Melenavenian Parliament Votes to Dump Jenevoan Royalty

Melenavenian National News Service

---

In a major split in the ruling coalition, the DSP has voted largely in conjunction with the DWP and LLP, who are in opposition, to drop the Jenevoa Royal House as head of state of Melenavenia. The bill, "All Are Created Equal", turns Melenavenia into a parliamentary democratic republic, and makes the Prime Minister the Head of State, rather than the head of the Jenevoan Royal Family. Nothing besides the name of the country and the head of the state would be altered by the bill.

In New Jenevoa, the news has been taken with mixed responses, but it is not surprising to many Jenevoans who saw the rising power of Melenavenia to mean the impending end of royal rule in the country. Urpo Koskinen, the Prime Minister of New Jenevoa, had this to say about the decision, "I respect the will of the Melenavenian Parliament but I question the timing and meaning of such a decision--it seems to have traces of anti-Jenevoan sentiment behind it rather than it simply being an anti-monarchy stance".

Melenavenian Prime Minister Lola Kulai denied such allegations, stating that "Melenavenia has no qualms with any people of any nation, we are and always have been a kind and accepting nation to all peoples". Kulai reiterated that the bill simply cemented Melenavenian independence by untying the nation from any unnecessary bounds and she did not know why Koskinen had qualms with the timing and meaning of the passage of the bill.

Sandrine Boutroux, the leader of the MFP which the DSP is in a coalition with, said that she felt betrayed by the DSP even though she too supported the end of Jenevoan royal rule in Melenavenia. Boutroux told us that she was in favor of a nationwide referendum to abandon the monarchy, rather than a bill voted on by MPs told the MNNS in an interview after the vote, "it's very undemocratic to make such a decision proclaiming democracy when the people aren't even able to decide on it--and it's even more upsetting that Kulai felt it necessary to put our coalition in jeopardy over it". Boutroux along with the rest of the MFP voted against the bill. Polling suggested that a large majority of Melenavenians were in favor of abandoning the monarchy in surveys taken before the bill was voted on.

The DWP and LLP welcomed the DSP's decision to vote nearly unanimously in favor of dumping the monarchy, but their leaders said that they were unwilling to enter into any type of coalition with Kulai's party at the moment. Raymond Clérisseau, the leader of the DWP, said that "of course, we welcome the support on this bill, which was written by our party's president Léone Sharpe, but at this moment we believe that we are better in opposition against the DWP--rather than in a coalition with them".

Sharpe had argued on the House floor before the vote was taken that due to independent polling from many sources all suggesting that Melenavenians were in overwhelming support of abandoning the monarchy, it would only waste taxpayer money to hold a referendum on the issue and unnecessarily delay the inevitable end of the monarchy in the country.

The bill passed 169 - 161, with 135 members of the DSP in favor and 31 voting against the bill. One of the DSP members that voted against the bill was Ernest Flandin of Interio, who told us that "it was wholly irresponsible to upset the MRP in such a way, especially when together we are only 1 seat in the majority. I am extremely disappointed with Kulai's handling of the bill and I believe it should've been decided by a national referendum".