NationStates Jolt Archive

Jakob Cabble was a large man. He stood roughly two meters tall and had broad shoulders and a sizable gut. His broad face was lit with a bright smile as he gazed upon the screens set up in the Social Democratic Party’s “War Room,” set up deep within the party’s Eiríksson headquarters. One screen showed an electoral map of Vinland, showing all 538 constituencies. Every one of them had been called already and the Social Democrats had won 370 seats in the Folketing against the National Alliance Party’s 168. The other screens, showing elections for the Landsting, were more complicated and required a rather detailed knowledge of Vinlander politics to understand. Each of Vinland’s 48 provinces elected two members of the Landsting and each of her 14 territories elected one member for staggered elections. An electoral map on one screen showed the election of these 110 members. Cabble noted that his own home province of Quapaw had voted Social Democratic in the Landsting elections. The Nationals had won that province in the last dozen Landsting elections.

“Maybe we can beat Haarland in three years,” said an elated feminine voice. Tage Haarland was the senior member of Quapaw’s delegation to the Landsting. The speaker was a small, beautiful young woman in her twenties. She had raven hair, brown eyes, a patrician style of speaking and a small form. Her name was Edit Cajander and she was one of the many energetic young people who filled Cabble’s organization.

Cabble turned, looking down to Cajander and briefly running his hand through her dark hair. A stern looking party official gave Cabble a scowl but he ignored it. He was, after all, the leader of the party. “I hope you’re right, Edit.” Shrugging slightly, he turned his gaze to the next screen. Another five seats in the Landsting were elected by and from the nobility. The Social Democrats never even attempted to contest this election but the Radical Liberal Party, a historic party which never seriously contested Folketing elections, did. The Radical Liberals generally voted with the Social Democrats on questions of confidence and on a fair number of specific issues. Five more seats were elected by the bishops of the Church of Vinland. Again, it was a minor party on which Cabble pinned his hopes. The Christian Democrats frequently supported the Social Democrats. There were also ten seats which were not affected by elections. Five seats were appointed by the King on the advice of his Ministers. All of these were held by Nationals. Another five were in the personal grant of the King and these were generally independents. Members of the royal family other than the King and Queen and over the age of 21 also possessed the right to sit in the Landsting as a supernumerary member. The princes and princesses were divided between the Nationals, the Radical Liberals and the Christian Democrats. “I think we might make manage a working majority in the Landsting,” Cabble said, grinning to Cajander before he turned to Thomasina Caris, another trusted worker. “Any calls?”

“None yet, sir,” she answered, tossing her golden blond hair slightly as she turned in her chair to look at Cabble. She gave him a beaming smile, one he frequently got from the party faithful, especially the ladies. It was good to be leader.

Cabble strode over to the phone and gestured off-handedly for her to rise. He wanted to answer the phone himself. He leaned over the phone slightly, staring at it for over a minute before it finally did ring. Still grinning, he grabbed it and brought it to his ear. “Hello…Thank you for calling, Prime Minister…”

Egil Waldum was watching the results from his constituency office in the constituency of Wangel. His grin was nearly as broad as Cabble’s had been. True, he would not be Prime Minister but nonetheless the Social Democratic victory meant that Waldum would Vinland’s next Foreign Minister. A moderately heavyset man who wore his graying hair streaked back, Waldum, when relaxed, seemed a much less intimidating figure to his staff than Cabble did to his. His staff also consisted primarily of professional men and women of all ages. Like many of the front bench, he privately frowned upon Cabble’s penchant for young women. It was the sort of thing that might land the party in trouble. He turned to his wife, Matilda, and offered her his arm. “Well, my dear, it seems we’re in at last. I suppose we should say a few words to our supporters before everyone watches Jakob’s big address.”

Matilda slipped her arm into Egil’s and gave him a soft smile. “You’ll be leader eventually and then you won’t have to put up with that big bully.” She was a few years younger than he was with dark brown hair and a slender figure. She looked rather old fashioned in her ankle-length brown skirt, matching jacket and white blouse. Of course, Egil supposed his brown suit was not much hipper.

The couple made their way to the front of the office where a crowd of about fifty of sixty had already gathered. The desks and chairs had all been pushed out of the way and people were practically pressed against one another. More kept coming. Egil had, frankly, only expected ten or twenty people to show up to congratulate him on what had been a fairly safe re-election to his seat. The victory of the party, which brought local supporters out in numbers, had come as something a surprise. He gave up almost instantly on any chance of giving some sort of orderly address or even on finding a spot where he could address the whole crowd. He just held up his hands and, eventually, the noise of casual conversation died down. “Matilda and I would like to think you are for your hard work on this campaign. Together, we took back not just Wangle but the nation. I know that it’s been a hard few decades for Social Democrats and for Vinlander working people. We’ve suffered through four defeats for us and for victories for the Nationals with their regressive tax policies, their cuts to important social programs, their policies of exclusion and the whole rest of the wretched reactionary program we’ve suffered under. Tonight, we have our country back!” He paused to let the loud applause die down. “That does not mean…it does not mean that our work is done. In foreign policy, we inherit a legacy of near total isolation. It will be the responsibility of this government to reach out to the nations of the world in a policy of engagement and honest friendship, to seek out allies and partners, to work with other peoples and other nations for the advancement of our common humanity. In today’s world, it is increasingly obvious that no nation can go it alone. It is the policy of the Social Democratic Party and it will be the policy of the Social Democratic Government which you have elected today that Vinland must open itself economically, culturally and diplomatic in a way which is fair and in a way which serves to develop a sense of community among free peoples…”