Kampfers
30-04-2009, 01:15
OOC: Blank post to avoid the ad. Please don't post OOC, send me a TG on NS if you have questions. Also, please limit responses to news articles only at this point in time (and try to make them good). Thanks for the cooperation.
Kampfers
30-04-2009, 01:16
“Tremble, all ye oppressors of the world! … Restore to mankind their rights; and consent to the correction of abuses before they and you are destroyed together.”
-Richard Price
Word of mouth, newspapers, television, or radio: no matter what the medium, the news shot across the nation like a lightning bolt in the midnight sky. For the first time in national history, the Führer had called to session a national convention. What power would the convention hold? Following its first meeting, would it ever convene again? Would it lay the foundation for a democratic system in Kampfers? Who would be eligible to meet in the convention? How many delegates would there be? Questions about the convention abounded, but details were kept close to the chest of the administration.
Months passed, and over time, the scarcity of information turned into a wealth of knowledge. The National Convention would be elected by universal male suffrage, without distinctions of class or race. The age limit of the electors was further lowered to 21, and that of eligibility was fixed at 25 years. However, to be eligible to run one must have made at least 45,000 Kampferian Marks a year (roughly 90,000 dollars). The meeting would decide the future of the Kampferian political structure. What would be determined was yet to be decided. Having a taste of political freedom, would the people spring upon the opportunity to abolish the monarchy? Would Mikel II respect the people’s decision? For every question that was answered, multiple new ones sprung up.
One thing that was certain was that there would be a fairly even balance of Whigs (Classic Liberals) and the Reich-Republik Union (Monarchists). The RRU found its base in the conservative strongholds of Lantol and Mannheim, whereas the progressive world-trading hubs of Gantrickburgh and Kampfers Stadt proved to be bastions for the Whigs. While the RRU would be sure to push for the maintained status quo, with perhaps a few concessions by the monarchy such as a Bill of Rights, the Whigs were sure to be more radical in their demands. On their agenda was likely a push to a Westminster system of parliamentary democracy, generally considered to be the pinnacle of representative democracy. It was generally believed that the monarchy was too popular if not too powerful to abolish altogether, and as such most speculation holds that the Whigs would maintain the monarchy in a limited role. It was also yet to see how the situation in former Bruxella would factor in. With Kampferian Marks funding what was essentially an occupation of a foreign country, the currency had began to inflate at a pace that hadn't been seen since the economic crisis post the Pan-Havenic Twenty Years War. The topic could be central to the convention, or alternatively they could ignore it completely. The whole unknown nature of the affair provided all the more intrigue.
The 500 member convention would be sure to see pitched debate, and the tempers of many would likely be in short supply. The fervor of some men would be met with offhanded slights by others, but over time true oratory would conquer over foolish debate. Charm, cunningness, and wit won allies and lost enemies in this arena, not money and power. It was to be a crowning achievement in Kampferian history. With elections scheduled to be held on the 14th of May, and the Convention scheduled to meet for the first time on the 1st of September, only time would tell what was in store for Kampfers.
Questions that had once torn through other nations now plagued Kampfers. Similar to the cries of "is peace truly intolerable" of those opposed to the war movement in Questers throughout the Four Day War, the age old question of "is democracy truly essential to freedom" is now proposed to the proponents of this convention. The political repercussions of Kampfers moving away from an absolutist state to a democratic nation would be immense. Could or would Kampfers still be as close to Zukariaa? Would Kampfers throw its lot in with the likes of Praetonia and the other generally ignorant masses of "liberal" nations who screamed for their will to be enforced throughout the region? The last few years of Kampferian isolation had seen a continued tightening of relations with Zukariaa, Tnemrot, and even Prestonia. All the while, however, relations with Shansekia, Clandonia, Questralia and Aequatio had soured to previously unheard of levels. This had less to do with their governmental style than their handling of several diplomatic actions such as the Highworth Islands crisis. Even Akimonad no longer held such a hallowed friendship with the Reich for her involvement in the affair. Surely the installment of a democratic regime would alter the current course of political affairs in the nation. Then again, perhaps the democratically elected leaders would see fit to remain close to old friends such as Zukariaa who had stood by Kampfers for years. The fallout of the National Convention, good or bad, would remain with Kampfers for ages.