Dundorf

[Drax]

GIMBEL BUNDESKABINETT III IS CONTINUATION
 
ODERVELD – LEUCHTFEUER
 
Dunburg, December 4, 5710 (backdated): ODERVELD – LEUCHTFEUER sources in the Federal Chancellery learned that Neue Dunorfische Zentrumspartei (NDZP) leaders Chancellor Frieda Gimbel, Defense Minister Bruno Steigerwald and Science, Research and Technology Minister Hermann Felder met to discuss NDZP preferences for the next Bundeskabinett.
 
All agreed each election cycle should be approached as a separate problem. And agreed their first choice in the 5706 cycle was to team up with the Liberals and the Social Democrats, but when DSDP chose opposition to rebuild the opportunity to work with the Greens and Pirates was the next choice and it had paid off.
 
While none thought excluding any party in advance was a good idea, Steigerwald suggested Der Rote Front (DRF) getting third place did not entitle DRF to participation in a ruling coalition.
 
On the other hand, Felder suggested DSDP getting same number of seats as NDZP should be handled carefully.  Felder suggested if DSDP suggested a rotational Chancellorship, NDZP should be agreeable and bottom line in that case should not end up with NDZP being only center right or right leaning party.
 
Gimbel thought working with GPP and PPD in NDZP led cabinet had been a success and they should not be thrown out in favor of the Social Democrats with whom compromises had been made for hundreds of years.
 
So the upshot was NDZP would be receptive as always to a grand coalition of all parties or to a rotation of Chancellorship with DSDP but if given the choice suggested by the President, continuing the existing governing coalition would be preferred.
 
Chancellor Gimbel met with DSDP’s former Chancellor Renate Reinhardt and President Hans Meyer at the Presidential Residence. President Meyer again suggested a governing coalition of the Hosian Democrats, the Social Democrats and the Liberals or continuing the NDZP, TLD, PPD and GPP Bundeskabinett but was open to other suggestions from either Gimbel or Reinhardt.
 
Former Chancellor Reinhardt indicated DSDP would be happy to join an NDZP led coalition with TLD or continue in Opposition.  Chancellor Gimbel then opted for trying to continue with the current governing coalition as NDZP leadership had agreed.
 
NDZP then contacted TLD, PPD and GPP leadership all of which agreed to continue with Gimbel Bundeskabinett III replicating Gimbel Bundeskabinett II which was thereupon approved by the Bundestag.


Presidential Residence

[Drax]

DUNDORF LOOKING FOR ECONOMIC INTERACTION OPPORTUNITIES
 
ODERVELD – LEUCHTFEUER
 
Foreign Office, November 29, 5712: After Foreign Minister Gunther Krancke chaired a seminar on Dundorf’s sparse relations with Dovani, ODERVELD – LEUCHTFEUER asked Krancke if ruling out membership in the Majatra – Artania treaty Organization was a retreat into isolation, and he replied:
 

Not at all.  Generally speaking the Bundesrepublik is open to free trade agreements and non aggression pacts with almost all nations absent outright pariah status, naked aggression or actual abuse of its own citizenry.
 
With that said, the Bundesrepublik is not particularly concerned with the political structure of the governments of other nations.  We are concerned with the conduct of others internationally and with respect to their own citizens but whether they are led by royalty, First Secretaries, Presidents, Prime Ministers, military juntas, High Priests or Matriarchs is not our concern.

Why?  Our own history features periodic swings from privatizing all means of production to nationalizing them and back again before settling on a de facto arrangement of a mixed economic structure so we do not think we are in much of a position to be orchestrating the structure of other nations.
 
What we are emphasizing at the moment is being sure our Artanian trade is optimized and locating opportunities elsewhere.  For instance, in the rememberable past our Dovanian relations have been limited to helping Xzampa get its railroad system going and investing a little in crude oil exploration off Nsanlosa. Obviously we can do more.

Foreign Minister Krancke

[Drax]

EGELION AND DUNDORF HOLD WORKING CONFERENCE ON CLOSER TIES
 
ODERVELD – LEUCHTFEUER
 
Foreign Office, April 29, 5713: The Foreign Office announced today that two officials of the Kingdom of Egelion, Royal Councilors Mondragon and Cascabel serving respectively as Foreign Minister and Economics Minister, are arriving for talks with Federal Chancellor Frieda Gimbel and depending on the subject matter being addressed, Defence Minister Bruno Steigerwald, Foreign Minister Gunther Krancke and Finance Minister Dr. Theodore Engel.
 
At the airport the Royal Councilors will be greeted by Foreign Minister Krancke and escorted by security motorcade to the Presidential Residence where they will be the guests of President Hans Meyer who will host a reception for them to which embassy and ministerial officials are invited.
 
Tomorrow morning the first topic will be facilitating the introduction of culturally significant foodstuffs to each others markets both for retailers and restaurants.  The Importunternehmen Der Bundesrepublik (IdB), our federal import export corporation, could well serve as the intermediary.  Many in the Bundesrepublik have encountered the cuisine of Egelion and are desirous of expanding access thereto.
 
The second topic is the fifteen combat ships of the Meridia Task Force, a gift from the Kingdom of Lourenne during the active period of the Humanitarian Alliance.  The Oberkommando Bundeswehr (OKB) and Oberkommando Marine (OKM) believe the Meridia Task Force would gain invaluable experience by operating as part of an actual active fleet on the high seas, and accordingly wants to explore the possibility of it coming under the command of the naval arm of the Kingdom of Egelion.
 
The final topic will be the general international atmosphere of heightened tension and the likelihood of it increasing.  ODERVELD – LEUCHTFEUER sources in the Foreign Office believe some things that will be discussed are what is the likelihood of armed conflict reaching the Kingdom of Egelion and the Bundesrepublik under existing circumstances, what is the best way to evaluate the belligerence level of nations or combinations of nations seeking influence on the Terran stage, and what if anything can the Kingdom of Egelion and the Bundesrepublik do to reduce tension and belligerence.
 
Further, it is expected both nations would appreciate guarantees that the Soteria technology given to them by the Kingdom of Lourenne would not be further shared in  accordance with the express terms of the gift.


Presidential Residence

[Drax]

EGELION AND DUNDORF HOLD WORKING CONFERENCE ON CLOSER TIES
 
ODERVELD – LEUCHTFEUER
 
Foreign Office, April 29, 5713: The Foreign Office announced today that two officials of the Kingdom of Egelion, Royal Councilors Mondragon and Cascabel serving respectively as Foreign Minister and Economics Minister, are arriving for talks with Federal Chancellor Frieda Gimbel and depending on the subject matter being addressed, Defence Minister Bruno Steigerwald, Foreign Minister Gunther Krancke and Finance Minister Dr. Theodore Engel.
 
At the airport the Royal Councilors will be greeted by Foreign Minister Krancke and escorted by security motorcade to the Presidential Residence where they will be the guests of President Hans Meyer who will host a reception for them to which embassy and ministerial officials are invited.
 
Tomorrow morning the first topic will be facilitating the introduction of culturally significant foodstuffs to each others markets both for retailers and restaurants.  The Importunternehmen Der Bundesrepublik (IdB), our federal import export corporation, could well serve as the intermediary.  Many in the Bundesrepublik have encountered the cuisine of Egelion and are desirous of expanding access thereto.
 
The second topic is the fifteen combat ships of the Meridia Task Force, a gift from the Kingdom of Lourenne during the active period of the Humanitarian Alliance.  The Oberkommando Bundeswehr (OKB) and Oberkommando Marine (OKM) believe the Meridia Task Force would gain invaluable experience by operating as part of an actual active fleet on the high seas, and accordingly wants to explore the possibility of it coming under the command of the naval arm of the Kingdom of Egelion.
 
The final topic will be the general international atmosphere of heightened tension and the likelihood of it increasing.  ODERVELD – LEUCHTFEUER sources in the Foreign Office believe some things that will be discussed are what is the likelihood of armed conflict reaching the Kingdom of Egelion and the Bundesrepublik under existing circumstances, what is the best way to evaluate the belligerence level of nations or combinations of nations seeking influence on the Terran stage, and what if anything can the Kingdom of Egelion and the Bundesrepublik do to reduce tension and belligerence.
 
Further, it is expected both nations would appreciate guarantees that the Soteria technology given to them by the Kingdom of Lourenne would not be further shared in  accordance with the express terms of the gift.


Presidential Residence

[TheNick]

As Support for the Cabinet Falls, Government Launches Deficit Reduction Effort
June 5713

---

Dr. Theodore Engel, leader of the Pirates and Finance Minister

---

Dunburg - The Nordenhausen Allgemeine Zeitung has signed its first ever contract with a polling institute, the StatDun of Oberegg, commissioning pre-election surveys that will be published and commented on exclusively in our newspaper. The very first poll was conducted last month and published exclusively on our social media, it shows that the incumbent government is losing support to the DSDP and DRF, currently the main opposition forces in Dundorf. It seems that there will be no recovery for the KBP, which, despite being in opposition for decades, continues to lose support, partly due to its inactive leadership. Overall, a center-left coalition led by DSDP would get 51% of the votes, likely enough to get a majority of the seats in Bundestag.

In the top three, the DSDP has surged to first position at 25% of the voting intentions, and seems poised to reclaim the Chancellorship next year, it is followed by Chancellor Gimbel's NDZP at 21%, and the DRF at a record 16%, which would be the best result ever for the hard-left party. The TLD appears to be the only governing party not to lose any support, while Pirates and Greens fell, a particularly hard fall for Dr. Engel's party.

When asked directly on their opinion towards major political figures, and the Federal Government, the people showed high degrees of approval for President Hans Meyer, who, as a mostly ceremonial figure, doesn't usually spark any political controversy and is reviewed as a symbol of national unity. Chancellor Gimbel's rating are slightly negative and are carried down by the bad ratings of the Federal Government as a whole, which is disliked by 55% of the popolation. Polling expert Paul Lochner said that most people disapprove of the current cabinet because of its perceived inaction and litigiousness.

The Zeitung/StatDun's poll might be the reason why the Greens and Pirates are now the main sponsors of a Government's effort to reduce the fiscal deficit and strengthen the electric car sector, which are both connected with the Chancellery's recent actions on nuclear power. "Higher savings from energy", said Finance Minister Dr. Theodore Engel, "will allow the Federal Government to reorganize its involvement in that sector and reduce by a great deal our deficit, allowing our country to stay under the threshold of 60% of debt/GDP." 

At the same time, the Federal Ministry of Transportation will use a portion of the savings to boost the electric car initiative, an issue particulary dear to the Green Party and the major auto corporations like Maibaum-Bain and Ochel. Transport Minister Alexander Paulsen said: "This Government is acting in the interests of the Dundorfian people to keep cooled down the deficit and expand green policies. We are delivering on our promises and we are certain the Dundorfians will reward us, despite one bad poll."

It seems that last month's spooked some members of the cabinet, while others were very pleased by it. It's the case of DSDP Leader Renate Reinhardt: "The only reason this cabinet stays together is because Chancellor Gimbel is a woman of great experience and is very skilled with keeping coalitions united. We think the Dundorfian people deserve better and we will present an agenda for the next elections that will lift every Dundorfian up".

OOC: poll results available clicking direct links in the article

[Drax]

DUNDORF WOULD WELCOME DUAL REPUBLIC SPONSORING ARTANIAN ECONOMIC COOPERATION
 
ODERVELD – LEUCHTFEUER
 
Foreign Office, July 29, 5713: ODERVELD – LEUCHTFEUER caught up with Foreign Minister Gunther Krancke after he returned from a Bundeskabinett meeting and asked him if the recent conference with Royal Councilors of the Kingdom of Egelion meant the Bundesrepublik was turning its back on Artania, and Krancke replied:
 

Hardly.  We had a meeting with Royal Councilors of the Kingdom of Rgelion about a number of matters where cooperation may well be mutually beneficial.  This does reflect expanding our international interests beyond Artania.
 
But we certainly continue to look for ways to work with our neighbors in Artania.  For instance, it looks like at some point the Dual Republic may well call for a conference in Bannerheim about an Artanian Project to ease trade hindrances to a harmonized Artanian market.
 
The Bundesrepublik hopes this conference will materialize and is strongly supportive of the  purpose for it.

New Foreign Office Headquarters
 

[Drax]

PRESIDENT SAYS DUNDORF WILL ATTEND MEREMBURG CONFERENCE
 
ODERVELD – LEUCHTFEUER
 
Karlottenberg Schloss, July25, 5714: Federal President Hans Meyer made the following announcement today from his official residence:
 

President Piet Eimann of the Dual Republic is inviting the Bundesrepublik to an Artanian economic conference to be held in Meremburg early next year.  After conferring with Federal Chancellor Frieda Gimbel and Opposition leadership, I am in a position to accept this invitation and confidently state that Bundesrepublik Dundorf will attend.
 
We believe economic cooperation with our Artanian neighbors including free trade among us can be mutually beneficial.  We very much look forward to this conference and development of an Artanian economic treaty arrangement.

Karlottenberg Schloss, Official Residence of Federal President

[TheNick]

DSDP Wins the 5714 Federal Election, Center-Left Bloc Wins Narrow Majority

October 5714

---

The results of the elections.

---

Dunburg - After eight years of Freda Gimbel's rule as Chancellor, head of a Grand Coalition made up by her party, the NDZP, and TLD, PPD and GPP, the Dundorfian people appear to have voted to radically change the composition of the Bundestag, with the latest projections giving a slim but outright majority to the center-left bloc. The DSDP, in particular, saw a very positive result after her leader, Renate Reinhardt, spent the past two terms as the Leader of the Opposition and constantly framed the Government as unreliable, uneffective and litigious. While she bashed the Federal Government, particularly fiscally conservative TLD and PPD, she and Chancellor Freda Gimbel maintained a friendship throughout the years and Mrs. Reinhardt attacked her rarely in her function as Chancellor.

While most parties did see some positive gains, whether small or large, two parties who made past political fortunes based on their populism declined significantly: the Pirates and the KBP. The former has been object of criticism from their own members for their perceived excessive istitutionalism and for being too lax on the budget, despite Finance Minister and Pirate Leader Dr. Theodore Engel achieving a surplus. The latter has been inactive on most political fronts, both on the federal level and at the state level, causing them to lose votes to NDZP and TLD, or to abstentation. This decline is very evident in the state of Julstoch, where their movement started decades ago: for the first time the KBP wasn't able to win a plurality there, which instead went to the NDZP. The Hosian-Democrats, despite gaining a new region, actually declined at the national level: probably due to some fatigue after two terms in government. The Greens, unlike their leftist partners, did not see huge gains, probably because of their partecipation in the Gimbel cabinet.

Now, depending on the choices of Karlottenberg Schloss, Renate Reinhardt is very well positioned to become Dundorf's newest Federal Chancellor, succeeding her colleague and friend Mrs. Gimbel. Renate Reinhard previously served as Labor Minister from 5694 to 5706, in former Chancellor Matthias Werner's cabinet, and is a member of the Bundestag since 5686, characterizing her as a senior member of the party. Since 5707 she is the Federal Secretary of the DSDP and has been Leader of the Opposition since then, inheriting the role from her former boss, Chancellor Werner. She might decide to form a cabinet coalition with parties belonging to the so-called red-bloc (DSDP-DRF-GPP), which has obtained 316 seats, or she can choose a more stable option (in terms of parliamentary strength) and form a new Grand Coalition, perhaps with the Greens and the NDZP, but at the risk of unleash further DRF growth, which could undermine the DSDP.


DSDP Leader Renate Reinhardt speaking at a party conference last September.

---

5714 Dundorfian Federal Election:

Turnout: 92.152.197 (82.3%, +1% vs 5710) 

Social-Democratic Party of Dundorf (DSDP): 22.918.839 | 24.9% and 158 seats (+2.7% and +14) 
New Dundorfian Centre Party (NDZP): 19.108.085 | 20.7% and 131 seats (-1.4% and -13) 
Dundorfian Red Front (DRF): 13.382.392 | 14.5% and 91 seats (+1.0% and +3) 
Team Liberal-Democrats (TLD): 11.473.605 | 12.5% and 78 seats (+0.1% and -2) 
Green Party for the Planet (GPP): 9.858.422 | 10.7% and 67 seats (+0.1% and 0) 
Pirate Party of Dundorf (PPD): 9.375.435 | 10.2% and 65 seats (-1.3% and -7) 
Conservative Federal Party (KBP): 6.035.419 | 6.5% and 40 seats (-1.2% and -5)

(OOC: This was the first election generated through a model.

[Drax]

PRESIDENT ASKS DSDP’S REINHARDT TO FORM A GOVERNING COALITION
 
ODERVELD – LEUCHTFEUER
 
Karlottenberg Schloss October 20, 5714 (Backdated): Federal President Hans Meyer stated that in the wake of the recent elections, the most likely option for a governing coalition is Social Democrats (DSDP), Red Front (DRF), and Greens (GPP) although two other conceivably viable  options would be DSDP, Hosian Democrats (NDZP) and GPP or existing governing coalition of NDZP, GPP, Liberals (TLD) and .Piraten (PPD).
 
Since the DSDP won the most seats in the Bundestag, Federal President Meyer called on its head, Renate Reinhardt, to try and form a governing coalition.
 
Meyer noted that the GPP  looked like the key to which parties would ultimately be in the new government.


Federal President Meyer

[Drax]

REINHARDT BUNDESKABINETT HAS DSDP, GPP AND DRF
 
ODERVELD – LEUCHTFEUER
 
Karlottenberg Schloss November 4, 5714 (Backdated): Federal President Hans Meyer called upon Dundorf Sozialdemokratische Partei (DSDP) Leader Renate Reinhardt to form a governing coalition, and she successfully formed a government with Dundorfische Rote Front (DRF) and Grune Partei fur den Planeten (GPP).
 
The Reinhardt Bundeskabinett was voted upon and approved by the Bundestag.  It is constituted as follows:
 
Reinhardt Bundeskabinett
Federal Chancellor –Renate Reinhardt  (DSDP)
Defence Minister and Deputy Federal Chancellor – Gerda Kempf (DRF)
Interior Minister – Diana Bodeker (DSDP)
Foreign Minister – Franziska Niedermeyer (GPP)
Finance Minister – Thomas Unterberger (DSDP)
Justice Minister – Peer Van Der Koff (DSDP)
Infrastructure & Energy – Sandra Wittgenstein (DRF)
Healthcare - Dr. Adele Wagner (DSDP)
Education – Willy Metz (DSDP)
Labor and Social Services – Carolina Roth (DRF))
Environment, Tourism & Territorial Protection – Laura Engelhart (GPP)
Agriculture and Food – Kasper Brozovic (DSDP)
Science, Research & Technology – Werner Dietrich (DRF)
Commerce & Industry – Elias Wagner – Pohl (GPP)
 
That is seven ministries for DSDP, four for DRF and three for GPP.  Federal Chancellor Reinhardt will be leading a government with some enthusiastic supporters behind both her DSDP which had a dramatic surge in this election and the DRF which had the highest vote total it has ever had.
 
ODERVELD – LEUCHTFEUER does wonder if DRF will try to be a competitor of DSDP or opt for trying to be a junior partner.


Federal Chancellory