Post by Holland on Jan 19, 2020 0:38:16 GMT 1
Politics of Neocastria The Archduchy of Neocastria, casually known as Neocastria is a landlocked nation located in northern
Serica. Its particularity is that its territory is entirely located within Flirskmasto.
Neocastria's political system is explained in detail in the Third Constitution of the country, adopted in 1947.
Serica. Its particularity is that its territory is entirely located within Flirskmasto.
Neocastria's political system is explained in detail in the Third Constitution of the country, adopted in 1947.
I. The Monarchy
The country's official regime is a parliamentary, bilingual and bicommunitarian monarchy led by the Archduke/Archduchess, who serves as the head of state and de jure commander of the nation's armed forces.
Despite these positions, the holder of the title merely has a ceremonial role, and holds no actual political power or influence whatsoever. The Archduke is also compelled to hold strict political neutrality. Despite a history of monarchism, the general view of Neocastrians towards the monarchy is worsening year after year, the institution being called useless, backwards, and a financial chasm. Moreover, scandals often rock the archducal family, which doesn't help. Still, some people actively defend the need of an unifying figure.
The current monarch is HM the Archduchess Claire, from the House of Bettimbourg, since September 2013.
II. The Parliament
The country's legislature is the Parliament, a bicameral legislature consisting of two houses.
a. The House of Bailiffs
The House of Bailiffs is the upper house of the Parliament and the oldest institution still in activity in Neocastria. While its opponents see an elitist, disconnected congregation of unelected, senile upper-class fossils, its defenders see an assembly of experienced, educated people that got here by sole merit; indeed, there are two ways to become a member of the Upper House, as two groups form them :
• Be elected as the bailiff of your bailiwick
Neocastria is made of 20 bailiwicks, all -in theory- led by a bailiff. In practice and since 1947, bailiffs, upon indirect election by their bailiwick's grand electors (burgomasters, MPs, general councillors) only gain the right to represent their bailiwick in the House of Bailiffs.
20 members of the house undergo this process, and sadly, they only serve for an once-renewable 8-year-term.
• Be nominated by the Archduchess herself
In reality, the Archduchess only names members of the upper house on proposition by the Grand Chancellor. To be nominated to the House of Bailiffs, you have to either be a former politician or a member of the upper class with big influence. 30 members of the house got there that way, and they are generally made members of the House of Bailiffs for life, unless they decide to resign (which wasn't possible until recently)
Their role is to examinate and approve bills and laws voted by the House of Commons, so they can be forwarded to the Archduchess who is the only person allowed to enact a legislative text. Obviously though, she is practically unallowed to decide not to enact it, as she has no power of veto.
Last Elections: May 2018.
Next Elections: May 2026.
b. The House of Commons
This is the lower house and also, despite that name, the most important house of the Neocastrian Parliament. It holds a total of 289 seats since 2010, a number changing every 10 years due to it being calculated on demographical data. Demography plays a huge role in how the House works and in how stable governments are formed.
All seats are given by mixed-member proportional representation.
MPs are generally elected for infintely renewable 5-year terms, unless a snap election is called sooner.
The House of Commons's seat repartition is decided by the share of both linguistical communities in the total population with citizenship.
After the 2009 census, 67% of citizens identified as Romanic, therefore, 194 out of 289 seats were allocated to the Romanic community.
Likewise, 33% of citizens identified as Germanic, therefore, 95 out of 289 seats were allocated to the Germanic community.
Due to this bilingual and bicommunitarian system, there are also two Speakers of the House, one Romanic speaker and one Germanic speaker. This situation, along with the fact there is no threshold required for a political party to access parliamentary representation, makes the House of Commons a very heterogeneous assembly prone to dialogue and compromise.
Last Elections: 27 February 2015
Next Elections: February or March 2020
III. Political Parties and Government
Neocastria's "bilingual and bicommunitarian" society is largely reflected in the diversity of its political parties, and the extreme difficulty of forming stable governments. Indeed, there are both Romanic and Germanic political parties, but the major ones all happen to be Romanic.
ROMANIC PARTIES
Placed by historical significance
GERMANIC PARTIES
Placed by historical significance
For a party to gain power and its leader to access to the position of Grand Chancellor, there is a complex and diffucult road to take. Because the official poltical system of Neocastria is bilingual and bicommunitarian, it is forbidden to rule alone, and minority governments are not possible either.
After the conclusion of an election, the Romanic party with the most seats is given the right of initiative to form a coalition government. In order for that government to be legal, these conditions must all be fulfilled:
• Government parties must make up at least half of Romanic seats plus one
That is 98 seats. The main party can ally with another Romanic party in order to reach that number
• Government parties must also make up at least third of the Germanic seats
That is 32 seats. Likewise, a party can also ally with another Germanic party in order to reach that number
• Government parties must also make up at least half the number of overall seats plus one
Which is 145 seats. In case a bicommunitarian coalition doesn't reach that number, it is encouraged to ally with even more parties
• Receiving the support of the House of Commons via a vote of confidence
These difficult and complex rules often result in very heterogeneous coalitions being formed, and it's not uncommon to have new elections being called when the previous one has been too close. In case a government hasn't been formed 60 days after the election took place, a new one is automatically called.
Current Grand Chancellor Théodore Dewiltz didn't have any difficulties forming a coalition in 2015; its formation, the Liberal Conservatives, received a landslide victory, along with its Germanic caucus partner. To reach 145 seats, the coalition only had to ally with the National Democrats, which marked the first time those entered a coalition government.
SEATS AFTER THE 2015 ELECTION
PLC 103
DKP 39
ND 18
Government 160
FC 31
PSO 30
DNP 28
CBT 17
Verts 9
SAP 7
AC-IC 2
AVD 2
PTN 1
HP 1
PP 1
•••••
Template successfully stolen from
Lakadamia because I'm sh!t at formatting thanks for reading 
The country's official regime is a parliamentary, bilingual and bicommunitarian monarchy led by the Archduke/Archduchess, who serves as the head of state and de jure commander of the nation's armed forces.
Despite these positions, the holder of the title merely has a ceremonial role, and holds no actual political power or influence whatsoever. The Archduke is also compelled to hold strict political neutrality. Despite a history of monarchism, the general view of Neocastrians towards the monarchy is worsening year after year, the institution being called useless, backwards, and a financial chasm. Moreover, scandals often rock the archducal family, which doesn't help. Still, some people actively defend the need of an unifying figure.
The current monarch is HM the Archduchess Claire, from the House of Bettimbourg, since September 2013.
II. The Parliament
The country's legislature is the Parliament, a bicameral legislature consisting of two houses.
a. The House of Bailiffs
The House of Bailiffs is the upper house of the Parliament and the oldest institution still in activity in Neocastria. While its opponents see an elitist, disconnected congregation of unelected, senile upper-class fossils, its defenders see an assembly of experienced, educated people that got here by sole merit; indeed, there are two ways to become a member of the Upper House, as two groups form them :
• Be elected as the bailiff of your bailiwick
Neocastria is made of 20 bailiwicks, all -in theory- led by a bailiff. In practice and since 1947, bailiffs, upon indirect election by their bailiwick's grand electors (burgomasters, MPs, general councillors) only gain the right to represent their bailiwick in the House of Bailiffs.
20 members of the house undergo this process, and sadly, they only serve for an once-renewable 8-year-term.
• Be nominated by the Archduchess herself
In reality, the Archduchess only names members of the upper house on proposition by the Grand Chancellor. To be nominated to the House of Bailiffs, you have to either be a former politician or a member of the upper class with big influence. 30 members of the house got there that way, and they are generally made members of the House of Bailiffs for life, unless they decide to resign (which wasn't possible until recently)
Their role is to examinate and approve bills and laws voted by the House of Commons, so they can be forwarded to the Archduchess who is the only person allowed to enact a legislative text. Obviously though, she is practically unallowed to decide not to enact it, as she has no power of veto.
Last Elections: May 2018.
Next Elections: May 2026.
b. The House of Commons
This is the lower house and also, despite that name, the most important house of the Neocastrian Parliament. It holds a total of 289 seats since 2010, a number changing every 10 years due to it being calculated on demographical data. Demography plays a huge role in how the House works and in how stable governments are formed.
All seats are given by mixed-member proportional representation.
MPs are generally elected for infintely renewable 5-year terms, unless a snap election is called sooner.
The House of Commons's seat repartition is decided by the share of both linguistical communities in the total population with citizenship.
After the 2009 census, 67% of citizens identified as Romanic, therefore, 194 out of 289 seats were allocated to the Romanic community.
Likewise, 33% of citizens identified as Germanic, therefore, 95 out of 289 seats were allocated to the Germanic community.
Due to this bilingual and bicommunitarian system, there are also two Speakers of the House, one Romanic speaker and one Germanic speaker. This situation, along with the fact there is no threshold required for a political party to access parliamentary representation, makes the House of Commons a very heterogeneous assembly prone to dialogue and compromise.
Last Elections: 27 February 2015
Next Elections: February or March 2020
III. Political Parties and Government
Neocastria's "bilingual and bicommunitarian" society is largely reflected in the diversity of its political parties, and the extreme difficulty of forming stable governments. Indeed, there are both Romanic and Germanic political parties, but the major ones all happen to be Romanic.ROMANIC PARTIES
Placed by historical significance
 LIBERAL CONSERVATIVE PARTY Centre-right to right IDEOLOGY Economic liberalism Liberal conservatism HISTORY Result from the split of the former Conservative Party, it is the main right-wing political force in the country and has been in power at multiple occasions. |  CITIZEN STRENGTH Centre to Centre-right IDEOLOGY Liberalism Reformism Centrism HISTORY Oldest political party in the country, founded in 1853, but began to lose its influence in the 1910s with the rise of the PSO. It recently regained its second-largest party status. |  SOCIALIST LABOUR PARTY Centre-left to left IDEOLOGY Democratic socialism Third Way Syndicalism HISTORY Historically the second-largest force of the country and second party of government, it remains the main left-wing political party. |  CONSERVATIVE ALLIANCE Right-wing IDEOLOGY Christian democracy Social conservatism Catholic interests HISTORY Result of the split of the former Conservative Party, it became a minor political force essentially driven by the very influent and historically ruling Catholic minority. |
 NEOCASTRIAN PATRIOTIC UNION Far-right IDEOLOGY Ultranationalism Neofascism Militarism Anti-globalism HISTORY Founded in 1947, the UNP is a vehemently nationalist formation, tied to the National Action which ruled the country in the early 1940s. It remained the largest nationalist force for decades until completely losing ground in the 2010s due to the rise of the National Democrats, a party seen as more electable. |  NEOCASTRIAN WORKERS PARTY Far-left IDEOLOGY Socialism Communism Left-wing nationalism HISTORY Founded in 1924 after a disagreement with the PSO, the PTN became an influent force in the 1970s and 1980s before completely being washed out recently. It still holds ground at the local level. |  THE GREENS Syncretic – Centre-left IDEOLOGY Green politics HISTORY Founded in 1996, the Greens frequently entered coalitions, especially when led by the PSO. |  NATIONAL DEMOCRATS Right to far-right IDEOLOGY Neocastrian nationalism Right-wing populism Anti-immigration Economic liberalism Social conservatism HISTORY Founded in 2004, the party only gained nationwide attention towards 2012 ahead of elections, and stormed from 0 to an impressive 18 seats in the House of Commons. It currently is a member of the governing coalition led by the Liberal Conservatives and Grand Chancellor Théodore Dewiltz. |
 PIRATE PARTY Syncretic - Centre IDEOLOGY Pirate politics Anti-corruprion Social liberalism HISTORY Youngest "major" party of the country and only party to run in both linguistical communities, it remains marginal in the Romanic part of the nation, despite an active base of militants. |
GERMANIC PARTIES
Placed by historical significance
 GERMANIC CONSERVATIVE PARTY Centre-right to right IDEOLOGY Unionism Economic liberalism Liberal conservatism HISTORY It is the main right-wing Germanic political party, and generally caucuses with the Liberal Conservatives. |  CHRISTIAN CIVIC PARTY Centre-left to centre-right IDEOLOGY Christian democracy Liberalism Humanism HISTORY Historically known as the kingmaker, making or breaking coalitions, the party has caucused with LibCon, FC or PSO led coalitions. |  SOCIALIST LABOUR PARTY Left IDEOLOGY Democratic socialism Syndicalism HISTORY Despite having the same name and generally caucusing with the PSO, the SAP is a tad more left-wing in its approach to politics. |  NATIONAL GERMANIC PARTY Syncretic - Centre-left IDEOLOGY Germanic nationalism Regionalism Social liberalism HISTORY A communitarian alternative to the main three parties, the party's landmark policy is the creation of a single Germanic bailiwick in the north of the country with increased autonomy. It frequently caucuses with the Greens or the PSO. |
 HOMELAND PARTY Right to far-right IDEOLOGY Neocastrian nationalism Unionism Conservatism Anti-immigration HISTORY Formerly dismissed as a Germanic wing of the UNP, the Homeland Party asserted its political independence in the 90s, and saw its popularity rise. It caucuses with the Conservative Alliance and more recently with the National Democrats. |  ALTERNATIVE FOR POPULAR DEMOCRACY Centre-left IDEOLOGY Social democracy Third way Green politics HISTORY Founded in 2001, the party was intended to be an alternative to the SAP, offering a more centrist platform. It caucuses with the Greens. | PIRATE PARTY Syncretic – Centre IDEOLOGY Pirate politics Anti-corruprion Social liberalism HISTORY Youngest "major" party of the country and only party to run in both linguistical communities, it became a minor but active force in the Germanic part of the country, grabbing local and national seats here and there. |
For a party to gain power and its leader to access to the position of Grand Chancellor, there is a complex and diffucult road to take. Because the official poltical system of Neocastria is bilingual and bicommunitarian, it is forbidden to rule alone, and minority governments are not possible either.
After the conclusion of an election, the Romanic party with the most seats is given the right of initiative to form a coalition government. In order for that government to be legal, these conditions must all be fulfilled:
• Government parties must make up at least half of Romanic seats plus one
That is 98 seats. The main party can ally with another Romanic party in order to reach that number
• Government parties must also make up at least third of the Germanic seats
That is 32 seats. Likewise, a party can also ally with another Germanic party in order to reach that number
• Government parties must also make up at least half the number of overall seats plus one
Which is 145 seats. In case a bicommunitarian coalition doesn't reach that number, it is encouraged to ally with even more parties
• Receiving the support of the House of Commons via a vote of confidence
These difficult and complex rules often result in very heterogeneous coalitions being formed, and it's not uncommon to have new elections being called when the previous one has been too close. In case a government hasn't been formed 60 days after the election took place, a new one is automatically called.
Current Grand Chancellor Théodore Dewiltz didn't have any difficulties forming a coalition in 2015; its formation, the Liberal Conservatives, received a landslide victory, along with its Germanic caucus partner. To reach 145 seats, the coalition only had to ally with the National Democrats, which marked the first time those entered a coalition government.
SEATS AFTER THE 2015 ELECTION
PLC 103
DKP 39
ND 18
Government 160
FC 31
PSO 30
DNP 28
CBT 17
Verts 9
SAP 7
AC-IC 2
AVD 2
PTN 1
HP 1
PP 1
•••••
Template successfully stolen from
Lakadamia because I'm sh!t at formatting thanks for reading 
SVSC | 
MC