Davostag

[Auditorii]

News of the Day
Dagens nyheder/Dagens nyheter
Social Democratic Party forms, sets election timeline for March
February, 5148

Långstad, Sønderhavn - Prominent Kivonian industrialist Håkan Almqvist and labor union leader Kresten Henriksen have announced the formation of the new Social Democratic Party in Davostag and Kivonia. The Almqvist-Henriksen plan calls for the formation of the so-called "Union of the North" or "Northern Union" which unifies the nation and removes the monarchy. While support for the monarchy remains somewhat popular, the General Constitutional Council called by the representatives of the Social Democratic Party which included some 1,100 party members and citizens, they called for the end of the monarchy and a to a democracy. The same GCC called for the formation of a parliamentary democracy, representatives from the Social Democratic Party, the sole political party registered with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, agreed and introduced the "Constitution of the Union of the North" which will be voted on by the Realm Diet over the next several week after the calling of elections in March, 5148.

The platform of the Social Democratic Party calls for the immediate creation of a compulsory national pension system, the restoration of basic services in cities and the country side in addition to universal healthcare for all Davostani's. The SDP has also called upon the formation of a historical commission to determine the continued conflict between the "Davostani" people; notably the issue between Skrigeres (OOC: Danish) speakers and Befäskars (OOC: Swedish) speakers who have delved into "different ethnic" groups entitled as the "Davostani" and the "Kivonian" respectively. The SDP has also called for the capital to move to the historically important city of Långstad in Sonderhaven, a move that is meant to show that the party is dedicated to unity. Langstad is an important port city that has for centuries served as a sort of in-between meeting point for Dovmark and the more recently named Kovmark.

Political experts do not expect that the "Union of the North" will last long as the historical commission investigates the divide within the ethnic groups within Davostag but some suspect that the ethnic divides will persist long beyond the end of the historical commission. Almqvist, the incoming Prime Minister, noted that the nation would reform its armed forces into the Davostag Defense Forces (Skrigeric: Davostag Forsvar; Befaskar: Davostag Försvarsmakten) underneath the Ministry of Defense and has announced that General Viktor Hagström will serve as the Chief of the Defense Staff.

[Auditorii]

News of the Day
Dagens nyheder/Dagens nyheter
Ministry of Defense, Defense Staff make report to National Diet's Committee on the Defense of the Realm
September, 5150

Långstad, Sønderhavn - Minister of Defense Anker Holst confirmed that the Davostag Defense Force has concluded a wide-scale review of the armed forces; notably with parliamentary oversight from the National Diet's Committee on the Defense of the Realm. Chief of the Defense Staff General Viktor Hagström confirmed to the United Press and local media that the Defense Staff closed several dozen land and air-based bases throughout Davostag and was conducting a major consolidating of air and army bases throughout the country. General Hagström noted that while Davostag possessed a number of technologically advanced systems years of misuse, failure to update and maintain them had lead to an overall decline in abilities and usage; something that he has tasked as a major goal of his command of the Defense Staff. The review started when the Social Democratic Party came to power in March, 5148 and was completed in July, 5150 and the final report to the National Diet was due in August, 5150. The report took place in early September, 5150 and announced a number of fixes. The chief among them is the Hardware Maintenance Program which began in May, 5148 which seeks to modernize, replace or otherwise bring up to operational status nearly 75% of all equipment within the Davostag Defense Force arsenal. The Davostag Army was the first among them, the second being the Davostag Air Force and the final branch being the Davostag Navy. General Hagström announced that the Davostag Air Force JAS fighters had been restored due to cooperation with Asvald Gruppen, allowing them to return to service faster.

His first announcement was that the Davostag Air Force would be formalizing the creation of the "Northern Air Policing" mission which will conduct routine patrols around Davostag's territory to ensure territorial integrity as well as enhance security in the region. The Davostag Air Force has also contracted with Asvald Gruppen to develop new variants of the state-of-the-art JAS 39 Gripen fighter and conduct research and development. A wider reform is expected for the Davostag Army and the Davostag Navy in the coming months and weeks, largely focusing on enhancing manpower, establishing and reforming the myriad of naval bases and army bases throughout the country. The Davostag Air Force has centralized operations in several bases, including the operational headquarters of the Northern Air Policing mission at the Dovborg Air Base outside Dovborg, in Dovmark.

[Auditorii]

Der Globus: Dorvish contingent of LSCO seizes Der Messing "pirate" vessels in Lievenian Sea. (August 5211)

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National Liberals win 5226 elections

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose would be a neat summary of the 5226 Davostag-Kivonian general election, which has seen the National Liberal Party (Frisinnade folkpartiet, FFP) returned as the largest party for the fourth time in a row, and with its third consecutive absolute majority, thus cementing its position as the predominant contemporary political force in the United Kingdoms. Chancellor Halvorsen expressed his satisfaction with the results, stating it showed "the people's continuous support for a free economy, competent government, and religious toleration" as well as a strong endorsement of the government's pro-Hutori foreign policy.

Nevertheless, the second main story of the night was the very strong first showing of the Republican Party (Republikanska partiet, RP), whose 153 seats (out of 400) means that the pro-monarchy parties no longer hold a constitutional supermajority for the first time in 24 years. Although the constitutional settlement seems secure for the moment, the results clearly indicate that there is a constituency for potential alternatives. The Republicans' aggressive courting of the socially conservative and religious vote, as well as its outflanking the National Liberals on the right on economic policy with a very staunch pro-business message, also seems to have borne fruit, even as the bulk of the middle class electorate continued to prefer the somewhat more moderate market economics of the FFP. Kivonian voters in particular seem to have been attracted by the Republican message, with Kivonia being the sole province not giving the majority of its votes to the FFP. Whether the new party is on the march towards government, or if its inexperience will prove its downfall, remians to be seen.

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Military overhaul to begin

In a communiqué issued today, the Davostag-Kivonian Defence Ministry has announced that major changes are coming to the armed forces of the United Kingdom. Spearheaded by the young new Minister for Defence, Jens Christian Braade, a new crop of policymakers and experts have been at work during the past year designing plans for a new direction for national defence. The focal point of the first reform programme will be a major expansion and re-arming of the Royal Flying Corps (Kungliga luftkåren), which is set to be renamed the Royal Air Force (Kungliga flygvapnet) and form the core of a new defence doctrine, emphasizing command of the skies and integration of aerial and terrestrial operations as crucial for battlefield success and territorial defence. In addition, development of new, integrated systems of anti-air artillery and interceptors will proceed apace.

Mr. Braade had the following to say:

In our modern day, aerial mobility and firepower is more important than ever before, as is our ability to defend our own skies and deflect any threat to our civilian population. It is therefore the firm conviction of the Government that this has to be the starting point for improving our national defences.

A major question, however, hangs over the issue: what aircraft will be used? This was left unresolved by today's announcement, with reports of tensions between the "economist" wing in government, most prominently represented by Finance Minister David Hallgren, which seeks to limit costs and speed up completion by purchasing the necessary technology from abroad, and the "nationalist" wing, led by Mr. Braade, who instead is advocating for building up and relying on domestic manufacture. With Chancellor Halvorsen reportedly undecided but leaning towards the former position, a split in Cabinet may be brewing.

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Braade beats Hallgren in shock result
January 9, 5229

In what even seasoned observers have called a "stunning upset", Defence Minister Jens Christian Braade, 35, has beaten Finance Minister David Hallgren, 49, for the succession to the FFP leadership, and thus the post of Chancellor, following long-time leader Jon Halvorsen's retirement. At the party's convention held in the symphonic hall at Tårnbæk, the exectation had been that Hallgren, the odds-on favourite and unofficial head of the more liberal faction, would emerge triumphant; instead, Braade ended up garnering 51.9% of the delegate vote after intense campaigning among local branches. The upset has already come to be widely viewed as a hallmark in the history of the FFP; the younger, more nationalistic "young Turks" rallying behind Braade to reject the traditional establishment, which had groomed Hallgren as its latest representative at the head of the party. It is also believed that Braade managed to convince many of the provincial branches, who have increasingly felt cut off from the centre of power in Kivonia, to back him.

After what has termed the most raucous and turbulent convention in the FFP's history, many think that the gulf that has seemingly opened up between the Old Guard and the reformers will take a long time to heal. After the vote, the two contenders did meet for a handshake at the podium, but the icy tension between the ashen-faced Hallgren and the all-smiles Braade was palpable to all present and watching.

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Government in crisis after ministers resign
December 13, 5231

The Government of the United Kingdoms has been rocked by a major crisis today following the resignations of four cabinet ministers; Finance Minister David Hallgren, Science & Technology Minister Clara Ebbesen, Environment Minister Steingrímur Haraldsson, and Internal Affairs Minister Oscar Pettersson. The walkout happened after a reportedly furious row between the group and Chancellor Braade at Government House late last night, where the ministers, quickly and predictably nicknamed "the Gang of Four" by the press, had presented what some sources call an ultimatum, but others merely a strong complaint, to the Chancellor for his management of the vote in the Riksdag on a Communist-sponsored bill to strengthen the military. Hallgren had spoken against the bill, calling it wasteful of resources and destructive to Davostag-Kivonia's international reputation due to its loosening of legal constraints on biological and chemical weapons. In an embarrassing twist however, the Chancellor then instructed the FFP parliamentarians to support the bill, guaranteeing its passage, leaving the Finance Minister furious and humiliated. However, this did not only infuriate Hallgren, but also a number of his supporters in the party's liberal wing who have never reconciled themselves to their loss of influence at the 5229 convention. The three other cabinet ministers, closely aligned with his views, later linked up with Hallgren for the confrontation mentioned above. A source speaking on the condition of anonimity told the Kivonian Chronicler that shouting could be heard well past the antechamber before the four eventually marched out.

The loss of such prominent members as Hallgren and Pettersson is seen as a major blow to Braade's authority, not least considering Pettersson's status as deputy leader and a long-standing heavyweight within the FFP. Speculation now abounds that the split within the party could worsen and destabilize the government as a whole, its huge majority notwithstanding.

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Massive new military research centre to be built
December 1, 5232


A sketch of one of the proposed new facilities

The Government has announced that a major new centre for military research and development is to be established in Ballenhus, with a preliminary completion date set for January-February 5237. The new centre, said to be named "The New Royal Defence College" (Nya kungliga försvarshögskolan), will combine a war academy with a large research centre focused on aeronautics. The project is expected to cost around 40 billion DAV to complete and have an annual operating budget of upwards of 12 billion, making it the most well-funded such institution to date in the United Kingdoms. The Defence Ministry, also led by the PM, has underscored the importance that the new centre work closely with private industry in developing new products, and has given assurances that the Government will provide stable market opportunities for those companies that choose to invest.

It is said to be something of a pet project of Prime Minister Jens Christian Braade, who has made the strengthening of the domestic defence industry, and particularly its independent research capacity, a centrepiece of his agenda since entering government. Immediate criticism was however leveled at the choice of locating the centre to Ballenhus, since it is Mr Braade's own hometown; although the government denies any undue considerations and have instead pointed out the city's strategic location and present relative paucity of such facilities, many have already condemned what they see as blatant pork-barrelling, securing construction jobs and a permanent boost to the high-tech economy of the Prime Minister's own back yard. Some on the economically liberal side of the governing National Liberal Party have also been muttering that the project goes too far in inserting government interference in industry, particularly due to the aforementioned guarantees of future purchases.

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National Liberals in disarray as 5234 elections draw near
December 14, 5233

The governing National Liberal Party (FFP) has seen an unprecedented level of internal bickering in the lead-up to next year's elections, with charges and counter-charges of treachery and disruption being made on a nearly daily basis. This stands in sharp contrast to previous campaigns, in which the FFP's professionalism and the slick media performance of its candidates have always been seen as major advantages over its opponents. Some within the liberal wing have accused Prime Minister Braade and his allies of using the coming reduction of the size of the Riksdag to exclude them from the FFP's parliamentary candidate lists, while they in turn have accused their factional opponents of wilfully damaging the party's public standing in order to weaken the present leadership. The conspicuous abscence from the campaign trail of the 'Gang of Four' of previous cabinet ministers has further fuelled these claims, with some analysts even accepting that this could be a deliberate attempt to bring Braade down and pave the way for a return of the liberal 'traditionalists' to control of the party.

Knives are clearly being sharpened; will they be out in full after the election?

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Government re-elected, but bruised
July 14, 5234

The National Liberal Party (FFP) has been returned to office in the 5234 elections, but it is clear that the turbulent events of the past few years have left their mark; there was a 15-point swing towards the traditional non-FFP alternative, the Liberal Conservative Alliance (LKA), and a distinct lack of enthusiasm for the government even amongst its own supporters, with turnout dropping to a record low for a contested election, chiefly down to some nine million previous FFP voters staying at home on election day. Jörgen Herstedt, Professor of Political Science at the University of Kivonia, offered the following analysis:

The FFP's electoral machine seems to be sputtering. It only managed to attract some 15.8 million voters, a rather precipitous drop from the 26.3 million it managed in 5230. There are 2.3 million more LKA supporters now than then, the low turnout notwithstanding, clearly indicating that the poor attendance at the polling stations was due solely to apathy amongst the government's electors. The fact that nearly 40 percent of the Kivonian vote went against the FFP is obviously a protest; if this trend continues, the FFP is at risk of increasingly becoming a Davostani-centered outfit, which could spell trouble for national unity if Kivonians no longer feel properly represented in government.

Nevertheless, the outcome is seen as strengthening the position of the somewhat embattled Prime Minister, Jens Christian Braade; the very fact that Davostani areas tended to vote more heavily for the government means that the party's parliamentary caucus is now mostly composed of Braade loyalists, since Davostanis tend to adhere to his wing of the party to a greater extend than Kivonians. The fact that the party remains in command of a two-thirds majority in the next Riksdag has also weakened the claims by the 'traditionalists' that Braade is an electoral liability.