Narikaton and Darnussia

[Mbites]

Passschiffe AG announces Private-Public Parntership with Vascania: Lavati-Ossel Yard’s
October 5669


Passschiffe operations in Himmelshtern


The shipping, commercial and military vessel fabrication titan Passschiffe AG from Narikaton & Darnussia has announced a private-public partnership with the Vascanian government after long and tense negotiations. They plan to open enormous shipyards named after the region they’re supposed to be built at and the amazingly popular Siske Ossel. From a business perspective the Lavati-Ossel Yards can harvest the fruits of great economic benefits, such as the insanely cheap fuel situation, the abundance of raw-materials and cheap-labour. Combined with the industrial know-how the Triad company has acquired over the last two hundred and more years operating globally as well as improving on Equifund/yeudi knowledge they’re guaranteed for success. To complete the project of a size like this, the company has invited other manufacturers to open a joint development center in Lavati to begin research for a future new generation of Vascanian-Triad cheap agile fleet designs. According to official documentation funding is going to be layered, including the Bannerpakt financing platform, the Vascanian Government, the Triad Government (Public money?!) and of course Passschiffe itself, which due to recent consolidation of obsolete assets has the floating liquidity to participate in the funding. This announcement comes in a recent restrengthening of relations between Bannerhafen and Vascania.

[Mbites]

Travel through the Three Republics: Darnussia
May 5670


A small path through Dallorstadt


The Triad, a nation full of life and dynamic changes often reaches headlines when it comes to politics and foreign policy specifically regarding international treaties or trade deals. To shine some light on the life of the people of Narikaton, Darnussia and Himmelshtern lead we’ve invited Professor Hegenbrecht from the University of Merenbürg and the head of the department of social studies to walk us through the regions of the country so that one can understand what it is like to experience the freedom of the most capitalist nation on Terra. In this first article we’re going to take a closer look at Darnussia.

Darnussia is the historicly Dundorfian dominated member republic seated at the south-western tip of the Artanian continent. It is the geographicly most diverse land of the nation, including both wet and dry subtropical thin forests as well as fields “inhabiting” the massive infrastructure projects of past administrations. You’ll see both huge complicated rail networks as well as the by-now slightly aged highways. On the flanks of these transportation systems are the never-ending agricultural fields created during the Clenonberg era to support the small rural townships lining the special administrative district of Nährrode, which is the main economic driver of the Darnussian mainland aside of the diamond mines of the Minenhandwerks AG in the arid border-regions of the Triad. Sprinkled among these things are many small to medium sized defensive military installations with modern anti-air systems to ensure security to the air-space of Darnussia, not that it is necessary since everybody loves the Triad Republics. The people of the mainland can be described as the middle or well-off lower class of the nation, they’re working in diverse fields which are mostly connected to the exploitation of raw-minerals, transportation and agriculture.

Taking the car or train to the coastline of Darnussia leads us to the large urban centers such as the capital city Bannerhafen, the largest city of the nation and industrial heart Red Stad or the traditional hosian-dundorfian cultural experience which is Dallorstadt. While Bannerhafen’s old town and comparatively rich inhabitants living in stylized imperial buildings show a very distinct image of what life is like on the coast, the other two cities contrast it strongly. The capital is the most cosmopolitan of the three and houses armies of lawyers, administrators and all kinds of bureaucrats constituting the almost entirely service-based economy of the city. The big exception of course is the massive Bannerhafen commercial port, it is dominated by the massive Passschiffe office, warehouse and other utility buildings.

Continuing along the coastal highways through the inescapable warmth and heat of the nation we reach Red Stad, while entering enjoy the view of Artanias biggest slums, workers, engineers and lots of logisticians call this place their home. It is a metropolis decorated by smoke, dust or whatever else your mind can imagine when you think of factories. Walking through its streets you’re offered everything the globalized world calls home; obscene Aldegarian pleasures, Dundorfian beer, (regulated) Selucian gladiator fights and more. “It’s necessary, otherwise you wouldn’t survive this grim place.” Is what a Nsanian labourer said when asked what to think about the incredible offerings of consumption. A unique phenomenon of the Red Stad is almost a given considering its name, the population of the industrial metropolis has the highest density of left-wing political party membership in all of the Three Republics. Meaning the GRP and its predecessor party SDP (Social Democratic Party) enjoy high popularity here, which in relation to the rest of Darnussia is baffling considering owning anything else than a VVP party book here is considered a bad joke, even if some Thallerists might be offended at that statement.

The Last stop on our little coastal tour is Dallorstadt, named after a famous politician dynasty from the 5th Millenium, the Dallors. They were pan-dundorfian, nationalists advocating for the liberation from luthorian culture and religion, their party, the Dundorfian Dominance Party has strong roots in this city and their ideology is visible in the picture-perfect dreamy city, which is the smallest of the three, the landscape of the municipality is dominated by Aurorian Church symbolism and buildings which transmits an almost ancient flair. A lot of money goes to maintain the beauty of the city to also keep the steady supply of tourism going, which mostly consists of Volksdundorfer and other ideologically driven visitors. People here vote for the Thallerist Conservative Party or the VVP and primarily work in the state bureaucracy, security apparatus or deeper within the mainland in the agricultural sector, seeing to a varied range of distribution of wealth between the inhabitants of Dallorstadt.

This concludes the vastly different places of Darnussia in a broad overview, culturally none of the regions within Darnussia are homogeneous, considering the global nature of the Triad’s outlook, traditionally we can see trends within generationally settled Darnussians, they tend to consume less modern forms of media, such as the opera, theatre and folk-festivals, if one were ironic they’d call them at first glance “a good hosian people” going to church on Sunday and family-oriented, far away from the decadent obscenities of Jorgen Island. Obviously, there are outliers such as Bannerhafen, due to its unique position as Triad capital. In any case, we hope you’ve gotten a little peak into the life of Darnussia, and we hope to see you in the next edition.

[Mbites]

Constitutional Federalization Debate shows disfunctional dynamic in Senate coalition
January 5671


Very Debate Much Argue

By now, the citizens of the Triad are tired of reading headlines about the heatedly debated constitutional reform to introduce federalist structures in the country. While spirits were positive shortly after the strong showing of Ossel’s popularity in the presidential race and the VVP getting manoducted by the president to support the planned changes, the junior coalition partner TKP as well as the GRP have basically made it impossible to gain the necessary majority for the current state of the bill, the subsequent compromise negotiations have finally resulted in a long and exhausting stalemate for all interested parties. These events have shown that the harmony of the first term of this administration is out the windows as the Thallerists and conservatives factions seem to develop somewhat of a distaste for each other in the Senate. Political pundits expect that this issue is going to cause punishment in 5673 by the electorate, which will likely lead to a centrist revival. Rumors from insiders about Ossel not going to contest the next presidential race for a third term have swept over social media and fueled speculations about her possible successors. Conservative sympathizers seem worried about a potential VVP election loss and are spreading panic about a possible looming left-wing government led by “those damn crypto-red traitors” of the GRP. It certainly seems like this issue is going to dominate the next campaigning season as other factors seem largely satisfactory for the voters, uncharacteristcly issues other than foreign policy and economics seem to polarize the Triad.

[Mbites]

Honoring the Velvet Welfare Administration: Torch March for Clenonberg
January 5672


Citizens of the Triad honoring their fallen president.

One hundred years after the Lackmann coup executed by the military and public order officials, the nation has taken to the streets to march in solidarity for their allegedly murdered president Vanessa zum Clenonberg, uncharactericly, the left-wing politician still enjoys high popularity even among conservatives due to her successful navigation of both foreign and domestic policy as well as balancing social concerns with the economy. Both her and her successor Theodora Lackmann have advocated in favor of welfare institutions and a more – progressive – taxation system. The remembrance culture for her disappearance and the coup, now dubbed, the “Long Night of Despair” have left marks on the collective consciousness of the Nariks and Darnussians, even in Himmelshtern even yeudi communities have participated in events to honor the legacy of the fallen president.

The renewed interest in Vanessa zum Clenonberg has resulted in questions being raised about the case. In the initial years of the Triad, the great coalition between VVP, DRP and subsequently the GRP have started to launch investigations into the matter which have not led anywhere, at least to public knowledge, insiders and sources from questionable circles have spread the story that forces within the VVP as well as the Thallerists are responsible for sabotaging the investigation, locking it behind walls of bureaucracy, paperwork or suspicious national security concerns. Some even point out that there are indications that lead outwards to Wiel or to other places of the former Jelbic Empire. In any case, people have been seeking out old Orderfaction politicians and other Dual Monarchy archives in search of answers, but were left with nothing but more questions. Political pundits are worried about this development and expect that if this trend continues it could lead to relevancy in the coming political contests.

[Mbites]

Transparency NGO OpenTriad demands opening of Clenonberg files after waves of solidarity protests; VVP in chaotic search for presidential candidate
February 5673


President Ossel at her presumptive last public appearance as president of the Three Republics

What has started as a rather “common” wave of memorial events to remember the chaotic transition between the original Dual Republic and the Lackmann regime, has now developed into a political drama reaching both the floor of the Senate as well as all popular social media platforms. Rumors from all over the place have caused the case to be present in the collective minds of the Triad citizens and it seems like the coming elections in may will be influenced by this unfolding spectacle. After initial interest was perpetuated by both traditional and modern media, large public interest groups like the NGO OpenTriad, which usually petitions for less governmental secrecy, have started to persue the mysterious disappearance of the venerated president Vanessa zum Clenonberg.

The Centrist parties have managed to gain political capital from these events which in addition to their already reinvigorated momentum from their popular stances on federalization see their polling numbers rising in recent weeks. Incumbent president Siske Ossel, which has already been quiet for months on end, has now officially ended her party bid for a third term sending the conservative VVP into a frantic search for a replacement. The most likely candidate is Robert Kooi-Oppensteiner, who is known for his critical messages to the government during his term as a high ranking official in the ministry of the interior, which also makes him a good choice to deal with the current electoral interests of the day as he is knowledgeable about the procedures of the security forces and public order policy of the Three Republics. Analysts call him a dedicated internal opponent of the incumbent Osselite conservatives as well as the Thallerists, he has repeatedly criticized his own party for their crypto-thallerist tendencies and has stated that if he were to accept the presidential ticket from the VVP it would be a mandatory condition that they would support a different coalition within the Senate.

In any case, it appears that dramatic shifts in the political landscape are going to dominate the looming democratic process and many reformers are hopeful that a Kooi-Oppensteiner presidency would be the necessary impulse for a structural reform of the Triad.

[Mbites]

Post-Ossel conservatives barely hold onto relative majority | Kooi-Oppensteiner wins presidency in second round.
May 5673



In the past few months, which were dominated by election campaigns, polling numbers have made it clear that the 5673 elections were not going to smooth sailings for the incumbent VVP-TKP coalition. Especially the VVP came into doubts as their pre-election president Siske Ossel, after a surprisingly unsuccessful term, decided to not run for a third term. This constellation sent the conservatives into a frantic search for a successor which they found in a anti-osselite, the center-right former Bureaucrat, Robert Kooi-Oppensteiner. The Narik from the former capital of Merenbürg ran on a platform uncharacteristic for the Tripple Republic of Narikaton, Darnussia and Himmelshtern: Not a lot of foreign policy and quite a lot of structural ideas. Compared to the more traditionally minded (for their respective platforms) campaigns of the other factions, this came as a surprise for most of the electorate. In any case, the results did shake-up the nation, even if somewhat expected.



Political pundits during election coverage on news channels explained – almost in unison – that the pro-federalization stance of the VVP candidate is likely the reason that the conservative losses were still manageable, some even thought that Ossel was more interested in her partys future rather than her own and that is why she – allegedly – resigned the presidential primary. In the Senate the VVP lost 4% of her previous 35% mostly to its historical rival the DRP which is designated the big winner of the night, at least on a Senate level. They’ve gained 5% compared to their last result and came in third, still with a rather large difference in voter-share to the left-wing GRP. The biggest loser of the night are the Thallerists which, like the VVP, lost 4% and the third place to the DRP, continuing an anti-Thallerist trend in the Triad. Many were surprised to see the Yeudi Citizen Party (YBP) gaining a lot of momentum, experts in turn were not, they’ve already prognosed sizable gains in the mostly Himmelshtern based party due to the ongoing dilemma regarding the future institutional plans for the Triad’s most basic structures. They’ve heatedly argued in favor of decentralization and as such were also a beneficiary of the predominant momentum.



The presidential race was a narrowly won by Kooi-Oppensteiner in the run-off after missing the 50% threshold by a considerable margin in the first round. DRP candidate Kirchmaus has missed out on capitalizing on the favorable momentum for centrist parties, which most attribute to Kooi-Oppensteiners trans-partisan popularity. The GRP candidate Ungarsböck delivered a diligent campaign against the status-quo but in the end fell victim to the GRP’s endless struggle against the market-liberal nature of the Triad. Kooi-Oppensteiner in his victory-speech, which was in comparison to past electoral victory events but a rather dry and serious gala dinner with his biggest sponsors and some civil interest group representatives, repeated his promise to not continue a coalition with the Thallerists, he, in an even sharper tone than before the election has categoricly declined forming a working-partnership with them and instead announced that he is going to persue the centrist parties for a coalition.

[Mbites]

Kooi-Oppensteiner forms „Constitutional Reform“ government with all parties except Thallerists
October 5673


Kooi-Oppensteiner reporting on his initial political successes

After barely winning the presidency and maintaining a small relative majority in the Senate, the leader of the VVP Robert Kooi-Oppensteiner has fulfilled his announcement of forming a government with the centrist factions DRP and YBP. What was surprising to some was the inclusion of the second largest party, the left-wing GRP. According to the president it was easier to fully include the party in the cabinet and form a working agreement with them in the Senate to gather the necessary votes in the legislative body. From an outsider’s POV the mood in the administration seems dry but attentive to process. In a rare instance of transparency, the coalition contract has been published by all the parties, it includes smaller concessions for each faction such as measures to control labour flows in various industries for the centrist parties and a relatively minor tax for multi-layered corporate structures to be paid by the mother-holding company. A boon for the VVP was that Kooi-Oppensteiner managed to preserve the conservative hold on the foreign ministry and foreign policy as a whole. All parties agree on the federalization reform and have already agreed on the plans to introduce, the office of the governing coalition, a body in the Senate, upon inquiry responded that the legal experts from all over the Three Republics are at work in the Senate-adjacent buildings in Bannerhafen to draft the actual text of the now dubbed “Federal Amendment.”

Opposition to the recent developments and proposals came from the Thallerist side, which now has embraced hyper-populist rhetorics and fundamental contrarianism against the planned reforms. Pundits explain that after years of governing together both personal and ideological problems between the VVP and the TKP have hindered a continued cooperation between the past-partners. Some also see a shift in the VVP after having to reorient the party after the unexpected resignation of Siske Ossel. On another note, the now DRP controlled ministry of Defence recently reported that according to the numbers delivered by the last government, now 33% of the naval fleet has received its planned midline upgrades and finished its modernization.

One larger issue remains largely uncommented by Kooi-Oppensteiner himself, which is the Clenonberg file issue. According to the DRP which controls the ministries of Justice and Defence, two of the relevant departments for the opening of these documents, there is an agreement within the coalition to deal with the issue after preparing accordingly.

[Mbites]

The Constitution of 5674 stands: Federal Amendment passes Senate floor
July 5674


Kooi-Oppensteiner presenting the bill to the constitutional committee of the Senate


President Kooi-Oppensteiner has elegantly navigated the cutthroat politics of the Three Republics and has now managed to succeed in his most adamantly advocated for goal, the Federalization reform. An issue which has now plagued public discourse for more than half a decade seems to be finally resolved. The bill titled “The Federal Amendment” has passed the Senate floor with overwhelming support of almost all the parties, in the end even some moderate Thallerists supported the constitutional law. While the title calls it an amendment, the legal reality is, that the whole constitution looks very differently, adding more than 100 articles to the formerly rather ‘lacking’ core-document. Everything has been meticulously planned out, from the privileges, rights and responsibilities of the individual departments of the Federal government as well as those of new state-level governments.

Now, we’re going to give a comprehensive overview over the most major additions introduced by the reform. What has been liberally dubbed “the member republics” have now been officially born in a legal sense, the new Article 6 of the Constitution of the Federated Republics states: “The Triad Republics consist of the Republic of Narikaton, the Republic of Darnussia, the Republic of Himmelshtern and the Free-State of Heavenly Jorgen.” This simple sentence establishes a very broad new legal reality and even constitutionally strengthens Jorgen Island’s autonomous status, an issue which has been key for the VVP in the heated negotiations. Except for Jorgen Island, which maintains the political structure it has been used to since its foundation, the three “Member-Republics” are now going to create legislative bodies called “State House” in which indirectly elected representatives are going to vote on bills. These bills are going to consist of policies which have been designated to be member republic responsibilities to regulate by the constitution, in detail the norms are complicated and we’re not going into depth here.

Each Republic additionally is going to form their own executive with a Chancellor at the top which has the task to guide and coordinate their subordinate State Directors, which can be compared to Ministers on the Federal Level. The amendment leaves the individual design of the member republics executive body (government) open to state political process and as such does not streamline the administrations, an issue which seems like it went in favor of the centrist and yeudi-autonomist parties. Even though the member republics are free to design their own executives, the constitution determines that the head of the state executive is to be elected by the respective State House.

Shifting the perspective to the Federal Level, we can see that it stays more or less the same, some regulations have been added which just put established practice into the documents, in some cases academic controversies have been clarified. The Federal government is maintaining absolute control over Defense and Foreign Policy matters which diminishes Himmelshtern’s privileges to some degree, as it has now completely lost its position as a subject of international law, meaning it has gained internal autonomy at the cost of surrendering to its status of a Member Republic. Other than that, some cabinet positions seem to be obsolete now as the privilege to regulate on issues such as agriculture has been relegated to the Republics. Some have demanded to shift more power to the Federal Senate but this has not been included in the new constitution. The President still stands as a very strong executive position, which can only be sacked by a constitutional majority in the Senate, individual cabinet members can now – as has been practiced - be sacked by simple majority in the Senate. Presidential elections are now able to be set apart of the Senatorial Elections as has been clarified in Article 87 of the amendment. Other than that nothing changes for the “Feds.”

The constitutional convent administration seems to enjoy a major confidence boost from the public after delivering on this promise, it seems that disillusionment seems to decrease in public opinion. Many hope for a second term of Kooi-Oppensteiner, but have not yet received a confirmation from his side. Other’s have shifted their attention to the still open Clenonberg files issue, and again some hope for progress in different inherited projects from the Ossel era, in the end a lot remains to be done.

[Mbites]

Massive Solar farm in the badlands: Project Eliors Light finished
October 5674


Elior's Light in Himmelshtern

While the formerly Beiteynese territories which joined the Bannerhafen regime in establishing the Triad were mostly lands fruitful enough for cultivation of any sort, there are some strips of land which are not interesting for either residential or commercial areas and as such have been left out of the dynamic capital flows of the three Republics. President Ossel in her first term has initiated the planning stage for the potential usage of this land for green energy generation, meaning the construction of an enormous solar farm. In the second term of the previous president, the construction phase started and now concluded during the first years of the Kooi-Oppensteiner administration. Most members of the current reform alliance have voiced their support for the project and issued the appropriate political responses, the official license has recently been granted and the responsible companies: Schmitt Corporation, the construction company and TriadSolar, a successor company of NarikSolar, have reported their business projections for the next year which have increased political confidence in the project. Many hope for a continued development of the immediate era to also increase interest in the battery and other energy-derivative industries. On another note, the wider availabillity of green energy has caused many to shift their energy providers, and we're seeing a slight price hike in oil and gas, marginally stabilizing the extremely cheap energy branch due to hyperavailability.

[Mbites]

VVP and Thallerist aligned administrative personnel sabotage Clenonberg File procedures
August 5675




After the first big coup of the reform government under the leadership of Robert Kooi-Oppensteiner, the successes were limited. The President, committed to his promises of working through the Clenonberg mystery and reveal the truth to the public, has agreements with his coalition partners but is, of all things, finding obstacles in the rows of his own party, the VVP. Additionally, someone in the ministry of the interior has leaked that there are apparently senior officials from right-wing dominated administrations which actively try to sabotage the necessary legal procedures and reviews to get the files released and/or reopened for Senate committees.

In response to the slow progress in this issue, the Democratic Republicans proposed a new Lex-Clenonberg to also meet demands of the electorate and NGO’s regarding more transparency in the government. For context it is important to know that despite its intense liberalism, the regulation of government information is quite rigid in Narikaton, Darnussia and Himmelshtern. The recently established provisional member republic executives have also put their support behind codifying new transparency rules. While most rumors regarding administrative opposition to the Clenonberg-case being reopened have turned out to be true, other more bizarre ideas like judicial officials receiving ominous threats have been denied by the office of the President as well as other ministerial public affair desks. Despite these setbacks, according to its own publications, the reform government remains in pursuit of their goals and campaign promises, Kooi-Oppensteiner speculated that this issue will be resolved next year.