Dundorf

[Drax]

WERNER II BUNDESKABINETT WILL BE DSDP, NDZP AND GPP
 
ODERVELD – LEUCHTFEUER
 
Bundestag, November 29, 5695 (backdated): ODERVELD – LEUCHTFEUER sources have learned that President Lorena Oberlitz has asked Federal Chancellor Matthias Werner to form a new governing coalition since after the election his existing coalition no longer has a majority.
 
It appears that Werner has proposed  a Bundeskabinett consisting of Werner’s Social Democrats (DSDP), the Greens (GPP) and the Hosian Democrats (NDZP) and that GPP and NDZP have agreed.
 
The full list of Ministry assignments by Party follows with 6 for DSDP, 5 for NDZP and 3 for GPP more or less reflecting the number of seats each holds in the Bundestag.
 
Werner II Bundeskabinett
Federal Chancellor – Matthias Werner (DSDP)
Finance Minister and Deputy Federal Chancellor – Frieda Gimbel (NDZP)
Interior Minister – Hermann Felder (NDZP)
Foreign Minister – Jens Van Dijk (DSDP)
Defence Minister – Bruuno Steigerwald (NDZP)
Justice Minister – Anna Leesdorf (DSDP)
Infrastructure & Energy – Alexander Paulsen (GPP)
Healthcare - Dr. Adele Wagner (GPP)
Education – (NDZP)
Labor and Social Services – Renate Reinhardt (DSDP)
Environmdent, Tourism & Territorial Protection – Simon Osterhaus (GPP)
Agriculture and Food – Willy Metz (DSDP)
Science, Research & Technology – Diana Bodeker (DSDP)
Commerce & Industry – (NDZP)
 
Although it came in third in the election and was in Werner’s Bundeskabinett , Der Rote Front (DRF) was not offered participation in the Center Left governing coalition.  DRF’s Party Leader  Gerda Kempf did not comment when asked about this.

[TheNick]

President Oberlitz Re-elected to a Second Term
March 5695 (backdated)

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The Zeitung projects incumbent Social-Democratic President Lorena Oberlitz will win a second term.

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Dunburg - Lorena Oberlitz wins the second round of the 5695 Presidential election and will therefore remain a tenant of Karlottenberg Schloss for five more years. President Oberlitz defeated Defense Minister Bruno Steigerwald, a candidate of the Hosian-Democrat party NDZP, with a margin of eight points, increasing her margin of victory compared to five years ago. Oberlitz partecipated in this election just months after handling complex coalition negotiations that led Chancellor Werner to a second term, a scenario complicated by the election results of last November, where the Dundorfians returned a Bundestag with no clear majority. Her role in solving a potential governmental crisis, crafting a "wide" Grand-Coalition, was credited to her by many voters in this presidential election: according to a Zeitung exit poll, over 62% of Dundorfians approve of her handling of the negotiations.

Oberlitz and Steigerwald advanced to this second round after winning the most votes two weeks ago, in the first round. The third most voted candidate, in an upset, was DRF candidate Gerda Kempf, who won over 13% of the votes toppling the Pirates' candidate, Rikkert Van Der Plaas, who fell to rougly 10% of the votes. In general, both in the first round and in the second round, more Dundorfians than ever voted: 91.8 million votes cast in the first round (82% turnout) and almost 84 million votes cast in the run-off (75%). Below the detailed results, courtesy of the Federal Electoral Commission.

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5695 Presidential Election Results: (compare the results with 5690 (1st round), (2nd round) and 5694)

2nd Round:
- Lorena Oberlitz (DSDP, incumbent): 45.368.423 (54,03%)
- Bruno Steigerwald (NDZP): 38.593.431 (45,97%)

Turnout: 83.961.854 (74,97%)

1st Round:
- Lorena Oberlitz (DSDP, incumbent): 23.910.858 (26%)
- Bruno Steigerwald (NDZP): 21.025.851 (22,9%)
- Gerda Kempf (DRF): 12.142.713 (13,2%)
- Simon Osterhaus (GPP): 9.585.962 (10,4%)
- Rikkert Van Der Plaas (PPD): 9.111.968 (9,9%)
- Luca Hartmann (KBP): 8.972.611 (9,8%)
- Gunther Krancke (TLD): 7.119.537 (7,8%)

Turnout: 91.869.500 (82,03%)

[TheNick]

Werner's Center-Left Coalition Wins a Slim Majority in Bundestag
October 5698 (backdated)

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Federal Chancellor Matthias Werner (DSDP) addressing the Bundestag.

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Dunburg - Chancellor Matthias Werner's Social Democratic Party (DSDP) won the 5698 Federal Election and the center-left coalition it commands is projected to win a very slim majority of the members in the Bundestag (316). In the outgoing term, Chancellor Werner was leading a "wide" Grand Coalition composed by DSDP, the Hosian-Democratic party NDZP and the Green Party. The term has been characterized by inaction and the government mostly handed day-to-day affairs, a frustration that turned into a campaign issue in the late weeks, hurting mostly the old parties: NDZP and DSDP. The hard-left DRF and conservative KBP were the parties that mostly hammered the Government on this issue and tried to transform frustration into votes. It seems like it worked, based on our projections.

While DSDP and NDZP will both retain their status as the two most voted parties (24% and 20% respectively), this was the third election in a row where the two well-established parties lost support and their combined votes total to 44%, an historical low for two parties that used to get well above 50% of the combined vote just a few decades ago. The DRF surged into third position and was the party that registered the highest increase in vote share compared to four years ago, followed by the KBP and the TLD. The Green Party, despite supporting the outgoing Government, obtained a satisfactory result, increasing their votes and representation slightly. Surprisingly, the populist and anti-establishment Pirate Party lost a few votes, and was uncapable to rise the frustration wave like the other parties. Professor Louise Ardmann, a Political Science scholar at the University of Nordenhaus, explained to us: "Dundorfians were very frustrated with the inaction of yet another Grand Coalition Government which was the result of political fragmentation in the last election. The people identified the Pirate Party as an element of disruption, so they expressed protest votes towards parties that were part of a coalition, hoping to both send a message to DSDP and NDZP, as well as to assure that a coalition government could be formed."

But, according to the latest projections, the Center-Left Coalition (DSDP-GPP-DRF) has won a majority in the Bundestag, but it's one of the slimmest in history: 316 seats. The required number to elect a new Chancellor is exactly 316 members. This means that Chancellor Werner will need to assure its coalition partners and hope that every member will support him in the secret ballot to elect the new Chancellor. If that fails, he can always turn to another Grand Coalition, but with the increasing risk of the DSDP (and by incidence, the NDZP) losing votes and influence. President Lorena Oberlitz will invite the Chancellor to Karlottenburg Schloss as the leader of the most voted party, and he will let her know what his intention for the future is.

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5698 Dundorfian Federal Election
Turnout: 90.980.364 (81,2%)

DSDP: 21.735.504 (23,9%), 153 seats (-1,9% and -11)
NDZP: 18.046.352 (19,8%), 125 seats (-2,7% and -19)
DRF: 12.164.737 (13,4%), 84 seats (+1,7% and +10)
GPP: 11.564.902 (12,7%), 79 seats (+1,1% and +7)
KBP: 9.856.015 (10,9%), 69 seats (+1,2% and +9)
TLD: 8.946.413 (9,8%), 61 seats (+1,1% and +8)
PPD: 8.666.441 (9,5%), 59 seats (-0,5% and -4)

Possible coalitions (316 needed to win):
- Center-Left (DSDP-GPP-DRF): 316 /630
- Wide GroKo (DSDP-GPP-NDZP), incumbent: 357 /630

[TheNick]

Matthias Werner Wins Third Term as Chancellor
January 5699 (backdated)

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Chancellor Werner speaking at a DSDP event in Fuchstal.

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Dunburg - Chancellor Matthias Werner was re-elected as Federal Chancellor following a vote in the Bundestag which confirmed him in the office. The vote in Bundestag was postponed two times because two members of the assembly, one of the DSDP and one of the DRF, contracted the flu and couldn't attend any legislative vote. In order to win election as Chancellor in the Bundestag, one appointee must go through the "installation vote", in which 316 votes in favor are required to win. The sum of the members belonging to the parties composing Werner's new coalition amounts exactly to 316 members, meaning the Chancellor could not afford a single defection or he would have lost the vote. The final tally was 316 for the election of Matthias Werner, 311 against, 2 abstained and 2 absent, clearing his path for four more years in the Chancellery.

The new coalition is a center-left government, just like the Werner I cabinet, and is composed by the Social Democratic Party (DSDP), the Green Party (GPP) and the Dundorfian Red Front (DRF). This government will replace the Werner II cabinet, a grand coalition which featured DSDP and GPP, together with the New Dundorfian Centre Party (NDZP). It's the first time in history that the federal government bases its power on 316 votes in Bundestag, the bare minimum necessary to govern, and this could mean potential instability going forward, if ideological differences between the three partners are not addressed properly, as well as difficulty passing the Government's agenda.

The cabinet will be composed as follows:

Federal Chancellor: Matthias Werner (DSDP)
Deputy Federal Chancellor and Defense Minister: Gerda Kempf (DRF)
Foreign Minister: Jens Van Dijk (DSDP)
Interior Minister: Dietrich Werner (DRF)
Finance Minister: Franziska Niedermeyer (GPP)
Justice Minister: Anna Leesdorf (DSDP)
Infrastructure and Energy: Jorg Freiman (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: Harry Dietmar (DSDP)
Science, Research and Technology: Diana Bödeker (DSDP)
Commerce and Industry: Carolina Roth (DRF)

[TheNick]

Franz Johanssohn Elected Federal President
April 5700 (backdated)

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The Green Deputy Minister-President from Chontalen, here seen celebrating, is the new Federal President.

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Dunburg - Franz Johanssohn, the candidate of the Green Party who surprised everyone in the first round of voting, has defeated Bruno Steigerwald, of the NDZP, and is elected the new Federal President of Dundorf. Johanssohn is the current deputy Minister-President of the state of Chontalen, and his candidacy was supported in ticket by the GPP and the DRF, while their government ally DSDP ran the candidacy of Anna Leesdorf. The GPP-DRF ticket, whose odds were low in the beginning, managed to beat several other candidates, including the prominent candidate of the DSDP, and advance to the run-off together with Mr. Steigerwald. Mr. Johanssohn's strategy for the second round was to reassure moderates and centrists, as well as convincing Leesdorf's voters to back him in the run-off, while Steigerwald tried to outreach to moderate DSDP voters, and the Pirates. Johansshon ended up winning very narrowly against Mr. Steigerwald, a different story compared to four years ago, when outgoing President Lorena Oberlitz handily beated Bruno Steigerwald. 

The candidates in the first round were: Franz Johanssohn, backed by GPP and DRF, who eventually won the election; Bruno Steigerwald, former Presidential nominee backed by NDZP and TLD; Federica Van Der Plaas, the Pirate candidate who is the wife of Rikkert Van Der Plaas, the party leader; Anna Leesdorf, former Justice Minister and DSDP candidate, endorsed by Chancellor Werner and President Oberlitz; and Elena Gruber, the Minister-President from Julstoch, was the KBP candidate. While DSDP and Anna Leesdorf obtained an expected result (23,7%), the sudden surge of the red-green ticket led by Franz Johansshon surprised everyone and granted him a spot in the ballot for the second round. Steigerwald won an impressive 31,2% of the votes in the first round, but it wasn't enough to win in the second round. Ms. Van Der Plaas obtained a very negative result (only 7,5%) and refused to endorse anyone for the runoff. The KBP result (12%) was described as "satisfactory" by their candidate, Elena Gruber.

In the second round, Mr. Johansshon was able to win 50,5% of the votes, beating NDZP-TLD's Steigerwald by just one percentage point. Overall, the center-right candidate was able to improve by 7 points his performance, even more strongly in the conservative heartlands of Oderveld and Julstoch, but still, it wasn't enough to beat our country's center-left lean. The term of outgoing President Lorena Oberlitz will formally expire on April 30, the day Franz Johanssohn will be inaugurated in a ceremony at Karlottenberg Schloss.

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Full Results of the 5700 Dundorfian Presidential Elections:

2nd Round 
(turnout 72,7%, -2,3% vs 5696):

- Franz Johanssohn (GPP, endorsed by DRF): 41.127.370 (50,5%) - elected Federal President
- Bruno Steigerwald (NDZP, endorsed by TLD): 40.315.108 (49,5%)

1st Round 
(turnout 79,8%, -1,2% vs 5696):

- Bruno Steigerwald (NDZP, endorsed by TLD): 27.897.479 (31,2%) - advance to runoff
- Franz Johanssohn (GPP, endorsed by DRF): 22.816.755 (25,5%) - advance to runoff
- Anna Leesdorf (DSDP): 21.169.479 (23,7%)
- Elena Gruber (KBP): 10.754.337 (12 %)
- Federica Van Der Plaas (PPD): 6.764.878 (7,6%)

[Drax]

REVIEW OF PORTS FOR USE BY MERIDIA TASK FORCE


REVIEW OF PORTS FOR USE BY MERIDIA TASK FORCE

ODERVELD - LEUCHTFEUER


Defence Ministry
 
Defence Ministry, August 27, 5701:   ODERVELD – LEUCHTFEUER asked newly installed Defence Minister Gerda Kempf what she was going to do first, and she responded:
 

Well a question came up this morning on the status of the port access of the Meridia Task Force.  The ships in this task force were given to the Bundesrepublik by the Lourennais during the period when the Humanitarian Alliance was our principal international alliance.
 
The Lourennais port of Meridia was its home port where it could be maintained, refueled and repaired.  At the time we pretty much considered it part of the Lourennais Navy operationally, and it fought in that arrangement against Seko when it attacked Lourenne.
 
Port facilities in Keymon and the Western side of the Saridan canal were clearly available to it when operating in conjunction with the Lourennais, and we have exercised independent use of the port in Keymon but never in Saridan.
 
We built Ikradun Island in conjunction with Ikradon for mutual use with a lot of investment by Dundorfische Hoch Logistik (DHL) Maritime, a subsidiary of our primary air freight conglomerate, DHL.  DHL Maritime operates its merchant fleet out of Ikradun Island and Zitdelle in the Kingdom of Dorvik.  The Ikradun Island port facilities are available for refueling, repair and maintenance of the Meridia Task Force.
 
With the Kingdom of Lourenne becoming more isolated, the Bundesrepublik made arrangements with Royaume Uni de Kanjor for access to the port of Torges.  For a while we stationed the Meridia task Force there but not since Union Canrille lost power there.
 
So we have use of Ikradun Island and have access for the time being to Meridia and port facilities in Keymon.  We will be getting in touch with in touch with the government of Royaume Uni de Kanjor to see where the Torges arrangements now stand.
 

 

[TheNick]

DSDP Narrowly Wins Federal Election but Tricky Coalition Negotiations Ahead
November 5702

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The Bundestag is once again ungovernable.

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Dunburg - The DSDP won the 5702 Federal Election, narrowly beating the NDZP while losing significant support in votes and seats. This is the fourth time in a row the DSDP wins an election under the leadership of Chancellor Matthias Werner, who, based on the results of this election, is about to enter a phase of tricky and complex negotiations in order to form the new Federal Government.

This is why no traditional coalition, once again, was able to elect enough lawmakers to cross the majority threshold of 316 members required to elect a majority government, leaving room only for a Grand Coalition or for an unprecedented inclusion of the Pirate Party in the next government. Rikkert Van Der Plaas, the leader and founder of the protest party, hinted during the campaign that the Pirates "might be involved in the next coalition negotiation phase", although saying they won't cooperate with 'extreme' parties like the DRF, dubbed too socialist, and the KBP, dubbed too traditionalist. The Greens, who obtained a notable increase in votes and seats, leave the door open to cooperation with the Pirates, with leader Niedermeyer saying: "We can certainly cooperate with the Pirate Party on a number of issues, while other issues, mainly economic ones, would be difficult to navigate together. I am imagining that if we were to cooperate with that party, we would need to negotiate a Government's Contract first."

President Johanssohn invited Werner to Karlottenberg Schloss later this week to discuss the way ahead and to explore the Chancellor's availability to serve a fourth term, a term which will likely require managing a wide and ideologically-conflicting coalition. The President will also hold phone calls with leaders of the NDZP, TLD and the GPP, Karlottenberg Schloss said.

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5702 Federal Election:
Social-Democratic Party of Dundorf (DSDP): 19.861.252 | 21.8% and 137 seats (-2,1% and -16)
New Dundorfian Centre Party (NDZP): 18.824.639 | 20.6% and 131 seats (+0,8% and +6)
Green Party for the Planet (GPP): 12.724.724 | 13.9% and 88 seats (+1,2% and +9)
Dundorfian Red Front (DRF): 10.332.541 | 11.3% and 71 seats (-2,1% and -13)
Team Liberal-Democrats (TLD): 10.295.325 | 11.3% and 70 seats (+1,5% and +9)
Pirate Party of Dundorf (PPD): 9.661.710 | 10.6% and 67 seats (+1,1% and +8)
Conservative Federal Party (KBP): 9.550.904 | 10.5% and 66 seats (-0,4% and -3)

Turnout: 91.251.095 (81,5%)

Possible Coalitions (316 needed):
- GroKo+GPP (DSDP-NDZP-GPP): 356 seats
- DSDP-GPP-TLD-PPD: 362 seats

[Drax]

MERIDIA TASK FORCE PORT ACCESS CONTINUES
 
Defence Minister Gerda Kempf
ODERVELD - LEUCHTFEUER
 
Defence Ministry, February 27, 5703:  Defence Minister Gerda Kempf today announced that the Meridia Task Force, a naval military unit which was a gift from the Kingdom of Lourenne, will continue to have access to the port of Torges in Royaume Uni de Kanjor for refueling, repair, routine maintenance and occasional berthing.  This after discussions between the Defence Ministry and its Government.
 
She further indicated similar existing arrangements remain in place in Lourenne and  Keymon. Kempf additionally stated that Dundorfische Hoch Logistik (DHL) Maritime will also permit use by the Meridia Task Force of its facilities on Ikradun Island built by Ikradon and the Bundesrepublik,and that talks were underway with the Government of Mordusia.
 
Asked.by ODERVELD – LEUCHTFEUER if any naval construction to add ships to the Meridia Task Force was anticipated, Kempf responded:
 

No. Being landlocked hinders that sort of development. If DHL Maritime expands its shipbuilding it almost certainly will be for larger freighters not military vessels. Kriegslander and the state owned Bundeskonstruction have built riverine patrol boats in the past and likely will be interested in building some replacements for our hodgepodge collection of patrol boats at Ikradun Island, but frigates and such are unlikely.

[Drax]

WERNER IV BUNDESKABINETT LIKELY
 
ODERVELD – LEUCHTFEUER
 
Bundestag, March 29, 5703: ODERVELD – LEUCHTFEUER asked  former Chancellor Frieda Gimbel if Neue Dundorfische Zentrumspartei (NDZP) was likely to join with Dundorf Sozialdemokratische Partei (DSDP) to block the Pirate Party from joining a governing coalition, and she replied:
 

That is not our current intent for this election cycle.  Our preference under current circumstances is an all party governing coalition, but Chancellor Matthias Werner has other options.  NDZP believes he will be able to form yet another governing coalition and continue as Chancellor.
 
We have not outright refused to be in a governing coalition with any party, but do certainly imagine the one with whom we have the least in common is the Pirate Party.  Frankly, austerity for the sake of austerity seems a strange policy to us.  Like flagellation for the sake of flagellation.
 
In any event, NDZP will not be joining a Werner led governing coalition of DSDP, NDZP and Grune Partei fur den Planeten (GPP) this election cycle.

 
Asked by ODERVELD – LEUCHTFEUER if NDZP had discussed the election results with TLD and if NDZP believed it could turn non participation to its political advantage, Gimbel replied:
 

Of course and of course.

NDZP's Frieda Gimbel

[Drax]

TLD RECOGNIZES PIRATE PARTY SUCCESS
 
ODERVELD - LEUCHTFEUER
 
Dunburg, Novemberr 27, 5702 (backdated):  Former Deputy Chancellor Gunther Krancke of Team Liberaldemokraten (TLD) was asked by ODERVELD – LEUCHTFEUER if TLD would be part of a new governing coalition in the wake of the most recent election, and he responded:
 

To be clear, no one has invited us to join a coalition as yet. We would certainly consider any offer and of course look closely at any agreement we would have to make to enter such a government.
 
To answer your question though, we think it could happen.  Why? The situation the Pirate Party hoped to bring about when it was formed several elections ago has now occurred.
 
In the Bundestag, the current Left Leaning government does not have 316 votes. And there are not enough Center Right votes to reach a majority.  Simply adding the Pirate Party to the existing Left government will not work since the Pirate Party refuses to be in a government with one of the existing parties.  There is a similar refusal by it preventing a Center Right government.
 
Chancellor Matthias Werner wants a fourth Bundeskabinett.  With Neue Dundorfische Zentrumspartei (NDZP) opting out of a quick fix of that desire, we may well be critical to the two obvious remaining options.  There are others of course, and the initiative is with Werner, so TLD is simply  awaiting developments.

TLD's Krancke