In the realignment of the Greek Government that came in 1300 AD, the strucutre of Parliament was altered and the many disparate voices of the Greek Republic were given more influence in our Government.
Previously, the Greek Leader was appointed by a High Council which sat above the Parliament, and this leader had a share of votes in the Assembly of Citizens which let him greatly influence matters of government. In 1295 AD the High Council was abolished in favor of a Senate of elected officials. The Assembly of Citizens exists as a separate house under the auspices of Parliament, but aside from its role in appointing Senators, it no longer has any official power as it did before this reform. Instead, all governing power is vested in the Senate, making the leader of the Senate Head of State. In the event that a party has the majority of the seats in the Senate, that party's leader is appointed First Senator. When there is no such majority, the parties must elect by a majority a single leader to take this position.
In the Senate's procedural Votes of Organization in 1300, the failure of the National Party, with 45% of the seats, to put together a successful coalition to elect their leader, Agaue, First Senator shocked the citizenry. Instead, the many disparate voices of the several minority parties caucused amongst themselves to appoint a leader. (only the marginalized Canadian Separtist Party chose not to caucus with this group, futilely casting their ballots for one of their own.) The candidate proposed by the powerful Merchants party was rejected by the pacifist Elutherian and Buddhist parties (which voted as a single bloc throughout the proceedings), and after many rounds of balloting the unlikely Fosse of Knossos, a member of the nearly irrelevant Cartographer's Coalition was settled on by compromise.
Scholars agree that this vote is a stern reprimand on the National Party's recent program of drafting citizens into armed service, and point out that unless the Coalition remains strong it must court National Party votes to conduct business. Some believe that in Agaue's long meetings with Fosse, the two are considering plans to bring the Nationalists on board with the coalition.
The final tally for First Senator:
Senator Fosse - 137
Senator Agaue - 116
Senator Dion - 3First Senator Fosse has been in conference with Agaue each day since his election, and has been devoting time to meet with his generals and leaders from other nations. In a brief statement before the Assembly he stated that the Senate's first order of business is the execution of the current war, and that he hopes the assembled Senators will support him as he seeks to protect Greece and her allies.
Senate Details
Total Seats - 264
National Party - 116
Merchant Party - 69
Pacifist Party - 34
Buddhist Party - 29
Cartographer Party - 5
Canadian Separatist Party - 3Of further interest:- The Assembly of Citizens, previously open to all natural born Greek men has been expanded to allow up to 10% of its seats for any given session to be filled by representatives of America and Carolingia. The method by which these seats are to be filled remains unclear, and it is presumed that the Ambassadors of each nation will make their own bylaws dictating the method by which this will be done. As of this time, none of these seats have been filled for the several sessions of the Assembly that have so far met under the new rules.
- The new rules of government do not in any way limit the formaiton of political parties, however there is a rule that explicitly enables the creation of political parties that are themselves extentions of any religion. This was of interest to scholars because it seemed legally unnecessary.
- Eight seats are currently vacant in the Senate, for various reasons.
- There is no rule that the First Senator need actually be a member of the Senate. Were the Senators to elect somebody from outside of their body to become First Senator, a seat would be created for him for the duration of his term.
- A Merchant Party Senator recently informed the Assembly that First Senator Fosse flatly refused to consider calling off the draft while the war continues.
