Kalistan

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Chancellor Announces agreement on Founding of Ducal Council
Grand Duchy of Kalistan receives a measure of local Government
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
December 23, 5674


Chancellor of the Empire, Lady Ericka Donahue, announces Ducal Council in National Assembly

The Chancellor of the Empire, Lady Ericka Donahue, has announced that The National Assembly and Their Imperial Majesties Emperor Fredrick IV Ananto and Empress Jennifer I Ananto that the New Ducal Council composed of the Dukes of Kalistan has been officially sanctioned by the Imperial Government. The Ducal Council, long a dream of His Grace, the Grand Duke of Kalistan, Duke Craig Alvarez-Suldanor, will convene quarterly, or more frequently as the Grand Duke calls it, to discuss matters pertaining to Kalistan Proper.

"The Ducal Council will be purely advisory," said The Chancellor of the Empire in the National Assembly. "However, we would like to point out that Their Imperial Majesties intend for Kalistan to have some measure of autonomy over strictly Kalistan affairs. Their Imperial Majesties intend for the Grand Duke to take a more direct hand in administering the Grand Duchy, so consequently, Their Imperial Majesties intend to defer to the opinions of the Grand Duke representing the constituent Duchies, when issuing Imperial Fiat concerning Kalistan Proper."

The Ducal Council is expected to take up matters of Grand Duchy finance, taxation, infrastructure and social services. "Their Imperial Majesty's Government intends to support the Grand Duchy in large projects and such," said Lady Donahue. "But they have also expressed a desire to set their own levies for Kalistani projects and coordinate those themselves. This is the purpose of the Ducal Council."

The move for a more decentralized government began the last time the Empire flirted with Democracy. "One think His Grace the Grand Duke said they were interested in was seeing some measure of popular government within the Duchies," said The Chancellor. "It is very unlikely that something like this would make it into the National Government, given Their Imperial Majesties aversion to liberalism of any kind, but the Emperor agreed that perhaps some duchies, should there be appropriate guardrails put up to prevent mob rule, might on a very limited basis introduce a franchise in competitive elections. It's unclear how this would work, unless the Duchies themselves were to establish a popular lower house of their own Ducal governments, but if it did proceed, the Grand Duke believes it would look something like the City Governments which are composed of competitive, albeit non-partisan, elections." But this is something for the Ducal Council to work out.

"One way or another, the Dukes of Kalistan all were very much in favor of whatever local autonomy they could acquire," said Lady Donahue. "They all expressed the position that government from Kaliburg was slow and indirect, that their Imperial Majesties obviously focus more on Ananto than on Kalistan, and that the Grand Duke and Duchess of Ananto have sovereignty within their demesne, and the Grand Duke of Kalistan ought to as well." The Lady Chancellor also pointed out that local autonomy was granted to Gaduridos from the start, and as a constituent nation, Gaduridos and Kalistan were essentially of the same status within the Empire.

"Not so sure about the last point," said the Chancellor, "as Kalistan has never been an independent nation and its political organization is the Empire of Ananto and Kalistan and not the Anantonese Empire, but none the less, Their Imperial Majesties found some merit in those arguments, and agreed that the Ducal Council may streamline administration over all." The raising of the Ducal Council raises the Grand Duchy of Kalistan to an equal status within the Empire to the Grand Duchy of Ananto. However, Their Imperial Majesties remain the Grand Duke of Kalistan's lieges. "In Ananto, the Grand Duke and the Sovereign are one in the same person. In Kalistan, the Grand Duke still owes his fealty to the the Sovereign, so there will never be a possibility of Kalistan one day breaking off from Ananto."

The creation of the Ducal Council in Kalistan was defended within the National Assembly during debate as the most tepid step toward decentralization. There were no critics to be heard, especially after the move received the official fiat of The Emperor and Empress, and the bill sailed through the Assembly 78-0. The Ducal Council is expected to convene in Sulari after the first of the New Year.

@TheRepublic