The Druth Parliament
The government of Druthal is a Parliamentary Monarchy. Druthal is reigned over by the king, who is determined by the rules of succession from the royal line, and whose coronation is approved by the Parliament and the Church of Druthal. The king is both the head of state and the head of church. The current king, Maradaine XVIII, was crowned in 1213. He is the thirteenth king in the current royal line: The Line of Maradaine, the longest in Druth history, which began with Maradaine VII in 938.
Despite his position as head of state and church, the Druth King is actually quite limited in power. His authority is limited to acting as executive over the High Council, whose role is to implement policy as decided by the Parliament. He can issue edicts to the Parliament and the High Court, but neither body is obliged to obey him. The Druth Throne is far more of a symbol of power, and the true authority of the king is dependent on the love of the people.
The Parliament was originally conceived during the Reunification of 1009, and first convened in 1015. It is composed of one hundred Druth citizens, ten from each archduchy. The ten archduchies are Maradaine, Patyma, Sauriya, Acora, Oblune, Monim, Yinara, Kesta, Linjar, and Scaloi. Members of the Parliament (“Chair”) are elected within their archduchy, and they must be citizens and residents of that archduchy. They also must neither possess nor have reasonable claim to any noble title. Every Chair serves a five-year term.
There is a Parliamentary election every year, in which each archduchy votes on two of their ten parliamentary chairs, in rotation. Over the course of five years, all ten chairs from each archduchy have stood for election. Elections are open to many candidates—often over twenty on the official ballot—and the two candidates with the most votes claim the chairs. If circumstances have opened an additional chair (the death or resignation of a chair who would not be up for election, for example), the third-ranking candidate claims that chair.
Within the Parliament, there are essentially six Party Affiliations:
The Traditionalists (Dishers), whose primary platform is supporting the rights and authority of the noble class, which includes giving nobility greater freedoms for implementing taxes and policies within their own regions.
The Loyalists (Crownies) support the leadership and authority of the throne, and work on policies that further the King’s agenda.
The Free Commerce Party (Minties) supports trade and business, including policies of minimizing taxes and tariffs to facilitate the growth of the merchant class.
The Ecclesials (Books) support the church, and are often former members of the clergy. Their platform is one of enabling moral guidance and personal responsibility.
The Functionalists (Frikes) have a platform of effective governance, focusing on policies that work and accomplish real goals over furthering specific partisan agendas.
The Populists (Salties) represent the common man, beyond the interests of the nobility, throne, church, or merchant class. This is the smallest party in the Parliament.
The current parliament is controlled by a Ruling Coalition of the Loyalists, Functionalists, and Free Commercialists. The Traditionalists and Ecclesials are united in a Coalition of Opposition. The Populists do not form a Coalition with either group, but frequently vote with the Ruling Coalition. But with recent assassinations of members of Parliament, and the elections of 1215 bringing in new members, the balance of the Parliament is poised to shift.