Prime Minister of Okcidenta Republic
51’ - 58’: Kaĉjo Leono - Okcidento (Liberal) [1]
51’ (All Party Coalition) def. Scattered Independents
54’ (Majority) def. Benedikto Horowitz (Social Democratic), Eriko Kuniklo (Democratic), Petros Vasiliadis (Agrarian)
58’ (Majority) def. Miĉjo Hirsch (Social Democratic), Eriko Kuniklo (Democratic), Andreas Rioux (Communist), Petros Vasiliadis (Agrarian)
58’ - 61’: Karlo Fiškaptisto (Liberal Majority) [2]
61’ - 64’: Miĉjo Hirsch (Social Democratic) [3]
61’ (Majority) def. Karlo Fiškaptisto (Liberal), Eriko Kuniklo (Democratic), Kostas Kordatos (Agrarian), Andreas Rioux (Communist)
64’ - 75’: Polono Tardí (Liberal) [4]
64’ (Majority) def. Miĉjo Hirsch (Social Democratic), Eriko Kuniklo (Democratic), Yano Kallio (Communist), Kostas Kordatos (Agrarian)
67’ (Majority) def. Miĉjo Hirsch (Social Democratic), Eriko Kuniklo (Democratic), Kostas Kordatos (Union of Farmers), Yano Kallio (Communist), Tomas Nikolatzis (Agrarian)
68’ Referendum on Electoral Reform: Jes 57%, Ne 43%
72’ (Pact with Democratic) def. Nikolai Zaropoulos (Social Democratic), Eriko Kuniklo (Democratic), Kostas Kordatos (Union of Farmers), Yano Kallio (Communist)
75’ - 77’: Vihelmo Pastisto (Liberal - Democratic Coalition) [5]
77’ - 82’: Raĥelo Kastelo (Social Democratic) [6]
77’ (‘Popola Fronto’) def. Vihelmo Pastisto - Zahario Klerulo (Liberal - Democratic Alliance), Felikso Oraĵisto (Communist), Nikos Kordatos (Union of Farmers)
82’ - : Lino Hassan (Liberal Democratic) [7]
82’ (Majority) def. Raĥelo Kastelo (Social Democratic), Felikso Oraĵisto (Communist), Nikos Kordatos (Union of Farmers), Iosif Rioux (Workers - Communist Unity)
1). In the grand aftermath of the Great War the Okcidenta Empire was split up and dismantled between the Grand Alliance and the Confederation of Nordland, in it’s place the new Okcidenta Republic would be formed, a neutral buffer state between the soon cooling allies. Discussions on who should become the leader of this new country would turn towards Kaĉjo Leono - Okcidento.
The proclaimed ‘Liberal Lion’, Kaĉjo came from the well connected Leono - Okcidento family, named so by Emperor Konstantinos I after a bloody campaign against the Hunu people in the early days of the Empire. By the time Kaĉjo was born though much of the families wealth had been lost to gambling and decadence, a fate that Kaĉjo escaped thanks to gaining a job as a Civil Servant that his Uncle Horacio managed to secure for him.
As a Civil Servant, Kaĉjo found himself in the frontline of the Liberal government of Jozefo Marx, a government that would bring about the welfare state, old age pension and a basic health insurance scheme. These progressive reforms and more would inspire the young Kaĉjo who would become an MP at the tender age of 25, in time becoming the firebrand figure of the Liberal Left and attacking the corruption of the later Emperors and there Nationalist lackeys, a charge that would see in and out of prison throughout the remaining years of Emperor Konstantinos VI.
Freed from prison as the Great War ended at the age of 58, the alliance and confederates agreed that Kaĉjo would make a good unity Prime Minister for the rebuilding nation. Whilst a believer in a state ran enterprises, some forms of economic planning and a welfare state, Kaĉjo also supported a cosy relationship with business and was notably a social conservative (apart from universal suffrage for which he supported) beliefs which made him palatable to big business and the Conservative factions of the nation.
The initial three year ‘All Party Government’ was mainly a grand coalition overseeing the rebuilding of the nation, the dismantling of the corruption that the Emperors had overseen and a rooting out of any War Criminals or Imperial Supporters from Government. In the aftermath of the 54’, which shockingly the Social Democratic Party became the main opposition and the conservative Democratic Party fell down to third, Kaĉjo saw his chance.
The remaining two terms of Kaĉjo’s Premiership would be his attempt to institute his vision onto Okcidenta. On one hand, the rampant corruption and influence that the old families and military used to have was shattered, replaced by the technocratic efficiency of scientists and bureaucrats. The poor and destitute able to gain basic shelter and income whilst the predatory practices of the old regime were curtailed or exorcised. Freedom of Speech and Civil Rights were brought in line with their neighbours.
On the other hand, Left Wing Activists were crackdown, Trade Unions hideously repressed and Kaĉjo’s support for old Liberal notions of Free Trade and a Balanced Budget rubbed many of his more modern counterparts the wrong way.
Additionally Kaĉjo long time bachelor status, his tendency to fill his cabinet with handsome young technocrats and habit of attending parties of high society with often an young assistant in toe was tabloid fuel particularly when contrasted with his habit of decrying the supposed indecency of so called ‘Communist Homosexual Intellectuals’ in demagogic speeches to social conservatives, there was often much discussion about Kaĉjo being ousted by his party.
In the end it didn’t have to come to that, a bout of ill health and the strains of the office got to him, and in 58’, Kaĉjo Leono - Okcidento, the grand old Liberal Lion would resign and spend the rest of his life in the mountains till his death at 81 from a heart attack whilst hiking with his long time companion Klaŭdio.
2). If anyone embodied the new Technocratic meritocracy that Leono - Okcidento left behind then it was Karlo Fiškaptisto. Born to a long line of seaside dwelling workers, Karlo sharp intellect and gravitation towards numbers would see him become an Engineer in time. His time overseeing the construction of Ockidanta’s war machine would impart both an admiration of the power of government but also a belief in the flaws of the corrupt Imperial system. He would begin to gravitate towards the Liberal opposition joining the Liberal Party in 50’, just before the end of the war. His rapid rise through parliament and the ranks of the cabinet can be pinned on a mixture of his sharp mind, competence and his boundless enthusiasm for the mechanics of state. As the Finance Minister before Kaĉjo departure, he would see the beginnings of Ockidanta’s post war economic boom, after the slow recovery over Kaĉjo’s previous terms in office. When the Liberal lion departed, Karlo seemed a sure fire fit for the office of Prime Minister.
Karlo just had two problems; he wasn’t particularly charismatic and his policy wonk nature meant that outside of his comfort zones of economic management and state control he was hopelessly lost. Rapidly artists and cartoonists depicted him as a computer with no heart and he was seen as aloof from the needs of the people. Despite the economic growth, wages stagnated and a series of wildcat strikes would test Karlo’s young government.
Karlo would send in the police but this would lead to a violent escalation as the police worked with corporate security and gangsters to put down the pickets. The fighting would escalate and the coal rich Meitner region was essentially closed off. Power shortages and industrial shut downs would panic the Liberal government. In the end, Karlo would cave and given in to the Trade Unions. To the Right, Karlo was seen as weak and to the Left, Karlo was seen as a dictator.
The ensuing economic spasm that followed the strikes, and the effect the strikes had on Ockidanta’s foreign standing would haunt the reminder of Karlo’s term as he counted down the days to his electoral loss.
3). Miĉjo Hirsch, a gruff no nonsense Trade Unionist had spent much of his life fighting the horror of the Imperial System and the inadequacies of Liberal Democracy. From a Militant Mining Family and having lost an eye in a mining accident, Hirsch presented the image of the Working Class left behind before and after the War. On the election night, this seemed up in the air, whilst the Social Democratic Party had gained a majority, it was a majority of four and if the Democratic Party and Independents joined the Liberals in a coalition, then a new Government could be formed. Thankfully for Hirsch, the young Populistic leader of the Agrarian party, Kostas Kordatos was happy to support a Socialist government in return for much needed funding for agriculture and the Democratic Party weren’t interested in forming an Anti-Socialist Government at that time.
So Hirsch would oversee three years of radical change.
Authoritarian Laws on Trade Unions and Strikes were rolled back, Industries like Coal and Steel were nationalised, Transport would be brought under Public Ownership and various other Social Democratic ideals instituted. Relying on the support of the Agrarians also meant that support for the creation of Cooperatives across the countryside and nation would occur, despite the bugbears of the Socialist government.
The big problem for Hirsch was his Government was divided. The Left of the Party were fond of the Socialists nations of the Alliance whilst the Right were fond of support the actions of the Confederation, which lead to controversy as the government was seen as supporting the actions of the Confederation when it invaded Lerna in 63’.
Meanwhile Hirsch, initially a vibrant and healthy leader of the opposition felt burned out by the job. Increasingly Housebound, he would designate the job to less savvy politicians like the Chancellor Jahno whose aloof technocratic view came across as awkward.
As election was called though in 64’, the old Hirsch came back, refreshed and alive on the campaign trail. Discussions about a ‘Popola Fronto’ after the election or a grand coalition of the Left would be discussed. But in the end, the Anti-Socialist faction of Agrarians would win out, and Hirsch would be on the backfoot when facing Tardí.
4). Polono Tardí, a figure who dominates Ockidanta’s modern politics. Even now, the old man can be seen influencing and grooming young politicians into accepting his own peculiar brand of Liberalism. Some deem him a ruthless demagogue, a man who would oversee the centralisation of the nation to the Yellow Machine, a period of corrupt and graft would emerge from this interaction between the Liberals, the bureaucracy and business, the Golden Triangle as it were.
But to others, Tadrí’s brand of Liberalism is what allow the party to finally gain the coalition its successor has to today, the aspirational working class, Nationalists, the well to do middle class and the Technostructure that grew in this culture of unfettered access.
Initially Tardí had been a school teacher from a working class background and a Socialist, being arrested several times in the immediate aftermath of the war, campaigning for Trade Union rights. However his chance of becoming a political candidate for the Social Democrats would be dashed, as many saw him as unreliable.
He would leave the party, and would run for a local council position as an Independent. His headstrong and charismatic appearance made him an attractive candidate and he would beat the established parties in an upset. Ever on the look out for potential political stars, Kaĉjo Leono - Okcidento would offer him a potential candidacy for the Liberal party in the 54’ election. Tardí accepted and would rapidly climb the ladder of cabient. Whilst he made plenty of political enemies, he would court a strong relationship with business and the grassroots, who would leverage support for him.
This would pay out when, in 62’ the Liberal Party hosted a leadership convention. Many expected Karlo Fiškaptisto to win, but Tardí would leverage his support within the party to win in an upset. Tardí would rapidly consolidate power, even making Karlo, Finance Minster which both the party and business approved of. As the 64’ election was underway, many expected Tardí to lose, but his populistic, Red baiting, firebrand campaign would see him through.
Throughout his time in office, Tardí was known as a man with no fixed political ideology in a true sense. To the shock of many, Tardí would keep the nationalised industries as they were, filling the boards with friends and colleagues who would quickly attach the industries to the Big Yellow Machine. He had campaigned against the ‘Socialistic’ plans to institute wage and price controls but would within his first few years in office in response to inflation, do just that.
Tardí said he was against Big Government but as the 60s wore on, increasingly the government would begin to nationalise oil production and centralise the regions resources.
On the world stage, Tardí would support the creation of the the World Trade Organisation and the Internal Financial Agency which would begin to dictate the economic powers of the former Alliance nations. Additionally, Tadrí would make him a firm Anti-Confederate calling out the ‘that insidious Statist ideology’ and would support controversial Alliance proxy wars, including sending troops to Erita during the Eritian War of Independence.
As Tardí time in office grew on, he would increasingly rid himself of any semblance of rivalry. Karlo Fiškaptisto would by 68’ be ran out of office and blamed for inflation, with the job going to Lino Hassan Sr. a firm Tardí supporter.
As the 60s wore on, fears of a Socialist Majority re-emerging was Tardí biggest fear. The electoral reform referendum whilst seemingly about allowing increased Democratic choice was more about ensuring the continuation of ‘Anti-Socialist’ government and increasing term times to allow ‘Anti-Socialist’ policies to bed properly if a government looked likely to fall. Indeed the elder Eriko Kuniklo would support the creation of an ‘Anti-Socialist Pact’ which in 72’ would be used to ensure a third term for Tardí.
Whilst older and increasingly unpopular, Tardí would stay on, having forged an iron grip on the party. Many assumed he would stay on till at least the 77’ election.
But Tardí son, Ludoviko, having used his fathers connections to build a Business Empire within the lucrative energy market would be arrested for being part of an embezzlement scheme which would unravel a series of corruption scandals happening within state owned enterprises, many connect to Tardí himself. As the ire of the people and additionally the police came closer towards the cabinet it was decided that Tardí was to be ousted. One day in 75’ as he was on a foreign trip to the capital of the Confederation, Heriner, Tardí would land to find out a motion of no confidence had been passed and that he was no longer leader of the Liberal Party, by the time he came back, he had been replaced.
Tardí continues to spend his time lambasting the Liberal Democratic Party and pondering a possible return to politics.
5). Vihelmo Pastisto was very much the right man at the wrong time, a unity candidate for the coalition and someone who was reasonably popular with the media and grassroots, he was to his misfortune, overtaken by events. Pastisto was from a rural background but left when the war began to lead to deprivation and starvation for his agrarian based family.
In the aftermath of the War, Pastisto was able to go to University to study medicine thanks to one of the educational support schemes instituted by the post war government. From there he would become a Doctor. Joining the Liberal Party and competing in politics due to the Social Democratic attempts to nationalise the healthcare industry, he would rapidly be seen as a popular parliamentarian and in time a fairly uncontroversial health minister (an impressive feat given there have been twenty four ministers in the position of the course of thirty one years). Leaving the cabinet to spend more time with his young family, Pastisto would rapidly find himself the perfect candidate for the Liberal Party following the corruption scandals left by Tardí.
Pastisto initially resisted, being pushed into by his wife, Adorina, to accept the offer. In the end the party had to agree to let Pastisto be able to have time off, to spend time with his family and to listen to classical music.
As a Prime Minister untainted by corruption, a committed family man and competent operator, Pastisto was seen as a safe pair of hands. Rapidly it became apparent that the problems were unlikely to be resolved by him alone through.
A corruption investigation into his own party lead to political infighting and several prominent politicians like Lino Hassan Sr. leaving the party altogether.
Pastisto’s dry economic beliefs and individual freedoms meant little in the Centralised, Inflationary state left by Tardí, deflationary measures would be deeply unpopular and the once soft spoken man of the people found himself lambasted as figure of disgust for his attempts to balance the books.
Additionally, Pastisto would attempt to heal the broken relationship between the Confederation, whilst Tardí would have started the charge, Pastisto would attempt to form a lasting detente. Whilst this would lead to an increase in trade and importantly oil between the nations, the Confederation had a mixed view in Okcidenta. Additionally the ever militant coal miners would strike several times, seeing the government’s detente as an attempt to circumvent their power.
As 77’ approached, Pastisto was detested, disliked by most political corners and seen as a figure who had let the nation down. However recently he’s become more admired, particularly due to Hassan Jr’s glowing admiration for him. Pastisto has retired from politics, instead spending time with his family, practicing as a part time Doctor and occasionally writing books, both fiction and non-fiction of varying quality.
6). Raĥelo Kastelo would lead the most Left Wing Government that Ockidanta had ever seen, the proclaimed ‘Red Queen’ had United the Left through her fiery leadership and smashed the Anti-Socialist Pact, within five years her party was moribund and her government would cast aside in a landslide. Kastelo’s is a curious case.
From a deprived inner city family, Kastelo would gain education thanks to her joining the Nurses Corp as War broke. The toil and hardship she saw on and off the battlefield would inspire her to eventually become a Socialist. Become a Parliamentarian in the crushing defeat of 54’, Kastelo would establish herself as a firebrand of the Left, fighting for Equal Pay, Equal Rights and would March against colonialism and the atomic bomb.
Despite that, she would find herself being given a cabinet position in the Hirsch Government. As Education Minister she controversial ended Grammar Schools, would instituted further support schemes for University and would force Private Schools to pay taxes. The Right lambasted her as a wannabe dictator but her education policies has meant that Ockidanta has the highest education rate of any of the post war nations and the highest number of University Graduates too.
In opposition, Kastelo would slowly become the leader of the Left as the Social Democrats were consumed by bitter infighting in the wake of Tardí’s Majority. Following the bitter defeat of 72’, in which the Moderate Nikolai Zaropoulos lost a winnable election to Tardí, the Left struck and gained control of the party and propelled Kastelo to leadership.
Forming an alliance with the controversial Union of Farmers, as ever desperate for pork barrel and finding Tardí’s efforts to integrate Ockidanta into the Global Economy horrifiying, and the newly reformed Communist Party which proclaimed to now be engaged in ‘NeoCommunsim’, Kastelo would storm ahead in the 77’ election and enter Government.
Kastelo would be a radical Prime Minister, overseeing the decriminalisation of homosexuality and abortion, increasing the minimum wage and giving Trade Unions more power and control. However this connection with the Unions would be a constant frustration, her support for an Industrial Democracy and increased Cooperative Businesses rankled the old stodgy Trade Union Barons.
Her attempts to institute Economic Nationalist policies, whilst popular, would anger her neighbours and lead to a series of embarrassing trade wars and increased inflation. A near run on the Dollar would be saved by quick devaluation but the lingering distrust that business and commerce had against Kastelo grew.
The removal of Alliance Military bases would lead to controversy and a series of diplomatic incidents. Additionally splits with the Communist Party would ripple within the Government, as Iosif Rioux formed a new Communist Party with the active support of the Mining Trade Union who had clashed with the Kastelo Government over a pay package.
Still by the time of the 82’ election hope was that a Second Majority for Socialism would occur, despite the best efforts of Capital, the economy was functioning and the people felt better off and free. A series of military skirmishes on the border with the Confederation would put everyone on the back foot. Fears of a Confederate invasion would divide the Kastelo Cabinet and chaos would abound. Whilst Kastelo would iron out the issues with Premier Chabon, the lingering distrust that had built up against Kastelo exploded from all corners. This wave of discontentment would overcome Kastelo.
She would retire soon after her lose and spend her time fighting for the causes she believes in and additionally touring the Socialist Nations of the World as part of her attempt craft ‘Kastelo Vision’ as she calls it of Socialism, which is increasingly become popular with Young Bearded University Radicals.
7). Lino Hassan Jr. dramatic landslide victory has shocked many, for the first time in a decade a Majority Government leads the Okcidenta Republic. A dashing and young charismatic leader, Lino represents a different breed of ‘Liberal’ politician, more interested in the profit margin over the people.
Indeed instead of the Economic Nationalism seen by his predecessors, Hassan is keen to oversee the integration of the Okcidenta Republic within the increasingly connected world, being a strong supporter of joining the Western Trade Bloc, whilst in the long term it would increase the growth of the Okcidenta Economy in the short term the power of the Trade Unions and the strength of Okcidenta’s State Owned Industries begins to suffer through the requisite austerity measures and deflationary measures required for joining.
Whilst Hassan is increasingly looking like he’ll secure a second term, he’s not the same popular opposition figure he once was, indeed as I write the possibility of a Left Wing Alliance between Social Democrats and Communists seems likely, indeed there aim seems less to ensure Socialism but more to modernise and make the country more economically prosperous.
The insidious hand of Capital has for now, beaten that of the People.
Have to say, I do have to say doing fictional lists is hard, hats off to folks like @Turquoise Blue and @monroetempleton who able to do it seemingly easily and not do write ups which go through half a dozen ideas at once, though to be fair, I did do this entirely on my phone.