Davostag

[Augustus]

 

Twelve Years of Politics, Conflict and Radicalism

Text by the Davostager Academy

13 May 5660 | Kivonia, Davostag

 

The Davostag Senate elected Karl Manner on 20 August 5648 for a third term. The election was characterized by backroom dealings, political intrigue and a growing internal and ideological dissatisfaction with the political stagnation of Manner's presidency. On 12 September Manner reshuffled his cabinet, allowing for more radical figures within the state apparatus and the ruling National Electoral Union (NVU) to assume positions of influence. One of these figures was Greta Greger, who was seen as the de facto leader and spokeswoman of the radical nationalists in the party (known as the 'National Dovtjod Forum', FND) was offered the Ministry of Education, a position she turned down and handed over to one of her underlings within the same faction. Greger instead assumed the position as First Secretary of the NVU, thus becoming the second highest ranking official in the party. Another significant change to the cabinet would be Manner's resignation from the position of premier, which he had held on to for about 14 years despite having assumed the presidency in 5634; the new premier would be Manner's predecessor Axel Rodin, who had served as premier between 5625 and 5632, and resigned due to the 5632 protests against his government.
 
The appointment of Rodin to the premiership was an unpopular one with the public, who still remember the protests and the later bloody protests of 5633-34. On 14 November, Wictor Rolén resigned as Secretary-General of the NVU, having served as party leader since 5624. Greger, as the second ranking, with the approval of the State Council and the rikspresident, officially took over as Rolén's successor. This would mark a significant coming shift in regards to party ideology, having mostly followed Davostager conservatism and nationalism, it was expected to take a more radical shift toward a more left-leaning economic position and a more radical stance on nationalism. On 2 January 5649, following pressure from Greger's faction and with quiet internal support from the Army, Manner was forced to let Rodin go and appointed Rikard Verman, a popular military officer, member of the FND and follower of Greger, as the new premier. With the appointment of Verman as premier, the cabinet was once more reshuffled to strengthen the FND faction.
 
As the FND gained more and more influence and power within the NVU, Riksdag and government, the State Council (the core of the regime), is said to have met with FND leaders at a luxury resort to discuss the future of Davostager politics. From what sources at the time told, the State Council (heavily dominated by national conservative figures) and the FND (radical nationalists and pro-socialist figures) came to an agreement to cooperate within all levels of state and balance each other to avoid political turmoil and preserve the national state. While not truly confirmed, even today, it is widely believed that the State Council had essentially ignored the rikspresident and gone behind his back to settle with the FND. One of the main reasons for this belief is that during the summer of 5649, reports came describing an intense political struggle in the government, the State Council, the party and the Riksdag was taking place. Scandals were released, threats, blackmail and discrediting of opponents being the order of the day. On the evening of 5 July, rikspresident Manner announced that after consultation with the Riksdag, the State Council and the Senatorial Committee, had decided it would be time for him to retire and leave Davostag in capable hands. One of the reasons being that he wanted to avoid a similar situation as his predecessor, Gustav Dahler, who, with age, became paranoid, sick and eventually died in office. The Senatorial Committee ordered the Senate to be convened on 10 July, as the law states.
 
The difference between this presidential election and the previous ones where an election of a successor to an incumbent is to be made, is that previous ones usually allowed for some form of pluralism where there would be different competing candidates, though all from the NVU. This time, which now stands out because of the actual factional divide within the NVU, has resulted in a single candidate, most likely decided upon beforehand by the State Council and the FND. Which essentially confirmed that the prior power struggle was mostly between rikspresident Manner against the State Council and FND. The sole presidential candidate put forward was Verman who was elected by the Senate on 20 July and sworn in on 1 August. He appointed Götilda Riddercrantz, another member of FND and follower of Greger, as the premier. The cabinet was diversified to allow for both radical nationalists and national conservatives to take their place.
 
In the following years, the government pursued several new reforms, though not as groundbreaking as several had anticipated. One of the more significant were the administrative reforms to the regions, a passion-project of Greger, who was able to complete the task in November 5650. Approved by the State Council and later unanimously voted through by the Riksdag, the new administrative structure was gradually implemented between February and August 5651. Another reform that took place was the restriction on the private banking sector to arbitrarily impose interest and conditions on private borrowers, especially families. As some concern and reluctance was given by private banks, FND rhetoric threatened to completely abolish interest rates and partially nationalize the sector. Another reform, implemented amongst the growing concern over rising food prices, was for the government to impose regulation, oversight as well as provide other forms of incentive to force large-scale private grocery companies to lower prices; including a smaller restructuring of the agricultural sector, to increase productivity, autonomy and maintain government protection for the family-run farms (which dominates the sector) from grocery companies seeking to coerce and profit from various schemes.
 
On the political scene, the opposition Alliance for Constitutional Integrity (AKI), led by the Centre-Radical Democratic Party (CRDP), increased their anti-government and anti-NVU rhetoric, especially as the military police began an investigation into AKI and CRDP regarding their supposed connection to an increasingly growing militia movement in northern Davostag. The election of 14 September 5653 resulted in the local gains by AKI in the 5648 election to be completely lost to the NVU, something that resulted in the opposition accusing the government of yet another electoral fraud. On 5 August, allied armed groups took control of several smaller towns in northern Davostag several kilometers from the Hutorian border. Due to the mountainous terrain, they positioned themselves to be able to cut government forces away from the region. The government responded by sending the military police and the army to crack down on the insurrectionist activities, while at the same time, AKI attempted to organize large-scale protests without any success. As a several week standoff was ongoing, premier Riddercrantz went to the city of Ballenhus to inspect a new local energy project when militiamen detonated a car bomb several meters away that severely injured the premier. As she was rushed to the nearby hospital to get emergency support and to be eventually transported with a military helicopter to Kivonia, rikspresident Verman declared that Davostag was under attack by extremist terrorists.
 
As several similar but smaller incidents continued in the subsequent months, the State Security Bureau (SSB) eventually determined that these paramilitary militiamen had both a political and financial connection to the CRDP as well as being backed by foreign governments, the latter being something they refused to elaborate on. As the Supreme Court was on the verge of banning the CRDP, the other opposition parties of AKI decided to formally expel the CRDP from the alliance and attempted to completely distance themselves from them. On 6 May 5654, the Supreme Court formally banned the CRDP and heavily fined the other AKI parties. Despite the ban, the CRDP is reported to have been completely militarized overnight and gone underground to pursue a prolonged guerilla warfare. A prominent face of the CRDP would be Erik Greger, the older brother of Greta Greger, both being the children of the late opposition leaders John and Lena Greger who had died during the 5633-34 protests, turning this conflict into a truly dramatic family drama. And so while the conflict increased and decreased the following years with no real threat stemming from the CRDP and the government not tackling the issue with significant enough force, instead using it as a good propaganda tool to support their rule and thus "keeping it under control".
 
On 22 January 5657, Greta and Erik, representing both sides, met in Tårnbæk, their birthplace, on the same date that their mother had died. While some rumors state that the two siblings reconciled, others say that they had not fully accepted each other but despite that made progress to break the tension. The meeting was held for the purpose of pushing a ceasefire agreement and eventual treaty, despite the meeting failing, the two sides were reported to become somewhat optimistic for the future. However, on 7 April 5657, a former member of the CRDP and the Davostag Metzist-Leonidist Branch (D-MLG), shot Greta at a public rally in Renartsborg. As her condition was severe, she was transferred to the Kivonia National Hospital, where she was accompanied by rikspresident Verman, premier Riddercrantz and a few others of her closest followers. Her last words are said to have been ...för Dovrige...slut fred... ("for Davostag, make peace"). The following day Erik Greger announced that they would launch a campaign against the Metzist threat and proposed a truce with the government, promising to lay down their arms in return for a substantial agreement in regards to the political process of the opposition. Radical elements in the government and State Council hoped to use Greta's death as a justification to get rid of the entirety of the opposition, including the neutral AKI parties, however, sources say that rikspresident Verman, having considered using this against the CRDP, was convinced by premier Riddercrantz to honor Greta's last command. Verman declared that D-MLG would be banned and ordered the Riksdag to set-up a committee to negotiate an agreement with the CRDP.
 
The committee, composed of representatives from both sides, came to an agreement, at the great reluctance from the government officials, to give amnesty to most of the leading members of the CRDP, with a few exceptions; as well as unbanning the party while the Military Police is to oversee its disarmament; another clause of the agreement was for a new Riksdag committee, composed of leading opposition figures, state officials and academics to oversee a smaller reform to allow for some kind of political pluralism in future elections. While the agreement was signed and enforced, the CRDP, especially the paramilitary wing led by Erik Greger, was in secret allowed to keep parts of their militia structure as a defense policy against future government intrusion and at the hopes of the government to help them crackdown on other more radical opposition paramilitary formations.
 
A state funeral was held for Greta Greger on 14 June 5657, and her ideas on politics, ideology and philosophy have become an increasing part of the contemporary nationalist canon in Davostag. Her followers continue in their positions of the government and state to exercise political influence and promote her ideas on to policy. Currently Verman continues in his role as rikspresident, while Riddercrantz is leading her second government.
 
Article written by David Larsson, Helge Silman, Ylva Oskarsdotter and Ove Örlund.