The Confederacy of North Diessen

[North Diessen]

The Confederacy of North Diessen

BASIC FACTS:
Official name: The Confederacy of North Diessen
Shortened name: North Diessen
Abbreviation: NDN
Demonym: Diessenar (noun), Diessenian (adjective)
Capital city: Het Goor
National motto: Ne Mutlu Diessenüm diyene (He is happy who says 'I am a Diessenar')
National anthem: My Coasts, My Peaks, My Diessen
National colours: Blue, black

GOVERNMENT:
Government type: confederal presidential republic
Legislature: Grand National Assembly
Legislature type: Unicameral
Head of State/Government: Confederal President Ekrem Mueller
Highest court: Court of Cassation

GEOGRAPHY & CLIMATE:
Location: southeastern Europe, north of Inimicus, northwest of Dromund Kaas
Terrain and landscape: North Diessen's southeastern border with Inimicus and Dromund Kaas is mountainous, the the terrain gradually slopes down to hills and plains travelling further west and north. North Diessen's north coast plays host to spotless white beaches and temperate climates.
Climate: temperate to Mediterranean
Average daily mean: 19.9°C
Average total precipitation per year: +- 400mm

PEOPLE & SOCIETY:
Population: 294,850,000 (2020 census)
Urban population: 57%
Literacy rate: 99.8%
Official languages: German, Turkish, English
Official religion: none
Religion: No religion (23%), Islam (22%), Catholic (14%), Protestant (12%), Inquistan Orthodoxy (4%), Inimician Imperial Cult (3%), Other/agnostic (22%)
Suffrage: 17 years of age (age of adulthood); universal

ECONOMY: (as of June 2020)
National currency: Diessenian Lira (₺)
National currency exchange rate: €1 = ₺3.117
GDP per capita:
Average salary: 43,859 Lira
Unemployment rate: 4.3%
Major trade partners: Inimicus, Angleter, United Duchies

OTHER FACTS:
Date format: DD-MM-YYYY
Calling Code: +44
Drives on the: Right
Internet code: .nd

[North Diessen]

Government

Coat of Arms of North Diessen

The politics of North Diessen take place in the framework of a confederal presidential republic as defined by the Basic Law of North Diessen (German: Norddiessenische Verfassung; Turkish: Diessenin Cumhuriyeti Anayasası) The President of North Diessen is both the head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the Council of Ministers (German: Norddiessenisches Kabinett; Turkish: Bakanlar Kurulu), which is appointed and headed by the President. Legislative power is vested in the Grand National Assembly. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

President and Cabinet

A president is elected every five years on the principle of universal suffrage according to the current constitution. The president does not have to be a member of parliament, but he/she must be over 30 years old and hold a doctoral degree. The current president Ekrem Mueller became Confederal President after the abdication of his predecessor in October 2021. Ministers can not also be a Member of the Parliament, and if MPs are chosen to be a Minister, they will have to resign their positions as Members of Parliament.

The current Council of Ministers of North Diessen is composed as follows:

• Confederal President President (G: Bundespresident; T: Cumhurbaşkanı) Ekrem Mueller;
• Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs (G: Bundesfinanzbeauftragte, T: Maliye ve Hazine Bakanlığı) Emma Artabanoğılu
• Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (G: Bundesaußenbeauftragte, T: Dışişleri Bakanlığı) Arnum Blauberg
• Minister for National Defence (G: Bundesverteidigungsbeauftragte, T: Millî Savunma Bakanlığı) Elian Kylysse
• Minister for Agriculture and Forestry: (G: Bundeslandwirtschaftsbeauftragte, T Tarım ve Orman Bakanlığı) Pamnut Ebbi
• Minister for Industry and Technology (G: Bundestechnologiebeauftragte, T: Sanayi ve Teknoloji Bakanlığı) Baris Pekdemir
• Minister for Labour, Social Services, and Family (G: Bundesfamilienbeauftragte; T: Çalışma, Sosyal Hizmetler ve Aile Bakanlığı) Virginia Lena
• Minister for Transport and Infrastructure: (G: Bundesverkehrsbeauftragte, T: Ulaştırma ve Altyapı Bakanlığı) Akar Merkhal

Parliament

Legislative power is invested in the 300-seat Grand National Assembly of North Diessen (German: Großnationalrat Norddiessen; Turkish: Diessenin Büyük Millet Meclisi). The members are elected for a five-year term by mitigated proportional representation with an election threshold of 10%. To be represented in Parliament, a party must win at least 10% of the national vote in a national parliamentary election. Independent candidates may run, and to be elected, they must only win enough to get one seat. The North Diessen GNA has been housed in the Parliament Buildings in Het Goor since the founding of the Confederacy in 1799.

Political Parties and Elections

Political Parties in Diessen represent the full breadth of the political perspective. Due to the proportional representation sytsem employed for elections to the Grand National Assembly, many smaller parties have attained representation in the legislature. The following political groups are currently represented at a national level, the number of seats currently held in the GNA is also given:

Government (186 seats, majority of 36)

• Diessen Radical Centrists (blue): 104
  The DRC are a centre to centre-right group campaigning for the free market, a small government, and socially liberal policies. The DRC won the most recent parliamentary elections in 2019 by a significant margin. Their main opposition is the Social Demcoratic Appeal, however despite this antagonism most governments the DRC has formed have been grand coalitions with their rivals.
• Social Democratic Appeal (red): 82
  The SDA entered into government with the DRC in 2018, having lost a significant number of seats after leading the government from 2014 to 2019 in tandem with the Communist League. The SDA is a classical social democratic party prioritising equal opportunities for all, environmentalism, and generous social welfare policies.

Opposition

• Conservative Party (purple): 53
  North Diessen's Conservatives have generally been in opposition for the last three decades as the largest non-government party. The movement aspouses socially conservative and religiously-inspired policies, including an emphasis on traditional marriage and fiscal conservatism.
• Communist League (maroon): 43
  The Communist League served in government for the first time from 2014 to 2018, in a highly controversial coalition with the SDA. The Communists campaign for a large government and general collectivisation and nationalisation of key infrastructure and industry.
• Diessen National Worker's Party (black): 18
  Having never served in government, the DNWP is Diessen's newest political party. The party has a highly centralised structure and includes a paramilitary wing. Its main policy points include a total ban of foreign immigration into North Diessen and a return to what it calls 'traditional Diessenian values'.

The current composition of the GNA is visually represented thus:

Confederalism

North Diessen is made up of three confederal territories bound together into a single constitutional state, as well as the capital district of Het Goor which is self-governing. Confederal-level responsibilities include defence and foreign policy, large-scale infrastructure and water management projects, and environmentalism. Duties of the three territorial governments include licensing, housing, urban planning, and law enforcement.

North Diessen's confederal system is based on the principles of intertwined common co-operation and an each-to-their-own attitude. It is uncommon for the confederal government to interfere or even advise territorial administrations on matters of policymaking, yet the constitutions of all three territories mandate the lower administrations to actively work together on issues that require it.

The districts of North Diessen are, in order of population size: Reuland (east), Hammikeln (north west), Linnich (south west), Het Goor Büyükşehir (capital district).