HOW THE COUNTRY IS RUN
The nations government is split into two parts, the Office of the President and the Thing.
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENTPresident Tobin Grimwal
The President is tasked with ensuring the constitution of the nation is carried out in accordance with its rules. This means overseeing the six monthly process of changing The Thing, appointing judges, overseeing the Armed Forces and dealing with foreign relations amongst other duties. The President also selects the cabinet but this must be approved by The Thing, any changes he makes to the cabinet must be subsequently be approved. The President holds the office for a maximum of five years before another election is scheduled, he can however be removed should a majority of two consecutive Things vote for his removal. There are no limits to the number of times a President can be elected however it is very rare for anybody to seek re-election for a third consecutive term and this has become an almost unwritten rule.
THE THINGThe Palace of the Thing
The Thing is the nations version of a Parliament. It is rather unique in the fact that it has no single leader and is temporary in its make up. It has 281 members.
How is it selected?Every six months The Thing is reformed. The President is responsible for overseeing what is called "The Thing List", this is a register of every citizen of the Republic regardless of where on Mundus they live. The only people not on the list are those currently serving in the military, those having been released from prison within the last 10 years and those deemed to be "medically incapable" of assuming the duties required to be a member of The Thing. On the appointed day 280 names are drawn at random (originally there were more restrictions of who could be on the list and names where physically drawn out of a giant mead barrel, today this is done electronically). At the same time members of the current Thing select one of their members to remain for a further six months to serve as the "Law Speaker", a position that they hold for the next six months and will see them essentially speaking on behalf of the Thing with the President. The Law Speaker also has the cast vote in the event of ties. Once the 280 individuals have been called they are given 72 hours to report to the Palace of The Thing to be sworn into office. Should a person be unable to meet the 72 hour deadline they must gain an exemption directly from the President. Should the President determine they have no valid reason for refusing to serve on the Thing and they fail to attend they are fined a maximum of $100,000 (the figure is determined by a persons wealth) and imprisoned for six months. Anyone gaining a Presidential exemption is replaced randomly. On the day should an individual not report for their duty on The Thing a warrant is issued for their arrest and a member of the outgoing Thing is able to volunteer to remain, should there be more volunteers than places lots are drawn. A person may only serve on two consecutive Things.
It is possible to serve on Things many times if your name is drawn, however while it is not part of the written constitution it is more likely that you will be granted a Presidential exemption if you have already served.
How does it make law?Any member of the Thing may present an individual known as the Chief Scribe a motion for either passing or repealing a law. The Chief Scribe then has 48 hours to ensure that the proposal complies with law and is written in such a way that it can be utilised if passed. In reality the Chief Scribe has a staff of around 40 scribes who work with members of the Thing to ensure their ideas are properly written before they are presented to the Chief Scribe. Once the Chief Scribe is satisfied the proposal is fit for purpose it is presented to the Law Speaker who, as the name suggests, informs the Thing of the proposal. This is then debated with the Chief Scribe acting as a kind of chair for the debate. Once the debate is over votes are taken in public. A majority is required to change, repeal, or create any law. In the event of a draw the Law-Speaker casts the determining vote.
What responsibilities does The Thing haveThere are no restrictions on the areas that The Thing can pass legislation on except for the case of the constitution. If a change to the Constitution is required then this must first be approved by the Thing, then The President before being subject to a national referendum.
The Thing also have many voulentary sub committees which Cabinet Ministers oversee. These range from issues such as The Environment, Education and Agriculture. The Cabinet Minister is able to offer guidance or advice to the committees members and is effectively a backdoor for the President to be able to try and have his own ideas for laws heard in The Thing.
What happens to your life while your in The Thing?One concern citizens often cite if they apply for a Presidential exception to service is fears over their jobs and family etc. Members of The Thing are paid during their tenure. They receive a salary equivalent of $42,000 for simply being a member of the Thing, but they also receive funding for expenses such as necessary travel, additionally they are provided quarters in the Thing Lodge, which is an estate on the edge of the capital with lodgings for approximately 300 people. The island citizens of the nation tend to find the positives of being on The Thing are a major increase in wages however as most of these are agricultural workers they often are concerned about what will happen to their land back on the islands while away. As such many islanders end up using parts of their salary to ensure extra workers on their farm. To many of the mainland inhabiting members of the Thing the salary is a pay cut.
Strange traditions of The Thing* At the start of each day the "wapentake" is carried out. This translates into English as "The Weapon Take" and sees members of the Thing asked to declare upon entry to the Palace of the Thing that they are carrying no weapons.
* The only weapons permitted within The Palace of the Thing are carried by the Úlfhéðnar (Wolf Soldiers) who are tasked with the security of the Palace. The Úlfhéðnar are members of the armed forces who have served in The Thing previously and then re-voulenteered for the military. They are renowned for their ceremonial daggers having wolf head pommels and Grey Wolf tails used on their headwear.
* Each day members of The Thing collect a rune-stick bearing their name from the Office of the Scribes. Attached to it are any notices for the day concerning that member. During debates if a person wishes to speak they walk to the front of the chamber and deposit their stick into a velvet bag from which the Chief Scribe draws the names of the person to speak next. The sticks are returned once the debate is over and the vote is taken. Should you wish to speak twice in the debate you must first wait for all those with rune sticks to have their say before raising a hand to speak. Members are permitted to keep their runestick as a souvenir of their service in the Thing (each are dated and often designs incorporated)
* The Thing has a public gallery which any person may sit in and observe the days proceedings. Today this is behind bulletproof and sound proof glass with the audio being played directly into the gallery.
* The oldest member of the Thing is referred to as Thing Parent and are given the seat next to the Chief Scribe on the right hand side.
* The youngest member of The Thing is referred to as Thing Child and are given the seat next to the Chief Scribe on the left hand side.
* Should a member of The Thing become a parent during their tenure they are expected a month later to bring the Child to The Thing where each member is expected to have brought a gift. Often this is just a monetary gift but sometimes larger gestures are made.
* Should a member of The Thing die during their term they are not replaced and their Runestick is ceremonially burnt in the debating chamber.
* The President is never permitted in the debating chamber by law. The sentence for any President entering the debating chamber is "to be disembowelled and their head displayed above the Chief Scribes chair." this law was passed in the 1400's and has never been used however their is a spike built into the top of the elaborate chair the Chief Scribe uses for the purpose of displaying the Presidents head.
* On days of significant anniversaries, holidays or other momentous occasions the spike on the Chief Scribes chair is used for other items than the Presidents head. This is a tradition dating back to the 1800's when a long serving Chief Scribe would skewer something symbolic each day onto it. For example when discussing a law about taxation on fishing nets he skewered a whole Haddock onto it, however it was removed three hours later as members of The Thing complained about the stink.