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Lapody: Difference between revisions
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Lapody is a {{wp|unitary}} {{wp|constitutional monarchy|constitutional}} {{wp|hereditary monarchy}} and is largely based on some similar constitutional monarchies of its predecessors in the [[Deric States]]. The head of state is the King. Upon formation of the Kingdom of Lapody, two of the three states which joined were {{wp|republic}}s, and consequently the Grand Duke of Loreseia was elevated as King of the country following a period of negotiations; accordingly, Lapody is ruled by the royal House of Alessi-Galen, a {{wp|cadet branch}} of the House of Galen which ruled the Grand Duchy of Verecundia at its peak and parts of Loreseia since the [[Great Confessional War]]. The King of Lapody's role in government is relatively limited, both in part due to Loreseian traditions and due to the agreement which established the Kingdom. Analysts have called the Lapodian monarch the "weakest in the [[Levantine Union]]", serving primarily as a figurehead operating only on {{wp|constitutional advice}} from the elected government. As a [[Empire-in-fact|symbolic gesture]], the first King of Lapody was crowned by [[Riordan VIII|Riordan]], [[Emperor of the Levantines]] and [[Apostolic King of Urcea]], to solidify the historic legitimacy of the Kingdom. | Lapody is a {{wp|unitary}} {{wp|constitutional monarchy|constitutional}} {{wp|hereditary monarchy}} and is largely based on some similar constitutional monarchies of its predecessors in the [[Deric States]]. The head of state is the King. Upon formation of the Kingdom of Lapody, two of the three states which joined were {{wp|republic}}s, and consequently the Grand Duke of Loreseia was elevated as King of the country following a period of negotiations; accordingly, Lapody is ruled by the royal House of Alessi-Galen, a {{wp|cadet branch}} of the House of Galen which ruled the Grand Duchy of Verecundia at its peak and parts of Loreseia since the [[Great Confessional War]]. The King of Lapody's role in government is relatively limited, both in part due to Loreseian traditions and due to the agreement which established the Kingdom. Analysts have called the Lapodian monarch the "weakest in the [[Levantine Union]]", serving primarily as a figurehead operating only on {{wp|constitutional advice}} from the elected government. As a [[Empire-in-fact|symbolic gesture]], the first King of Lapody was crowned by [[Riordan VIII|Riordan]], [[Emperor of the Levantines]] and [[Apostolic King of Urcea]], to solidify the historic legitimacy of the Kingdom. | ||
As a unitary state, Lapody's central government holds supreme authority, with very little power devolved to the Kingdom's three provinces | As a unitary state, Lapody's central government holds supreme authority, with very little power devolved to the Kingdom's three provinces. The central government is divided into three branches: the executive, the judiciary, and the legislative. The executive branch is led nominally led by the King, who enforces and enacts laws in the name of the legislature. The Legislature is a unicameral body called the Stat-Conferensa, led by a President who serves as {{wp|head of government}}. The 345 members of the Stat-Conferensa serve four year terms, with the first election having been held in [[2030]] for a term beginning 1 January [[2031]]. Members of the judiciary are appointed by the King in the name of the Stat-Conferensa on the advice of the President of the Stat-Conferensa. Lapody's predecessors had a tradition for a great diversity of political parties and, as of 2032, eleven different parties occupy at least one seat of the 345 total in the Stat-Conferensa. The great number of political parties has often been attributed to the nation's instant-runoff voting system which allows many parties to maintain varying degrees of relevance in the public eye. | ||
Lapody is also notable for its heavy inclination toward social welfare policies. Social services, healthcare, and most utilities are all functionally provided by the government under a single-payer system, though health care remains de jure in the hands of heavily privatized private providers who accept government voucher payments. Education, though not free at the post-secondary level, is heavily subsidized by the government which maintains controlling shares in each of the Kingdom's universities. Many of these policies are longstanding and stem from the post-[[Third Fratricide]] political settlement during which the | Lapody is nominally divided into three provinces which coincide with its predecessor states, Loreseia, Vorenia, and Verecundia. The provinces have little policy-making authority and largely serve as administrative units responsible for the division of the judicial system as well as the administration of the census. The provinces have no governments; instead, each of the central government's bureaucratic apparati have a sub-office for each province, through which contracts for social services and other necessary public functions are solicited and approved. Within the provinces, land is divided into dozens of {{wp|Pieve|pievi}}, the basic municipal unit, which coincide with cities, towns, or villages and their environs. Significant amounts of land within the Kingdom are {{Wp|unincorporated}} and are under the direct administration of the central government. Accordingly, the central government is very large relative to other Levantine states with many offices and sub-bureaus responsible for what would be considered municipal affairs in other countries, such as trash collection and zoning provisions. Though this creates a significant amount of public bloat and requires significant bureaucratic barriers for Lapodians in many cases, it also gives the government significant power to implement sweeping policy changes, and most scholars agree Lapody's central government is among the most powerful in [[Levantia]] among democracies. | ||
Lapody is also notable for its heavy inclination toward social welfare policies. Social services, healthcare, and most utilities are all functionally provided by the government under a single-payer system, though health care remains de jure in the hands of heavily privatized private providers who accept government voucher payments. Education, though not free at the post-secondary level, is heavily subsidized by the government which maintains controlling shares in each of the Kingdom's universities. Many of these policies are longstanding and stem from the post-[[Third Fratricide]] political settlement during which the laboring classes have often held a great deal of political power. | |||
==Culture== | ==Culture== | ||