Kalistan

[Doc]

Chancellor addresses Democracy Petition
"The Result was predictable" said Lady Alvarez-McLinn
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
March 10, 5720


Chancellor of the Empire speaks with reporters outside her offices at National Assembly

"Well, I'll give you two guesses what the Empress said," answered the Chancellor of the Empire, Lady Melanie Alvarez-McLinn, in response to questions about the fate of the petition submitted by the Democratic Club of Kalistan last January. "First she nearly threw me out of her office at Cliff House, and then she simply shook her head. The result of my request to consider the petition was entirely predictable."

The Chancellor laid out the Empress' arguments. "Well, first Her Imperial Majesty asked me where I thought I was. She then suggested I might think I am in a place like Egelion, which has fallen to the Democrats, who have forced a constitution upon their monarch. When I reminded her that this petition was brought to me by constituents in Eshar, she asked me, rhetorically of course, if Eshar does not still possess a Lord Mayor, and then she asked wasn't that enough Democracy for these Kalistanis. She then reminded me about the ridiculousness of the suggestion that the Monarch should need to be constrained by democratic pressure, because of the Kalopian etymology of the word monarch, which means there is one and only one who governs, as opposed to democracy, where the demos or the people govern. She then proceeded to explain to me that an aggregate is accurate when guessing the correct of nominal facts, such as how many jelly beans there are in a jar, but are seldom correct in matters of determining policy which may be necessary and good for society but violates their own individual interests, and are almost never right when they determine moral and ethical right through a popular vote."

The Chancellor found the matter humorous. "I could have saved everyone all the time and just let you know what the Empress would answer to a request for democratic or constitutional constraints," she said with a knowing smirk. "Her Imperial Majesty is one of the most reactionary, anti-democratic people I know, and she has spent decades thinking about and reasoning out and testing her own political theory, which is at its core, the living embodiment of top down rule, traditionalist hierarchy. She didn't develop this theory herself. She inherited it from generations of men and women before her, all of who taught her, through example after reinforced example, the importance of maintaining proper order in this nation, and that order begins and ends in her own mouth. She believes, more sincerely than the most active religious zealot, in the principles of Absolutist Hereditary Monarchy. And a petition, concluded by a committee of well-meaning democrats who want modest reforms to that system could never possibly stand a chance against that sort of mindset."

The Chancellor was asked if she would have supported the petition if it was up to her, and she smiled. "Oh, I don't cross the Empress in these matters. I read the document. It was ten points. The reforms the Democrats sought were very modest, things like allowing multiple parties to compete in elections, allowing the Legislature to initiate legislation, giving the people the right to recall their representatives, and the simple initiative and referendum. Frankly I was surprised they did not seek to allow the National Assembly to overrule Imperial Fiat. These were all the most basic reforms a group could ask for. I can vouch for Her Imperial Majesty reading the petition. We had a lengthy discussion on each point. And at the end, she rejected the arguments of the democrats explicitly. As expected."

The Chancellor didn't feel it was a total loss. "Well, the law gives the people the right to petition for the redress of grievance. That right was protected and acknowledged. Her Imperial Majesty said something in the discussion which I feel was worth repeating here in this point: She said that asking an Empress to reduce her own power is inappropriate. She also said that a lot of these matters can be handled both in the free cities, and within the National Assembly. The Deputies may freely determine whether they want to allow initiative and referendum, but those two powers don't actually mean much, as laws that are passed come from Her Imperial Majesty's fiat--If she commands it, we do it. We don't have power to reject the fiat of the Empress, so why would the people in a referendum? And in an initiative, that doesn't quite mean much without the power in the Assembly to initiate legislation, which we do not have. So either the Democrats have either deliberately or accidentally cut themselves off from actually enacting a lot of these things, or they haven't entirely reasoned out what it is they are looking for from this petition. At any rate, no legislator will ever vote to constrain Her Imperial Majesty in this nation. So if we had to make laws based on this petition, it would be impossible to obtain a majority, let alone passage."

In short, the petition was dead before it ever arrived to the Chancellor's office. "Basically, we have spent centuries making the Kalistani political system as resistant to democratic pressures and reform pressures as possible. We have no method of independently toward democracy, and the Empress will not ever consent to reforms that limit her power in any way in this nation. Other states may call Kalistan any number of adjectives for it, but within the nation, the only voice that matters on the subject, now and for all time, is the Empress' voice. And she believes democracy to be fundamentally flawed as a political governing structure. She has no interest in changing anything, and she is in fact, training her son about the importance of absolutist, autocratic rule as we speak. His mind on the question of democracy will be as encased in cement of reaction as hers is, as her fathers' was, her Grandmother's, her Great Grandfathers, and etc. If you are looking for democracy in Kalistan, you can find plenty of it in the nonpartisan elections in the Free Cities. Beyond that, it does not now, and will never exist, if current opinion on the topic holds in the Royal Family."

The Chancellor said she appreciated the willingness of the people of Kalistan to take the chance to try to see if the petition would be acceptable. "They were brave and they were honest about their convictions, and Her Imperial Majesty, and myself both agreed that those traits were admirable in the people. But, perhaps Her Imperial Majesty is correct that they correct vehicle for potential democratic reforms is through the Free City Governments: those are far more responsive to the demands of their people, because they are directly elected, and the Lord or Lady Mayors are a bit more restricted in their power over the City Councils. The National Assembly simply doesn't have the freedom to run contrary to Her Imperial Majesty's fiat. It just is not something we do in Kalistan."

The Chancellor thanked the reporters for their questions, and gave one small update. "We have received His Highness King Victor of Gaduridos' message, and have dispatched a team from Her Imperial Majesty's Foreign Ministry, including Lady Marisol Paz Alvarez-Navarro, who is acting as the official representative of Her Imperial Majesty, to Ciudad de Gaduri, to work with their counterparts on the Gaduri side to plan a visit for the King. I would like to reiterate that Her Imperial Majesty welcomes the King to visit her here in Kalistan so they can determine what issues our two nations need to work out, and what order of priority those matters have. Her Imperial Majesty would like to discuss Altea with Gaduridos, while it is fully expected Bentasur will be on the agenda as well. I do not want to poison the discussion on the matter, so I will simply say that is for the Principles to work out between themselves. I am merely saying that we are moving ahead with joint planning for a visit, to ensure the King feels safe and welcomed here in Kalistan."

The Chancellor then returned to work, while reporters passed their remaining questions to her phalanx of interns who recorded the questions for the Chancellor to answer for the record.

@TheRepublic