Kalistani Major History

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Lord Wilkes Signs Single Party Legislation
Kalistan officially unifies Politics under Institutional Party
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
August 1, 5536


Lord Stephen Wilkes signs Single Party Legislation to Officially abolish Liberal Democracy in Kalistan

In an act unthinkable during the Republican Period, Lord Stephen Wilkes, Chancellor of the Empire, put an end to the last vestiges of Liberal Democracy in Kalistan with a single crossing of a t and dotting of an i. The act, known as the "Single Party State and Outlawing Fascism Act" proclaimed that all political formation outside the Institutional Party shall be illegal and disbanded. Freedom of Association is maintained, but the only organized political activity in the National Legislature or in any of the Duchies will occur under the banner of the Institutional Party of Kalistan.

"With this act, the Empire is acknowledging in law what it already follows in practice," said Lord Wilkes. "The Institutional Party is the Party which enacts the will of the Sovereign, and while we remain at liberty to debate HOW we do that, our political function is clear. Kalistan is now and shall be for as long as the Institutional Party exists, an absolute monarchy, where all legitimacy and authority derives from the singular, absolute will of the Emperor. And I do say, nobody shall mourn the passing of internecine and counterproductive political civil warfare less than I. With that, I happily sign."

Reaction to the bill in Kalistan was apathetic. "For so many years, political Parties have risen and fallen, all promising new things, and to what end? They disband as soon as they form," said Marcia Womack, of Sulari. "We don't have to look back too many years to see the most recent example of this. But the Government doesn't even form its own agenda, so what difference does it make if we have one party or 50?"

Brian DuGard of Bozo River said "The State functions and generally speaking, I agree with what they are doing. Not worrying that our political structure is in good hands, or that they are governing in the interest of fairness and justice gives me time to do other things in life, like catch up with friends and family or go see a play or something. We fully understand in this country how the political system works, and we know that change happens in the streets rather than in the Government, so it seems far more simple and efficient to just have one Party than to make those parties fight with one another every six years."

Allison Kendrick of Yoshimi said "There was more than one Party? When was that?"

In all, most people (78%), when polled, said either "Yes, I support a One Party State," or "Whatever they are doing is fine with me." A small minority of respondents (6.2 percent) said "I am deeply opposed to the end of civil liberties in society" and most of those responded to the follow up question with some variation of "It doesn't matter whether the Parties do anything, I just want to feel like I have a choice." The poll was taken in Kaliburg and Sulari over 10 days in late July, and has a margin of error of +/-2%.

"Liberalism is officially dead in Kalistan," said Lord Wilkes. "This bill is the last nail in its coffin. And now that even the appearance of formal democracy is out of the way, we can begin building a real democracy, where the people see their aspirations and desires reflected in the will of the Emperor and the actions of His Government to carry out that will. We are no longer pretending that political disagreement is a positive thing. And dropping the pretense will only be a net positive for the people of Kalistan."

The act also officially outlawed fascism, which is anathema in Kalistan, and was even during the Republican period. "There is no place in this nation for the tenets of fascism, nor for actors who wish to use this nation to cosplay their fantasies of racial supremacism, police statism, and a cowed populace," said Lord Wilkes. There are plenty of other nations to do that in: Kalistan remains staunchly anti-fascist, and this bill provides the Government new tools to disband and disperse fascist formations when they attempt to raise their horrific heads in our society." The bill will go into effect within 9 months.