Revolutionary period of Empherias
| Revolutionary period | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2395–2448 | |||
| Monarch(s) | |||
| Leader(s) | |||
| |||
The Revolutionary period was the era of Empherias history between 2395 and 2448. The period came to an end because of Empherias' unification with the High Kingdoms of Alaxia, beginning the Alaxian period of Empherias.
Characteristics
History by premiership
2395 Revolution
Rijkdottir Abigail began finally began tweaking her government in December 2396, and invited Felix D'laminet to form a government as her Prime Minister on 1 January 2397.
Felix D'laminet's tenure (2397–2411)
First term
Felix D'laminet as Prime Minister didn't have much direct experience running the country, so he wanted to get as much talent as he could to run the government. Furthermore, he was aware that the country needed stability as well as the Populist movement. He needed to include all branches of the populist ideology to appease everybody - including the violent Alarkist movement. One of D'laminet's key objectives was to modernise the state and finally finish the industrialisation process. But, he was still worried about the new faction of Frankists which had congregated and wished to restore the monarchy to power under the previous monarch, James VII. Many nobles and monarchists had fled to neighbouring countries though and D'laminet wished to put the violent Alarkists into a department that could handle any insurgency attempt. Therefore, one of the first departments that the Prime Minister created was the Department of War and Civil Obedience. He then appointed Henry Alark as it's Minister, and appointed many of his allies to key posts as parliamentary undersecretaries to the department, heads of the civil service, or into the Armed Forces of Empherias.
Noble Insurgency
Henry Alark, the newly appointed Minister of Defence, would be tasked with turning the military into a formidable force able to fend off against a noble insurgency if it happened. General William Weslington was made Chief of the Armed Forces and would begin rigorous army officer training with appointments based on a meritocracy rather than birth-right. The National Army of Empherias would be reformatted from the previous monarchist rule and would be indoctrinated into new democratic values and taught at their military schools the negatives of monarchist rule. Elite troops would be inducted into the Royal Guards which would hold permanent standings in major cities and train lower ranked troops and officers. Various militia would be made up of volunteers and would begin training of two years - although there was fear in government that they didn't have that time.
The Battle of Priscei Cathedral broke out as noblemen rose up in the city of Priscei on 7 September 2397 and capture the city without resistance. Using local farms and food stores, they held in the town for two weeks as they were surrounded by the Empherias Army. Henry Alark personally. The noblemen, Lord Peter Rindelburg, had around 5000 militia although they were poorly trained and armed following restrictions on gun usage. The army surrounding the city was made up of 600 royal guards, and 15,000 national army troops. They laid a blockade which lowered the supplies of the nobles until 14 September. The following day, Alark ordered a siege and barraged the city from all sides. Due to superior training and morale, the Populist suffered just 800 casualties while the poor morale of the noblemen troops (because they fought out of obligation not genuine agreement) led to 4300 casualties, wiping out nearly the whole army from injuries, death or prisoners of war. Henry Alark had won the battle within just a week. Lord Peter was captured, had his titles stripped and was put on trial as a regular man in the Court of Wynnoa where he was found guilty of treason and sentenced to death.
The embarrassing defeat of the insurgency saw monarchist support dwindle. Many local lords still in power were forced to support the government or be moved from their posts by force from the people. The former Rijkse's disappearance and apparent happiness to live in a country estate in Hvede also led to the idea that the change to government was supported by the God as the new Rijkdottir supported the change. Many placed trust in the new government, especially the working class, who were able to vote for the first time. Some monarchist supporting nobles were stripped of their titles and lands to scare other lords from supporting monarchism. Rijkdottir Abigail released a statement on 1 December 2397 which essentially announced her decision to remove all her proper power and give it to the Prime Minister via royal prerogative, making her fundamentally a figurehead.
Domestic policies
Felix D'laminet's main priority was modernising all laws within Empherias. Although serfdom and slavery was uncommon, it was outlawed entirely in the End of Serfdom Act 2397 with an end to all loopholes. He introduced a group of inspectors called the Inspector Elite, made up of tax collectors and other such guards, to go to real estate and make sure the land owners were obeying the law, paying the right taxes, etc. Furthermore he established the Department of Intelligence to led by Spymaster Sir James Cairns. These spies would not be used for neighbouring countries but be used to spy on prominent nobility to ensure they weren't plotting a counter revolution. The department was key in alerting the government to the later noble insurgency and the Battle of Priscei Cathedral and may be credited for helping in the Populist victory. The Protection of Artefacts Act 2397 legally protected ancient artefacts and monuments under government ownership to be delegated to public or private museums with licences - however it allowed the government to seize any personal property it wished using a loophole[1]. Furthermore, the prison system was reformed in the Prisons Act 2397 which notably expanded the reasons that one could be sent to prison. A controversial new law was the ability of the judiciary to sentence people to death on the terms of conspiracy, which resulted in hundreds of nobles being killed without much evidence. The enlisting of soldiers was made easier and it's training programmes expanded under Henry Alark and the People's Army Act 2397.
One of the things that D'laminet wanted to normalise was the delivery of a biannual budget by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Henry Watford with review to scrutiny by parliament. This made it clear that government spending could be criticised and be held accountable to opposition MPs outside of an election. A majority of MPs, if against the budget, could hold a vote to delay the budget to ask for amendments, but the executive would ultimately have final say when the budget becomes official six weeks after it's introduction into the chamber. Robert Webber, the First Lord of the Treasury would work with Watford often and this shifted their bond closer together outside of cabinet meetings with D'laminet, developing the Double W Relationship.
The official coronation of Rijkdottir Abigail occurred on 21 December 2397 where she made an incredibly powerful speech to the House of Parliament and swore to never be a tyrant and refrain herself from politics.
In May 2398, Alistair Rettels and Harry Redworks travelled with an envoy to the Hveden Federation to stop any idea of intervention in a position insurrection by monarchists harbouring in Hvede - and for asking for legitimised recognition of the new government. Similar trips would carry on throughout the term to all neighbouring nations.
February 2399 saw the introduction of the Ministry of Information, headed by Minister for Information Emmelie Ratsenberg. A new public paper, the "Eye in Esthullen" would be managed and headed by the ministry but private papers would be promoted to. It is believed that this year saw a large scale collaboration of the Ministries of Intelligence and Information to curb monarchist sentiment.
Felix D'laminet worked with the appointed Minister of Health Bonnie Wallace to establish the Empherias Healthcare Service. Whilst tooling on the department, the Chancellor of the Exchequer suggest paying for the service via an increase in traditional income taxes but after consideration this idea was dropped in favour of a new national insurance system. The healthcare service would purchase all private healthcare companies and services and integrate their systems into a large unified and efficient service. These healthcare companies would have no choice in the acquisition but would receive compensation and job offers within the new service. Initially, dentists, opticians and ear doctors were not covered under the healthcare service although it did introduce government loans for these services at reduced interest and increased return time.
The welfare state would also include state pensions and a sickness benefit. Child benefits would be introduced soon after which would be paid to families per child if their parents didn't earn enough income. Felix D'laminet did not introduce benefits to pay for those unemployed or homeless as it introduced the Office for the Unemployed which would help people find jobs and had begun the process of building thousands of new social housing. Benefits would be exempt from slaves and be attainable by all working or had citizenship or a primacy visa.
Henry Alark would found the Navy of Empherias on 3 March 2400 and would hold a massive ceremony on the Ewynn river for it. Minister of Foreign Affairs Alistair Rettels announced that a deal with the government of Ahitereira-Koresa had been signed after various rounds of negotiations on 1 July 2401. This deal, the Treaty of Nieuwbourg, was ratified by the Empheri parliament on 28 November 2401 after some unforeseen delay. It would see Empherias gain an ocean-side port on international waters and the Navy assigned it as their main base of operations - the deal went into effect on 1 January 2402. The treaty would see a huge uptick in support for the nation as allies and also showed the government that the nation may be ready for international relations and trade once again as there had been a worry that other countries would be worried of spreading the Empherias revolutionary ideals. Empheri workers imported would work alongside local workers to fill local unemployment to build a new port although this would be done with cheap materials in a quick time. The predicted construction closure was expected in late 2403. The port would have tariffs set directly by the Empheri government, but the land the port is on would be rented with $1.2 million paid annually to Ahitereira-Koresa. Furthermore, 50% of all profits earned by the port would be handed over to them too. Several railways were built to connect the port to Vreimer and Tyrs for processing trade. This year began a huge expansion in housing and population in Vreimer.
Homosexuality for both men and women was made officially legal in the Sexualities Act 2402, although it was a non-punishable crime prior to this.
The Election Procedure Act 2402 set the rules of elections. Parliament would be set at a stable 600 MPs to be elected proportionally to population nationwide. It would also expand the ability to vote to a universal franchise of any person of any background over 18 years of age with Empheri citizenship. However, this did exclude skaven peoples (a very tiny minority) who had their own distinct communities and were not eligible for Empheri citizenship. The Immigration Citizenship Act 2402 did make it easier for immigrants to get a type of Empheri citizenship by only requiring a permanent habitation visa for at least two years and spending all but six weeks a year in Empherias. It also required at least eighty percent of assets to be held in Empherias although this was rarely policed as many lacked documentation to prove it. It would also require having a job in Empherias although this was also rarely policed and some immigration officers didn't even include the question. The Parliament Term Act 2402 would make sure elections must take place a maximum of 2000 days (5 and a half years approximately) after a previous general election. The Prime Minister, or a simple majority of parliament, could trigger a general election early at any date giving a mandatory 6 week campaign period.
Second term
The 2402 general election saw new parties elected to the legislature for the first time in history. Some parties had representation before through defections and rebellions. The Liberals and Conservatives had run prior to the 2395 revolution but had massively reformed their party. The populist ruling party, who previously had free reign over the parliament with few opposition, now had to run a minority government only returning 288 seats. They did take a lot of the leftist vote, though the rival Socialist party led by Elizabeth Rose won 50 seats, while the old Liberals and Conservatives massively declined in terms of seats. They could count on Socialist votes to pass many laws in parliament, with whom policies often overlapped.
During the election campaign, the Populists promised education reform, an investment to infrastructure, and new housing legislation. One infrastructure investment he specifically wanted to focus on was expanding roads for automobile use with more money to big cities to build more public transport systems. He believed heavily in expanding railway usage nationwide.
Housing policies
One of the main priorities for the new administration was to solve a growing housing problem. They would give away large amounts of buildable land on the outskirts of cities and this led to the creation of many new suburbs. It was of the government's interest for these to be poorer in quality than previous and be made from primarily wood. Meanwhile, new builds in the city would be made out of brick and concrete to avoid the spreading of fires in the much denser cities. To lead this, the government created a High-Regulation Building Zone which had strict regulations to building, and a Low-Regulation Building Zone which would have little to no building regulations. HRBZs were given to major city interiors and historical city councils, while LRBZs were given to much smaller towns who wished to expand, and empty plots of land throughout the country. It was important that the new housing was much cheaper and this led to the creation of much smaller suburban houses, and some research and development to larger skyscrapers. The Socialists pushed through legislation that would create a government scheme to make housing purchases cheaper for the working class through mortgage loans for new buyers, and discouraging two house purchases.
By the dissolution of parliament in 2407, various investments made by the D'laminet administration had come to fruition. The infrastructure policy promised in the election promised large scale investment into public infrastructure such as roads, railways, and transport systems. The Minister of Transport reported on 17 March 2407, just before it's dissolution for the 2407 general election, that eleven new railway stations had opened in Wynnoa alone, with a further 35 nationwide. New lines were expanded across the entire country which now included a cross-country railway into the neighbouring nation of Weskynn. A new rail line had been opened in Wynnoa to the South Bank City, finally allowing for quick crossing between the two sides which had previously only been served by a ferry. The minister wasn't able to present a very detailed analysis on the government's role in expanding the highway network, but the government had taken the idea of automobiles seriously and issued the Book on Automobile's Regulations 2404 in response to their growing popularity and launched the Jets Inquiry (2405) into research on efficient roads for automobiles. In the meanwhile, an estimated further 860 km of road had been built. All of these transport improvements were government owned or privately funded in co-ownership with the government.
Other policies
Education reform didn't happen during the second term and was justified to parliament that they Populists didn't have time to create a cohesive curriculum and reform alongside the Socialist compromises that they had to make. In the mean time, they set a minimum schooling age of 5-14 where children must be in full time education in the Provision of Education Act 2404, outlawed all child labour in the Children in the Workforce Act 2405, and made education about maths, Empheri, and some sciences mandatory in the Education Mandatory Curriculum Act 2405.
The Prime Minister, and Minister of Defence Henry Alark announced an expansion to the Empherias army. This included an expansion to the number of reserves, which reached the goal of 70,000 in November 2406. There was also an urge to setup new barracks around larger cities, especially those near foreign countries. This pledge was somewhat successful, with 3 barracks being setup in cities on the Koresan border, 5 on the Palakkinen border and 11 across all other borders. A boy scouts programme was introduced for younger children to learn military discipline and military schools were setup for older students.
Alongside army reforms, the Ministry of Defence founded the Empherias navy in 2403. They pledged to have a working battleship by the end of 2413 which was a lofty and ambitious goal. All construction would happen in Nieuwbourg, as there was a concern of the battleship accidentally causing damage to the city, or being too big for the cities' ports. In order to not risk disobeying the treaty stipulations, fifty-percent of the work on building the battleship would be done by Koresan workers. There were discussions with several world naval powers to acquire plans and blueprints for new ironclad dreadnought type ships, alongside domestic research. The Ministry would
The government would introduce a wealth tax on those earning more than 250,000 krones per year which would be equal to 0.75x their income tax bracket.
D'laminet's Third Term
The 2407 general election ended in a similar outcome to the previous - D'laminet leading a minority government with a supply and demand agreement with Elizabeth Rose's socialist party. Not wanting to maintain total life long political power, he began plans to have his deputies have major support from the party and the country and with similar ideas to maintain democracy in a fresh country. Henry Watford and Robert Webber would begin making more frequent statements to the house of parliament as well as addresses via radio and newspapers.
Population growth policies
One of the earliest policies of the third term was on a promise they made during the election campaign of sustained population growth. They hoped this growth would lead to inherent economic growth and a rise in productivity. They focused on two types of growth: domestic and foreign. Domestic growth included new policies giving tax breaks to families who have three or more children, a government hand out to subsidise some parts of childcare known as the Childcare Benefit in poorer families, and introduction of strict child working laws which built on the pre-existing act, introducing the Children in the Workforce Act 2408 which redefined certain terms, closed loopholes, and altered some laws. D'laminet also promoted privately to media owners the use of larger families although the effect of this was non-mandatory and likely had little effect.
Foreign growth focused on encouraging immigration into the country. The path to citizenship would be made easier and shorter, an official unemployment office was established to find and give vagabonds proper jobs and keep count unemployment rates. D'laminet also promised the construction of 100,000 new houses to be built by 2412, although the project was cancelled prematurely by Elizabeth Rose, the future Prime Minister, in 2411, after just 86,500 houses had been constructed. These houses would house mostly homeless people and be given out for cheap. They were also built primarily near major cities such as Wynnoa and Esthullen increasing the sizes of their respective suburbs. Nehvedenbourg was founded as new town specifically for Hveden immigrants in the northwest near the Empheri-Hveden Western Railway Line although many houses here were built by the immigrants themselves and local councils and thus not counted in the total statistic by the government. Open borders with Weskynn was established after many governmental meetings - although it's implementation was delayed following their government losing power in late 2409. Furthermore, immigrant-friendly attitudes were forced to be taught in schools as it was expected some prejudice would be brought against them.
Many nationalist members of parliament, such as the Nationalist party, the Conservative party, and some right-wing Populist party members were concerned that the Empheri culture would be somewhat eradicated by this move. Therefore, the government brought back to light the ancient sport of sword-fighting, featured more culturally Empheri dress in media and government, founded the national holiday on 21 December every year in the middle of summer to celebrate the culture.
Policy regarding foreign entities
In September 2409, the House of Parliament passed the Tbekien Integration Act 2409 which would integrate the Tbekien territory officially into the Kingdom. A local governor was installed and given a cabinet position as the Minister of Tbekien although this office was later abolished during the 2450s in favour of a new Tbekien Assembly headed by a Mayor. The first ministerial position would be represented by Tbekien native Wigfred Eghloreson, a Populist MP.
Early in 2410, the Populist government began deep negotiations with Ahitereira, Karkuss and Hvede, to create an alliance within East Alaxia. The alliance lacked any clear goals and so the negotiating process took a while, went nowhere, and was greatly criticised by opposing political parties and even some party members and coalition members. After nearly a year of negotiations, the Foreign Minister eventually brought back a deal that had been signed with only the Hveden Federation and Kingdom of Karkuss establishing the Ewynnia Security Alliance, shortened to ESA. The alliance morphed into a mutual defence alliance with pledges to defend the other with only some other benefits, that of a somewhat open border policy.
Outside of the ESA, Empherias and Hvede signed a private deal, the Empheri-Hveden Technology Pact (EHTP). This would be negotiated by the Minister of Defence Henry Alark and Foreign Minister Alice Rettels and would promise the immediate handing over of control of the entire Empheri army to command of the Hveden government in case of a war of either country. The opposition criticised this government agreement as it took away much of Empherias' autonomy in terms of military operations, perhaps removed Alark's command over any forces, and could drag Empherias into any pointless Hveden war - offensive or defensive. This was unpopular after the revolution just ten years earlier had plunged the country into a state of disarray without much fighting itself. The EHTP would also guarantee the sharing of up to date army and naval technologies between the two countries which would keep the Empheri army up to date. Furthermore, both countries would gain military access to each other's territory and naval ports. A notable exception was commercial ports, which did not have free access.
Finally, the Treaty of Nieuwbourg would be amended and ratified with little real changes. Rijkdottir Abigail, under the advice of the Prime Minister, declared neutrality in the Great War. However, they stated that the Military Hveden Protocol would stay in effect, essentially meaning if Hveden joined the war, then Empherias would send troops to help.
Education policy
D'laminet opted for a different approach to Education in his third term. Socialist MP Liza Veys would be appointed Minister of Education and proceeded with reforms. Primary education would be until 10 years of age, with secondary education introducing mandatory language learning for either Kusfeldic or Ahitereiran at age 11. An optional third language would be introduced at age 14 additionally. Children could leave school at age 16 and become a legal adult and be able to earn an adult's minimum wage. All children will take an exam at the end of Primary at age 10, and end of Secondary at age 16 to get qualifications. Later education starts at age 17 and will include universities. The first official government university was established in 2409 as Esthullen National College was turned into Esthullen University.
Other policies of the government
The populists early promised a devotion to industrialisation by committing to having the majority of the country industrialised by 2417 - just ten years. They promised an enlarged railway and transport network, with 15% more railway tracks, newer and up to date trains, safety procedures, and refurbished train stations; house prices that would increase price per year lower than the inflation rate; double the amount of reserve troops and equipment in army by 2413; an increase of 20% in the number of graduating school children leaving school with qualifications; higher average incomes for adults over 25; and better wealth and social equality across classes, gender, and race.
Of these promises, by their midterm of 2410, none had been achieved despite their implemented policies. After three years in office since the election, there had been just 200 metres more railway tracks built serving a line in West Esthullen, no new trains had been deployed since 2406, no safety procedures had been introduced amid fear of becoming overly safe, and no major train station refurbishments. However, of the railway promises, the government did announce an extra $20 million in funding for the government's railway initiative in late 2409, and scheduled refurbishments for three major Wynnoan stations to take place in March 2411. These did have some effects on enlarging the railway network, but overall so no major changes. There also were no changes to overall transport networks and other modes lacked any commitment. House prices did stay relatively stable especially with the planned 100,000 new government houses, of with 62% had been finished by 2410. With inflation at 2.7% and house prices rising just 0.4% on average of the previous three years. The army, apart from commitments in foreign policy, did not grow in size at all, let alone the committed doubling - however there still had another three years before the promise had to be delivered and some couple thousand troops were in minor training as of late 2410. With some education reforms, by 2410 the percentage of graduating school children leaving with degrees increased by a mere 7% instead of the promised 20% although this was a positive step. Higher average incomes, if accurate, did not effect the majority of the working class enough and many still complained of low wages. Overall, wealth and social equality remained relatively the size. In general though, industrialisation seemed to be going smoothly as many new factories were being built alongside companies and consumer goods increased in production.
End of D'laminet's premiership
Many opposition parties agreed that the government was becoming fatigued after a decade in power and the Socialists pulled out of the coalition agreement in November 2410, leaving the government with a minority government. Furthermore, by January 2411, there were rumours that Felix D'laminet was tired behind the scenes and wanted to resign anyway. D'laminet finally announced his resignation on 15 January 2411 as both leader of the party and Prime Minister - the first change of power since the revolution. D'laminet was careful to have a peaceful transfer of power and instate a stable figure. Immediately, a leadership election would begin to take place in February between Populist MPs. Early candidates were Harry Redworks, Robert Webber, Henry Watford, Henry Alark, Charlotte Regel, and Maria Harris.
Henry Watford, the Deputy Prime Minister, immediately become a front runner in the race and allied himself with the other front runner, Chancellor of the Exchequer Robert Webber. The alliance of these two moderates disenfranchised many candidates, who all dropped out besides Redworks and Alark. John Saxon soon joined the race. Robert Webber voluntarily withdrew to create a double ticket of 'Watford and Webber'. When the election results came in, the Watford and Webber ticket consumed 81.5% of the votes from MPs, who wanted more moderate rule. Alark, the second most popular, got a reasonable 15.4%, while Redworks ended with 2.5%, and Saxon with 0.6%. With the election done by March, D'laminet decided to dissolve parliament to begin campaigning for a general election.
D'laminet's reasoning would be that, instead of coronating Watford as his immediate successor, the public should get to choose once again with the new leader in place. It had also been 4 years since the previous election and the attitude of the time had changed, the 5 year cap was nearly approaching. Some speculated he did this to create a snap election precedent post-revolutionary reforms. Therefore, D'laminet continued as the caretaker interim Prime Minister until the election on 10 April 2411, while Watford was made immediate leader of the party on 2 March. Campaigning would begin shortly after.
Chaos in government (2411–2415)
Elizabeth Rose's first term
The 2411 general election saw a huge shift in politics for the first time since the revolution. Elizabeth Rose's socialist party rose 100 seats, up 16 percentage points, while the Populists under new leader Watford lost nearly 60 seats. Some chalked this up to Rose being a public figure for many years and popular, that D'laminet made people loyal not the Populist branding, and a want for a diversity of ideas. Nevertheless, the Socialists actually won 232 seats, the plurality, to the Populist's 220 seats. This made Elizabeth Rose the next Prime Minister with a minority Socialist government, short 69 seats of a majority. Ludwig Reimes was appointed as her Chancellor of the Exchequer. A supply and demand agreement, similar to the one the Populists-Socialists held previous, was signed with the roles reversed. Henry Watford became Deputy Prime Minister, with Robert Webber (his dual partner) becoming the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Rose looked to end the Military Technology Sharing Treaty with Hvede, worrying that Empherias could be dragged into involvement in the Great War, thus she met with the Prime Minister of the Hveden Federation to remove the clause of military access, sharing of army and naval technologies, and commitment to send volunteers during a war. However, many in parliament were angry at this move saying that Rose was pushing Empherias more isolationist and weak internationally - however Rose committed to closer co-operation with Hvede in peaceful means. Webber, who was staunchly pro-Hveden, considering his resignation as Foreign Affairs Minister after he was left out of meetings with Hveden Federation, but ultimately stayed.
In June 2411, the Lava Field and People Collaboration Missionary Act 2411 passed parliament and reached royal approval, which allowed for research into lava fields, the mining of resources, and research on habitation methods there and communications with the Basalites of the region. To further immigration to the country, universities were opened globally at the same rate as internally, while emigration was discouraged. Tax cuts were available for those with bigger families. Furthermore, the Equal Rights Act 2411 passed through parliament nearly unanimously which put all immigrants, races, peoples, etc, on the same part in law universally and protected discriminated classes in humans. Other species such as dwarves, nagani, skaven, or basalites, were not included in this clause.
It was during this term that embassies in Ahitereira-Koresa were established formally, while new ones were opened in Karkuss.
Henry Watford's term
Hveden Federation
Railway Line, Palarya -> Vaiyeins
After nearly a year in office, Henry Watford and the broader Populist top officials believed that it was time for a new general election to finally achieve a majority government and end the back and forth of minority governments - and more importantly restore a populist prime minister. Thus, the party pulled out of the supply and demand agreement in late February, and triggered a vote of confidence in the Parliament. With all parties bar the Socialists wanting another chance at an election, the house voted 364–232 for no confidence in the government. Parliament was dissolved and a new election was held on 18 April 2412.
While the election saw little movement for the Socialists, it did allow for the Populists to regain some seats, mainly from Conservatives worried that the Socialists would sour Hveden-Empheri relations. The final saw the Populists regain the plurality, though not a majority, of 251 seats - short 50 for a majority - while the Socialists ended on 239, a technical seat increase. With Watford now the Prime Minister, Robert Webber was appointed his Chancellor of the Exchequer and Deputy Prime Minister. They hoped that they could count once again on the Socialists in a supply and demand agreement, but nothing official was ever signed and some of the Socialist cabinet were angry at the Populists for the no confidence vote.
Foreign policy
Hveden Federation
Hveden lands ceded to Empherias in 2412
Watford was keen to appear to repair relations with the Hveden Federation, as well as other neighbours of Empherias, to appease the right-wing of his base. He evaluated the possibilities of building a railway through the lava fields of Tbekien into the southwest of Hvede, but it was deemed impossible. He signed off on a deal with Hvede in October 2412 to begin construction of the Palarya-Vaiyeins railway line through the eastern corridor of the southern Hveden-border. This railway finished construction by 2415.
Territorial expansion
Throughout the early parts of Watford's term, he aimed to expand Empherias' territory to bring in more people to the country, and to take advantage of more natural resources. Being very friendly with Hvede, he often met with Hveden leadership to discuss swapping territories in the south. Hvede claimed a large chunk of the southern polar territories, known as Vaiya, but didn't occupy it outright, and Empherias was asking for just 6 percent of this land. The Hveden Federation agreed to the sale in return for a nearly insignificant amount of money and a policy of open borders.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister met with the leadership in Kiavalar to open up embassies in both countries and greatly improve relations. The leader of Kiavalar had, for some time, been personal friends with Elizabeth Rose, leader of the opposition, and had many private correspondence with the Prime Minister. However, some in parliament believed that this could break the neutrality of Empherias, since Kiavalar was involved in the Great War.
Karkuss
Karkuss lands ceded to Empherias in 2413
On 26 December 2413, the King of Karkuss, the Prime Minister of Karkuss, the Rijkdottir Abigail I of Empherias, and Prime Minister Henry Watford of Empherias, all signed the Treaty of Kara–Gateshaven. This, in return for money in terms of gold, would have Karkuss cede the territory known as the Gates to Empherias, with extra promises of military exercises to take place between the countries. Negotiations for this land had taken place ever since the signatures of the ESA several years prior. This finally gave Empherias a proper sovereign coastline in the west.
Other policies
Watford, in an early address, re-affirmed a stance taken by Felix D'laminet after the 2407 general election to have further industrialisation. In Vreimer, several military factories were constructed to produce parts for conveys, civilian ships, and warships. They would then be transported by rail to the exclave of Nieuwbourg where these parts were constructed into ships in the port. This allowed for production laws to bypass the Nieuwbourg treaty and create more jobs for Empheri workers specifically. Some in government, such as Henry Alark, were worried that Empherias could be pulled into the Great War, and so wanted to rush production of many war ships specifically instead of focusing on trade primarily.
Forty new civilian factories were also built in 2412 alone under orders from the government. These would focus on producing consumer goods and processing new resources from the lands obtained from the Hveden Federation. One such hope laid out by Watford was for factories to be owned partially by the workers through extensive and powerful trade unions to bring wealth down further from the upper class. It was also thought that increasing exports could make Empherias more powerful economically and less attractive to invade in the war, while gaining a chokehold on smaller nations nearby.
Henry Watford issued a document later in 2412 to set out his governing agenda for the next five years. Between 2413 and 2414 he planned to build 60 new civilian factories, and 18 military factories to begin producing equipment. A further 75 non-specific factories were to built by 2417. By the end of his term, his government had built 57 civilian factories and 16 military factories total. He also wanted to have new research in technologies including for the military - though its hard to realise how the government aided these endeavours in his short term in office. With these new military factories, he wanted and succeeded in doubling the current stockpile of military equipment like rifles and uniforms. He wanted large-scale rail and road connections to all neighbouring countries - however this did not happen. In terms of the navy, he ordered 5 new battleships, 2 destroyers, 2 frigates, and 40 convoys. He also began training 50,000 new troops but they were not completed by the time he left office.
The government, alongside the Socialists, introduced a new National Housing Association of Empherias that would build, provide, and maintain incredibly small homes, similar to hotels, with shared bathrooms and kitchens for cheap - sometimes given away for free by the government. This was to replace the old welfare housing scheme which allowed the government to divert some tax money to other projects. Some criticised this scheme for the size of the houses, but did allow for rural people to move to the city much easier without having to qualify for welfare.
Economic recession
Entering into 2413, the country found itself in an economic recession not seen since the revolutionaries years of 2396 and 2397. Causes of it could be the large scale military conflicts going on around it, but action was needed immediately. Firstly, Palakkinen was invited to join the economic ESA alliance. Palakkinen, adamant on maintaining a gold standard, joined soon after.
Secondly, Watford pauses the National Housing Association's actions, leaving the country both without welfare housing or its new alternative. He did not decrease taxes, instead using it to pay for investment in brand new private companies. The government halted a lot of its naval production with military factories being converted to ones for consumer goods. He also delays his government agenda by two years. Following this, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Robert Webber resigns, stating a 'noticeable disagreement between me and my right honourable friend that does not allow me to continue carrying out my job in good faith.' Elsewhere, in the southwest of Tbekien, large protests erupt in May over the unpopularity over the Minister of Tbekien, who promptly resigns. With these two positions vacant, he decides to expand the reach of his government. Currently, the Minister of Education, and the Minister of Health were held by Socialist MPs, but the new Minister of Tbekien was now a Socialist MP. He thought hard on a suitable replacement to be Chancellor, before choosing Lily Mae Byrne, who had previously served as a parliamentary undersecretary to the treasury under D'laminet. Webber stopped caretaker duties on 1 July, with Byrne taking over immediately. However, Robert Webber regretted his decision to resign, and repaired relations with Watford and then took on the position as the Chief Adviser to the Treasury on 17 September 2413, and then back as Chancellor of the Exchequer on 3 December 2413.
During Byrne's time as Chancellor, she set out plans to reduce taxes by five percentage points on all income tax brackets. However, this significantly reduced the government's ability to raise money and a large chunk of government education spending introduced in the past twenty years was removed. A tax on luxury goods equal to 30% of their value added was introduced known as the Secret Tax. Railway fares increased, 6 times their rates, to discourage travelling and save on coal and fuel for other important duties such as factory production and warmth. However, dubbed 'important' railway lines, such as the Nieuwbourg–Vreimer commercial line, and some Wynnoa–Esthullen lines, remained at regular prices. Despite the hike, the prices were still relatively low.
On 25 October 2413, the Socialists introduced a bill to the parliament which would put aside a large chunk of GDP to pay back debts borrowed during the D'laminet administration, which passed through parliament 248–241 after ten populist MPs rebelled. This further fuelled discontent in parliament, and distrust in Byrne who would leave a month later.
On 4 November 2413, before the summer recess, Watford would make a statement to the parliament stating that 'this crisis is no time for political games. Our agenda, which was clearly laid out last year, will go ahead as planned. We can guarantee that as long as the people of our great country continue to vote for our government in the next general elections, we can deliver all our promises within due time. D'laminet's honour will remain.' Following this, the Leader of the Opposition Elizabeth Rose states that 'through no fault of our own, a global recession has occurred. We, together, will get through this crisis. We won't spend time rushing issues that take time to develop and process and end up with a half-baked plan by the end of five years - such as the man opposite me suggests. We won't continue to miss and miss deadlines - such as the man opposite me does. We will take what is put in front of us right now and we will work it. We will beat this recession. We will still be doing the best we can to care for everyone equally and make sure everybody has a place to stay, and afford the ford they need, unlike the man opposite me.'
References
- ↑ This loophole was closed by Prime Minister Alice Rettels in the Protection of Artefacts Act 2428.