Volkspartei

The Volkspartei (Gothic: People's Party) is the national political party of Austro-Caldera. They are the only political party that is allowed to run for Prime Leader, and because of this, the Volkspartei is considered to be one of the oldest active political parties in the world. The Volkspartei is controversial for only allowing people of Gothic descent into their membership, and for being the cause of several revolts and civil unrest in Caldera.

Name
When the political party was first created, several names were considered, including "The Gothic Party", "True Party", "Good Party", "Calderan National Party", and "Gothic People's Prime Leader Party". It was decided that the new party would simply be called the "People's Party", in order to include all people of Gothic origin, and to encourage Indigeno-Calderan people that the party represents them in a way.

Founding (1600)
When Austro-Caldera was first settled by Gothic immigrants in 1585, Joseph Seuber took command to shape the small island nation into a thriving economy. When he died 15 years later, the new nation of Gothics had a large debate on who to put in charge to ensure the nation would be led correctly. One of the general rules agreed among the entire population was that the new leader had to be Gothic, so the most influential speakers decided on founding a party in which only Gothic members could be a part of. The Volkspartei was the party created for this goal, and Calderan law dictates that only the Volkspartei may be in power. Prior to 1735, members of the Volkshaus also had to be members of the Volkspartei (and thus Gothic).

Early Control (1601-1658)
Once the party had taken over Caldera, the biggest issues facing them was how to maintain control when the Indigeno-Calderan people previously had their own form of election. At first, the leaders thought they could simply ignore Indigeno-Calderans and nothing bad would happen, especially because many indigenous leaders claimed that the new government was an art that was only for Gothics. This changed in 1658, when the Volkspartei divided the country into 3 provinces for easier legislation. The western province was for factories, the northeastern province was for the indigenous tribe, and the southeastern province would be for Gothic cities. Indigenous families were pushed into a corner, and those that remained in their home province were then forced to follow Gothic traditions, and had no say in how the government administered them. This made indigenous populations realize how much control the government had over their daily lives, and they wanted a say in the matter.

Indigenous Revolt (1658-1735)
Naturally, indigenous leaders tried to take their concerns to the Austro-Calderan capital, but were turned away when only Gothics were allowed to make meetings. After protesting by setting fire to Volkspartei carts, the rules on only Gothic discussion were lifted, and the Indigeno-Calderans flooded mail services with requests. Using the vast amount of requests for meetings as an excuse, Volkspartei members stopped legislating matters that involved indigenous tribes, and while this did calm crowds a little, indigenous leaders would still march around Little Caldera waiting for formal action to represent Indigeno-Calderans be made. In 1735, after a meeting between Michel Seuber (grandson of Joseph Seuber) and indigenous leader Black Crow, Michel Seuber advocated for allowing all indigenous peoples vote in national elections, and even be able to legislate in the Volkshaus. Such an endorsement by a member of the Seuber family made the concept very popular among the Volkshaus, and later that same year, the Volkspartei requirement to legislate and the ethic requirement to vote nationally were both lifted. For most, this was enough, but the Volkspartei made an oversight on provincial laws that would later cost them.

Bavogian Movement (1735-1924)
After moving most indigenous people to the northeastern province, residents of that province began to see how different that singular province was to the rest of the country. Movements erupted to formally name the province and separate it from the rest of Caldera. The Volkspartei saw little issue with this, as long as Bavogia wasn't allowed to actually become independent from Caldera. To ensure that voters never voted a pro-Bavogian independence candidate into power, the Volkspartei ruled that while the 1735 reforms allowed indigenous people to vote nationally, it never changed the law to allow indigenous people to vote in their own province. In order to quell indigenous concerns about representation, indigenous people were allowed to run for office in their province.

Armistice time (1924-2003)
While facing a global war, the Volkspartei first enacted native conscription, which would have presumably angered indigenous populations, but didn't for 2 reasons. The first reason being that the current leader at the time, Derrich Lundsteiner, was the only Prime Leader to have been elected primarily by Volin, and he was also the only Prime Leader to have been "blessed" by both Bron and Sirkup. This connection to Volin culture made indigenous populations feel incredibly satisfied with the government, even despite native conscription. Many heads of families even told their children that native conscription was a good thing because it allowed each Volin to try to become blessed by Ferris.

Siege of Little Caldera (2003)
Founding in 2001, the Volin militia gathered various firearms using the Bavogian Provincial Guard and then invaded the Calderan capital in 2003 with intent to force the Volkspartei to change the law so Volins can vote in provincial elections and run for Prime Leader. The Volkspartei managed to succeed in defending their title to the sole political party that can run for Prime Leader, but Prime Leader Steinenkatz decided to change the law to allow Volin to vote in provincial elections, as he thought that it was "silly" that Volins could run in their provincial government, but not vote for their provincial government. This understanding by the Prime Leader paved the way for future Volin-Gothic negotiations to not result in violence.

Second Armistice (2003-Present)
The Volkspartei is still the only political party that can run for Prime Leader, but Volins have the most political power they have ever held. It is a high hope by some, that the Volkspartei will either start to accept Volins, or will finally collapse after centuries.

Prime Leader
Since the Prime Leader will always be a member of the Volkspartei, being the Prime Leader is also considered a role within the party itself. The Prime Leader decides all final legal decisions and laws that are passed. The Prime Leader also decides what political direction to take the party.

Party Leader
The party is headed by one party leader, typically the next Prime-Leader-elect or the previous Prime Leader, who organizes all party actions, affirms propaganda, and handles other public relations. The party leader is usually elected Prime Leader because of the party propaganda that is passed while the leader is in their position.

Member
Any member of the Volkspartei who isn't the leader is simply a member. Members do not commit to any activities besides experiencing special treatment throughout their lives. All members are eligible to be elected the Prime Leader, but only the oldest member can be Party Leader after the current Party Leader either dies or succeeds to Prime Leader.

Paramilitary groups
During the Bavogian movement, the Volkspartei decided that they needed to have a special branch of the Calderan Armed Forces in order to properly protect themselves. This led to the creation of the Volkspartei Defense, a squad of the highest trained soldiers given the highest quality of equipment, and made to vow to protect the Volkspartei. The Volkspartei Defense only saw combat twice, during the Second Great War, and during the 2003 Siege of Little Caldera.

Party symbols
Alongside the official party flag, the depiction of a blue gavel above a sound block in the same position as on the flag is also a party symbol.

Party song: Haus in Neu Berlin