Pribraltar

Pribraltar, officially the Commonwealth of Pribraltar (formerly the Coscivian People's Republic of Pribraltar) (Coscivian: Lodrikéarita Pribraltar) is a dependent state of the Kiravian Federacy comprising an island of the same name adjoining the Landderic Straits between Continental Ixnay and Umcara. Occupying a strategic position for international shipping, the island has changed hands many times over the course of its history, and has a rich history incorporating numerous cultural influences. The bulk of its population are Coscivians descended from clans that migrated across the Strait from Umcara, reïnforced by later influxes of immigrants from various seafaring Coscivian subgroups. Pribraltar has a close historical, cultural, political, and economic relationship with the neighbouring island of Saint Kennera.

Geography
Pribraltar is a moderately mountainous island located on the southern edge of the Sea of Odoneru, just north of the equator. It is X kilometres equidistant from Port du Vent, a Burgundian island territory, and Cartadania on Continental Ixnayan mainland, and Y kilometers north of its sister island, Saint Kennera. The waters on either side of the twin islands connecting the Sea of Odoneru to the Taínean Sea are known to Kiravians as the Pribraltar Channels. The Urcean possession of Port St. Brendan lies Z kilometers to the southwest.

Pribraltar mainly has a tropical monsoon climate, and the natural vegetation of much of the island is tropical forest. Some of the higher-altitude interior areas, known as the Uplands or the Heights, have a humid subtropical highland climate.

Politics and Governance
Pribraltar is a with a constitution modelled on that of Umcara and the Kiravian states of Cascada, Ilfenóra, and Metrea. Legislative power is vested in the Válora or "Chamber of Audit", which is elected every three years by at-large closed-list proportional representation.

The head of state, known as the Prime Executive, is popularly elected every five years by a two-round system. The Prime Executive signs bills and executive orders into law, and he may independently veto legislation, subject to override by a 2/3 vote of the Válora.

Executive power is vested in an Executive Council, led by a Prime Secretary, except for certain prerogative and reserve powers which may be exercised independently by the Prime Executive. The Executive Council and Prime Secretary are dually-accountable to the Prime Executive and the Válora. The Prime Executive appoints the Prime Secretary and other members of the EC, but must have the support of a legislative majority for his choice. The Prime Secretary or the entire Council may be dismissed by the Prime Executive or by a vote of no confidence in the legislature.

Political Status
Like Saint Kennera, Pribraltar is a self-governing dependency of the Kiravian Federacy. The islands' relationship with the Federal government is structured by a series of tripartite treaties and memoranda adopted after the islands were liberated from (((occupying nation))), and continues to evolve as a result of political developments in the islands and in Kartika. The Government of the Kiravian Federacy is responsible for Pribraltar's defence and foreign affairs, postal system (through the Federal Post), and telecommunications infrastructure. The Federal Consistory in Kartika is the ultimate court of appeal for cases originating in Pribraltar's judicial system, and incarcerated convicts sentenced by Pribraltarian courts with exceptional security or health needs are held in Kiravian federal prisons. [other stuff here] Most Pribraltarians hold or are eligible for Kiravian passports by virtue of their Kiravian National (Overseas) status. During the occupation, many Pribraltarians were granted KN(O) status to facilitate their resettlement in Great Kirav or to aid members of the resistance movement travelling between the islands and Great Kirav for training and other activities. In 21207, the Federal Stanora extended this status to all resident islanders of Coscivian, Alkharvian, Celtic, or Tryhstian descent through the Overseas Nationality Act (St. Kennera & Pribraltar). Thus, Pribraltarians are Kiravian nationals, but most are only citizens of Pribraltar. That being said, a significant number of Pribraltarians do hold Kiravian citizenship, having been naturalised in the Federacy or born to naturalised parents before returning to the island after its liberation.

At present, Pribraltar is outside of the Kiravian customs area, though the current administration is working to harmonise its customs laws with that of Kiravia, and maintains a separate immigration régime. It is also outside Kiravian jurisdiction where banking policy and financial regulations are concerned. Unlike Kiravian and St. Kenneran banks, Pribraltarian banks are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Agency, and instead hold policies from private foreign insurers. Pribraltar has its own currency, the Pribraltarian lira, which is pegged at a fixed exchange rate of 1:1 to the Kiravian saar, and essentially all businesses on the island accept the two currencies without distinction.

Pribraltar is represented in the Kiravian Stanora by an elected Delegate, but this Delegate can only vote in committee and is barred from membership in certain key committees.

Political Landscape
The main split in the partisan-political landscape on Pribraltar is over the island's future political status. The People's Republican Party and Union of Christian Democrats seek admission to the Kiravian Federacy as a full overseas state, though the PRP has downplayed this plank of its platform somewhat as the island's economy has developed. The PRP draws support mainly from upper-middle class native-born Pribraltarians educated in Kiravia, the Umcaran and Æonaran Coscivian communities, those parts of the business sector doing direct business with Kiravia, and those employed in the defence industry, as well as much of the lower middle class and those with strong right-wing or Coscivian nationalist inclinations. The UCD, which is most resolutely pro-statehood, originally had especially devout Catholic and Apostolic Christians as its core constituency, but has expanded to count Pribraltar residents of Saint Kenneran origin, who are ardently pro-statehood, as its largest voter bloc.

The Pribraltar Freedom Party is more economically liberal, fiscally conservative, and socially moderate than the PRP and supports maintaining Pribraltar's status quo vis-a-vis the Kiravian Federacy, which it believes is to the island's benefit by allowing it to earn revenue as a tax, finance, and registration haven and reëxport hub. Nonetheless, there is a growing tendency within the PFP that leans toward lessening integration with Kiravia while not altering the fundamental nature of the relationship. The Pribraltarian Libertarian Party is libertarian-conservative and supports affirmatively moving towards an unambiguous relationship of with the Kiravian Federacy. The PFP and PLP run on a joint list, the PFLP List, and have overlapping bases of support, being most strongly supported by Kiravian-born persons living in Pribraltar, much of the upper-middle class (especially those not educated in Great Kirav), and those parts of the business sector mainly serving foreign clients, as well as the Lusophone community. The PLP holds special appeal for the upper class and many native Pribraltarians with strong localist inclinations.

The CPPPR mainly represents the interests of the working class against the generally pro-business PRP and PFLP. It is internally divided between a more hardline Convist and Kirosocialist camp and a more moderate Kiro-social-democratic camp. Its strongest supporters are dockworkers, maritime and construction workers, service workers, and those on public assistance. Many people of Capetian and Sydonan origin support the CPPPR. The CPPPR has officially run on a pro-status quo platform in the modern era, but there is wide disagreement among party members about political status.

The Party for Cronan Integration has sidestepped the issue of political status by advocating multilateral integration between Pribraltar and Saint Kennera as equal partners with the Kiravian Federacy, The Cape, Umcara, and whatever the fuck Azi is now, instead of Kiravian statehood or free association. Although it continues to promote Cronan Integration in its communications, the PCI has a vague and elastic plaform on other issues and functions mainly as a catch-all anti-establishment party. Politicians who have resigned or been expelled from their party for whatever reason often defect to the PCI and seek reëlection on its ballot line, with mixed success.

The strength and rather high cohesion of various voter blocs on the island and the design of the electoral system has created a predictable balance of power in Pribraltar. The anti-statehood parties, having majority support among the electorate, have held a majority in the Válora for almost the entire duration of the current constitution. However, Prime Executive is elected by a two-round system, and the PRP and PFP or PFLP candidates are always the two that advance to the second round. Thus, the PRP candidate usually gains a majority in the second round as more economically left-wing and moderate voters swing toward them. The semi-presidential system ensures that the Executive Council and Prime Secretary are acceptable to both camps. This way of doing things, which is cushioned by strong customs and gentlemen's agreements among the island's small and tight-knit political élite, has been both praised for bringing moderation and stability and criticised for preventing change. Delegacy elections are more competitive due to the instant-runoff voting system and the fact that voting is open not only to Pribraltarian citizens, but also to citizens of the Kiravian Federacy and St. Kennera residing in Pribraltar.

Society and Culture
Pribraltar has a rich and diverse culture shaped by its long history as a trading centre.

The Pribraltarian urban upper and middle classes are known for being cosmopolitan, well-educated, and well-travelled. It is customary among them to attend universities in Great Kirav and Sydona and to spend years on end living and working in other Kiravian federal subjects, mainland Cronan countries, Alkharvia, or Heku. This has created an image of Pribraltarian society as "Tandhurin-on-the-Straits" that has significant basis in reality but masques the island's distinctive local culture and the isolating effects of its island geography, which are seen in its local language, customs and mannerisms, architecture, and cuisine.

Ethnic Groups
The majority of people living on Pribraltar are Pribraltarian Coscivians, who are primarily descended from Coscivian clans who migrated across the strait from southern Umcara in the 1300s or whatever and the autocthonous pre-Coscivian inhabitants, known as the Brassicans. Their ancestry also contains admixture from a variety of seafaring Coscivian ethnic groups, particularly Lusem, Kostiatem, and Sea Coscivians; Gaelic and Prythonic Celts; and peoples from nearby countries in Ixnay Proper, Crona, and Alvar. In addition, a large number of Coscivians from nearby St. Kennera live and work on Pribraltar as expatriates, and a great many Pribraltarians have some St. Kenneran ancestry. Other Coscivian ethnic groups with large or significant communities on the island include Ivraīem Coscivians, Keregūlem Coscivians, Lusem Coscivians, Peninsular Coscivians, Taństem Coscivians, Austral Coscivians, Coscivians with family ties to continental Ixnayan nations like Heku and Insui, Èusan Coscivians, Halatem Coscivians, Phaerem Coscivians, Tebnem Coscivians, and Helskan Coscivians.

People of immigrant origin from The Cape and [whatever tf Azi is now] make up a very large and rapidly growing share of the population, especially in Hābermat.

Language
Pribraltarian Coscivian, a dialect of Cronan Coscivian mutually intelligible with St. Kenneran Coscivian, is the main spoken language on the island, and has official status. However, Kiravic Coscivian is used for most business and administrative purposes. The island's largest newspaper, the Hāvermat Economist, is written in Kiravic, while the second-largest, the Pribraltar Post, is written in Pribraltarian. Pribraltarian is the main language used in television and radio broadcasts, supplemented by a large number of untranslated segments in Kiravic.

Portuguese is very widely spoken on Pribraltar as a second language, and is spoken natively by many people of Capetian, Cartadanian, and Tryhstian origin. Portuguese is offered as a second language in all public schools, and one public school in Hābermat offers elementary education in Portuguese to students from Lusophone households.

The other main foreign languages spoken by Pribraltarians are Hekuvian Latin, Ænglish, and Burgonesc. Knowledge of foreign languages is very widespread among Pribraltarians, with many speaking two or more such languages at advanced levels, these being useful skills in an economy driven by international business and tourism.

Religion
In terms of religion, 35% of Pribraltarians are Roman Catholic, 25% are Lutheran, 15% are Coscivian Orthodox, 10% are Insular Apostolic, and 10% belong to monotheistic Coscivian religions, while the remaining 5% profess other creeds.

Education
Pribraltar has a well-educated populace, with universal literacy and very high rates of functional literacy, and high rates of post-secondary educational attainment. The state provides a public school system administered on an island-wide basis by the Pribraltar Education Commission under the supervision of the Secretariat of Education. However, some 44% of Pribraltarian students are enrolled in private, religious, or charter schools, which are subject to regulation by the Secretariat of Education but independently operated.

Opportunities for higher education on the island itself are somewhat limited, largely as a result of the Pribraltarian upper- and middle classes' long tradition of attending universities in Great Kirav and Sydona. The three largest institutes of higher learning on Pribraltar are the General College System (a community college system with four campuses across the island), St. Bran's College of Hābermat, and the Hābermat Economics and Management Institute. There is currently no state university, though the government has put forward plans to expand the island's law school into a full-fledged university within the next decade. Pribraltar's integration with the Kiravian Federacy, liberal registration policies, and minimal oversight of private colleges have allowed it to become a hub for minor educational institutions ranging from small, specialised graduate schools (mostly dedicated to business and related fields) to "offshore" dental and osteopathic schools to institutions of dubious legitimacy (some of which are known ).

Economy
The economy of Pribraltar is shaped heavily by its geography as a small island in a strategic strait. Maritime trade, ship repair,, tourism, and reëxports are the main drivers of economic growth. A strong service sector meets the needs of the island's population and caters to the thousands of tourists and business travellers who visit Pribraltar annually.

The financial services sector is driven mainly by offshore banking, group investment instruments, insurance (particularly maritime insurance, captive- and self-insurance, and reïnsurance), and international speculation. A stock exchange, the Pribraltar-Hāverma Securities Exchange, operates from Hāverma.

A loophole written into Kiravian anti-gambling legislation makes Pribraltar one of only two jurisdictions (the other being the Corummese island Zhijun) from which online gambling services may be provided to customers in the Kiravian Federacy.

Pribraltar is its own for the purposes of admiralty law, and maintains its own, along with registration policies and operating regulations favourable to owners. The Pribraltarian Merchant Vessel Registry is an important source of public revenue that helps the Government of Pribraltar to finance itself while maintaining a low-tax environment. Pribraltar is also a rising venue for.

Pribraltar's small agricultural sector, constrained by the island's size and rugged terrain, has struggled to compete against imports from the Kiravian Federacy, Umcara, Insui, and Heku. Even in the market for locally-sourced produce preferred by affluent residents and upsacale restaurants, Pribtraltarian farmers face competition from their counterparts in nearby St. Kennera, where the terrain is more conducive to agriculture and farm subsidies are more generous.

Public Finance The Government of Pribraltar is financed largely by administrative fees (corporate, maritime, licensing, and other registration fees; entry fees charged to visitors), and stamp duties.