Dundorf

[TheNick]

Matthias Werner Becomes New DSDP Leader
April 5690

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Matthias Werner speaking at a DSDP event.

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Nicholas-Bauer-Haus, DSDP HQ, Dunburg - After the resignation of President Lorena Oberlitz as Federal Secretary of the DSDP, a necessary act in order to assume the role of President, the Party held a two-week long selection contest to elect its new Leader, a very important task as all parties prepare to contest the 2 November Federal Election to renew the composition of the Bundestag. The DSDP was re-energized after the Presidential victory last month, after the party obtained mediocre results in the past two legislative election cycles, the party had to find a new leader that could maintain that newfound energy going into November. They chose a young lawmaker for this role, Mr. Matthias Werner.

Matthias Werner is a young Member of the Bundestag mostly known for being the main sponsor of the direct election amendment and belongs to the most Progressive wing of the party. Other candidates were the former Justice Minister, Anna Leesdorf, an experienced politician (was Minister-President of Dunlake) and member of the more moderate wing of the party. She is nicknamed as "Oberlitz 2.0" given their similarities in biography and ideology. A third candidate was Jens Van Dijk, currently serving as Vice-President of the Bundestag and leader of the DSDP group in the Chamber. He has a lot of legislative experience and he noted that his Narik background could help the DSDP make gains among a ethnic group very important in Dundorf. This leadership race has been called by political observators as the "Competition of the Firsts", referring to the candidates' biographies: Werner is the first homosexual leader of the DSDP, while if Leesdorf had won she would have become the first Dundorfian-Yeudi leader and Van Dijk could have become the first Narik leader after centuries.

The selection contest went on as follows: first, the DSDP elected officials in the Bundestag (Federal Parliament) and Landtags (State Parliaments) across the country had to choose between the full list of candidates. The two top candidates then advanced to a public vote among DSDP members where the most voted candidate becomes Secretary. Van Dijk was particularly strong among DSDP Bundestag members, but was very weak among elected officials in the states. Werner had support from the Progressive members in both constituencies, also Leesdorf, thanks to her past as Minister-President of Dunlake and Federal Minister of Justice, was strong in both constituencies. In the first vote, Werner and Leesdorf advanced to the closed primary election, where every DSDP member could vote. Werner won that primary with close to 60% of the vote and assuming the party's lead, his first words were: 

Thank you, Social-Democrats! We made history today as you elected the first ever gay leader of this party! I would like to thank Mrs. Leesdorf and Mr. Van Dijk as they ran strong campaigns with wonderful ideas for our shared party. I can't wait to work with them when we win the election in November! Onwards to victory!

As a young, more ideological candidate, our pundits say that Mr. Werner is likely to energize the base and generate enthusiasm around the DSDP brand. But he must also remember that in order to become the first party of Dundorf again, he has to win over the key demographic of urban educated centrist voters, which in the last elections leaned towards the TLD, a party member of the current center-right cabinet coalition. "If he wins over them, the DSDP reclaims the Chancellorship", says political expert Heinz Wahl.

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Internal DSDP Election result:
Elected Officials vote (1st round):
- Anna Leesdorf: 108 (62 from Bundestag, 46 from Landtags)
- Matthias Werner: 98 (30 from Bundestag, 68 from Landtags)
- Jens Van Dijk: 88 (74 from Bundestag, 14 from Landtags)
Total: 284 members (156 from Bundestag, 128 from Landtags)

Closed Primary election (top two):
- Matthias Werner: 936.992 (59,8%)
- Anna Leesdorf: 629.013 (40,2%)

Registered DSDP members: 1.726.663
Turnout: 1.566.005 (90,7%)

[TheNick]

Rikkert Van Der Plaas Founds the 'Pirate Party'

May 5690

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Rikkert Van Der Plaas, former Independent Presidential candidate, is the leader of the new 'Pirate Party of Dundorf'.

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Sudschloss, Grozvic - Months after his unsuccessful presidential bid, former Independent Presidential candidate Rikkert Van Der Plaas announced to a press conference in his hometown of Sudschloss that he has founded the Piratenpartei Dundorfs (Pirate Party of Dundorf), a new populist party. Van Der Plaas surprised everyone last February, when he won rougly 14% of the votes in our country's first direct presidential election and placing himself third overall in a field of seven candidates. Back then, he floated the idea of founding a new party, 'neither left or right', focused on the promotion of civil rights alongside an economic agenda based on austerity and strict fiscal responsibility. Now, that idea has come to life.

Political commentators have noted that he uses populist rhetoric, and that his policies can be mostly described as 'libertarian'. Others note that he isn't willing to position himself in either the center-left bloc (DSDP-DRF-GPP) or the center-right bloc (NDZP-KBP-TLD), and that this position could destablize the current status of Dundorfian politics. His proposal, during the campaign, to sell Karlottenberg Schloss (the Presidential residence) in order to 'pay off the debt' was met with criticism mixed with humor and positioned him as a populist fiscal conservative candidate. At the same time, he vowed to 'fight' officials who don't support LGBT+ or gender equality, and outlined the necessity to further uplift minority voices in Dundorf, like the Narik ethnic group to which he belongs: 

The State needs to be reduced heavily: only this way we will get our economic freedom back and everyone will have the same rights as anyone else. Neither the Socialists or the Conservatives will lead us there!

His new party seems to adhere strictly to his worldview: they support major tax cuts, major spending cuts including welfare, and more lax laws on worker's protection. They also support full marriage equality, the legalization of drugs and a more relaxed immigration stance. This platform draws criticism from both left and right, DSDP, GPP and DRF drafted a common press release:

The workers of this country know that they don't need a small government. That would mean less protections for them, and more power to wealthy corporations. He also wishes to give a big tax cut to his wealthy friends by cancelling our country's welfare state. Never!

 
Leonie Habsburg of the KBP criticized Van Der Plaas' stance on immigration: 

We welcome his ideas on shrinking the role of the central government. But some of his other ideas are just crazy: this is a man that would like to set a open border policy in Dundorf! People should know that this will never happen as long as the KBP yields enough power in the Bundestag!

 
While Chancellor Freda Gimbel (NDZP) criticized his populist rhetoric: 

We need fixers, not people that like to create problems. Unfortunately, many of the Pirate Party's position would just lead this country to anarchy and chaos. Dundorfians can trust that as long as the NDZP is in power, we will continue to lead the country with steadiness, guided by the passion of solving problems.

Mr. Van Der Plaas confirmed to the Zeitung that he plans to lead the party in the November general election, and that he began recruiting candidates all across the country. He stated that upon announcing the new party, his website was 'flooded' with applications to join: 

The establishment is very scared of us already, and they should: on our website, we have already over ten thousand people who applied to join the party, and counting. Dundorfians want more freedom and they know the current establishment won't give them that. We are ready to enter in a cabinet with anyone that agrees with at least 75% of our platform, but we will never join neither the so-called 'center-left' or 'center-right' coalitions.

The logo of the new party:

[Drax]

CHANCELLOR COMMENTS ON NEW PARTY
ODERVELD - LEUCHTFEUER
 
Chancelry, July 27, 5690: Asked by ODERVELD – LEUCHTFEUER what she thought of the new political party, Piratenpartei Dundorf (PPD), Chancellor Frieda Gimbel responded:
 

I would make three comments.  First, even though the PPD may be considered Centrist or possibly Center Right on a Right Left scale, strangely most of its ideological positions are at odds with those of Neue Dundorfische Zentrumspartei (NDZP) so we will likely be anything but a natural ally for building a coalition.  Anything but.
 
Second, it is no secret that the view of international affairs in the Foreign Office has been jointly shaped by the Social Democrats (DSDP) and the NDZP for hundreds of years. Whether the PPD becomes an outright enemy of the two oldest and largest parties may well be determined  by the extent to which the PPD tries to disrupt the conduct of our foreign policy.
 
Third, as a party operating from the political center, the PPD would seem to be in an enviable position in building governing coalitions should the percentage drawn by its presidential candidate be indicative of its ability to elect members of the Bundestag.  I would suggest however that whether it can conduct itself as a responsible problem solver rather than a wrecking ball will have a great deal to do in a seven party system with whether it ever joins a governing coalition.

Federal Chancellery

[TheNick]

DSDP-led Center-Left Alliance Wins the 5690 Election, Despite Pirates
November 5690

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DSDP Leader Matthias Werner, he is the most likely person to become Chancellor after the elections.

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Dunburg, Oderveld - After eight years of steady NDZP rule, the Dundorfian people voted to reward the main opposition party, the DSDP, alongside its allies GPP (The Greens) and DRF (Dundorfian Red Front). The center-left alliance has won combined 49% of the votes, and 324 seats in the Bundestag, clearing the 316 majority threshold necessary to elect a new Chancellor. The incumbent center-right coalition government has won roughly 40% of the votes, and only 273 seats in the Bundestag. The worst performing parties were the TLD (Team Liberal-Demokraten) and the KBP (Konservative Bundespartei), both losing about 4.5 points and halving their representations. The KBP did not cross the regional threshold in Dunlake, Chontalen and Grozvic, leading them to win only 35 seats in Oderveld and Julstoch, eleven seats less than the TLD, which nationally got more votes than them. The newly-founded Pirate Party won well over 10% of the votes and 69 seats, an impressive result for a new party, but at the same time they failed their objective to prevent either coalition to win a majority. 

From a very early analysis of the vote it appears that the DSDP mostly gained previous NDZP and DSU voters, while the PPD won mostly votes from the TLD, KBP and people who previously did not vote. The DRF mostly absorved former DSU voters, while GPP maintained its constituency almost unchanged. It is worth noting that the turnout surged to 80% from 75%, setting a record of votes cast in a Federal Election: over 90 million. Dr. Reuben Schuurs, a Senior Professor of Political Science at the University of Lutzenkamp said to us: "This [turnout increase] means that a lot of new voters did not partecipate in previous elections and likely partecipated in this one because they felt represented by a new party in the political scene, the Pirates".

With a clear victory on their hand, it is likely that DSDP, GPP and DRF will form a new Federal Cabinet in the coming weeks and the DSDP will reclaim the Chancellorship after 8 years, with its new, youthful leader, Mr. Matthias Werner. In a Zeitung's exclusive interview, here's Werner's words after the election was called for his coalition: "This is so incredible. This happened thanks to the enthusiasm our party found after Lorena Oberlitz's election as President and thanks to the strong campaign I and our volunteers conducted on the ground. Our allies had also very strong showings and they will be so important in the upcoming phase of cabinet negotiations. Of course, Chancellor Gimbel deserves our respect for the eight years in which she served this country. I believe she did at the best of her abilities. But now, it's time to deliver the change Dundorfians voted for."

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5690 Bundestag Federal Election:

Turnout: 90.205.003 (80,5%), + 4,7% compared to 5686

DSDP: 26,9% (+2,3%) and 177 seats (+19)
NDZP: 23,9% (-3,6%) and 156 seats (-23)
GPP: 11,5% (=) and 75 seats (+2)
DRF: 11,3% (-0,2*) and 72 seats (+12*) -- *= considering DRF+DSU combined data
PPD: 10,6% (+10,6) and 69 seats (+69) -- new
KBP: 8% (-4,5%) and 35 seats (-46)
TLD: 7,8% (-4,6%) and 46 seats (-33)

Possible Coalitions (316 for a majority):
- Center-Left (DSDP-GPP-DRF): 324
- GroKo (DSDP-NDZP): 333
- Center-Right (NDZP-TLD-KBP): 237

[TheNick]

Matthias Werner is the New Federal Chancellor
December 5690

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The Official Portrait of Federal Chancellor Matthias Werner.

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Dunburg - Matthias Werner was officially sworn in as our nation's new Federal Chancellor at Karlottenberg Schloss, with a ceremony featuring his cabinet appointees and Federal President Lorena Oberlitz. Yesterday, Mr. Werner won a investiture vote in the Bundestag, getting 324 votes in favor and 306 against, which elected him as Head of Government. Today, with the swearing-in, he can constitutionally exercise his powers as Federal Chancellor of Dundorf.

Werner's governing coalition features DSDP, the party he leads, the Green party, which will get the role of the Deputy Chancellor, and the Dundorfian Red Front. These three parties constitute, as of today, the so-called center-left coalition, which just last month won the federal election and ended the eight-year-long rule of Chancellor Freda Gimbel (NDZP). The coalition agreement contains a childcare and child benefit reform, environmental protections and the passage of a so-called "Equality Amendment", which would enshrine the right to abortion and equal marriage into the Constitution.

As of today, Matthias Werner becomes Dundorf's first ever gay Chancellor since the Restoration (5218), and becomes one of the youngest Chancellor ever elected, at age 35. He will be joined at the Chancellery by his long-time boyfriend, Lukas, and the cat they own. Mr. Werner will meet, later today, Chancellor Freda Gimbel and her family to complete the transition. The Werners and the Gimbels will then enjoy a dinner, before Mrs. Gimbel departs the Chancellery.

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Werner Bundeskabinett:
Federal Chancellor: Matthias Werner (DSDP)
Deputy Federal Chancellor and Finance Minister: Franziska Niedermeyer (GPP)
Foreign Minister: Jens Van Dijk (DSDP)
Interior Minister: Karl-Heinrich Muller (DRF)
Defence Minister: Gerda Kempf (DRF)
Justice Minister: Anna Leesdorf (DSDP)
Infrastructure and Energy: Alexander Paulsen (GPP)
Healthcare: Dr. Adele Wagner (GPP)
Education: Sandra Wittgenstein (DRF)
Labor and Social Services: Renate Reinhart (DSDP)
Environment, Tourism and Territorial Protection: Simon Osterhaus (GPP)
Food and Agricolture: Willy Metz (DSDP)
Science, Research and Technology: Diana Bödeker (DSDP)
Commerce and Industry: Dietrich Werner (DRF)

[Drax]

DRF FOR NOW COOPERATING WITH TRADITIONAL NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY
 
ODERVELD - LEUCHTFEUER
 
Defence Ministry, February 27, 5691:   After she met with the Chief of Staff of the Oberkommando Bundeswehr (OKB) and the Commander in Chief and Chief of Staff of the Oberkommando Luftwaffe (OKL) concerning missile and drone priority needs and whether to have any intercontinental ballistic missiles at all, ODERVELD – LEUCHTFEUER asked Defence Minister Gerda Kempf whether she would be pressing for nationalization of military contracting.  Kempf responded:
 

No.  To be clear, our participation in the governing coalition did not require a pledge that Dundorfische Rote Front (DRF) would vote in a particular way on specific legislation; but it is clear there is not a majority in the Bundestag for nationalizing defense contracting. Accordingly, since I agreed to serve in the governing coalition as Defence Minister I will of necessity be dealing with contracting issues in the existing framework not one DRF might prefer under ideal conditions.
 
The balance between drones and missiles, control of each by OKL or Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH), the types of each needed and whether there is a place for intercontinental ballistic missiles in out arsenal does require some study and this morning we set that in motion as a requirements staff study overseen by OKB Ableitung I (Operations) with participation by OKL, OKH and for that matter Oberkommando Kriegsmarine (OKM).
 
As you know, I am Party Secretary for DRF. I will say further that while DRF will be evaluating any legislative proposal from any quarter that comes before us including treaties, we are pledged to operating in the existing governmental and national security framework while in the governing coalition.

Defence Minister Kempf

[TheNick]

Chancellor Werner Unveils New Childcare Policy Package Called "KINDER"
October 5692

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A kindergarten in Nordenhaus, Dunlake.

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Dunburg - Federal Chancellor Matthias Werner unveiled the long-awaited policy package that the Government intends to adopt in relation to childcare and family welfare. The reform, one of this Government's key priorities, was first drafted this summer by Yolanda Greber, the DSDP parliamentary group leader, who then worked with Minister Renate Reinhart until last week, when the final bill was officially submitted for Bundestag's consideration.

Today, the Chancellor and Minister Reinhart officially presented this reform to the press. Among the key provisions there is a expansion of the child benefit, which will now follow a progressive system to determine the sum each family will receive. Based on the income bracket, families will receive a benefit ranging from a low of 150 Marks (for richer families) up to 400 Marks (for poorer families). The benefit increases by 75 Marks per any new child, capped to a maximum of five children. This benefit is automatic for any familes with children 0 to 16, and can be extended to the 21st birthday upon request of the family.

The second pillar of the reform is the extension of the parental leave, making it a mandatory for both parents, increasing the leave to 36 weeks up from 32 for mothers and increasing it to 36 weeks from one week for fathers. The Federal Ministry of Industry will guarantee a fund for small businesses under 20 employees so that they have the resources to provide this same right.

The reform, in third instance, will mandate States to provide free or reduced childcare for children under three, with a Federal contribution to build more structures in those municipalities where the waiting lists are exceeding six months. The State governments will have the discretion whether to make this plan free or only price-reduced, and will have discretion over the hiring of the necessary staff.

"This policy package aims to support families with no distictions: parents, single parents, legal guardians will all be eligible for the benefits that will be enacted.", assured Chancellor Werner. Minister Reinhart added: "This government decided to use part of its surplus, alongside an increased 1% taxation of large fortunes to empower the lower classes, empower the children, empower the women and enshrining gender equality when it comes to parental leave. Our childcare under-3 measure, we believe, will make it easier for parents with newborn children to re-enter the workforce immediately, if they so wish".

The bill, named with the acronym "KINDER Gesetz" (Kinderbetreuung, Inklusion, Nachwuchsentwicklung, Elternzeit und mehr Ressources Gesetz), will begin the process to become law next week, and the Government expects the final passage to happen later this month.

[TheNick]

Dundorfische Bahn and DUT Merge into a Holding
January 5693

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The Bahn-Tower, Dundorfische Bahn's (DB) headquarter in Dunburg.

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Dunburg - Dundorf's state-owned railway company 'Dundorfische Bahn' has completed a year-long negotiation for a merger with DUT, our country's top train manufacturer which has worked for several centuries on contract for the DB, and other countries as well. DUT, officially 'Dundorfische Umzugstechnologien', was founded in the 5250s after then-Chancellor Karlotte Lehmann's historic investment in rail infrastructure which introduced high-speed trains in our country and a dense network of regional trains. For centuries, all over the national network, DB operated the trains DUT built, including the international HSR line from Dunburg to Kasaema.

The merger, sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Infrastructure, aims to create a state-owned holding company which retains the historic name, "Dundorfische Bahn". DB (short for Dundorfische Bahn) will now be capable to design, produce, operate and maintain trains and railtracks, thanks to the added expertise of DUT. This holding, according to Minister Paulsen, will remain 100% state-owned and the entire railway network, considered very strategic by the Government, will remain 100% property of the Federal Government. Mr. Paulsen continued: "The holding will be creating a second company, owned for 70% by DB, responsible for R&D and commercial activities with foreign countries. 30% of the company will be owned by private investors because this company will be listed in the Nordenhaus Stock Exchange. The company name will be 'Dundorfische Bahn Forschung und Handel AG', and it will be established on March 1".

Chancellor Werner clarified that this is not a 'partial privatization' of DB, and that instead this merger allows for greater control of the Federal Government over the national railway network and that ownership remains 100% Dundorfian. Minister Paulsen of the Green Party ended his press conference by saying: "opening up the second company will allow for greater competitivity when it comes to research and development, eyeing new greener technologies for the trains of the future. It's not a privatization, it's a company controlled mostly by the new DB." The DRF is most cold on this merger, but one Bundestag member said to us: "as long as trains remain state-owned, fast and cheap, we will support this act by Minister Paulsen".

[Drax]

TLD SEES DB – DUT MERGER AS BUSINESS AS USUAL

ODERVELD - LEUCHTFEUERNESS AS USUAL
 DERVELD - LEUCHTFEUER
 
Dunburg, November 27, 5694:  ODERVELD – LEUCHTFEUER asked Team Liberaldemokraten’s (TLD) sometime Party Leader and former Deputy Chancellor Gunther Kranncke what TLD thought of the Dundiorfische Bahn (DB) and Dundorfische Umzugstechnologoien (DUT) merger and he responded:
 

Well, as you likely are aware, in general terms and all things being equal, we hate to see privately owned means of production become government owned. That said, the Bundesrepublik has long had mixed private and government owned means of production.

Generally, where there is public ownership, some segment will become private from time to time as opportunities present themselves to entrepreneurs.  But occasionally, some private enterprise will become unprofitable and the government will see the need for it to be taken over and continue as publicly owned.
 
Here, the partial merger was voluntary and nothing is coming before the Bundestag for a vote by TLD.  We see this as business as usual under current system.
 

TLD's Gunther Krancke

[TheNick]

DSDP Wins Election, But No Coalition Has a Majority
November 5694

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For the second time in a few decades, a coalition failed to win a majority of the seats in the Bundestag.

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Dunburg - Federal Chancellor Matthias Werner's DSDP won the 5694 Federal Election, but his center-left governing majority is projected to lose its majority status in Bundestag, according to the Zeitung's most recent analysis. As a matter of fact, the Zeitung is not able to project a majority status in Bundestag for any coalition, not the center-left, not the center-right and not even a DSDP-NDZP Grand Coalition. "This happened as the Pirate Party, a populist party not affiliated with any coalition, maintained its strength over the past four years and acted as a "spoiler" of votes for both coalitions", our analyst Dr. Reuben Schuurs says. 

In terms of votes, DSDP and NDZP both lost roughly one percentage point each, dropping the combined vote share for the two oldest parties to its lowest ever, and thus preventing the possibility to form a Grand Coalition. In the governing coalition, only the DSDP lost votes: GPP is stable while the hard-left DRF is projected to gain at least half a point percentage point. In the center-right, NDZP lost votes to a suring KBP and to a recovering TLD, but the coalition overall did not regain enough votes. Dr. Schuurs says this result could be "the early warning" of growing dissatisfaction towards the DSDP and the NDZP, the two oldest parties in our country, in activity since the 5220s.

Now, Federal President Lorena Oberlitz will have to guide the Bundestag in this phase of uncertainty: rumors have it that she is planning to nominate Mr. Werner as Chancellor again, because despite the losses, the DSDP remained the largest party. Sources says that Karlottenberg Schloss is exploring the possibility of forming a "wide" Grand-Coalition, including either the Liberals (TLD) or the Greens (GPP), other than DSDP and NDZP. Sources close to the Chancellor, a progressive, say that he would prefer working with the Greens rather than the Liberals. For now, the only certainty seems to be that parties refuse to consider joining a coalition with the Pirates, whose platform angers both the left (for economic issues) and the right (for social issues).

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5690 Bundestag Federal Election:


Turnout: 91.618.230 (81,8%), + 1,3% compared to 5686

DSDP: 25,8% (-1,1%) and 164 seats (-13)
NDZP: 22,5% (-1,4%) and 144 seats (-12)
DRF: 11,7% (+0,4%) and 74 seats (+2)
GPP: 11,6% (+0,1%) and 72 seats (-3)
PPD: 10% (-0,6%) and 63 seats (-6)
KBP: 9,7% (+1,7%) and 60 seats (+25)
TLD: 8,7% (+0,9%) and 53 seats (+7)

Possible Coalitions (316 for a majority):
- Center-Left (DSDP-GPP-DRF): 310 (incumbent)
- GroKo (DSDP-NDZP): 308
- Center-Right (NDZP-TLD-KBP): 257
- Ampel (DSDP-TLD-GPP): 289
- Left-of-Center GroKo (DSDP-NDZP-GPP): 380
- Right-of-Center GroKo (DSDP-NDZP-TLD): 361