1910: A Turbulent Year in Vinlandic Politics
The brutal slaughters in Poland and Prussia, the huge influx of refugees, and the fall of the Empire of Scandinavia dominated Vinlandic news and the government's attention, while Statsminister Anders Kristiansen remained frustrated with the continued stymieing of his goals by the opposition coalition.
While the Conservative Industry party has accepted the humanitarian and economic value of accepting masses of refugees, the decision was controversial within the party. Some accepted the necessity of the decision for political reasons, others accepted it out of a sense of charity, but many remain frustrated with the fact that they are being so frequently distracted from their party's goals: independence, domestic industrial development, military development and reduced immigration.
As such, Kristiansen is working to rally his political base. Heavy investment has been placed into funding new industrial startups, alongside the continued development of the nation's western infrastructure. Advertising for further immigrants is down dramatically, and Kristiansen has announced an imminent overhaul of the nation's military, to begin next year.
The revolution in Scandinavia has proven to be deeply polarizing, even within members of the same political parties. The views fall into a few distinct camps:
Reactionary Imperialists, mostly from the Orderist Party, wish to see the Empire of Scandinavia re-established and the capitalist system restored to its pre-revolutionary status. This group wishes to diplomatically, and perhaps militarily oppose the Workers Commonwealth of Scandinavia and restore the Empire- they count among their members many of the more pro-Scandinavian factions of the Riksdag. Axel Gyllenstjerna falls into the less hawkish end of this group.
Antiproletarists, originating from a diverse array of Social Democrats, Orderists and Conservative Industrialists, differ from the Reactionary Imperialists in that they do not care about Scandinavia so much as they are opposed to Vinland supporting a Proletarist government. This group wishes to see the revolution in Scandinavia crushed quickly, but does not hold strong opinions on the future of Scandinavia beyond that point- their concern and focus is more based in Vinland, than on the affairs of other nations across the ocean. Anders Kristiansen falls into this group.
Proletarist Allies, mostly from the Orderists and Social Democrats, oppose the Reactionary Imperialists and Antiproletarists by supporting the Workers Commonwealth of Scandinavia. Their arguments vary between outright desiring proletarism to be established within their own nation (a view which was censured by mainstream Social Democrats such as Grim Magnusson), to upholding a pragmatic belief that the government in Scandinavia must be accepted regardless of its nature, as without a stable government in Stockholm, Vinland has no real allies.
Ultimately, a fourth option, compromise, is championed by members of all three major parties. Based around the emergence of the Brazzaville Accord, this view quickly grew to become the choice of a plurality of the Riksdag. In this solution, Vinland would be an overseer of a rapprochement between the Imperials and Workers Commonwealth, and would oversee democratic elections to legitimize the new government of Scandinavia. The Reactionary Imperialists get to maintain their monarchy, the Proletarist Allies do not have to participate in the overthrow of an organization they support, and the Antiproletarists avoid getting drawn into foreign military tangles, and also get to see that all that is being done is taking place through the democratic will of the people of Scandinavia.
With this major crisis and polarization, Vinland's political system began to dramatically reorder itself. When Grim Magnusson proved incapable of bridging the broad ideological gaps between members of his party, the Social Democrat party split apart. Proletarists of all stripes, some inspired by the revolution in Scandinavia and others frustrated by the centrist compromises of Magnusson, departed to found the Social Proletarist Party, while the more moderate wing of the party remained in place.
With the political left fracturing, the Orderists, who had only recently managed to reinvent themselves as the pro-Scandinavian party, found themselves without a foot to stand on when their party was torn in half between endorsing and rejecting the new regime in Scandinavia. Furthering the woes of the Orderists, the party's charismatic leader Axel Gyllenstjerna (incidentally derived from noble stock in Malmö) suffered a debilitating stroke, leaving him barely alive and entirely incapable of taking part in politics. Without a strong leader to hold their movement together, the Orderists collapsed for a second time, and this time the results were far more destructive for the party. Members who supported the new Scandinavian government out of pragmatism joined the Social Democrats, who had just become much more ideologically appealing after the departure of almost all of their Proletarist wing. Meanwhile, Orderists who had fallen into the Antiproletarist camp defected to the Conservative Industry Party. All that now remains of the old Orderists is a skeleton of old guard moderates, most of whom hold hawkish views on the re-establishment of the Scandinavian Monarchy.
All in all, the changes can be adjusted as thus:
The Conservative Industry Party has grown from the inclusion of many ex-Orderists, who have pulled the country slightly further towards the center, providing more positive views towards immigration and balancing out typical Industrialist views by emphasizing the value of the resource-based economy and the exploitation of the west. Critically, this growth has expanded the party's plurality into an absolute majority in the Riksdag. The Conservative Industry party is not happy about what has happened in Scandinavia, but is willing to work with the government as it is, given a lack of viable alternatives. Anders Kristiansen remains their leader, and the Statsminister of Vinland.
The Orderists have collapsed into a skeleton organization with little clear ideological stance beyond being staunch Monarchists who believe in developing Vinland's economy through the export of raw resources, a view that has now been co-opted by many elements of the Conservative Industry Party. Svend Larsson leads the party, following Gyllenstjerna's stroke.
The Social Democrats have shifted distinctly towards the center, with the incorporation of many Orderists and the defection of their Proletarist wing. Grimm Magnusson remains in charge of the party despite its transformation, although he now finds his views lying to the left of much of his party.
The newly-formed Social Proletarists, led by Ole Gudrunsson, formerly a major player in the Social Democrats, consist of roughly a third of the old Social Democrats. They form Vinland's first openly Proletarist Party, although they have expressed that they have no intentions to start an armed revolution, and will work to bring about their goals for a more egalitarian society through entirely legal and democratic actions.
Amazing, really, the degree to which politics in a country like Vinland can change without even a single vote being cast.
The brutal slaughters in Poland and Prussia, the huge influx of refugees, and the fall of the Empire of Scandinavia dominated Vinlandic news and the government's attention, while Statsminister Anders Kristiansen remained frustrated with the continued stymieing of his goals by the opposition coalition.
While the Conservative Industry party has accepted the humanitarian and economic value of accepting masses of refugees, the decision was controversial within the party. Some accepted the necessity of the decision for political reasons, others accepted it out of a sense of charity, but many remain frustrated with the fact that they are being so frequently distracted from their party's goals: independence, domestic industrial development, military development and reduced immigration.
As such, Kristiansen is working to rally his political base. Heavy investment has been placed into funding new industrial startups, alongside the continued development of the nation's western infrastructure. Advertising for further immigrants is down dramatically, and Kristiansen has announced an imminent overhaul of the nation's military, to begin next year.
The revolution in Scandinavia has proven to be deeply polarizing, even within members of the same political parties. The views fall into a few distinct camps:
Reactionary Imperialists, mostly from the Orderist Party, wish to see the Empire of Scandinavia re-established and the capitalist system restored to its pre-revolutionary status. This group wishes to diplomatically, and perhaps militarily oppose the Workers Commonwealth of Scandinavia and restore the Empire- they count among their members many of the more pro-Scandinavian factions of the Riksdag. Axel Gyllenstjerna falls into the less hawkish end of this group.
Antiproletarists, originating from a diverse array of Social Democrats, Orderists and Conservative Industrialists, differ from the Reactionary Imperialists in that they do not care about Scandinavia so much as they are opposed to Vinland supporting a Proletarist government. This group wishes to see the revolution in Scandinavia crushed quickly, but does not hold strong opinions on the future of Scandinavia beyond that point- their concern and focus is more based in Vinland, than on the affairs of other nations across the ocean. Anders Kristiansen falls into this group.
Proletarist Allies, mostly from the Orderists and Social Democrats, oppose the Reactionary Imperialists and Antiproletarists by supporting the Workers Commonwealth of Scandinavia. Their arguments vary between outright desiring proletarism to be established within their own nation (a view which was censured by mainstream Social Democrats such as Grim Magnusson), to upholding a pragmatic belief that the government in Scandinavia must be accepted regardless of its nature, as without a stable government in Stockholm, Vinland has no real allies.
Ultimately, a fourth option, compromise, is championed by members of all three major parties. Based around the emergence of the Brazzaville Accord, this view quickly grew to become the choice of a plurality of the Riksdag. In this solution, Vinland would be an overseer of a rapprochement between the Imperials and Workers Commonwealth, and would oversee democratic elections to legitimize the new government of Scandinavia. The Reactionary Imperialists get to maintain their monarchy, the Proletarist Allies do not have to participate in the overthrow of an organization they support, and the Antiproletarists avoid getting drawn into foreign military tangles, and also get to see that all that is being done is taking place through the democratic will of the people of Scandinavia.
With this major crisis and polarization, Vinland's political system began to dramatically reorder itself. When Grim Magnusson proved incapable of bridging the broad ideological gaps between members of his party, the Social Democrat party split apart. Proletarists of all stripes, some inspired by the revolution in Scandinavia and others frustrated by the centrist compromises of Magnusson, departed to found the Social Proletarist Party, while the more moderate wing of the party remained in place.
With the political left fracturing, the Orderists, who had only recently managed to reinvent themselves as the pro-Scandinavian party, found themselves without a foot to stand on when their party was torn in half between endorsing and rejecting the new regime in Scandinavia. Furthering the woes of the Orderists, the party's charismatic leader Axel Gyllenstjerna (incidentally derived from noble stock in Malmö) suffered a debilitating stroke, leaving him barely alive and entirely incapable of taking part in politics. Without a strong leader to hold their movement together, the Orderists collapsed for a second time, and this time the results were far more destructive for the party. Members who supported the new Scandinavian government out of pragmatism joined the Social Democrats, who had just become much more ideologically appealing after the departure of almost all of their Proletarist wing. Meanwhile, Orderists who had fallen into the Antiproletarist camp defected to the Conservative Industry Party. All that now remains of the old Orderists is a skeleton of old guard moderates, most of whom hold hawkish views on the re-establishment of the Scandinavian Monarchy.
All in all, the changes can be adjusted as thus:
The Conservative Industry Party has grown from the inclusion of many ex-Orderists, who have pulled the country slightly further towards the center, providing more positive views towards immigration and balancing out typical Industrialist views by emphasizing the value of the resource-based economy and the exploitation of the west. Critically, this growth has expanded the party's plurality into an absolute majority in the Riksdag. The Conservative Industry party is not happy about what has happened in Scandinavia, but is willing to work with the government as it is, given a lack of viable alternatives. Anders Kristiansen remains their leader, and the Statsminister of Vinland.
The Orderists have collapsed into a skeleton organization with little clear ideological stance beyond being staunch Monarchists who believe in developing Vinland's economy through the export of raw resources, a view that has now been co-opted by many elements of the Conservative Industry Party. Svend Larsson leads the party, following Gyllenstjerna's stroke.
The Social Democrats have shifted distinctly towards the center, with the incorporation of many Orderists and the defection of their Proletarist wing. Grimm Magnusson remains in charge of the party despite its transformation, although he now finds his views lying to the left of much of his party.
The newly-formed Social Proletarists, led by Ole Gudrunsson, formerly a major player in the Social Democrats, consist of roughly a third of the old Social Democrats. They form Vinland's first openly Proletarist Party, although they have expressed that they have no intentions to start an armed revolution, and will work to bring about their goals for a more egalitarian society through entirely legal and democratic actions.
Amazing, really, the degree to which politics in a country like Vinland can change without even a single vote being cast.
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