The new government

[Zimmerwald]

OOC: I decided to end the debate thread because it wasn't going anywhere, nobody was posting, and because I wanted to get on with RPing my nation.

IC: A GCTV special report.

"We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you this special news bulliten.  The election results have been released, with none of the four seated parties gaining a majority.  The vote broke down with the Democratic Socialists recieving 43 percent of the vote, the Democrats recieving 19 percent of the vote, the Liberals recieving thirty percent, and the Nationalists recieving eight percent.

"This opens the next round of politiking: forming a coalition.  No party except the Nationalists and the Democratic Socialists has ruled out a coalition with another, and those two are boycotting each other.  This leaves open the possibility of a coalition between either the Democratic Socialists and either the Liberals or the Democrats, or both, or an anti-red coalition.

"No party leader has officially come out with a list of most-favored coalition partners, but an anonymous source in the Democrat Party revealed that party leader al-Sistani is cool towards the Nationalist Party.

"GCTV will keep you updated as events unfold."

[Zimmerwald]

"And now, a party political broadcast on behalf of the Liberal Party."

"We in the Liberal party feel too strongly about the free market to sacrifice it in the name of forming a government.  We refuse to form a coalition with the Communists who will stifle both our domestic economy and our foreign trade.  We refuse to deal with the people who will only end up more oppressive than previous governments.

"Therefore, the Liberal Party officially invites the Nationalist and Democratic parties to unite to oppose the red menace."

[Zimmerwald]

Akbar had had a tiring day.  As the campaign had worn on, he had become more and more convinced and intrigued by the socialist platform and propaganda.  In fact, he was thinking of forming a coalition with them, if only to keep the Nationalists out of the government.

However, he had had to spend his hours, not meeting with the socialist leadership, but arguing with his Executive Committee.  They were opposed to a coalition with the socialists.  "Look at Confederate Freedom!  It's a one-party state!" they had cried.  Or "look at Xyrael.  Do you want a monarchy here?"  He had tried to ignore all the straw men and just state his points, but they had threatened to expel him from the party leadership, only just enough rallying to his defense.

So he had accepted a compromise: meet with the Liberals and the Nationalists first, then and only then the socialists.

Both factions knew it was a hollow compromise.  With both the Liberals and the Nationalists refusing to work with the Socialists, and the Socialists already refusing to work with the Nationalists, his party held power.  And unless he could be thrown out of the Chairmanship, there was really only one conclusion.

He only wished that he could skip that meeting.

[Zimmerwald]

He couldn't skip the meeting.  And he hated every minute of it.  They were all so smug, so pretensious, so sure of themselves, and so damn sure that they knew what he was thinking.  There was another reason to join the DSP; at least they didn't act like this.

After suffering through three hours of haggling, during which he felt compelled to drink more than everyone else at the table, he managed to slip away on the pretext of needing the restroom.

He did not go to the restroom.  He flipped open his phone, dialled a number, and spoke softly into it.

"Who's this," said a voice on the other end.

"Akbar al-Sistani," he said hurredly.

"Ah, I've been meaning to speak with you.  W-"

"I don't have time.  Will you accept my party as your coalition partner."

The sound on the other end of the phone couldn't be called silence.  Clearly he had interrupted some important conclave, because there was so much muttering that the hand that was no doubt over the reciever could not hide it.  A different voice got on the phone; he knew this one from the debates.

"Yes.  We'll announce it this evening."

"But what about-"

"We can work out the details later.  The important thing is that it's out there."  Aram hung up, leaving Akbar with a sense of relief.  He walked out of the building, to his car, grateful not to have to reenter the meeting from which he'd emerged.

[Zimmerwald]

And now began a tumultuous few hours.  The coalition was announced, Akbar was purged from his party, along with his followers, and the Parliament took its one and only vote: whether or not to abolish itself, and to put before the people new Constitutions from which to choose.

The Right Democrats and the Liberals formed the main anti-dissolusion bloc.  The Left Democrats, the Socialists, and, surprisingly, the Nationalists, formed the pro-dissolusion bloc.  And so the Parliament dissolved.  Akbar was now let in on the Socialists' plans; they had meant to do this all along, and had prepared their constitution in advance, whereas the Liberals, Right Democrats, and probably the Nationalists, would have to prepare theirs.  At the closing of the vote, copies of the Socialist Constitution had been posted to every household in Gallipoli-China; the people would have seen their Constitution at least three days before they would see the Right constitution, and that could be crucial.

[Zimmerwald]

Indeed it was.  The Left Constitution had been longer, so the longer perusal time had been necessary.  The public consciousness was formed securely by the fifth day, and the referrendum wasn't until the fourteenth.  That space was taken up mainly with rhetorical battles between the opposing sides.

The public voted, and it voted Left.  The new State would be built on Socialist terms.

Immediately, some started to leave.  They were a uniform lot: mainly Achaeans, mainly rich, mainly men.  A few had families.  Many didn't.  They talked of purges, of what they would suffer.  They talked about going to the South Plains Colony, to Bustos itself, or to Myroria or the Mercantilist States.  Most talked of Bustos; it was closer and warmer. 

Meanwhile, property was being expropriated, new political blocs were forming.  The Democratic Socialists called themselves Communists, and merged with the Left Democrats.  The Right Democrats either merged with the Liberals or flocked to the emerging Libertarian party.  Those Nationalists who wanted to avoid suppression formed a Conservative Party.  It was an exciting time.

Remarkably, there was very little armed conflict.  The people had had enough of that, it seemed, and wanted to give the new government a try before they did anything.