by Max Barry

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The Empire of
Father Knows Best State

Overview Factbook Dispatches Policies People Government Economy Rank Trend Cards

1

Government (Renovation in Progress)

Reichstag

The imperial senate of the Fatherland, the Reichstag, is the main legislative body of the empire. The current ruling party in the Wolfen Reichstag is the Nationalist Party (Nationalistische Partei) led by the incumbent chancellor, Archduchess Sibylle Kathrin Paulus. Paulus is also the leader of the ruling Nationalist Coalition (Nationalistischen Koalition/ N.K.).

However, despite having the absolute majority in parliament for more than 60 years, the Nationalists' lead was rapidly withered away by the opposition Reform Alliance in the previous to last Reichstag election five years ago, won by the late Chancellor Reiner Eugen von Falken and the Nationalist Coalition by a razor-thin margin against Kuroi Katsuga's Reform Alliance. The latest results were seen as a litmus test for the people's waning support for the ruling coalition as the R.A. made significant gains in the rural eastern states, the NC's traditional support bases.

The recent elections this May 201 I.C. (2011 A.D.), however, have seen the Nationalists' lead erode further as the ruling coalition held on to a flimsy one seat majority in parliament, with the loss of three provincial and state legislatures, the greatest gains made by the opposition in Wolfen history. As with the previous administration, another 'grand coalition' government has been formed, as ministers from both the ruling coalition and the opposition once again form the cabinet and parliament.

Landtag
Forming the local governments of the various provinces and autonomous states, the Landtag is responsible for the administration and governance of the various divisions in the country. Each Landtag is allowed to draft its own in accordance to federal law, and each possesses a seat of government in a provincial or state capital. The amount of powers given to these local governments vary between the provinces and autonomous states, with the latter effectively able to draft a separate constitution, and even select a separate head of state answerable only to the Wolfen Emperor.

National Legislature - Reichstag

Alliance

Leader

Seats Won (out of 297) (2006 GE: 243)

+/-

% of Seats in Legislature*

+/-

% of valid votes

+/-

Nationalist Coalition

Sibylle Kathrin Paulus

Nationalists - 149 (Prev. GE: 131)

+18

50.17% (Prev. GE: 53.91%)

-3.74%

48.35% (Prev. GE: 52.61%)

-4.26%

Reform Alliance

Kuroi Katsuga

Reformists - 128 (Prev. GE: 86)

+42

43.10% (Prev. GE: 35.39%)

+7.71%

45.23% (Prev. GE: 41.07%)

+4.16%

Independents

Various

Independents - 20 (Prev. GE: 44)

-24

0.07% (Prev. GE: 0.28%)

-0.11%

2.11% (Prev. GE: 3.57%)

-1.46%

State Legislatures
(See Below)
  • Wolfsburg ICT (Part of the National Legislature)- Nationalists

  • Belka - Reformists

  • Kristallin - Nationalists

  • Eden - Nationalists

  • Weintraube - Reformists

  • Freond - Nationalists

  • Niflheim - Reformists



Seat of Parliament


Reichstag Building (Before First Astoli War)


Building after Reconstruction


Reichstag Chamber

Schematics
Date Built: Year 100 of the Imperial Calender (1810 A.D.)
Architect: Fritz Wallot
Capacity: 3500
Architectural Style: Historicism
City: Wolfsburg
Address: 79 Utrecht Boulevard
Name of Building: Reichstag Building


Reichstag
Crimson: Nationalist Coalition| Green: Reformist Coalition| Blue: Independents

List of Ministries

  • Chancellery

  • Ministry of Culture and Sports

  • Ministry of Defence
    In control of the country widely touted armed forces, the Ministry of Defence is the most powerful branch of the Wolfen executive. Tasked with guarding the borders of the empire and maintaining its readiness, the Ministry of Defence receives the lion's share of the empire's annual budget, about 10% as of 2014. With a history of conflict with both external and internal enemies, Wolfenium had since placed incredible, if disproportionate emphasis on military capability, empowering the Minister of Defence with the right to manage the war front on behalf of the monarch. Besides the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Defence had suffered from the stigma of state repression by political opponents, especially from the western states of Belka and Weintraube. However, democratic reform had yet to interfere with reducing the powers of the defence ministry, which is now greatly empowered by martial law and the frozen armistice of the Second Wolfen-Amythysian War.

  • Ministry of Education

  • Ministry of Environment

  • Ministry of Finance

  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs

  • Ministry of Health

  • Ministry of Home Affairs and Agriculture
    The Ministry of Home Affairs is tasked with the implementation and facilitation of policies with regards to land use planning and infrastructure development, both in urban and rural areas.

  • Ministry of Information and Communications

  • Ministry of the Interior
    Controls the Imperial Civil Defence Force (fire brigade, rescue, medical emergency), the militarized police force and the State Security Bureau, Schild. Tasked with enforcing the rule of law, the Ministry of the Interior is the most infamous and controversial institution of the Wolfen state, directly appointed by the emperor as opposed to the chancellor. With control over domestic intelligence networks and law enforcement, the Minister of the Interior is empowered with performing extrajudicial arrests and detainment, powers that had been widely abused under the Sommers and even today. As such, it had been branded by human rights grounds as a 'Big Brother' system, a state apparatus meant to suppress freedom of speech amidst the illusion of democratic reform. However, despite the setbacks, recent changes in legislature now required the monarch to appoint ministers from the senate instead of an independent adviser. Fortunately, there is no shortage of independent candidates available for the appointment.

    In addition to law enforcement, the ministry is tasked with dealing with emergencies and disaster relief, commanding an integrated force of firefighters, paramedics and other rescue workers. Once a sorely neglected area under previous administrations, diverted funding from the police and training has helped improve the effectiveness of the Civil Defence Force.

  • Ministry of Law

  • Ministry of Manpower

  • Ministry of Trade and Industry

  • Ministry of Transport

The Empire of Wolfenium

Report