The Last Sanoist's Perspective on Imperial Progress

[Papa Liam 960]

The “Last Sanoist’s” Perspective on Imperial Electoral Progress

Authored by Fabius Bracchus

9^th of the Sun’s Smile, 1767

 

 

       Fabius “Fabio” Bracchus is an aged Parliamentarian, responsible for advocating some of the Empire’s most radical politics and proposals. Originally hailing from the countryside of Belvitz, his family left for the city of Markev when faced with ethnic discrimination targeted towards the large Illatian minority present in the Belvitz community. He proceeded to work as a royal chef in the Krepost. Bracchus has lived in Haense ever since, now residing in New Reza.

       Bracchus was the primary author of the Statute of Carolustadt, proposing the creation of the Empire’s first representative legislature some seven decades ago, with revisions from Prince Alexander Frederick on behalf of the Imperial administration. To Bracchus’ dismay, many edits were made to prevent radical change. The amount of elected positions were drastically reduced to three, citizens living outside of major population centers were barred from political participation, nobles were given permanent seating in the legislature, and political speech was drastically limited. Regardless, Bracchus would go on to serve as the Imperial Election Commissioner, Mayor of Markev, and two-term Prefect of Markev. Working alongside the Common Civic Party and their majority leader, Robert Sigismund Barbanov, the party would win a majority of the elected seats. Following the dissolution of the Imperial Parliament, Bracchus continued his work in Haense’s unicameral legislature, creating the Sanoist Republican Party. For two terms, this party held the plurality of seats in the legislature, and implemented aggressive retirement and farming reforms. Since retiring, Bracchus has organized the beloved gameshow Mina Madness, and has participated in local political activism. He is in his late 90’s.

 

The first ever session of the Imperial Parliament; 1687

 

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       I find myself stunned by the political and bureaucratic progress made by the Empire in the last fifteen years. We are currently entering a new era in human history, transitioning away from the feudal ways of old and adopting innovation, industrialism, liberalism, and democracy. The accomplishments made by this new generation are paramount to anything I could have ever dreamt of achieving back in the days of my prime. A judiciary with due process, proper business practices, provincial representation, checks and balances are all aspects of good government that I would have never thought possible in my lifetime. However, above all else, the innovation I am most proud of is the progression towards a system of political representation of the lower classes.

       Free and open elections were always a fantasy during my time as Prefect. We had local elections for the post of Maer, and eventually elected positions for the Hansetian legislature, but there was no Imperial representation for the common man. Administration by the nobles and elites was, and has been, all this Empire knew for centuries -- until recently, when the House of Commons became a reality, and adopted many of the practices myself and my former peers had been advocating for decades.

       First and foremost, the most crucial aspect of the new legislature, of which I’m thrilled to observe, is an entirely elected legislature. This was our original proposition back in the days of Carolustadt, and refusal to do so had dire consequences. Handing legislative positions to individuals with no interest in legislating, such as some nobles, creates an impossible roadblock to progress, with a system wherein a majority of votes is necessary to pass meaningful legislation. It also skews the representation of the Empire’s constituents, placing the interests of the elites above the worker, the downtrodden, and the unfortunate. Every single voting member in a legislature needs to be elected by their constituents. Even more admirable and shocking to me, however, was the present day adoption of the system of national proportional representation I had proposed to the Imperial Parliament twice in the 1690’s, but voted down both times. For this, we have Amadeus d’Aryn to thank, for his scholarly modernization of this proposal.

Alas, the progress made in electoral reform is still lacking. These are not free nor fair elections, as the common man still has no true recourse for representation, barred by the party apparatus. Candidate lists are subjected to the political motivations of party bureaucracy, so those who cannot obtain a position on a party’s list have no recourse to run their own campaigns.

 

In the system I had detailed back in 1691, there were three crucial components which are absent from the current electoral structure;

1. The freedom to form independent political parties. Present day political parties (or, as we’re to formally refer to them, “factions,”) are regulated by the state even more so than in the days of the early Imperial Parliament. If you disagree with the ideology of either the Everardines or the Josephites, you’ve no recourse to run a campaign promoting your own ideals, thus repressing the ideas of the minority. On principle, political participants should be allotted the freedom of political organization. The argument presented against free political parties in this new era is rooted in the Priorist violence of old, where the party was infamous for politically-motivated beatings, and attempted the murder of a political adversary. The primary argument against the freedom to organize is that partisanship will lead to violence and a lack of cooperation in the legislature. However, passing legislation was never an issue related to political affiliation, as votes in prior legislatures were only remotely aligned with party affiliation. As for the perceived political violence, the Priorist party was quickly declared a terrorist group and formally disbanded by the Emperor. We treat violent organizations of this nature as such, and do not regard them as legitimate. I assume, in a system with political freedom, we also will refuse to tolerate ideologies similar to that of Priorism.

2. The organization of primary elections. Instead of the party apparatus hand-picking their candidates, we ought to commit to a system of primary elections, in which we allow the party apparatus to determine some of their own rules and regulations regarding participation. Voters registered with each party should be allowed to vote on their preferred candidates prior to the general election, where the most heavily preferred candidate is placed at the top of the list. This ensures that candidates are responsive to the whims of their constituents, not an elitist organization.

3. Allow independent campaigns. This proposition was never heavily considered, but should be. Sometimes, candidates wish to run outside of the party system altogether, and declare themselves as an independent candidate. In the current system of proportional representation, a party’s percentage of the votes correspond with the percentage of seats they receive in the House of Commons, with a percentage threshold for each seat. For independent candidates, so long as they meet the threshold that a party would otherwise meet for a seat in the legislature, then that independent candidate should win said seat. In other words, voters would vote only for one candidate instead of an entire list. Is it likely that independent candidates would succeed against the party apparatus? No, but we should grant political participants that freedom regardless. (There are complexities regarding what to do with surplus votes for an independent candidate, or what to do with votes for a failed independent campaign, and those complexities are solved in the implementation of ranked choice voting. That, however, is an entirely different aspect of the electoral system. For the purpose of this essay, only the general principle of independent campaigns is important.)

 

Priorists assaulting CCP candidate Robert Sigismund in Carolustadt, prior to the bloody mayhem which ensued.

 

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     In my humble opinion, these are the three elements we are missing to make our elections truly free and fair, to reflect the values and whims of their constituents. There is much room for discussion, compromise, and alterations with the propositions above, but the general principles are integral to the creation of a truly democratic legislature, for which many of us in the lower class have strived for decades. Although I am normally regarded as a pessimistic, radical old man incapable of compromise, I am currently satisfied by the current progress made in the realm of domestic politics, and might I even say that I am optimistic for the future. In the meantime, however, we must protect the interests of the working class.

       For this reason, it is no secret that I have organized alongside the Everadines in their electoral efforts, to the shock of those old enough to remember my radical political campaigns. In a discussion with an old colleague, who preferred to remain anonymous, he asked why, in his words, “the last Sanoist” was endorsing the supposedly conservative party. I, too, shocked myself. However, if we consider the window of acceptable political opinions today compared to that of seventy years ago, it’s obvious that many of the opinions I once held are no longer the radical Sanoist propositions they once were, for they are now mainstream. Although I do not agree on every single aspect proposed by my Everadine colleagues, the trait I most admire is their championship of the working class. When I look at a list of candidates proposed by the Josephites, I see nobles, elites, and the upper class -- of which many of the men on that list are decent, honest, GOD-fearing individuals, but they are out of touch with the reality of the everyday Imperial constituent. When I look at a list of candidates proposed by the Everadines, however, I see commoners, and I see the laborers which I once struggled alongside in my youth. That tells me everything I need to know about the priorities of these two political factions, and it is why I personally vote for the Everadines. The streets of the Seven Skies are filled with this Empire’s working class, while the chambers of our bureaucracy is littered with bad faith actors striving for political power.

 

       This is not an essay to dismiss the Josephites’ opinions or members as illegitimate or incorrect, but to highlight where the interests of the two political factions lay, and to put forth an amendment to our present electoral system. I have nothing but admiration for this Empire and her citizenry, and the brave men which lead us, both in battle and in the chambers of democracy. It is inevitable that electoral innovations will be made with regard to the House of Commons, although I am saddened that it shall likely be beyond the limitations of my life. I can merely ask this new generation to accept the torch, and light a way for those struggling in our new Empire.

 

Signed,

Fabio

[ApplePieKathy 561]

Vivaca Rutledge reads over the statement, sighing “I think the Josephites need to adopt a radical economic policy that works for everyone, especially the working class and those on low incomes. We shouldn’t be the party of big business!” She said as she sipped her tea

[Zanthuz 1863]

Butch lifts a thumbs-up to his old pal after scanning over the missive for some two hours time in an undisclosed location. 

[Silverstatik 218]

From the seven skies Davius Crostermonger would admire how far the strange aspirations of his old friend from Axios had gone in the years since their time as guards.

[thesmellypocket 1859]

"I don't get involved in human politics, but really, the nobility and monarchy were foolish to give a yard to these people.  It is obvious they want "Liberalism and democracy" that means either abolishing the monarchy, or neutering it to the point of nothingness; Liberalism means religious indifferentism and therefore godless government." Pius comments.