Polity



History
The Riksțing
In ancient times it was usual in large parts of northern Europe that a folk assembly was held for every decision that had to be made. This folk assembly was called the "țing" or "thing". The folk assembly did not only vote about political decisions but also held lawsuits. Not just villages and other small communities had their own folk assembly, but also tribes, tribal coalitions and later even some states. In these large folk assemblies so many people were represented that these could not all be present at one time to give their personal opinion, therefore chosen representatives of the people were introduced.
        This soon came to an end; the power of the folk assemblies waned and kings started to rule like despots. During the 15th century the influence of the folk assembly increased again and the old situation was restored as much as possible. At the beginning of the 20th century the Frilandic government got her current shape, in which the power is divided between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary; the so-called trias politica.

Summary of the government
Friland (Kunungrik Friland) is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The official head of state is the king, who has a largely ceremonial function. Under the king are three layers of government: the Riksțing (Parliament of the kingdom), Gațing (Parliament of the province) and Stadsțing (Parliament of the municipality, or city council). Each of these parliaments is elected by the people.

King
The king stands above the parties and has little political power. However, he can put things on the political agenda and introduce bills, as long as there is enough support for them amongst the populace. Despite this it is the Riksțing that eventually has to pass or reject these bills. So the king has a certain amount of influence but can not take any one-sided political decisions. In the very first place the king is a representative for his country and besides that a military and/or religious leader, as is traditionally customary. In practice however, he can leave these tasks to third persons.

Riksțing
The Riksțing has 100 seats and is the highest parliament of Friland. The prime minister is called "fursetar" (chairman) and the ministers are called "tugars" (lords, governors, rulers). There are 13 ministries:

  • Ministry of General Affairs (Bilaidstugarai): is led by the prime minister and supports him with the coordination of the general government policy and public information.
  • Ministry of Finance (Geldwihtstugarai)
  • Ministry of Domestic Affairs (Innanlandstugarai)
  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Utlandstugarai)
  • Ministry of Labour (Arbaițstugarai): takes care of trade, industry, employment, social security and the interests of employers and employees.
  • Ministry of Food Supply (Skaftstugarai): takes care of, amongst other things; agriculture, fishing and food inspection.
  • Ministry of Justice (Rehtstugarai)
  • Ministry of Defence (Harstugarai)
  • Ministry of Education and Science (Frod and Witanskapstugarai)
  • Ministry of Culture and Heritage (Oțalstugarai)
  • Ministry of Traffic (Karstugarai)
  • Ministry of Health (Hailstugarai)
  • Ministry of Environment (Leibhaimstugarai)

    Gațing
    The Gațing is the parliament of a province, which is called "ga" (shire) or "mark" (march) in Friland. A march is the same as a shire, with the difference that it borders a neighbouring country (march = border). The head of a shire is the "druhtin" (count/lord) and his ministers/provincial executives are called "gatugars" (shire lords).
            See shires for more information.

    Stadsțing
    The Stadsțing is the city council; the parliament of a municipality. A municipality is called "Stadskreng" (City circle) in Friland. The head of a municipality is the "burgsteurar" (mayor) and the aldermen are called stadstugars (city lords).
            See municipalities for more information.

    Other government organisations
  • Talrad (Counting council), comparable to the National Audit Office or the General Accounting Office: all expenditures of all layers of the government have to be accounted for the Talrad, which is objective and not associated with any party or government organ. The Talrad analyses the financial policy and passes this information to the Landsrad, which can then point a ministry to possible errors. The Talrad also publishes a periodic report to show the people in detail what the government is doing with their tax money.
  • Landsrad (National council), comparable to the Council of State: gives non-binding advice to all layers of the government. Citizens can also go here for complaints, which will influence the advice that is given to the government.

    Voting rights and elections
    Every citizen of 18 years and older has voting rights. There are elections for the national parliament (Riksțing), the provincial parliament (Gațing) and the city council (Stadsțing), after which the newly formed coalition decides who will be the head of said coalition. These elections are held every five years. Provincial or municipal elections do not take place simultaneously.

    Participation and accountability
    Everyone is allowed at all times to enter the Riksțing, Gațing and Stadsțing to listen to the debates and every half year all three of the parliaments (country, province and municipality) hold a participation round, which three representatives are allowed to join to present three important subjects to the parliament in name of the people. Who these representatives are and what subject they come to talk about doesn't matter, as long as the representatives and their subjects are supported by a sufficient number of citizens. The three parliaments also hold an annual Farandwurdungsdag ("Accountability day"), which can be compared to the American State of the Union. This is done on the first day of June.


    Government of Hiveria
    Hiveria (République Hiveria) is a presidential republic. The official head of state is the president and the congress is called "Le Sénat" (The Senate). Voting rights start at 18 and both the president and the senate are elected for a period of four years.
            The Hiverian president has much power because he is both head of state and government leader. The other layers of government are the provinces and the municipalities. A province is led by a "Conseil Provincial" (Provincial Council), of which the head is called "gouverneur" and the members "députés" (delegates). A municipality (municipalité) is led by a "Conseil Municipal" (Municipal Council), of which the head is called "maire" (mayor) and the members "conseillers municipal" (municipal councillors).


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