Kalistan

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Empire faces major Legislative Revolt
Nationalist-Moderate Coalition say they will not provide votes for Gaduri Independence
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
February 1, 5607


Chancellor Reginald Hanson talks with reporters following most significant legislative revolt in centuries

The 5707 elections which were held in January returned a legislative result which was largely unchanged from the previous election, with one key difference. The Nationalist faction of the Institutional Party of Kalistan picked up three seats from the Socialists, one in Odufaray and two in Suldanor, to retake the outright legislative majority. This result was seen as a popular reaction against Her Imperial Majesty's decision to begin decoupling Kalistan from Gaduridos, a program she set in motion last fall, Voters, especially in places with higher concentration of those descended from Gaduridos, turned out in large enough numbers to tip the scales for the Nationalists, who ran throughout December on the platform of doing whatever was possible to keep Gaduridos. Nationalist faction leader Martina Ontiveros stated, "Gaduridos is Anantonese. It is an integral constituent nation of the Anantonese Empire. And we the people of this Empire have a right to insist that the Empress keep what is rightfully hers. We are tired of seeing our Empire take losses from nations we have supported, and in fact, carried for more than 100 years. It's insulting and humiliating to me as a Kalistani and as a subject of our Empress."

When the National Assembly was finally gaveled back earlier this week, in the first session following the election, where the new Legislators were seated, the first order of business was to begin the legal separation between Kalistan and Gaduridos. The Chancellor of the Empire, Lord Reginald Hanson, put a proposal to declare the Articles of Empire defunct and nullified. This drew an immediate reaction from the Nationalists who took the floor to criticize the move. The Chancellor fought to retain order in the Assembly, as members felt empowered to use parliamentary procedure to delay votes and to appeal various rulings of the Chancellor. Eventually the question was called in an attempt to end debate on the measure, and in voting, the measure to declare the Articles of Empire defunct was defeated 46-30 with three Deputies abstaining. Most of the no votes came from the Nationalists, while they were joined by several very outspoken Moderates and two socialists.

Also placed on the floor were:

• An omnibus bill to end direct financial assistance to Gaduridos, which failed narrowly by 35-39, with 5 Socialists abstaining,
  
• A measure to end economic integration programs with Gaduridos, which only narrowly passed by a vote of 40-35, with four abstaining,
  
• A proclamation declaring Gaduridos a fundamentally independent nation and formally abolishing the Anantonese Empire, which failed by 36-41 with two abstentions, and
  
• A move to establish normal travel requirements on travel to and from Gaduridos, which failed comfortably with 31-45, with three abstaining.
  

The legislative debates around these bills were all very acrimonious, and the Chancellor was forced to recess several times to allow the Assembly to cool down. At one point, one Nationalist Deputy said "Neither I nor my nationalist colleagues, nor some of our Moderate friends as well, will never supply votes for Gaduri independence! The Chancellor is going to have to find them elsewhere." This comment produced stong vocal opposition that erupted into a shouting match on the floor and yet another recess.

Those bills, which were more or less administrative or symbolic, faced extremely difficult debates and rage-inducing votes. But none was more controversial than the bill to decommission Bentasur, a measure which has been very strongly criticized in the National Press. Nationalist Deputy and faction spokeswoman Janet Flores of Yoshimi spoke against the bill from the floor. "Mr. Chancellor, if you please, I come from a military family. My father was stationed at Bentasur with the Third Fleet for 5 years when I was a child. The base is a point of pride and national honor for my family and for my friends' family. Closing it will weaken our Nation, not even our Empire, but our nation. It will close our eyes on half the world and open the Southern Flank to exploitation by any threats that care to take advantage of our weakness for their own horrific gain. How can we be negotiating for regional security in Altea if we take our hands off the wheel in Bentasur? If we close that base, which is essential to our national security, how can we ever credibly commit to any security program ever again? I ask only rhetorical questions: I'm really here to say that no Nationalist will ever give Her Imperial Majesty to close that base, Imperial fiat or no. If she wants to do it, she will still do it, but over our objection."

Speaking for a group of moderates that had been siding with the Nationalists the entire session, Deputy Jeffrey Mullins of Eshar said, "Our job as Deputies is to put Her Imperial Majesty's Imperial Fiat into policy. This is obviously what this bill does- However, we also do have a responsibility to represent our constituents to Her Imperial Majesty. And my constituents, the ones who sent me here to speak for them, to a person said the closure of Bentasur is a dangerous and not well thought out policy. The other ones are what they are, and at least one of them is not a hill I personally am willing to die on, especially with regard to divestment--I am not here to protect shareholder returns. But the proposal to close Bentasur is a mistake. It is bad judgment, on the part of Her Imperial Majesty, and it makes our nation less safe. We need to maintain the status quo in some places, because while keeping Gaduridos tied to Kalistan may be keeping a sinking ship tied to our nation, some of the policies we have maintained there are actually essential for our national interest. Bentasur is one of those policies. The 3rd Regular Fleet conducts not only defensive patrols, but is literally the only active navy operating in the central Anantonese Ocean at this moment. it conducts rescues, it helps perform scientific research. It does contraband interdiction, and all of this is above and beyond its military mission. I would even go so far as to say Bentasur itself is critical as an existential matter: without it, Fortress Kalistan does not makes sense."

The Chancellor nonetheless succeeded in closing debate on the bill and moving it to a vote, where it failed in a stunning rebuke to the Chancellor 15-83, with one abstention, with the yes votes coming from pacifists among the Socialists. Chancellor of the Empire Hanson said, in an interview following the defeat "Well, I have to say the votes this week have been rather stunning to me. Her Imperial Majesty is watching and we are discussing next steps given the reluctance of the National Assembly to move her agenda through the Legislature. The vote on Bentasur is the most problematic. Because Institutional Party members are often the most loyal and follow the Empress' word as if were holy scripture. So for them to reject this bill with this margin suggests it is certainly something Her Imperial Majesty will want to look at again--if there is this level of anger among Institutional Party members, that cuts across all factions, there can be no doubt that that feeling is magnified in the society at large. This entire divorce with Gaduridos is perhaps the most unpopular set of policies Her Imperial Majesty has ever put forward during her more than a decade on the throne."

Chancellor of the Empire Hanson said he would be in talks with Her Imperial Majesty for the rest of the week, and sometime next week intends to take up the policies again. "I can't imagine a significant change of attitude in the near term. We will have to get leaders of the factions together and come up with some alternatives that can pass before we approach Her Imperial Majesty on them, but I need to first get a read from the Empress on where she wants to go next, like if she intends to bypass the National Assembly all together. That is only very rarely done, and we have to be wary of establishing that precedent."

The failure of these bills in the National Assembly has not halted sales of Kalistani assets in Gaduridos, though there was a hesitation in the KalSiE over the decline of Gaduri Securities and futures traded in Kaliburg as the market appears to have bottomed out for the time being. The dismantling of Bentasur, which has not fully begun yet, and the proposed redeployment of the Third Regular Fleet has been put on pause while the Chancellor confers with Her Imperial Majesty.

A public poll of preferences around Gaduridos is scheduled for next month.

@TheRepublic