To Think We Used to Fly

[Tretrid]

December 30, 2023

Some time in early December, the Office of the Prime Minister made a short statement to the press about a speech from the Prime Minister that would be made on the evening of the 30th. That day was now here, and so the airwaves were fixed on the Witenapalent as they prepared to relay this live address.

Eoforwine Æthelstanesunu, the Prime Minister, was undoubtedly a familiar face by now. After all, as the head of government of Tretrid, he had dominated the political conversation for more than seven years now. Such it was that the image of him at his desk was being broadcast for much of the people of Tretrid to see.

“Good evening, everyone. I hope you have all had a joyful Yule. For the past seven years now, I have had the unique distinction and duty of being tasked with leading the government of Tretrid. I have tried my utmost to carry out the responsibilities given to me, and I hope that the results should speak for themselves.”

“We have defended our democracy against the corrupting influence of corporate money, where they had previously bent the government to their interests. We have made the government more transparent and accountable to its citizens than it has ever been before. We have sought to extend a helping hand to our most vulnerable, to give them a fighting chance to succeed. We have done the same abroad, too, to make at least some progress to alleviate global poverty.”

“The people graciously responded to me by granting me an unprecedented majority in the Witenagemot, all the more which we have been able to do to continue the work we started early on. I must thank you once again for the overwhelming mandate you have granted in the last election. It truly means a lot to me.”

“The time is drawing near that you, the Tretridian people, must decide where next to go from here. Elections will be held next year, and it is there at the ballot box that our course forward as a country into the near future will be decided.”

“As in 2020, I have been urged by advisors, Councilors, and most importantly, by voting Tretridians to continue to carry out the great work that we began in 2016. However, after careful consideration, I have decided it is time to step aside and let a new generation of people decide where to go forward from here. I will not be seeking reelection to the Witenagemot and intend to retire from politics after the election.”

“I will be the first to admit that my actions have not been perfect. I have misstepped and I have erred. Yet every action I have done I have done in the service of the Tretridian state and people, and in the name of a better world.”

“In 2017, I was invited to speak at the commencement ceremony for a year’s worth of bright students at the University of Cynebury. I said that the statesman has an eternal duty to carefully consider every option and every action and ensure that in the end history will see such actions justified. Looking back, nearing the end of it all, I can see everything that I’ve done and say that they were indeed so. I have tried my utmost to carry out my duty as a humble servant of the people to its furthest extent.”

“Yet that is ultimately not my judgement to make. That is a decision that you will make at the ballot box next year. Thank you for putting faith in me to guide our way forward, and I wish you all a good night and a bright future.”

And with that send-off, the cameras stopped rolling, leaving an entire nation to ponder what might lie ahead.

[Tretrid]

December 31, 2023

The ÞUD leadership was holding a private party to ring in Eotensdæg, the first day of the calendar year. The mood was optimistic, as it usually was right before a new, fresh year started.

The ÞUD had its own special reasons to be optimistic. A good amount of the ÞSD’s recent political success owed itself to Eoforwine personally as a unifying character behind all of the popular reforms the ÞSD had pushed through in its time in government. Without his uniquely quiet yet forceful style, the ÞSD would have a harder time going into the elections.

There was also the common sentiment that it was simply time for new leadership for the country. Eoforwine had led Tretrid for 8 years now, and Tretrid had gone through its fair share of historical events in that time, from the Space Debris Crisis to the Auroran-Cerenerian War to the Vanoi fever pandemic to the Correvan Crisis to the Balistrian Coalition War. While public sentiment viewed the Æthelstanesunu government’s responses to most of them were positive, there was still controversy around Correva after Æthelwine Heardesunu’s 2021 speech before the Novaran Council and around Balistria due to persistent allegations of war crimes. And even while the public still viewed the government’s responses to most of these very positively and Eoforwine’s approval ratings were very high in comparison to other Prime Ministers, people seemed to start getting fatigued with the Æthelstanesunu government.

No matter the incredible successes under Eoforwine, and even some of the much more hotly contested policies, there just needed to be new blood in government.

The ÞUD sought to campaign off of this and was banking on a general reaction to some of the more left-wing domestic policies under the current government. With the LDP in shambles and the ÞSD sliding leftwards, that left people in the center to start drifting into the ÞUD’s own center-right camp. The ÞUD leader, Eahlstan Colasunu, had also pushed for changes in the ÞUD’s platform for the election to have a wider appeal to the center in a bid to draw in former LDP and disaffected ÞSD voters.

But this was the year-end party, so while all these things were being discussed, the general mood was more to look forward to what 2024 had to bring, though conveniently a ÞUD government was one of those possibilities.

All the chatter in the party suddenly hushed up as party leader Eahlstan Colasunu stepped forward, glass of fine wine in hand. It seemed like he was about to make a speech.

“Thank you everyone for making it here today,” he said. “We’re all here because we answer to the same calling. To be a member of the ÞUD is to stand for that which makes us Tretridian: our shared duty to family, community, and country. We’ve gotten a taste of what we can do merely as a junior coalition party six years ago now, and, gods willing, we will make a compelling case to remember those things in the coming year.

“We have done great work with the ÞSD before the 2020 elections, but the current government has taken these policies and their mandate and stretched them to perilous excess. We must commit to reining these excesses in, while maintaining the integrity that we have helped build in our time in government. We must maintain the normalcy that has been so lacking in these recent years, between all the global crises over the last eight years and the scandals before then. But above all, we must carry out whatever duty that the people see fit to assign to us, whether it is in government or in the opposition. It is the people’s lot to choose in this democracy we hold so dear.”

He raised his glass. “To the new year, and may it bring us success!”

[Tretrid]

February 2, 2024

Ceolswið Æthelwinesdohter boredly opened her phone. It was lunch break, after all, and her spreadsheets could wait until after then.

Naturally, the media being what it is, the first thing she got to see was a breaking news alert. She went and opened it.

It was about the ÞSD leadership election. At the end of January, Prime Minister Æthelstanesunu officially stepped down as party leader, though he stated his intent to stay as Prime Minister until the election. So, of course, the ÞSD needed to have an election to choose their new leader.

There had been two who were really in the running to become party leader. They were Eadmund Waldhergesunu, the current Minister of Defense, and Sæwine Wealdmundesunu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Waldhergesunu had apparently won the election. According to the Cynebury Herald article Ceolswið was reading, Waldhergesunu had promised to continue many of the policies of the Æthelstanesunu government while making revisions to some of the more controversial ones. He seemed to want to move the ÞSD somewhat back to the center after Eoforwine worked to push it leftwards.

Ceolswið supposed the pendulum was swinging that way again. Eoforwine Æthelstanesunu’s rise to the top of the party had been in part a repudiation of some of the third-way politics that the ÞSD had embraced under Ecgswið Eohbeornesdohter. But there were some policies under Eoforwine that were maybe too left-wing for a ÞSD that was still in many ways the party Eohbeornesdohter helped to rebuild after its electoral defeats in the 1980s.

She closed her phone browser and opened her brother’s texts. Eadwine Æthelwinesunu was always more involved with politics due to his activist work than Ceolswið ever was, and he happened to be a fairly reliable supporter of the Social Democrats. If there was anyone with opinions on this, it would be him.

[Tretrid]

March 21, 2024

In the various forms of its existence, the Liberal Democratic Party was probably the oldest party that still existed in Tretridian politics. It found its roots in the early 19th century, among some of the new Councilors who didn’t attach themselves to either side in the power struggle between the monarchy that sought to centralize power and the nobility who sought to diffuse it. They found their identity and voice in the rapid political change of 1804 and 1805, with the creation of the Charter of Privileges and the onset of the Charter War and would be defined by their near-fanatical support for the Charter and soon afterwards the Declaration of Rights and Obligations.

This new faction was soon formalized as the Liberal Party. as which it served as one of the main political parties throughout the 19th century. The Liberal Party was a big-tent party that opened their ranks to all those who would answer the calling of liberty and universal rights, and largely comprised the left wing of Tretridian politics until socialism began to take hold in the form of the Social Democratic Party later on.

The Liberal Party was reorganized as the Liberal Democratic Party around the 1890s in response to the challenge the Social Democrats represented. Since the more radical members of the party had defected to what would become the centrist bloc of the Social Democrats, the Liberal Democratic Party was more of a solid, coherent ideological bloc compared to the big-tent organization of its predecessor. It pushed for both social and market liberalism in that form.

The LDP had always been one of the major forces and movers behind Tretridian politics. They were one of the key blocs involved in the Great Royal Crisis of the 1920s and the resulting disempowerment of the monarchy. It had been one of the ‘Big Three’ parties that emerged in the political order after the crisis, along with the Social Democrats and the Ulvriktru Democrats. And of course, in the 1980s and afterwards, they had been the largest party in the Witan and their ideals of free markets pervaded Tretridian politics even outside it. And then 2016 happened.

There were definitely warning signs of what was going to happen. Too many deals were being made by leadership behind closed doors, invisible even to most Councilors in the party. Prime Minister Sæflæd Ealdhergesdohter resigned in 2014, publicly citing wanting to spend more time with her family, but a few months later it was leaked that she had effectively been ousted by her own party’s leadership for pushing back on shady dealings.

It all came spilling out two years later. It came to light that the LDP was rife with systematic corruption that had been slowly taking root since the early 2000s or so. Several members of the Cabinet, including Prime Minister Æthelred Wulfricesunu, were convicted of felonies. The ÞSD leader, Eoforwine Æthelstanesunu, became the next Prime Minister, saw the opportunity for a snap election, and took it, leading to a wipeout for the LDP.

It was on top of all this background that a group of eight LDP Councilors announced that they would be holding an important press conference. This was about a third of what was left of the LDP’s presence in the Witan, so it probably meant something, but the LDP was such a ghost of its former self that much of the media paid them no heed.

To the leader of this group, one Ceolbeorn Wulfhunesunu, that wasn’t much of an issue. The rest of the country would realize the significance of this moment very soon.

He stepped up to the podium. “Good afternoon. Thank you to everyone who made time to come here. I know that in these times, it may be easy to pay us no heed, especially with what has happened to our once-great party.”

He paused.

“The Liberal Democratic Party inherits a 220-year-old legacy of defending the Charter and the rights that it upholds. It did so faithfully when times called for it. And yet its leadership has betrayed that legacy in the name of personal gain. Even now, after we were all made to pay for their failings, they still refuse to make way to the next generation. They have sought to hold on to whatever power and fiefdoms they have on our sinking ship rather than to help bail it out.

“We are here because we, along with many of our counterparts in the landmot, have decided that enough is enough. If the leadership of the LDP will not respect the duty they were handed with the legacy they bear, then we must.

“As such, I am announcing that we are parting ways with the LDP to form a new party that will heed the mission that the LDP once did. The appropriate paperwork has been filed with the appropriate authorities, and as such we will now constitute the leadership of the New Liberal Party. We hope that we will be able to uphold the ideals that the LDP has failed for the last two decades.

“If you used to support the Liberal Democrats before the revelations of corruption came out, I would like to ask all of you to give us a second chance. We are here because we, too, believe that the systemic corruption within the LDP represents a deep failing and a great betrayal. And to our former compatriots in the LDP, I would like to say that our ranks are open to you too, if you believe that something needs to change. You are now at a crossroads between further stagnation under the current LDP leadership, or something new. Please choose your path forward with care.”

[Tretrid]

Lucroza, Celanora
7:10 PM
September 1, 2024

“Done voting?”

Cuðþryð nodded, folding up her ballot and placing it into its envelope.

“I suppose I should fill mine out,” Æthelwine Heardesunu said. He took out his ballot.

Naturally, the main thing at vote on the ballot was the election for the Witenagemot, specifically for Æthelwine’s registered residence in Tretrid, in Sæhealf in the eastern outskirts of Sigested. It was to this constituency that he had once been elected to the Witan as part of the ÞUD, now nearly twenty-four years ago.

It’s almost funny how much had changed since then.

He was historically predisposed to vote ÞUD. It was the one that he had always been aligned with and the one under which he himself had been a Councilor. But at the same time, his personal views had slowly drifted more towards the center, partially due to his many discussions with Eoforwine over the years and partially due to the influence of his own son, both of whom were significantly more left-wing. He still considered himself center-right, but sometimes found himself more wary of some of the more right-wing parts of the ÞUD’s policy platform.

This was why he wasn’t voting completely ÞUD on the ballot. Tretrid used the single transferable vote for the Witan, so he had made the decision to vote for a MWP candidate before a ÞUD candidate. While he privately supported the ÞUD and wanted to see Colasunu become Prime Minister (especially since he thought that Waldhergesunu would be more of the same from Eoforwine’s government), he wanted the MWP to have a seat on the table more. They were always the moderating force in a coalition government, and seeing the MWP government would make sure whoever would lead the next government couldn’t control the ship of state by himself.

After all, even Eoforwine proved that he couldn’t be trusted with such unchecked power. At least with whatever happened, Eoforwine would be away from the hot seat. It’d be good for him in the long run.

He finished filling the ballot out and put it in its own envelope. He sealed the envelope and looked up at Cuðþryð. “Time to mail these out, then.”

---

Cynebury, Tretrid
1:41 PM
September 9, 2024

The cameras were rolling in the polling station. The footage captured here would have to be edited later to make sure that all information that might give away what a voter put on a ballot was redacted, but for the most part what was here would soon be for all the Tretridian people to see.

Eoforwine Æthelstanesunu had grown used to this miniature media circus. They always liked to see major politicians cast their votes.

In his typical fashion he had made his decision on who he would be voting for long before the polls opened. The only thing that was left for him by the time he filled out his ballot was to recall those decisions and turn them into filled bubbles on the sheet.

He knew the cameras were running as he put his vote into the box. It was always best to pretend they weren’t there until everything was done.

Once he was finished, he turned to the cameras. “Every Tretridian has a duty to work to uphold our democracy, and there are few better ways to do so than to vote. By taking some time out of your day you can help make sure the people who lead the country remain accountable to you. Your vote is a service to the community, the country, and even the world, as it will help continue Tretrid to shine as a beacon of democracy.”

---

4:06 PM

Election Day was a federal holiday in Tretrid, where employers were required to give non-essential workers paid time off. That meant that election days usually had a somewhat festive atmosphere as people took the time to relax and sometimes party. Gatherings were not uncommon on Election Day.

Of course this holiday was intended to increase access to the ballot and overall turnout. It wasn’t uncommon for groups to host their own festivities (with free food!) and take the opportunity to shepherd people towards the ballot box. It was a tactic used by both nonpartisan groups focused on improving voter access and by campaigns to encourage people to at least consider voting for somebody.

The best part about Election Day being a holiday for Eadwine Æthelwinesunu in particular, however, was that Deoric Alapa was off from work for once.

Since Deoric was an essential worker, he still had had a shift even on Election Day, but it was significantly shorter than the 10+ hour shifts that the hospital usually required of him. Eadwine was pretty sure Deoric would have quit long ago if he didn’t have a genuine passion for caring for other people.

But personally, Eadwine was selfish enough to want to see his husband more often.

They were waiting in line at the polling station, having gotten plates of food and some water to keep them occupied while they waited. They were nearing the front of the line, and for that matter they were nearly finished with their food.

Eadwine chomped contentedly at his lamb skewer. “You know, this is kind of a uniquely Tretridian thing.”

“The food?”

“Yeah.” It had honestly been a bit of a culture shock for Eadwine, having been more familiar with Celanoran elections in his childhood. They treated it more solemnly, so once Eadwine moved to the outskirts of Sigested he was incredibly confused when his parents took him and his sister to go eat while they went and cast their ballots.

“They’re missing out.” Deoric bit into a slice of watermelon.

“Election Day is always somewhat stressful for me, since I have a stake in all of this,” Eadwine said. “I mean, we all do, but, considering my job, well, it’s a lot easier when the people in government are more inclined to agree with me. But the food helps me let go of that a little. It reminds me that in the end, we’re all Tretridian, with all our honestly somewhat weird traditions that bring us together.”

Deoric nodded. “They do this too in Kiluaʻi, but it always feels a bit more like a potluck. No campaigns or NGOs using them as a platform on a wide scale. The idea probably was brought over from Tretrid.”

Eadwine nodded. There were many legacies, big and small, of what Tretrid had done with the Kingdom of Kiluaʻi. At least they seemed to accept this one and made it their own amidst their long-running effort to keep its culture alive in defiance of the legacies of Tretridian imperialism.

He finished up his skewer and looked down at his plate to find that it was now empty. Just as well, since he was at the front of the line. Deoric noticed too and quickly finished up his watermelon. Election workers didn’t allow food within the polling place, which was understandable given that getting grease or juice over the ballots would probably be detrimental to the counting of votes.

There was a trash can and a hand sanitizer station by the door. Eadwine and Deoric tossed their now-empty plates and sanitized their hands, and then walked inside. They split up after getting their ballot papers to find unoccupied voting booths.

Eadwine filled out his ballot carefully. He had already researched the candidates and knew who he’d be voting for. And as usual they were mostly Social Democrats. A lot of good work had been done under Eoforwine’s government, some of which Eadwine had been witness to firsthand, and he wanted to see that continue under Waldhergesunu even as he was worried that he would be moving the party more to the center.

Once it was filled out, he put the ballot in the box and walked to the exit. There were a group of exit pollsters waiting just outside. Eadwine took a moment to answer their questions and then waited outside.

Deoric walked out a few minutes later.

“C’mon, there’s still some food waiting to be eaten,” Eadwine said.

Deoric smiled. “Sounds like fun.”

[Tretrid]

[Tretrid]

Cynebury, Tretrid
8:00 AM
September 10, 2024

Eoforwine Æthelstanesunu looked at the speech before him. There were multiple versions of the speech prepared for each outcome of the election, though this one was perhaps the least surprising.

He looked up from the papers and around at his office. He had always kept his office relatively unadorned, but what few personal items he had here he had packed away. He stood up and picked up the papers and walked out of his office.

The Prime Minister’s Wing was slightly quieter than usual. His own special advisors here had packed up and left in preparation for the end of eight years of Æthelstanesunu government, leaving just the professional civil servants of the Office of the Prime Minister. These were people who had been supporting the work of the Prime Minister since long before Eoforwine had set himself up here and would be working here long after he left. The next Prime Minister would be lucky to have these dedicated individuals at his side, like Eoforwine himself was.

As for Eoforwine himself, he had already packed up most of his possessions, though they numbered relatively few compared to most Prime Ministers.

He walked into the press room, which had no press members in it, but was set up with cameras and had a handful of staffers making sure everything was set up.

Soon, Eoforwine was at the press room’s lectern, with the cameras running.

“Good morning, everyone. I would like to thank all the people who have helped conduct the election and ensured that it was free and fair and that the will of the Tretridian people was expressed at the ballot. I would also like to thank everyone who voted for continuing the long tradition of Tretridian democracy.

“Your voice as expressed last night has been heard. Soon, the negotiating between party leadership will be concluded, and Tretrid will have a new Prime Minister. This incredible opportunity that you have graciously granted me to serve as the highest servant of the Tretridian people and state will draw to a close. I have no doubt that whoever succeeds me will work tirelessly to serve you like I and past Prime Ministers have done. The beauty of democracy is such that I can peacefully hand off power even to someone whom I vigorously disagree.”

Personally, Eoforwine was pretty sure once the dust was settled it would be Colasunu at the helm. The other parties were probably more willing to work with the Ulvriktru Democrats than the Social Democrats after 8 years of ÞSD government.

Eoforwine knew that this was at least somewhat an indictment on his second-term performance. He had gone from riding a wave of enthusiasm into a single-party government to this. He deserved this, honestly.

“I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on challenges that face Tretrid and the world at large today. Over the past eight years, we have weathered a number of international crises that none of us thought we would see in our lifetimes. We did not wish to see such dire straits in our lifetime, but in the moment, we collectively rose up and proved why Tretrid is a key pillar of the international order. Time and time again, we did our duty to each other, to our communities, to our country, and to the world at large. That duty is what makes us Tretridian, and that duty is what makes Tretrid great.

“Despite these nearly unprecedented crises, I must implore you not to rest on our collective laurels and be satisfied with our achievements thus far. The world is still faced with a number of pressing issues. People still go hungry, both in Tretrid and out. Global temperatures continue to rise, spurred on by greenhouse gas emissions. Millions of people around the world still die from preventable or treatable diseases. We must continue to exercise our global leadership both for our own betterment and for the betterment of all urthkind. These are hard problems that will take billions to solve and years of hard work by many talented people, but if there is anything I have learned from decades of tireless service to Tretrid, it is that when we come together to accomplish something, we can do it.

“Similarly, the peace in Novaris that we have worked so hard to established has proved more fragile than we anticipated. We have seen all too recently the true scale of Volscine revanchist ambitions. We must stay vigilant and continue to support the cause of democracy and self-determination, like we have in Seccera and Cavellan, both of whom stand free through our actions. We must continue to work to defuse the tensions in Northeast Novaris. Tretrid is the most powerful nation on the continent, and we must exercise our position as such with due care to ensure peace and prosperity for all its peoples. Such is the duty that we owe to Novaris.”

The state of affairs in Novaris had been fundamentally reshaped in the years since the collapse of the Volscine Confederation. Tretrid was at the core of this new order, and it had to work to sustain it. Yes, even through the League of Novaris.

“Our collective duty to each other and to the world is not something we should take lightly. Yet it is well within our power to carry out our duties nonetheless. We must step together forever forward, hand in hand, for if we do not do so of our own volition we will surely be compelled to do so by outside forces.

“While the time that has been graciously granted to me by the will of the people that I occupy this great office is drawing to a close, I will continue doing what I can to advance these causes as a private citizen.

“I have given many speeches from the Witenapalent as Prime Minister, but this one will be the last. I hope that you may find some worthy deeds done under the charge of stewarding a truly extraordinary people. And for all other things I sincerely hope that you may find better ways into the future.

“We have always sought better ways to fulfill the principles that guide us and form the bedrock of our democracy. Our great Charter of Privileges, the keystone of our free system, has been incrementally refined since its original proclamation 220 years ago with oftentimes hard lessons learned about those freedoms we sometimes failed to uphold. We will no doubt continue to learn lessons about how best we can live out our principles and move, step by step, forever forward.

“With this, I give my farewell to my office and to you whom I have sought to serve. I hope you all have a good day and, fate willing, that we may have many good days thereafter.”

And then, the cameras stopped running. It was over.

A brief silence filled the press room that was broken when Eoforwine spoke up again.

“Right. Now that that’s done with, I’ll be in the office if anyone needs me.”

And with that he left.

[Tretrid]

Cynebury, Tretrid
September 11, 2024
12:00 PM

Eadwine Æthelwinesunu checked himself into the restaurant and was led to the table he had reserved. As he waited, he opened his phone and idly scrolled through the news.

He wasn’t exactly shocked by the ÞUD’s apparent victory, but he was a fair bit disappointed. Any keen election watcher knew that the ÞUD was generally favored to gain a parliamentary plurality. Yet, ever the loyal Social Democrat, Eadwine wasn’t the biggest fan of the prospect of the ÞUD in power. And it wasn’t just the family baggage from the last time they led the government.

Eadwine had taken an interest in LGBTQ issues ever since he realized that he himself was gay. It was a natural reaction, he supposed, since it directly affected his own rights in society. And that had drawn him into the wider sphere of social justice and led him to want to work to achieve change, which for a while meant interning and then fully staffing at the office of Eoforwine Æthelstanesunu and then meant that once Eoforwine was in power he decided it would be best that he left and pursue his causes independently of the Æthelstanesunu government. Sure, he was a Social Democrat, but he didn’t want to be constrained from calling it out for its failings in power. This was why he worked at Rainbow Front, a nonprofit, instead of being a now-outgoing staffer of the Office of the Prime Minister. The two years he had to wait in the meantime due to new ethics rules were worth it.

While the ÞSD had always supported LGBTQ rights, as Tretrid’s center-right party, the ÞUD was generally more reticent on such matters. Sure, the time when they actively opposed LGBTQ rights had long passed, but they still noticeably dragged their feet. They didn’t start officially supporting gay marriage until early 2021. And with transgender issues, which were still a topic of political contention where gay marriage simply wasn’t anymore, he knew that when they had been part of the Æthelstanesunu government they had to be coaxed into voting for removing surgery requirements for legally changing one’s gender. More recently, when the Æthelstanesunu government scrapped the requirements entirely and adopted gender self-identification for official records, most of the ÞUD, now in the opposition, had opposed it.

The ÞUD had stayed silent on trans issues in the election season but given the stances of many of its politicians it was likely to support or at least not oppose watering down the self-identification law. Which was what brought Eadwine here.

The Councilor of the hour, NLP leader Ceolbeorn Wulfhunesunu, walked into the restaurant and checked in. He was led over to Eadwine’s table.

With everything that had happened over the last few years there was no way there would be a ÞUD-ÞSD coalition government. So whoever led the next coalition would need the support of both the MWP and the NLP. Both the ÞSD and the ÞUD had viable paths to a coalition through both parties, and the MWP and NLP both knew it.

While Eadwine was hoping that the next government would be led by the ÞSD, he had talked with enough people in the Witenapalent to know that they were reluctant to form a government with the ÞSD and would demand a lot of concessions, and that a ÞUD government was more likely. He was here to hedge his bets.

Ceolbeorn approached the table. “Mr. Æthelwinesunu?” He and Eadwine shook hands. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” Eadwine said with a pleasant smile on his face.

The reason why he was meeting with Wulfhunesunu in particular was because the NLP’s stances were the one most amenable to his aims out of it and the MWP. The NLP was socially liberal, and that meant it voiced support for LGBTQ rights in its platform. They were, more to Eadwine’s distaste, also proponents of free-market liberalism, which Eadwine politely disagreed with. There was a reason why he was personally a Social Democrat.

He and Ceolbeorn took their orders and exchanged small talk. The typical empty platitudes.

Eadwine liked his activist work, but oftentimes his connections in Cynebury (usually due to his father) led him to lobby for his cause. This was what he was doing here.

He did not like to do this. He was opposed to lobbying on principle. He knew how it was linked to regulatory capture, and rent-seeking, and had eventually spiraled into the corruption that had engulfed the LDP eight years ago. Yet here he was, doing the same thing.

He thought about some advice Eoforwine had given him. The cost of power was destroying oneself. Above all things, in these moments he needed to remember why he did these things, and not to push it to the point of just gaining power for its own sake.

And at least he had standards in what he was willing to do to entice people to do what he wanted.

As the two talked, Eadwine eventually managed to extract concrete promises from Wulfhunesunu. The NLP would oppose any efforts from any prospective government to roll back the self-identification law.

Since the NLP was practically guaranteed to be needed for whatever coalition government, that ought to count for something.

[Tretrid]

Witenapalent
Cynebury, Tretrid
September 13, 2024
9:00 AM

Eoforwine Æthelstanesunu walked through his official residence, combing over everything to make sure what relatively few personal possessions he had was out. He had had most of them moved out the previous night, but had spent this morning getting everything else was packed.

The nature of prime ministerial transitions was that a lot of this happened at the last minute. It would take a day or two for the next Prime Minister to get fully situated. But it was finally time to hand the torch over.

The previous day, Eahlstan Colasunu had managed to reach a coalition agreement with the NLP and MWP, giving them a path to government. He had called upon the King to appoint him as the Prime Minister. Eoforwine had called to give him his congratulations, but they didn’t speak much beyond that. There would be a time for that soon.

So now today was going to be the day that Eoforwine would be tendering his resignation to the King and where Colasunu would be appointed PM.

Satisfied that everything in the residence was satisfactory, he opened the door and walked out for the last time, leading him into the office part of the Prime Minister’s Wing of the Witenapalent.

The personal staffers and special advisors to Eoforwine had moved out over the past few days as well, leaving only the professional civil servants of the Office of the Prime Minister still working here, and their regular business was on hold for this one day. It was empty in the Prime Minister’s Wing.

He walked into his office, similarly stripped of personal belongings. There were only three things on his desk now. It was a letter, with Eoforwine’s formal resignation, an envelope, and a small black briefcase. Eoforwine carefully folded the paper up and placed it into the envelope. He unlocked and then opened one of the drawers of the desk and pulled out a small candle, a stick of sealing wax, and the official Seal of the Prime Minister. The physical Seal was one of the badges of office of the Prime Minister and was primarily used for ceremonial purposes, such as the one that Eoforwine was about to participate in.

He took a match out of the drawer, lit the candle, and heated up the seal and then the wax over the flame. He then applied the now-soft wax on the envelope and pressed the seal into it, and let the wax seal cool. He placed the now sealed letter into his pocket and then opened the briefcase before putting the Official Seal into the briefcase (which also contained all sorts of other things that were legally required to be near or on the Prime Minister at all times). He locked his drawer, placed the key in the briefcase, closed it, and then left after checking that everything in the room was ready for its next occupant.

Eoforwine walked into the entrance hall to find the remaining employees of the Office of the Prime Minister, the professional civil servants, waiting for him. This was another part of the typical ceremony of this occasion. They were here to see him off, and they would greet Colasunu after his appointment.

He took a moment to say his farewells, and then, once that was done, he left the entrance hall and the Witenapalent for his last time as Prime Minister.

There was a black limousine, the official car of the Prime Minister, waiting outside. Today, instead of the usual, it was manned by members of the Cyneweard in their distinct bright green dress uniforms. One opened a door for Eoforwine, who climbed aboard.

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Royal Palace
Cynebury, Tretrid
11:00 AM

Eoforwine was ushered into a room of the Royal Palace and was politely asked to wait.

A few minutes later, the door opened, and in walked former Prime Ministers Ecgswið Eohbeornesdohter and Sæflæd Ealdhergesdohter. Eoforwine greeted the two of them, who also took up seats.

Not too long afterwards entered the man of the hour: Eahlstan Colasunu. He too was asked to sit and wait.

As tradition dictated, the next twenty minutes or so would be dedicated to the outgoing Prime Minister and the former Prime Ministers giving advice to the incoming Prime Minister. This too, had an element of passing the torch to it.

Eoforwine turned to Eahlstan. “It’s a big day today. You ought to savor it; you’ll really need to get to work making the office your own over the next few days.”

Eahlstan nodded.

“If there’s any advice I feel like I should give you, it’s to always keep in mind your ultimate duty to the Tretridian people and the Tretridian state,” Eoforwine said. “Everything else must be accessory to that. You almost certainly will be faced with some sort of unexpected challenge during your tenure as Prime Minister, but however you tackle it you must always do so in the ultimate interests of Tretrid.”

“I think if there’s anything that can be learned from my time as Prime Minister,” Sæflæd said, “it’s that maintaining the integrity and dignity of the office is more important than any one of us. I ultimately chose to step down as Prime Minister rather than being complicit in the corrupt dealings that progressively took over my party. Keep in mind what your principles are and be willing to draw red line where they matter.”

Ecgswið thought for a moment. “A lot has changed in the time since I’ve been Prime Minister. My advice has changed accordingly as well. You ought to have the interests of the Tretridian people in mind for both the present and future, but at the same time it’s impossible to predict what may come of your policies in a decade or two. You must mind what consequences of your governance you can predict, but at the same time do not fool yourself into thinking that you can see all possible results of your actions.”

Eoforwine nodded. “The three of us have our disagreements regarding matters of policy, but what unites the three of us is that we all want to see the ship of state steered capably. If the times call for it, you will be able to count on us for advice.”

Eahlstan seemed to ponder for a moment. “Eoforwine, speaking candidly after everything that’s happened over the last several years, do you think you’ve done a good job?”

“I think I’ve done the best I could have offered. Yet it is a question ultimately left to the historians.”

A door of the room opened, and in walked a Cyneweard soldier, again dressed in those bright green dress uniforms. “His Royal Majesty is ready,” he announced.

Eoforwine stood up, as did Eahlstan. They followed the soldier through the palace until they were led into the throne room.

The throne room was used for very few occasions. It was primarily used for the appointment of Prime Ministers, for the accession of a new King, and for the accreditation of ambassadors to Tretrid.

In the physical Falcon’s Throne, under a canopy embroidered with the greater coat of arms of Tretrid, was seated the King himself. Ælfric III was wearing the dress uniform of the Tretridian Army, complete with the green tunic, sash, and medals. To his side stood attendants bearing, on cushions, the crown and the scepter. These the King had not borne personally since the end of the crisis of the 1920s.

Eoforwine stepped forward first and took out the envelope from his pocket. After approaching the Falcon’s Throne, he bowed and then spoke up. “Your Royal Majesty, I would like to offer my resignation as Prime Minister.” He handed the envelope over to the King.

Ælfric unsealed and opened the envelope, reading the document within. He passed it to a waiting attendant. “I accept your resignation.”

Eoforwine then offered up the briefcase to the King, who took it and held it in his hands.

While Eoforwine backed away, it was now time for Eahlstan to approach the throne.

“Eahlstan Colasunu, I hereby invite you to form a government as Prime Minister.”

Eahlstan bowed. “It would be an honor.”

Ælfric held out the briefcase containing the badges of office of the Prime Minister, and Eahlstan took it.

And with that done with, Eoforwine and Eahlstan left the hall.