News Media of Istkalen

Istkalen

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.

Istkalen

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.

Istkalen

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!

Istkalen

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.

Istkalen

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.

Istkalen

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

Istkalen

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Istkalen

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."

Istkalen

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.

Istkalen

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.

Istkalen

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%

Istkalen

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.

Istkalen

Nation: Maksile threatens secession

Merte Maksile, before the People's Committee of the German Self-Government

Merte 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.

Istkalen

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%

Istkalen

Republic: Polling 01/11 to 03/11

Party Preference

Labor (NEW, united platform of National Republicans, Communists, syncretic, in government): 34,1% (+0,9)
Agrarian Union (NEW, united platform of Greens, Ecologists, New Agrarians, right-wing, in government): 28,5% (-4,2)
Social Democrats (left-wing): 24,2% (+4,1)
Union/Progress (united platform of the New Union, Progressives, far-right, in government): 7,7% (-1,0)

Liberation (center, in government): 2,7% (+0,6)
Christian Democrats (right-wing to far-right, in government): 1,2% (-1,8)

Preferred Prime Minister

Kalju Ilves (incumbent, Social Democrats, left-wing): 36,2% (+16,1)
Liris Vesek (Interior Minister, Labor, syncretic): 29,8% (-4,7)
Írenet Isteresskemar (Foreign Minister, Agrarian Union, right-wing): 27,1% (-4,0)
Eliise Sepp (Minister of Defense, Union/Progress, far-right): 6,5% (NEW)

Analysis

In an effort to gain the upper hand and receive the first mandate to form a government by the presidency, several political parties, generally already united around a single prime ministerial candidate, have sought to reform old political coalitions, with the reformation of the united Communist Party in the form of the "Labor," of the Agrarian Union as as "confederation" of the Greens, Ecologists, and New Agrarians, and of the shortlived postwar "Union Party" in the form of the list "Union/Progress."

While their position is indeed likely to be strengthened, with the Union coalition, in spite of losses, likely to be more united and better represented, and both Labor and the Agrarian Union significantly more likely to receive the first mandate, most have seen losses as a direct result of union. The Agrarian Union in particular saw dramatic losses, likely a result of moderate voters previously supporting the Greens or Ecologists abandoning the coalition due to the inclusion of the radical New Agrarians, whose public image has seen a marked decline due to the extreme, often violent militancy of members, as well as the uncompromising rhetoric of its leader, Ilmaras Kalessed. Even the Labor coalition, which remained stable, appears to have seen a significant realignment of voters, with young voters deserting the party for the Social Democrats as blue-collar workers take the opposite direction.

The Social Democrats saw significant gains largely through the absorption of moderate voters, particularly from the Agrarian Union, but may have also been pulled up by their leader, current Prime Minister Kalju Ilves, who has seen a significant boost in popularity, in part because of his newly released reform agenda for taxes and welfare, expected to dramatically reduce financial burdens for the vast majority of people.

Significant changes were observed in regards to prime ministerial preference, largely in favor of the incumbent due to the aforementioned new policy agenda, as well as the effective end of Ilmaras Kalessed's candidacy. Other candidates may have suffered from increased irrelevance, particularly Sepp and Isteresskemar, both of whom reached the zenith of their popularity at the beginning of the year and who, in a period of relative international peace, have become sidelined in conversations about policy. Liris Vesek, as the Minister of the Interior, however, suffered from the opposite; with increased domestic trouble, she has found herself thrust into the spotlight, her actions seen as increasingly "authoritarian" and "heavyhanded," particularly the significant centralization of administration that has occurred under her short tenure, and has therefore declined in popularity, especially in rural areas where centralization is deeply unpopular.

Istkalen

Republic: Election results

Seats allocated by proportional representation (250)

"Labor" - 8.430.333 votes, 35,6%, 92 seats
"Social Democrats" - 6.495.030 votes, 27,4%, 71 seats
"Agrarian Union" - 4.809.443 votes, 20,3%, 53 seats
"Union/Progress" - 1.992.929 votes, 8,4%, 21 seats
"Liberation" - 1.202.961 votes, 5,1%, 13 seats
"Christian Democrats" - 739.545 votes, 3,1%, 0 seats

Seats appointed by the workers' associations (125)

"Social Democrats" - 55 seats
"Agrarian Union" - 30 seats
"Labor" - 20 seats
"Liberation" - 10 seats
"Union/Progress" - 10 seats

Seats appointed by the regional people's committees (110)

"Agrarian Union" - 50 seats
"Union/Progress" - 25 seats
"Labor" - 20 seats
"Social Democrats" - 10 seats
"Liberation" - 5 seats

Seats appointed by the Presidency (10)

"Labor" - 5 seats
"Union/Progress" - 5 seats

TOTAL

"Labor" - 137 seats
"Social Democrats" - 136 seats
"Agrarian Union" - 133 seats
"Union/Progress" - 61 seats
"Liberation" - 28 seats

248 seats needed for majority.

Istkalen

Nation: The responsibilities of a future government
Kondres Uklertal and Yasemin Demirkol, Co-Presidents of the Republic

Istkalen has reached an important juncture in time with what is perhaps to be its first peaceful and democratic transition of power ever. It is vitally necessary that its traditions, of state, culture, and society alike, survive this change. Regardless of who is to form the government, the unique freedoms that the people of Istkalen have enjoyed for decades must be preserved.

The incoming government, in doing so, is tasked above all with the preservation of national harmony. A society divided is an unstable society, and an unstable society has not the strength to maintain these special rights, special customs, and special traditions; a functioning and ordered government, to fulfill its natural mandate of preserving national traditions, therefore must maintain the integrity and unity of society. It is necessary, then, for it to govern firstly with a broad mandate, including all political and social groups, to prevent exclusion to the maximum possible degree. This mandate must be further reflected in its actual acts of governance, which must not discriminate or exclude but instead be to the benefit of and with the agreement of all of the constituent groups that form the Istkalenic nation.

In doing so, however, it must also avoid causing significant disruptions. Sudden and great change can disrupt old social relations, often to the detriment of all involved. Reform is sometimes, if not often, necessary, but it must not be to the detriment of social cohesion. Any rightful government must thus commit itself not to great projects of the remaking of all society, but rather to gradual and consensual change, if there is to be change at all.

There are also a number of redlines where change must be avoided. Our society is fragile, and certain modifications would necessarily result in its collapse. It is particularly the question of the children that we have in mind. We insist that any and all governments of Istkalen have the sacred responsibility of ensuring that the next generation is raised according to our national tradition and is protected from malevolent foreign influence, influence which in many other countries has led to a predominance of greed and moral depravity. There can be no question of changing the system under which children are brought up and education, whether to promote certain new values or simply to modernize; to do is to compromise the very foundation of our society and to let in rot which has destroyed so many other countries.

We point also to the distribution of property as a similar matter. Its concentration is extraordinarily dangerous, a phenomenon which leads to corruption, both political and moral, as well as violent class struggle. For these reasons, a truly harmonious, rights-protecting society is impossible without the unique and equitable distribution of property that we and our ancestors have worked so hard to establish in Istkalen; it is thus the responsibility of any and all governments of our country to protect and maintain it at all costs, even of material prosperity.

The final redline we will explicitly mention is of the integrity of the controlling institutions of state, particularly the Councils of Censors and Examination. These bodies found themselves on millenia-old traditions, and play an essential role in ensuring the continuity and stability of the Istkalenic government, of which the whole of our society is predicated on. Without them, our country would have long been lost. Their abolition, already proposed by "modernizers" and "Westernizers" would be an extraordinary and profound disaster that would surely lead to a spiral to final death, with escalating radicalism and rashness stoking the embers of conflict, disorder, and collapse. The security of the position of these two councils in particular thus must be guaranteed by any possible incoming government.

The preservation of this country, and thus of its core institutions, is paramount, the utmost responsibility of anyone who seeks to lead our country. We will not permit any government which threatens this, whether through the degradation of our institutions or the suppression of our way of life, to come even a millimeter near power.

Istkalen

Republic: National Republicans to form independent group in parliament, seek negotiations with Social Democrats to form government

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co-leader of the National Republican Party, Makketis Íkalsser, speaking to reporters regarding the formation of the National Republican parliamentary group

The National Republican Party is to form a parliamentary group separate from the Communists, effectively breaking apart the "Labor" alliance.

"It is our responsibility to those who voted for us to uphold our values," said party co-leader Makketis Íkalsser on the subject at a press conference. "We cannot do so in cooperation with the Communist Party, which is diametrically opposed to many of our core aims. Yes, we did indeed cooperate with them for electoral purposes. We will openly and proudly admit to it. But never did we endorse their ideas. We very consistently maintained an independent course in rhetoric and policy. With the elections over, there is no longer any reason for any type of coalition. In parliament, as we did during the campaign, we will remain separate from the Communists, promoting our own course and our own vision."

115 of the 137 members of parliament elected for the Labor alliance are to be members of the National Republican group, an imbalance caused directly by an agreement between the National Republican and Communist parties to allocate seats disproportionately in favor of the former in exchange for major policy concessions, particularly on social and cultural issues, to the latter.

"Too bad," said Íkalsser when pressed on the subject. "We have the upper hand; why would we bother to listen to them now? They should have realized this long ago."

The other co-leader of the party, Eliise Raadik, further stated that the party intended to negotiate, from its new position, with the Social Democrats to form a government.

"We want to keep the workers' pockets full, their independence firm, and their dignity preserved. While we may disagree with the Social Democrats, we view a government with them as the best path forwards for these aims so close to our hearts. We will go to the negotiating table with them, and come out, surely, with an agreement to govern for all Istkaleners."

She further suggested that the party would be willing to compromise on the issues of housing, education, and healthcare, among others, but would be unyielding on what it has established as its core issues - namely, opposition to the incorporation of businesses, which it has viewed as a path to excessive centralization of power, the preservation of indecency laws, which it sees as integral to maintain "the health of the nation," and the maintenance of the current, expansive welfare state, which provides housing, food, childcare, and transportation, among other things, at no cost to all workers - all of which, notably, the Social Democratic Party finds itself opposed to.

The prime ministerial candidate of the coalition, Liris Vesek, expressed dismay at the decision, and announced her intention to resign from the National Republican Party.

"This is a gross violation of trust, and the complete destruction of the image of our party," she wrote in a public statement released today. "It is shocking and unacceptable. To maintain my position in such an organization, of liars and cheats, is beyond untenable. It is tantamount, in fact, to evil."

In response to the announcement, the interim leader of the Communist Party, Marianne Séguy, announced her intention to withdraw from the impending leadership elections.

"I sought to lead the resurrection of the party. I fear I have led it instead to its grave," she said at a press conference earlier today. "The agreement with the National Republicans was clearly unwise. Had we not made it, we might have seen the full recovery of our party. But because of it, we are reduced to virtually nothing. That I agreed to it leads me to no longer believe in my capacity to lead the party. I will maintain my position until the upcoming leadership elections, at which point I will resign from all party functions."

Istkalen

Republic: The co-presidents will take direct control of the nation

Indras Uskeled's attempted economic reforms have ended in what is no less than disaster. Following the outbreak of mass demonstrations throughout the country protesting the significant cuts to pensions, as well as the introduction of market principles and extreme centralization in employment policy, Uskeled resigned, insisting that she was no longer able to govern the country effectively; she was then replaced by Liris Vesek, who governed for a whole of three days before herself resigning, with the almost mythical Ayros Tiraki, previously ruler of Istkalen between 1983 and 1985, taking her place, only to herself quit within 18 hours.

With the Prime Minsterial office now vacant, co-presidents Kondres Uklertal and Yasemin Demirkol have announced that, until order is returned to the country, the prime ministership will be abolished and all executive and legislative power placed in their hands, in order to make the reforms necessary to end the current political crisis and ensure stability.

"Within the past week alone, two successive governments have tried and failed to stem the growing unrest," said Demirkol at a press conference held this morning. "We no longer have trust in any one person to form a government able to meet the demands of the current situation, and therefore, unwillingly and reluctantly, ourselves take the responsibility of solving the political crisis for the sake of the preservation of our homeland."

The courses of action available to them will be severely limited. People's committees across the country, driven by popular opinion, have declared their unwillingness to cooperate with any national government with any connection to the failed Uskeled, Vesek, and Tiraki cabinets; several have gone as far as to announce tentative support for a national congress of committees which would hypothetically appoint a new government and, more radically, draft a new constitution to serve in the place of the current, much weaker, "basic laws," which many blame for having allowed for the drastic, unpopular welfare and employment reforms made by the Uskeled government to be enacted. While previous governments have used the workers' associations to impose control at a local level in times of such rebellion, this, too, is no longer an option for Uklertal and Demirkol - most of the members of their controlling workers' commitees and councils, on both a local and national level, have resigned in protest of new laws which would end their historical decentralization, replaced with unpopular appointments broadly viewed as illegitimate. Even the final, "nuclear" option - use of the military - seems out of reach, with Minister of Defense Eliise Sepp, accompanied by several generals, having announced to the public, mere minutes after the co-presidents' announcement, that the country's armed forces would not enforce the edicts of the government against popular opposition.

These extraordinary conditions have led many opposition leaders to ridicule Uklertal and Demirkol's decision.

"A farce, a farce!" cackled Erkanas Istentek, president of the Istkalenic Pensioners' Association, before an assembled crowd of thousands of elderly demonstrators. "They dared to take away our savings, our income - and now they will pay! Let them take for themselves their scraps of power - we have already brought them to their knees, and they have no way, now, to stand again! Let them do as they wish, for we have the power, we have them in our grasp!"

"I don't quite see the point, to be honest," said Kalju Ilves, leader of the Social Democratic Party at a press conference held shortly after the announcement. "No one is behind them, even the military has fled them. It's beyond ridiculous, there's no point even in responding to it. Pathetic posturing."

It is unclear whether Uklertal and Demirkol will retain Tiraki's cabinet, functionally identical to Uskeled's. Several of the most controversial ministers, most notably Myriam Leclerc, Greta Schulz, and Antras Arkalis, who are widely seen as the drafters of the reform that led to the crisis, have indicated that they are likely to remain in their positions; however, nothing truly concrete has yet been made public.

It is similarly unknown whether they will, as Tiraki and Vesek did, attempt to push forwards with the reforms and merely attempt to suppress the protests, or rather do away with them and meet the demands of the demonstrators. While they have made statements in favor of the abolition of the measures, all have been vague in nature; their actual intentions remain opaque.

With significant pressure on them from virtually all sectors of civil society and institutions of state, however, they are effectively bound to action. The military now refusing to intervene on their behalf, and the people's committees and workers' associations increasingly tending towards rebellion, there are simply no other paths out of the current abyss apart from abandoning the reforms and returning the country to its pre-election path.

Istkalen

Republic: Formation of the National Economic Council

The sixteen workers' associations have formed a "National Economic Council" to take on the role of the government and ensure both economic and social order until such time as an official cabinet can be formed that meets the demands of the ongoing demonstrations. Consisting of 200 representatives, appointed by the associations roughly proportionally to their membership, the Council will have the primary responsibilities of coordinating the tasks of the workers' associations, of ensuring the continued supply of raw material to producers, of maintaining international trade, and of meeting internal consumer demand. When it is in recess, its work is to be carried out by a smaller Presidium, consisting of 16 members and a non-voting president, currently Esketal Indretek, leader of the Ecologist Party and a major figure of the Istkalenic opposition.

"There no longer exists a functional government in Istkalen," said Indretek upon his election to the position. "it is now our responsibility, our sacred responsibility, to ourselves ensure stability and the maintenance of our international prestige until true order can be restored - until a strong government, willing at last to govern with the people and according to their demands, takes office and ensures a negotiated and consensual end to the righteous and justified unrest."

The Council intends to work with regional and local people's committees, which since the occupation have played a major role in ensuring the cooperation of the associations and of their constituent societies, to accomplish its goals; it has made an appeal calling for people's committees, particularly on a regional level, to establish more official relations with it and send delegates to a congress with which the Council will be in communication for the purpose of policy formulation.

Many leaders of the Istkalenic opposition have endorsed the Council. Elspeth Oskon, leader of the party Liberation, while expressing disagreement with the economic policies that it intends to pursue, nevertheless gave strong support for its establishment, stating,

We liberals have long struggled for democracy, true democracy, in Istkalen. While the Council certainly is pursuing objections almost diametrically opposed to our own, for us this is of no matter; its establishment, against the increasingly tyrannical and overreaching mandates of a government that, like so many others, clearly sees itself as entitled to govern, is a major victory for popular self-determination and the defense of human rights in our long-closed country.

Other major figures in support include Kalju Ilves, the leader of the Social Democratic Party, and LIris Vesek, former leader of the National Republican Party, both of whom have taken positions on the council's Presidium.

In strong contrast, however, the Council has not itself lent unreserved support for the goals of the opposition. While against the major cuts to the welfare state, it has not signaled any intention to restore the "stolen" pensions, instead suggesting that a separate system to provide the elderly benefits in kind ought to be established; it has also outright endorsed the centralization of the workers' associations, although it has moved to reinstate legal recognization to the workers' societies, "abolished" in December of 2021 but continuing to exist, informally, to the present.

"Unsustainable systems cannot be maintained," said Indretek in response to questions about the policy choices of the Council. "We are certainly opposed to the extreme radicalism and authoritarianism through which the government sought to replace them, but nevertheless, we see it as absolutely necessary that they be replaced. The solutions we have proposed are all, necessarily, moderate in nature. We have proposed no radical reorganizations, no major cuts. The welfare of the people will be protected."

However, no real objections have been expressed to this chosen path. With popular forces continuing to converge around the Council, it is, to the contrary, likely that it will be able to go about its tasks and implement its propositions with few barriers.