Changing Winds in the Oscrelian Republic

Urth
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1

In the 18th century, Oscrelia was a colony under the Codexian Empire, like it’s neighbor, Xiopothos to the east. However, unlike Xiopothos, the land that Oscrelia was on was originally Salovian, as Codex had acquired the territory from the Salovians some time previously. As time passed, the colony came to be known as “Oscrelia.”

The people who ruled Oscrelia were Codexian. They brought Codexian culture to the colony, and they also brought the Codexian language. However, most of the people were Salovian, and even as the Codexians tried to make Oscrelia more Codexian, Oscrelia retained some aspects of Salovian culture. The result was a mishmash of Salovian and Codexian culture that had elements of both, but were distinct from the two.

In the mid-18th century, there were massive uprisings against Codexian rule in Oscrelia. These uprisings started up sparsely organized, but as time passed and the uprising continued, they slowly became more organized, and the leaders of these rebellions slowly coalesced into one group, all focused on making Oscrelia independent from Codex.

The Codexian Empire sent troops to quash these revolts. A lot of soldiers.

It soon became clear that these rebellions would not succeed without aid.

The Oscrelians reached out to neighboring Salovia for help, and they eventually agreed on a deal. Salovia would send troops, and in exchange, when Oscrelia had fully become independent, their king would be from a cadet branch of the Salovian royal family.

Oscrelia eventually became independent with Salovia’s help, and their kings were Salovian as they agreed upon. As time passed, the kings slowly assimilated into Oscrelian culture, but they still maintained their relationship with Salovia, to the point that the two were close allies.

Then the main line of the Salovian Royal Family died out.

The Oscrelian royal family, being a cadet branch of the Salovian Royal Family, was quick to claim the throne, but already Salovia had gone down into turmoil, and few heeded Oscrelia’s claim. The other nations instead recognized the Grand Republic of Salovia, a grassroots movement that eventually controlled all of the country. However, Oscrelia was able to gain some land that Salovia had, partially due to Oscrelian soldiers moving into those territories, partly because those territories recognized the King of Oscrelia as the King of Salovia.

When the turmoil died down, the Grand Republic was clearly in control of Salovia, but Oscrelia maintained their claim on Salovia.

They even did so to the point of their downfall.

When the great powers started getting into a massive war with each other, Salovia had also gotten involved. King James II of Oscrelia, seeing a ripe opportunity to strike at Salovia, pressed Oscrelia’s claim on the Salovian Throne and declared war on Salovia.

This war, which would be known as the Great War, was absolutely devastating, and destabilized governments the world over. Oscrelian National Assembly elections had a massive wave of liberals seeking to limit the power of the King. In a last-ditch effort to maintain control, James II dissolved the Assembly. This lead to mass uprisings around the country. The King saw the writing on the wall and abdicated, fleeing the country.

The question of what to do next was a pressing one. A group of politicians were quick to declare the “Republic of Oscrelia,” but there were others who wanted other things. There were still monarchists who wanted the reinstallation of the throne, and there were also an increasing amount of communists trying to install a Communist government.

It took some time, but eventually the dust settled, and the 1920 elections showed that Oscrelia was returning to normal, or at least as normal as it could be. The past few years had irrevocably changed the political landscape.

The Oscrelian National Assembly would maintain power until the 1940s, where a military coup lead by General William Thornton and the resulting civil war would send the National Assembly into exile. Thornton installed a military dictatorship, and then chose to ally with Ethalria in the Auroran Imperial War, seeing an opportunity to take Salovian land.

The National Assembly would regain control of Oscrelia when democracy was restored in the nation in the aftermath of the Auroran Imperial War. And to this day, even despite a massive political crisis in 2002 that toppled the Second Republic and replaced it with a Third Republic, they claim to be the same National Assembly that was established under the Kingdom.
[hr]
Ernest Harvey was a young man when he joined the Oscrelian Conservative Party in 1997. However, he became rather well-known for his charisma. He quickly carved out a name for himself as an orator, making speeches around Oscrelia. He quickly through the ranks of the OCP, and had become the leader of the party by 2005, by this time renamed as the Democratic Unionist Party. He worked to unite the DUP for the 2008 general elections, and his efforts gave the DUP a plurality over even the Social Democrats (SDO). However, not even Harvey’s efforts won the DUP enough seats for them to form a government, so instead Harvey formed a coalition with the National Liberal Party (NLP) and the SDO, with himself as Chancellor.

Harvey set out to deal with a pressing problem: that of his neighbors. Salovia, a nation that had lasted almost two millennia, had collapsed in civil war, and four nations lay in its wake: Baykalia, Tivot, Kostromastan, and Tuvaltastan. Harvey saw opportunity in this. He saw Tivot as a potential trading partner, and an important one at that. He also thought that Tuvaltastan to the south could be a valuable friend. And while the fact that these nations (except Baykalia) were in the Auroran Continental Assembly meant that there were preexisting agreements, the Chancellor wanted to form even closer relations with them.

However, Oscrelia’s general history of claiming Salovia and constantly annexing Salovian land posed a serious problem.

Chancellor Harvey was generally uninterested in war. When he became Chancellor, he gave an televised speech to the National Assembly, declaring that “the age where Oscrelia would attack other nations for a centuries-old claim was over.” He officially renounced Oscrelia’s claims on Salovia, and quickly reached out to the nations to improve relations with them.

Harvey himself didn’t focus very much on foreign policy. He was more interested in trade and economic policy, as he wanted to see Oscrelia prosper under his rule.

Under Harvey, the winds of fortune changed. A country once wracked with instability and internal strife became much more stable, and its economy boomed.

When the Auroran-Pacific War came across the world in 2017, Harvey reaffirmed Oscrelia’s neutrality, even though he sympathized with the Allies. Despite being neutral, Harvey did speak against Ethalria when their agents assassinated the Morstaybishlian Crown Prince Thadeus.

However, despite all of this, Oscrelia wasn’t as perfect as some might imagine. When the 2016 elections happened, parties like the communist Oscrelian People’s Party (OPP) and the far-right Oscrelian National Front (ONF) gained a significant amount of seats. Worst of all, the new leader of the SDO, Lauren Ryder, refused to continue the SDO’s involvement in the coalition government. This thoroughly shook the coalition to the core and shattered the appearance of the coalition government as unbreakable.

Late 2019 has also brought new tidings. Kostromastan was breaking up. Three of the states from it, Tula, Nolov, and Astrakhan, formed stable, governments, even if the latter two states were slowly becoming closer and closer to Tuvaltastan. However, Volova, the fourth Kostrom state, still has yet to form a stable government, and fascist and communist uprisings have sprung up, threatening to disrupt the status quo. Chancellor Harvey was forced to largely drop his policy of isolationism and reach out to Tuvaltastan to help resolve the conflict, but as the situation in Volova changes, so does the political climate in Oscrelia.

Other threats to the coalition government are also popping up. The ONF is still gaining momentum, and separatists in Borova (the southwest region of Oscrelia) are getting increasingly vocal.

All of this political manuvering in Oscrelia will come to a head when the 2020 elections come. The possibility that the SDO or the ONF might gain more seats is seriously threatening the coalition’s position, and there is some speculation that Oscrelia might not even be able to form a government in the aftermath of the elections.

Much like a weather forecaster cannot perfectly predict the weather, no one truly knows where fate might bring Oscrelia…

2

Culoria, Oscrelia
January 6, 2020
Chancellor Ernest Harvey was reading a bill that had barely gone past the National Assembly. While knew about the original draft of the bill, weeks of politicking between parties had changed the bill significantly to the point that it was barely recognizable.

Harvey sighed. The parties were starting to bicker more than usual, and there was even some internal arguments within the coalition government. It seemed like the elections, while still far away, were making the parties less willing to compromise. All over the country, many campaigns were ongoing of people trying to get elected (or reelected) to the National Assembly, and many of them seemed like they wanted to cast themselves as unwilling to compromise over their ideals.

It was at times like this that Harvey’s age started to show, too. He was only 45, but the stresses of office made him look more around 60. Where his hair was brown, it was now heavily streaked with gray.

Well, at least they managed to pass this, Harvey thought. He went and signed the bill. He slowly stood up, and gazed out the window.

It was not a sunny day. Clouds, likely of an oncoming storm, were being pushed forward by the wind. It looked like it might rain soon.

The Chancellor turned away and sat back at his desk, thinking mainly about how he should have brought an umbrella.

3

Luke Fowler was an up-and-coming politician of the DUP, and first appeared on the political stage with his election to the ONA in the 2012 elections. He was charismatic and quite well-loved by his supporters, and had made quite a name for himself within the party. In fact, this time around, there were whispers that he might even get a senior party position, especially since some well-known DUP politicians, including Chancellor Harvey, were retiring.
 
He was running for reelection on the constituency ballot for one of Menoria’s districts, as the campaign trail started to pick up.
[hr]
Menoria, Oscrelia
March 3, 2020
1:00 PM

It was a rather sunny, but windy day in Menoria. The wind was quite turbulent, and the direction of it often changed.

The DUP was holding a campaign rally. Of course, they would be encouraging people to both vote for their candidate and to vote DUP on the party ballot. The place was quite decorated in “Vote Fowler” and “Vote DUP.”
 
Luke Fowler approached the podium to applause. He took a deep breath, and started speaking.
 
“People of Oscrelia, I am here to ask you do perform your civic duty. When the elections come around, more than anything, I want you to vote, and get your voice heard!”

He then spoke about his vision for Oscrelia. He largely ran off the DUP’s platform, though with a few distinctive twists.

“Now, Chancellor Harvey has done a good job at foreign policy. After all, we haven’t been dragged into any wars, not even the one that consumed most of Aurora three years ago. I believe Harvey’s stance of non-intervention has allowed us to prosper.”

“However, the times are changing, and with the Volovan Crisis and recent developments in Morstaybishlian politics threaten to dramatically change the political landscape of Eastern Aurora. We will have to start involving ourselves more on the regional stage to ensure we keep the progress we have made over the last several years.”

The implications of this were quite massive. He wanted to abandon Harvey’s non-interventionist (bordering on isolationist) diplomatic stance. He continued.

“I think we can make Oscrelia once again a significant voice on the Auroran sphere.”

4

March 6, 2020
Alara, Oscrelia

It was a somewhat cloudy day in Northern Oscrelia. It had been three days since Fowler had given his speech. He had said out loud what many people had been thinking: Chancellor Harvey’s non-interventionist policy had served its purpose, but it no longer had a place in Oscrelia’s future. After all, Oscrelia no longer could stay deaf to Auroran politics, not with the rise of Sarinn’s Communist government in Thalria, not with the rapidly deteriorating situation in Volova.

But this was something else. Chancellor Harvey’s non-interventionist policy was one of the main things the DUP had to accede to to form a coalition with the NLP. Fowler’s speech had marked a split between the two parties.

The Social Democrats were holding a meeting now, to discuss how the SDO should respond to this development. In attendance was the leader of the SDO, Lauren Ryder, as well as other prominent Social Democrats like Ramona Hill, Brian Foster, and Marcus Hall.

Lauren Ryder was perhaps one of the most controversial figures in Oscrelian politics. She was the representative of one of the districts in Cape Onera, and had developed a reputation for being an uncompromising ideologue. She rose to the national stage when she became leader of the Social Democrats in 2016, but is probably most well remembered for what she did after the elections. She had pointedly refused to negotiate with Harvey, and had the Social Democrats split from the DUP-NLP coalition. This had stirred up a lot of controversy inside the party and out. Even some Social Democrats had grumbled that even 4 years of having to share power with the DUP and NLP was preferable to not being in the government.

Ryder began. “I take it all of you have heard about Fowler’s speech.” Everyone nodded. She then said, “This clearly shows that the rift between the NLP and DUP are growing. We can easily take advantage of this situation.”

Foster spoke up. “How are we going to respond? Are we going to try playing the two parties off of each other?”

Ryder replied, “Well, that’s one of the things we can do. In conjunction to this, I believe that we also should focus even more on our campaigning. It’s clear that Harvey’s coalition is starting to fall apart, and in that uncertainty we want the voters to look to us, so that we can gain the majority. Any questions?”

Hill spoke up. “This looks very promising, and if we exploit this well enough, we can certainly gain a lot of seats. However, in the case that we don’t gain a majority, are you willing to reach out to the Greens to form a coalition?”

Ryder glared at Hill and took a deep breath. “Reaching out to the Greens? As in accepting to impede our economy for the sake of some forests and deserts? As in spending welfare money on trying to plant some trees? I seriously hope that we will gain a majority, so that we won’t have to consider having to work with them. And for whether I should work with them, I’d rather decide if that situation happens, though I hope it does not.”

Hill muttered something. Ryder was almost certainly not going to accept being in a coalition, even if she had refused to outright say it.

Ryder took several deep breaths to calm down. “Any more question?”

Everyone else shook their heads.

“Good. Now, let’s get to work.”

5

After that week in March, the general sentiment in Oscrelian politics changed. People no longer asked the question of whether Harvey’s coalition could persist without him, it became increasingly clear that it was soon to fall apart.

Unsurprisingly, after Fowler’s speech tensions sprung up in the Assembly between DUP Assemblymen and NLP Assemblymen. Even if nobody mentioned it or acted on it, it was noticeably there.

And so the months flew by. The DUP tried to pin the blame of the Harvey government’s shortcomings on the NLP, while still trying to take credit for the great things the government had achieved. The SDO viciously attacked the other parties.

After a few weeks of this new normal, the campaigning and politicking seemed to get back to its original pace. And while the tensions were there, they were somewhat less pronounced.
[hr]
July 24, 2020
Culoria, Oscrelia

Chancellor Ernest Harvey was definitely looking forward to retirement. He had been leading the country for around 12 years now, which is enough to exhaust anyone. He did realize that a lot of the major events in the 2020 elections, like the break between NLP and DUP, were caused because he was not seeking reelection. However, he was going to need to leave office at some point, and there was probably no way to avoid this.

He was drinking his morning coffee when he received a phone call. “Hello? This is the Chancellor of Oscrelia.”

He listened to what the caller had to say, and paled. “What? In Caltharus?”

He once again listened to the caller’s reply and said, “I’ll need to go prepare a statement. No, a speech. These are worrying times. Thanks for calling me.” He hung up the phone and sighed. He was going to have a long day.
[hr]
Later that day

Harvey was at the podium, in front of a camera, delivering a live televised address to the entire country. The attacks in Nocturne had put a damper on most activities, and the news shifted to mainly talking about the attacks. This was major news, and world leaders had already made responses, including a rare public address by King Lambertus VII of Great Morstaybishlia himself.

Oscrelia was not far from Nocturne, as they were only separated from Caltharus by Baykalia. Oscrelians were worried that a similar attack could happen here too. They expected reassurance, and Harvey was here to give it to them.

“My fellow Oscrelians,” the Chancellor began, “I’ll not mince words here. These are dire times. We have seen all too well today how far people are willing to go to advance some cause, how much violence people are willing to commit for some end. However, we have also seen how the world has come together to support Morstaybishlia. Yes, these are hard times, but the resilience of sapientkind cannot be underestimated. We will stand together, strong, against terrorism. Oscrelia will stand strong with Morstaybishlia. We are willing to render aid, and we are willing to cooperate with them to investigate how the people responsible for this senseless violence were able to commit such an act. So too, I believe, should the UNAC.”

He paused for a moment. “While storm clouds may cast a pall over Caltharus, always remember that they too shall pass, and will give way to teplight. Even though things look very bad now, we will come through this, and as long as we stand strong, we cannot fall.”

“But I will not tell you to not cry. For this is a time to grieve, to remember those who were lost. But don’t let your mourning give in to despair. Instead, we shall use this righteous grief to strengthen our resolve. We will make sure that Nocturne gets the aid they need. And we will make sure that none of this senseless violence happens here.”

6

Oscrelia was on edge. How could it be otherwise? Great Morstaybishlia, the most powerful nation on Aurora, and perhaps even the most powerful nation on Urth itself, had been attacked. Nobody quite knew who the attackers were, or to what end they did this, so Oscrelians felt generally paranoid. After all, even despite Harvey’s assurances that something similar wouldn’t happen here, nobody was truly reassured. They could do it in Caltharus, they could do it here.

Harvey’s government took action in the form of temporarily imposing travel restrictions, and Harvey had repeatedly stating his willingness to work with Morstaybishlian authorities. At least this made Oscrelians feel better, even if the Morstaybishlians were unable to get very gar with the investigation.

Things calmed down for a short while, and the attacks largely had come out of the news cycle.

Then it happened again.

On August 24, an explosive went off in the provincial police headquarters in Nocturne, Caltharus.
[hr]
August 28
Culoria International Airport, Culoria, Oscrelia

Ernest Harvey watched as the plane that would fly him to Emberwood Coast was taxied towards the runway. After the second attack, Aurorans once again demanded answers. Answers about who did this, and why they would.

Unfortunately, these were answers that nobody had.

The UNAC was holding an emergency summit today, one about dealing with these terrible attacks. Of course, it would be in UNAC HQ, in Aura.

He thought about the events of the past four days. He gave yet another speech in light of the attacks, urging Aurora not to fall to fear. After all, if you let fear rule you, then the terrorists have already won. However, he wasn’t so sure that Oscrelians were so willing to take the speech to heart. After all, it was a second attack in Caltharus, and only a month before he gave a similar speech about how it would never happen again, and yet it did. He held a press conference later that day, in which he had to answer some rather difficult questions about the safety of Oscrelia and that of Aurora at large.

The days after then were relatively quiet, at least.

His thoughts were interrupted as the jet engines of the plane roared to life. And so the plane lifted off, taking him beyond the thick clouds of a dreary sky to a brilliant blue sky above.

(OOC: The meeting that Harvey went to can be seen Shattering Diplomacy - Page 2 - The East Pacific - Tapatalk)

7

Cape Onera, Oscrelia
5:00 PM
September 2, 2020

With the elections very much looming on the horizon, the Democratic Unionist Party was in need of a leader. Sure, at the time they had a very capable on in Ernest Harvey, but he was not seeking reelection.

This allowed the DUP to fall into a fair bit of infighting.

A lot of ambitious politicians were looking to head the DUP, which inevitably caused them to butt heads. Among the effects of this was that Assemblyman Fowler, largely considered a rising star in the DUP, had distinguished himself from the pack be pledging to abandon Harvey’s noninterventionist foreign policy.

Of course, as a result he was the one who received the most coverage in the news, as the one who stood out the most.

Over the past few months, Fowler had taken advantage of his newfound publicity, making no shortage of appearances during his campaign. He was a fairly divisive figure in the DUP. Some felt that he was the breath of fresh air that the Democratic Unionists needed, to keep them current in a rapidly changing world. After all, the world was becoming a dangerous place. What with the instability in Nocturne, and the strife in the world at large, Fowler argued that Oscrelia needed to change its approach to foreign affairs. However, other Democratic Unionists saw him as dangerous to the party, as he threatened to abandon one of Harvey’s most important policies.

The result of this was that Fowler had helped some Democratic Unionists campaign, while other Democratic Unionists heavily disliked him. This led to some constituencies having multiple candidates from the same party running on the ballot. Meanwhile, the NLP was trying to hinder Fowler as much as he could and the SDO was trying to take advantage of the factionalism within the DUP.

It was a somewhat breezy, very overcast day on one of Oscrelia’s main trade cities. Cape Onera’s location made it a common stop for shipping between Oscrelia/Xiopothos and Tivot, and the city had become a major center for shipping over time.

The Democratic Unionist party was holding a meeting where they chose someone to lead the party, but they had been butting heads the entire day and hadn’t come to a conclusion. Naturally, some Democratic Unionists in attendance suggested making Fowler the head of the DUP. This was met with fierce opposition from other Democratic Unionists, who suggested Assemblymen whose policy would align much more with Harvey’s.

Notably absent from the meeting was Chancellor Harvey himself. He was busy seeing to the nation’s security in light of the crisis in Caltharus. With his usual unifying persona missing, it was hard for the DUP to come together.
[hr]
“I don’t see why you’re all so intent on stopping me,” Fowler said. “It doesn’t make it less obvious that Oscrelia can’t stay isolationist forever.”

“Your rhetoric is already endangering all the work Harvey has put into stabilizing Oscrelian politics,” another Assemblyman countered. “If we don’t have a coalition with the NLP, then we can’t form a government!”

Fowler rolled his eyes. “We can always campaign against the NLP. Plus, I’d rather have a coalition with Ryder than work with those isolationists.”

“With Ryder? Everyone here knows that she’s going to rebuff you as an obstacle to her ‘social democratic utopia’ or whatever!” someone else shouted.

It went on like this for several more minutes until the presiding officer struck his gavel with a large “BANG!”

“Even though we’ve been arguing about this for most of a day,” he said, “this meeting has reached its scheduled end. We will meet tomorrow, and hopefully by then you all will have cooled your nerves. I hereby declared this meeting adjourned.” He struck the gavel again.

Everyone filed out of the room, none of them in a particularly good mood. Things were not looking too good for the future of the Democratic Unionist Party. People left in their cars, to eat dinner or to check in to a hotel, out in a downpour that had started in the afternoon.

8

The modern Democratic Unionist Party was largely a result of the same events that put an end to the Second Oscrelian Republic and brought forth the Third Republic. When Oscrelia annexed the Salovian territory of Borova, not only did the political upheaval that resulted cause the collapse of the Second Republic, it created a significant shift in the balance of Oscrelian politics.

There were two parties that were largely created around Borova. There was the Oscrelian Unity Party (OUP), which consisted of Borovans who embraced their new Oscrelian way of life, and wanted the land to be further integrated into the rest of the Republic. And there was the Borovan Independence Party (BIP), which consisted of both discontent Borovans but also Oscrelians who thought that they should be granted independence.

At the time, the Oscrelian Conservative Party (OCP) was rather unpopular, and as elections loomed, they needed to get more seats. The OCP eventually decided to merge with the OUP, creating the DUP. This irritated some OCP politicians who didn’t want Borova to be part of Oscrelia, to the point where a few of them broke with the party and joined the BIP.

When Harvey became the leader of the DUP in 2005, he realized that the DUP needed to hold on to the extra seats as much as he could, or else he would risk leaving the DUP out of the government. He would still largely have to form his coalition with the Social Democrats and the Liberals, though.

The discontent within the DUP remained, however, though it was hidden at this point.
[hr]
It was a rather rainy day in Alara, with the distinctive patter-patter of rain being extremely audible.

Lauren Ryder was thinking about the actions she had taken in light of the 2016 elections. She had largely risen to power in the SDO through channeling the discontent in the party at having to be in a coalition with the NLP. The socialist wing of the party was especially feeling alienated with having to work with a bunch of liberals, with their love of a “free market.”

Of course, that was then, and now was now. The NLP was on increasingly shaky ground, as Fowler and his allies had increasingly attacked their position. Of course, the infighting in the DUP over Fowler had shown that the DUP wasn’t as strong as it might have seemed.

The DUP would be entering its 7th day of arguing over who would lead their party. The party was largely split between the “Fowlers,” as Fowler’s supporters had largely been nicknamed, and their opponents, by now nicknamed the “Anti-Fowlers”. A few compromise candidates were suggested but were quickly shot down.

Thinking of the infighting of her opponents made Ryder smile. She was getting ever closer to creating a Social Democrat government, with her as Chancellor.

She went and checked The Alara Times’s website. A headline immediately popped out at her:

BREAKING NEWS: FOWLER CONFIRMED AS LEADER OF DUP, OPPONENTS WALK OUT

Reading the article, Ryder’s smile only got larger and larger. The Anti-Fowlers had stormed out in anger after the Fowlers had barely managed to confirm Fowler as the DUP’s leader. A wedge was being driven in the middle of the party, and Ryder knew that she could very well take advantage of this. Especially since Harvey’s coalition was clearly not going to survive the election.

9

October 18, 2020
Culoria, Oscrelia

It was a downcast day in northern Oscrelia, with clouds layered thick in the skies. Sunlight filtered through in a gray, gloomy light.

Chancellor Harvey was still trying to wrap his head around recent events. It all seemed to have happened so quickly.

He supposed it was inevitable, with Fowler’s rise. After all, his vision for a different DUP didn’t necessarily resonate with everyone.

In hindsight, he shouldn’t have taken such a hands-off approach with letting the DUP confirm their leadership, but the past was past.

The Anti-Fowler faction seemed to have been planning ever since Fowler was confirmed to replace Harvey. And, only two days ago, they made their intentions known. They would be forming their own party, the Oscrelian Conservative Party, named for the DUP’s precursor.

That had basically killed the coalition, with the new OCP not part of it.

Harvey heard a knock on his door. This was a meeting he expected, though he didn’t necessarily look forward to it.

“Enter.”

The person who walked in was Councilman Andrew Hopkins, who was a leader of the new OCP.

Harvey wanted to avoid the government from breaking down, even if it was only a month before the election, so he had asked to meet with Hopkins. He knew he would have to give up a few concessions to keep them in the coalition, at least for the time being, but the alternative wasn’t pretty. Harvey did not want to see Oscrelia in a hung parliament or a caretaker government.

“Ah, Councilman Hopkins. I’ve been expecting you. Please, sit.”

Hopkins took a seat opposite Harvey’s desk.

“You know why we’re here,” Hopkins said.

Harvey nodded. “It’s… quite unfortunate that you decided to split from the DUP, but I won’t stop you. I will only ask you to stay part of the coalition until at least the elections.”

“Only until the elections?”

“Fowler isn’t the leader of the DUP quite yet. I’m still technically the leader, even if Fowler was the one chosen to replace me.”

Hopkins thought for a moment. “I have one demand, then.”

“Yes?”

“We will still support the government for the time being, if you promise not to campaign, fundraise for, or support Fowler.”

There was a long pause. “Deal.”

They shook hands.
[hr]
Alara, Oscrelia

“So they formed an entirely new party?”

“Looks like it. Seems like Harvey was still able to salvage his precious coalition, though.”

Lauren Ryder looked at her campaign strategists.

“Well, if they’re going to be infighting this much, then it should be a much easier road to victory for us. I look forward to having a majority Social Democrat government.”

10

November 13, 2020
Cape Onera, Oscrelia

It was election night, and Councilwoman Melissa Chester was watching the television.

As a high-ranking member of the SDO, she was of course interested in the election coverage. Indeed, she was looking forward to the inevitable SDO campaigns.

Even if Ryder was a bit… stubborn, she did know how to forward the party. And with the DUP, the NLP, and the new OCP infighting, it was all too easy to show everyone just why they should support the Social Democrats, instead of the remnants of Harvey’s coalition.

Chester had been sitting for a couple hours, so she stood up to stretch. On a whim, she decided to go outside for a bit of fresh air.

It was a fair day, if rather cloudy. The last light of the setting sun lit the clouds in shades of a reddish orange. A cool breeze blew, stirring up fallen leaves.

It was certainly a beautiful sunset. And, as Chester and many other Social Democrats hoped, not only would the dawn that would follow bring about a new day, but a new era. A new era that would bring an end to Oscrelian isolationism.

Her phone chimed twice. She opened it and checked it. There was a text from her son, James (who was studying in the Free Pacific States), and one from Councilwoman Ryder.

She checked the one from James first.

You’ve got this, Mom. I’ll be rooting for you.

She smiled. Her son was her pride and joy, and it warmed her heart to know that he was rooting for him even all the way out in Southeast Yasteria.

Chester than looked at the one from Ryder.

Once I get the Chancellorship, I’m seriously considering you for a high-level position, perhaps even a cabinet position. You do great work for SDO.

Well, that was a promising sign for her political future.

Her district in Cape Onera was a Social Democrat stronghold, being a relatively urbanized part of the country. Her election was all but guaranteed. She was also a high-profile member of the SDO, and many believed that she would end up in the cabinet or party leadership at some point.

It seemed like Ryder thought the same, and that was encouraging.

Chester took a deep breath of the cooling air, and after taking one last look at the twilit skies, she turned and walked back inside.

11

November 14, 2020
Free Pacfic States

Hey, I was thinking that I should fly home for the holidays.

James Chester hit “Send,” before putting his phone down.

It was a sunny Saturday morning in the Free Pacific States. Clouds dotted the sky.

Out here in Southeast Yasteria, the political tumult that was happening back home seemed far removed.

He picked up his phone and opened some news sites. There were several stories about the election.

Not very unsurprising. The events of last night were definitely newsworthy.

He opened TEPWiki, and clicked over to https://tep.wiki/wiki/2020_Oscrelian_federal_election.

The infobox at the top jumped out at him. Specifically, they indicated that the Social Democrats had gained 118 seats (with a 13% swing of the popular vote). That was quite a lot.

The infighting in what was formerly Harvey’s coalition must really have destroyed their electoral efforts.

https://static.miraheze.org/tepwiki/1/1a/Ona2020.svg
The Social Democrats were in the plurality, it seems. Still not enough for a government, but it was quite something.

He opened another news site, where a breaking headline showed up.

“RYDER REFUSES TO NEGOTIATE”

He clicked it and read the article.

So apparently Ryder wasn’t particularly willing to negotiate with any of the other parties, not even the Greens. Quite disappointing, but with how much Ryder was an uncompromising ideologue, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise.

What was a concern, however, was the fact that that meant that Oscrelia didn’t have a government. A hung parliament was rarely a good sign.

12

(OOC: Yes I am rushing to finish this RP as quickly as I can, how could you have guessed?)

December 14, 2020
Alara, Oscrelia

Thunderstorms were not particularly uncommon in northern Oscrelia in the summer. And it was that time of year again.

Oscrelia had had a hung parliament for a month now. And discontent within the Social Democratic Party was coming to a head.

Because, as skilled a fundraiser and campaigner as Ryder was, she was also completely uncompromising. Even though most Social Democrats at this point would rather have a government so they could try pushing their agenda, Ryder had refused to.

Indeed, there was enough discontent within the Social Democrats, that there was a petition for Ryder to resign. It had gained a lot of traction over the last week, even from other members of party leadership and prominent rising stars like Councilwoman Chester.

And as the tip of Ryder’s pen danced across her resignation, the future of the party did not seem very clear.

BREAKING NEWS: RYDER OUSTED, SOCIAL DEMOCRATS SCRAMBLING FOR A NEW LEADER

13

December 18, 2020
Culoria, Oscrelia

It had been a power struggle after Ryder resigned from her position as the head of the party. Indeed, the Social Democrats quickly scrambled to organize a meeting where they could choose a new leader.

Indeed, many ambitious members of the SDO jumped to try canvassing support among their peers.

It took about 3 days of meeting and balloting before the party eventually agreed on a compromise candidate. She was popular and well-regarded within the party, and her rise within the party seemed inevitable.

It only seemed like a matter of time before she was asked to become the leader of the Social Democrats. Though nobody expected her to reach the position this early.

Her name? Melissa Chester.
[hr]
December 19
Culoria, Oscrelia

It was a warm, rainy day in Culoria. Storms were common in the summer in Northern Oscrelia, after all.

“Councilman Little.” Councilwoman Melissa Chester shook hands with one Councilman Paul Little, the leader of the Green Party.

“Councilwoman Chester. I must say, congratulations on becoming the new leader of your party.” Little put on a curt smile.

Chester nodded. “It’s… unfortunate that we had to remove Ryder, but it was inevitable. She was becoming a liability, and was far too willing to let Oscrelia go without a government.”

Little smiled. “It seems like you’re not like her.”

“No, I’m not. I’m more willing to compromise than she ever was.”
[hr]
December 20
Culoria, Oscrelia

Yet another storm had happened, though it had just ended. Beams of light shone through a blanket of clouds that were breaking up.

The ground was still wet.

James Chester knocked on the door of the Chancellor’s Residence.

It was an odd feeling, having your mother suddenly become Chancellor of Oscrelia. He had been escorted by security since he landed in the airport.

What a way to celebrate the summer solstice.

His mother opened the door. “Oh, James! You’re back!”

“Mother!” They embraced each other.

“By the way, Mother, congratulations on the… new job.”

“That’s one way to put it.”

“It is. I wish you the best of luck. Leading the country doesn’t seem like a job for everyone.”

“It’s a burden, but a burden I’ll bear, for the sake of the country.” Councilwoman- no, Chancellor Melissa Chester smiled. “I suppose it’ll be a new era for Oscrelia, one where we more actively participate in the international discourse. After all, with everything going on in Aurora and the world at large, we can’t just bury our heads in the sand.”

“No, we can’t.”