- Pronouns
- He/Him, They/Them
Note: the events of this thread happen after an RP I'm currently writing, where the heir and Crown Prince of Gotmark is outed during Gotmark's pride parade in late 2018.
It was not often that Grand Duke Oyvind refused to sit more than even half a dozen so when 17 members of the newly elected Varasætarrerad announced they were forming a political party to oppose the succession of Oyvind's son Kristoph following his outing by an Andrennian gossip show, they were probably banking on the Grand Duke not refusing to sit almost 20% of the Council of Deputies.
That was a mistake. The 17 Deputies, along with a further 4 from Gotmark's rural contingent involved in a logging scandal, would soon find out how determined the Grand Duke could be to ensure what he would term the ethical and political standards of the Varasætarrerad.
Appearing in a televised address from an empty Varasætarrerad chamber the evening before the official opening of the Council, he spoke to the Grand Duchy.
"A Til Mein Volken is not something I ever thought I would have to do. My predecessors have undertaken them in times of great crisis, or when we have been faced with unspeakable evil. Every time we, the Grand Dukes of Gotmark, have asked you to sacrifice for us you have served us in remarkable ways. In return, we have granted you the privileges that all Gotmarkers enjoy - life, liberty, the chance to make your own way in the world in an environmentally responsible way.
"We are faced now with what will become a new crisis, a new test of Gotmark, and all Gotmarkers, from myself and my children to the ordinary person on the street." The Grand Duke speaks uncomfortably, "There is a growing crisis of homophobia within the Grand Duchy, a scourge I had thought we had banished. Homosexuals have equal rights under the law and have done since the Varasætarrerad passed a raft of reforms establishing such. Our pride parade is the best in the world. Yet since it emerged that my son, the Crown Prince Kristoph, was a homosexual, all our available information and statistics point to a rise in homophobic hate crime. This is unacceptable.
"You may disagree with my son's sexuality but you may not use that as an opportunity to break our longstanding traditions. Party politics are the cause of more ill than good. They lead to the toxicity of democracy, the undermining of rights for populist gains, and fascism. I will not tolerate any attempt to form political parties in Gotmark, and so the 17 Deputies who have signed onto this anti-Kristoph party are hereby refused leave to sit in the Varasætarrerad and their seats will be re-elected in the near future.
As a further note, until the investigation into the four deputies involved in the Grimstad logging scandal is concluded, they will be refused leave to sit also. Following the conclusion of the investigation, I will decide if they are fit to server Gotmark."
Television and radio carried both the Til Mein Volken and the reaction to it. Liselotte Klasdottir announced that the group of 17 would try to sit anyway - and would stand for re-election if presented from doing so. A spokesman for the Grand Duke announced that Dukesguard police would be on hand to prevent such an attempt.
Chaos was how best to define the scene the following day. Having snuck into the public gallery they waited until the Grand Duke called forward the new Deputies of the Varasætarrerad to take their seats. Six of the 17 members began a public disturbance outside of the Chamber, and were arrested. As they did, the other 11 members stood, revealed themselves and attempted to take their seats, but were blocked a number of other deputies - Dukesguard police quickly intervened, carrying out two of the refused Councillors.
It wasn't a great look, and the news coverage was entirely about the disturbance, and not the work the council did afterwards, passing the Grand Duke's legislative agenda by an almost unanimous vote. Amongst the proposals passed were stricter logging laws and more funding for Gotmark's aerospace sector, but the only one close to failing was a proposal coming from leading members of the globalist faction - who forced through a bill that means Gotmark will join the Dramzone. Had the 17 been seated, they likely would've voted against the measure, ensuring it's failure by 4 votes.
Satisfied by the outcome of the opening of the Varasætarrerad, the Grand Duke closed the session, scheduling the election of both a speaker and chief minister for the next day, and he retired to his residence to see what the international reaction would be.
It was not often that Grand Duke Oyvind refused to sit more than even half a dozen so when 17 members of the newly elected Varasætarrerad announced they were forming a political party to oppose the succession of Oyvind's son Kristoph following his outing by an Andrennian gossip show, they were probably banking on the Grand Duke not refusing to sit almost 20% of the Council of Deputies.
That was a mistake. The 17 Deputies, along with a further 4 from Gotmark's rural contingent involved in a logging scandal, would soon find out how determined the Grand Duke could be to ensure what he would term the ethical and political standards of the Varasætarrerad.
Appearing in a televised address from an empty Varasætarrerad chamber the evening before the official opening of the Council, he spoke to the Grand Duchy.
"A Til Mein Volken is not something I ever thought I would have to do. My predecessors have undertaken them in times of great crisis, or when we have been faced with unspeakable evil. Every time we, the Grand Dukes of Gotmark, have asked you to sacrifice for us you have served us in remarkable ways. In return, we have granted you the privileges that all Gotmarkers enjoy - life, liberty, the chance to make your own way in the world in an environmentally responsible way.
"We are faced now with what will become a new crisis, a new test of Gotmark, and all Gotmarkers, from myself and my children to the ordinary person on the street." The Grand Duke speaks uncomfortably, "There is a growing crisis of homophobia within the Grand Duchy, a scourge I had thought we had banished. Homosexuals have equal rights under the law and have done since the Varasætarrerad passed a raft of reforms establishing such. Our pride parade is the best in the world. Yet since it emerged that my son, the Crown Prince Kristoph, was a homosexual, all our available information and statistics point to a rise in homophobic hate crime. This is unacceptable.
"You may disagree with my son's sexuality but you may not use that as an opportunity to break our longstanding traditions. Party politics are the cause of more ill than good. They lead to the toxicity of democracy, the undermining of rights for populist gains, and fascism. I will not tolerate any attempt to form political parties in Gotmark, and so the 17 Deputies who have signed onto this anti-Kristoph party are hereby refused leave to sit in the Varasætarrerad and their seats will be re-elected in the near future.
As a further note, until the investigation into the four deputies involved in the Grimstad logging scandal is concluded, they will be refused leave to sit also. Following the conclusion of the investigation, I will decide if they are fit to server Gotmark."
Television and radio carried both the Til Mein Volken and the reaction to it. Liselotte Klasdottir announced that the group of 17 would try to sit anyway - and would stand for re-election if presented from doing so. A spokesman for the Grand Duke announced that Dukesguard police would be on hand to prevent such an attempt.
Chaos was how best to define the scene the following day. Having snuck into the public gallery they waited until the Grand Duke called forward the new Deputies of the Varasætarrerad to take their seats. Six of the 17 members began a public disturbance outside of the Chamber, and were arrested. As they did, the other 11 members stood, revealed themselves and attempted to take their seats, but were blocked a number of other deputies - Dukesguard police quickly intervened, carrying out two of the refused Councillors.
It wasn't a great look, and the news coverage was entirely about the disturbance, and not the work the council did afterwards, passing the Grand Duke's legislative agenda by an almost unanimous vote. Amongst the proposals passed were stricter logging laws and more funding for Gotmark's aerospace sector, but the only one close to failing was a proposal coming from leading members of the globalist faction - who forced through a bill that means Gotmark will join the Dramzone. Had the 17 been seated, they likely would've voted against the measure, ensuring it's failure by 4 votes.
Satisfied by the outcome of the opening of the Varasætarrerad, the Grand Duke closed the session, scheduling the election of both a speaker and chief minister for the next day, and he retired to his residence to see what the international reaction would be.