Nylander finance industry on top of the Party's agenda, but a majority rejected the proposal. The party was sympathetic however to advocate for special prosecution committees to be set up in the future to specialize in financial crime and corruption and to focus entirely on the white-collar crimes of the banking elite in Nyland, and to implement heavy punishments. ''In Nyland one has to work for his money. Hard work is to be rewarded. Swindlers and con-men are to be locked up!'' shouted Brandt, one of the advocates of this proposal.

The Congress ended with thousands of members chanting ''Down with Kohout. Down with the Oligarchy!''

South Brignadian Treaty Organisation

Signatories to this treaty shall commit to the defence of other signatories of this treaty
An attack on one member is to be considered an attack on all members
On joint operations nations may have their separate armies act as one joint SBTO force.
Members of the organisation may co-operate on joint procurement, design and defence projects
A defence shield shall be developed on the borders of the Treaty defence zone
All members shall commit to a minimum 2% of GDP military spend
If a 75% vote is achieved then a joint pre-emptive defensive operation or an operation on humanitarian grounds may be launched under the banner of SBTO
With permissoion of the host nation and SBTO council joint SBTO bases may be established in territories of member states
Each member shall have 2 members on the SBTO council
Leadership of the organisation shall rotate every 2 years
Any member may join the South Brignadian Joint Equipment Procurement Programme(SBJEPP)
A new member may join with a 75% vote of the council
Members:
Kingdom of Strathae
Eskkya
Lomarre
Keszarja
Castleton
Selisa
Fellis
Ashford
Cyrus

Now is the time for the election debate. The campaigning has been hard and here on the GBC today the leaders face their greatest test you the public of Goldecia. Send in your questions for all our party leaders to answer and if you want to target one t a particular leader or leaders plese mention that in your question.line.

There are 230 seats up for grabs with 26 list seats to make the government more proportional and a winners bonus list seats of which all 36 will be given to the winning party.

The parties competing are as follows:

Today for the first time in 20 years RC are low in the polls being the 2nd party in oppinion polls for the first time ever. The GHS, immigration and public services as well as the divide between people and the politicians have become battlegrounds for the parties. Who will win hearts of the people and will clear winner emerge or will it require coalition building to pass the line.

There are 230 seats up for grabs with 26 list seats to make the government more proportional and a winners bonus list seats of which all 36 will be given to the winning party.

The parties competing are as follows:

Today for the first time in 20 years RC are low in the polls being the 2nd party in oppinion polls for the first time ever. The GHS, immigration and public services as well as the divide between people and the politicians have become battlegrounds for the parties. Who will win hearts of the people and will clear winner emerge or will it require coalition building to pass the line.

There are 230 seats up for grabs with 26 list seats to make the government more proportional and a winners bonus list seats of which all 36 will be given to the winning party.

The parties competing are as follows:

Today for the first time in 20 years RC are low in the polls being the 2nd party in oppinion polls for the first time ever. The GHS, immigration and public services as well as the divide between people and the politicians have become battlegrounds for the parties. Who will win hearts of the people and will clear winner emerge or will it require coalition building to pass the line.

There are 230 seats up for grabs with 26 list seats to make the government more proportional and a winners bonus list seats of which all 36 will be given to the winning party.

The parties competing are as follows:

Aligatag, Mayari

Aligatag had always been considered a sort of haven among other major cities in Mayari - many of which fell victim to the trap of unsustainable population growth during the economic boom of recent decades past. Throughout its time as a bastion of the nation's political neoliberals, it grew to become a model of commercial development and vertical expansion rivaled only by the capital.

To its towers flocked many of the highly mobile and emerging upper middle class, both for business and residential purposes. Meanwhile, to its waterfronts facing the Larrazabal Strait fled tourists mostly from the West to enjoy the warm climate and the many amenities the city's extensive commercialization brought.

Indeed, tourism remained one of the most lucrative industries in Aligatag. It and the rest of Kalisita Island - the largest in Mayari - accounted for almost a fifth of the entire country's share of foreign visitors. The province benefited from this injection of foreigners spending their cash on spirits by the strait or adventures in Kalisita's interior or scuba diving and other aquatic getaways. Although many of the endemic issues Mayari faced such as glaring poverty did not elude Aligatag and its province, progress had managed to crawl enough on the island so as to cement itself as a "progressive city" and a leader of the rest. In most part, again, thanks to the many years of no-holds-barred economic liberalization pursued by the hegemonic Partido Kalayaan (Freedom Party).

Aligatag was the pet project and arguably most successful outcome of PK's commitment to laissez-faire policies. Deregulation, regressive taxation, and an unsatiable desire to attract foreign investment had become the bulwark of Aligatag's bright lights. Yet almost simultaneously, such policies also became the foundation for a thriving underworld of criminality and hedonism seen nowhere else.

Organized crime rings involved in an expansive array of activities from human trafficking to the sale of illegal narcotics subtly pervaded the city and affected the lives of its residents. Lawlessness subtly lay beneath the surface of the posh and the glamorous to paint a dual picture that characterized Aligatag.

Why the ruling Kalayaan administration - both in the city and in the national level - did not tackle these concerning issues was fairly simple.

They were intertwined with it.