A Battle Unseen

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Cliff Offices, Kaliburg, 2:45pm

"Well, Your Imperial Majesty, that concludes the business on trade with Gaduridos. Things are going well and we will continue to look for new opportunities to continue investing," said Chancellor of the Empire, Lady Jennifer Alvarez-Miller. "The last item on the agenda is the... the Referendum." The Chancellor saw the Empress noticeably stiffen. The Empress shot a look at her sister, Princess Margaret who was also observing in her capacity as Director of the IBSI.

"Lady Alvarez, we would like you to exclude the rest of the Government for this discussion," said the Empress.

"Your Imperial Majesty, if I may ask an indulgence, may the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Justice remain as this discussion may interest them."

The Empress thought for a moment. "You may," she said at length. "We are curious as to what they will have to say." The Chancellor excused most of the Government.

Once the majority of the Ministers were gone and the door was closed behind them, Princess Margaret spoke up. "Jennifer, you really f--ked this one up." The Chancellor was not prepared for this.

"Your Highness?" she asked, incredulous.

"You heard me, Madame Chancellor. You totally blew that referendum."

"I am sure I don't know what you mean, Highness. How could the referendum which expressed broad support for increasing choice on the ballot be... something bad... I don't understand."

"Madame Chancellor," said the Empress. "We agreed to the referendum because it was not supposed to matter."

"Your Majesty: what made you think that law would survive a fair vote?"

"The Single Party Law is fundamental bedrock of this political system." said the Empress.

"I am sorry Your Imperial Majesty, I don't quite understand. You approved the Referendum."

"Yes, we did, because we thought the outcome would be the other side. If we had thought the people would vote against the Question, we would never have approved anything."

"Madame, if I may. Not only did the people of this nation get to express their opinion in a way that cannot be mistaken or spun, but they turned out in historical numbers. We usually get turnouts in the mid teens. We had 53% turnout for this referendum. Why isn't that exciting?"

"Are you insane?" asked Margaret. "This not only smells of democracy, but it is democracy, and we can't put that genie back in the bottle."

"Your Highness, you are right. It is what the people want."

"You almost sound proud of yourself," said Princess Margaret. "You know, when it came time to select a new Chancellor, I supported you. I thought you would be the person this Empire, your Empress needed. And here you are: A god damned democrat!"

"Your Highness, I most certainly am not a democrat. I cannot accept such slander."

"How can you say that when you were the one who pushed the Empress to go to the Democracy Forum, and then pushed her to accept the referendum?"

"My Lady, I did not."

"And now you are calling me a liar?!" demanded Margaret.

"Margaret," said the Empress. "Enough. The Democracy Forum was my idea. And so was the Referendum."

Princess Margaret turned her head sharply to her sister with a confused look on her face. Mary nodded slowly.

"Madame Chancellor, my sister will apologize to you in private for accusing you. And we also apologize to you. But we are in a real quandary now. How do we undo this?"

The Chancellor stood, took a breath and said, "Thank you for the apology, but I am not entirely sure it is something you can undo. As the Princess said, the genie is out of the bottle, and now we have to deal with it. This is why I asked the Justice Minister and the Interior Minister to stay with us. We have had some preliminary conversations about this topic since the referendum. At this point I'd like to ask Your Justice Minister Wilson to speak about the Single Party Law, so we can get straight what we are talking about."

The Honorable Gale Wilson, the young but experienced Justice Minister took the discussion. "So please Her Imperial Majesty, the Single Party Law has a number of very important provisions in it, as I see it, only a handful pertain to this referendum. The People have spoken very clearly that they want the monopoly of formal Party Organization currently held by the Institutional Party abolished. But the Bill is titled "To Name The Institutional Party the Single Political Party of Kalistan, and to Outlaw Fascism and Abolition of the Monarchy." From the point of the law, Her Imperial Majesty can authorize the abolition of none, some, or all of that law.

"We would advise her to ask the Assembly to amend the part which guarantees the Institutional Party a Monopoly on political organization," Judge Wilson continued. "She may do that in a number of ways, with only superficial changes to the law: For example, she may formalize the Factions with separate leadership and their own platforms. Or she may permit additional Parties. Or some other options. But at any rate, she could do so without getting rid of the prohibition on organizing to abolish the Monarchy or outlawing fascism. Thus she could preserve the most important parts, while also appearing to substantially endorse the voice of the people."

"Thank you Judge Wilson," said the Chancellor. "And I want to also let Your Imperial Majesty's Internal Minister Sorenson talk a little about what she thinks would be the political formations that could possibly come from this."

"Thank you Madame Chancellor," said Minister Sorenson. "As the Princess will certainly confirm, there are a number of political organizations that will immediately form if the Party Prohibition is lifted. The Institutional Party will likely split first of all. I would imagine that the Brethrenists will immediately form their own Party..."

"As long as I remain the Leader of the Brethernist formation, we will remain within the Institutional Party," said the Chancellor.

"Well, there's one," said Minister Sorenson, with a smile on her face. "In the next elections, the Orthodox Faction will also retain the majority in the Party. The Internationalists could really go either way: Some of them genuinely do not like the Orthodox direction, but a lot of them remain aligned with the Brethrenists, and if the Brethrenists remain aligned with the Institutional Party, the Party may only lose a handful of deputies. We are more interested however in the Liberals and the Socialists, both of whom have expressed for decades that the Institutional Party does not represent them at all.

"The Socialists are fairly tight. They can be expected to form a single unified Party, likely under the banner of the Socialist Party of Kalistan. But they and the Institutionalists tend to have a lot in common too: as Her Imperial Majesty likely is aware, the Institutional Party was once the Monarchy Caucus of the Socialist Party, and the Orthodox Faction is what is left over from the old SP. They are nationalists and they are committed institutionalists. But they could attract some Orthodox members who might be dissatisfied with Institutional Leadership."

"And what about the Liberals," asked the Empress.

"Well, Her Imperial Majesty should know, the Liberals are pretty split. There are some liberals, which we can called the anti-socialists, who think the State should be doing nothing. They will likely support a completely unfettered, free market, limiting state intervention in the economy, and the removal of health, safety, and workers' organization rights. They're out there, and they would likely be the locus of any moves to limit the power of the Monarchy..."

"Yes, we're keeping close tabs on them," said Princess Margaret. "They're out there, but they also seem to be allergic to any sort of organization: Something about hating top down leadership. I'd call them anarchists..."

"Well, as your Majesty says, they are there none the less, and they do have the potential to organize if they ever get half a mind to do so. But on the other side are the people who actually focus on improving civil rights and civil liberties for the people of Kalistan. They do think that Her Imperial Majesty holds too much power, but they don't seem to be laissez faire fanatics. Their policies align in significant ways with the Institutional Party's. But they would tend to push for a Republic and full substantive democracy."

"Will they be able to organize?" asked the Empress.

"I am more, perhaps its not the correct word, but, optimistic for consolidation among this group. They are certainly more palatable to the average working person, in that they seek to empower people. A lot of these individuals are already organized behind the Democracy Forum, so it will be easy for them to simply move from that to a more formal political organization."

"God," uttered Princess Margaret. "Mary, this was a mistake. We shouldn't have let it get this far. If I can advise you, remember that 100 years ago, there was another organization that held Democracy Forums, and they ended up killing our Grandfather. Now here they are again. I suggest you simply over rule this referendum and just get back to normal."

Mary, who was clearly thinking as the Internal Minister spoke, said without looking at her sister, "No, Meg..."

The Princess looked confused again. "Mary. Think of the Crown, think of our family, think of your children. Reform is dangerous, it is a mistake."

Mary slammed her hand down on her desk. "Madame, Please wait for me outside." Margaret was taken aback.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"Princess Margaret, you are dismissed. Please wait upon us outside of this office." The Empress said firmly. Margaret took a beat, then stood up, smoothed her skirt, and walked to the front of the desk. "As Her Imperial Majesty pleases," she said with a formal bow, and then backed out of the room. She opened the door and backed out of it, closing it behind her.

Mary sat silently. "Madame Chancellor," the Empress said.

"Your Imperial Majesty..." the Chancellor acknowledged.

"We shall pay attention to the request of our People as expressed in this referendum. As you reform the Single Party Law, please work with our Justice Minister and our Internal Minister to redraft the law that removes the prohibition on additional Parties, but keep the other parts of the law, as the Judge proposes. You must make it seem as if you are bowing to the will of the people, not doing our bidding."

"But Your Imperial Majesty, wouldn't it serve you better to be seen to acknowledge the will of your people yourself?" asked the Chancellor.

"Madame Chancellor: Our sister was out of place before speaking that way. But in many aspects, she is correct, and she certainly is braver than we are. We are an Ananto and the Dread Sovereign of the Empire of Ananto and Kalistan and the Anantonese Empire. Nor are we Brethrenist, as you are, and do not hold that there is any person above us, even if it is the whole population speaking with one voice. We do not answer to the People, even if they are right- For better or worse, we must not let the people believe that they can sway us one way or another.

"But: One either adapts or one dies. And this is a moment when an excuse to reform is handed to us on a silver platter. We just can't be seen to too enthusiastically grasp it, or soon the people will incessantly demand more than we can give. The people are like children: If you give them an inch, and they invariable want at least a mile. Unlike children, they will tear us apart if we cannot give them what they think they deserve. You all, however are politicians, and so you can benefit from being seen to acknowledge the calls of the people. You said you represent your People. We wish to allow you to do this and ask you to do what you can to keep our Party together."

"Does Her Imperial Majesty still intend to go forward with the elections next month?" asked the Minister Sorenson.

"Postpone them until March, and explain that you are developing new rules for new Parties to participate."

"It shall be done, Madame," said the Chancellor.

"Now, Madame Chancellor, please remain seated. You others are dismissed. And Minister Sorenson, please ask my sister to return to the office. She has a personal matter to attend to." The Justice Minister and Interior Minister both stood, bowed, and backed slowly out of the room with their heads facing the floor.