News Media of Istkalen
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Istkalen Information Service: Court rules in favor of Reszelport Jezebel-Swift
Jezebel-Swift in her first public appearance since her arrestAfter a month long trial, the trial of Reszelport Jezebel-Swift, otherwise known as Pope Tabitha, has come to a conclusion. Jezebel-Swift was initially arrested for inciting violence after a homily in which, to the sound of electric guitars, she called for the killing of her opponents and those she considered to be "sinners." She was kept in secret and solitary detention for two weeks until her trial finally began, under less than public circumstances, on the 31st of January.
Journalists and the public were not allowed into the trial, but Jezebel-Swift was allowed legal representation, and the trial is generally seen as fair, particularly as it ruled in favor of Jezebel-Swift instead of the state.
Upon examination of the evidence, in particular Jezebel-Swift's wide audience, armed enough and duty-bound to obey her words, but also her nominal status as Pope of the Arian Church, the court concluded that Jezebel-Swift, per her own claims and the history of the Arian Church, had effectively renounced her Istkalenic citizenship for Vatican citizenship, as, by the belief and history of the Church itself, it is the legitimate Catholic church and its Pope is the Bishop of Rome.
However, per Jezebel-Swift's own admission, they found that she remained clearly guilty of her crimes, and was completely without remorse. She was thus found guilty; but her lack of citizenship required deportation.
Jezebel-Swift is thus to be deported to the Vatican City "as soon as possible." Thousands celebrated outside the court chambers the decisions, largely because she was to go and thus that Istkalen would be free of her.
"The [woman] is gone!" screamed many.
Yet her arrest has given her widespread support. She is now widely seen among the Arian community as not a heretic but a martyr whose persecution reveals the truth of her beliefs. She is not merely regarded as the Pope but also as a prophet in her own right by millions.
Jezebel-Swift was temporarily freed before her deportation, although she remained under surveillance. She gave a relatively controlled speech, although she continued most of her most radical opinions, including her rejection of virtually all Arian principles for a self-created theology involving Pelagianism and modalism. Most was, however, dedicated to affirming her position as the one true Pope of the Catholic Church, the one true Bishop of Rome, as well as denouncing Pope Peter II, the current pope, as a "heretic," which many have termed "the pot calling the kettle black."
Jezebel-Swift then sent out a message to her followers, promising them Vatican citizenship if they "followed her in a grand crusade." Over 2000 are believed to have answered the summons, and gathered before the papal palace in the Arian territories, where she spoke to them again of the necessity of "restoring true Christianity" to the Catholic Church. In her "Popemobile," she then led them in a massive procession to the only airport in those territories, privately owned by Jezebel-Swift herself, which includes her private fleet of 50 planes, earned through profits from the uranium mines and banks the Arian Church owned prior to the occupation, in addition to the sale of agricultural products and textiles made through what was almost slave labor. Her so-called 200-strong "Papal Guard" (not, notably, the Swiss Guard, which the Arians and now Jezebel-Swift claim to have been an invention of heretics), also joined.
Carrying hastily made banners, they screamed various slogans calling for the "restoration" of the Catholic Church and the "true Bishop of Rome," as well as for the "wrath of God" to be brought down upon Pope Peter II.
"God, smash the delusion of Carlos Vallejo!" screamed Mikeli Neripas, an important Arian figure, from the forefront of the procession. "Smash it with your iron rod!"
"Strike, strike.... until you have victory, God!" shouted Erkas Tilisek, the head of the Patriotic Front. "In the name of Jesus!"
Onlookers claimed that many, if not all, of those in the procession were carrying automatic firearms, and that they had seen a large procession of trucks behind them carrying a large amount of ammunition, as well as large packages of an unknown material, which has been speculated to be explosives. It is a well known fact that the Pope, in her nominal role as the leader of the autonomous Arian territories, has sole control over armories for the religious police and militia of the area, which, while now much weaker, continue to exist, which include all these materials.
It is also known that the Arian Church has been preparing for a "reconquest" of the Vatican for hundreds of years; it is believed by some that these weapons may have been specifically inteded for the purpose of this reconquest
Hundreds if not thousands were seen emerging from their homes and cheering on the erstwhile crusaders as they marched on their way to Jezebel-Swift's private airport, almost hysterically. Some even walked behind them, some joining and seemingly given weapons, according to neutral onlookers.
Jezebel-Swift again addressed the procession, joined by the leadership of the Patriotic Front, when they reached the airport, telling them that they had to be "brave for God" and that their "holy and ordained mission" would be dangerous, and that many would "become martyrs before God." She then appeared to gibberish for ten minutes, before again exhorting the crowd before her to "follow her," claiming that she was "God's sole representative on Earth...his power now flows through me..." to widespread and hysterical cheering.
She then "conferred Vatican citizenship" on all of those present, before having an aide next to her request permission from the National Directorate for "self-deportation" - in essence, the right for her merely to carry out her deportation by herself, which under certain legal interpretations may be possible. The call was broadcast with the use of some speakers that were found inside the airport, and was repeatedly interrupted with mass outpourings of further hysterical cheering and screaming.
The National Directorate has not yet responded to the request of Jezebel-Swift. Some have called for military action to be taken; but the Republican Defence Forces have insisted that they do not have the authorization to act as of now. In the meantime, however, further convoys of trucks have been seen arriving at the airport, carrying large packages which many believe to be further weapons, ammunition, or explosives, with the excitement of the cfrowd apparently being kept up by regular exhortations from Jezebel-Swift, Tilisek, Neripas, and other figures within the Arian community.
Some went directly to Rikkalek's office to ask for intervention, but he did not appear to be present. It was rumored that he was to be found in a cafe, but no one appears to have investigated there, perhaps out of fear.
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State Announcements - Kirelesile
4th March elections delayed due to martial law
Rikkalek sworn in as the Chairman of the National Directorate in light of election cancellation - "the title of Head of State is interim and exists only because of the election period; with the election period cancelled, it must fall into disuse in accordance with constitutional principles," he says
All political parties merge to form the Republican Association of National Defence "against this mortal danger"
Curfew between 22:00 and 7:00. 30 min grace period in place currently
Arian churches ordered closed for duration of martial law due to "concern over violent rhetoric against sovereign states"
Ministry of Religious Affairs orders propaganda campaign against certain religions "against grave threat to national security"
Schools and universities to be closed until 7th March 2022
Pro-Jezebel-Swift protestors ordered arrested; to be tried by military tribunals due to declaration of martial law
Administration of State, Public, Internal Security allegedly arrests major figures of the opposition
National Directorate confirms that Jezebel-Swift's planes and followers have left airspace of Istkalen and are presently over Belarum, but that Istkalen will assist potential Reitzmic operations in the Vatican in the case of takeover
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State Announcements - Istkalen At Large
The Arian Church is declared a terrorist organization
Property of Arian church seized by state
Second wave of destruction of Arian religious buildings ordered
Arian monasteries and convents forcibly shut down
Arian clergy ordered to defrock or face immediate arrest
Pro-Jezebel-Swift demonstrators allegedly within striking distance of government buildings
Arian demonstrators in Kirelesile tear-gassed
Tanks seen entering the capital
Arian Autonomous Territories placed under direct military administration for "indefinite period of time;" new military governing council for area declares "secularization campaign"
Rikkalek confirms that right of habeas corpus is temporarily suspended, but states that "everything is under control"
Republican Association of National Defence orders campaign against "terrorist and anti-democratic" elements in society
Kaisa Malk, other quasi-communist figures allegedly arrested by the Administration of State, Public, and Internal Security
Sancar, Demirkol, Isteresskemar vanish from the public view
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The National Times: Election results
(OOC: The declaration of martial law and the founding of the National Association of Republican Defence, as they occurred in direct response to the Tabitha attacks, are non-canon. Both will occur in the coming days to some extent. It was previously planned to do such a thing before the elections, but this was difficult)
Election results are remarkably different from the last published polling, largely due to significant changes in the electoral law that severely weakened certain parties, as well as to the banning of the People's Association by Head of State Vistek Rikkalek after accusations of corruption and vote-rigging from within the party, although it is also believed that the polls themselves may have been partially manipulated by members of the People's Association within the now-defunct Istkalen Information Service.
The composition of the National Assembly is as follows:
PARTY OF LABOR: 41 seats
SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY: 51 seats
LIBERAL PARTY: 33 seats
AGRARIAN UNION: 39 seats
PATRIOTIC FRONT (MODERATE): 16 seatsThe composition of the National Directorate is as follows:
PARTY OF LABOR: 5 seats
SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY: 5 seats
LIBERAL PARTY: 3 seats
AGRARIAN UNION: 4 seats
PATRIOTIC FRONT (MODERATE): 1 seat
NON-PARTISAN: 1 seatVistek Rikkalek was elected the Chairman of the National Directorate, and continues, de facto, as head of state and of government; he is the only non-partisan member of the National Directorate.
The election was characterized by concern over how future society and politics in Istkalen would work.
Kalju Ilves, who led the Social Democratic Party after the removal of Milrakas Ikoszer from the party leadership, is considered to be responsible for its great success. Himself a victim of persecution by the "war-government," he recovered the party's reputation while offering a return to past stability, politically and culturally, combined with a relatively progressive cultural platform, while also entering something of an alliance with the Agrarian Union.
The Agrarian Union itself, while performing relatively well considering that it had not been a registered party until but a few weeks before the election due to its dissolution in mid-December, may have underperformed. While offering a strong platform for Istkaleners concerned about perceieved foreign encroachment in the country's affairs, whether cultural, poltiical, or economic, it only recently recovered from a period of unstable leadership; in September, the party had expected Ilmaras Kalessed to return to her post as head of the party, her later resignation to pursue the role of Internal Affairs Commissioner sending it into convulsions. While new leader Ursula Korhonen is considered to be more "authentic," in terms of having more genuine roots among (Kitetois) farmers, as well as perhaps somewhat better of a speaker, she has as of yet been unable been able to recover the party's former popularity.
While the Party of Labor performed strongly among industrial, labor, and professional groupings, its support for economic and political centralization appears to have lost it a significant number of votes. The party is also devoid of the strong leadership that it had under Elspeth Arkalis, General Secretary of the party from 1984 to her death in early 2021; the person who most expected to be Arkalis's successor, Iras Tilkanas, is now European Councillor, and the party does not really have many other well-known figures.
The Liberal Party profited from the collapse of the Progress Party and The Center, which were unable to function because of the new electoral law, but was unable to gain a significant voter base outside of financial and professional circles. It is devoid of any strong leadership, or for that matter any one leader, and is unlikely to expand beyond its current voters.
The Patriotic Front (Moderate), led by Susanne Cronenberg, split from the old Patriotic Front, received most of its votes from conservative members of the German and Turkish communities in Istkalen, but also capitalized off of a hardline nationalist program which called for rapid militarization to "protect the nation against its enemies which surround it."
With nationalists having a narrow majority in the chamber (Social Democrats + Agrarian Union + Patriotic Front), the country is expected to begin renegotiating certain treaties, especially one involving free trade in electronics with the Kingdom of Spain; however, while they have expressed "discomfort" with the recently ratified Diem Accords with the Empire of Inimicus, they have stated that they are "a necessary sacrifice," and that the accords will be upheld in their entirety. Negotiations in Kirelesile to develop an aid and financial framework for states outside the "center of power" in the Union are expected to begin again as well.
The newly elected Chairman first gave an address to the nation discussing the policies that would be undertaken by the new National Directorate - mostly continued democratization and debureaucratification combined with a committment to national culture and existing modes of industrial organization, speaking of this in the context of a "democratic and social republic of labor," and stated that the government would eventually elaborate on a "common program" for the reconstruction of the country. He signaled, however, a partial retreat from politics, in which he would merely seek to act as a figure to unite and mediate between the various political groups in the National Assembly and National Directorate, while at the same time attempting to act as a moderating force in order to prevent the same swerves in policy that characterized the period of the occupation.
The newly created Committee of Foreign Affairs sought to reassure the outside world over the results of the elections, particularly the plurality of the Social Democratic Party, by stating that the two parties "were unrelated in policy" and that "the new Social Democratic Party, whose chairman is Kalju Ilves - who was imprisoned by the 'war-government' - is a social democratic party on the Western model."
The elections are a demonstration of a continued turn away from Heltois dominance. Most of the parliamentary parties, with the exception of the Party of Labor, have as their heads members of other 'nationalities' in the country - the Kitetois, the Irdetois, the Germans, and the Turks; at the same time, for the first time, the Heltois no longer form a majority of either the executive or the legislative power, with changes expected in the coming days for the judiciary, council of examination, and Censorate.
The National Assembly and National Directory will meet for the first time on the 10th, where it is expected thatmeasures will be proposed democratizing parties, expanding language education, and instituting instant recall for all elected positions in Istkalen.
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Nation: Bizarre statements by Creusenberg result in defections, election of Virejane (Democratic Movement) as Director of Religious Affairs
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Susanne CruesenbergSusanne Creusenberg, leader of the Patriotic Front (Moderate), espoused conspiracy theories during the first session of the second National Assembly under the 2015 constitution, later calling for "moderate and diplomatic violence" against various groups that she dislikes, including leftists and homosexuals, which she accused of being "Vardic and Reitzmic plants alien to the moral and conservative basis of our nation."
"We are a strong nation," she said, "a nation which lives according to the laws set by tradition. We have not been corrupted by the ways of others; we have always stayed true to our own morality. During the occupation, subversive ideas were planted, ideas of rebellion against what has served us so well. Vardic and Reitzmic plants are everywhere, spreading their immoral activities as to corrupt us and bring our downfall."
"We must purge out nation of decadence," she continued. "We must purge it of those who believe in corrupting change, of those who engage in corrupting change. Of the leftists, of the feminists, of the homosexuals, of all of these subversive elements, plants of the serpents and wolves of Reitzmag and Vayinaod."
"However, I am not a believer in wanton violence and criminality," she said. "We must do all by the book, in a measured way. I call for moderate and diplomatic violence in this purge. The spirit of compromise, the spirit of tolerance; they must reign even here. Therefore we maintain in our nation a state of law and order, a stable but controlled state."
Ms. Cruesenberg's statements were universally unpopular. Many within the Patriotic Front (Moderate) claimed that she was "too secular" and had not gone far enough, most notably Mollet Afierme-Kendek, one of the founders of the party itself.
"Ms. Cruesenberg has forgotten God," he said in a statement delivered today. "She forgets that we all live by the laws of God. I do not endorse the cruelty of the Patriotic Front, but all the same I recognize that their core principles are true and must be upheld. There must be a purge, as Ms. Cruesenberg has suggested, a diplomatic purge; but it must be a religious purge, a purge of God, motivated by the Holy Spirit, to remove from this nation all that is not in favor of God. The principles of the party must be upheld. We are for God, we are for moral standards, all the same rejecting excess for moderation and compromise."
More secular members of the party, however, particularly representatives of less ideologized Turkish and German religious associations and assemblies, rejected Ms. Cruesenberg. Four representatives for religious associations in the National Assembly announced their intention to resign from the party, opting later to join the Democratic Movement of Isteresskemar, similarly right-wing and socially conservative but at the same time not as violent and far from being as religious.
"The Patriotic Front (Moderate)," they wrote in a joint statement, "is neither patriotic, a front, or moderate. It is a cesspit of insane religious leaders, of insane ideals,a cesspit which, like all others, ought to have been condemned to the 19th century. Ms. Cruesenberg, Mr. Afierme-Kendek, and their associates within the Patriotic Front, a group not merely of the insane but of genuine terrorists; they are all zealots who should be barred from politics in any nation that has emerged from the hunter-gatherer state. We stand for modernity and sanity, not this foul religiosity espoused by the Patriotic Front (Moderate)."
"We see Ms. Isteressmekar's Democratic Movement as the party that is genuinely willing to defend the nation and its traditions in a modern age. They are genuinely tolerant and diplomatic, they are genuinely compromising; and they have demonstrated themselves to possess genuine sanity and to be free of the zealotry that characterizes the Patriotic Front (Moderate)," they continued, justifying their decision to defect to that party.
Later that day, the four new deputies of the Democratic Movement announced cooperation with the Liberal Party within the delegation of the Religion Association in order to elect the former Minister of Religious Affairs, Kuseli Virejane, to the office of the Director of Religious Affairs, in order to "protect the freedom of religion in Istkalen in accordance with moderate and secular ideals." Ms. Virejane, a member of the Democratic Movement was thus elected 6-4 by the delegation, denying the Patriotic Front (Moderate) representation within the National Directorate.
This election has assuaged widespread fears of a radical turn towards pro-religion policy with the rule of the Patriotic Front (Moderate) which, while nominally secular, is considered an Arian interest party. Ms. Virejane herself has confirmed that she will continue the secular policy she pursued as Minsiter of Religious Affairs, further dampening these concerns.
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Republic: The Social Democrats and Agrarian Union gain a majority
On Monday, Dr. Grete Reiner, the General Secretary of the Party of Labor, threatened to expel members of the party who did not conform to her own interpretation and proposed implementation of Marxist ideology in Istkalen, which included arguments for the necessity of mass nationalizations and the establishment of a socialist state on the "model of such states as the former UNSR and the former Czechoslovakia."
The three leaders of the Liberal Party, on the same day, voted unanimously to adopt a laissez-faire platform which argued for the immediate opening of Istkalen to the international market, the reduction of taxes to zero, and the removal of virtually all regulations on business.
Such positions, deeply unpopular in an Istkalen where the preservation of the independence of farmers, shopkeepers, and drove dozens of their members away from their parties and towards the Social Democratic Party and Agrarian Union, sister "social democratic" parties on the center-left which both find their roots in labor-union movements, of the 30s and 70s respectively.
The defections are as follows:
- all 10 representatives of merchants and shopkeepers (previously members of the Liberal Party) defected to the Agrarian Union
- all 10 representatives of the sciences (previously members of the Communist Party) defected to the Social Democratic Party
- all 10 representatives of medicine (previously members of the Communist Party) defected to the Social Democratic Party
- all 10 representatives of the liberal professions (previously members of the Liberal Party) defected to the Agrarian Union
- 4 representatives of artists and writers (previously members of the Communist Party) defected to the Social Democratic Party
- 4 representatives of workers in the home (previously members of the Communist Party) defected to the Agrarian Union
This increases the representation of the Social Democratic Party to 75 members in the National Assembly and of the Agrarian Union to 63. It further gave them control of a further 4 directors in the National Directorate, for a total of 13, and gives them 71% of seats in the National Assembly, roughly equivalent to the amount of votes they had received in the actual general election. The Party of Labor now holds only 13 seats in the National Assembly, and the Liberals 13.
These mass defections signal a movement towards a greater conservatism in Istkalenic politics. The two "social-democratic" parties are in reality the parties most in favor of the present status quo; that is, the present distribution of land and property, as well as present norms of industrial organization. Their only radical position is of democratization, which is regardless supported by virtually everyone except the religious extremists and various bureaucrats.
They also signify a detatchment from the party. Most of the defections occurred on the line of occupation, implying that party identity is now affiiliated with occupation; at the same time, the readiness of representatives to defect is in itself a sign that there is no longer strong attachment to a party. This is likely a result of the recently passed electoral law which established open primaries, significantly reducing party-discipline and moving more candidates towards the "center" of Istkalenic politics - that is, the Social Democrats and Agrarians.
Defections are likely to continue as moderate representatives flee these increasingly extreme parties.
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The National Times: Social Democrats and Agrarians commit to proportional representation
The Social Democrats and Agrarians are now openly in favor of a form of proportional representation on a consociational model. While in support of the retention of the workers' associations alongside, as organs to defend the interests of various occupations against the state, as well as to serve as executive bodies in place of bureaucracies, they insist that the current system suppresses the voices of the Kitetois and the Irdetois; the Kitetois, for example, make up 41% of the population but have in the current parliament only 22% of seats due to the method of election. However, it is widely believed that the move has to do with the fact that the parties together won roughly 75% of the vote, or, counting votes for defecting deputies and other members of committees within the workers' associations, over 90% of the vote, but held 50% at first and now only 71% of all seats; proportional representation in a parliament would thus significantly gain them power and influence in the parliament.
Their proposal is to delegate power from the National Assembly and lower bodies power to new institutions - people's committees and at the national level another "National Assembly," which will have 500 seats; 205 elected by the Kitetois, 165 by the Irdetois; 50 by the Germans; 50 by the Turks; 20 by the Heltois; and 10 by "others;" that is, everyone else, according to open-list proportional representation, with the system of open primaries being maintained. There will be a 10% barrier, in order to prevent "nuisance parties" from entering the new National Assembly.
Their proposal is opposed by the Party of Labor, which supports proportional representation without "ethnic quotas," as it terms this system; the Liberals, on the other hand, are equally divided. The Democratic Movement is opposed, as they are supportive of the current system; the Patriotic Front (Moderate) will abstain, as they are opposed to all forms of democracy. The newly formed syndicalist faction of the Social Democrats, formed of eight defectors from the Party of Labor, however, has somewhat uncharacteristically declared support, arguing that only economic governance should be in the hands of the workers' associations. In spite of this opposition, the proposal is exceedingly likely to pass, as the two parties together hold a supermajority in the National Assembly.
The proposal is a significant deviation from the past, where the true social democratic movement, not the nationalist movement of the 2000s, in Istkalen was strongly influenced by the belief that political power should be transferred to trade unions in order to protect the interests of farmers and workers, in all likelihood because of how it has "turned out." The current system has shown little difference in practice from a parliamentary system; the interests of those that trade unionism would protect are actually being "suffocated" by the inflated representation of several other groups, to the extent that it is now believed that a parliamentary system would actually represent them better, given that they make up over 70% of the population.
To be clear, there is no support for abolishing the system of workers' associations as a whole - they are still viewed, as independent organizations, as conserving the interests that they are meant to conserve. Outside of the National Assembly, they have continued to play genuinely useful roles in regulating property and business interactions in order to preserve the traditional state of the Istkalenic economy. It is only their representative who continuously overrule each other and who continuously undermine the interests of each other in the National Assembly, and thus, in the eyes of the public, those representatives who must be replaced.
The system, however, would further solidify the nascent dominance of the Social Democratic-Agrarian alliance. Mass defections have given them near total dominance in most local governments and workers' associations; introducing proportional representation and non-occupationally based forms of representation on the local level, as well as excluding the vast majority of other parties by means of a high barrier to entry into parliament, would virtually give them a total monopoly on all political power. Combined with their further attempts to establish social hegemony through media, the establishment of mass organizations for youth and women, and their creation of public spaces and holding of performances, largely through the pre-existing institutions of both parties, they seem likely to be able to rapidly establish a state of their own in Istkalen.
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Nation: Communists, liberals, et al placed under investigation for "acts tantamount to treason" by the Censorate
Following the passage of a controversial motion to require trade in cobalt to be conducted in the ketsel, sponsored by communist and liberal members of the National Directorate, in addition to the sole representative of the Democratic Movement on the DIrectorate, the Censorate of Istkalen immediately voted to:
- render null the motion
- suspend the positions of the sponsoring members
- begin an investigation into these members and the parties to which they belong
Such a motion had been a major election goal of the Party of Labor, although not the liberals; they insisted that it would "bring economic independence" to Istkalen, as well as "free miners from the shackle of capital," slowing their decline under the leadership of Dr. Grete Reiner, a hardline Marxist-Leninist whose views have widely been seen as "out of touch with the prevailing conditions in Istkalen," as Councillor Iras Tilkanas, previously a major member of the communist movement in Istkalen, put it.
It was, however, until now, believed that they would not go through it. Due to the system of open primaries, most elected candidates were relatively moderate, belonging to the syndicalist or reformist wings of the party; upon their mass defection, led by Eliise Raadik of the syndicalists and Makketis Ikalsser of the reformists, to the Social Democrats and Agrarians, however, the party was only left with its most hardline members, leaving it free to pursue the most extreme of its policies.
The liberals, again, were not expected to have championed such an act. They had campaigned in favor of rapid liberalization and free trade, not such clearly nationalist policies. Their support is thus believed to have stemmed from an extreme populism, borne out of the rapid decline of the party. Seeking, perhaps, to reconvince voters and members who had "jumped off the ship" after the official adoption of libertarian principles, they sought to invoke the rhetoric of radical nationalism, as many before them, from the Grand National Movement of the 2000s to the disgraced Empress Kales of the early 1900s did, to cover up the incompatability of their ideology with the state of modern Istkalen.
The decision of the Democratic Movement was expected. Always a nationalist movement, they had previously championed extraordinary policies, including an invasion of Reitzmag and Vayinaod in order to "protect the nation from its sworn enemies;" they could not be expected to support reason in any circumstances if their imagined "interests of the nation," really the interests of a nation existing only in their shattered minds.
The motion, however, passed unanimously, in spite of the opposition of the appointed "secretaries" who manage the "secretariats" of the Directorate, as well as Chairman Rikkalek himself, who does not have a vote on the DIrectorate. This was due, apparently to a bizarre form of corruption regarding favors of a nature which cannot be disclosed due to obscenity laws regulating print. The Censorate is considering punishments for those other members, but they are unlikely to be as severe as those for those who initiated the act.
The associations credited with introduction of the act have distanced them from them, claiming that they were "the complete product of the imagination of deranged individuals who masqueraded as genuine representatives, who fooled even we in their twisted act." However, they too will be subject of an investigation by the Censorate.
The greater parties, again, are also being investigated. It is almost certain that their leadership played a key role in drafting the motion in question, and thus is directly involved in the illegal act.
If found guilty by the Censorate, the individuals involved will be sentenced to at least 5 years of prison, as prescribed by the law, and be prohibited from public office from that point onwards. Community service is also likely to be prescribed as a punishment. The parties will be permanently dissolved and their assets seized by the state.
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NATIONAL BROADCASTING SERVICE: DECLARATION OF THE HELÉTEK, VISTEK RIKKALEK
Dear comrades!
At 08:00 today, members of the Liberal Party and Party of Labor, joined with members of the Meinl-Reisinger clique and led by the former Prime Minister Kaisa Malk, attempted to seize control of the state from the elected authorities. Supported by large swathes of the Kirelesile police, they began an assault on the state institutions. Assassins were sent out to murder the highest officials of state and civil society, in an effort to supplant both with a new, colonialist order of their own devising.
The state and our democracy have survived their attack. Ms. Malk and her co-conspirators are now in prison, awaiting trial for their crimes against the people. The elected authorities have met again, in defiance of the designs of this clique.
We survive; government continues as normal. The storm has been weathered.
But the conspirators continue to propose a threat. Within our midst are provocateurs and agents allied to the Malkist anti-democrats, waiting.
Against them, we must defend the Republic. The state and society have been re-organized to defend the Republic. The Democratic Movement, the Social Democratic Party, and the Agrarian Union, including the Independent Workers' Faction of Eliise Raadik, have declared their merger into the Republican Alliance for National Defence, in order to prevent the fall of our democracy to the Malkists. Artists and journalists have aligned themselves with the cause of the Republic; certain controls will be exercised to ensure its defence against the lies of the Malkist provocateurs.
Regimentation, founded upon the concept of solidarity, of the community, has been introduced into the economy in order to prevent manipulation by powerful figures within the ranks of the merchants aligned with this conspiracy and defend the cause of the Republic against them. We will put an end to the prevailing egoism and profiteering that caused the creation of the Malkist conspiracy; we will create an economy predicated on our common republican and solidaristic ideal. The traditions of production will be maintained. The artisan and the market-gardener, the smallholder; their traditions, important to our national character, will be maintained and exalted. They have maintained humanity, quality, and pride in production for centuries; and they will maintain these for centuries more.
The defence of the public has been reorganized. The police cannot be trusted with this task, so corruptible they are. An order has been placed for their dismantling, as was done on the 18th of April when it was clear to the public that they had again failed; their power and tasks will be given to the public, with the resurrection of the old popular militias which defended democracy and the integrity of the nation when both were in crisis.
The national government has been reorganized. The National Directorate remains as it was; but additional powers have been vested in my figure, so that decisive action may be taken for the preservation of the Republic and our national unity. They have voted unanimously to name me as Helétek of the Republic, in accordance with national traditions.
This, the title of Melitek, of Tiraki, after deep consideration and thought, I have accepted.
We thus stand together, united, to defend our republic and our nation against internal rot, and to fulfill our common republican and socialist ideal.
Long live the Republic, long live our Istkalen, long live our independence!
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Republic: The success of the Democratic Revolution
The National Directorate has, under the leadership of the Helétek, announced that the Democratic Revolution, a nonviolent transformation of social relations in Istkalen which began in early February with the abrogation of the old constitution, has succeded in its initial aims.
The revolution began in order to transition away from past paternalist structures to greater democracy, so as to modernize the country and break radically with old traditions that have kept it in the past. The final, as of yet unaccomplished goal, is to liberate the people of Istkalen from an antiquated societal structure while at the same time strengthening its economy and thus its position abroad, bringing it finally "into the fold" of the developed nations.
When it was initiated in February, the intention was to begin the accomplishment of this lofty goal were the democratization and collectivization of private and workplace life. In the past, Istkaleners were alone in both, with extraordinarily little support and effectively at the mercy of the corrupt bureaucrats, who used their power to manipulate the market and to give to themselves significant positions as merchants and bankers through which they could further manipulate and scam the genuine workers of Istkalen. Such efforts had nominally begun in early December
Democratization and collectivization - collectivization not being necessarily legal but rather the construction of a greater solidarity between independent individuals in order to allow them all to remain prosperous - is now complete. Together as a collective, the workers manage their own basic welfare and their labor through the same integrated organization of common solidarity - the workers' association, the new basis of life in this republican, democratic, and socialist Istkalen.
Within the new collectives, there is no hierarchy, nor control. Each person remains independent, but in solidarity they have duties to the rest of the community - not merely the collecive, for the collective is but an organ through which this duty is directed, but the associations that they compose. Through these duties, through the collectives and associations, the whole of the organization of labor and of industry is accomplished. Clearly, the collectivization and socialism that has been established is one of equality and solidarity, but not one of centralization and bureaucracy as has existed so commonly throughout history; a non-aligned socialism unique to Istkalen.
The creation of the collectives, and thus the transformation of the associations, is perhaps the greatest change the Democratic Revolution has brought. It has transformed almost every aspect of life in Istkalen already, for the better; so too has it seized power from the old authorities and given it directly to the laboring masses.
Its accomplishment thus led to the accomplishment of the second initial goal of the Democratic Revolution - the abolition of the bureaucracy. Under the new system, the bureaucracy has little reason to exist; the people and their elected representatives exercise and execute all power themselves; production and social life is directed by them and by no others. There is thus simply no reason for the bureaucracy to exist; without justification and with its powers taken up directly by the people, it thus collapsed spontaneously, removing from Istkalen a terrible and hegemonic power and paving the way for a thousand years of a free republic.
WIth democratization and the end of bureaucracy, industry and society will be freed. No more will profits and labor be wasted by the evil; they will now be managed competently and democratically for the benefit of all, therefore allowing for great developments in industry and infrastructure, rather than merely for the construction of ever more useless enterprises serving only to enrich the bureaucrats. Society, too, is freed of the old institutions, supported by the old state, which managed it and oppressed it; it is now managed by those who live in it completely, based on the values of the present and striving towards the future, allowing it to pursue ever more rather than remaining in a stagnant state and wishing to regress.
Currently, thus, Istkalen stands in an immediately post-revolutionary state. Social and economic relations have been changed in favor of solidarity and cooperation above corruption, hierarchy, and ruthlessness; so too have they been radically democratized, controlled entirely by decisions of associations and collectives of workers. The old pre-revolutionary institutions have fallen away, and have been replaced completely by those created by the new order. Led by the National Directorate and the Helétek, in defense of the national and popular interest, it will be consolidated in perpetuity, the last remnants of the old society destroyed, and our Istkalen will be free forever.
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Nation: Collectivization for "republican defense" - but what are the true motivations?
The National Directorate announced plans for a greater collectivization, establishing several "model" social and economic collectives, which operate as units of the association they belong to, but also on the model of collective work and life, rather than the previous ultra-individualism that characterized Istkalen's mode of social and economic relations until recently. These collectives will be gradually expanded; the government intends to complete 'basic' collectivization by the end of the year. Each will be integrated into the greater structure of their corresponding workers' association; that is, they will have few avenues for independent action, but will function as units, albeit democratic units, of their association.
Economic planning will also be introduced. Each workers' association will send delegates to a planning committee, which will work alongside an advisory council of experts appointed jointly by the Secretariats of Finance, Development, and Public Works. Economic plans, on the more "orthodox" socialist model, will be drafted based on the demands of workers through the collectives, and then will be "sent down" again for approval by said workers. However, the market will continue to play a role; plans are solely for production and development rather than for distribution, which will be left to a well-regulated market. The committee, however, will only be created upon the completion of collectivization. According to the National Directorate, this is because "the present state of production is...wholly incompatible with any proposals for rationalization...only after change is made in the direction of national unity and solidarity will such a transformation become fully possible." This planning will not entail any other significant changes in terms of the system of production; it has been stated that "the national character and spirit of production, of the peasant and craftsman, will be maintained as fully as possible."
The advisory council, however, has already been appointed, and has clearly defined its own aims. It will seek to influence a hypothetical future economic plan in the direction of the development of electronics industry, by "prioritizing" domestic trade of minerals such as cobalt and a wide variety of rare earth metals, while at the same time introducing "either subsidies or tariffs" on electronic goods, to be pursued in combination with general policies in favor of general light industrial modernization and the "greening" of industry.
However, there will be significant liberalization of the collectives in a social sense, with state monitoring of them effectively ending, their role in controlling behavior much more limited than were their predecessors. They will play a role solely in the maintenance of living spaces and the provision of basic services and welfare.
The justification for this is "republican defense." According to the National Directorate, the current economic system is irrational and encourages "egoism," which, according to it, "inspires an irrational distribution of goods that damages the sufficiency and stability of the nation." It further claimed that "the current market system is manipulated by malicious actors outside of Istkalen," and thus that the partial introduction of a planned economy "is necessary in order to maintain the sovereignty of the Republic." They also, however, stated that it played a role in "ensuring the creation of a national identity" by "further democratizing and collectivizing life rather than leaving it to the ravages of the individual motivated by selfishness in a system encouraging selfishness."
The reality may be somewhat different.
The government fears a reversion of social values to the ultraconservative pre-occupation norm; Rikkalek himself has openly stated that "we have made hundreds of years of progress in but a few months," and that "what steps we have made must be held; we must continue on ever further in order to maintain the freedom and equality of all." Social collectivization is likely an effort to abolish the regular and hierarchial state controls on social life for a more democratic system, but all the same one that is fully integrated into a nation-wide "collective," discouraging the formation of minor movements that might lead to a restoration of the old order.
More importantly, however, the country's economy has stagnated in comparison to other economies. While growth remains relatively constant, Istkalen has not benefited from the recent regional economic "boom," and has fallen significantly behind in terms both of income and GDP. The leadership of the country, in all likelihood, blames this on the current system of production, which they see as chaotic and disorganized, encouraging the instability that has plagued Istkalen since the occupation. They view, then, the only solution as "rationalization" - collectivization which allows for more efficient cooperation and collective work, and economic planning, which allows for, in their view, a more orderly approach towards national development. This stagnation threatens the position of the government, with the opposition increasingly able to unite around it as a key issue; the government likely feels that if the problem is not solved, it will fall, something which it wants to avoid at all costs.
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Republic: National Assembly election results
Totals
- Party Mainline- Agrarian socialists, renamed on 2 April "New Agrarians" - 9.661.184 votes, 234 seats (42.64% of votes, 46.8% of seats)
- Faction of Social Democracy - social democrats, "communitarians," and "reform-syndicalists," renamed on 2 April "Social Democrats", renamed on 8.778.548 votes, 213 seats (38.74% of votes, 42.6% of seats)
- Independent Workers' Faction - libertarian socialists, Marxist-Leninists, 2.483.751 votes, 41 seats (10.96% of votes, 8.2% of seats)
- Faction of National Democracy - nationalists, protectionists, irredentists, renamed on 2 April "National Democrats," 1.736.157 votes, 12 seats (7.66% of votes, 2.4% of seats)
TOTAL: 22.659.640 valid votes, 2.942.312 invalid/spoilt votes, 500 seats
Kitetois Seats
- Faction of Social Democracy - 4.534.515 votes, 112 seats
- Party Mainline - 3.778.760 votes, 93 seats
- Faction of National Democracy - 755.751 votes, did not make threshold
- Independent Workers' Faction - 377.874 votes, did not make threshold
Irdetois Seats
- Party Mainline - 4.181.983 votes, 104 seats
- Faction of Social Democracy - 2.433.153 votes, 61 seats
- Independent Workers' Faction - 456.216 votes, did not make threshold
- Faction of National Democracy - 380.180 votes, did not make threshold
German Seats
- Party Mainline - 1.198.143 votes, 27 seats
- Independent Workers' Faction - 691.237 votes, 15 seats
- Faction of Social Democracy - 368.660 votes, 8 seats
- Faction of National Democracy - 46.082 votes, did not make threshold
Turkish Seats
- Faction of Social Democracy - 1.382.475 votes, 32 seats
- Party Mainline - 460.825 votes, 10 seats
- Faction of National Democracy - 368.663 votes, 8 seats
- Independent Workers' Faction - 92.165 votes, did not make threshold
Heltois Seats
- Independent Workers' Faction - 645.154 votes, 16 seats
- Faction of National Democracy - 184.329 votes, 4 seats
- Faction of Social Democracy - 55.298 votes, did not make threshold
- Party Mainline - 36.865 votes, did not make threshold
Others' Seats
- Independent Workers' Faction - 221.195 votes, 10 seats
- Party Mainline - 4.608 votes, did not make threshold
- Faction of Social Democracy - 3.456 votes, did not make threshold
- Faction of National Democracy - 1.152 votes, did not make threshold
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Nation: Economic reforms passed
The National Assembly recently approved all of the extraordinary measures passed by the Directory (formerly translated as the National Directorate) of the Republic of Istkalen during the period in which it was dissolved, before voting to end its own session, empowering the Directory with legislative powers until its next session, which is one year from now, or when it is deemed necessary either by the Directory or by a majority of members of the National Assembly.
These focused mostly on the rationalization of the economy, which was labeled as a collectivization. The measures did not actually create any significant change in the organization of work, apart from integrating the production of consumer goods into the system of "labor-solidarity," increasing this duty from 30 hours per week (2 hours on Monday-Friday, 10 hours on Saturday to Sunday) to 35 hours per week (7 hours on Monday-Friday, no prescribed work on Saturday-Sunday), while capping the maximum workweek at 38 hours, therefore permitting workers only 3 hours a week to engage in independent, "formal" economic activity (activity pursued within collectives or using collective resources). Previously, the maximum workweek was 84 hours.
Financial pay was also introduced for labor-solidarity, where previously it was reimbursed with access to services and products, although there remain assurances of the continued free provision of the services established by the Kerel government.
More importantly, the workers' associations were reorganized somewhat. Internal divisions within production collectives were established; production collectives were also organized, on a local basis, into more industry-specific "production syndicates," which were then organized into the workers' associations. Several additional workers' associations for industry were also established for the purpose of specialization. The purpose of all of this is simply to better organize production to facilitate economic coordination, decentralization, and planning, as well as to avoid what have been described as "the excesses of the previous system."
Social reforms were surprisingly minimal in nature, and were largely conservative in direction, solidifying the role of the labor-partnership in the system of work, but also removing older restrictions on it dating from the monarchial era, most notably the restriction on opposite-sex partnership, which existed solely because at the time it was passed, almost two centuries ago, the vast majority of people believed that such partnerships would inevitably become personal and inappropriate in nature, as well as because of the presence of a high degree of sex segregation in the workplace and between occupations, which no longer exists.
Approval was also given for the democratization of ordinary life, most importantly for the removal of government "representatives" from housing complexes, as well as for the partial deregulation of the organization of the associations and collectives in which it is organized, which were previously under a high level of state control, accomplished through the merger of these institutions with those of working life.
These reforms have already occurred, and therefore their passage was merely a formality. Yet many of the members of the Directory, including "liberal" members who, while whose ideology should have stopped them from supporting such measures, made statements praising the decision of the National Assembly.
Andres Kask, for example, the leader of the liberal Moderate Tendency of the Social Democrats, proclaimed: "The end of the previous system, defined by corvee and wage slavery, has finally come. Under a socialism of our style, working conditions, democracy, and production are greatly increased for the common prosperity of all. The last of the influence of the comprador regime has been swept away, and the people are truly liberated under a truly democratic system of life and of government."
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Republic: Crisis over socialization
The project of socialization has been met with intense resistance from the population, and has not been enforced to a significant degree. The collectives and "production syndicates" that the Second Act on Socialization wills into existence have not yet been created; in effect the economy continues to function according to the system created by the first law on socialization from February, which the government had hitherto sought to implement since late November. The sole implemented provisions were the creation of additional workers' associations and the establishment of the Central Planning Board.
With over a month having gone by without any discernable progress, the Directory ordered representatives of the workers' associations, tasked with the implementation of the act, to appear before them for questioning as to why several of the most integral provisions of the Second Act on Socialization had not yet gone into actual effect. No representatives ever arrived to speak; the Directory then attempted to convince a number of legal authorities in Kirelesile to order their arrest, all of which refused, before turning to the Helétek, who would refuse before making an address to the public.
"Comrades," he said, "the cliques of old are trying again to seize power, to stop their elimination by the progressive forces of our nation, to stop our inexorable progress towards a true and full democracy and socialism of our style. Our common goal remains unchanged - to establish in Istkalen a government of workers' associations, against the bureaucracy and the old politicians, against the political establishment. They tremble in their boots at our determination, at our every success, and at every turn they try to subvert our movement for their own causes."
"The ongoing socialization was a national and democratic movement of the workers that was threatened by these reactionary forces. I do not want to admit this, I wish I did not have to say this, I wish I and the revolutionary forces in our government were not so weak - but we failed to protect our Democratic Revolution. We feared that they would destroy what we had accomplished, and therefore we compromised."
"But we see, now, that they have no power anymore. They tried with Ms. Malk's 'uprising,' and exhausted their forces. We have nothing to fear, no excuse, in the face of your determination, your unity, behind the Democratic Revolution. There will be no compromise from now on..."
The workers' associations used Rikkalek's speech as an opportunity to call for a constituent assembly, which they argue is overdue.
"The Helétek has made his position clear. Power must be transferred to the institutions established by the people," said Makketis Ikalsser, a dissident member of the Independent Workers' Faction and director of the Cultural Association who has since founded the new faction the "New Syndicalists." "There can be no waiting," he continued. "A constituent assembly must be held immediately so that democracy can quickly be established in our Istkalen."
They further underlined their opposition to the Second Act on Socialization. Ursula Korhonen, the director of the Agricultural Association, said that "there is no support for the law among the farmers of our country...it does not protect them, it only takes away, giving power to those we sought to remove. There is no issue with the socialization of the land, nor with the labor-duties; the issue is with the concept of the collectivization itself. We want to protect the sacred independence of the farmer, and we see this as taking away from that."
Similar sentiments were echoed by most other directors. However, all of the directors, as well as Rikkalek himself, have made it clear that they are not calling for an overthrow of the government; merely for legal reforms.
"The ongoing revolution is a social revolution, not political," said Kalju Ilves, the director of the Association of Engineers. "It can be accomplished through peaceful reform alone. What we call for is merely for a speeding up of the reform progress; the 'compromise' of the Second Act on Socialization clearly shows that we clearly can't afford to keep the remaining elements of aristocracy in our government. We can't be forced to adopt these deeply unpopular motions, to support them in public, anymore. Democratic change must happen immediately."
The speech was opposed by several on the left and the right.
"This is an act against the proletariat!" shouted Grete Reiner, the leader of the Independent Workers' Faction, earlier today. "This is a crime! Even this tiny step is rejected by the government of compradors! Look at it, comrades! Look at the futility of reform! The leader that the stupid uphold is a reactionary idiot who must be hanged!"
Ilest Kerel, who leads the Unity faction of the National Democrats, criticized the speech on very different lines.
"We need to have a government and economy managed by the competent," he said. "In the West, idiots can run the economy into the ground so long as they are convincing; if we were to reject this reform it would be the same here. The point of socialization is to allow the economy to come under the rational and scientific management of the best in a way that remains open to the input of the people. Rikkalek isn't unintelligent, he knows better, he knows what is needed to rule the country, I will concede that, but calls are completely populist in nature. They may sound good, but they are not the best path forwards for the country."
The National Assembly will likely convene again, beginning next week, to discuss the Act and other reforms.
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Nation: Controversy over land measures
The retreat from socialization, led by Vistek Rikkalek and his new government, has been ongoing for a month. Alongside measures to phase out coal production and decrease fertilizer usage, the government has sought to return to the pre-war economy. A process of "desocialization" has begun, with land "returning" to private management, although not private ownership, and the craft and light industrial collectives being dismantled. The welfare state has been re-expanded, with most essentials now being provided through a network of public canteens, libraries, and central "stores" from which goods may be borrowed, without charge; there has been a corresponding drop in pay. However, these meaures have been complemented with a series of environmental measures, most controversially the creation of "land value taxes" levied on land users, which have the official purpose of aiding land restoration and reforestation efforts. There has also been, unusually, a direct nationalization of heavy industry, as well as non-urban land.
"Istkalen needs a constant and sustainable supply of agricultural and industrial goods," said Minister of Public Distribution Yasemin Demirkol, upon the announcement of the nationalizations. "Desocialization and nationalization of major agricultural and heavy-industrial enterprises is absolutely necessary to ensure this; the old, collective and democratic system caused serious inefficiencies resulting in economic disruption."
"We want a sustainable, liveable Istkalen, for us and for our children," said Minister of Environmental Protection Andres Kask on 1 July in defense of the tax. "We want to preserve the beauty of our country, its natural wealth. The new tax ensures that we have the funding necessary to ensure the continued richness and quality of the soil, to protect it from exhaustion and degradation."
The measures enjoy virtually no support among farmers; recent polling showed that 98% were opposed to nationalization and 96% to the tax.
"It's our land," said a man who wished to otherwise remain anonymous. "They can't just take it away and expect us to pay for it. It's an injustice, that's what it is!"
Such sentiments have been reflected by many a farmer.
In response, the socialist New Agrarians and conservative Christian Democrats (formerly the Patriotic Front - Moderate), launched a joint campaign demanding the end of the taxes and mass public consultations through which land would be returned from the state to either the farmers' associations - the preference of the Agrarian Union - or individuals - the preference of the Christian Democrats.
"The government has clearly identified, above all, the farmer as its enemy. It has assaulted his rights in a spectacular manner, took from him his livelihood and, insultingly, mockingly, forced him to pay for it all. This state of affairs is absolutely unacceptable. The farmer must have the right to his land, and the profit it brings him," said leader of the New Agrarians Ursula Korhonen at a rally. "We demand an immediate end to the land tax, and the return of land to the Farmers' Association and to those smallholders who were victimized by this crminal action."
Korhonen went on to call on farmers to rebel and to, in her own words, "turn the Government House into ash." She is currently leading a large convoy of several thousand on a march to Kirelesile.
"We view the land as almost sacred," said co-leader of the Christian Democrats Suzanne Cronenberg. "As a gift from God, for us to care for and steward. The state merely views it as something to wring as much value from as is possible, and even then perhaps also as a means of control - it is no coincidence, we believe, that the nationalized land is held almost entirely by we Germans of the Christian faith. Return the land to the farmers, we say! It is they who know, who have known, how to use it, how to sustain it, for so many hundreds of years; they who should and must be trusted with our common inheritance, above the ignorant and controlling state."
Cronenberg is now allegedly putting pressure on the so-called Pope Tabitha, whom she has close connections with, to threaten the government of Istkalen it if does not concede.
The Prime Minister is expected to make a statement later today.
The protests are at least partially spurred by ethnic concerns. In the 1960s, control over German-held land was transferred from religious elites based in the countryside to secular authorities in the cities, eventually establishing quasi-colonial relations between the two. Since then, particularly after the industrialization of the short communist era, ethnic Germans have increasingly become an under-class, providing cheap agricultural and industrial labor and goods and denied the same rights as ordinary citizens. The era of social democracy brought significant respite; but with the re-entry of conservatives into government there has been a return to past relations, and therefore the beginning of renewed conflict. Members of the right-wing Progressives in government want again to subjugate, to ensure a supply of cheap goods for export; the German interest Christian Democrats and the farmers' interest New Agrarians again want to fight for what they see as the civil rights of their constituents against a seemingly racist state.
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Nation: Polling 4/7 - 7/7
Party Preference (excluding 5% who did not answer)
Communists (far-left): 2,1%
New Agrarians (left-wing): 16,4%
Social Democrats (left-wing): 30,4%
Ecologists (center-right to right-wing): 14,6%
National Republicans (right-wing): 15,5%
Christian Democrats (right-wing): 10,3%
Progressives (far-right): 8,2%
other: 2,5%Government Approval (excluding 22% who did not answer)
Approve: 12,2%
Disapprove: 79,2%
Neither: 8,6%Approval of Public Figures
Ilmaras Kalessed (former leader of the Agrarian Union/New Agrarians, left-wing)
- approve: 82,3%
- disapprove: 7,7%
- no opinion: 10,0%
Kaisa Malk (ex-PM, co-leader of the National Republicans, right-wing)
- approve: 79,2%
- disapprove: 10,7%
- no opinion: 10,1%
Makketis Ikalsser (co-leader of the National Republicans, right-wing)
- approve: 79,0%
- disapprove: 10,4%
- no opinion: 10,6%
Irenet Isteresskemar (Foreign Minister and co-leader of the Ecologists, right-wing)
- approve: 63,2%
- disapprove: 5,4%
- no opinion: 31,4%
Kalju Ilves (Prime Minister and leader of the Social Democrats, left-wing)
- approve: 58,1%
- disapprove: 20,9%
- no opinion: 21,0%
Vistek Rikkalek (Héletek, far-left)
- approve: 56,2%
- disapprove: 30,4%
- no opinion: 13,4%
Ilisapit Ikrat (co-leader of the Communists, left-wing)
- approve: 54,3%
- disapprove: 41,7%
- no opinion: 4,0%
Andres Kask (Minister of Environmental Protection and co-leader of the Ecologists, center-right)
- approve: 51,2%
- disapprove: 46,3%
- no opinion: 2,5%
Ursula Korhonen (leader of the New Agrarians, left-wing)
- approve: 50,4%
- disapprove: 19,6%
- no opinion: 30,0%
Grete Reiner (co-leader of the Communists, far-left)
- approve: 42,8%
- disapprove: 47,2%
- no opinion: 10,0%
Suzanne Cronenberg (co-leader of the Christian Democrats, right-wing)
- approve: 39,2%
- disapprove: 50,7%
- no opinion: 10,1%
Yasemin Demirkol (Minister of Public Distribution, leader of the Progressives, far-right)
- approve: 20,1%
- disapprove: 73,4%
- no opinion: 6,5%
Liros Ikomar (former Head of State, center)
- approve: 15,2%
- disapprove: 82,8%
- no opinion: 2,0%
Ilest Kerel (former Head of State, Minister of Justice, far-right)
- approve: 9,2%
- disapprove: 89,8%
- no opinion: 1,0%
Mollet Afierme-Kendek (co-leader of the Christian Democrats, right-wing)
- approve: 8,1%
- disapprove: 71,9%
- no opinion: 20,0%
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Nation: Kalessed leads New Agrarians to walk out of negotiations
Negotiations between the government and the New Agrarians over ongoing protests over measures on land use, since repealed, have failed, in spite of the party's former leadership having announced a tentative agreement just yesterday, primarily over the issue of authoritarianism.
"There can be no collaboration with a government which refuses democracy," stated Ilmaras Kalessed, the party's new leader, elected this morning following her loss in the very recent European Commission elections. "My predecessor made a very terrible mistake in accepting any agreement with this dictatorial regime. We New Agrarians must fight for the resignation of the usurpers of power, the election of a constituent assembly, and the establishment of a system of genuine popular power, for these are the only measures which will truly, in perpetuity, protect the farmer."
Kalessed further cited the participation of the "fanatical" Christian Democratic Party in the government, in spite of the fact that they only hold one minister without portfolio "There is no place," she stated, "for even a trace of religion in government. There must be an impermeable, impassable wall between the state and the church."
"So long as this government stands," she stated, "the farmer will not be at peace. The New Agrarians will not cooperate with the state on any matter until it accepts our demands."
The newly formed government, which had hoped for the inclusion of the New Agrarians, was mixed in terms of opinion on the subject.
"The non-cooperation of the New Agrarians will be the death of our republican project," stated Prime Minister Kalju Ilves (SDP). "Unity, above all, is necessary in this extraordinarily turbulent time. This type of behavior is simply dangerous and will lead to further factionalization."
"For her own power, Kalessed has decided to stand in the way of reform," said Minister of Development Kondres Uklertal (L). "She wants to - and very likely will - deny Istkaleners the peace and prosperity they have longed to satiate her ego. A better country can only be achieved if all set aside their personal desires for the good of the whole, and unfortunately, she has refused to do so."
Others held a radically different view.
"My opinion on [Kalessed's] statements?" said Minister of Democratization Elspeth Oskon (L) at a press conference. "They doom her and the rest of her deranged political sect. The current government is the most committed to democratic change since her own in 1996. A new parliament, representing the regions and the vocations, is to convene tomorrow. Economic control is again democratic and organized according to the principles of self-organization. We are soon to make it even easier to present citizens' initiatives. Everyone can see this, and so everyone knows that what she is saying is nonsense and that all she wants is power for herself. The people will all leave her, and we will no longer have to worry about extremist cranks, and can continue reform peacefully, smoothly, and properly."
"She is blocking policy that the farmers she claims to defend want," said Minister of Agriculture Katherina Beck (NRP). "The land is being given back to them, and the land-value tax assessed only on personal holdings - their exact demands. She may talk of democracy all she wants, but it's immaterial. People in the end care about whether they have food on the table. We are giving them that, and she is now openly going around saying that she wants to take it away from them for the sake of pure ideology. Her words will have no backing, she will be nothing more than a ranting lunatic on the side of the street."
Several within her party, including the old leadership, strongly disagreed with the decision, and have since left for the Communist Party.
"The decisions of Ilmaras Kalessed are reckless," said former party leader Ursula Korhonen. "We fight for the dignity and prosperity of the farmer. This is most decidedly not that. She risks compromising farmers for the sake of unpopular liberal democracy - something which I, nor anyone else on the left of our party, can support. I am therefore resigining from the party, and invite all the likeminded to follow."
Mass resignations among the membership are expected; however, they will occur alongside a likely membership inflow, triggered by the re-entrance of Ilmaras Kalessed, Istkalen's most popular politician, into national politics. The final effect is therefore as of yet unknown, although it will in all probability allow the underwater Communist Party to recover from its current depths.
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Nation: Maksile threatens secession
Merte Maksile, before the People's Committee of the German Self-GovernmentMerte Maksile, the acting head of the German Self-Government in the stead of Reszelport Jezebel-Swift, otherwise known as Pope Tabitha, has threatened the secession of the German Self-Administered Territory from the Republic of Istkalen. Historically and culturally distinct, the region has found itself in perpetual conflict with Kirelesile, long viewed as a colonial oppressor. While relations have improved significantly in recent years, particularly after the Reitzmic invasion which inadvertently permitted a fairly radical secularization of society in the region, the continued power of the ecclesiastical elite has continued to serve as a wedge. It now appears that things have at last come to a full boil.
According to Maksile's account of the events leading up to her threat, the central government, acting in violation of the Act for the Self-Government of Recognized National Minorities 2022, directly intervened in the German Self-Administered Territory in order to prevent the takeoff of several planes, fifty in all, belonging to the privately-owned "Angel Transportation Services." While the government itself cited national security concerns, as it did in February with a similar incident, Maksile claimed that these did not exist in this case; no threats had been made by any member of the German Self-Government, nor were there weapons being carried by any of the passengers of the fifty planes.
"It is unacceptable," Maksile concluded, "intolerable, and untenable that the Kirelesile oppressors continue their interference in our affairs. A pattern has clearly been established; if the central government refuses to make the necessary concessions, then secession will become an inevitability."
"This woman and her ilk are simply insane," said Interior Minister Liris Vesek (NRP) in response, whose ministry played a key role in obtaining the injunction against the takeoffs. "They did not obtain their positions through legal or democratic means, and continue their constant terror against the German minority as per the reports of the People's Committee for the region. These people have never acted with goodwill; everything they have done has been for the purpose of violence to force on as many people as possible their religious beliefs. This incident in particular was deeply suspicious. The takeoff of fifty planes, with over a thousand passengers, virtually all known to be religious extremists, in such quick succession implies an ulterior, malevolent motive. To protect the people of both Istkalen and of Europe as a whole, it was therefore necessary to prevent their departure, by any means available."
The People's Committee itself issued a harsh condemnation of Maksile's behavior, stating that her declaration was "without legal or material basis," characterizing it as a continuation of past oversteps on the part of church leadership, while at the same time reaffirming a committment to continued union with Istkalen.
Neither the Prime Minister nor either of the co-presidents have yet made a statement on the subject.
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Republic: Polling 07/10 to 11/10
Party Preference
Social Democrats (left-wing, in government): 20,1%
National Republicans (syncretic, in government): 17,0%
Communists (far-left, in government): 16,2%
Greens (right-wing, NEW, in government): 13,1%
Ecologists (center-right, in government): 11,2%
New Agrarian (syncretic): 8,4%
New Union (syncretic, NEW, in government): 7,2%
Christian Democrats (right-wing to far-right, in government): 3,0%
Liberation (center, in government): 2,1%
Progress (far-right, in government): 1,5%
other: 0,2%Pro-industrial bloc (National Republicans + Communists + New Union + Liberation): 42,5%
Anti-industrial bloc (Greens + Ecologists + New Agrarians + Christian Democrats): 35,7%
Non-aligned (Social Democrats + Progress): 21,6%Preferred Prime Minister
Liris Vesek (Interior Minister, National Republican-Communist, syncretic): 34,5%
Írenet Isteresskemar (Foreign Minister, Greens-Ecologists, right-wing): 31,1%
Kalju Ilves (incumbent, Social Democrats, left-wing): 21,1%
Ilmaras Kalessed (New Agrarians, left-wing): 12,3%
