Kampen för fred • the fight for peace

[Jydsken-Østveg]

“Mr. Prime Minister... you’re in a situation that you cannot win. I’m only giving you the ability to determine your future.”

Rasmus Olsen looked at the document in front of him blankly. The document had very little to do with the matters in front of him. ECONAMS had sunk this government. He had options, but nothing was assured. He could save his own position, but risk a resurgent left and the SNP. The Socialists sat before him now and gave him a different option though. He could resign as Prime Minister and agree to the appointment of the Socialist Party’s choice from within his Party as Prime Minister. This was also dangerous. The choice was kept quiet, and he didn’t know who it would be. He insisted to know, but was refused several times.

“How can I sell your appointment to my party, if I don’t know who it is?” Olsen shook his head. The Socialist Party member before him sighed, “That’s just a risk you’ll have to take. You can also just take us to a general election if you don’t like what you see before you.” Olsen wiped his nose with his hand. He didn’t have a cold, but was more a sign of the stress he was in. Prior he had never really had a situation that he could not escape. Dynamics within the new Two Kingdoms were different though. He did not just have to appeal to only the Jysk people, but the entire realm.

This meeting was happening between the Prime Minister and the Socialists for one major reason. His coalition partners, the Social Liberals decided that it was time to end the coalition. They planned end the Government and force a new election. One they felt they’d surely improve upon, although Olsen himself wouldn’t let them if push came to shove. Regardless, it seemed as though the Socialists would win government if he pushed for that election though. Beat back the Social Liberals, lose the election, keep party leadership. Or, accept a new Prime Minister, try to run government from the cabinet via the tacit support of the Socialists. It wasn’t not an admirable position to be in, but here he was.

Olsen shook his head, “I’m not keen on losing my party, yet... I think it’s a difficult ask that you are making. What are you hoping to gain with a new Conservative Prime Minister? What do you know about a member of my party that I do not?” The room stayed quiet, but one man eventually chimed in. “Are you asking rhetorically?”

“OF COURSE I’M ASKING RHETORICALLY! THIS IS MY PARTY!” Olsen pounded the table once stiffly. “I’ll see you in hell gentlemen. Let’s bring down the government.”

 

[Jydsken-Østveg]

“We will campaign together as friends and allies, but not as Socialists.”

Lotta Folkesson looked sternly at her counterpart Birger Ola Hansson after speaking. She did not need the support of the Socialists to be able to get into Parliament. The Socialists were not sure if they’d need her to get into government, but because of the uncertainly on that question they needed her. With her support, it would seem that a Socialist-SNP led government would be enevitable. It would give the SNP the ability to obtain exactly what it wanted, clear control on the future of Scania.

Birger, the Socialist Party leader was socialist through and through. He hated the State Church, but knew he’d have to work with it. The SNP came from an area that was well involved with the church. They supported Socialist Policies and the business of Social Democracy. This is where they could make an alliance. Lotta knew is this where the deal could be struck, but she couldn’t campaign in an alliance that seemed to create an enemy of Christians. She would never be able to maintain cohesion in the SNP if she allowed it. Her counterpart was a bit silent, but he was calculating. He was the one who gave Rasmus Olsen the choice in how he wished to fall. Birger didn’t know Lotta though. Birger knew Rasmus for quite some time.

He finally injected some life into the discussion after what seemed a full minute of silence. “Very well, but only because we have similar goals, and branding will be important to your people due to how young you are. How do you feel about calling our pact, the Social Democratic Alliance?”

Lotta nodded, it would be suffice and easier to sell due to the emphasis on an alliance. She knew that this alliance would last as long as the Socialist Party would be able to stomach the Christian leanings of the SNP. For example, the Socialists wanted to remove Christian teachings from School curriculum, something that would alienate the SNP if they campaigned on that.

“Yes, I can agree to that name. I believe after this election, should we agree to my plan for restructuring the realm, the SNP will need to rename itself anyhow.”

Birger nodded. “Of course. We can visit those sort of things another time. I believe we should campaign together. We can begin in Waldemarsudde to placate your base. Then we can move directly to the capital, and onwards to Nidaros. What we represent will be unity, and I’ll expect to have you serve as in my cabinet as either the the foreign minister.” Birger wanted to do this because he wanted her out of the country while he governed to be honest. It was a prestigious position, but would keep any strange Christian ideas she might have away from the day-to-day management.

Lotta smiled. “I’m glad we can start where I currently call home.”

 

[Jydsken-Østveg]

“Our Conservative Party was founded as the bulwark against socialism. In our hubris we conflated the accomplishments of our past with predestined dreams of our future. The future isn’t won in the past, it’s won in the present.”

Rasmus Olsen stared down his cabinet after pausing his rant. He maintained control of the party for the time being, but he knew the upcoming loss would require his resignation. You cannot remain in charge of a party while losing control of the government. Such circumstances were rare, and heading off a challenge to the Conservative Party would be difficult. He’d been at the top for nearly 15 years. Fresh blood was of course needed. He did not want to let go though. While he was an older man, he knew he had more to give.

Thus the meeting. He had to know who was going to challenge him for the top spot and who was still on his team. Those still on his team he would need. The Conservative Party could languish in the minority with stale ideas and Justosian foreign policy, or it could reinvent itself.

“We’re at a crossroads my friends. The Conservative Party of the past or the Conservative Party of the present. Don’t you find it peculiar that Conservatives are winning in Sylvania and Karoleania*, but not here in Jyskerige? We have a splendid history of success after success. We do not lose. I want to volunteer a research group to figure out what is going on in Markstad and allow us to see if there is anything to be learned from Conservatism in the west.” Olsen paused rubbing his eye. He was tired. The group in front of him was tired. They had worked hard throughout January trying to reverse the trends of the ECONAMS debacle, the Christmas Protest, and the Justosian Winter.

“How else do we reverse course...? We cannot so suddenly break off the ECONAMS group, but we must make it clear nothing further. It won’t win the war, but it’ll stop the bleeding. It’s too little too late. Such policies will make me unpopular in Parliament, but I think we all know this party is headed for a schism anyhow.” It was the first time he had uttered the term himself. Everyone in the room knew it though. They all had ambitions, and this electoral loss would find winners and losers, and everyone would have to find a new flag to rally behind if the wrong people won.

*OOC {

Former Cantignia is now Western Engellexic Republic, and there isn’t a denomym... yet? I came up with Karoleania as a basis for those who came from Karlstad. Karoliner or Carolean. They are the little brothers of Sylvania. For me, this might not be a permanent denomym. Kyle might change the name, or come up with his own term. For now, I’ll have it like this.​

}

 

[Jydsken-Østveg]

“I’m not campaigning for Government. I’m preparing for civil war.”

His aides looked at him a bit confused. Olsen clarified, “I’m not talking about bullets flying about, although who knows what is possible anymore. Our party is going to split at the seams. The Socialists are going to be in power for quite sometime. At least as long as it takes for some one to win this war between conservatives.” The taller aide, a man in his early 30s spoke, “You could always step down and let the party absorb the loss behind Oskar Ståhlberg.”

Olsen gave him a disapproving look.

He sighed, “You want to let that the twat, who has a silver spoon stuck so far up his ass that you’d struggle to find the handle run the party? We’d never be the party as the last defense against socialism ever again. We’d just be the party that cut all services, lowered taxes to nothing... nothing in government would function anymore. At least with a post-delegationist there would be some kind of ethos to it all. Ståhlberg is all about greed.” Olsen stood up and walked over to the window looking at the street. It was all grey. Grey snow lined edges of the sidewalks in a mountain of dirty snow, covered by a grey sky. Olsen didn’t particularly care about the election anymore. It was lost. He wasn’t on the campaign trail anymore. Instead is was at the Prime Minister’s house for what would surely be his last days. Sure he made television appearances, participated in the debates. None of it mattered anyway. The Socialists were far ahead in the polls. The damned SNP were going to join government and get their way. Østveg would be split. The other half that wouldn’t be SNP looked to be having damned post-delegationists winning. Imagine that? Austwegians would be choose a mixture of Socialists, the SNP, and the Republicans now rebranded as the post-delegationist Free Fjord Party winning.

Jyskerige which was the bastion of conservatism was having a surge in Socialists cutting their usual numbers. Social Liberals picking up the rest of the pieces that weren’t Conservative. It had all gone to hell. He had hoped to blame Ståhlberg. Some did, but most blamed him. Olsen sighed, fogging the window. “Even if I resign now, Ståhlberg will get a mulligan. He’ll lead the party.”

The aide retorted, “Precisely. I’m only looking out for you. Every second that we can get free from this train wreck we can apply to the other side of the civil war you’ve mentioned. It’s time to start the schism today. Let’s form your party and immediately eat into Ståhlberg’s numbers.”

Olsen turned towards him. “How would that work? Voters would be confused with only two days to consider a new party. We’d not even be on the lists.”

The aide nodded.

A voice chimed in that had been quiet this whole time. “You could decide to tell the right people your plan to initiate the schism on the day the Socialists take power. That way you’ll have representation in Parliament. To do that you’ll need to be a bit more cloak and dagger though.”

Olsen glanced over. It was Pernille Holmgaard, his top advisor. “So you think I need to do this before the election?”

“Yes.”

The room was quiet as Olsen positioned himself towards the window again. “...and what do we call this rebellion?” Holmgaard walked over to the window herself saying in a less confident voice, “Perhaps what we actually represent? The center?” Olsen turned to her and laughed, “Unoriginal, but unassuming. I think I like it. It’ll speak to the Jysk people.”