Istalia

[Aethan]

The left gains strength in elections that make the current government collapse
The two progressive parties and supporters of the Republic become 1st and 2nd strength of the Assembly with more than 40% of the votes and the current conservative government gets just 257 of the 681 seats


Alessandro Serra, reelected for a second term as Mayor of Romula, right after knowing the results

It seems that the new ideological strategy of the Left Bloc is paying off. With the election results after the last elections, Piermarco Carabetta consolidated himself as Secretary General of his party and silenced the critical voices that asked not to turn more to the left as he advanced in the last national congress. Now, thanks to this, the Left Bloc has become the first force of the National Assembly, with more than 2 million votes of difference with the second, in addition to retaining the governorship of Mezzodiurno and winning that of Silicia, and maintaining the government from the capital of the Empire, Romula, whose mayor Alessandro Serra identifies himself as a communist and has already put problems to the celebrations by proclamation of the Empress during the last term. In addition to its own success, the Left Bloc has celebrated that the Res Publica party has become the second force, making the two progressive forces defending the overthrow of the monarchy in Istalia the two most voted forces with more than 40% , the same percentage as the next four most voted parties together.

In addition, the Coalition for Imperial Cooperation - between the PNI and the ANI - has obtained its worst electoral result, since it has not managed to overcome the 35% barrier to take over the Presidency of the National Assembly, a position that also recovers the Left Bloc after 16 years of conservative presidency. In fact, the CIC has barely obtained 18% of the votes, causing them to only retain the Padagna government.

After knowing the results, Piermarco Carabetta has thanked the voters for having re-placed their trust in his party, and has told them that "he will not betray them."

"When I arrived at the general secretariat of this party, I made a very clear promise: I will not give up the principles that I defend to achieve power, and I will keep that."

The secretary general, who has all the ballots to become the next Prime Minister of Istalia, has announced that he is already negotiating with Res Publica and the Istalian Reformist Party to form the next coalition government.

"It is clear that we have to take the initiative. The current government lacks much of the parliamentary majority, and in order to have it, it must also include the ultra-rightists of the Order, Faith and Family party. A five-party government is somewhat unsustainable. That is why we have decided to contact the Reformists, because it is the only party that can guarantee a stable parliamentary majority and with those we share at least, similar in defense of the social order of our nation. "

Asked about a possible coalition with the Populists, Mr. Carabetta has made it clear.

"We vetoed them. We already announced it after the last national congress. As long as I lead this party, we will not trust them."

Mr. Carabetta has also announced his intention that, upon reaching the Prime Minister, they will reverse many of the social reforms carried out by the previous government, which according to his own words "harm as always the most needy in our nation," but under the agreement with the Reformers, they will keep some of their proposals.

"The citizens have voted, and have clearly said that they reject the current government in a categorical manner. They are in charge of looking for why, but our duty now is to offer a serious and reliable alternative."

Mr. Carabetta has also announced that he will not meet with the Empress just to discuss urgent state matters, as his predecessor Mrs. Larocca did.

[Aethan]

Mayor Serra launches the refugee reception program
Romula City Council launches a reception program for refugees from Solentia and asks both governments "for a quick and effective solution" while the Minister of Internal Affairs alerts all National Security to avoid attacks in the country


The Romula City Council with the banner placed by its current Mayor

The mayor of the capital of Istalia, Alessandro Serra, recently elected to a second term after conducting a campaign of extreme left, announced today after a plenary session of the town hall that will begin the immediate implementation of a reception program for those refugees who have fled to the capital of Istalia as a result of the terrorist attacks suffered in the neighboring country.

"Istalia has always been a generous and supportive nation. From the smallest institutions we must contribute our grain of sand to solve these situations on a large scale, but it is clear that we have neither the means nor the capacity to, by ourselves, put an end to this kind of conflict. From the City Hall of the capital we are going to launch a program of welcome and help for those refugees from Solentia who, fleeing from horror, have decided to come to our nation in search of continuing their lives safely without fear of losing them, but it is necessary that from higher institutions, regional governments, the national government, and in cooperation with the government of Solentia, solutions be reached so that peace and harmony among its citizens can be recovered in our neighboring country, to the time that, and I emphasize this, respect and tolerance towards the most basic human rights that we all must have are maintained. "

At the same time that this announcement, which has been accompanied by the deployment of a large banner at the Town Hall headquarters with the slogan "Refugees Welcome", the Minister of Internal Affairs Esterina Boccia, of the same party as the mayor - the Left Bloc - has called for "prudence" and "control", while announcing that border controls will be extreme and the National Security team will be put on high alert to avoid any possible terrorist attack on national soil.

"This government is not going to restrict the free movement of people among our nations, but in the current situation, it is clear that we have to take precautions and treat the situation as it should, with prudence and control. We must review the background of those that come to our nation from Solentia, mostly to rule out links with terrorist cells that can cause damage to our population, but if everything is clean, nothing will prevent citizens who wish to enter our nation without any problem. "

[Augustus Germanus]

Populist leader Giusto Zani shot!
The Cademo of the Populists, Giusto Zani have under the movements recent rally in Genevia been shot

The Populist Movement had during the recent election lost most of the support they initially had in the region of Padagna, to try to change this the Populist Cademo, Giusto Zani organized a public rally in the city of Genevia, Zani after passionate speeches entered the massive crowd in front of him and suffered the consequences of being shot by a currently unknown man. Reports says that three shots were fired, the local medical crew who have been operating on the Populist leader for the past 12 hours and the chief surgeon at the local hospital has stated that they have their most experienced men and women currently on the job.

After Populist Deputy leader Romero Geraci arrived at the hospital he gave a quick statement to the press:

It is most unfortunately that people can't be civilized anymore and I as my colleagues of the Populists pray for the surgery's success, we hope that after it Giusto can quickly recover and return in leading the movement once more. Thank you.

Minutes after the assassination attempt, the crowd at the rally started to immediately assault the shooter and kicking him, it has been reported that a man while punching the shooter was shouting "You Communist coward!". This has made more and more people theorize of who was behind the shooting, and some speculations that have not been confirmed, is that the shooter is a member or supporter of the Left Bloc who has in recent events taken a more radical and hostile position against the Populists, after the movement entered into a Conservative government from 4693 to 4696. The Populist Chamber leader, Estella Belli has commented on the speculations:

What has happened is devastating, but that does not give anyone the right to not spread unconfirmed rumors and speculations, I sincerely hope that what the rumors says are not true and personally I do not want to believe them, I do not want to think that a established party in Istalian society or any member or supporter of that party would be able to commit such a horrific crime, I dismiss these "speculations" or one should call them conspiracy theories, and instead I will let the police handle the matter. Thank you.

It has been confirmed that at any moment we will learn of the condition of Giusto Zani.

[Augustus Germanus]

Giusto Zani has passed away!
The former Minister of Justice and leader of the Populist Movement Giusto Zani has passed away after 12 hours of surgery

At a local hospital in the city of Genevia, the former Minister of Justice and Cademo of the Populist Movement, was operated on for almost 12 hours and 30 minutes after being shot at a public rally held in Genevia. The surgery team came out from the surgical room with the Chief Surgeon announcing the unfortunate news:

Very good men and women has operated on Mr. Zani for now 12 hours and 27 minutes and after many hard trials during the surgery has unfortunately not been able to stop Giusto's passing. He went to the side of God at precisely 04.43am, we pray for his friends and family and for the all of those who had known or followed him. I wish to thank the team for trying their best and hope the that his acquaintances takes their time mourning as much as necessary. Thank you.

Romero Geraci, the Deputy leader of the Populists and Giusto Zani's longest friend has not given a comment, but reports says that he was devastated from the news and that he as gone home, no one has been able to reach him. Augusto Amadeo, the Chairman of the Young Populists have commented on the news:

I... I'm not sure what really to say... this is so hard to take in, I will.... I will make it my personal goal to make sure this never happens to anyone again. Giusto has always been there for me, he was like the father I never really had... I will make sure that his dream of a people's Istalia is achieved... I... I'm sorry, I have to go see the others...

The young politician, as seen by his face has been deeply affected by this tragic event. We will now look into the life of the former Minister of Justice, Member of the National Assembly and Leader of the Movement of the Populists:

Giusto Zani, born Giusto Pedro Michele Alessandro Zani in the city of Genevia in the region of Padagna in the Istalian Empire on the 7th June 4655, he was named Giusto Pedro after his grandfather and father respectively and Michele Alessandro after the Emperors Michele I and Alessandro I. His father Pedro Zani, was a professor in political science and philosophy, his mother was Adriana Schiavi, a lawyer and former small time local politician for the National Alliance for the Empire in the city of Genevia.

As a child, Giusto was very extroverted and usually questioned everything and everyone, however after changing schools a few times in his early teens, he began to show introverted signs and instead limited his friends to a select few. His teacher in middle school told his mother, that "if he stopped dreaming he would be able to achieve quite a lot", as Giusto had proven to be very intelligent at a very young age. At the age of 16, Giusto applied to a prestigious university to study political science and philosophy. There he befriended Romero Geraci, who went on to serve with Zani in the military and help start the Populist Movement. Zani impressed his teachers at the university his deep and complex thinking concerning the sociopolitical and philosophical situation of the istalian state and its future, especially its position in the world. He graduated at the top second at the age of 19 in 4674.

After his graduation, Zani quickly enlisted to the Imperial Army of the istalian military. As by his own philosophical ideas, he believed that the best way to serve your country without repercussion by your beliefs was in the military, which in his mind is an organization whose purpose is to unitedly protect the fatherland no matter what views one had. During his first years there, Zani proved himself to be a highly effective soldier and platoon commander, he skillfully impressed his superiors in his way of gathering intelligence and out maneuver his enemies. This made him rise quickly through the ranks, which lead him to his position of Lieutenant, which he actively held up until his recent death.

Giusto Zani, from when he was a little boy, liked reading about history especially about all different Kings and Presidents of the past and their dynasties and political parties. This made him mature politically at a very young age, it is speculated that he would inevitably go in to politics. Another big reason for this was also his mothers political career as a local politician in the city of Genevia. The final push for Zani to involve himself politically is theorized to be the brutal attack against one of the major political parties in Luthori known as the Imperial Citizens Party, which resulted in their complete obliteration and dissolution. One month later after the attack, Zani decided with his long time friend Geraci to rally the people in a new political party; the Populist Movement. Zani's mother, Adriana Schiavi have stated that Zani was deeply horrified by the attack as he had followed the ICP as a young child and admired the late Imperator Franz Reichert. It has been theorized that because of this attack, Zani started to question human nature and have tried to find a solution to why humans can go so far for their ideological beliefs.

Zani, became a member of the National Assembly on the 16 February 4684, in his first election he ever participated in. In mid 4687, Zani, though being one of the most dedicated and busiest members of the National Assembly, was able to collect his thoughts and ideas in a book called the Grand Principles of Popular Serving of the People. This manifesto, has been confirmed to hold the main principles of the Populist Movement and possible theories they could explore in the future which fundamentally works with the interests of the people. Many of Zani's supporters have given a separate title to the book that being the Zanist Manifesto, which eventually birthed the ideology of Zanism. He also later wrote the book Romulanism: The Survival of a Nation, which has been described by Zani himself to be a political and philosophical idea to evolve Istalia into the nation of Romula, this of course sparked the creation of the ideology of Romulanism.

After the 4692 election, the National Alliance approached Zani with proposition for the Populists to join in a Conservative led government, Zani was first skeptical but said that he would come back and that he would first speak with the Populist High Council. A day after, it was decided that they would join in the now called Gori's Cabinet, and that the Populists would get the ministries of Education and Culture and Justice, with Zani as the Minister of Justice. During Zani's time as Minister of Justice, he successfully pushed through a government bill he had drawn up, this bill made it so that there would be a uniform system of courts across the nation, that all persons accused of crimes are held in jail, thus regulating the system of bail, and giving police officers the right to only carry standard firearms apart from specially trained firearms units. After the 4696 national election, Gori's Cabinet was replaced after the National Assembly approved of a Left Blocist led government. Zani and the Populists entered in to the opposition a second time. And shortly after he suffered an assassination in his home town of Genevia.

It has been confirmed that a public funeral will be held in the city of Genevia. The question everyone is asking now is, who will take the mantle as the new leader of the Populist Movement. It has been speculated that Deputy leader Romero Geraci will lead the movement temporarily but that he has been seen as the most obvious successor to Zani, however an increasing amount of support has grown around the Chairman of the Young Populists, the young Augusto Amadeo who Zani once called "the son I never had". We will have to wait and see for what happens next in the movement of the Populists.

[Augustus Germanus]

Funeral of Zani held and new leader of Populists announced
The funeral of Giusto Zani has now been held in the city of Genevia. With Zani's passing, his long time friend Romero Geraci has been declared the new Cademo



At the funeral, some people cried hysterically, some people looked down in shame for their failure to protect their leader and some were just standing in eternal silence. The newly chosen Leader of the Movement, Romero Geraci spoke at the grand funeral:

We do not mourn the loss of a man beyond us, we mourn a man of us, a man who came from the same backgrounds as the majority of us all, and yet he fought for the rights of the workers, the rights of the poor, the rights of the wealthy, the rights of the soldiers and the rights of the common man, the rights of gay men and women and the rights of does with another skin color than himself, he fought for the rights of all Istalian citizens and all of the people of this planet, he fought for the rights of the animals, he fought for the rights of the young and old, but in turn for this eternal fight he did not and would have never fought for the only person who perhaps needed the support of others the most... himself. Let us remember his unselfish fight and let us learn from it, as Giusto once told me "a man can have anything, as long as he just believes".

After internal maneuvering in the Populists, the two current faces of the movement, Romero Geraci and Augusto Amadeo, who has been the major rivals of the party, has made an agreement. Geraci would become the new Cademo of the Populists, while Amadeo would become the new First Representative of ONUP (National Organization of Populist Unions) thus establishing a two man rule of the party. During Zani's leadership there was a small cult of personality growing around him, wether he was aware or not, it has not been confirmed, however, this cult has grown rapidly in the ranks of the Populists and there has been some calls to implement Zani's political and philosophical ideas in to the party program. One of these ideas that currently has the strongest support is the idea of evolving the Populists from a movement to a parliamentary faction, the justification of this is that Giusto Zani was the flame of the movement and now the flame has gone out, thus the end of the political movement shall end with Zani, however the movement of his ideas shall continue through the creation of a faction of the National Assembly. We can only wait and see what happens next.

[Augustus Germanus]

The Populist movement becomes a parliamentary faction
Key populist figures has sought to use late leader Zani's political ideas to "evolve" their movement


Members of the Populists voting

Since the death of Giusto Zani, the Populists have embraced his political and philosophical doctrines, especially those of The Zanist Manifesto and at the recent and second party congress of the year Party leader Romero Geraci spoke of the reason to evolve "Zani's movement" into a parliamentary faction as this idea have grown rapidly since the death and exaltation of the late leader. In The Zanist Manifesto (original title: Grand Principles of Popular Serving of the People), Zani speaks of the so-called "parliamentary faction" and its importance for a political movement such as the Populists, here is a part of the text:

The Parliamentary Faction is the next step for your political movement. Once you have reached the legislature you should not evolve immediately but most pass through enough with legislation to show your supporters that your movement is a deliverer. After being part of the legislature, it is time to evolve the movement into a parliamentary faction. What I mean by 'faction' is that your political party should not yet become a party but act as a natural part of the parliament, that your members in the legislature are your supporters true representatives and that your movement is not part of the legislature as a party but as a faction of it and that this faction shall have one goal only, to serve your supporters and those whose interests your movement is concerned of. A party is a organization who is both outside of the legislature and inside of it, this is to serve not only your supporters but also your members "personal interests", which is a fundamentally wrong thing, by integrating your party to the legislature, makes your party - which now is a faction - have one concern only... to serve your supporters interests.

This idea of a parliamentary faction has been unanimously accepted by not only the members of the Populists but also by their supporters around the country and a few hours ago it was officially decided to rename the party to such, the Populist Movement is here on known as the Populist Faction. However it won't change so much with what we call their party as they are almost entirely just known as the Populists...

[Nichola]

LA LIBERTA'
Press organ of the Istalian Reformist Party
The National Congress of Reformists
From 13 to 17 January 4698 the Reformist Party held its first congress, where the future of the party and the general settlement of the new party were discussed: the Statute and the Symbol were finally approved. The Congress was also the occasion for Leader De Giuliani to explain to his voters the reason for government with the Left.

De Giuliani speaking at the PRI Congress, he's holding a statuette of the first Istalian Emperor to underline his loyalty to the Empire.
Here's the new party statute, very simply and short:

STATUTE OF THE ISTALIAN REFORMIST PARTY:
1) The Istalian Reformist Party is a renewal movement that operates in the principles of freedom. The Party repudiates all political extremism and condemns anti-monarchist acts, while respecting republicans freedom of expression.
2) The Party's decision-making body is the directory, made up of 3 people. The Party leader, the reformist group leader in the Assembly and the national Party's spokesman. The directory may be disheartened by a referendum held by members.
3) If a directory is disheartened, no member who composed it will be able to hold another position in it.
4) The Leader is elected by the simple majority of the voters during a Congress. The position of leader does not have a precise duration but must not exceed 20 years otherwise a Congress to elect the new leader will be convened.
5) The congress is convened by the directory in case of urgent discussions or regularly every 6 years.
6) The Party represents the Istalian people who are neither represented by the left nor by the right. It is a centrist political party that supports capitalist policies, with a particular regard for the weakest of society who should get help, and a progressive social and ethical policy.
7) The Party is open to any type of alliance or coalition as long as it does not undermine the party interests described in articles 1 and 6.
8) The official press organ is "La Libertà" (Liberty), fully funded by the Party and without public contributions. The editor of the newspaper is chosen by the directory, confirmed by Congress.
9) The Party is anti-communist, anti-fascist and anti-Thallerist. Any member with these characteristics, registered with the PRI, will be expelled.
10) The official symbol, registered with the electoral authorities, is:

Signed, Leonardo De Giulani - Milona, 17 january 4698

[XanderOne]

Rebirth for medium and small businesses while larger corporations continue to expand abroad
The favorable and stable geopolitical situation and the liberal policies of the previous center-right governments have given further impetus to the Istalian economy

FederIndustria usual mid-year conference

24 May 4698

The Istalia's Enterprises Network, the national association of small and medium-sized enterprises, together with Federindustria, the national association of entrepreneurs, released yesterday the first of the usual hal-early report on the economic status of the country and the trand of the recent years has been confirmed: boom for small and middle-size entrprises while the largest corporations continue their expansion abroad.

Istalian enterprises actually benefited by the huge liberal reforms introduced by the previous center-right governments and the liberal position of both Res Publica and Reformist Party, currently into a government with the Left Bloc, gave confidence to the markets about the protection of the previously mentioned liberal reforms.

Among the sector which registred the best performance the one of the luxury articles and clothing and then several start-up on the energy sector which developed in a galaxy of competitors within a liberalized energy market as energy producers and providers.

Remaining within the energy sector, it was instead the recent passage of the bill on the nuclear energy, which now demand for the country most of energy is generated by nuclear plants, which pushed ENIST, the largest national energy company, to announce a new construction campaign which will provide the country within the next 50 years of 21 new nuclear plants which will allow the dismisal of 15 old nuclear facilities and other 18 gas-powered plants. The new facilities, declared ENIST's CEO Gianmarco Morgogna, will increase also the export capabilities of the country, which despite the recent decrease, it was for many time a huge exporter of energy all over east and central Majatra from Jakania to Badara.

The liberalization also of the Postal and TOC sectors saw on the former several private companies expanding at the regional leavels while on the latter sector there was thw establishment of the "Istalian Rail Consortium", heir of the public SNFS, which actually is a confederation of five regional post-public services allied to face the competition at the national level.

Istalian transnational corporations, instead, thanks both to the domestic and international activity of the country, invested hugely on many enterprises abroad, both in Majatra as well as in third continent.
The good and indeed increased relations which Istalia has established with most of world powers and countries gave confidence to the national corporations to expand furthermore and among the nations where most of investments focused there are Deltaria in Majatra and Hulstria and North Dovanian nations abroad.

[Woasher]

Res Publica press conference with party chairman Dino Pozza
Res Publica's party chairman called for a press conference to adress his partys stance on the current situation.


The following is the main part of what was said during that press conference by Dino Pozza

PRI's choice to leave the government came as suddenly for us as for everyone else. Unfortunately we were not informed in advance, this is something we regret. Res Publica has had no problem at all with the reformists but rather the opposite, it has been an open and honest relationship. We do not see that this has created bad blood between our parties, but with that said we have not received any clarity as to why they choose to create this government crisis. I am convinced that internal negotiations could have solved any misunderstandings or differences of opinion, that is the nature of cooperation.

Res Publica shares the Left bloc's view on the snap election, the reforms that are currently being voted on should be allowed to take their time before a new election is announced. The country needs a strong government with a majority in the back, what this government should look like, of course, is up to the citizens. We will therefore not vote for a new election before the legislative proposals on the table have been voted on.

Res Publica will always assume its responsibility for political stability. This is something that citizens can trust. If you have any questions, you are welcome to ask them now.

will this prevent future cooperation with the reformists?

So, as I see it, this will not prevent future collaborations on issues where our parties feel reasonably similar. As mentioned earlier, we have had no problems with the reformists. However, at least initially, there will be some hesitation in sitting in the same government. We in Res Publica do not think that you should act as the reformists have done in this situation, if you want political stability, you negotiate, government crises should always try to be prevented and snap elections should be seen as an emergency solution.

In the event of a snap election, will Res Publica campaign with another party?

No, in that case we will go to elections ourselves. Any cooperation may be renegotiated after the citizens have had their say.

Which parties do you see as potential partners after the election?

It is difficult to know in advance, we are open to negotiations. We currently have a very good cooperation with the left bloc, something that I would like to see in the future as well. But besides that, I should say that the only thing that we absolutely exclude is sitting in government under a head of government that is for imperial rule. It would go directly against our Republican values.

[Aethan]

The rupture of the government leads to an electoral advance
The Left Bloc blames the PRI for not having the political decency to notify the Prime Minister before announcing their resignation


The Prime Minister of Istalia appears before the media after the news of the government break

The electoral joy on the left has been short-lived. After half of the legislature has expired, the government partners of the Left Bloc and the Res Publica, the Istalian Reformist Party, have announced the resignation of their two ministers and therefore have left the national executive in a parliamentary minority.

Searching in "irreconcilable but understandable differences" between the government partners, the PRI has announced that it will ask the National Assembly for an early election call after its departure from the government, something that has not sat well in the Left Bloc.

"The lack of parliamentary ethics and capacity for dialogue in the current parties is becoming worrying,"

said Fiamma Cavalieri, spokeswoman for the Left Bloc.

"Our party has learned of the departure of government ministers at the same time as the rest of the citizenry, as well as the electoral call. The PRI has not even deigned to personally contact the Prime Minister to inform him, as partners government, of the current and future situation. Let each one draw his own conclusions. "

Despite this, the still Prime Minister has said he will not oppose the electoral advance.

"That our citizens have at their disposal a stable government must be the top priority,"

he said in statements following the news of the government's break.

"Obviously, we are disappointed by the attitude of the PRI and above all, by the ways in which they have carried out this rupture of the government, but that is not why we are going to oppose the citizens having a government back at their service. After the elections, the other parties will have to decide if they want to govern with the extreme right of Order, Faith and Family, although looking at the history of many of our nation's parties, which set their ideals apart in order to continue in the government, I would not be surprised to see them there sooner rather than later. And it will be a real shame. But the PRI should know that, in part, it will have been their fault in favoring an unnecessary rupture of this government. We have respected the agreements to which we arrived with them, and they pay us with a televised government breakdown and without prior notice to my person, that I have to find out about the news and the convening of an extraordinary plenary session in the Asambly. Disappointment is little to describe how I feel. "

An eventual electoral advance would leave in the air the investigation into the murder of the former leader of the Populists Mr. Zani, which is currently being carried out by the Ministry of Interior, as well as the new policy of the Romula City Council to receive refugees from Solentia