Kalistan

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While Passing the City Act, Chancellor Commits to Party Orthodoxy
"Faction Fighting caused all this," she insists in Nat Assembly
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
November 12, 5660


Chancellor of the Empire declares factions "dead" in IPoK while committing to Non Partisanism

The residents of Kalistan's Free Cities celebrated the passage of the recent "City Act" a year after political rioting rocked the nation. The act permits Lords Mayor to organize and oversee strictly non Partisan contests for City Council in Kalistan's five Free Cities, while leaving the Lords Mayor the Veto over all council decisions. This measure of self government will give the residents of Kalistan's Free Cities the right to determine specific City Policy themselves while leaving all affairs outside of the Free Cities to respective Ducal and County Governments. Nearly 75% of all of Kalistan's Citizens reside in the five free Cities, and this act is celebrated by political liberals as a good compromise between Imperial Rule from Kaliburg and decentralized democracy. The Act received wide praise from Citizen Groups, who worked closely with the National Government to craft the act.

"We understand the Empress' objection to faction and factional identity," said Mark Von Anders of Sulari, who was elected to be the Chief Negotiator for the various citizens groups pushing for the bill. "It got so that people would identify more with their Party, or before that, their caucus, than they would with the Empire and their fellow citizen. That obviously created a lot of problems for everyone, including the National Government who was having to also deal with issues which didn't affect us in Sulari at all. So we worked with the Chancellor to find a solution which both we and the National Government could live with, where they continue to express imperial authority necessary to keep the country all on the same track, while giving us a measure of control over our own lives and our own futures. The Citizen Groups all find this to be more or less what we were asking for the whole time."

The Chancellor of the Empire, Lady Jennifer Alvarez-Miller, also of Sulari, said that this was probably the most "democratic" Kalistan was going to ever be. "We tried to allow people to do it the way they do it in liberal democratic countries, with Parties and all," said Chancellor Alvarez. "But we were quickly overwhelmed following the collapse of the Democratic Forum, which was the legitimate and recognized channel for conversation dedicated to reform of the system, and the fallout from that implosion ended up being violent and radical groupings that ended up conspiring to over throw the government by coup if they couldn't accomplish their goals through elections. That is also not healthy for a democracy, and obliterated a sense of national identity, to be replaced by pre-fab identity provided by demagogues. So this compromise with the pro-democracy movement, which I count myself to be 'adjacent' to, is a reasonable, fair, and effective one to keep some power in the hands of the people, without encouraging their division."

Along with the non-Partisan nature of the elections, candidates for city office will be barred from raising and spending private money for their campaign. "All financing will be public and all records will be transparent," said the Chancellor. "This will prevent and individual or groups of individuals from pooling resources and gaining an advantage. Candidates will be forced to run on ideas and this will encourage them to run on ideas pertinent to the local population." There are also prohibition on outside spending to influence elections as well as requirements to make elections as transparent and as accessible as possible. "This bill sets up a National Ombudsman who acts as a complaints and concerns office to ensure that City Governments are not inappropriately applying the City Act. The Ombudsman will have the ability to mediate between the City and the Citizens around this act, as well as to take appropriate action to remedy grievances, up to and including the ordering of a new election. The Ombudsman is not meant to be used lightly, however, and the overturning of a city election will only be permitted with the permission of the Empress."

As the City Act passes into law and Free Cities begin preparing for their next city wide elections, The Chancellor shifted her focus to the National Assembly. "One change you will note in the Single Party Act is the elimination of the references to Caucus and Faction within the Single Party Act," said the Chancellor. "This is the language because as you all agree, faction fighting caused all of this. Liberalism, as an economic system is dead in this nation. At any rate it will have no traction in this Assembly. As a Brethrenist, it is difficult for me to square myself with Orthodoxy, but as a politician, I understand fully the value of having a single Party, with a single voice, that speaks in a unified fashion. Let our Cities be the laboratory of innovation in Policy. Let us watch them to see what they do so that we can propose changes at the national level. But Our Empress has reminded me, and this government, that the National Assembly has one function and one function only, and that is to turn her will into National Policy. The matter is not open for debate. We tried to create a body that could debate, and we went too far outside of our mission as a body. So, allow me to recommit this Party to Orthodoxy, and invite all those who cannot find it within themselves to serve their nation to exit into the public lobby and go home."

The pronouncement came as a bolt of lightning to many members of the newly re-constituted National Assembly, which underwent a special election earlier this year around the Single Party Act. Most sat in stunned silence as the Chancellor made explicit what had more recently only been suspected. "We are not a democracy in Kalistan," she said. "This government exists at the will of Her Imperial Majesty, and as servants of the public, we do so at the pleasure of Her Imperial Majesty." With that pronouncement, she opened the floor for questions. Only a few former SPers stood to question the Chancellor.

"What of those of us who would like to see government reform?" asked Nathan Milgrim of Kaliburg. "How shall we go about lobbying for that change if it runs afoul of Party Dogma?"

The Chancellor responded, "'Party Dogma' as my colleague so succinctly put it, is what the Empress says it is. The Party was founded to be the functional arm of the Sovereign's Will. In our case, we do as Her Imperial Majesty wills us to. And we save our zeal for reform for proposals we take to her as an effort to improve our nation. Not, I repeat, along partisan or factional lines, but with a mind for the Good of Our Nation. I have found Her Imperial Majesty to be receptive to reasonable proposals for reform when presented to her as a way to improve our nation. So we are going to get back to that, stop thinking about our own personal gain, and start framing our existence in this chamber as service to our Nation. That is Her Imperial Majesty's Wish, and it is shared by each member of Her Government, myself included."

Several members grumbled amongst themselves, and then Deputy Janette Delgado stood, "Lady Alvarez, I voted with you on the reinstitution of the Single Party Act. I was with you in sacking members of my own, at the time, Party. But what you are proposing here is that we violate the sacred trust we hold with our people to represent them to Kaliburg. As a hypothetical question then, Why should we violate that trust?"

"To my esteemed and courageous colleague from Eshar, I will say: She is not. She does her people's work here by providing them good, unified government. Or, she retires. She may be happy serving in the City Government where she can run in non-partisan elections. It is possible that this would be a better fit for those who really want to interact with their constituents and make a difference. But I will remind each Member of this Assembly: As the City Governments are non-Partisan, and there are a number of safeguards built into the City Act to actively suppress factionalization, these are safeguards that we all voted for mind you, so too should you consider the IPoK to be non Partisan. We cannot encourage factionalization in this Party because doing so weakens our ability to carry out the fiat of Her Imperial Majesty."

"So we shouldn't have our own ideas?" shot one backbench deputy, interrupting the Chancellor.

"Yes, and bring your ideas here to the Assembly where we can talk about them," answered the Chancellor. "That is different from the idea of formal organized groupings within the structure of our Party. Either this is a unified Party or it is a divided Party. But factions more or less supportive of the Empress, groups actively organized to vote as blocs, etc., that has got to be resolved right here. While we sit in this chamber, we have one job that we must do. And that is to turn our Sovereign's will into policy for this nation to administer it for her. Everything else is extraneous, and most likely a distraction from that primary function."

The rest of the legislative session went smoothly as the Chancellor moved through the order of the day. Deputies spoke to various policy matters, but at the end, all recommendations of the members of the Government passed smoothly into law without much dissent.

And thus, democracy, at least on the National Level, was spoken completely out of existence, with not so much as a raised voice from any of the Deputies, while democracy at the City level at least has a fighting chance. Such of the Empire of Ananto and Kalistan.

@TheRepublic