Government of the Union of Smaragdfalt
The Union of Smaragdfalt is considered a semi presidential republic with a parliamentary system that is administered as a federation of states. The government on a federal level is comprised of 3 branches which are described as the following:
The Executive Branch
The executive branch is responsible for the everyday administration of the federal government throughout the Union of Smaragdfalt. The executive branch is headed by 2 positions: The President of the Union of Smaragdfalt and the Chancellor of the Union of Samaragdfalt.
President of the Union of Smaragdfalt
Style of Address: His/Her Excellency
Method of Selection: Simple Majority vote of the States General, and usually comes from a pool of members of either chamber of the States General.
Duties & Functions: The President of the Union of Smaragdfalt under Article 53 of the Union Constitution is mostly a ceremonial role rather than an administrative one and acts as the Union’s head of state and has the reigns of their position for 1 term of 10 years. The President however does have some reserve powers which include:
• Giving Presidential Signage with legislation that has passed via majority vote States General as well as vetoing laws on the grounds of clashes of the constitution or other conflicting legislation (Usually done through the consultation of the courts)
• Can dismiss the Chancellor or the Cabinet in certain circumstances as outlined in Article 53 Section VII.
• Dismissing the States general in cases of state emergency (however needs a no confidence vote from the States General)
• Convening the States General
• Awarding Honours to individuals
• Supreme Military Commander of the armed forces
• Representing the Union of Smaragdfalt at home and abroad.
The President has the right to excersise the powers outlined above at their discretion but is usually done through the consultation with the appropriate bodies of the federal government.
The Chancellor of the Union of Smaragdfalt
Style of Address: Right Honourable
Method of Selection: Selected by the political party with the most seats voted on in the States General via an democratic parliamentary election.
Duties & Functions: The Chancellor of the Union of Smaragdfalt acts as the head of government according to article 54 of the Union Constitution. The office of the Chancellor is the head federal government administrator who is responsible of the everyday running country via a large network of federal administrative apparatus via the following exercise of the following powers:
• Appoint and dismiss cabinet ministers and Directors of federal government agencies and offices
• Propose and vote on laws to the States General
• Acts as the head of their political party and parliamentary coalition.
• Represents the Union of Smaragdfalt at home and abroad.
• Appoint High Court Judges for a term of 15 years.
Cabinet Composition
Chancellor
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Minister of Defence
Minister of Finance
Governor of the Reserve Bank of Smaragdfalt
Minister of Commerce & Industry
Minister of Justice
Minister of Immigration & Citizenship
Minister of Health & Social Services
Minister of Education, Science & Development
Minister of Labour
Minister of Culture and Tourism
Minister of Transport & Infrastructure
Minister of Housing & Urban Development
Minister of Agriculture
Minister of Environmental Protection & Conservation
The Legislative Branch
The States General (Generalstaterna/Osavaltioiden kenraali/Osariikide kindral) is the main legislative body in the Union of Smaragdfalt. On a federal level the States general is the supreme legislative body and operates on a unicameral basis, whose members of which are elected via democratic popular vote of their individual constituents every 5 years. Constituent Seats consist of 74,945 people per seat.
The States General member composition operates under proportional representation on the basis of the population of the states. The States General is charged with making legislation via debate and review pieces to be passed. In order for a piece of legislation to pass there needs to be a simple majority vote of 51% or greater of the majority of members and be signed by the President of the Union of Smaragdfalt.
Legislation is debated on the floor of the States General with the governing coalition led by the leading party with the Chancellor at the head and the opposition parties with their opposing members and parties. There is no set number of sessions of when the States General operates but there is a consistent pattern of the States General taking a recess over 4 weeks during the summer with the exception of emergency sessions.
The States General outside of legislative duties also has the duty of passing federal budgets proposed by the Chancellor and their cabinet as well as approving international treaties, declaring war and peace, as well as being charged with forming select committees compiled of appointed members of which whose constituents will be the most effected or have the greatest amount of expertise of said issue.
The Judicial Branch
The High Court of Smaragdfalt is the main judicial body on the federal level. It acts as the final court of appeals in both civil and criminal cases and acts as an arbitration body for disputes between differing governmental bodies. The High Court also has the power of judicial review for all manners of legislation on a federal or state level if legislation clashes with the constitution or existing legislation and can also make laws based on precedent within case law.
The High Court of Smaragdfalt is presided by 7 Federal Magistrates who serve a 15-year term limit. The Federal Justices are all appointed by the Chancellor via the a States General Judiciary Committee hearing.
The legal system within the Union of Smaragdfalt is based on the principle of “The pursuit of the truth” where it is not based on a competitive adversarial bases but acta more of an investigatory body in order to ascertain the facts of the case and grants more power to the Magistrates involved whether it is liaising with police or statutory authorities to gather evidence, interrogating suspects or the parties involved in order to get a full accurate and objective facts of the case. After such process, the trail begins which acts as a hearing of what the outcome should be based on the hearing of the two disputing parties of the legal case.
Political Parties
There are 6 Major Parties that currently make up the landscape of the States General on the Federal level which have descriptions outlined below. There is also a diagram of the make up of the States General which as a total of 374 seats.
Name: Labour Party (Arbetarpartiet/Työväenpuolue/Tööpartei)
Founded: 18/10/1977
Political Position: Centre Left
Ideology: Social Democracy, Democratic Humanism, Social Market Economy
Colour ID: Red Description: The Labour Party is the oldest political party in modern Smaragdfalt. They started out as an underground network of trade and workers unions throughout the later years of the New State regime of Gert Kaaleste. The labour party are on the centre left of the political spectrum.
Being a stalwart defender of workers in every sector of the economy to form unions, as well as being the party that brought about the national student loan program for domestic student places at universities, and founding the federal health administration which afforded tax funded universal healthcare coverage.
Their economic policies are said to be a kin to a social market economy which emphasises government intervention through Keynesian interventionalist methods to fill in the gaps of market failure. In the 1987 parliamentary election they formed a coalition as the senior partner of themselves, the Left Movement and the Christian Democratic Alliance to bring about the National Unemployment Insurance Scheme.
Name: Conservative Party (Konservativa partiet/Konservatiivinen puolue/ Konservatiivne Partei)
Founded: 20/10/1977
Political Position: Centre Right
Ideology: National Conservatism, Social Conservatism, Fiscal Conservatism
Colour ID: BlueDescription: The Conservative Party is the premier party on the centre right end of the political spectrum and usually find themselves to be the main rival of the Labour Party. They’re original members started off as moderate defectors of the new New State regime during the early days of the occupation period.
The Conservatives economic policies usually favour free trade and varying degrees of privatisation of industry to encourage competition and free government from the burden of subsidies.
The conservatives believe that the people of Smaragdfalt would be best served economically if they had less of a tax burden and in favour of lowering taxes in order to ensure that citizens have more personal savings as well as ensuring less deficit spending and favour austerity.
After the recession in 2010 the Conservative Party found themselves at the later end of the aftermath in favour of expansionist fiscal policies by providing fiscal stimulas to all citizens effected with varying degrees and favouring social programs but with added means testing to counter act excessive spending.
Name: The Left Movement (Vänsterrörelsen/Vasemmistoliike/Vasakpoolne liikumine)
Founded: 27/07/1982
Political Position: Left Wing
Ideology: Liberal Socialism, Social Liberalism, Left Wing economic populism.
Colour ID: OrangeDescription: The Left movement was established 3 years before the 1982 parliamentary election as a junior offshoot of the Labour Party and usually finds itself as a junior partner with the Labour Party.
However, over the last 3 election cycles they are now considered as the Labour Party’s more combative little brother. They oppose the de regulation and reduction of labour protection laws and see it as the conservatives attempt of union busting.
The left in terms of economic policy strongly aligns with the Labour Party however they tend to want more regulation in industry in regard to competition and consumer protection laws to prevent the formation of industry monopolies and raise product standards after a series of scandals in the pharmaceutical sector in the early 2000’s.
Foreign policy wise unlike the Labour Party, the Left Movement today is seen more identitarian, but usually gets moderated when in a coalition government with the Labour Party.
Name: Christian Democratic Alliance (Kristdemokratiska Alliansen/ Kristillisdemokraattinen liitto/Kristlik-Demokraatlik Liit)
Founded: 08/05/1984
Political Position: Right Wing
Ideology: Christian Democracy, Social Conservatism, Third Way Economics.
Colour ID: YellowDescription: The Christian Democratic Alliance started off as an alternative to the Conservative Party. The Christian Democrats formed in 1984 after the first election cycle of the Unions founding for people who would usually identify as right leaning but couldn’t exactly identify themselves as conservatives in the traditional sense.
The Christian Democratic Alliance usually found themselves in sync with the Conservative Party in terms of social issues regarding the preservation of marriage and Christian social teachings being more accepted in the political landscape, however where were at odd when it comes to socio-economic policy and social programs.
The Christian Democratic Alliance believes that everyone has the right to pursue the traditional nuclear family and holds it as the highest ideal. Thus, most social programs they pursue are said to be in the defence of the family by their supporters and natalist to their detractors, policies such as paid parental leave for both parents for the first 2 years of the children’s life and can be used by the parents however they wish as well as subsidised financial support going towards childcare.
They have also been strong proponents of more funding being allocated towards pensions and retirement plans and audits going towards the investigations into the aged care sector to ensure standards for the elderly to enjoy a dignified retirement.
Name: Greens (Gröna/Vihreät/Rohelised)
Founded: 15/02/2000
Political Position: Left Wing
Ideology: Green Politics, Social Liberalism, Environmentalism
Colour ID: GreenDescription: The Greens were founded at the turn of the millennium. The Greens first got elected in a coalition government with the unlikely “Traffic Light Coalition with Labour and the Christian Democratic Alliance in the 2007 parliamentary election.
Before the 2007 election however the party struggled to get seats in the election on a federal level and mainly focused on their electoral successes in municipal and state elections. Their policies used to be detracted as merely single issue and focusing on investment into clean and alternative energy and parks and wildlife preservation.
However, since being elected to the States General for four electoral cycles in a row on a federal level their policies have branched out particularly in the areas of education and have taken that issue and owning it for themselves.
The have done this by being the largest advocates for investment into public schools and curriculum reform and expanding students’ path to success by investing in vocational education as an alternative to tertiary education as well as technical colleges as a bridging gap for students who can gain an alternative path to universities as well as trying to reduce the cost of student debt.
Name: Democratic Reform Coalition (Demokratisk reformkoalition, Demokraattinen uudistuskoalitio, Demokraatlik Reformikoalitsioon)
Founded: 03/03/2012
Political Position: Centre Right
Ideology: Classical Liberalism, Social Liberalism, Economic Liberalism
Colour ID: PurpleDescription: The Democratic Reform Coalition is the newest party in the States General and was first elected in a junior opposition party with the Conservatives and Christian Democrats. They are a centre right leaning party that differs from the Conservative Party in terms of being socially liberal and is more secular and doesn’t share the religious social values of the Christian Democrats.
The Democratic Reform Coalition has been emphasised as a liberal party, that is in the most traditional sense of the word they believe in every individual should have the greatest amount of freedom in their lives as much as they can be afforded. The party once started off as a loose network of business leaders and more liberal leaning members of the Conservatives and Christian Democrats.
They have been proponents for free trade on the international stage and lowering of taxes across the board particularly the lowering of the VAT from 10% to 7% so as lower the price of general goods, as well as giving optional small business incentives for start-ups.
In terms of social welfare policies they tend to come in line with the Conservatives and Christian Democratic alliance with allowing for those programs to functions so long as they are means tested.
