Prydanian News Section

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Government Passes Tax Reform, Aim to Stimulate Growth
by Týra Murer


Býkonsviði- Dr. Lúðvík Erheorot (FeB/BY-14), the Minister of Economic Growth, addressed the media following the Alþingi's passage of two key pieces of the Peace not Blood/Conservative coalition government's economic platform.

Tax Reform

The government announced tax cuts across the board for all but the very top earners.

"One goal of this government is to stimulate a social base income, a comfortable and confident level of wealth for as many citizens as possible," Dr. Erheorot explained. "We have already invested in increasing pensions and the social welfare system, and this will further economically empower Prydanians."

The government also slashed tax rates for small businesses and certain small corporations to encourage economic growth.

"We are seeing promising growth as investment in our economy continues," the Minister stated.
"But be it Haland, Keris, Hadden, or anywhere else, this investment must lead to native small industry growth if we're to see meaningful and sustainable economic recovery. The coalition government will empower small business owners via this tax overhaul."

Antitrust Legislation Overhaul

The Alþingi also passed the Competition Act, which overhauls the anti-trust legislation in Prydania.
The defeat of the Syndicalist regime saw the FRE government enact sweeping repeals of the vast majority of Syndicalist legislation. As such anti-trust legislation was a hodgepodge of various Social Commonwealth laws that acted more as a means for the old fascist government to act as a gatekeeper to favoured corporate backers.
In the immediate post-War years this wasn't seen as an immediate concern. Five years on, however, has seen enough economic growth to raise the issue.

The 2021 elections saw a divergence of opinions on the matter. The Conservatives defaulted to their traditional laissez faire stance, while the People's Party pushed for robust anti-trust legislation and heavy corporate tax rates. The Free Democrats presented themselves as the happy medium between the two, but found themselves out-flanked by Peace not Blood, which promised to implement a "social economy ethos." The Peace not Blood plan called for a mixture of government regulation and private enterprise to ensure a healthy and free market while also fostering competition.

"We believe now, as we did during the election, that a free market with regulation to ensure fair competition is a more productive path than either the laissez faire or punitive socialist policies that would only hamper our growth and recovery," Dr. Erheorot stated.
"Our goal is not to stimulate the economy for this election cycle or even the next. It's to establish an ethos, a fundamental understanding of how the economy should work in a free, fair, and prosperous system," he continued.
"And we believe in this program. We believe that when the fruits of this labour begin to show, the people of this country will continue to show support for us at the ballot box."

The Competition Act is a beast in its own right. One hundred and five sections fundamentally reshape, replace, and redefine Prydanian anti-trust legislation.

"We inherited a tangled mess of statutes and laws- Social Commonwealth legislation, select Syndicalist legislation that had been kept in some form or another, and stopgap measures from the Provisional and Brandt administrations," Dr. Erherorot explained.
"But we believe it's time for something more comprehensive. We've stripped the system bare, kept what worked, and rebuilt everything else."

The legislation covers everything from regulation on both horizontal and vertical integration, price fixing, a robust and extensive fining system, systems to tackle "agricultural trusts" to empower fair market practices in agriculture, and even sections that deal exclusively with tech companies and issues such as data sharing.

Free Democrat Opposition

The Free Democratic Party attempted to derail the coalition's planned legislation by highlighting the Conservative Party's own opposition to the platform during the 2021 elections.

"We see a government that wants to fundamentally transform this country economically," Opposition Leader Maríanna Toft (FLFP/ER-2) said during debate in the Alþingi.
"Such a transformative act of this scope should only be undertaken when it is the clear will of the people. Neither party of this government alone controls as much of the Alþingi as this opposition, and nearly half of it opposed this platform during the election. I must wonder if the Conservative Party has abandoned the principals it ran on? If it hasn't, then this legislation oversteps itself. A massive undertaking attempted by a minority party."

Prime Minister Kjell Svane (FeB/ST-1) countered that the Opposition itself lacked an alternative vision on the issue of anti-trust legislation.
"The opposition can only manage to offer a lukewarm version of what our good friends in the People's Party have put forward. We don't need any more of what they have to offer in this country, and we certainly don't need the version of it that lacks conviction in itself."

While the Peace not Blood/Conservative coalition remained steadfastly united on the issue of tax reform, it was the Competition Act that required the Prime Minister to convince his coalition partners.
In the end Deputy Prime Minister Sören Högh (ÍF/BY-6) announced the Conservatives would back the government.

"When we signed the coalition agreement," Herra Högh said, "we committed each party to a set of portfolios. The agreement gave Peace not Blood the economic growth portfolio. The agreement asked each of our parties to trust the other with the portfolios agreed to. I would be a hypocrite now, to say that the Conservative Party does not trust Peace not Blood with the economic growth of our country after promising we did months ago. We did then. We do now."

Royal Assent

Both the Competition Act and the tax reform plan were signed by His Majesty after passing through the Alþingi.

"I am personally very proud," Dr. Erheorot said after the King's signatures had been made public, "to be able to say that Prydania has among the world's most robust anti-trust policies in place among free market nations."
 
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Royal Prydanian Mint Returns Home
by Oddbjörn Skröder

Býkonsviði- His Majesty King Tobias III officially inaugurated the opening of the new Royal Prydanian Mint and printing facility Býkonsviði as a simultaneous opening occurred at Royal Mint facilities Hadden. The event brings the Mint back home to Prydania for the first time since 2027.

Syndicalist Destruction

Prydania's traditionally maintained two mint facilities, one in Býkonsviði and the other in Hadden. Each was destroyed by Syndicalist forces before their respective cities could be taken by FRE and allied forces.

The Mint Moves Abroad

The new post-war provisional government needed to secure facilities to print currency. Deals were struck with the Imperial Federation of Goyanes and the Kingdom of Saintonge, whereby Kross notes would be printed in Goyanes and Kross coins would be minted in Saintonge.

"I am very proud to be here in Býkonsviði and speaking to our colleagues in Hadden, to inaugurate these facilities," the King said.
"These facilities mean that we are ready to take more of our destiny into our own hands. To keep on getting up, as William would say to me."

His Majesty also addressed the Santonian and Goyanean ambassadors in attendance.

"From the bottom of my heart, and the hearts of this nation, thank you. To your governments and your people for the aid and expertise. We could not have gotten here without friends like you."

National Bank Oversees Mint

While the notes and coins were printed and minted abroad it was done under the authority of the Bank of Prydania. The national bank, a Crown Corporation, will assume total ownership of the Royal Mint and the new facilities in Prydania.

Operations in Goyanes and Saintonge have been scaling down as plates, engravings, and the last stocks of foreign-made notes and coins have been transferred to newly completed Prydanian facilities.

History

There is no concrete founding date for the Royal Prydanian Mint. King Vortgyn I issued decrees allowing for the production of the Kingdom's coinage in five towns across the country in 1030- Býkonsviði, Keris, Hadden, Alaterva, and Haland.

The first coins produced under direct Royal oversight were produced during the reign of King Baldr III. According to documents from his reign he began a coin minting operation in 1516, out of the basement of a Býkonsviði residence he owned.
The house still exists, and is presently a privately-owned restaurant that pays homage to its historic occupant. Konungur Baldr Kjallara (King Baldr's Cellar) is a Silean/Prydanian fusion restaurant that is popular in Býkonsviði's growing nightlife district.

Between 1516 and 1749 the Mint relocated, merged with smaller producers of coinage, and eventually split into the Býkonsviði and Hadden branches. Where they would remain, periodically updating facilities, until they were destroyed by retreating Syndicalist forces during the Civil War.

The re-establishment of Royal Mint facilities in Prydania brings the Mint home again after five years abroad. Though the King found that strangely appropriate.

"King Baldr III spent ten years in Saintonge before he took the Crown. And then afterwards he began minting coins himself. I think he'd be happy to know that our friends in Saintonge and Goyanes helped us with the mint," His Majesty said.

Production

Production had begun immediately as soon as the ceremonies had ended.
 
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Prydanian Historical Review
A History of the Syndicalist Party
by Dr. Raghild Borgström

Professor of History, University of Hadden

The Prydanian Historical Review decided to embark on an initiative- contact academics in the field of Prydanian history to write articles aimed at a general audience. The aim is to provide people with a general base of knowledge of our own history. It's a goal I agree with but I admit I was unsure how to approach this topic.

Almost five years on since the end of the War and the scars of the Syndicalist era are still not fully healed. Are people ready to read that the Syndicalist Party was not always the instrument of tyranny it became? That much of its history was fuelled by the best of intentions?

Then again you know what they say about the road to Hell.

Regardless, I'm a believer in democracy. And a democracy is only as healthy as its population is informed. I only hope that as I explain the history of the Syndicalist movement in this country it's understood that I'm not making excuses for the terrible tyranny it inflicted on this country. That a movement that began with such a hopeful vision of the future became regime with the blood of millions in its hands is tragedy.

Which is how I intend to approach this project.

Political Beginnings

The Alþingi of the Prydanian realm was first called in 1030 by King Vortgyn I and has existed in some form since then. Factions had always existed in some form but they consolidated during the reign of Robert II into Court and Anti-Court factions. By the 1830s and the reign of Queen Alexandria these had morphed into the Conservative and Liberal Parties. A decade later the Agrarians emerged to represent the interests of the farmers.

This created a status quo whereby the Conservatives and Agrarians supported each other and their interests and the Liberals attempted to build their own coalition of professional middle class and rural working class votes. This state of being existed until the turn of the twentieth century.

Rise of Organized Labour and the Beginning of the Syndicalist Party

The beginnings of organized labour were slow, but steady. The industrial revolution's arrival fundamentally altered the social landscape, and therefore the political landscape.

Many people moved from the countryside to cities to find work in factories, docks, or shipyards, or to the towns that sprung up around expanded coal mines. For the first time Prydanian society had to adjust to a new social group- the industrial worker.

Previously labourers in urban centres were skilled- trained sailors did dock work, smiths, glassmakers, masons, and artists filled the cities. They were descended from the medieval guilds and made up large segments of the middle "professional" class; ie natural Liberal voters.
This new labour class, however, was not "skilled" in the traditional sense. One did not need to apprentice for years to become a factory worker or miner.
What was fascinating about this was that it represented the birth of an entirely new class of people. The previous social structure was made up of groups or classes that had been around for thousands of years- royalty, nobility, merchants, tradesmen, farmers, rural labourers. Já, the eleventh century had seen the "emergence" of what we would today call the bourgeois, and the early modern period of the sixteenth century onward had seen this class rival (or in some cases eclipse) the old nobility in wealth and influence, but the bourgeois ultimately grew from tradesmen and moneylenders. Professions which have existed for thousands of years. No, this emergence of industrial labour was something entirely new. Society at the time, in the mid-nineteenth century hardly understood it.

It was the Callisean anti-capitalist Remy Picard who provided something of a guiding light to industrial labour as they began to band together and advocate for their collective interests. Picard pre-dated the rise of the industrial revolution and the emergence of a truly industrial labour class, but his radical political theories that put him at odds with even the leaders of the Callisean Revolution provided a set of principals that the industrial worker could gravitate towards. Picard's demand for a revolutionary dictatorship of craftsmen was fundamental in the development of communist and socialist political theory. And as Liberal ÞM* Yngvar Otness said in 1871 "these socialists are the descendants of that Callisean Picard."

As industrial labour grew more and more organized there was pressure on the political establishment to address their concerns. The Conservatives and Agrarians were overtly hostile for their own reasons; the Conservative view of society as an organic whole contrasted with the emerging left wing's view of society as a series of class struggle. The Agrarians believed that organized labour's nascent political platform would artificially keep the price for agricultural products low. The Liberals, traditionally the power of the middle class and the professional tradesmen, seemed the most likely to be receptive.

The Trade Union Assembly, or Stéttarfélagþingi (SFþingi) was formed in 1870. The SFþingi was a board that included representation from the larger trade unions across the country. Soon after forming they hoped to ally with the Liberal Party. The costs of running for office normally put the prospect out reach of the industrial working man, but with labour unions footing the bill as it were it was possible. And the backing of the established Liberal Party machinery would give them validity. Stefan Bjorgen, a radical Liberal ÞM, championed this cause. He was partially successful, though it would take until 1885 for the first of these "union Liberals" to be elected.

By the 1890s, however, the partnership was fraying. Traditional Liberal voters resented the party seemingly championing newer causes over their more traditional platform, and traditional Liberal power brokers found themselves at odds with organized labour representatives for power and influence.

In 1898 the SFþingi called on its member unions and other organized labour groups such as the Knights of Labour, Shaddaist Labour Bund, and the Industrial Workers' Committee to form a new political party to represent the needs of labour. The result was the Syndicalist Party. Syndicalism had emerged as a sub-current of socialism in the late nineteenth centuries, that advocated for trade unions as the fundamental building blocks of political and economic life. It gained currency among Prydanian leftists as left wing political discourse was more and more being directed by organizations made up for trade unionists. The Syndicalist Party's embrace of the ideology was merely a culmination of this rise in prominence. By 1900 every trade union-backed Liberal Party ÞM had changed affiliation to the Syndicalist Party.

The Syndicalist Party from Karl Holsen to Rune Leth

Karl Holsen, a trade unionist and ÞM from Krummedike, was elected the Syndicalist Party's first Alþingi caucus leader in 1900. The party that Holsen found himself leading would set the tone for Syndicalism's history- fractious. The Syndicalist Party's early founders included those who felt that the party should only focus on representing the interests of trade unions and the working man, those who felt it could be a viable political vehicle to form a government, those who wanted to moderate to attract supporters, radicals who insisted on Picardist orthodoxy, republicans, and those who felt trying to fight the broadly popular Prydanian monarchy would be a fool's errand.
What united this early Syndicalist Party was advocating for the needs of the working class, and so Holsen focused on that, rather than trying to appease the different demands of various factions. Though Holsen did indulge the radical element in one grand way, by refusing to stand in a moment of silence upon the death of Queen Alexandria in 1902. He insisted that it would be a betrayal of his own conscious to do so, given that the Alþingi did not stand in respectful silence at the deaths of miners or workers in industrial accidents.

The Syndicalist Party grew its base, eventually establishing itself in the mining heartland of Krummedike and the industrial centres of Býkonsviði, Hadden, and Keris. Its success proved a threat to the Liberal Party, as the Syndicalist support base grew among the urban worker, and the line between skilled and unskilled urban labourer blurred. As a result the Conservative-Agrarian electoral alliance saw a series of electoral victories through the first two decades of the twentieth centuries.

It was in this environment- a Liberal/Syndicalist turf war allowing the Conservative-Agrarian coalition to win at the ballot box and a Syndicalist Party increasingly comfortable finding its feet- that Rune Leth emerged as the leader of the Syndicalist Party.

Leth came from a working class background in Keris, but had managed to put himself through law school. Leth dedicated himself to representing organized labour groups legally, before entering the political arena as a Syndicalist. Leth was a moderate though, and he was one because he had a vision. One he began to execute upon winning control of the Party.
Radicals were sidelined and moderates installed in positions of authority. This allowed him to present the party as a viable option to moderate middle class Liberal voters. Leth also promised that a Syndicalist government would fairly protect and subsidize the agricultural sector. Not only did this win many Agrarian-voting farmers to the Syndicalist banner, but it also won many Liberal-voting agrarian labourers to the party, as they no longer had to fear that a Syndicalist government would threaten the economic well-being of their employers. Further, Leth was the first to openly speak about a "Syndicalist government" as if the Party could achieve that electorally.

They did.

The 1921 general election saw Rune Leth's Syndicalists sweep into power. It's said that when Leth met with King Rikard V for the formal act of the King asking the election's victor to form a government Leth broke the tension by announcing "Your Majesty, I come baring gifts of governance, not revolution!'"
Leth's government would go on to essentially build the modern Prydanian welfare state from scratch, and his efforts were rewarded by being returned with a majority in 1926.

Leth's collective accomplishments have been referred to as the "Workers' Bill of Rights," as that was what the agenda of the Syndicalist Party under him was referred to in electoral material. Yet it was never one comprehensive piece of legislation. Instead Leth's Syndicalist administration removed barriers from collective bargaining, instituted the thirty hour work week, established the pensions system, laid the foundations for nationalized healthcare that would come decades later, and the creation of a slew of regulatory departments of the state that oversaw everything from consumer protection to workplace safety standards.
Leth's reforms proved so popular that when the Conservative-Agrarian coalition wrestled power back in 1931 they had to do it off of a promise not to dismantle what had been built.

The Tragedy of Rune Leth and What Could Have Been

Rune Leth's grand coalition that ushered in two Syndicalist majority governments mirrored the development of the National Party in Saintonge. Like that political party Leth's version of the Syndicalists managed to marry industrial workers with moderate middle class voters and smaller farmers. Had this coalition held it could have been transformative and utterly smashed the old status quo. Instead the status quo re-asserted itself.

To be sure it wasn't a reactionary victory. As stated above the Conservative-Agrarian alliance that won the 1931 general election did so with the explicit promise that the welfare state apparatus would not be turn down. In that regard Rune Leth won. His vision persists even to today, when a Peace not Blood-Conservative coalition government actively works to regulate the market and provide substantive pensions. Rune Leth's legacy became political orthodoxy.
His moderate Syndicalist coalition, however, couldn't last.

The Conservative-Agrarian victory in 1931 proved that the established parties were willing to modernize their approach to the electorate rather than fade away. And then Bloody Rakjandi.

Rakjandi, which will re-appear in our story later, was one of the Syndicalist heartland cities. A town built around the mines. In 1931, shortly after the general election, the local miners' unions went on strike. Negotiations between the union and management ended quickly and Syndicalist Party leaders emerged in Rakjandi to offer support to the miners. Mine owners, in turn, accused the Syndicalist Party of "stoking the fires of revolution."

Mine owners appealed to the Thane of Krummedike, who formally requested the government send soldiers in to put down the strike. The government, now lead by the Conservative PM Ivar Froseth, was sympathetic. Rune Leth, now the leader of the opposition, personally pleaded with the King to intervene and stop the deployment of the Army, as he and Rikard V had developed a friendship of sorts over Leth's ten year tenure as Prime Minister.
Rikard V, however, believed that to overrule the decisions of the Prime Minister would be to overstep himself. Froseth was allowed to send soldiers into Rakjandi. The brief but violent clash with militant miners ended with a government victory in 1932.

The crisis did three things. First, it revitalized the radical elements of the Syndicalist Party Leth had previously managed to sideline. Second, it pushed many of the new converts Leth had brought in out of the Syndicalist Party, as they now saw the Party as associated with the unrest in Rakjandi. Finally, it energized the nascent Social Commonwealth fascist movement.

The Turbulent Years

Leth was barely able to fight off a radical takeover of the Syndicalist Party, and only managed it by conceding and granting radicals key positions of influence within the party. The 1936 elections were extremely contentious and fractious. Syndicalists, Conservatives, Agrarians, Liberals, Reformists, Centrists, and Social Commonwealth fascists all emerged. The fascists managed to make the most of the chaos, presenting the mass of parties that now contested elections as a sign of a dying democracy. They promised that they alone could restore order. And while they did emerge with the highest number of seats in the 1936 election, they still fell well short of a majority.

The issue was that none of the other parties, or the Peers, could agree to unify to form a government. The wounds from Bloody Rakjandi were too fresh, and attempt after attempt to form a coalition fell flat. A caretaker government led primarily from Ministers of the last Conservative-Agrarian government took over, and the in 1937 King Rikard V died. His son, Rikard VI, immediately dismissed the government and elevated fascists to positions of power. Prydania soon entered the Fascist Wars on the side of the Dominion, and the non-fascist parties were branded as "subversive."

Syndicalists, despite what they would later claim, were not the only ones involved in the anti-fascist resistance of 1937-1951. They weren't even the majority of it. Yet they did contribute, and the resistance years hardened the party. Leth's vision of a big tent moderate Syndicalist Party was all but dead as Richard VI and his Social Commonwealth government provided an outward enemy that Syndicalists believed they had to steel themselves to fight.

In the end the War was won by the Allies. With Prydania's soldiers bogged down fighting Cogorians in Kanada and the Dominion faltering on every front, a democratic coup brought the first Social Commonwealth regime down. Richard VI bitterly conceded to defeat and died three years later. His liberal-minded son, Robert VII, flushed the fascists from every corner of government and invited all of the political parties that had been persecuted under their regime to help in rebuilding democracy in Prydania.

Yet this was not the end of the Syndicalist Party's turbulent years. The Social Commonwealth Party continued to linger on the fringes of Prydanian politics. The Liberals merged with the Reformists and Centrists to form the Free Democrats, revitalizing their fortunes. The Conservatives and Agrarians began to emerge as a force once more, all as the Syndicalists debated amongst themselves what they would stand for. The result was a power struggle between moderate social democrats and more forceful radicals. It also saw the party drop to a consistent third, never rising above either the Free Democrats or Conservative-Agrarian coalition.

Radicalization

1983 saw the rise of a young union rep from Rakjandi-turned Syndicalist ÞM Thomas Nielsen as leader of the Party. That Nielsen was able to navigate the divided Syndicalist caucus to win the leadership so early in his tenure spoke to his abilities from a young age. Nielsen was salt of Eras. He grew up in Rakjandi, he worked in the mines, who rose to a position of leadership in the local miner's union, and he entered politics. He had the makings of a true, red blooded Syndicalist radical.

Only he wasn't. Not at first.

Nielsen's strength was his conviction. He unapologetically defended the uniting principals of the Syndicalist Party, and made an early enemy of the likewise-rising Stefan Toft of the Social Commonwealth Party. This passion, conviction, and willingness to lead an ideological charge- along with his bonafide working class background- made him incredibly popular among the radical wing of the Syndicalists. Yet his promises to them were never lofty. He never committed to republicanism, he never committed to a fully socialist economic platform.

In 1984 King Robert VII, his wife Queen Loke, and eldest son Prince Baldr, Grand Thane of Stormurholmr were killed in an act of political terrorism. In the fallout the King's second oldest son, Anders, ascended to the throne as King Anders III. The chaos surrounding this monumental event led to King Anders III dissolving the Alþingi, and ordering new elections. The validity of which continue to be debated to this day.
The Social Commonwealth government that was elected under Stefan Toft, however, wore the perceived legitimacy like a shield. And out of an act of terrorism that was blamed on radical Syndicalists, Prydania found itself once again under a fascist regime.

This fascist regime had learnt from the past one, however. And lacked the outward facing enemy they did. There was no world war this time. Shaddaists were restricted in public life, but not forced into ghettos. Enemies of the state were hounded through both legal and extra-legal means, but overt persecutions were never attempted. And the appearances of political pluralism had to be maintained. It was that last element that allowed figures like William Aubyn, Gætir Ravn (a Shaddaist himself), and Thomas Nielsen to escape a political purge.
Nielsen did launch a series of large-scale strikes aimed at protesting the new Toft government under Anders III, but the government was not afraid to use force, and Nielsen, back then, was not ready to risk open revolution.

It was during this period of Social Commonwealth control that an unlikely friendship developed. That between Thomas Nielsen and Prince Robert, Anders III's younger brother. To what degree this friendship influenced the politics of each of them is hard to gauge. The very nature of the Social Commonwealth police state meant secrecy.

What can be gauged is that the turning point seems to Kleifar. Prior to Kleifar Nielsen and his Syndicalist caucus seemed supportive of the Conservative-Agrarian coalition and the Free Democrats as a sort of unified front against the Social Commonwealth government of Toft. Yet just over a year after the violent Social Commonwealth purge of Kleifar for its support of underground Syndicalist functionaries Nielsen led the coup that topped the regime and ended with most of the Royal family did- including Prince Robert.

Thomas Nielsen and Jannik Lieftur

History is a tricky subject. My job is to analyze and contextualize the past. Teach it, and draw lessons from it. My job is not, however, to psycho-analyze the dead. And yet that seems to be what others expect from us.
"What was Vorgtyn thinking when he met Bram and the Bayardi on the battlefield at Stormurhofn?" I don't know. All I can tell you is the context of that battle, what Vortgyn said, and what he did both before and after he won. I cannot begin to tell you the thoughts and feelings of a man who lived and died nearly a thousand years ago, whose context is so divorced from my own that we might as well be aliens.

Thomas Nielsen and Jannik Lieftur are not a thousand years old. Their deaths are far more recent. And I have a better understanding of the context of the times they lived in than I do Vorgyn I. It would be a mistake, however, to assume this gives me the agency to say I know them. Or what they thought and felt. I must resist the calls of people asking me to try and understand the deep meanings behind their actions that only they know. And indeed I must resist that call within myself.

It's one I desperately want to. I study the career of Thomas Nielsen before that faithful day in the early fall of 2002. I see a man who could have been a freedom fighter. Who could have been a positive force for change. I can't be the only one. Millions wilfully followed him.

Followed him to the abyss.

For all of that promise Thomas Nielsen's legacy isn't what he could have been. Or what his intentions were. His legacy is that he oversaw a tyrannical state- the Syndicalist Republic of Prydania- that murdered four million of its own people. Be it in the form of executions or by working them to death in labour camps, agricultural homesteads, and "conscripted work colonies." All labels to describe essentially class warfare-based slavery. It's Thomas Nielsen's legacy that a breadbasket economy was rendered nearly barren through mismanagement and political nepotism.

The regime of Anders III and Stefan Toft was an assault on the basic human decency of Prydanians everywhere. And the Syndicalist reaction was so monstrous it was worse. So I would desperately like to climb inside the head of Thomas Nielsen and understand why this happened. How he let it happen. And how it was supposed to lead to anything but the years of misery and violence it did. I cannot though. And that brings me to Jannik Lieftur.

Jannik Lieftur was no doubt a radical, and in all likelihood was the one responsible for pulling Thomas Nielsen into that camp after Kleifar. Yet I cannot tell you this for sure. I cannot tell you Nielsen's motivations beyond what the historical record provides, and I cannot tell you, dear reader, why Lieftur was the man he was. I have heard stories that his pathological hatred of the church stemmed from abuses from a priest as a child. I have heard that his mother was raped by the son of a mine owner. I have heard so many things that attempt to explain why Jannik Lieftur unapologetically carried out the slaughter of so many of our countrymen. People who attempt to point to this or that as the root of a radical that grew out of control.

And it is all unsubstantiated. Did a Priest victimize him as a child? Maybe. There are no records of it. Not even of an accusation from the time he would have been a child. Maybe a son of the owner of the mine that employed him raped his mother. Again, there is no evidence.

I understand that the War and political turmoil- especially in Krummedike- left many records destroyed. Maybe somewhere, here or in the ether, is the evidence that these stories are true. Or maybe they never were. Maybe Jannik Lieftur was just a butcher. Every movement has them, those souls who see violence as the only solution and the only path forward.

Lieftur's own words, what we do have on record, shine no light on his motivations. He was a dull public speaker, prone to droning on about radical political orthodoxy. The evils of religion and capitalism, or the monarchy and aristocracy, of the rural landowners and urban factory owners. Dull, droning, and masking a capacity for political violence unmatched in this country's history.
He never opens up. He never explains why. Never leverages a personal tragedy for sympathy. I am a historian, not a mind reader or psychiatrist.

The tragedy of the Syndicalist Party was that it was formed to give the industrial working man and trade unions a voice. They did that. Rune Leth saw it as a means to build a grand coalition that could usher in a modern Prydania. He did that, for a time. And it was a movement that stood for freedom against the forces of tyranny, twice.
Yet in the end they succumbed to that same tyranny within themselves. I myself was a believer once, but I can't be now. Not when I see the extent of what Syndicalism has brought this country.

The tragic history of the Syndicalist Party was that it was, more often then not, led with the best of intentions.

And you know what they say about the road to Hell.



*ÞM- MP
 
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Arcanstotska Rocked by Terrorist Attacks
by Kores Ryneveld

Ramelensk- In Arcanstotska, Republic Day celebrations have been cut short in several major cities by reported terrorist attacks earlier today.

In Ramelensk, Siloyev, and Kariyevgrad; Arcanstotska’s three largest cities, Republic Day military parades were met with gunfire and explosives from small groups of attackers directed at public officials, parading soldiers, and the crowds.

Local law enforcement and Civil Defense Service personnel were on the scene within minutes and quickly subdued or otherwise negated the terrorist threat, but not before dozens of civilian casualties were inflicted in all three cities. Emergency medical services arrived to treat the wounded shortly after law enforcement and CDS personnel were able to fully secure the parade grounds.

President Kolibin and Prime Minister Tsvetayev are confirmed to have survived the attack in Siloyev, however, some senior government officials, such as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Natasha Danikina, have been transported to local hospitals for treatment of gunshot injuries. The mayor of Kariyevgrad, Valerij Bojchenko, was killed in the Kariyevgrad attack.

Hours after the attacks, a self-proclaimed “Vaasan Free State” claimed responsibility for the attacks and declared its intention for Vaasa to secede from the Arcanstotskan government. President Kolibin is expected to address his nation on these recent developments soon.

OOC Note: Story written by @Arc
 
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6 September 2021

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King Tobias III Visits War Orphans in Saintonge
by Marís Laufland

Saintes- With the World Cup on the horizon people from all over the world are descending on Saintonge to cheer on their teams as they compete for the top prize in international football. Among those Prydanians making the trip is the King himself, as Tobias III arrived in Saintes to cheer on the Harts.

Absalonhöll issued a statement that the King was visiting in a personal, not official, capacity.
“His Majesty is a huge football fan and is going to Saintonge to enjoy the World Cup, cheer on the Prydanian national team, and visit with friends and family,” a spokesman for Absalonhöll said. The King’s itinerary is thus private. Save one bit. He has visited Saint-Alban Refugee Centre in Saintes to visit with orphan refugees from the Prydanian Civil War.

Prydanian War Orphans in Saintonge

Nearly 360,000 orphaned Prydanian children made their way through the Saint-Alban Refugee Centre and adjacent facilities between 2002-2017, and many- mostly teenagers- are still left in the adoption and immigration system.

The King’s decision to visit the Centre was the only part of his trip to Saintonge for the World Cup that was publicly announced, though he refused to give any sort of speech. Instead he addressed the media with a very brief statement.

“I was an orphan of our Civil War, like these kids. Be it in Prydania or anywhere else, I want children who were made orphans by that war to know someone understands, someone cares, and someone is going to try to help them.”

The King’s Visit

The King met with Director Timothée-Ketille Huseklepp, a Santonian of Prydanian ancestry, before meeting with the children of the facility. One of the first interactions saw His Majesty meet with youth hockey teams put together for Prydanian refugee children in Saintes, the St. Kaldor Stags, St. Vortgyn Wolves, and St. Tobias Penguins. The Penguins players gifted His Majesty a jersey- customized with LOÐBRÓK 95- in honour of his namesake St. Tobias. The King accepted the gift, wearing it for the rest of the visit.

The press was kept at a distance for the event, but the King was seen with children housed at the centre viewing banners made to support the Prydanian national team in the World Cup and even playing a bit of football himself with the older kids.

The King was also seen talking to a number of children over the course of a few hours, in conversations both Absalonhöll and Saint-Alban’s indicated were private, though Director Huseklepp did provide a bit of context.

“King Tobias is someone every kid here knows. He’s something of a larger than life person to them, and so for him to sit down and talk to them, hear their stories, and let them know he knows what they feel, it means a lot.”

His Majesty also secured seats for a large contingent of kids from the center to travel to Bâle and see Prydania’s opening World Cup match against Mansani on 7 September.

Orphans Here and Abroad

The King, as he indicated in his brief statement to the press regarding this visit, is himself an orphan of the political instability that led to the Civil War. His parents- Prince Robert and Princess Hanna- were executed by the Syndicalist regime alongside the rest of the Royal family in 2002, during the Syndicalist coup.

So it should come as no surprise that the plight of orphans from the Syndicalist era and Civil War is one the King holds close to his heart. He’s advocated for every Prime Minister since the War ended to provide funding and resources to War orphans here in Prydania, to ensure they are adequately housed and cared for. His Majesty has donated his own money to aid with the construction of facilities to house orphaned children and the last budget, arranged by Reynir Aaker’s government, called for an increase in funding to the adoption and foster system by 10%. All major parties going into next month’s election have pledged to provide more to the cause.

The King’s visit to the Saint-Alban Refugee Centre, however, indicates his passion for the cause goes beyond Prydania’s borders.

OOC Note: Post approved by @Kyle
 
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Opinion: The New Relationship Between Labour and Management
by Kære Trygstad


In 1870 the Stéttarfélagþingi (Trade Union Assembly) was formed, comprising of representatives from industrial labour unions from across Prydania. The goal was to provide a unified front of organized labour in the struggle for recognition and action in pursuit of their goals. In 1898 the SFþingi had achieved one of their stated goals by establishing a political party to represent the interest of organized industrial labour; the Syndicalist Party.

The Syndicalist Party's legacy is not complicated. It established a dictatorship in 2002 that lasted for fifteen years and their economic mismanagement, political repression, and the Civil War they plunged us into resulted in a ruined economy, four million dead, millions more displaced, and a sociology-economic hole it will take us at least two generations to recover from. For whatever anyone wants to say about its initial, noble goals or the accomplishments of Rune Leth's ten years in governance...none of it compares. I'm sorry to say this, I truly am, but the good has been eclipsed by Nielsen and the disaster he unleashed upon our country.

I feel that needs to be prefaced before I delve into today's subject; how we as a country are re-imagining the relationship between organized labour and management. Between employee and employer. As I delved into this subject for this article I discovered the situation is nuanced, complex, and still grappling with the fallout of Nielsen and his regime. But above all else it's trying to move beyond what has happened. And that is promising.

The Labour Board Act

The rise of organized labour in this country was a fundamentally antagonistic occurrence, and this fuelled the Syndicalist Party's worldview. It fuelled organized labour's worldview.
The government has, since the end of the Civil War, gone to great lengths to change this dynamic. In many ways it's a relatively easy task. The Syndicalist Party, despite standing for a society built on a federation of labour unions, centralized all trade unions and guilds under its iron fist when it established its dictatorship. As such the old union organizations, even the SFþingi, didn't exist when the Syndicalist Republic fell.

The Labour Board Act was introduced by Terje Nordholm, Magnus Brandt's Minister of Economic Growth. It was the last major legislative act of Herra Brandt's government before his retirement. It was an act that the government described as necessary given that the economy was at a point in recovery where an apparatus to oversee labour was necessary and viable. It was also, to quote Herra Brandt, "tidying up the last bits of the new political system our constitution affords us."

The act builds on the provincial model the Constitution, approved via popular referendum in February 2021, established. It creates localized labour boards across the country, under provincial jurisdiction. They are tasked with, among other things, settling disputes between unions and management in a particular community. And they are fundamentally designed to be cooperative, rather then competitive. Each board is made up of an equal number of representatives from that community's business community and organized labour workforce. An additional seat is appointed by the provincial government and acts purely as a mediator, only exercising voting rights if a tie-breaking vote is necessary.

Cooperation

The number of total seats of each board depends on the locality. Population and the economic base both factor into the size of the boards, though they all have equal authority in their locales.

"You can't just write off the Syndicalist Republic as a bad dream or cabal of madmen," Herra Nordholm explained when I contacted him for this piece.
"When you do that you're refusing to learn. And if the tragedy that befell this country is going to have any positives it should be imparting lessons that we can take to ensure it never happens again. So who influenced Thomas Nielsen? What shaped his world? Why? When you ask these questions you learn what the mistakes were."

Because each board has an equal number of representatives from the unions and from management compromise is key. Each side has to listen, and each side has to be willing to give a little bit to reach an agreement. The Act provides a very limited role for the government seat, limiting them to chairing the meetings. Even the tie-breaking duties can't be exercised unless certain conditions in negotiations are met, forcing it to be a last resort option and putting pressure on both management and union officials to reach agreements themselves.

"The problem with the government seat is that it's always appointed by the provincial government," Herra Nordholm explained.
"Depending on where you are that could be seen as an extra vote for either labour or business. So I designed it to be as neutral as possible through the legislation."

Herra Nordholm lost his Alþingi seat in the 2021 elections and now serves on one of the boards he created. He's returned to his hometown of Keris and serves as a representative of management on Keris' local labour board representing Keris SSS, the city's largest shipbuilding corporation.
"I looked to the Santonian model," he explained to me. "Organized labour's history there was less contentious then here. Less radical. There are a multitude of factors that led to that, but the system of emphasizing cooperation and compromise was one we could introduce here."

New Labour

Terje Nordholm was the primary architect of this system and now serves to represent management on one of the larger boards in the country. What of the organized labour side?

Jonas Solhjell served in the Syndicalist Republican Army, rising to the rank of Major. His capture led to his imprisonment after the War, as his rank excluded him from the King's mass pardon. Government prosecutors determined that he was not complicit in any of the Syndicalist regime's crimes and freed him in September of 2017.

"At first I got involved in the Aðstoð Hermanna* group," he explained.
"But I wanted to get involved in the new labour movement. My pabbi was a factory worker. Getting involved there seemed like a better way to honour his life then what I was doing in the SLH*."

So Herra Solhjell returned home. To Kerris. He serves on the same board as Herra Nordholm, as a representative the Keris branch of the Allt í Lagi* union.

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Allt í Lagi logo
Allt í Lagi has close to three million dues paying members in the construction, manufacturing, transport, and logistics trades. Herra Solhjell is a union officer who represents workers in Keris' Freya Motors plant.

"It's kind of unfair," he jokes, "because Terje set the system up. He knows the ins and outs! But no, the system is good. Management hears what we have to say, and we hear what they have to say. You could easily say 'there are more of us then them, we should have more of a voice!' but that's the kind of class warfare stuff that got us killing each other for fifteen years. It's better to listen and be heard."

That a Syndicalist Republican Army officer is taking that stance is a promising sign in and of itself, but results have already become apparent.
"It's a cooperative situation, and I think everyone wants the same thing. We just approach it from different perspectives."

I was curious about Allt í Lagi's makeup. Was it mostly old Syndicalists? As it turns out it's not.

"I wouldn't call myself a Syndicalist these days," Herra Solhjell explains. "Most of us old timers feel that way. I don't want to speak for everyone, but the totality of what happened...you can't stand by that. I'd just say most of us are union men these days. We want a fair shake of our people. And then the new blood...they're pretty hostile to the old regime."

He's talking about the "conscripted labourers." The Syndicalist Republic's policy of "conscripting" farmers and other "petty bourgeois" into industrial labour and mining gangs that functioned as little more than slave labour forces. The goal of the policy was to "re-educate" those the regime considered "class enemies" into loyal Syndicalists.
When the Syndicalist government fell these people were freed. Some returned to their old farms or businesses when they were returned to them. Others, the ones conscripted at a young age, only really know the work they were forced to do. Government programs after the War allowed most to find work in these fields. They too have joined new unions, but their own personal history makes them distrustful of anything that seems Syndicalist in nature.

"Allt í Lagi has been a vehicle for my personal growth," Jonas Solhjell says.
"I wanted to do something that would honour my family's legacy, but get away from everything the Syndicalists stood for at the end. So I joined Allt í Lagi to work towards getting the working man a fair shake in this new Prydania. And I soon found out that the younger crew, a lot of them were hurt badly by the regime. In some cases I've had more tension with my workers then I do with management! But like with the labour board I listen and I understand. It's helped."

Politics and Labour

That prompted me to ask that if Allt í Lagi could endorse a party, would it endorse the People's Party? He laughed.

"It would cause a huge debate I'm sure. A lot of the younger crew are FeB* types."

The government that emerged post-Civil War has worked hard to emphasize its commitment to representative democracy and personal liberty. One area in which it's been heavy-handed, however, is organized labour's relationship with politics. The Syndicalist Party was, for most of its history, intertwined with trade unions financially and structurally. It was this relationship that allowed Nielsen to leverage the trade unions to support his coup in 2002.

As a result of that and the tyranny the Syndicalist Republic unleashed the provisional government of William Aubyn passed a law that made it illegal for any trade union or guild to donate to a political party or endorse a political party. Individuals remain free to do as they please, but officers in unions need to clarify that any endorsement, monetary or otherwise, is personnel and not on the union's behalf. The law is still on the books.

"I don't know, to be honest," Herra Solhjell said.
"It would either be Peace not Blood or the People's Party if every Allt í Lagi branch across the country voted. But it's a moot point. We can't have that vote."

The Free Democratic Party government of Magnus Brandt and Reynir Aaker both kept the law in place, and a spokesman for Prime Minister Svane indicated that a review of the law is not a priority for the Peace not Blood/Conservative coalition government.
I asked Herra Solhjell if he wanted the law revoked.

"I really don't know. I don't think so," he said.
"I got caught up in things the last time labour and politics got intertwined badly. My goals are working for the benefit of our union members. Full stop. We can talk about lifting these restrictions down the line. Right now we have work to do."

Down the Line

As I said at the start of this piece, the legacy of the Syndicalist Party is not complicated. It represents a national trauma, a disaster that we will crawling back from for some time. The intersection of organized labour and politics is one such legacy. This has been an exercise in examining the recent history of organized labour in Prydania and seeing where it is now.

Union reps and management working towards cooperation rather then against each other. An organized labour landscape that exists to be more than a single political party's armed flank. Like with most things in this country, this new vision of labour is building itself up. It won't be fully formed or realized for years to come. I can't speak for what will be right for them, or the country, in twenty years. But I can say in the here and now, the foundations seem strong.



*Aðstoð Hermanna- Soldier's Aid, a group that advocates for peaceful reintegration of Syndicalist Republican Armed Forces personnel into society.
*SLH- Syndicalist Republican Army
*Allt í Lagi- OK
*FeB- Peace not Blood

OOC Note: Thank you to @Kyle for the info on Santonian labour relations
 
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Government Takes Aim at Communists via Food
by Týra Murer

Býkonsviði- The Kingdom of Prydania officially cancelled all food shipments to New Aleman following New Aleman's rejecting of Prime Minister Svane's call for peace.

The Prime Minister, seeking to take a more pro-active stance on the world stage then that of his Free Democratic Party predecessors, stated that Prydanian food shipments to New Aleman would stop if New Aleman did not agree to peace terms with Predice following their expulsion from Predician territory.

"New Aleman chose war, not Predice," Sören Högh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs stated when asked for comment.
"We can no longer consciously support New Aleman, even under the current agreement. New Aleman had a chance at peace with no further loss of life but they chose to continue the conflict."

Aid for Both Sides

The agreement referenced was one agreed to by the Magnus Brandt government. Under its terms Prydania would provide aid in the form of grains and bread to New Aleman through Santonian channels under two conditions; that the aid only go to New Alemaner civilians and that the shipments contain no Prydanian markings.
The reason for the latter condition became obvious shortly after, when the deal became public. The public sentiment in the war was, and remains, largely pro-Predician.

"Why are we feeding New Aleman? They're just as bad as Syndicalists," twenty-six year old Viktor Steinbak of Haland said at the time. His opinion was echoed elsewhere.

"We know who and what New Aleman is," thirty-seven year old Eldbjörg Melberg of Keris insisted.
"We shouldn't be propping them up when they supported the people who let us all starve."

Then-Prime Minister Brandt touted the agreement as one that would aid New Aleman's people, not military. And cited his government's open commitment to food and vaccines to Predice.

A Reevaluation

The new Peace not Blood/Conservative government began to re-asses the policy it had inherited back in January.

"As strange as it sound," RÚV political correspondent Ingunn Roberg said, "the expulsion of the New Aleman military from Predice was the perfect point to act for the government. The situation was status quo antebellum. Give New Aleman a chance for peace before reneging on the deal."

Prime Minister Svane made it clear that food and vaccines would continue to be shipped to Predice. And to Saintonge to aid Predician refugees. For how long?

"As long as our friends need them," he insisted.

But the shipments to New Aleman have ended.
"I want to be very frank," the Prime Minister insisted.
"This is not a 'both sides' conflict. Predice was invaded. This war was an unprovoked act of aggression on the part of New Aleman. If Prydanian aid is in any way prolonging the war then that is something we need to stop. The New Aleman regime is criminal."

Public Response

The public response in Prydania has been overwhelmingly pro-Predician.
A recent RÚV poll, conducted after Prime Minister Svane's ultimatum, indicated that around ~94% of Prydanians viewed Predice favourably in the conflict. ~5% were undecided. Only ~1% indicated they viewed New Aleman positively in the conflict.

Questions of Trade Move Beyond New Aleman

A side-effect of the talk around the Prime Minister's ultimatum to New Aleman was the presence of Rayvostokan goods on Prydanian shelves.

A protest led by local farmers in Erkiengil was held outside of the city's chief Sayfansinn grocery store.

"They sell Rayvostokan rum," Vali Elkjær, the leader of the protest told RÚV.
"And they use the same 'collectivized agriculture' there that we all suffered under. Everyone here was affected by that. Our stance is that selling goods from collectivized systems is immoral. I'm tired of the wheat I harvest going to New Aleman and I'm tired of this collectivized crap in my country. It's an insult."

The protest sparked similar events across the country, prompting Lodin Sayfansinn to agree to drop Rayvostokan products from its shelves.

"We won't be purchasing products from Rayvostoka any longer," Herra Sayfansinn insisted.
"They don't have a place in our stores and they run contrary to our values."

The success of the short but visible movement has prompted calls from the government to formally embargo Rayvostoka, itself embroiled in a war with the Imperium in Auroria.

"The government's ultimatum to New Aleman re-opened that debate," Dr. Fred Reinertsen, a professor of political science at the University of Býkonsviði, said.

"Once that happened people start asking 'what about Rayvostoka?'"

RÚV reached out to the Prime Minister's office, and was told that the government is considering a number of economic proposals without commenting on an embargo of Rayvostoka specifically. Dr. Reinertsen, however, thinks it's likely.
"The government is led by Peace not Blood. They are loath to commit to war unless it's necessary, but that doesn't meant they're not principled. And many of Peace not Blood's þingmenn* and voters have first-hand experiences with Syndicalism's tyranny. Something like this would be appealing to them and ideologically consistent."

The new coalition government made its feelings on Rayvostoka known when it indicated Prydania's LP representatives were to take a harder line against the Aurorian communist regime in the Pact.

Now the Prime Minister has followed through on an ultimatum with New Aleman, another communist power.

"The Prime Minister believes we are in a unique position to take a stand against tyranny given our recent history," a spokesman for the Prime Minister said.

If so then the possibility that the government will act on Rayvostoka as well remains high.



*þingmenn- MPs
 
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Embargo Against Rayvostoka Proposed in Alþingi
by Týra Murer

Býkonsviði- The Peace not Blood ÞM* for Kopanes og Bæjum (ER-7) Ísgeir Aðaldal has proposed legislation that would formally place an economic embargo on the rogue communist state of Rayvostoka in Auroria. The proposal comes amidst the decision from Prime Minister Svane to end the shipment of bread and grains to New Aleman once New Aleman rejected the Prime Minister's call for peaceful in Meterra.

Ísgeir Aðaldal and Rural Activism

Herra Aðaldal hails from the town of Kiojaleit, Erkiengil. He lost his parents during the Syndicalist collectivization process and resorted to black market activity to survive until he joined the FRE as a saboteur and spy as he got older. Following the end of the War he joined the Agrarian Party, long the dominant political party in the region prior to the rise of the SoComm fascists and Syndicalists. He was elected to the Alþingi in 2018, the first free elections in Prydania since 1984, to represent the þingsviði* of Kopanes og Bæjum on the Agrarian ticket. He was elected at the age of twenty-six.

Herra Aðaldal was quiet for much of his early career in Alþingi, sitting as a younger member of the opposition. He first came to national prominence when he left the Agrarian Party in protest over then-Conservative-Agrarian Alliance leader Tenna Nygaard's disparaging remarks about Kiojaleit native Prydanian-born Santonian National Assembly member Thorbjörn Höjsleth following an attack on Herra Höjsleth two years ago.
Herra Aðaldal would later go onto to become the first Peace not Blood ÞM when he changed his designation in the Alþingi from "Independent" to that of the then-activist network. He was returned to his seat in the 2021 election, with nearly 53% of the vote.

Bændur á móti Rayvastak

Peace not Blood did not originate in Kiojaleit, or Erkiengil for that matter. Still, it grew there and in other rural areas. Now Herra Aðaldal finds his home the epicentre of another movement. Bændur á móti Rayvastak, Farmers against Rayvostoka, was organized among the farmers of Erkiengil to protest the presence of Rayvostokan products on the shelfs of Sayfansinn supermarkets. The movement spread from the city of Erkiengil to Sayfansinn branches across the country.
Lodin Sayfansinn, CEO of Sayfansinn Prydansk, met with the leaders of Farmers against Rayvostoka to hear their concerns. Their argument that it was immoral for a Prydanian store to carry products made via collectivized agriculture that that which the Syndicalist regime imposed on them resonated with Herra Sayfansinn. The CEO agreed to stop carrying Rayvostokan goods, donating what stock was left to charity.

Farmers against Rayvostoka, however, merely saw that success as step one. They have since successfully lobbied a ÞM to call for an economic embargo against the Aurorian communist power. While Herra Aðaldal introduced the bill he was not alone. It was signed by nearly every Peace not Blood ÞM representing a rural constituency.

"We have cut off the flow of goods to New Aleman," Herra Aðaldal said in a speech before the Alþingi, "because we have taken the step to say we do condone their war against Predice. As we speak now Rayvostoka is engaged in a war against another ally, Austurveldi*. Let's make it clear to them that we do not condone their aggression either, and that we don't condone their exploitative collectivized systems that so many in this chamber suffered from first hand. Let's take that stand."

The Debate

Herra Aðaldal's proposal has just been introduced and will take time to work through the Alþingi, but the Kiojaleit native is confident.
"We didn't fight and lose so much to build a Prydania that enables regimes like Rayvostoka's," he said when asked by RÚV for a comment.
"I believe that the coalition will come together around this cause. And I ask our friends from the Free Democrats to as well. Principled stands don't need to be partisan."

Prime Minister Svane has made a point of being for assertive on the world stage then either of his Free Democratic Party predecessors, and has stated that he believes Prydania can be force for combating authoritarian regimes the world over. Is an economic embargo something he will pursue, however? He has already proven he will follow through on his ultimatums with the New Aleman situation. Whether or not he wants to exert that will with Rayvostoka remains to be seen.



*ÞM- MP
*þingsviði- constituency
*Austurveldi- Eastern Empire, the Imperium Sudivici
 
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PSS Re-Founded as Prydania Returns to the World of International Chess
by Jofrid Loberg

Býkonsviði- The Skáksamband Prydansk- Prydanian Chess Association- was re-founded in Býkonsviði yesterday. The event marked the re-establishment of the SSP after a six year hiatus.

Chess in Prydania

The original organization was founded in 1903 by an amalgamation of five chess clubs across the country. Its first president was Askr Bahat, a native of Ælgaras, he served as the original SSP president until 1912.
The SSP had a quiet history for most of its tenure- Prydania was never a major player in the world of international chess- though it did represent Prydania at a number of international tournaments during its original tenure.

The SSP's apolitical nature meant it flew under both SoComm and Syndicalist governments' radars, though both SoComm regimes considered chess a "Shaddaist game," both due to the game's origins in ancient Iraelia and its popularity among Prydanian Shaddaists.

The original SSP was finally dissolved by the Syndicalist government in 2016 when its remaining members were all forcibly conscripted into the People's Militia as the Syndicalist war effort faltered.

The Re-Founding

One of those individuals, former SSP Vice President Sten Solheim, was captured in Barosovik in late 2016. He faced no legal repercussions on account of his forcible conscription into the People's Militia and his low rank. He was released in August of 2017 following the King's pardon.

Herra Solheim presently works as a literature teacher in Frelsi, but working towards putting his life back together post-War hasn't been the only thing he's been busy with.

"A lot of the good people who ran the SSP near the end died in the War. Ingrid [Borseth] and I, though, have been trying to get the SSP up and running."

Ingrid Borseth was likewise captured by FRE forces, and like Herra Solheim she was released with no charges against her. Both served on the board of directors of the original SSP and both have done what they can to re-establish it. Fröken Borseth has restarted her family business in Myrr, but has worked with her friend and former colleague in Býkonsviði in getting the SSP back up and running.

"We've both been running chess clubs in our communities," Fröken Borseth said.
"And doing what we can to promote the game and form connections with clubs elsewhere."

That effort seems to have paid off. Seven clubs from across Prydania formally agreed to merge into the new SSP. The rights to the name and records of the old SSP have also been secured, via a deal with the government that had been sitting on them since the end of the Syndicalist Republic.

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New SSP logo
Chess in Prydania Going Forward

Again, Prydania has never been a standout in the world of chess. Presently the most famous Prydanian chess player is a Santonian, Tobias Syndergaard. Still, Herra Solhiem and Fröken Borseth have very straightforward goals.

"Right now we hope to spread support for chess in Prydania. The original SSP existed for one hundred and thirteen years," Herra Solheim explained.
"So that tells me there is enough love and support for chess for us to build on. We want to promote the game in schools and among after-school programs and get young people into it. And promote it as a healthy and intellectual hobby for adults to get into."

"The long term goals are to establish healthy and vibrant local chapters across the country," Fröken Borseth added.
"And also, to represent Prydania internationally in chess competitions."

Herra Solhiem also runs Frelsi High School's chess club.
"We're getting some clubs set up in schools in Býkonsviði," he said, "and here we're finding a pretty solid niche."

A niche indeed. Frelsi is a new city, built to accommodate displaced refugees outside of Býkonsviði following the War. It is almost entirely comprised of new public housing, but more to the point it's not a town with established points of leisure.

"Our parents mostly work a lot of long hours," Herra Solheim said.
"We have a park, and a small cinema, but other than that you can take a train into Býkonsviði if you're a board teenager. Our chess club is free to any student who wants in. We all pitch in for snacks, we play, talk about the game, and hang out. I think a lot of our parents are happy knowing their kids are here."

Herra Solheim has high hopes for his kids too. The SSP is organizing its first event, a country-wide under-18 tournament made up of high school clubs across the country with the finals scheduled for the first week of summer following the end of the academic year.

"I think Frelsi will do well," Herra Solheim has said.
"And then? Who knows!"

The SSP is headquartered in Býkonsviði and accepting applications for accreditation for any chess club across Prydania, regardless of age bracket.
 
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May Day 2022 Ushers in Spring
by Asvard Brekken

Býkonsviði- Celebrations are occurring across the country as May Day begins to officially turn the calendar on winter and usher in the spring season. Though the last snow fall occurred in early April it isn't "officially" spring until May Day, and people are eager to celebrate after one of the coldest winters in the last ten years.

May Day Origins

May Day's origins have long been shrouded in mystery but they are believed to lie in Gothis as a celebration of the coming of spring and the start of planting crops after a long winter. It was later Messianized as St. Walpurgis Eve, occurring on 30 April and named after the Gotic saint, Walpurga.

The holiday, having lost some importance in other Gotic countries, remained strong in Prydania as a result of its traditionally strong agricultural economy. The stretch from May Day to Midsummer (21 June) marks a stretch of time known as the "Sólarhátíð" in Prydania, or "Solar Festival." Like Midsummer a huge component of May Day is the lighting of bonfires, though it lacks the burning of the witch effigy that marks the Midsummer festival.

Syndicalist Repression

The Syndicalist Republic declared the holiday "culturally chauvinist" and "ideologically feudal" upon coming to power, though 1 May did remain a holiday. The day was rechristened "the Day of the Worker," attempting to supplant its associations with farming and the harvest with that of the industrial labourer.

May Day was recognized in FRE territory though, and became an official holiday once more when the Syndicalist regime collapsed.

May Day 2022

The winter of 2021-2022 was one of the coldest winters in the last ten years, making this year's May Day a day to look forward to more so than in other years. Farms across the country have already begun to lay crops for the coming year, and May Day promises those farmers and farmhands a celebration before the hard work leading into the summer really gets going. For the rest of the country it's a celebration of no longer having to endure the winter. At least until December comes around again.

published on 1 May 2022 at 12:00 pm

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2022 ÍDP Hamar Cup Playoffs to Begin
by Marís Laufland

Býkonsviði- The ÍDP Hamar Cup Playoffs are set to begin once May Day has past. This is the first season with the expanded playoffs as a result of the expansion that saw the league grow from six teams to twelve.

The new format allows for eight teams, four per conference. For three rounds of playoffs. All in all it was a good showing for the league's six expansion teams. Of the eight teams to make the playoffs four were original six teams and four were "next six" teams.

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The 2022 Hamar Cup Playoffs bracket

The Matchups

Konunglegur Býkonsviði, the defending Hamar Cup Champions, scored top slot in the Western Conference after a season long battle with the Krummedike Griffanar. As a reward the defending champs will take on Erkiengill ÍF, the fourth seed.
Krummedike, for securing the second place seed in the West, will take on the Jórvík Leeus.

In the Eastern Conference number one seed and Commissioner's Cup winner Alaterva Vatniðar will take on Miðland ÍF, starting another chapter in the storied Miðland/Alaterva hockey rivalry.
The Eastern Conference's number two seed, Haland Víkingar, will face the Leiruvagr Hrímþursar.

published on 1 May 2022 at 12:00 pm
 
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Bayardi Separatist Party Forms, Announces Candidate for Jórvík's Lord Mayor Elections
by Týra Murer

Jórvík- The Bayardi Action Party's formation six months ago was a rather low-key affair. A few statements about giving Bayardi a political voice that ignored the fact that Jórvík branches dominated by Bayardi exist for every major political party in Prydania, but not much else. That changed today when Christoffel van Schalkwyk, a local restaurant owner in Jórvík, announced his candidacy for the Lord Mayor elections in September on the BAP ticket.

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Bayardi Action Party logo

Rather than simply announce his candidacy Herra van Schalkwyk promised to change the city of Jórvík's name to "Yôrk" if he were elected Lord Mayor. Never mind that such an act is beyond the power of the Lord Mayor. It was shock value that Herra van Schalkwyk was aiming for.
If promising to ditch a city name that has lasted nearly a thousand years didn't do it, his next act on Twitcher did. He quoted a ten-moth old twitch from noted anti-Prydanian and anti-Predician xenophobe Santonian Radical Party François-Louis Villault. In the old twitch Herra Villault called back to Vortgyn I's conquest of the Bayardi as a means to vilify Prydanian refugees in Saintonge. He claimed that, like Vortgyn, they would attempt to conquer Saintonge.
Herra Villault's twitch nearly a year ago got torn apart at the time, including by the Thane of Jórvík's son. Herra Villault then moved onto his next obsession, ranting about Saintonge developing a viable and talented hockey system, leaving his previous twitch largely forgotten as just one of many angry ramblings.
Until today when Herra van Schalkwyk proclaimed the twitch as "truth" and promised Herra Villault "good news" from Prydania.
The BAP backed their candidate.

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Christoffel van Schalkwyk, BAP candidate for Lord Mayor of Jórvík in the September elections

The whole incident led to a number of responses. The Thane of Jórvík released a statement declaring that division had no place in Bayardi political discourse, citing the long history of autonomy the Bayardi-speaking Thanedom- now Province- of Jórvík has had. He also touched on his own experience as a FRE leader, and touted the Bayardi population's support for the FRE and Crown during the Civil War.

The other parties also responded. The Conservatives and Peace not Blood opted to not split the right wing vote by choosing one candidate, Zander Rensburg. Herra Rensburg's announcement stated that he was running on unity, not division, and rejected Herra van Schalkwyk's rhetoric. Luca Smuts, running on the People's Party ticket, declared Herra van Schalkwyk's message was full of "petty, destructive nationalism."

Notably, however, only the Free Democratic Party's Pieter Bruyn replied on Twitcher. He declared he wasn't here to "inflame petty grievances, lavish foreign demagogues with praise, or wage ...war," but was running to make Jórvík "a city that works for everyone."

"If Christoffel van Schalkwyk wants to run his mouth on Twitcher, I'll meet him on Twitcher. Just like I'll meet him in the Lord Mayor Election's debate," Herra Bruyn said in a statement to RÚV.

Polling

Aneke van Rooyen, the outgoing Lord Mayor, is a member of the Free Democratic Party, and the party swept the city in the October 2021 election. This has resulted in Pieter Bruyn enjoying a seven point lead over Zander Rensburg. Political analysts predict that Luca Smuts, however, could have to fend off Christoffel van Schalkwyk.

"The BAP is new," Dr. Wilona Cronie of Political Science at Jórvík University said.
"Expecting a win might be a bit much, but if they can supplant the People's Party that would be a win. It will prove the movement has viability."

That, more than anything else, might be the method behind Herra van Schalkwyk's madness. By declaring he's going to rename the city and by being willing to embrace François-Louis Villault he's made the BAP the centre of attention for a race they might otherwise only be a footnote in.

33% FLFP Pieter Bruyn
26% ÍF/FeB Zander Rensburg
18% AF Luca Smuts
3% BAP Christoffel van Schalkwyk
20% Undecided
 
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Alþingi Approves Embargo on Rayvostoka in Conscience Vote
by Týra Murer

Býkonsviði- Ísgeir Aðaldal (PnB/ER-7) found himself in a fierce debate with Sigewulf Reiten (PP/BY-19) over proposed legislation that would formally embargo the rogue communist state of Rayvostoka.

The bill is not a formal part of the Peace not Blood/Conservative coalition legislative agenda. Instead it began as a private member's bill on Herra Aðaldal's part. He had proposed the legislation after the country's largest grocery chain, Sayfansinn, agreed to head the demands of Farmers Against Rayvostoka. The group argues that it is immoral to import agricultural goods from the communist state that are produced under state-controlled collectivized agriculture.

The painful legacy of collectivized agriculture was invoked by Herra Aðaldal on the floor of the Alþingi. The Kiojaleit native, whose home town was fundamentally victimized by Syndicalist collectivization, claimed that the Kingdom of Prydania had a moral obligation stand up to dictatorial regimes that engaged in practices similar to the Syndicalist government.

Herra Reiten, for his part, asserted that an embargo would only harm the people of Rayvostoka and cited Prydania's post-Fascist War history as a founding member of the FSO, an apolitical organization dedicated to securing markets for agricultural goods and combating hunger the world over.

Embargo Gains Support

The initial piece of legislation submitted by Herra Aðaldal was co-sponsored by all Peace not Blood Þingmenn* representing rural Þingsviði*. Support soon came from the coalition's junior partners, the Conservatives. The Conservatives began to take notice when dock workers' unions in Conservative-heavy Austurland began to voice support for the proposed embargo.

Ævar Gundersen, a spokesman for the dockworkers' union of Haland, cited a case in Saintonge where dockworkers in the city of Nyon voted to no longer load or unload goods coming to or from New Aleman, given that country's war with Predice.

"We saw that case, and we realized we have that power here. Where do goods coming from Auroria enter this country? Here in Austurland, along the Auburn Coast. And we're the biggest port here in Haland. We support Herra Aðaldal. If he can't get it done in the Alþingi we'll get it done here."

This seemed to push a number of Conservative ÞMs into supporting the legislation. Still, it remained a private member bill and Prime Minister Svane declared that it would be a Conscience Vote for Peace not Blood ÞMs. Conservative leader and Deputy Prime Minister Sören Högh indicated the same for his caucus, followed by Opposition leader Maríanna Toft indicating the same for the Free Democrats. Anne Gram of the People's Party soon followed suit.

Results

In the end every member of the Peace not Blood/Conservative coalition voted in favour of the embargo on Rayvostoka, guaranteeing its passage. But that did not tell the whole tale.

The Rayvostoka Embargo Act passed 155-12, with fifteen abstentions. The breakdowns per party were as such...

FeB
054y 000n 000a
ÍF

048y 000n 000a
FLFP

044y 000n 011a
AF

009y 012n 004a
Total

155y 012n 015a

The results tell us a few things. The first and most obvious is that the coalition came together in the end when the more urban wings of Peace not Blood and the Conservatives realized there was deeper support for this proposal than just the rural heartland.
The Free Democrats mostly voting "yay" is somewhat surprising. Fröken Toft had indicated she didn't consider the proposed legislation her party's "fight," and Free Democrats largely sat out the debate around it. None of them voted "nay" though, with eleven abstaining and forty-four joining the government in voting "yay."
It is within the People's Party that things were interesting though. The split is almost entirely along Krummedike/urban lines. The People's Party representing the old Syndicalist heartland in mining country all either voted with the government or abstained. The party's twelve "nay" votes all came from the People's Party ÞMs from Býkonsviði, Keris, and Hadden. There seems to be a divide between the urban seats and the traditional mining heartland seats. Shockingly it's the old Syndicalist heartland that seems to support the tough measures against Rayvostoka.

"I think, when you look at the Brenntland* you can make the mistake in assuming that these people are heirs to the old Syndicalists," Dr. Fred Reinertsen, a professor of political science at the University of Býkonsviði, said.
"To many of these people they want a left wing option that isn't tied to the madness of Syndicalism. They're just as likely to condemn the Syndicalist era as anyone else is these days. They likely don't see why their new People's Party should be giving the benefit of the doubt to leftist dictatorships."

Royal Assent

The passed act has been sent to His Majesty. Absalonhöll indicated His Majesty would sign it tomorrow at noon.



*Þingmenn- MPs
*Þingsviði- riding, constituency
*Brenntland- "Burned Land," mining country, traditional Syndicalist heartland
 
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Opinion: Misconceptions of Labour and Why They Matter
by Ljot Ellestad


My colleague Kære Trygstad wrote a piece about the changing nature of organized labour in Prydania and the steps being taken to reshape the relationships between labour and management in a positive direction.
One aspect of Kære's piece touched on the post-Civil War law that barred unions from officially endorsing political candidates or donating to parties.

My piece here is less a response to Kære's editorial as much as it is a follow-up. The perception at the time, in 2017, was that the law was specifically targeting the left wing. It had been the Syndicalist Party's intertwined nature with organized labour that helped shape the antagonistic world view of both, and which led to Nielsen's rise. There were many unions, back in the post-Fascist War period, where if you joined a portion of your annual dues would be donated to the Syndicalist Party automatically. Many people were simply never aware of this and became Syndicalist Party donors without even knowing it.

So when the post-Civil War provisional government of William Aubyn drafted legislation barring the political association between labour unions and politics many assumed it was specifically addressing the left, a heavy handed corrective measure from a government that usually steered clear of them. That perception has persisted today, with the general belief being that the party most hamstrung by this policy is the People's Party. That reality, however, has not persisted.

The Rainbow Nature of Labour Politics

Kære discovered this over the course of writing his editorial. He asked Jonas Solhjell, an Allt í Lagi union rep for Keris' Freya Motors workers, if the union would endorse the People's Party if it could legally do so. Herra Solhjell confessed he wasn't sure, pointing out that many of the younger workers the union represents lean towards Peace not Blood.

That was intriguing. The thought sat with me, mulling around in my mind until Ísgeir Aðaldal proposed an embargo against Rayvostoka in the Alþingi. As that was being debated the dockworkers' union in the city of Haland decided to take inspiration from the dockworkers of Nyon in Saintonge and threatened industrial action regarding ships coming to and from Rayvostoka if Herra Aðaldal's embargo wasn't supported in the Alþingi.
That got me thinking. So I decided to pull up the electoral maps from the October 2021 election. There are some interesting local results I want to go over.

Let's look at the city of Haland, Austurland's largest city and where dockworkers were ready to support the embargo.
In NA-5, the Haland-Sankt Mary Þingsviði, the People's Party got 0.09% of the vote. And NA-5 is the city's port district! The Þingsviði most likely to contain union men overwhelming rejected the People's Party. NA-5 went to the Free Democrats, but the combined votes for the Conservative Party and Peace not Blood put it firmly in the coalition government's camp.

The People's Party's numbers only get marginally better if we look at the rest of the city. 0.12% in NA-1/Haland-Sankt Kaldor, 0.11% in NA-2/Haland-Sankt Tobias. 0.12% in NA-3/Haland-Sankt Vortgyn, and 0.11% in NA-4/Haland-Sankt Absalon. This is nothing but a total wipeout in Austurland's most urbanized locale.
Going to the region's second largest city, Darrow, isn't much different. The People's Party "won" 0.10% of the vote in SA-1/Darrow og Bæjum.

So now, with these numbers in mind, let me ask you, the reader, this. Do the cities of Austurland not have working class people? Do they not have dockworkers, factory workers, fishermen, garbage men, delivery drivers, electricians, plumbers, and technicians? Of course they do. In fact due to Austurland's early liberation during the Civil War its economic infrastructure is robust relatively speaking. It's just that these people, these union people, are very much disinterested in voting for the People's Party. The vote for the Conservatives or Peace not Blood or the Free Democrats.

The People's Party and the Legacy of Syndicalism

This wasn't always the case. While the Syndicalists, even at their best, were never incredibly popular in Austurland they still secured the working class organized labour vote in the major cities and large towns of the region.
This has not transferred to the People's Party.

The People's Party was formed by moderate Syndicalists who defected from the regime when its excesses and abuses became too much to bare. It was born out of the Popular Movement, an underground resistance cell operated by these defectors, to work against the Syndicalist regime behind their own lines during the War.

The secured only two seats in the 2018 election. This was not seen as a particularly damning outcome. The party was new, the party had Syndicalist baggage to shake off, and its presence mostly in western Prydania meant that they didn't have time to re-acquaint themselves with Austurland.

The 2021 elections can be seen as a mixed bag for the People's Party. They gained twenty-two seats, kept the seat they won in the Keris by-election, and kept their two from 2018 for a total of twenty-five. Not bad, all things considered. Yet their support was mostly in the traditionally left wing Brenntland of Krummedike and the working class areas of Býkonsviði and Hadden. They didn't make any further headway into Keris like expected, and they were totally wiped from the electoral map in Austurland.
The party had three years to tap into that pre-Nielsen pro-democracy Syndicalist legacy and re-establish itself. It managed to do that in Býkonsviði, Hadden, Keris to an extent, and in the traditionally left-wing Brenntland. So why did the working class vote in Austurland fall flat for them?

Austurland has always been the most conservative party of the country, socially speaking. It's the land of Vortgyn, Thuanics, where Courantism is its strongest, and where you'll find the more conservative Laurenist congregations. It's an area of the country the Synidcalists never fully controlled, or managed to subdue, and where the FRE's war of liberation came from.
Syndicalist support in the working class urban areas always came from the more socially conservative Syndicalists who were able to tailor their message of working class values to the socially conservative working class.

Not only was this wing of the Syndicalist Party purged by Nielsen and Lieftur, but the Syndicalist regime's actions in Austurland galvanized the already rebellious region against it. The Hangings of Darrow left a stain that the People's Party, despite their hard work to distance themselves from the Syndicalists, haven't scrubbed away.

Present Day Situation

Whether the People's Party can make inroads into the urban working class areas of Austurland remains to be seen. What I can say for certain, however, is that presently these union dues-paying people are very much not casting ballots for the People's Party.

The takeaway is that the law that bans unions from donating to, and endorsing, political candidates and parties is not something targeting the left or just the People's Party. It's a broad law, one that reflects our nation's history of the abuses that occur when politics and organized labour intermingle.
And its provisions affect the political right as much as the political left.
 
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1 November 2021

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New Government Hints at Foreign Policy Shift
by Týra Murer

Býkonsviði- The term "ójöfn hugsjónastefna" was tossed around a lot during the campaign by now-Prime Minister Kjell Svane. For Prydanians who had been frustrated with the Brandt/Aaker government's decisions in the foreign policy realm the term was intriguing.

For our foreign friends the term is likely confusing. And to that I say it's ok. Prydansk as a language usually makes you work for it if you didn't grow up with it.

"Ójöfn hugsjónastefna" means "uneven idealism." And it's what Kjell Svane and Peace not Blood used as their primary critique of three years of Free Democratic foreign policy.

Cogoria on My Mind

Cogoria has always been an enigma. They were the Syndicalist regime's closest allies, suppliers of weapons and good while most other powers placed sanctioned on Nielsen's government.

In 2016 the Crown Conflict flared up and Mintorian aggression led to a rebellion that seemed on the verge of toppling the communist regime to join it instead. A strange communist fusion with old imperial elements emerged.

In 2017 the Syndicalist Republic collapsed. Late in its life Kanada finally joined the war alongside the FRE, Goyaneans, and Andrennians. Cogoria was weak and disorganized from the rebellion, Crown Conflict, and the uneasy marriage in government structure. Kanada didn't fear a Cogorian invasion, and so they joined in and helped kill the Syndicalist snake once and for all.

Possibilities that the Cogorian government might moderate given its hybrid nature were dashed when Cogorian weaponry was found among Syndicalist holdouts in the immediate post-Civil War era- it seemed like Cogoria was still willing to support Syndicalism.

And then...hardliners struck. With hardliners in Cogoria attempting to seize power Premier Zukhov asked the newly formed Bergum Pact for help. And help they did. Bergum Pact troops- including Prydanians- entered Cogoria and helped government troops suppress hardliners.

Once the dead was done there certain opportunities presented. Zukhov's regime formally recognized the validity of all Bergum Pact members. Including Prydania's. And the option of them joining the Bergum Pact was presented.

"It was something I wouldn't have dreamed of," then Minister of Foreign Affairs Harald Daaé.
"Cogoria join the BP? As a partner? We'd turn this threat into a friend. We'd secure Bergum Pact security through northern Craviter. These were very early days in our recovery. The prospect of Cogoria no longer as a threat and the security gains it brought as an ally were too much to pass up."

And Prydanian support was necessary. The Bergum Pact's leadership is co-equal. All decisions on new membership must be unanimous.
And it was far from a given despite Minister Daaé's enthusiasm.

"I wasn't sold at all," Former Prime Minister and then-Minister of Defence Reynir Aaker said.
"We helped Zukhov's regime survive. And now we want to make them co-equals? No we should have leveraged something more."

But then-Prime Minister Magnus Brandt backed Daaé, and convinced His Majesty to cast a "yay" vote for Cogorian membership in the Bergum Pact.

Absalonhöll has never issued a statement on His Majesty's opinions on the matter, but sources close to the King haven indicated he was far from certain about it, under conditions of anonymity.

Public opinion wasn't sold either, with a plurality of those polled at the time opposing the move due to Cogoria's communist regime remaining in place and its past support for the Syndicalist government.

Prime Minister Brandt defended the move as a means of securing peace across northern Craviter and because the positives Cogoria brought simply outweighed the reservations against it.

This is what Kjell Svane termed "ójöfn hugsjónastefna."

Uneven Idealism

This seemed to set the pattern for how the Free Democratic government approached authoritarian leftist regimes.

Aid was given to both Predice and New Aleman despite over 90% of Prydanians supporting Predice in their defensive war against New Aleman.
The government justified it as a means to ensure the people of New Aleman never went hungry.

When Rayvostoka barged into the Luscova Pact to demand membership as a safeguard against an enemy they antagonized Prydania objected alongside Predice but most Pact countries- including close allies Norsia, Illia, and Essalanea- insisted Rayvostoka should be allowed to join in the name of cooperation and international brotherhood.
Prydania's delegation, despite opposing the entry, received directives from the then-Free Democratic government to work on a compromise solution. That occurred. Rayvostoka was admitted.

In these cases, along with Cogoria, Prydanian diplomats were asked to swallow our country's pride in the name of an idealistic goal.
At least that's what the polls indicate. Cogoria's favourability rating has risen as their regime has proven to act in good faith to the agreements made, but New Aleman and Rayvostoka remain deeply unliked in Prydania.

Which is why Kjell Svane's term of "unequal idealism" seems to have registered.

"The Free Democratic government," Herra Svane said on the campaign trail, "has put Prydanian values and Prydanian idealism on the backburner while other states impose a different sense of idealism onto us. One where we have to sacrifice our dignity, our beliefs for someone else's. It's uneven. It takes us for granted."

"We," he continued, "need to work with our friends and allies. Be productive and always work in good faith. But part of that means we must- and a Peace not Blood government will- make it clear that we cannot always be sacrificing. We do not exist to tolerate regimes that would see us dead and buried."

Svane's career as a diplomat and two successful terms as PGU Chancellor allowed him to successfully fend off attacks that his rhetoric wasn't diplomatically viable.

What Happens Now?

With Prime Minister Svane now heading a Peace not Blood-led coalition government we are left to wonder how this will all manifest.

Conservative Party leader and new Foreign Minister Sören Högh has hinted at some realities going forward. He called Cogoria's membership in the Bergum Pact a "settled issue" that neither Prydania or any other Pact member wishes to revisit. Rayvostoka and New Aleman, however, were issues the new government will look at and adjust policy if necessary.

"We have a responsibility," Prime Minister Svane said in his first speech before the Alþingi.
"It's a responsibility to stand up to tyrants and demagogues. Tragedy is only truly a tragedy if no good comes from it. The tragedy that befell our country, however, will bare fruit...and the painful lessons of our past will be used to guide us on the world stage. We will say we will not tolerate this, we will not stand down to this. We know the boot of tyranny and we will not surrender to it elsewhere."
 
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2022 ÍDP Hamar Cup Conference Finals Set
by Marís Laufland

Býkonsviði- The first round of the Hamar Cup Playoffs are in the books, and it's looking blue!


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The 2022 Hamar Cup Playoffs bracket after Round One

Round One

Konunglegur Býkonsviði, the defending Hamar Cup Champions, dispatched Erkiengill ÍF in six games. Many weren't sure how Erkiengill, one of the expansion teams and one that barely beat out Keris for the final Western playoff spot, would stack up against the defending champs. At first Býkonsviði seemed to be cruising to a victory, winning the first three games and looking like they were on their way to an easy sweep. Instead Erkiengill came back to push the series to 3-2 before Býkonsviði won game six to take the series 4-2.

The Krummedike Griffanar surprised everyone this season, and ended up battling Býkonsviði for the top spot in the West until the final games of the regular season. Their Jórvík Leeus opponents shocked the favoured Griffanar with a game one win, but Krummedike responded by winning four straight.

In the Eastern Conference the number one seed and Commissioner's Cup winner Alaterva Vatniðar defeated their rivals of over a century Miðland ÍF blanking them four games to nothing. Miðland captain Gunnar Stahl was very frank about their performance.

"You can't say 'they were the best team in the league' and think that excuses it. We didn't play at a playoff level. And we can't be happy with that."

The Eastern Conference's number two seed, Haland Víkingar, was the only top seed to lose in the first round, losing to the Leiruvagr Hrímþursar in a thrilling seven game series that saw expansion Leiruvagr win a 1-0 game in the deciding game seven.

Conference Championship Round

Leiruvagr's upset of Haland means they'll get the right to face the league's best team in the league, Alaterva. The Vatniðar, fresh after sweeping their storied rivals, will look to make an example of the upstart Hrímþursar but they can't afford to take a team that upset Haland lightly.

In the West the two teams battling for top spot in the conference all season will meat for the Conference Finals. Both teams have been led by excellent goaltending. Býkonsviði had been led by veteran Matteus Svarturskógur while Krummedike has been led by young upstart Stækar Aagaard. Aagaard was a backup for his native Miðland in Hadden last year before being signed to the expansion Krummedike. His rise caught the league off guard, but he ended the season with the best goals against average of 2.07.

The east will also see another matchup. Santonian-Prydanian defenceman Hjálmtýr Örbekk will anchor a Krummedike blueline that will look to hold the potent Býkonsviði offence led by Wolf Stanssen.
 
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Ejvind Borg Invited to 4 June Unity Day Celebrations
by Ljot Ellestad


Býkonsviði- 4 June is fast approaching- five years since the defeat of the Syndicalist regime. Celebrations are being planned all over the country, and the one in the capital has gotten a new development.

Field Marshal Ejvind Borg of the Syndicalist Republican Army and last Chairman of the Syndicalist Presidium has been asked by Absalonhöll to attend the ceremony. If he accepts he will join His Majesty, Prime Minister Svane, Field Marshal Stig Eiderwig and former Prime Minister William Aubyn.

Borg is presently serving a ten year prison sentence for his role in the Syndicalist regime.

The invitation has raised some eyebrows. A spokesman for Absalonhöll issued a statement that read...

"4 June has been declared Unity Day to celebrate the end of a war that divided Prydanians. In the spirit of that unity His Majesty invites Field Marshal Borg to join the celebration of the end of that War, as a sign of healing between all segments of our country."​

An Honest Soldier?

Field Marshal Borg garnered a reputation as an honourable soldier due to a number of factors.
The perception that it was the People's Militia and not Syndicalist Republic military that committed the more abhorrent crimes of the Syndicalist regime and his coup to usurp control of the Syndicalist Presidium with the express purpose of ending the War both played into that reputation.

It was one that prosecutors during his post-war trial sought to challenge. They argued he was complicit in the atrocities of the Syndicalist regime. Both by virtue of knowing of them and doing nothing to stop them and by the Syndicalist Army's role in a number of crimes, in contrast to the notion that the People's Militia was alone in these actions.

Borg ultimately pled guilty to the charges levelled at him in a shocking occurrence. He never took the stand in his own defence, his only statement at the time being just before his sentencing.

"I wasn't alone among the Royal Army officer corp in my disdain for the Social Commonwealth government but I felt as if I were alone in my willingness to act. It turned out I wasn't, but we kept that siege mentality. Perhaps we weren't radicalized but it dug us in. That we were the vanguards against the return of fascism. I kept telling myself that if the FRE could be defeated, then the Syndicalist government could be saved. Was I right to think that? No. Lieftur was never going to be reformed. Nielsen was too far gone. Like me they held out hope that peace could reign if the enemy was defeated. But whereas I saw the enemy as the FRE and the Nordika expeditionary forces they saw the enemy as the very people they governed. I'm ashamed to say soldiers under my command aided them as I allowed my goals to bleed into theirs. If the Crown's argument against me is that I should have used my control of the military to usurp command and end the War earlier than I had, then I find it hard to argue. All I can offer is that I allowed myself to be too narrowly focused."​

Field Marshal Borg plead guilty to all chargers and was sentenced to ten years, with leniency applied due to his actions in ending the War and sparing the further loss of life as Syndicalist forces were otherwise ordered to fight to the last man as FRE and Nordika forces entered the Býkonsviði city centre.

While Field Marshal Borg's candid acceptance of the Crown prosecution's picture of him seems at odds with the notion of him as an honourable soldier it did, in fact, contribute to it. He ranks among the most well-regarded high ranking Syndicalists if polls are to be believed.

He's only ever granted brief interviews since his incarceration, and only ever in the context of the Battle of Býkonsviði to insist that Henrik Buhl's command that Syndicalist soldiers continue fighting after Thomas Nielsen's suicide was "moronic."

4 June

Whether Field Marshal Borg will accept the invitation remains unclear. A lawyer representing Herra Borg indicated that he's considering it but has made no final decisions on the matter.
 
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Surprises Reign at Röddin Prydansk frá Alaterva, AusturSkvísur Wins in Upset
by Kolfinn Sandvik

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AusturSkvísur; Astrid, Thurid, and Herkja
The third annual Röddin Prydansk frá Alaterva song contest has been won by the folk band AusturSkvísur, made up of sisters Astrid, Thurid, and Herkja Fevold. The thirty year old Astrid, twenty-seven year old Thurid, and twenty-five year old Herkja hail from Mosfell in Suður Austurland, and their victory ended up shocking everyone, from judges to viewers, to even the sisters themselves.

Folk Music

The three sisters come from a musical pedigree. Their father Sven has been a professional musician all his life. So the sisters grew up playing and singing together. But it wasn't until 2013 that they properly came together as a band.

"The FRE liberated Austurland in 2013," Astrid recalls.
"And suddenly there was all of this freedom. You could suddenly explore the music you wanted to explore without the fear of getting in trouble with the [People's] Militia."

"I was tired of the crap they had me making for their propaganda," Sven recalled.
"So when the FRE drove them out I decided to get into Prydanian folk music. I didn't know it would rub off on the girls so much though!"

The sisters, twenty-one, eighteen, and sixteen at the time, formed a band and made a name for themselves playing Prydanian folk music across Austurland in the years after its liberation.

"The rules were you couldn't play that stuff, because it was 'culturally bourgeois,'" Thurid says.
"But there was an rise in popularity of it after liberation because we could celebrate our heritage again."

Their band, AusturSkvísur, has continued playing ever since, as a hobby. Astrid works as a secretary for Auburn Channel Petroleum in their native Mosfell, Thurid works as a music teacher in Haland, and Herkja has begun studying to be a veterinarian at the University of Býkonsviði.

"We love playing together," Herkja says.
"But as we got older we made our own ways in the world."

The Contest and the Unexpected Victory

The Röddin Prydansk frá Alaterva song contest began in 2020, from two separate ideas. The Alaterva Song Contest was conceived of in 1957 as a means to attract tourists to the Kings' Lake resort city after the Fascist War. The contest quickly found a home on television, featuring bands and singers from across Prydania. It lasted until 1986 when the fascist SoComm government of King Anders III and Stefan Toft forcibly closed it down and kicked it off RÚV. It would fade into memory in the years to come.

The idea to restart the song contest was kicked around soon after Alaterva was liberated by the FRE in 2014, though real money and interest wouldn't manifest until 2019 when Norðurstjarna Media indicated it would back the project. It was around that time that the Santonian network Canal+ was considering an idea for a Prydanian language version of their singing context show la Voix de Saintonge. Canal+ and Norðurstjarna producers met, and agreed to pool their ideas and resources. The result is Röddin Prydansk frá Alaterva- The Voice of Prydania from Alaterva, a Prydanian version of la Voix de Saintonge that honours the previous contest. Norðurstjarna moved the show to Vetrarbraut, Prydania's premier music television outlet, for the 2022 contest.

Due to the mix of concepts that led to Röddin Prydansk frá Alaterva there is a unique spin. Santonian viewers might be confused how a band could win a variation of la Voix. That's because the old Alaterva contest was open to bands or solo acts, and this spirit was kept alive for Röddin.

Though the journey for AusturSkvísur was anything but easy.

Their initial audition was usual fair for them, Dansandi Vindur, a Prydanian yuletide folksong. While they weren't the only act to go with folk music they were the first, breaking up a series of heavy metal entries. It resulted in all four coaches- Bendik Dahler, Borghild Eliasen, Brún Koparland, and Elize van Wyk- turning for the act.

"There's something about how you hit these notes. Folk music should fill you with emotion, and it should take you away when you listen to it," Brún Koparland commented.
"You managed that. And it's not easy to do." Herra Koparland, himself a member of the Prydanian rock band Y4, agreed to take them on as their coach.

As AusturSkvísur worked their way through the rounds of the contest it became clear that they were one of two standouts. The other being Sigeric Gulseth of Ute.

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Sigeric Gulseth
Herra Gulseth, a thirty-two year old dockworker, has a very different style then AusturSkvísur. He describes himself as "alternative rock" or "glam metal." A world away from AusturSkvísur's folk music. Yet the two were raising eyebrows and racking up audience support for the same reason; the Prydanian music scene has been dominated by heavy metal since the end of the Civil War. Both Hera Gulseth and AusturSkvísur had styles that seemed to stand out and resonate.

Herra Gulseth sang the Prydanian version of the Andrennian pop song Ubetinget for his solo act in the final round.
Meanwhile AusturSkvísur decided to defy expectations once again. They stuck to folk stylings but instead sang a Prydanian cover of the Eastern Iraelian country song Golden Sunsets (Gullin Sólsetur/שקיעות זהובות).

Iraelian Country Carries the Day

In the end 57.3% of the televote for the final round went to AusturSkvísur. The song choice was so out of left field, but was getting cheers from the studio audience when the band finished.

"I told the girls that they got as far as they had by bucking trends, but that doing what they had been doing would be a trend itself," Brún Koparland says.
"And they really took to Iraelian country. They're incredibly talented, and I'm so proud of them. They showed off the depth of musical range we have in this country."

"We want to thank everyone who joined us on this journey," Astrid said after the sisters were declared the winners.
"And we want to thank mamma and pabbi, for all the lessons and encouragement! Thank you mamma! Thank you pabbi! Thank you Prydania!"

What's next?

Part of the premise of the contest is the discovery of musical talent. So what will a sisterly band of a receptionist, music teacher, and veterinary student do now that they've won a national song contest? With such exceptional range?

"I think we can tour the country," Herkja said.
"Folk music is the musical history of our people. We love to play it and we want to encourage its spread."

"Perhaps tour the Diaspora?" Thurid mused.
"Saintonge and Goyanes."

And what about a trip down to Iraelia? The girls laugh.

"We'd have to apologize first! But Iraelia has a great musical tradition," Astrid says.
"We'd love to meet people from that Country scene and learn more about it. We took to it very well, and I think it would be a good learning experience for us."

Whatever the sisters of AusturSkvísur end up doing, wherever they end up playing, their victory has certainly shaken the perception of Prydanian music!




OOC note: Thank you to @Kyle who suggested that I use the Icelandic cowgirls from Eurovision for Prydania, and suggested that this could be tied to la Voix de Saintonge.




 
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Royal Prydanian Mint Announces Special Coinage to Celebrate Five Year Anniversary of Liberation
by Oddbjörn Skröder

Býkonsviði- The Royal Prydanian Mint (KPM), which has recently repatriated all operations to Prydanian facilities, has announced a series of special coins in the x10 and x20 range to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the country's liberation from Syndicalism.

The coin designs, having begun a year ago when coinage operations were still houses in Saintonge, have been minted already.

"The coins will be unveiled on the third of June," KPM spokeswoman Yngvild Elden said.
"Just in time for the 4 June festivities."

Though nothing has been leaked about the designs themselves it is known that they were designed by two Prydanian artists- Turid Stavig and Hanef Lieberg.

"We're excited," Fröken Elden added.
"The Mint is sure that these designs will resonate with people as we celebrate five years of peace and freedom."

According to the KPM all coins will released into circulation, and special complete sets will be available at all Prydanskpóstur (Prydanian Post) locations and online at the mint's website at kpm.pr.

OOC Note: Thanks to @Kyle for the idea!
 
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Iraelian Toy Company Faces Backlash Over Gun Robot
by Nökkvi Heimdal


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Rodan Maximus action figure in robot mode
Býkonsviði- Iraelian toy company Otzar (אוֹצָר) finds itself in hot water in Prydania over the latest figure in its Amitz-Brave line.

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Amitz-Brave logo
The line, primarily known for robot action figures that transform into vehicles and animals, recently introduced a new character into the show's adjacent anime cartoon. Rodan Maxmimus is described as a newchel maccabi (rogue knight) from the Shivitem homeworld who is neither hero or villain.
And to make the character stand out his design wasn't that of a futuristic alien vehicle or a car or truck or jet you'd see on Eras. No, his alternate mode is a gun. Specifically a Prydanian Samþættvopn .38 Breka with D-16 rifle conversion.

Amitz-Brave and Prydania

Iraelian toy company Otzar's Amitz-Brave line has been the primary competitor to the Goyanean toyline of Verforvanders. Whereas Verforvanders primarily focused on trains that converted to robots the Amitz-Brave line secured a place in the market by being willing to experiment with toy types. Vehicles of all kinds and even robot animals, all unified by the transforming gimmick.
Verforvanders, thanks to the Nordic connection, has always had a stronger presence in Prydania but Otzar has earmarked the post-Civil War Prydanian market as one of potential growth. They have even begun partnering with Spilvel on joint projects. Spilvel, though now headquarted in Saintonge, retains a strong presence in Prydania with its former head factory in Hildisey becoming the central hub of the company's Craviter manufacturing and distribution. A partnership with Spilvel would allow Otzar's Amitz-Brave series to make up ground against the Goyanean Verforvanders line and its built-in Nordic cultural headstart.
Amitz-Brave's tie-in anime was also picked up for Prydanian localization and distribution by Norðurstjarna.

Now the arrival of Rodan Maximus has many parents looking at the franchise with a critical eye.

Rodan Maximus' Gun Mode Draws Criticism

From an engineering standpoint Rodan Maximus' figure is one to marvel at. A gun is a decidedly non humanoid thing, and leaves little room for a humanoid figure to emerge from the shapes that make it up. Yet the toy manages that, in a way that isn't too complex for the children it is marketed to.

The problem is the alternate mode itself. A gun was always going to be a tricky sale in Prydania. Many parents either fought in the Civil War or knew someone who did. The idea of seeing their children pretending to shoot each other has fuelled many a concerned parent's preferences over violent media.
But making the gun that this character's toy turns into a Prydanian-made weapon, a modular pistol to rifle conversion that was the hallmark of roving militia paramilitary groups on both sides has hit a nerve.

"I served in the FRE," Eðvar Mordt, a middle school history teacher from Býkonsviði said.
"I'm also a new father. I saw that gun kill too many people. I don't want to see it in my son's hands. Toy or not. War's not a game. It's not a cartoon."

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Rodan Maximus .38 Breka D-16 rifle mode on the left, a real .38 Breka D-16 pistol to rifle conversion on the right

Herra Mordt isn't the only one taking issue. A letter signed by nearly 5,000 Prydanian parents was made public and addressed to Zehavi Yona, CEO of Otzar. The letter asks for the discontinuation of the Rodan Maximus figure and elimination from the cartoon.

Otzar's Goal

There was initial confusion over Otzar's choice of alternate mode for the Rodan Maximus figure. The company has differentiated Amitz-Brave from Verforvanders by being willing to explore different alternate modes for the robot, and a gun would theoretically fit in with that goal of innovation that has kept the line unique.
Why a .38 Breka D-16 though?

Original speculation was that it was a misjudged attempt to appeal to the Prydanian market given Otzar's partnerships with Spilvel and desire to make inroads in the country. It turns out that wasn't the cause.

"We decided it was going to be a gun," Gazit Lael, the head of Amitz-Brave's design team at Otzar told RÚV.
"That was new, exciting for us as engineers and designers. Once we decided on a gun we just started going through old pictures of guns. The .38 Breka D-16 from Samþættvopn is a unique looking gun. And the rifle add-ons could be arranged as arm cannons and a battle station for the robot. We just thought it was too good a design to not use."

Did they understand what the .38 Breka D-16 meant in Prydania?

"No," Herra Lael said.
"We probably should. We should have done our due diligence but we didn't. We just saw this picture of this gun and said 'ok that's the design.'"

Pulled from Prydanian Shelves

Otzar announced that the Rodan Maximus figures would be pulled from Prydanian shelves immediately and issued the following statement.

"It is our goal as a company to provide children the world over with toys that inspire and stimulate their imaginations. It was never our intent to have one of our products reflect a weapon that is associated in the minds of so many adults and children alike with war. Parents the world over trust their children with our products, not just because they are safe but because they can trust the moral and physical quality of our work. This release fell sort of our standards and to the parents of Prydania, we apologize."​

Norðurstjarna separately announced that they would be delaying episodes of the Amitz-Brave anime cartoon that featured Rodan Maximus until a solution to the figure's appearance could be found.

Legal Issues

Otzar made no announcement regarding the international status of the Rodan Maximus figure and all accounts seem to show that they intend to keep it on store shelves outside of Prydania. That may be troublesome though.

Samþættvopn is now owned by Rigotti Arms Company from Predice, though they maintain Samþættvopn's Prydanian office and factories. They also maintain Samþættvopn's trademarks and copyrights. And though the company is not producing new Breka .38s or new D-16 conversion kits outside of limited runs for law enforcement agencies, they do hold the patents to the design and likeness of the weapon.
The Otzar Amitz-Brave Rodan Maximus figure lacks any Samþættvopn or Breka markings in an attempt to skirt the copyright and trademark issues but the Rigotti Arms Company says that it isn't enough.

"If you look at the design of the toy, you see that's clearly a .38 Breka with a D-16 conversion kit. The rifle additions even come off the same, like the real thing," a spokesman for Rigotti Arms told RÚV.

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Rodan Maximus in gun mode without the rifle additions on the left, and a real .38 Breka pistol on the right
"Otzar never approached us about a licence to do a toy of the .38 Breka. We will be pursuing our legal options to protect our trademark."
 
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2022 ÍDP Hamar Cup Finals Set
Krummedike def. Býkonsviði/Alaterva def. Leiruvagr
by Marís Laufland

Býkonsviði- The ÍDP playoffs have reached a crescendo! The two-time defending champions Konunglegur Býkonsviði have been knocked off in the West. Meanwhile Alaterva proves the East is still theirs to rule.

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The 2022 Hamar Cup Playoffs bracket after the Conference Finals

The East saw expansion team Leiruvagr Hrímþursar go up against the defending Eastern Champions Alaterva Vatniðar. Leiruvagr proved their run to the playoffs was no fluke by upsetting Haland in the first round. In the Conference Finals they managed to push Alaterva to six games, but still fell short. Alaterva never trailed in the overall series tally going up two games to nothing before Leiruvagr pulled even with two wins of their own. Alaterva would win the next two to seal the series and get back to the Hamar Cup Finals.

It seemed early on that the Western Finals were building towards Býkonsviði and the Krummedike Griffinar. The two-time defending champs from Býkonsviði started off strong as expected, but Krummedike proved to be a surprise. The West's expansion teams overall performed well, but Krummedike managed to pull ahead and challenge Býkonsviði for the West's top spot all season. The two seemed on a collision course and that's what we got.
The two teams traded wins back and forth, and the series was defined by goaltending duels. Stækar Aagaard, the young goalie from Hadden who's emerged as a star in Krummedike, went toe to toe with Býkonsviði's Matteus Svarturskógur. In no game out of the full seven needed to decide the series did either team get more than three goals.

Hamar Cup Finals

Krummedike will represent the West after a gruelling series which saw them manage to overcome the two-time defending champions. In the East Alaterva swept their long-time rivals and kept a hungry upstart team at bay.

Krummedike has the hot goaltender in Stækar Aagaard, though Alaterva has the always reliable Asmund Rustad between the pipes. Game one starts this Saturday, on RÚV 8!




Konunglegur Býkonsviði- Royal Býkonsviði
Leiruvagr Hrímþursar- Leiruvagr Ice Giants
Alaterva Vatniðar- Alaterva Lakers
Krummedike Griffinar-Krummedike Griffins
 
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Miðland ÍF Faces Contract Negotiations With Captain After Disappointing Playoff Exit
by Marís Laufland


Hadden- Miðland ÍF exited the 2022 Hamar Cup playoffs as quickly as they began, getting swept by the eventual Eastern Conference Champions Alaterva Vatniðar. The disappointing playoff performance isn't the worst of it for the venerable club though. Nor is watching their longtime rival compete for the Hamar Cup. No, it's that the very leader of the team, captain Gunnar Stahl, might be departing.

Stahl's contract comes to an end at the end of the 2021-2022 season, after which he'll become a free agent. And it's not a given that he'll resign with his hometown club.

Stahl's Journey

Gunnar Stahl, 25, is the ÍDP's top defenceman and among the considerations for the best Prydanian hockey player currently active. He's been the captain of the national team since 2017, when the end of the Civil War ushered in a "restart" for the Prydanian Hockey Federation.

Stahl, the younger cousin of a former Syndicalist People's Militia officer, grew up in Hadden during the Syndicalist period. He lived a relatively sheltered life during his youth as a result of his family's connections to the ruling Syndicalist Party. Which he will freely admit to.

"We weren't Inner Party, but we were 'in' with them. We knew people. The Syndicalist Party was just a fact of life, and I didn't know much beyond it for a long time," he said when opening up about his past.

He was enrolled in local youth leagues by his parents, two mid-level Party bureaucrats. The young Gunnar turned heads as a naturally gifted defenceman who seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to positioning, and speed to fully take advantage of it. At sixteen he was selected for the Syndicalist Republic U-18 national team.
Things changed two years later. His People's Militia officer cousin defected to the FRE forcing his family to flee to FRE territory. It was a tense period of his life, but it was educational.

"I learnt that the world was very different than what I'd grown up with," he said earnestly.

Gunnar wouldn't be away from home for long, returning to Hadden after the FRE liberated it in December 2015. The Battle of Hadden, one of the largest in the War, had left the city- already reeling from the Harrying- in bad shape.

"The FRE and Nordika forces (Goyanes and Andrenne) got to work making sure basic utilities worked, and just making sure the city functioned," Gunnar recalled. "Some foreign companies too... we were in the liberated zone now."
He also faced a choice. What to do. Would he join his cousin in the FRE? No. The new government wanted to provide some semblance of normalcy. Stahl, who was on track to sign with Miðland ÍF, was offered a spot on the team. The ÍDP circuit was truly broken, but Miðland ÍF could play other teams in the liberated zone and provide people with a distraction from the War.

"It was a contract, sort of," Gunnar recalls.
"They payed us in FRE Krossar. Which was actually worth more than the Syndie Krossar! But the deal was, you'll play until the War was over. Then when there was a proper league again we'd all start from scratch."

In the summer of 2017 the ÍDP was re-founded and Gunnar happily signed a proper contract with his hometown team.
"Miðland ÍF has always been community owned. And Hadden is my home town. I'd been playing for them already. It was an easy choice," he said.

National Team Captain, Yet No Cups

That contract, however, is at an end. Since 2017 Stahl has proven himself as one of the top Prydanian players in the world, and carried himself with pride as both the captain of his club and the national team. But five years on...some things are different.

The country has found political and economic stability. Simply put... Gunnar Stahl has options. And some are very appealing. In five years with Miðland ÍF he's been to the playoffs four times, and never advanced beyond the first round. With the league no longer clinging to life, but viable and successfully handling expansion, he may not feel compelled to stay with Miðland ÍF.

Loyalty?

Loyalty to your club has always been valued in Prydanian sports, hockey specifically. It's not necessarily your hometown club, but the club that provided you with your chance to succeed. In Gunnar Stahl's case both are true. Which means there are those who expect he will resign with Miðland ÍF. X factors, however, make it not so clear cut.

Stahl is a top flight talent, but there is a growing consensus that at 25 his best years are being wasted on a team that seems unable to build around him. If Miðland ÍF is going to let his skills go to waste...why stay? He's got many a year left before he hits the downward slope of his career, and it's hard to fault him if he wants to spend those years on a contending team.

Landing Spot?

Should Stahl indicate a willingness to consider offers from outside of Hadden he'd have practically the rest of the ÍDP ready to sign him. There is also the possibility that he could sign with a foreign club. That is, ultimately, the uncomfortable reality.

Historically the ÍDP was a small league, but the country produced top tier talent that made it a desirable destination internationally. And the success of these teams grew as the post Fascist War economy grew. Prydania was able to retain many of its top players, and even attract foreign talent from other hockey superpowers.

But after thirty-three years of political and economic upheaval, and fifteen years of Syndicalist oppression and war, things are different. Economic recovery is goal. An ideal. A trek. It is not something that simply flips on one day. And while I will not be delving into the complexities of economics in this article, I will note that presently Prydanian clubs may not be able to retain its absolute top tier hockey talent like they used to.

This is not to stay that Gunnar Stahl is definitively going abroad. He has not even stated he's going to leave Miðland ÍF, much less the country. But at this stage anything is possible.
 
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Opinion: Saintonge Has a Radical Problem
by Dr. Tryggvi Eskildsen


Editor's Note: Dr. Eskildsen is a Professor of Political Science from the University of Haland.

I was asked to write this article under what I suspect are unusual circumstances. In the interests of transparency I am friends with Gunhild Kvale, one of this paper's editors. And it was during a friendly drink down at the tavern- always a favourite place of relaxation for academics and journalists alike- that we began to talk about this subject.
Before I knew it Gunhild was asking me to pen this article.

I was hesitant. For a number of reasons. The first is that I am loath to mix my professional and personal lives. Gunhild is an old friend of mine, and even then I feel like the opportunity to write this is something of an abuse of privilege.

The second reason is simply that I both enjoy and admire Saintonge as a country, and I respect its people.
No doubt the targets of the paragraphs to come will paint me as some angry savage who doesn't appreciate what their country has done for mine, and my kin. My hesitancy to give them more fuel was my third reason for feeling hesitant about this.

Let's be clear though- to say nothing is to pretend that the issues we see before us don't exist. In many ways that's what led to Prydania's calamity. And an inability or unwillingness to heed those warnings is why I'm writing this against my hesitations.

To be clear I AM grateful. My niece and nephew now live in Saintonge, saved from ravages of Syndicalism. And as I look around at the city I call my home I see what foreign investment- much of it Santonian- has done for my country.

If any Santonian with a heart and open mind reads this, know I'm eternally grateful towards your country. I dare say that, in the breadth of history, the saga of the last forty or so years is just one more page in the long history of friendship between our countries.

I cannot pretend I am unbiased though. Family I love dearly lives in Saintonge and the issues that I will address affect them. And as a Prydanian the denigration of my homeland further affects me.
I have a great respect and affinity for Saintonge and most Santonians. This does not extend, however, to every Santonian walking God's creation.

But let's start at the beginning...

History

Prydanians and Santonians have spilled blood together for centuries. In the 1150s forces controlled by King Rikard I of Prydania and King Maximilian III of Saintonge fought by side by side in the Crusades. Richard fought alongside both Maximilian and his heir Childéric II, and upon Childéric's death sent his own Knights of the Storm to Saintonge to protect the infant King Baldéric I. To this day the Santonian Royal Guard's emblem contains the Prydanian Royal stag in honour of its origins.
Prydanians and Santonians fought side by side again in 1511, when Baldr Scylfing-Loðbrók, son-in-law to King Gabriel I of Saintonge, led a force that included Santonian soldiers to wrestle control of Prydania from the tyrant Maksutov King Vladimir II. Baldr III of Prydania's marriage to Gabriel's daughter Alexandra was the first instance of the two royal lines intermingling. Direct descendants of Baldr III of Prydania now sit on the Prydanian and Santonian thrones.

And while this may be controversial in neutral Saintonge, I consider the Prydanian Civil War to be another conflict where Prydanians and Santonian spilled blood together for a common cause. The bravery, selflessness, and sacrifices of Santonian diplomats to save as many people from Syndicalist oppression as they could put them firmly on the same side as the FRE soldiers fighting to free our country. If not legally than certainly morally and spiritually.

Saintonge's exportation of newly discovered vaccines to Prydania in 1811 not only staved off a smallpox outbreak but is cited as a reason why Prydania historically has had very low levels of "vaccine skepticism." And two 19th century royal marriages- the first between King Brice I of Saintonge and Princess Luta of Prydania and between Princess Asleif of Prydania and the future King Archambault X of Saintonge further intertwined the Royal families.

Our Royal families are intertwined and our people have found common causes in comradeship across the centuries.

Politics and the Civil War

Most Prydanian refugees in Saintonge-turned-Santonian citizens tended to represent a conservative voting bloc. Understandable seeing as they had fled the Syndicalist regime. The Liberal-Radical coalition might have even had the Prydanian vote in Saintonge locked up for decades if not longer thanks to the Liberal-Radical-Green coalition government that was elected in 2015 wanting to acknowledge the FRE as the soul legitimate government of Prydania as soon as possible.
The shift to the centre-left National Party in recent years has been a direct result of what we will examine. What I hope the above condensed but all together accurate account of our shared history can give context for. Why, and what it means as a whole, are what this opinion piece is about.

The Questions

-How did the Radical Party's anti-Prydanian sentiment begin and grow given our peoples' shared history of friendship and cooperation?

-How did the Radical Party, a member of a coalition that was eager to embrace the FRE as Prydania's legal government during the War and that counted naturalized Santonians of Prydanian origin as a reliable voting bloc, pull a one-hundred and eighty degree turn, to attacking these people and denigrating the country and government of Prydania itself?

-What does this mean for Saintonge?

The Problem

The knee-jerk reaction from most Santonians, and most Prydanians in Saintonge, might be to insist that the problem does not exist. The Radical Party's electoral defeat in recent elections and the fact that most Santonians seem to hold no ill-will towards Prydanians in their country, naturalized or not, as proof.
Saintonge is a country that has embraced refugees from our calamity with open arms. It is also a country where immigrant children were beaten in the street by a xenophobic shopkeeper. Both are true statements, neither are mutually exclusive. And the latter can- and will- fester on the fringes until the fringes are the political reality.

Saintonge has historically kept the real culprit of this- identity politics- at bay. It would be overly simplistic to say this is because of the Santonian Revolution. A number of political realignments occurred after the Revolution to get to where we are today. It is more accurate to say the Santonian Revolution established a political culture that over time was able to insulate itself against identity politics and the extremism inherent in it.

The National Party, by counting everyone from the working class left to Agrarians to centrists to the national Church under its banner, is designed to enforce compromise. No single faction of the party can realistically obtain full control of it, so compromise becomes necessary. This broad church is perhaps the best example of how Saintonge's political culture has traditionally kept extremism at bay.

The right wing of the country's political spectrum was perhaps more fraught, but its excesses were more eclectic than extreme. The Radical Party which prior to François-Louis Villault never seemed to pay immigrants much mind, was concerned with the economic interests of their noble and upper/upper-middle class support base. The crusade of the Radical Party had historically been the Santonian National Church rather than immigrants, viewing its established status as a threat to its own influence and power in the country. And the senior partner of the right wing coalition, the Liberals, have traditionally been a bourgeois party- a party of the professional class unconcerned with overt political extremism.

This coalition managed to gain a level of support among Prydanians who had fled the Civil War due to anti-Syndicalist sentiments. But then François-Louis Villault, François-André Conté de Caunes, and their hangers on happened. So how did the problem occur?

Analysis

The very political culture that had insulated Saintonge from extremism is partially responsible. While the three major Santonian political parties are distinct in many ways (my apologies to the Greens) their shared broad aversion to extreme nationalistic identity politics led to unclaimed space on the political compass.

I would argue that Herra Villault and those like him in the party were motivated primarily by opportunity. If there was room on the extremist side of the Santonian national political spectrum for a nakedly xenophobic and nationalistic message then the Radicals could gain by embracing it. And if that niche proved large enough it could lead to the upheaval of the Santonian political system in their favour.

Identity politics needs an "other" though. It is unworkable unless there is a group to direct ethnic and nationalist rage against. Prydanians, for a number of reasons, proved to be the best target for the project. Unlike Predicians they were not Kilians and thus had more noticeable linguistic and cultural differences. And their arrival in large numbers was far more fresh in public consciousness then Hessunlander or Korovan refugees.

As far as the the first question goes, this is the answer. Centuries of friendship and brotherhood be damned, the Radical Party of François-Louis Villault made Prydanians out to be savage rapists and violent criminals in their bid for electoral success.

It was disgusting.

Never mind the shared heritage of our peoples. It only serves to highlight the brazen opportunism of the Radical Party. On a moralistic level the Radical Party has embraced politics that demean and dehumanize their fellow man.

Prydanians know what this leads to.

And if Santonians feel that is too alarmist, I remind them. The electoral defeats of the Social Commonwealth fascists in the 1960s left many in the Prydanian political establishment feeling they had nothing to fear either.

The second question requires us to address the Liberal Party.

The Enablers

The Liberal Party, as the senior member in the right wing coalition, was in a position to put a stop to this all early on. Yet they acted consistently to protect Radical Party members who embraced this new xenophobic message. Even worse, they showed that they are just as susceptible to the extremist and divisive rhetoric that the Radical Party had fallen into.
The Liberal Party's offer to "mediate" between the factions was their final abandonment of any principled stand against what the Radicals had adopted.

This is why the calls that there are Radicals resisting the new xenophobic direction of the Party ultimately do not soothe my worries. The Liberals have made it clear they are craven enough to force these factions to sit down and compromise with the bigots. The Liberals have, essentially, admitted that the bigotry of the Radical Party has a place at their table.
When the Liberal Mayor of Coire, Jacques Palaiseau, accused the Prydanian ethnic vote for his party's collapse in a by-election for the Haine-6 department many were shocked. It's clear they shouldn't have been, given his Party's direction.

The Third Question

Finally the third question- what does this mean for Saintonge?
As I have stated, the fascists in Prydania were thought defeated and confined to the fringes for decades, until suddenly they weren't.

That is what all of this means for Saintonge. The political and cultural establishment of that country sees the electoral losses and the wide-spread public condemnation and assumes that this will mean the fringe will either die out or, at worst, stay on the fringe. This is perhaps buoyed by a widespread belief that the Santonian Revolution set the Santonian political order in stone. It did not. Relying on the legacy of a revolution beyond living memory to uphold the values of the Santonian state is foolhardy- nothing is secure if people do not fight to protect it.

We learnt this in Prydania. The hard way, yes, but we learnt it all the same. The liberal and democratic order ushered in by King Robert VII and Prime Minister Kristvin Austdal after the Fascist War was undone when fascists were allowed to fester.
Liberal democracy once again reigns in Prydania, but we have taken the shortcomings of Robert VII and Austdal to heart. The Social Commonwealth Party and the Syndicalist Party, extremists on both sides of the political spectrum, are now banned. We lost our liberty, and in the fight to regain it we realized what had to be done to safeguard it. We fought and died for our democracy, and that today makes it stronger.

The Santonian political establishment, however, sees the Radicals much like the establishment in 1960s Prydania saw the Social Commonwealth fascists. And like them, they are content to let the rot fester. The spread of the rot to the Liberal Party already should be cause for concern, but it doesn't appear to be.

I am not suggesting Saintonge will face a political crisis today, tomorrow, or even ten years from now.
But Prydanians learnt what happens when underlying rot is not dealt with due to high mindedness. Saintonge should heed these lessons, least it fall victim to the rot in the future.

As I said at the start of this article, I admire Saintonge. I respect it, and have a great affinity for its people. I am thankful of the helping hand they have provided both my family in their boarders and my country here at home.
It is this affection and gratitude that makes me worried. It is the love of my own family and country under attack that makes me angry.

And I hope that sooner, rather than later, the Santonian people will act to safeguard their democracy and values before they are undermined.

OOC Note: Post approved by @Kyle
 
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Governing Coalition Looks to Amend 2017 Political Stability Act
by Týra Murer

Býkonsviði- Prime Minister Svane announced that the Coalition government will look to radically amend and expand the 2017 Political Stability Act. The planned amendments, if passed, will grant both the national and provincial governments expanded powers to deal with domestic internal extremism.

Political Stability Act of 2017

Some of the first new laws propagated by the post-Civil War provisional government. Both the fascist Social Commonwealth Party and recently deposed Syndicalist Party were declared criminal organizations and outlawed by Royal decree of His Majesty Tobias III.
Subsequent legislation from the provisional government led by William Aubyn laid out the legal penalties for joining, promoting, or displaying the symbols of either party.

The provisional government also passed the Political Stability Act which expressly forbid any party from advocating for the removal of the monarchy or the constitutional order. The act was subsequently given Royal assent and remains law today.

Proposed Amendments

The Peace not Blood/Conservative coalition government is looking to better define and strengthen the 2017 legislation.

"The new constitution that was signed into law by His Majesty last year redefined and clarified the very concept of the 'constitutional order,'" Minister of the Interior Ljot Asplund explained.
"The 2017 act needs to be amended and clarified."

The new proposals do several things. They enshrine the democratic order established by the FRE at the end of the Civil War as immutable. It also specifically outlaws any political party or movement that would seek to threaten or undermine that democratic order, the tenants of the Constitution, the security of the realm or any of its provinces, or the peaceful coexistence of peoples.

"Our proposals will protect not just the monarchy but the very foundations of our state that we fought hard to win and secure," Interior Minister Apslund continued.
"The rights protected in our constitution, and the rights of all Prydanians to live happy and fulfilling lives free from harassment from extremist elements will be forever enshrined and protected."

New Offices to Enforce New Laws

The proposed amendments would establish the Realm's Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Ríkisskrifstofa um Vernd Stjórnarskrárinnar, RuVS) and a Provincial Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Héraðsskrifstofa um Vernd Stjórnarskrárinnar, HuVS) in each of Prydania's provinces.

These offices will operate under each of their government's Interior Ministries and will collaborate with the Ríkilögreglu (National Police) to investigate movements or parties suspected of extremism.

Checks and Balances

Opposition Leader Maríanna Toft called the proposed amendments an overreach, though she faced backlash on account of her own family's past ties to the fascist Social Commonwealth movement.

People's Party leader Annie Gram said her caucus would support the amendments in the Alþingi early in the process if her party was presented guarantees that it would not be abused to hammer political opponents of a sitting government.

The amendments do in fact provide a check on the powers of these offices and police investigating parties and movements. They lack the power to declare a movement or party unconstitutional unilaterally, or even in conjunction with each other.
If these amendments are passed these offices and police would be required to seek the approval of the Supreme Court of the Kingdom of Prydania following a thorough investigation. It's the Supreme Court, not the newly created offices or police, that have the power to declare a party or movement in violation of the constitutional order.

A Need?

Interior Minister Ljot Asplund called on memories of the Messianic League uprising in late 2019.

"The law as it stands now, and then, mostly focuses on loyalty to the crown. And so the Messianic League claimed they were not republicans and so were left alone. Meanwhile they openly stated they wanted to deprive non-Messianic Prydanians of citizenship and perpetrate violence against gays, lesbians, and others. Thankfully that uprising was put down with little violence but it could have been dealt with earlier before it got to that point if the government of 2019 had these tools."

Still, political extremism has been trending down since then. The National Police report a steady drop in what they consider politically motivated violence over the past two years. And the nationalist and populist Nygaard Agrarians didn't even achieve five percent of the national vote or win a single seat in the 2021 general election. It's why Fröken Toft of the Opposition insists it's overreach.

"What is this in response to? What violence? What extremism? There isn't a need to snoop around parties looking for dirt. So why do it?"

Prime Minister Svane insists it's not that simple.

"This government isn't reactionary," the Prime Minister insisted.
"Has something happened to cause this? No. Is it necessary? Já. We're protecting everything we fought to build. Not just from the ghosts of yesterday, but from any new would be demagogues who wish to pick up their mantle under a new name in the future."

The proposed amendments continue to be debated on the floor of the Alþingi.
 
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Prime Minister Svane Addresses Esthursian Criticism During Alþingi Session
by Týra Murer


Býkonsviði- Chancellor Jeremy Wilson of Esthursia mentioned Prydania during statements made in that country's legislator. Herra Wilson criticized the government of Prydania both for the 2017 Political Stability Act and the proposed amendments to it that are being debated within the Alþingi.

Prydania, as a good example of this, has legislation that would be bluntly unlawful here - and the amendments it seeks do not just fall short of ending extremism, but do not remove the white elephant; that Prydanian parties are not allowed to express republican sentiments. If our party, Speaker, had a branch in Prydania, it would be in principle outlawed. We not only understand what Prydania has gone through, but we urge them that this is legislation that jeopardises them in possible future generations if future monarchs do not wish to uphold the constitutional order installed broadly successfully in 2017, or even if future governments use it as a tool to misuse its power. This is not legislation to "strengthen", this is legislation that must be refined around its peoples' freedom of expression. Let me recite a quote from the late Forethegn Turnbrook, Speaker; those who grant too much power to their monarchies, regardless of their past virtues, do so to their descendants' regret; for you cannot choose your monarchs...We are one of the few nations where unions have gained real power, and through it, another vehicle of democracy in the workplace built.
Chancellor Jeremy Wilson of Esthursia
Prime Minister Kjell Svane was forced to address the issue after it was brought up by Opposition Leader Maríanna Toft.




M. Toft (Opposition): The Opposition would like clarification from the government regarding the remarks of Esthursian Chancellor Jeremy Wilson, and his criticism of the 2017 Political Stability Act and the proposed amendments to it. How can the governing coalition plan to proceed given the risks to the country's international reputation?

K. Svane (PM): Herra Speaker, assembled representatives of the Alþingi. I would like to begin on this matter with a simple fact. I have reminded the Esthursian ambassador that it is inappropriate for an official in the Esthursian government to inject himself into the domestic affairs of the Kingdom of Prydania. I have reminded him that Prydania not only counts a number of republics as close and trusted allies and friends, but remained silent during Esthursia's own transition to a republican form of government. I have made it clear that the Kingdom of Prydania expects the same considerations regarding its own internal politics.

To Herra Wilson's comments directly, the Esthursian Chancellor claimed that his country was one of the few countries where trade unions have won real political power. Perhaps it is, but it is not alone. Trade unions under the control of the Syndicalist Party seized power in Prydania twenty years ago and plunged this country into fifteen years of despotism, death, and economic ruin. It is that "legacy" that this elected government of the Prydanian people is attempted to dig ourselves out from. The people of this country don't need a spokesman across an ocean, not one who doesn't understand their situation, no. What they need is a government dedicated to the work of rebuilding and governing this country. That's what our coalition was elected to do, has done, and will do.

To Herra Wilson, and any members of Esthursia who feel my comparison between their state and the Syndicalist Republic are unfair, I say to them that was never my intention. To them I would say that labels to do not define governments, people do. The Esthursian union and the Syndicalist Party defined themselves with similar labels and yet were worlds apart. Likewise two state such the Scalvian Federation and Prydania, who have governments with different labels, can work together peacefully with mutual respect.

There is no reason that Prydania and Esthursia cannot exist as partners, friends, and even as kin. For that to happen, though, Esthursia's government must understand we, the government of Prydania, are answerable to the people of Prydania. Not to their Chancellor.




The Prime Minister indicated that the proposed amendments to the Political Stability Act of 2017 are still being debated, among the Alþingi, internally among the governing Coalition caucus, and between the government and Absalonhöll.
 
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King Remains Silent on Political Stability Act Amendments
by Týra Murer


Býkonsviði- Two days ago His Majesty addressed a celebratory crowd in Haland to officially kick off Miðsumar. A spokesman for the Royal household stated that there was no prepared statement for the debate surrounding the government's proposed amendments to the Political Stability Act of 2017.

"His Majesty, Her Grace, and their children wish to enjoy the festival and will address politics at a more appropriate time," the spokesman from Absalonhöll said.

It is in character. His Majesty or those charged with speaking for him have refused to comment on political matters when asked during celebratory occasions. This time is only notable because it seems like Absalonhöll isn't keen to say much at all.

Royal Prerogative

The Constitution approved by referendum in February 2021 defined the roles of the Crown and Alþingi, firmly entrenching democratic governing principals and establishing a de jure constitutional monarchy. It is the first codified constitution the Kingdom of Prydania has had, and was written with an eye towards ensuring that the anti-democratic resurgence of the 1980s could never happen again.

His Majesty has, since then, seemingly embraced the role of a constitutional monarch. He has largely been uninvolved as the Peace not Blood/Conservative coalition government has implemented sweeping reforms to transform Prydania's economy into a social market economy aimed at improving economic recovery. In short, His Majesty seems content to let the elected government govern in accordance to their agenda.

Yet the 2021 Constitution does still preserve Royal prerogatives. And unlike with economics, there are reports that His Majesty has deemed it prudent to involve himself in the debate about the Political Stability Act.

Contentious Issues

Reports and rumours around Absalonhöll indicate that the King is not fond of the expanded scope of the proposed amendments to 2017's Political Stability Act.

The problems for the government are two-fold. The first is that the King retains the power to refuse to sign the legislation if passed. If this happened it would be the first time since the end of the Civil War that His Majesty refused to sign legislation passed by either the Provisional Government or Alþingi. Therefore some consider it very unlikely he will refuse to sign legislation if it passes, but the fact remains His Majesty retains the right of veto.

The second issue is that the King's uncertainty has emboldened members of the Peace not Blood/Conservative Party who are not fully comfortable with the amendments' provisions. Whether or not His Majesty is willing to sign the legislation into law may be moot if there is enough backlash against it from within the governing coalition.

Esthursian Incursions

The remarks from Esthursian Chancellor Jeremy Wilson further complicate matters. Prime Minister Kjell Svane made it known in the Alþingi that the Esthursian ambassador was informed that there would be no toleration for Esthursian attempts to meddle in Prydania's internal domestic affairs.

Yet the cat is already out of the bag, as they say. Prime Minister Svane was able to frame support for his proposed set of amendments with support for Prydanian sovereignty.
Opposition Leader Maríanna Toft, who questioned the Prime Minister about Chancellor Wilson's remarks, found herself on the back foot. Fröken Toft insisted that she stood by the Prime Minister in reminding the Esthursian Chancellor that the matter was a domestic concern of the Prydanian government while also attempting to frame her opposition to the proposed legislation in a way that did not echo Herra Wilson's.

I stand alongside Prime Minister Svane in voicing my displeasure with Chancellor Wilson's comments. The Prydanian government will act in the best interests of the Prydanian people, and not the Esthursian government. Yet I must also stress that the disagreements between myself and the Prime Minister aren't tethered to this distraction. We cannot empower law enforcement to police politics. Our own recent history tells us what happens when we go down that path.
Opposition Leader Maríanna Toft
While there is question as to why exactly His Majesty feels uncomfortable with the proposed legislation, Absalonhöll felt the need to address the Esthursian issue too.

His Majesty finds it unfortunate that a government official from another sovereign state, one that Prydanians share much in common with, has taken it upon himself to try and influence Prydanian domestic policy. His Majesty has the full confidence in the Prime Minister in handling the diplomatic issue, and stresses that such a foreign incursion cannot in any way detract from the open democratic processes of the government.
Absalonhöll spokesman
Old Memories

While the reasons for the King's rumoured opposition to the proposed legislation is unknown, it's not hard to guess way. Regardless, þingmenn* from all parties in the Alþingi have made their opposition known. Ultimately the opposition rests on the same point- that to empower the courts and police to investigate and potentially ban political movements on ideological grounds is a bit too reminiscent of both of Prydania's past dictatorships.

The complexity of the debate is due to the government's position- despite advocating for these measures they too believe that they are acting in a pro-democratic manner.

Social Commonwealth fascism, Syndicalism, even the fundamentalism of the Messianic League, all carried different flags and banners. The phrases were all different. But they were remarkably similar. They all advocated for violence against our own citizenry and they were all openly, aggressively anti-democratic. We've all fought and sacrificed for a democratic Prydania. Let's give it the tools to fend off those who would destroy it. Let us not show the intolerant tolerance.
Interior Minister Ljot Asplund
Ultimately both sides- sides that are not easy to differentiate by party affiliation- believe they are the torchbearers for the democratic spirit of the country.

The amendments to the 2017 Political Stability Act continue to be debated in the Alþingi, while Absalonhöll has confirmed His Majesty will be meeting with both Prime Minister Svane and Fröken Toft.



þingmenn- MPs
 
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Krummedike Griffinar Win 2022 Hamar Cup
Expansion Team Defeats Alaterva Vatniðar in Seven Games
by Marís Laufland

Krummedike- The Krummedike Griffinar have shocked the country, completing a fairy-tale season by winning the Hamar Cup. The Griffinar had to best the two time defending champions Konunglegur Býkonsviði in the West before defeating the defending Eastern Conference Champions Alaterva Vatniðar in a gruelling seven game series.

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The final 2022 Hamar Cup Playoffs bracket

Krummedike came into the season with the hot goaltender, Stækar Aagaard. The young netminder was an expansion draft pickup from his hometown Miðland and exceeded expectations with a stellar season. Yet Alaterva had the always reliable Asmund Rustad between the pipes.
Indeed Rustad made a statement pitching a 2-0 shutout in game one. The win, coming on home ice for the Vatniðar, seemed to electrify the crowd. Indeed, Alaterva never once led in last year's Hamar Cup Final loss to Býkonsviði.
The momentum could not be continued, though. Krummedike scored early in game two, and never let up. Their 5-2 victory tied the series up and sent it back East.

Nonstop Action

The first two games allowed both teams to settle into their groove. Which meant that Prydanian hockey fans were treated to some of the fastest paced hockey on display all season. Games three through seven had a combined total of two penalties. Alaterva right winger Bolli Vaernes was called for interference in game three and Krummedike Captain Hallkel Bak was called for a high stick in game six.
The games highlighted skill and speed, leading to back and forth action as both teams pounced on mistakes to turn the flow of the game the other way. Game one had a margin of two goals and game two had a margin of three. The rest of the games all had a margin of one. Both teams seemed evenly matched, trading rush for rush and goal for goal.

In the end the series winning goal was notched by Krummedike defenceman Folkbjörn Aarseth, with an assist from his defensive partner Hjálmtýr Örbekk, with five minutes remaining in the second period of game seven. The goal made it 4-3 Krummedike and that score would hold through the third.

Folkbjörn and St. Hjálmtýr- nicknamed as such by the Krummedike faithful due to his Santonlands citizenship- celebrated after the final buzzer by hugging as both laid on the ice.

A New Era?

Krummedike's victory not just ends Býkonsviði's two-year Championship streak. It also marks the first time an expansion team has won the Hamar Cup- in the first year of expansion teams!

Conservative analysts warned against hyping up too many expansion teams in the off-season. They pointed to expansion draft rules that allowed the six established teams to protect their best players and the fact that the expansion teams would have less time as teams compared to the more established clubs. More daring experts, however, pointed to the glut of hockey talent in Prydania that would now have a chance to play at the highest level with six new squads. In the end the daring analysts were proven right. Four of the eight playoff teams were expansion squads, with three of the four Western playoff teams being expansion squads. And in the end Krummedike bested Alaterva in seven to capture the Hamar Cup.

Those who predicted a slow transition, where the older teams would continue to dominate, were proven wrong. The Griffinar have declared that anything and everything is possible in the ÍDP. Krummedike captain Hallkel Bak was happy to be leading the team that made that possible.

"We're happy to be the face of change," he said.
"We're happy to be champions."




Krummedike Griffinar-Krummedike Griffins
Konunglegur Býkonsviði- Royal Býkonsviði
Alaterva Vatniðar- Alaterva Lakers
 
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Coalition Passes Voting Abroad Reform
by Týra Murer


Býkonsviði- The Peace not Blood/Conservative coalition government fulfilled a PnB campaign promise by passing the Overseas Voting Act. The act grants Prydanian citizens living abroad the right to vote in Alþingi elections by establishing five additional Alþingi seats.

The Diaspora and Rights of Prydanians Abroad

Syndicalist repression resulted in millions of Prydanians fleeing the country. This Diaspora has become a central element of the political scene since the end of the Civil War. Compensation programs to those displaced and dispossessed by the Syndicalist regime have been ongoing, having recently received an increase in government funding. The government has also engaged in a number of cultural programs meant to reach out to the diaspora.

It was Peace not Blood that made voting rights and the diaspora an issue during the 2021 election, however. Kjell Svane promised a Peace not Blood government would add Alþingi seats to represent the Prydanian citizens living abroad who currently lack any means of political representation.

The debate stems from the fact that the two nations with the largest Prydanian refugee populations- Saintonge and Goyanes- do not allow for dual citizenship. Prydanian refugees who have become Santonian or Goyanean citizens have political representation in those countries’ democratic systems but for Prydanians living in those countries who have retained Prydanian citizenship have until now lacked any political representation.

“There are thousands of Prydanians living abroad who lack a vote, and therefore lack a voice,” Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Sören Högh said after the Alþingi passed the landmark legislation.
“This rectifies that, and gives Prydanian citizens everywhere the right to have their voices heard.”

The Overseas Voting Act has been sent to His Majesty for Royal assent.

Alþingi Debate

The passage of the Overseas Voting Act was not without argument. Opposition Leader Maríanna Toft and People’s Party Leader Anne Gram both protested the move as a grab for power on the part of the Peace not Blood/Conservative coalition. Most Prydanians abroad are refugees who fled Syndicalist oppression. While both the Free Democratic and People’s Parties were part of the broader Font of National Unity (FRE) the leanings of most Prydanians abroad is fairly conservative and likely to favour the coalition parties.

Fröken Gram called it “rushed political opportunism” in the Alþingi and called on the government to postpone plans for overseas voting “for the time being.” Minister of Economic Growth Lúðvík Erheorot commented on this after the vote.

“I’m a bit amused at the request that we purposefully break a campaign promise,” Dr. Erheorot told reporters.

Fröken Toft was far more forceful, accusing the Prime Minister of “weaponizing feel good narratives” for “his own party’s political fortune.”

The Prime Minister largely stuck to the coalition’s assertion that the act would provide Prydanian citizens abroad a voice, and that by doing so Prydania’s democracy would be strengthened overall. He did appear to take a shot at his rival in the opposition, though.

“Já, most Prydanians abroad fled Syndicalism and this informs their political outlook. But a not insignificant number of them also fled Social Commonwealth fascism, and one must wonder if this is what the Opposition leader’s fear of the democratic process stems from.”

Prime Minister Svane seemed to weather the criticism from the Free Democratic caucus in stride, as the Act passed with support of the coalition. All fifty-four Peace not Blood ÞMs* and forty-eight Conservative ÞMs voted in favour of the act. Forty-three Free Democrats voted against the act, as did all twenty-five People’s Party ÞMs. The only abstentions were twelve ÞMs from the Free Democrats.

The New Seats

The Act creates five new Alþingi seats to bring the chamber’s total up to one hundred and eighty-seven seats. The five new seats represent Gothis (two), Meterra (two), and Craviter (one). These designations were chosen based on the demographic spread of Prydanian citizens living abroad.
The Overseas Voting Act addresses Prydanian citizens outside of Gothis, Meterra, or Craviter by slotting them into the nearest geographical “overseas Þingsviði*.”

The new seats will be brought into being with His Majesty’s signature granting Royal assent to the act, but the seats will be listed as vacant until 15 September 2022, when special by-elections will be held to fill them. This is to allow for Prydanian consulates in Gothis, Meterra, and Craviter to organize Þingsviði offices, voting districts, and for political parties to organize candidates in those constituencies.

As with domestic seats, the number and distribution of the overseas Alþingi seats are up for revision and re-allocation depending on demographic shifts.
The victory in the Alþingi is something Prime Minister Svane hopes to build on, as voting on the proposed amendments to the Political Stability Act of 2017 looms.

FeB
054y 000n 000a
ÍF

048y 000n 000a
FLFP

000y 043n 012a
AF

000y 025n 000a
Total

102y 068n 012a




Þingsviði*- Riding, constituency
ÞMs*- MPs
 
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Agriculture, Fish, Forestry, and Fertilizer Exports on the Rise
by Guðný Sjöberg


Býkonsviði- Prydania's traditional economic sectors continue to show positive growth as investments into agricultural recover pays off.

Investment and Emergency Action

Prydania faced a crisis the summer of 2017. Syndicalism had been defeated but the country's once-robust breadbasket economy was hurting due to fifteen years of gross mismanagement.
Farms in the east, the first areas liberated from Syndicalism, were fairing better having had four and a half years to re-establish themselves. But the svartjörð-rich central and western regions, having just been liberated, were still in shambles.
One of the first priorities of the government was to rehabilitate the farms as quickly as possible. Land was repatriated to those it had been stolen from by the Syndicalists and aid money, as well as direct investment from foreign sources, was poured into ensuring farmland was properly rehabilitated and farms reached a level of operational functionality as quickly as possible. It worked. By 2020 Prydania had reached the benchmark needed to become a fully-fledged FSO member, with food exports exceeding imports for the first time since 2004.
While elevation to membership status in a grade group dedicated to fair prices may not be a cause for celebration elsewhere it was a proud day in this country. His Majesty even commented at the time, in a rather candid exchange with cameras.

I'm very happy to hear it, and I think everyone is. We pride ourselves on being a nation of farmers, já? And we have that again. I'm very happy to see Prydania re-join a family of nations my grandpabbi helped found.
His Majesty King Tobias III on Prydania rejoining the FSO as a full member, 2020

Minister of Agriculture Steinketill Hanevold laid out the reasons for success, which saw Prydanian agricultural export revenues rise 2% from 2020 to 2021, with 2022 looking to repeat that growth.
Fröken Hanevold credited a commitment to investing in farming and other programs that would help recently freed and returning farmers rehabilitate their land, as well as investment and technical aid from foreign powers.

Foreign money has helped, of course, but foreign technical assistance has been invaluable. Agriculturalists from Saintonge and Goyanes have made this possible.
Minister of Agriculture Steinketill Hanevold addressing Prydanian agricultural economic output in 2022

Svartjörð Exports Rise

Svartjörð- Prydanian for "black soil"- is also doing well. Export of the phosphorus-rich dark soil that is common across western and central Prydania has long been a key export, though that suffered under Syndicalist rule.

With collectivized farming reducing the agricultural output the Syndicalist regime put phosphorus limits on exports, believing that it was necessary to limit fertilizer exports to boost domestic agricultural production.

While not an immediate priority, the post-civil war government viewed fertilizer exports as a key component of economic recovery.
In 2020 fertilizer export revenue totalled 632.7 million IBU (x4.66 billion). In 2021 that figure jumped to 1.32 billion IBU (x9.73 billion). The massive jump was said to be caused by stabilization in the agricultural sector.
 
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Alþingi Passes Replacement for 2017 Political Stability Act, New Office Formed
by Týra Murer


Býkonsviði- It took a lot of manoeuvring in the Alþingi and occurred against the backdrop of an unfolding diplomatic crisis in Austurveldi* but Prime Minister Kjell Svane was able to celebrate the passage of the Office of the Protection of the Constitution Act. The road to this moment involved tense inter-party negotiations, palace intrigue, rebellious ÞMs*, and one uninvited Ethursian Chancellor, but at the end of the day the government's initiative passed with the help of the Alþingi's fourth party.

New Offices

The Office of the Protection of the Constitution Act replaces the Political Stability Act of 2017. The 2017 act, passed by the post-Civil War provisional government, barred parties that explicitly called for the abolition of the monarchy. The 2022 act expands on this, by establishing new offices to protect against groups and movements that call for the explicit overthrow of the democratic constitutional order.

Specifically domestic intellegence duties have been split from Security and Special Intellegence (Öryggi og Sérstaktupplýsingaöflun, ÖSU) and have been entrusted with a new office, the Realm's Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Ríkisskrifstofa um Vernd Stjórnarskrárinnar, RuVS). The RuVS will partner with newly created Provincial Offices for the Protection of the Constitution (Héraðsskrifstofa um Vernd Stjórnarskrárinnar, HuVS).

They will be charged with monitoring and investigating political parties and movements that seek to threaten and upend the democratic constitutional order. The Constitution was signed into law by His Majesty after a majority of voters supported the proposed charter in February 2021.

qVdoWrD.png

Crest of the new RuVS, containing the slogan "Vernda Lýðræðið," meaning "Protect Democracy"

The Debate

Debate over the proposed legislation was particularly fractious, and did not fall along party lines. Many members of the coalition parties openly expressed worry that the proposal would create a government agency that could be abused and used to crack down on political dissent. The most ardent opposition came from Opposition Leader Maríanna Toft (Erkiengill City- Sankt Mikjáll, FLFP), with many in the Alþingi finding it interesting that the leader of the Free Democratic Party opposed legislation meant to safeguard a constitution championed by a previous Free Democratic government.

Fröken Toft, however, drew on her own family's history and referenced her father's regime.
"Don't let the Óviðráðanlegir return," she insisted, referring to the fascist Social Commonwealth regime's secret police in her appeal to Peace not Blood and Conservative ÞMs unsure about the legislation.

It sparked a fierce debate with the Prime Minister who chastised the Opposition Leader for he called "a gross use of historical tragedy for political gain."

"The Prydanian Realm proclaims its will to protect all Prydanians and peoples of Prydania in the exercise of human rights, of their culture and traditions, languages and institutions, promote the progress of culture and of the economy to ensure a dignified quality of life for all and establish a democratic society and cooperate in the strengthening of peaceful relations and effective cooperation among all the peoples of the world."
Prime Minister Kjell Svane paraphrasing the preamble of the Constitution
The Prime Minister then paraphrased the Constitution's preamble and called on the Alþingi to give the Realm "the means it needs" to protect the freedoms so many had died fighting for while calling Fröken Toft's comparison to fascist secret police "gross and shameful."

"We have seen fascists and we have seen Syndicalists," the Prime Minister continued, "and we have paid a heavy price, a terrible price, but we have emerged with our freedom and a constitution. Written with the King, and agreed to by the people, that is an important step forward for the recovery of our beloved country. We ask that we give it the tools to defend itself, from forces we know first hand will upend the democratic order if given a chance."

The Crown, and Ethursian Incursions

All of this seeks to replace the Political Stability Act of 2017, which only barred parties if they sought to abolish the then-recently restored monarchy. It was one of the Provisional Government's few heavy handed moves, but one that, to be frank, never stirred much controversy. Then Prince Tobias' formal claim to the Crown in the spring of 2017, less than a month before the end of the Civil War, was seen as formality and was met with celebration not just in liberated territories but in Prydanian refugee communities in Saintonge and Goyanes and elsewhere. The Prince-turned-King had widespread public support, a fact that has not changed. The 2017 act passed into law with little fanfare or opposition both because of His Majesty's popularity and because of the backlash against the radical republicanism of the hated Syndicalist regime.

The debate about the 2022 act had centred on expanding out the provisions of the 2017 act. Not just a narrow focus on the monarchy, but the whole democratic constitutional order. Still, it was the fact that said constitutional order includes the monarchy that prompted Jeremy Wilson, Chancellor of Esthursia, to come out against the government's proposals.

Wilson, an animated leftist politician and key figure in the Ethursian transition to a republic, decried both the 2017 act and the proposed 2022 replacement. Quoting the late Esthursian Forethegn Howard Turnbrook Chancellor Wilson warned "those who grant too much power to their monarchies, regardless of their past virtues, do so to their descendants' regret; for you cannot choose your monarchs."

The episode caused something of an uproar. Prime Minister Svane summoned the Ethursian ambassador to protest against a foreign government official attempting to influence a matter of domestic policy in Prydania, and later responded to Wilson in the Alþingi by declaring that the government is answerable to the people of Prydania, not the government of Esthursia.
It also put Fröken Toft in a difficult position of having to maintain her opposition to the act, but also condemn a foreign official attempting to meddle in Prydanian affairs.

Deputy Prime Minister Sören Högh (Býkonsviði Norðurhöfn, ÍF) further addressed the matter of the Crown in the Alþingi.
"Republicanism is associated with four million dead Prydanians," he said bluntly.
"I will listen and respect the will of other peoples when they determine their futures. I expect the same for us."

Unlikely Help

All of this resulted in a series of negotiations both within the various caucuses and between them. Wilson's unwanted incursion ended up bringing some coalition rebels back to the government's side, but there was enough of a contingent- mostly from the Conservative Party- that opposed the legislation that the government would need to rely on help. Help came, from the People's Party.

Annie Gram (Býkonsviði Frjálshöfn, AF), leader of the social democratic People's Party, indicated her support for the government initiative.
"The People's Party broke with the madness of Syndicalism. We can firmly say we support measures that would protect our democratic constitutional order from radicalism, regardless of the form it takes."

Fröken Gram's position split the People's Party as well, but seventeen of the the caucus' twenty-five ÞMs backed her, giving the Prime Minister the votes needed to overcome rebels from within the coalition. Sigewulf Reiten (Býkonsviði Prestsjarðir-East, AF), who led eight rebel People's Party ÞMs in breaking with Fröken Gram, explained his group's reasoning.

"We're not breaking with the Party on this vote because we don't believe in the principals party leadership expresses. Indeed, we believe we can and should remain vigilant to protect everything we've fought for and won. On this I and my seven compatriots agree with People's Party leader Annie Gram and the Prime Minister. But we believe a system such as this is not the way."
People's Party ÞM Sigewulf Reiten
Political Fallout

The Office of the Protection of the Constitution Act of 2022 now passes to His Majesty's desk to be granted Royal assent. His Majesty was believed to have reservations about the legislation but stated on social media while replying to the Jeremy Wilson issue that he will abide by the will of the people's elected representatives.
Absalonhöll confirmed the King's intent to sign the act, stating it was "set on the docket as the first order of state business tomorrow."

Beyond that, however, intrigue reigns in the Alþingi. The government managed to pass sweeping legislation, but both suffered defectors and required the support of the left wing People's Party. For the right wing coalition things are shaky, something Fröken Toft was ready to point out following the tallying of the votes.

"To my colleagues in the Conservative Party," the Opposition Leader remarked, "consider that Peace not Blood turned a blind eye to thirteen of your þingmenn* to court the votes of the left wing. Ask yourselves if this coalitition is worth that much?"

Deputy Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Sören Högh replied, inisting that a spirited debate is the essence of democracy.
"The right of us to gather here, unmolested, and exercise the people's will is exactly what this act is meant to safeguard forever onward. We hold no ill-will against those of our party who disagreed in good conscience, and we are committed to this government."

Polling

Polling conducted in the weeks leading up to the final Alþingi vote indicate that 65% of Prydanians polled support the Office for the Protection of the Constitution Act. 12% are opposed to it, and 23% stated they were unsure.

FeB
048y 002n 004a
ÍF

035y 013n 000a
FLFP

004y 034n 017a
AF

017y 008n 000a
Empty Seats

005
Total
104y 057n 021a 005np




*Austurveldi- Imperium Suavidici
*ÞMs- MPs
*þingmenn- MPs
 
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September Elections: Coalition Wins Abroad, Bayardi Sepratism Loses at Home
by Týra Murer

Býkonsviði- Local fall elections were held yesterday, along with elections to fill the five overseas seats created by the Peace not Blood/Conservative coalition government back in July. The five overseas seats Alþingi were created to represent Prydanian citizens living abroad, something that Prime Minister Svane said had to be a priority.

"The Civil War resulted in millions of Pyrdanians living beyond our borders. Many of them have adopted the citizenship of their new homes, but many have not. For those people, they lack any political representation. They cannot vote in their new home countries, and they cannot vote here. This rectifies that. Now Prydanian citizens, wherever they live, will have a voice in the Alþingi."

The five seats were allotted to regions where the highest concentration of Prydanians abroad live. Two seats for Meterra, two for Gothis, and one for the rest of Craviter. Prydanians living elsewhere had their votes counted in the nearest overseas constituency.

Overseas Results

The Overseas results were victories for the Peace not Blood/Conservative coalition. The result was expected given a number of factors. The first was that the Coalition championed the overseas voting legislation while both the Free Democrats and People's Party opposed it. Overseas Prydanian voters merely rewarded the parties that have given them the franchise. The second factor was political. The vast majority of Prydanian citizens abroad fled the Syndicalist regime and are thus predisposed to right leaning politics.

Peace not Blood won Meterra's two seats easily. Not a shock given that the party began as a movement supported by a number of Prydanians living in Saintonge. They also won the lone Craviter seat. The Conservatives won both Gothis seats, attributed to the similarities in profile and support bases between the Prydanian Conservative party and the Goyanean National Union Party. The majority of Prydanian citizens in Gothis live in Goyanes. All in all the Coalition swept all five seats, with Peace not Blood winning three and the Conservatives winning two.

Handan Hafsins Þingmenn/Overseas ÞMs

HH-1 Craviter
- Roween Blaauw FeB
HH-2 Meterran Sea
- Hreida Urness FeB
HH-3 Cottian Lake
- Hastein Bremseth FeB
HH-4 Gothis East
- Svein Nylund ÍF
HH-5 Gothis West
- Luta Bredahl ÍF

The new Þingmenn will arrive in Prydania within a week to take their oaths and seats.

Bayardi Action Party Makes a Lot of Noise, but Not Much Else

The Free Democratic Party may not have done well in the overseas voting but they did manage to hold onto most of their local seats, with one key hold catching national attention.

Aneke van Rooyen, a Free Democrat, was stepping down as Lord Mayor of Jórvík to, in her words, "focus on family and the family business." Her decision to run for another term opened up the field, something exploited by the previously unknown Bayardi Action Party. The party, which claims is dedicated to "Bayardi interests, representation, and sovereignty," put forward a local restaurant owner, Christoffel van Schalkwyk, as its candidate.

Herra van Schalkwyk made a splash by promising to change the city's name from Jórvík to the Bayardi "Yôrk" if elected, despite the Lord Mayor lacking that authority. He also quoted Santonian Radical Party member and National Assembly member François-Louis Villault on Twitcher, agreeing with the anti-immigrant firebrand that Prydanians of Nordic stock had "subjugated" the Bayardi. He promised Herra Villault "good news" in September.

Christoffel van Schalkwyk's campaign was highlighted by a few spectacles. First, the Jórvík Lions, Jórvík's community-owned Prydanian Hockey League team, sued the BAP. The team claimed that the BAP's logo- a red lion on black- infringed on the team's trademark. Which itself was a red lion outlined in black. Both logos are their inspiration from the Thane of Jórvík's standard, which also serves as the Provincial flag. It has also long been a de facto "Bayardi" ethnic flag within Prydania.

The Commericial Courts ultimately sided with the BAP, stating that while similarties did exist that was the result primarily of similar inspiration. The court also stated that the chances of "maketplace confusion" were low, as a political party and hockey team do not exist in the same marketplace.

Herra van Schalkwyk celebrated the ruling by holding a campaign rally at his restaurant, Die Dapper Nar (The Dapper Jester). Rallies at the establishment were common and van Schalkwyk made headlines by kicking customers out who ordered in Prydanian rather than Bayardi. Police were often involved, as discrimination based on language is illegal under law. The Bayardi Action Party covered every fine though.

"The law says Prydanian speakers can come here. Fine," Herra van Schalkwyk said.
"But maybe they'll get the hint that they're not welcome. And soon won't be in this city."

The words were bold. While Jórvík is the largest city in the country where Bayardi is primarily spoken, the vast majority of citizens speak both it and Prydanian. Twenty-five percent of the city speaks Prydanian as their mother language and 99.6% of the Bayardi speakers are fluent in Prydanian.

Still, Christoffel van Schalkwyk remained defiant. Polls showing him trailing behind most other candidates were dismissed as "viking propaganda," as he raised the spectre of St. Vortgyn's war of conquest almost a thousand years ago and promised "a revolution."

The other candidtes were lockstep in condemning him and the BAP. Though it was Free Democratic Party candidate Pieter Bruyn who emerged as the frontrunner. Which in turn made him a frequent target of van Schalkwyk.

"Pieter Bruyn is a lapdog for the conquerors," he said.
"Like our useless Thane, he'd look backwards. But I'm turning things around. The lion now looks towards our future," he said in reference to Bruyn's lead in the polls.

Bruyn for his part dismissed van Schalkwyk and BAP as a sideshow.
"I'm not going to talk up foreign bigots or whine about a war that ended a thousand years ago," Herra Bruyn stated.
"Our city, like every other place in this country, is recovering from tyranny and war. I'm proud of the people of Jórvík, no matter what language they speak. And they deserve a Lord Mayor who will make sure the city works. That's what this is about. Making sure people's municipal government is on their side. Not whinging about ancient history."

Ultimately the Free Democrats held the Jórvík Mayorship, and their majority on the city's council. Pieter Bruyn addressed a celebratory crowd when the results were announced.

"I'm proud, I'm happy, I'm grateful to all of you, now let's get to work!"

Results

58% FLFP Pieter Bruyn
31% ÍF/FeB Zander Rensburg
9% AF Luca Smuts
2% BAP Christoffel van Schalkwyk

The results were a dissapointment for Herra Rensburg, who hoped that the combined Peace not Blood and Conservative ticket could give him enough to challenge what is traditionally a Free Democratic stronghold.

"In the end we had an insignificant but disruptive presense in the form of the BAP and their clownshow," Herra Rensburg told reporters.
"It gave the impression that people had to rally around one candidate to beat him, and we lost votes because of that. With that being said, I have congradulated Herra Bruyn on his victory. I'm confident that we can make a case for our movement. Especially now that we see how toothless the distraction was."

Christoffel van Schalkwyk was defiant.
"I have demanded an immediate recount," he insisted. Prydanian election law states that recounts are automatic if the vote is within 0.5%. Christoffel van Schalkwyk's paltry return is far below that threshold. Still, he has the legal right to request a recount if he foots the cost for it. Cost that the BAP readily paid. In the end the stunt- what else could it be called at this point?- affirmed that Christoffel van Schalkwyk cam in a distant forth with only 2% of the vote.

"I will not stop, BAP will not stop," Herra van Schalkwyk stated in the early hours of the morning once the results were re-affirmed.
"We will have our time."

An Interesting Turn

Pieter Bruyn also made waves by distancing himself from the national Free Democratic Party apparatus led by Maríanna Toft, leader of the opposition in the Alþingi.

"I'm a man of the people," he said.
"I was born in Jórvík, I grew up here. I fought in these streets for the FRE against the Syndicalists. The Free Democratic ticket is how I believe I can further serve my city and country. Because of the ideals, not any one person."

Herra Bruyn was sworn in as Lord Mayor this morning.
 
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Princess Hanna Born
by Oddbjörn Skröder

Býkonsviði- Absalonhöll has announced the birth of Princess Hanna Anežka Loðbrók-Sattia, daughter of King Tobias III and Empress Alycia, at 12:16 pm, on Sunday 18 September 2022 at Reynir Hospital. The Princess was born at a healthy 3.8 lbs and is currently with her family.

Third Royal Child

Princess Hanna's birth marks the third child born to King Tobias and Empress Alycia, following their twin boys Princes Baldr and Hael two years ago.

The newest arrival was named "Hanna" after King Tobias' mother, Princess Hanna Loðbrók (née Ladefoged).

A spokesman for Absalonhöll confirmed that Empress Alycia is recovering well and that the Princess was with her parents and brothers.

"My daughter cannot wait to meet you all," King Tobias said in a released statement.
"But right now we need to spend as a family."
 
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An Interview With His Majesty
by Sölvi Buhl

Býkonsviði- It is rare that a journalist is afforded the opportunity to interview a head of state. Much less a King.
In part I was afforded this opportunity by privilege.
In the fairness of transparency I met the King shortly after the end of the Civil War. I met him again when I appealed to the King for mercy for my father.

Regardless I feel it's important to be open about that, that His Majesty's familiarity with me might have played a role in me being selected to conduct this interview. It's also with this in mind that I promise to my readers that I intended to make the most of the opportunity and make an interview with the King meaningful rather than fluff.

It was with all of this in mind that I was greeted in Absalonhöll by the Knights of the Storm. Already it seemed different from when I was last here, in 2019 to make the case for my father's life. Much of the areas of the palace previously cordoned off or under construction were restored. Tapestries and paintings rushed into hiding were finally back from their overseas sanctuaries, decorating the halls and the craftsmanship of woodworkers and masons in repairing much of the vandalized and destroyed palace architecture was on full display.

I found myself in a cozy room. The soft lighting and the warm tones from the wood panels and fixtures added to that. As was the medieval-styled depictions of the holy tour of St. Tobias, which along the length of the room.
A stone fireplace on the far end of the room sat unused. Fall may be upon us and the cool weather may slowly be approaching but it's clearly not time to be lighting the hearth quite yet.

I didn't have to wait long for His Majesty to join me. I can honestly say the three times I've met him he's given me something of a different look. When I first met him in the streets of war-torn Býkonsviði in the summer of 2017 he looked exhausted, if relieved. His mess of blond hair only added to the fatigued look as his flack jacket at military-grade gear sagged off of his skinny frame.
In 2019 he was far more put together, wearing a fitted grey suit. And seemed slightly on edge, knowing what to expect from my request concerning my pabbi.
Now, he met me with a smile, wearing jeans and a Stormurholmr football jersey, seeming far more relaxed then I've ever known him. Even if he seemed as exhausted as one would expect from a father with a newborn.




Sölvi Buhl: It's nice to see you again Your Majesty.

Tobias III: Thank you Sölvi. It's good to see you too.

SB: Congratulations to you and Empress Aylicia on the birth of Princess Hanna.

TIII: Danke. I can't express how wonderful it is. She's just a blessing.

SB: If you don't mind me saying so, you look tired. I take it this means you're pretty involved.

TIII: laughs I worry because that's what pabbis do. She's my little girl so when she's crying late at night I want to make sure she's safe and sound.

SB: She was born during a special year. Five years since the end of the Civil War. You've been all over the country- and beyond- celebrating that. You were in Kanada, Arcanstotska, Andrenne, Goyanes, Predice, and Saintonge to honour citizens of those states who showed courage and valour during the Civil War. One name causes controversy. Kolfinnur Grundt. You not only awarded him the St. Tobias order of Merit you pardoned him personally for crimes he committed as a member of the Syndicalist People's Militia. The decision remains controversial. Especially in Hjallerup where he committed said crimes. Do you feel like you've done right by people affected by his role in those abuses by pardoning him and awarding him the Order of Merit?

TIII: Kolfinnur Grundt wasn't pardoned on a whim. Saintonge is a country that took in a number of our kin who would have otherwise been brutalized by the Syndicalist regime. They were not ones to turn a blind eye to the abuses of the Syndicalists so the question was why they would have provided Herra Grundt with an alias and citizenship? They didn't make a habit of providing shelter to war criminals so when their government explained they had a reason for why they had sheltered and naturalized Herra Grundt I listened. And when we had confirmed everything they said he'd done, it became clear he deserved to be commended for his actions to save his fellow countrymen, and deserved to have his legal record cleared.

SB: But do you think the people he victimized in Hjallerup would agree?

TIII: I speak for the Prydanian realm. I don't speak for every Prydanian. And it's not my place to tell a victim of sexual assault if they should forgive their attacker or not. Kolfinnur will have to answer to God for that, like we all will have to answer for our sins. It was a question that weighed heavily on me. But I can say he wasn't pardoned and given the Order of Merit for anything he did in Hjallerup. He was pardoned and awarded the Order of Merit for what he did to save helpless children and a family that would have been killed by the People's Militia if not for his intervention. Lots of people made the decision to do horrible things in the name of the Syndicalist Republic. Very few of them tried to do the right thing latter. Kolfinnur Grundt did. And I believe that the Prime Minister said it best when addressing this controversy. "There is an antidote to evil so powerful that not even the Devil can resist being repelled. It's called forgiveness." I'm the King of all Prydanians. I want to be known as one who forgives those who deserve it. The lives Kolfinnur saved meant he deserved it.

SB: You mentioned forgiveness. Was that why Ejvind Borg was speaking at the 4 June celebrations?

TIII: Já. What's the point of celebrating five years since the liberation if we don't use it to consider where we're going? I believe forgiveness is a part of that. Strength, duty, to do what we need to do so we can rebuild our country, but I believe that a willingness to forgive and embrace each other as brothers and sisters no matter what has happened is important.

SB: What will Prydania look like in five more years? In ten? Twenty?

TIII: I don't know the answer to that. It's the people of our country who will decide that. A man who I respect a great deal told me five years ago that he hoped I would play a role in transforming our country into one where freedom and respect for one's fellow man were commonplace. I want to live up to that, which is why I am very proud of the constitution I had a hand in crafting with Magnus Brandt's government. We have firmly enshrined democratic principals into law. So what the country will look like in twenty years will be up to the people.

SB: There were reports that you were not entirely comfortable with the Office of the Protection of the Constitution Act. Did you grant it Royal assent because of your commitment to these democratic principals?

TIII: The Prime Minister and I meet every week and we discuss the Alþingi's business. Sometimes I have questions and, já, concerns. But this was the will of the people and the people's elected representatives. I am not going to be the one to defy the will of the people. Not when the legislation had its end-goal of strengthening democracy.

SB: You have mentioned your grandpabbi, King Robert VII as an inspiration. How much of that affects you now?

TIII: My grandpabbi is a hero to me because for so long he was who I wanted to be. He became King in the aftermath of the Fascist War and helped transform the realm into prosperous, free country. When I felt at my most hopeless or despondent during the Civil War I thought about my grandpabbi. Because he proved this country could do great things, and he proved I could be a great leader. That the Syndies who painted everyone in my family like my uncle were wrong. My grandpabbi is still a hero to me. But I also learned that he never codified his democratic reforms into law. And this made them easier for my uncle and then later Thomas Nielsen to subvert. I want to be like my grandpabbi. But I also want to learn from his mistakes and make sure the democratic order we build today will last forever.

SB: Is that why you were willing to remove the Lords Spiritual from the Alþingi?

TIII: I thought a legislator that was entirely elected by the people was for the best. The Church remains very close to me and I feel privileged and honoured to be Defender of the Faith. But the Church's role is to tend to the souls of its believers. Not to hold unelected seats in the Alþingi.

SB: You have committed yourself to the role of defending the Laurenist Messianic Church of Prydania. You have also spoken about feeling your duty is to be a defender of faith in general.

TIII: Já. I've prayed with Courantists and Thaunics and Shaddaists. The Syndicalist Republic did not discriminate. Meeting the victims of their anti-religious aggression taught me the need to protect the faith of all Prydanians, as well as our Laurenist Church.

SB: Yet in 2019 you granted Royal assent to legislation that affirmed the legal status of same-sex marriage. This was against the wishes of the Laurenist Church, the Courantist Church, and the Council of Shaddaist Cohens of Prydania. What was the rational for that decision when, on the other hand, this country maintains strict restrictions on abortion?

TIII: I think with the issue of same sex marriage it... it needs to be understood that the Syndicalists legalized that. As tempting as it was to toss fifteen years of Syndicalist legislation in the bin I didn't want to be a King who took rights away. Syndicalist legislation also worked to make affordable housing plentiful and we not only kept it, we expanded it and provided homes for thousands of homeless displaced people. I understand the objections the Churches and the Shaddaist council had about same sex marriage, but I couldn't assert my prerogatives as King to deny the will of the Alþingi. Not to take rights away from Prydanians. No.

SB: Abortion restrictions were significantly tightened after the Civil War, now only permissible in cases of rape, incest, irreversible defect, incurable illness, or if the mother's life is in danger. There has been debate in the Alþingi that these restrictions enacted after the Civil War with Royal assent took rights away from women.

TIII: I have, especially since the adoption of the constitution, tried to stay out of the way of elected officials. The stuff I've said about the need to respect the democratic will is sincerely held. I won't deny I have my own beliefs on the issue of abortion, as everyone does. But I don't let that intervene in the will of the Alþingi. If the people of this country elect an Alþingi that feels it necessary to widen the scope of legal abortion then I, as sovereign and servant of the people, will respect that decision.

SB: Staying on the topic of the Alþingi, but circling back, the Office of the Protection of the Constitution Act. That debate was complicated by Esþursian Chancellor Jeremy Wilson weighing in and condemning the act during the debate stage. What is the role of foreign opinion in Prydanian politics?

TIII: I think everyone should understand that countries that work together often have a degree of back and forth regarding policy and how it affects joint projects. We have discussed policy with the Santonians and Norsians regarding YEET projects, for example. But everyone understands that these discussions are about finer points of mutual cooperation. It would be unacceptable if those talks turned to a foreign power trying to dictate Prydanian domestic policy. I think that might be worth keeping in mind for certain foreign parties. As King of Prydania I am answerable to the Prydanian people. The Alþingi is answerable to the Prydanian people. The Kingdom of Prydania is a ready and willing partner and friend to all. But we are not beholden to anyone but the people of our realm. Foreign ideologues should understand that.

SB: What about François-Louis Villault?

TIII: What of him?

SB: Some might call him a foreign ideologue.

TIII: Já I suppose some might. But Prydania is a country where freedom of speech is an enshrined right. And so it is in Saintonge. Sometimes that means you must let people speak you would rather not speak. And I don't believe it is my right to dictate to Saintonge who they can and can't censor.

SB: Some would argue that his rhetoric is enough to warrant a lodged complaint on behalf of the Prydanian government.

TIII: When he starts to try and dictate our government's business then I am confident in the Prime Minister's ability to handle it appropriately as was the case with Herra Wilson. But merely being unpleasant isn't enough to justify a formal protest, I don't think.

SB: He did comment on the Bayardi, something the Bayardi Action Party picked up on.

TIII: I think the BAP was looking for things to make themselves newsworthy and that was an easy way to do it.

SB: I know you've made it clear your role is to respect the will of the people and that necessitates a need to stay out of political debate. But would it be fair to say you oppose Bayardi separatism? You are friends with the son of the Thane of Jórvík.

TIII: Rylond is my oldest friend, já, but that doesn't mean much in this debate. I'm King of Prydania. All of Prydania. This includes the Bayardi. I have been to Jórvík, both the city and the towns that make up the province. I've met men and women who fought for the FRE who were proud Bayardi. I know the affection we have for each other as people. And I am fluent in Bayardi, and I'm proud of that because a Bayardi should be able to ask his sovereign a question in his native language and receive an answer in his language. Jórvík and the Bayardi are part of Prydania and we should be ready to listen if there is a problem. Movements like BAP only gain any momentum if there are issues left unaddressed.

SB: I wish to thank you, Your Majesty, for your time. I only have one final question.

TIII: Go for it.

SB: You're wearing a Stormurholmr FF jersey. Is this you coming out as an Islanders fan?

TIII: laughs I was born in Býkonsviði but I grew up in Austurland during the War. Stormurholmr was a refuge and home for me, when Býkonsviði seemed so far away. Konunglegur Býkonsviði will always be the team of the Crown, but I can't deny that Stormurholmr has a special place in my heart.

SB: So who do you root for when they play each other?

TIII: laughs I'm going to have to invoke my prerogative as King, and not give you a straight answer I'm afraid.

SB: laughs That's fair after all you've shared with me Your Majesty. Thank you for your time.

TIII: You're welcome. Thank you.
 
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Opinion: The People's Party should stay away from the International Workers' Association
by Sölvi Buhl

Being a People's Party supporter is, by and large, an intellectual exercise.
That's not to say I think we're smarter than the supporters of other parties, no. It's just that we as a movement have far more soul searching and debate to move through in order to discovery what and who we are.

We are, after all, many things. Many of them at least partially contradictory. We are the party that broke from the Syndicalist dictatorship because it became a moral
imperative to do so. We are also the party many former Syndicalists call home today.
By and large this is less continuous then one might assume. Very few people are apologists for Nielsen's regime these days, for good reason. The former Syndicalists who are in our ranks are committed to our new democracy. Committed to our party's mantra of reform over revolution, of ballots over bullets.

Tensions, however, are always there on the idealistic side of things. The abortion debate, debate about the party's stance on capitalism as a concept, the role we should play in the rehabilitation of former Syndicalist officials, our stance on the ban on unions funding political candidates and movements, and the ever-present debate over social democracy vs democratic socialism.

And now... now the IWA comes calling. Some have called on us to join. Some insist we need to join.
I'm making a case against it.

Lessons Learnt

I'm a student of my own history. My own family's history.

My pabbi was one of Nielsen's lieutenants. And so I saw what happens when a party becomes uncompromising.

Compromise is necessary to an open, free, and democratic society. Sure all of us have an idea of what the perfect world would look like, but that's a utopia of one. The fact is our country is one of diverse political and social makeup and beliefs. Compromise isn't just necessary- it's a moral imperative. No movement that can't compromise with those outside of it has a right to govern such a society.

So I am immediately put off by the IWA's eleven conditions. In the interests of fairness they can be found here so you, dear reader, can make up your own mind. To me, thought, it's more of the same unwillingness to compromise that led the Syndicalists to become what they became.

A point by point discussion is beyond the scope of this peace so I'll keep it broad. The conditions demand an adherence to a way of thinking I have attacked before.
They demand a uniformity of thought, and demand that member organizations purge those who aren't in ideological lockstep.

This is the folly that led the Syndicalist Party down its path. Nielsen and his cabal purged everyone who wasn't deemed sufficiently "socialist" either in mindset, occupation, or background, and turned the party into a vehicle for his own advancement and, later, dictatorship. That led to a lost generation of carnage and death for this country.

If the socialists in Beaune would like to question my left wing credentials I have a Young Syndicalist Pioneers ID badge somewhere I could dig out. You know, if they're insisting on seeing papers.
But these are all things I saw first hand. My pabbi's greatest single mistake- the one that all his others sprung from- was not challenging Tom Nielsen when he could have made a difference. So I'm learning from that and stating now. Openly and emphatically.

The People's Party of Prydania does not need the IWA and their Militia-style demand for political orthodoxy.

We are the party that rejected that, that embraced a left wing leader in our country's history who built bridges. Who founded the welfare state as a result. We are the party that saw that what happens when you are uncompromising to a fault. We rejected that, we embraced democracy. Not just for the working class, but for everyone.

We embraced the Prydania we have all been building since the end of our Civil War. A free country. And it's a country where we have seen success in getting our message out. The People's Party governs the province of Krummedike and governs as a junior coalition partner with the Free Democrats in Býkonsviði and Hadden's provisional legislators.
Such coalitions would violate one of the eleven conditions of the IWA, but they allow us to prove to the Prydanian people that our movement can be trusted with the reigns of government.

Is our party socialist? I dare say já it is. A democratic socialism though. No, we don't meet the standards of ideological purity that the IWA sets out. So what? We don't need it. Nor should we want it.

A Hope

I believe in the cause of the People's Party. And I believe it can be strengthened by an international forum to reach out to other likeminded democratic socialists and social democrats. We know we're not alone. The largest trade union in Saintonge voted down a motion that they join the IWA. And our party could find much common ground with ideologically similar parties in Andrenne, Goyanes, Illia, Saintonge, Predice, and many other places.

Perhaps we just have to be brave enough to stand up to the socialists at the IWA and make it clear they don't define our movement.
 
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People's Party Conference Rebukes IWA
by Astrid Veierod

Keris- The annual conference of the People's Party, their seventh, has just concluded. The conference location of Keris was itself symbolic. The Party picked up a symbolic win following Magnus Brandt's retirement. Securing the seat of the former Prime Minister set expectations high for the Party going into the 2021 election. They held onto their previous pickup, but failed to secure any other seat. An outcome Party insiders called "a letdown." By holding the 2022 convention in Keris the People's Party made it known they weren't giving up on trying to expand their support in western Prydania's most ol important port.

The convention, which was attended by People's Party delegates from across Prydania, both in person and online. In keeping with the party's charter all delegates were afforded an equal vote on all measures.

One decision that had been gaining a degree of mainstream attention was s whether or not the party would seek membership in the International Workers' Association. The international alliance of left wing parties and labour unions stands for a hardline against left wing organizations working alongside what it deems "bourgeois" parties and calls for the destruction of capitalism the world over.

The motion to join was raised two months ago by Spjut Arne of Hadden.

"It's important for the People's Party to challenge convention, if it's a true opposition movement," Herra Arne told RÚV.

Herra Arne has taken to presenting himself as a crusader of left wing idealism, as of late. The Hadden City Councillor, a former Syndicalist People's Militiaman, held up opposition he's received since putting the proposal forward for the party as proof of its necessity.

"I've been challenged by people outside and inside the party but these people prove my point. We need to take a clear, defiant stand against the consensus parties."

People's Party Debate

Herra Arne insists he's not a Syndicalist apologist, claiming that his time as a Syndicalist People's Militiaman was caused by youthful idealism and that he came to hate what the organization had become. He was covered by His Majesty's mass pardon of Syndicalist Party members and soldiers in August 2017. He has insisted his goals since then have been to represent the interests of the working class in his native Hadden.

Herra Arne, however, has exposed some fault lines in the People's Party. The party, formed by former Syndicalists who had turned on the regime, became home to a number of ex-Syndicalists after the War who had either been pardoned or cleared of wrongdoing by the post-War legal proceedings. This post-War membership is made up of moderates themselves and those far more willing to embrace revolutionary left wing causes.

Party leadership seemed to rebuke Herra Arne.

"I don't believe the IWA is appropriate," party leader Annie Gram said when the motion was put forward.
"It's not compatible with our values as a party."

Part of the party leadership's opposition to joining the IWA and embracing more revolutionary ideologies is the baggage carried by it from the Syndicalist era. The party's twnety-five seats in the 2021 election represented a dramatic improvement over the 2018 return, but they still fell short of some more optimistic projections.

"We thought we could expand our reach into Keris, and this didn't happen," People's Party National Executive Committee Chairman Peter Sjöstedt said.
"We had realistic hopes for the heartland and Austurland," he added, referring to areas strongly victimized by Syndicalist oppression.
"But our vote share in these regions were below what we felt was possible. The People's Party needs to win trust. We're not going to do that by joining a group that wants to tear down the capitalist system. This party was founded to break away from a tyranny that did that and killed four million people in the process."

Sigewulf Reiten, a ÞM* who has made a name for himself pushing to the left of party leader Annie Gram in the Alþingi, had said that the idea was worthy of debate within the party, but stopped short of endorsing the motion. A week before the People's Party conference he announced via Twitcher that he was opposed to the motion.

"I was disappointed," Herra Arne said, referring to Herra Reiten.
"I thought he stood for people like us."

Herra Reiten replied in a statement to RÚV.
"I'm not sure who Spjut Arne speaks for, but I think our differences come down to a matter of perspective."

Some took Herra Reiten's statement to point out that while Herra Arne fought for the Syndicalist People's Militia he fought against the Syndicalists during the Civil War.

Ramifications for IWA Membership

There were real ramifications for IWA membership, beyond the unpopularity of the move among the voters.

Point Six of the IWA's "Eleven Conditions" forbids parties that join the IWA from cooperating with parties not deemed "committed" to class struggle. The People's Party current serves as a junior coalition partner with the Free Democrats in the Hadden and Býkonsviði Provincial legislators. Joining the IWA would force the People's Party to break off these coalition agreements.

"Our party is proving it has the capacity to govern in the capital, and in the Hadden province," People's Party Hadden Provincial þingmaður Solbjörg Farnes told RÚV.

"Hadden is a province that extends well beyond the city and Syndicalists ravaged the farmlands here during the Harrying of Hadden. But we're proving to farmers here that they can trust the People's Party in government. We're going to eventually build a support base in the heartlands and Austurland based on what we're doing here. So if the question is should we throw that away to join the IWA? The answer is no."

A Definitive Vote

The motion was put to a vote after a flurry of speeches speaking both for and against its provisions. In the end 81% of People's Party delegates votes in favour of the motion. 15% voted for. 4% abstained.

Herra Arne was gracious in defeat.
"Democracy is the bedrock of everything," he said.
"The party has spoken, and I'll respect it."

Party leader Annie Gram welcomed the decision.
"We have very real priorities to attend to as a party. We've made our decision on this one. It's time to move forward."

RÚV reached out to Convention goers to gauge their response.

"I don't think we need to join a movement that wants to destroy capitalism," Oddvar Morken, a party representative from Bygde said.
"I agree with the Santonian union COGNET. Some capitalist practices need to be opposed, but not capitalism as a system," Herra Morken added. He was referring to the Santonian labour union COGNET, and their own decision to vote down IWA membership.

Ragnhild Oen, a representative from Myrr, said much the same thing in a more pragmatic way.
"I'm not a Syndicalist," Fröken Oen said.
"I don't want to destroy capitalism. We've had a free market system since the War ended and our country is recovering very well. I don't want to go backwards. The IWA's provisions are going backwards for us."

A Social Democracy Internationale?

Sigewulf Reiten welcomed the vote against the IWA, but mused to delegates about an alternative.

"The IWA isn't right for this party or our country," he said, addressing the party convention.

"But we're not alone. All over the world there are parties and movements that believe in progressive politics, but reject the tyranny adherent in the types of policies the IWA puts forward. We're stuck in an impossible position. Do we stay isolated? Or do we abandon our deeply held commitments to peace and an open, democratic society in the name of IWA membership? But why should these be our only choices? Surely there can be an international grouping of likeminded social democratic and democratic socialist movements. I don't see why there can't be. Let's not concede the right to international representation to the radicals."




*ÞM- MP
 
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National Museum of Prydania to Reopen In Full
By Sæunn Holst


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New logo of the National Museum of Prydania


Býkonsviði- Dr. Erik Melberg formally declared the National Museum of Prydana open, in full after years of restoration and preparation.

Museum History
The National Museum of Prydania was originally founded in 1807, during the UKAG era, and was originally comprised of art and antiques in the collection of then King Rikard III. Following the victory over Callise and their allies and the re-establishment of Prydanian sovereignty in 1819, the museum was tasked with providing a comprehensive collection of Prydania and its people. It was tasked with the preservation of the Prydanskfjársjóð, or national treasures, in 1863. Specifically this referred to the crown jewels and other artifacts that were central to the history of Prydania. Previously these existed in the private collections of the nobility and Royal family.

The museum was placed under the control of loyal propagandists during the two Social Commonwealth areas, but it was under the Syndicalists that the most change occurred. Syndicalist Militia and party loyalists looted the museum shortly after the Syndicalist coup in 2002.

“The Syndicalists targeted what they believed to glorify anything feudal, religious, monarchical, or bourgeois. These categories, the last one especially, are very vague. For a while angry mobs had free reign to destroy what they wanted, and the Syndicalist government encouraged it,” Dr. Melberg explained.

“Thankfully a number of people, both Prydanians and foreigners, worked hard to protect the most important elements of national heritage. As much as they could. They risked a lot to do so, and they should be commended.”

The names of all people who aided in the protection of Prydanian cultural artifacts during the Syndicalist Era are enshrined in a special area of the museum, to commemorate their efforts.

The War

The Syndicalist Republic eventually took control of the Museum, and others across the country, and turned their focus in purely ideological directions. The mandate was the glorification of Picardist history, organized labour in Prydania, the legacy of the Syndicalist Party, and the achievements of the new regime. Still, attention and funds to maintain these newly Syndicalized institutions proved hard to find. As the Civil War dragged on and the FRE drove Syndicalist lines back, the maintenance of museums was far from the first thing on the minds of the Syndicalist government.

The FRE, meanwhile, was busy saving what it could in liberated territories.

“The first aim was winning the War,” William Aubyn, now Prydania’s ambassador to the Principality of Sil Dorsett, said.
“But we had to plan for after the War. We cultivated ties to foreign governments and companies, and we did what we could to rebuild the areas we’d liberated. And we did what we could to save and catalog historical and cultural artifacts.”

When Býkonsviði was liberated in the summer of 2017 the National Museum was in a sad state.

“The building was in disrepair, not even counting the damage due to the fighting,” Dr. Melberg explained. “Syndicalist vandalism had damaged some of the facades, and basic upkeep hadn’t been done in what seemed like ten years at least. But we also had this monument to Syndicalism we had to figure out what to do with, and how to coordinate a rebuild.”

Remaking the Museum

The Museum is housed where it’s always been housed- the Prince’s Mansion (called the People’s Mansion during the Syndicalist era), a Late Baroque-style mansion on the banks of the Rylon River.

The Prince’s Mansion was built in 1684 by wealthy merchant and shipowner Walþeof Gretter Meland. The mansion passed to Meland’s son-in-law Ærinmund Sylte when Meland died in 1707. In 1725 Sylte sold the mansion to King Rikard II. Rikard II then gifted the mansion to his eldest son, Crown Prince Robert, Grand Thane of Stormurholmr. Robert ascended to the throne in 1741 as King Robert VI, and passed the house onto his own son, Crown Prince and Grand Thane Harald. It was this tradition that granted the mansion its name. The mansion passed from Crown Prince to Crown Prince until 1807 when King Rikard III chose the palace as a suitable home for the new National Museum.

Early efforts after the War included cataloging the Syndicalist inventory, deciding what could be kept, what would make suitable exhibitions on the Syndicalist era both here and in other exhibits across the country, and what would be locked away in storage. Immediate attention for the rebuilding of Býkonsviði focused on housing and infrastructure repair, but by early 2019 funds had been appropriated to begin a proper refurbishment and modernization.

“We worked with people from all over,” Dr. Melberg explained.
“We worked with people from Goyanes, Saintonge, Vivanco, experts in the modern state of museum infrastructure and upkeep from the world over. We also coordinated with people from all over the country. The FRE’s stockpile of saved artifacts, paintings, tapestries, etc, as well as anything private citizens had.”

By late 2019 the Museum was opened in a limited capacity. Most of the building was still undergoing repairs and modernizations, but a small area was ready for the public. One of its exhibits was a refurbished and restored sarcophagus of King Vortgyn I. Kept for nearly a thousand years in the Royal crypts, it was looted by Syndicalist Militiamen. The body of Prydania’s founding King was burned, but enough of the sarcophagus was left for it to be reconstructed.

And that exhibit was added to by an unexpected guest.

“King Tobias visited, shortly after he returned from honeymoon in Saintonge,” Dr. Melberg said.
“And he brought Jægerblað with him.”

Jægerblað, the ancient coronation sword of Prydanian Kings, was carried by King Tobias during the Civil War.

“His Majesty wanted to return the sword to King Vortgyn’s sarcophagus,” Dr. Melberg explained.
“It’s brought out to the King for official ceremonies, but most of the time it sits in the sarcophagus’ sheath, on full display to the public.”

The small-scale opening remained the extent of the museum until today.

“We’ve worked with partners from Prydania and all over, and we’re finally at a place where we’re ready and proud to open,” Dr. Melberg said.

The Museum Today

The museum goes back nearly 14,000 years, to ice age hunters in both Gothis and Craviter, through the Adriennic Empire, the Kingdom of Heorot in Andrenne, the Kingdom of the Bayardi, the viking age, Vortgyn’s Conquest, and all the way up through the modern era. Including the Syndicalist era and the Civil War.

“We felt it was important to show and talk about,” Dr. Melberg said.
“It’s part of our history now.”

The expansive exhibition includes tapestries, artifacts, and paintings from across Prydanian history. Dr. Melberg says the project, though open to the public, isn’t complete.

“There are still pieces that were hurried away. Saintonge, Goyanes, and Gwladcan all housed pieces that many brave people risked their lives to save. We’re working with those authorities to get them back.”

Was this a problem?

“No,” Dr. Melberg said with a chuckle.
“We’ve been in contact with the people holding these pieces since 2017. We didn’t ask for them until we were ready. We are now, and I’m happy to say the process is going smoothly.”

The Future

A museum dedicated to national history will inevitably have to grow, as new history is made every day. Already Dr. Melberg talks about a project that involved working with both FRE and Syndicalist veterans groups to provide first-hand accounts of the War for future generations. The Museum has begun to work on programs with the Laurenist Church of Prydania, the Courantist Church, and local Thaunic and Shaddaist organizations on exhibits highlighting their communities of faith in Prydanian history.

“We’re also working with the newly founded Prydanian Cultural Community, as well as scholars and professors in the Stan Yera and Korova about shared cultural heritage sites in Prydania and how to best represent that in our own exhibits,” Dr. Melberg said.

“Ideally, in time, we’ll tell not just Prydania’s story, but all of northern Craviter’s.”

OOC Note: post approved by @Kyle , @Goyanes , @St George , and @MacSalterson
 
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The Popular Voice
Est. 2008
Paper of the People's Party of Prydania

A Message from Annie Gram, elected Þingmaður of the Prydanian Alþingi and leader of the People's Party, to Jérémy Lambert, Chairman of the Beaune Chapter of the Workers Party of Callise

It was in the spring of 2010 that I, at the age of 25, left my homeland to seek refuge in Beaune. It was a sombre occasion. With the Syndicalist Republic's People's Militia sniffing our cells out, I needed to leave. Býkonsviði, the only home I had ever known, was no longer safe.

William Aubyn and Stig Eiderwig, the political and military leaders of the Front of National Unity (FRE) offered me and my close cadre of Popular Movement supporters refuge in the forests of Austurland, where they were building their own movement. Some of my close compatriots, including Peter Sjöstedt, the Chairman of our party's National Executive Committee, did that. I, however, went Beaune.

The reasons were simple enough. I was going to build support for our movement abroad, and the traditions of left wing revolutionary democracy in Callise made it a good place to meet people who understood what our movement was. I told myself it was temporary, that I'd return to my homeland. The fact is, though, that I didn't know that for sure. Not when the Syndicalist Republic was hounding every whisper of dissent and putting them against the wall. Deep down I was worried, that I would never see my homeland again.

My time in Beaune was, to be frank, wonderful. My compatriots among the PTC welcomed me. They took me in, provided me with a port in the storm that was the Syndicalist era. And I learnt from them. My mentor, Mattias Hagelin, had been dead for two years. And while I had tried to lead the Popular Movement in line with his beliefs and vision, it was my time in Beaune where I came into my own politically.

It was also during my time in Beaune that I realized that despite the friendships I'd made, we disagreed. The PTC had condemned the Syndicalist Republic by then, and in fact would be vindicated. It was not a popular position for a left wing movement to take in the years before the FRE's winter offensive of 2013 exposed the Syndicalist Republic's crimes en mass. But the PTC did. Even then though, my new Callisean friends would ask me why I committed to the FRE alliance. Why was I pledging support for the son of a royal, a movement that re-establish the Prydanian monarchy?

I explained to them that things were not quite as black and white. On a practical level the Popular Movement operated in the shadows deep in Syndicalist territory. It was our nature, after all, as disaffected Syndicalists. But whereas the FRE was building an army and rallying followers in Austurland, we were meeting in cramped pubs, in basements, in the darkest alleys. Ours was a movement that could prove to the world that Prydanian socialism was not defined by Nielsen, Lieftur, and their thugs. Ours was a movement that could- and did- fight back. But we were not the movement that attracted the love of the Prydanian people, like Prince Tobias did. We were not the ones building an army. We were not the ones with support from the Goyaneans and the Andrennians. Indeed of the closest socialist states, the Stan Yera was strictly neutral in our Civil War and the Cogorians backed the Syndicalist Republic.

I also explained that we could, and would, grow to become a vital part of the anti-Syndicalist resistance. And we would play our part in our country's rebuilding when the Syndicalist Republic was gone.
My friends didn't find me wholly convincing, but that was ok. Our talk of politics was punctuated by a switch to wine, song, and jokes.

I tell this story, Herra Lambert, because I want to stress that I know, perhaps more than most Prydanians, that the PTC, the IWA, and the movement you represent in general values greatly the freedom of dissent. If you think of me as someone unfairly painting you, your party, and your beliefs with the same brush as the Syndicalist Party then please know I'm not doing that. If I were I'd be unfairly maligning you, your party, and some of my closest friends.


With this said, let's discuss the issue that has brought us into disagreement.

The IWA and the Future of Socialism in Prydania


One of my other experiences in Callise was dealing with the stereotype that all Prydanians are farmers. Of course I wasn't. I was born and grew up in Frjálshöfn, a working class neighbourhood of Býkonsviði. Still, it gave me an excuse to break out some rural Prydanian idioms that I think endeared me further to my Callisean friends. One of them comes to mind here.

Að sækja úlfur á bak við hæð.


It means "to fetch a wolf from behind the hill," and it means to cause a problem you hoped to avoid through your own actions.

It rings true to me here because I feel that's what we'd be doing to our movement to join the ranks of the IWA. Not because the IWA is an inherently misguided organization, no. It's because it's not right for us.

Herra Lambert, your position paper was extensive and well-written. I would be lying to you, your party members, or mine to tell you I agreed with all of it. I did not, but I do appreciate the perspective. A point by point repudiation is not my goal here. Instead it's to respond and explain how I feel our party should go about promoting socialism in Prydania, and how I feel the broader charges of your paper are perhaps unfair.
I don't expect to change your mind, or the minds of your comrades- many of whom I know personally- but I hope it will at least illuminate the position of the People's Party.

The Syndicalist Republic was nothing short of a demographics and economic disaster. Four million Prydanians died as a result of war or Syndicalist oppression, millions more fled, and what was once a breadbasket economy that supported one Craviter's wealthiest nations was driven into economic ruin. The numbers, however, are only a sterile cover of something that was truly heartbreaking.

I returned to Prydania in 2014, after the FRE's advances through Austurland and Alaterva had proven just how vulnerable the Syndicalist Republic was. We used the opportunity to build our own movement. It was a surreal and emotionally taxing experience. On one hand we saw a lot of success in the mining heartland of Krummedike and among Syndicalist Party members in the cities. People like us, who once believed in the Syndicalist Party were now turning on it as the careful bubble of Syndicalist propaganda was punctured by the news and images coming out of the liberated areas.

We were allowed into those liberated areas, though, per our alliance with the FRE. And it was there, that I realized truly how damaging the Syndicalism of Tom Nielsen and his "collectivist oligarchy" were. I met children who had been torn from their homes, worked in labour camps. I met people who had been dispossessed and "conscripted" into mines and factories in a perverse attempt to "reeducate" rural populations, turned into slaves in all but name. I met the families of the victims of the Darrow Executions and I saw deep in their eyes that no amount of "but we do socialism the right way" was going to soothe their pain, or bring their loved ones back, or undo the abuses they'd endured at the hands of the perversely-named People's Militia. It gave me a new perspective. A new realization of what socialism had to mean in a liberated Prydania grappling with the legacy of the Syndicalist Republic.

Your paper also mentioned our King, His Majesty Tobias III. Mattias had told me he'd call a head of cabbage king if it meant an end to Nielsen and Lieftur's madness. It was a pragmatic decision on his part to align the Popular Movement with the FRE and acknowledge the FRE's goal of re-establishing the Prydanian monarchy.
It was this pragmatic approach I shared with my PTC friends in Callise, but my attitudes towards the monarchy changed when I met Tobias.

In many ways he wasn't that much different from the other children I met. He didn't look like a Prince or a King in waiting. He looked dirty, he looked tired, and like everyone else he'd felt the pain of loss. And at the very least the rest of us had the good fortune of not having our loved ones murdered on live television. Prince Tobias wasn't afforded that luxury.
What really stuck with me, though, was one exchange.

He asked me what I was going to do about the fact that so many Prydanians wanted nothing to do with socialist politics. At first I thought he was being passive aggressive, or critical. Still, I was mindful of our alliance with the FRE, and I answered respectfully. I said we'd work hard to show people we weren't like the Syndicalists and that hopefully, in time, they'd see us leading by example.
To my surprise his dour expression turned into a wide smile and he relayed the story of his own struggles in that regard. To prove to people he wasn't anything like his uncle, Anders III, and that he had nothing to offer to those hurt by Anders' regime other than his own example. And to hope that this was enough. I think he was smiling because across political alignments, class, and circumstance he found someone he could relate to in that way.

Prince Tobias was haunted by Social Commonwealth fascism, and worked to overcome it.
We were haunted by Syndicalism. And worked to overcome it.

So já, when the dust of the Civil War was over and I happily asserted that the People's Party would not seek to upend the newly restored monarchy. When I was elected to the Alþingi in 2018 in the first democratic election in Prydania in over three decades I, without hesitation, took my oath pledging allegiance to King Tobias III. The oath I took, along with the rest of my party, in 2021 when I led us to a twenty-three seat gain.
In some ways, já, you could write this off as mere practicality. But I meant it. Every time. I meant it because the monarchy was a symbol if what was built, and Tobias was a worthy standard barer of that symbol.

What was built though? A free Prydania. A democratic Prydania. Perhaps not as democratic as the PTC would like, but for the people of Prydania they can once again speak their minds without fear of imprisonment or oppression. Prydanians can once again cast votes for their representatives. And Prydanians can once again worship without fear of summery execution. Children are no longer pulled from their homes, and people are no longer conscripted against their will in the name of perverse political orthodoxy.

The PTC stands for the democratic republic. I wish the PTC the best in their fight for the working men and women of Callise, and I hope my old comrades there someday celebrate the realization of the ideal that is the Fourth Callisean Republic.

But in Prydania the ravages of Syndicalism mean our vision of socialism must adhere to the open and free society so many Prydanians spilt blood for. Lost loved ones for. The faces, the stories, and the pain will never leave me. Like our King, all I can do is lead by example and hope that is enough to prove to my fellow countrymen that we are not like those who came before.

Is our country perfect? No. No it's not. Our party had our disagreements with the Provisional government led by William Aubyn. We had our disagreements with the Free Democratic government of Magnus Brandt and Reynir Aaker. And we have our disagreements with the coalition government of Kjell Svane. Which is why we advocate for the working people of this country in the halls of the Alþingi.
Do I wish that the restrictions on trade unions endorsing and donating to political parties was lifted? Of course I do. I also understand why many feel it's necessary, though, given what Nielsen did. We oppose that policy though, and will continue to do so until it's repealed.

But as a woman who had to flee her country with the Syndicalist People's Militia snipping at my heels, as a resistance leader who saw the pain, the loss, and the hopelessness Syndicalist dictatorship brought... I would also promise you that we are better off now having cosigned that tyranny to the dustbin of history. Perfect? No, but I will take "better" as we work towards something greater. I have to. I owe it to the people reeling from Nielsen's reign of terror. It may be a long trek, but I believe in democratic socialism. And I believe in our King. And our country that we've built.

If it is not the socialism that the PTC would prefer, then all I can ask is that you understand. The People's Party does not need to join the IWA to see the PTC as our brothers and sisters in common cause. The democratic republic the PTC hopes to build in Callise, and the democratic socialist administration the People's Party hopes to build in Prydania may not be identical, but our visions and our people can find common friendship.

I ask you, Herra Lambert and the rest of the PTC, to understand that we must go our own way. That wounds from our recent cataclysm are still raw. And to understand that though our visions may differ, and though we may hold beliefs and allegiances you don't fully agree with, you understand that we are none the less brothers and sisters in the struggle to fight for working men and women.

With respect,
Annie Gram
Leader of the People's Party of Prydania
ÞM, Býkonsviði Frjálshöfn
 
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The Colours of Prydanian Politics

by Ulrich Kildal


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Political factions have used colour to distinguish themselves almost as far back as civilization itself. So let's run down the rationale behind the colours of Prydania's major political parties.

Free Democratic Party
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Gold
The Free Democratic Party inherited gold from the Liberal Party, the dominant faction in the merger that produced the present-day Free Democrats.
The Liberals were actually the first proper political party in Prydanian history and, unsurprisingly, weren't immediately associated with a colour. Their emergence from the anti-Court faction in the Alþingi had also given rise to the Conservatives, who rose out from the Courtly faction. Though neither was associated with a colour at first it was the Conservatives who first picked a logo. They chose the Royal stag. The Liberals needed a patriotic emblem of their own, and settled on a yellow-tailed swallow. The yellow-tailed swallow is an animal that shows up as a motif, a bringer of good fortune, throughout Prydanian literature, music, and art. The bird's distinct yellow colouring led to the colour being associated with the Liberals and, later, the Free Democrats.

Conservative Party
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Blue
The Conservative Party’s use of blue dates back to the Party’s use of Nordika (UKAG) flags for much of its pre-Fascist War history. Both the Liberals and Conservatives utilized the red and white Prydanian flag in their imagery. While the Liberals used gold from the yellow-tailed swallow, the Conservatives staked their own identity on the blue of the Nordika flag. The party dropped the UKAG flag from their symbolism during the Fascist Wars but kept blue as their identifying colour.

People's Party
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Red
The People’s Party initially used burgundy as their electoral colour as the colour red was associated with the Syndicalist Party. The party switched to red in the run-up to the 2021 election, citing a desire to “reclaim” it.
The Syndicalists’ use of red was consistent with other left-wing labour-oriented parties in the late 19th/early 20th century. Red represents both the blood of the workers and the struggle of revolution, and is still used by a wide range of left wing and centre-left parties the world over. It’s the colour’s association with social democracy that the People’s Party hopes to reclaim.

Peace Not Blood
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Pink
Peace not Blood didn’t begin as a political party, which might account for its eccentric colour scheme which also includes teal, slate blue, navy blue, and gold. Pink, however, is the dominant colour and the colour that was chosen to represent it electorally when it became a political party in 2020.
Movement founder Rósalind Brúnsteð stated that the colour scheme was chosen to be bright, hopeful, and engaging. Little thought was given to political colouring as the movement wasn’t originally intended to be a party, but Fröken Brúnsteð said she’s happy how it worked out.
“Pink is empathetic, I think,” she said when asked.
“It represents the compassion of our movement and party.”

Agrarian Party
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Green
The Agrarian Party has always been associated with the colours green and gold, though green has always been the most prominent. It’s easy to see why. The two colours perfectly represent a party that aimed to stand for the rural farming class, and green was always going to be the prominent one to avoid confusion with the Liberals and, later, Free Democrats.
 
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Býkonsviði Christmas Market Opens
by Sæunn Holst


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Býkonsviði- The Býkonsviði Kristurjólmarkaður, or Býkonsviði Christmas Market, opened today to officially kick off the holiday season in the nation’s capital.

Lord Mayor Kjotvi Kolberg announced the market’s opening this morning, kicking off the fifth Christmas market since the end of the Civil War and the city’s liberation from the Syndicalist regime. This promises to be the most complete return to form yet though, as Býkonsviði residents settle in for hygge, that quintessential Prydanian term that means coziness, comfort, and happiness with friends and family.

The market will be fully open from 21 November until 23 December. The shops and restaurants will be closed for Christmas Eve and Christmas day, but the decorations and various other sites will be open. The full market will open again from 26 December to 1 January.

Traditions and History

Prydania lacks one defining event that saw its conversion to Messianism. Absalon, the Bayardi Marshal of Bakenveld- the pre-Norse name for Býkonsviði, converted to Messianism roughly around the same time Kaldor Loðbrók, Lord of Stormurholmr converted in 908. Both men were immortalized as Saints, but conversion from the Bayardi and Thaunic pagan traditions took time. Messianism didn’t emerge as Prydania’s majority religion until the reign of another Prydanian saintly ruler, King Tobias I, who reigned from 1044-1076.

By the mid 12th century Christmas traditions in Prydania were codifying. Some of which were imported from Ceretian monks, others that co-opted Thuanic traditions.

The Býkonsviði Christmas Market as a tradition likewise lacks a definitive origin. The onset of fall leading into winter has always been a key time for farmers and butchers looking to sell their goods at market, and this slowly but surely merged with the parallel decision to celebrate the holidays. The current traditions date to the 18th century, though only after centuries of the bustling Býkonsviði market and holiday celebrations coming together.

The Christmas Market traditions were brutally suppressed by the state-atheist Syndicalist Republic. The most bloody part of that chapter of history came in 2015. With FRE, Andrennian, and Goyanean forces moving in on Hadden the Syndicalist Republic lashed out in what it hoped would be a show of strength, executing five Courantists in the market square during the Advent. The Advent Executions shocked the world, adding to the motivations of the FRE and Nordika soldiers fighting to liberate Hadden.

The Christmas Market returned to the capital in spirit in 2017, six months after the liberation, though it was a far more sober, scaled down affair amidst a city still partially under reconstruction and partially in ruins at the time.

Now, five years later, it’s starting to look like Christmas of years past once more.

Decorations, Sites, Food, Shopping, and Hygge

The final touch on today’s opening will occur at sundown (4pm BST) when the Christmas tree outside of the Haraldvirki, the House of the Alþingi, is lit. Lord Mayor Kolberg, Prime Minister Kjell Svane, and the Royal family will be present for the ceremony.

Still, the Market is already open. A trip to downtown includes…

Hábrú Square, the traditional city centre is fully committed to the Christmas spirit, decked out in decorations and with a number of shops and restaurants. A more solemn reason for visiting might be to pay respects to the recently dedicated statue honouring the victims of the Advent Executions.

Frelsiskógur Theme Park- established in 1906, Prydania’s oldest theme park saw its start in a wooded glen just outside of Býkonsviði. Local foresters began serving food and drink to picnickers. Býkonsviði’s city council granted them licenses to officially serve food and drink and in 1908 a pavilion was established. Since then the park has grown to include rides, gardens, and a mini theatre in addition to a miniature golf course. The park fully commits to Christmas with an old school cozy village theme, Christmas-themed setups in the gardens, all mixed with exciting rides. Spilvel has partnered with Frelsiskógur, to provide brick-based attractions.

Christmas Carol Parade- The St. Absalon Boat Parade takes place along the decorated canals of Býkonsviði and the banks of the Rylon River. Watch the boats and kayaks float by as they sing Christmas carols!

Kóngur Nýttorg- The city’s largest square and home to its largest department stores, great for shopping and Christmas warmth. It includes the Fólkmarkaður, a unique marketplace with stalls that represent characters and stories from Prydanian fairy tales and mythology.

Artists’ Exhibition- A hub located in Norðurbrú to see Prydanian art and design in exhibitions from talented local artists.

Ice skating- Býkonsviði has multiple outdoor public ice skating rinks open to anyone with a pair of skates. Skate amongst Christmas decorations, cool weather, hot chocolate, and holiday music at rinks in Frelsiskógur, Hábrú Square, and Kóngur Nýttorg!

Krónprinsinsgata- Býkonsviði’s busiest shopping street is famous at Christmas time for its elaborate overhead “ceiling” light display, adding to the feeling of Christmas magic.

Býkonsviði Zoo- The city’s zoo adds old fashioned Christmas stands and over 400,000 sparkling Christmas lights turning the zoo into a must-see Christmas attraction.

So whether you’re a Býkonsviði local, coming from out of town, or coming from abroad, Býkonsviði’s Christmas Market is open this holiday season! Pack warmly, and enjoy the sights, the sounds, the tastes, and the hygge!
 
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Government Addresses Uncertainty in Callise, Prime Minister Calls for Calm
by Týra Murer



Býkonsviði- Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sören Högh addressed the escalating political situation in Callise, as protests continue to rage across that country following the left wing United Front's inability to secure a government despite winning the 2022 special elections. Tensions have reached a boiling point as the capital of Beaune was temporarily under the control of protesters who declared a "provisional government."

"Callise is a friend and a partner," Herra Högh said while speaking to the media.
"My wish, and the wish of this government, is for the rule of law to be maintained and for the democratic will of the people of Callise to be respected. That is the goal of democracy, já?"

The Deputy Prime Minister's wish, which seemed momentarily impossible, may become viable. After a spike in tensions and mass protests calm has seemed to have prevailed for the time being. Nearly 70% of Callise's voting base has backed calls for a constitute assembly, which opens up the doors for Callise's constitution to be entirely rewritten. While this is a monumental step it, at the very least, is a sign that the political events in the southern Craviteran republic are trending towards a political rather than violent apex.

Still, the situation remains tense. Provinces already governed by United Front parties have openly refused to cooperate with the national government. And the agitation by United Front-aligned movements and individuals has sparked a counter-movement among the far-right. National League militants styling themselves "Knights of Laurens" have clashed with Workers' Party stalwarts in the streets of Callisean cities. Still, for the time being, there is an uneasy calm. The Constitute Assembly is scheduled for 9 January and it is expected that a temporary peace will hold. At the very least until then.

Prime Minister Calls for Calm

Prime Minister Kjell Svane addressed the matter directly with the media as well.

"The important thing is calm," he said.
"I just call, and pray, for calm. When passion prevails the seams of society fray. And that's when people get hurt."

The Prime Minister pointed to the factors that could lead to danger.
"When factions within the government are openly rebelling, when you have partisans fighting each other in the streets, that is how civil wars start. And I'm not speaking theoretically. I saw it happen here two decades ago. God willing I won't see it happen anywhere else."

The Prime Minister also repeated the statement made by his Foreign Affairs Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.
"The rule of law and the will of the people needs to prevail. There are many differences between our countries, but respect for the democratic will of the people is a common cause, and one that must hold firm. Whatever happens in Callise, I stress that it must be achieved peacefully, and it must represent the will of the people of Callise."

When pressed if that would mean his government would recognize a Callise helmed by the left wing United Front Prime Minister Svane was frank.
"His Majesty's Government does not see it as its right or privilege to lecture other nations on their internal democratic processes. Prydania will work to find common ground with whoever the people of Callise choose to lead them."

Absalonhöll Remains Silent

A spokesman for His Majesty from Absalonhöll responded to questions on the King's stance on the matter very succinctly.

"His Majesty, like everyone the world over, is concerned for peace in Callise. He has full trust in the Prime Minister and government to handle the situation's diplomatic matters."

Craviter Economic Association

Callise is a member of the Craviter Economic Association, with Beaune long serving as an economic hub of the continent. The office of the Prydanian Delegation to the CEA in Luscova, Norsia has stated that it and the CEA as a whole are following the events in Callise closely.
 
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Government Unveils Plans for Celebratory Start to late 2023 Alþingi Session
by Týra Murer


Býkonsviði- As 2022 and the year of anniversaries it brought draws to a close the government announced plans for one last significant celebration to take place in October 2023; a traditional þingsviði session to celebrate five years of successful democratic governance.

Þingsviði- Then and Now

"Þingsviði" translates to Mercanti as "Thing Field," or "Assembly Field."
The term dates back to old Gothis where assemblies of knights, holy men, and nobility would meet in fields at behest of their rulers.
In Prydania the most famous early Þingsviði was the Þingsviði of Stormorholmr, which was convened by Hróarr Loðbrók shortly after landing on the island and was convened on and off by the following Loðbrók lords of Stormurholmr until 1014, when the fifteen year old Vortgyn Loðbrók called it to announce his intention to unify the Nordic settlements and conquer the Bayardi. Vortgyn convened another Þingsviði outside of Bakenveld (present day Býkonsviði) after he had been crowned King of Prydania, in the spring of 1030. It was here that the first legislative activity of the Kingdom of Prydania took place.
Shortly thereafter the first Alþingi was called indoors in the capital, and the tradition of the outdoor Þingsviði faded.

The term "þingsviði" returned though, as the Alþingi evolved from a council of nobles and clergy to advise the King into a true legislative assembly. The term "þingsviði" came to mean the constituencies of individual members of the Alþingi. The term became the Prydanian equivalent of a "constituency," "riding," or "district" found elsewhere.

One More Celebration

The ceremonial return of a traditional outdoor Þingsviði to open the October 2023 Alþingi session will be the last major celebration marking the five years following the liberation of this country from Syndicalist tyranny.

2022 has been peppered with such celebrations. The summer was marked by a celebration of the Civil War's end on 4 June. King Tobias III used the five year mark to visited Saintonge, Goyanes, Andrenne, Predice, and Arcanstotska to award the St. Tobias Order of Merit to men and women of those nations who showed exemplary bravery during the War. And in September His Majesty led a memorial service to mark twenty years since the execution of the Royal family.

The traditional Þingsviði will celebrate the 2018 Alþingi, which was the first freely elected Alþingi in thirty-four years. Though an election has occurred between then and now 2023 still represents five years of stable democratic governance.

What to Expect

The Þingsviði will be held outside of Býkonsviði in Vortgynstjald, the field where King Vortgyn I called the first Þingsviði of the unified Prydanian nation.

King Tobias III will open the session with a speech, followed by the Prime Minister who will outline the goals of the government in the upcoming session. Unlike a normal Alþingi session where His Majesty would depart upon opening the legislator here he will preside over the session in the style of past Gotic Kings, as the elected representatives go about the day's business amidst banners, music, food, and entertainment for citizens.

Indeed, it was these outdoor Royally decreed assemblies and courts that formed the basis for many of what we think of as medieval and early modern festivals and tournaments, and this celebratory mood is what this event is meant to capture.

"This will be a festival. The first day of a legislative session is a lot of pomp," Prime Minister Svane stated.
"So we'll lean into that to celebrate this milestone. And then we'll reconvene in the Haraldvirki to get on with the business of government."

In a rare move the event was commented on by His Majesty directly.

"I'm excited. The Þingsviði is an ancient tradition that binds our people and our kin all over, and shows us how strongly that democratic spirit is with us. We're going to celebrate that history on this important milestone to reaffirm our dignity and heritage," King Tobias III wrote in a statement released to RÚV.

Oktoberfest

It is not a perfect anniversary- the first elected Alþingi after the Civil War was elected in December 2018, not October.

October was chosen because it will be warm enough to hold the event outside, it will be the closest opening of an Alþingi session to the December anniversary, and because it will seguay into traditional Oktoberfest celebrations. Indeed the planned date is the day before the start of Oktoberfest. After the opening of the Alþingi the elected officials will return to the Alþingi chambers of the Haraldvirki, but the fairgrounds will continue to be used for the next two weeks as Oktoberfest celebrations begin.
 
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