Government of Bloenland

The Kingdom of Great Blönland is a federal constitutional monarchy in which executive power, nominally vested in the King, the head of state, is delegated by legislation to a parliamentary system which combines elements of direct and indirect democracy. The King as Head of State still takes an active role in politics, which is unusual for most democratic constitutional monarchies of Uletha. The government is presided over by a Prime Minister who leads a collegial, nominally nonpartisan cabinet. The current Constitution, adopted in 1952, provides for a high level of federalism, giving a great degree of autonomy to the two Constituent Countries, Blönland (proper) and Remsfalen-Lüningen, formerly afforded only to the latter, which was annexed by Blönland in 1854. Blönland is also unique in terms of retaining a strong hereditary element in its upper house.

Constitution

Executive branch

Monarchy of Blönland

The King of Blönland (König von Blönland), styled His Majesty (Seine Majestät), is the Head of State. According to the constitution, all powers emanate from him but he is specifically the head of the executive branch. The current King is Friedrich-Alexander III, who succeeded his father Georg III upon his death in 1968 at the age of 23 years. He fulfills his mostly representative and cultural responsibilities together with his consort, Queen Olga, his heir apparent Crown Prince Georg and other members of the Royal Family. The King represents Blönland abroad and frequently attends international events with other heads of state.

The King's primary responsibility is to serve as the symbol of the State and maintain stability in the political process.

The King has the right to appoint and dismiss ministers, commission officers, open and close the parliament, grant honours and titles of nobility and grant reprieves and pardons. He makes use of all these rights regularly.

Succession

The monarchy of Blönland is hereditary. Succession is governed by the Constitution in 1952 and the Royal Household and Succession Act which was last updated in 1995. The crown is inherited under primogeniture in the male line, meaning that only male Princes of the Royal Family, descending through men only from a past King, may inherit it. Primogeniture means that the eldest son of the King is normally the heir apparent. Princesses and their descendants are excluded from the line of succession, as are children born out of wedlock unless their parents marry and obtain a letter of legitimization from the King.

The Constitution stipulates that the King must belong to the Catholic Church. It is up to debate among legal scholars whether this means that non-Catholics are excluded from the line of succession or merely cannot exercise their powers if they become King. The 1995 Royal Household and Succession Act has not clarified this yet, though the first 30 persons in line to the throne are currently Catholics, making the debate irrelevant. The Act has, however, lifted the requirement for the consort to also be Catholic, requiring that she merely "professes a Christian faith".

As one of the last monarchies in the world, Blönland still maintains a tradition of equal intermarriage, meaning that members of the Royal Family are expected or at least encouraged to marry other royals or members of the nobility. Until 1995, this was generally understood as encompassing only members of sovereign houses and certain high-ranking titled noble families, but the new Act clarified that even newly granted nobility of the spouse is theoretically enough to maintain one's position in the line of succession and that in other cases a written dispensation from the King is enough. In practice, as permission is needed for any marriage anyway, this difference is irrelevant, even though the permission was denied or granted only under condition of renouncing one's rights to the throne in many recent cases. However, most members of the Royal Family and all currently living ones still in the line of succession are married to nobles or royals, including King Friedrich-Alexander III himself, whose consort is a Princess of Remsfalen.

Royal Family

The Royal Family of Blönland is a branch of the von Burgenau family, which had ruled the city and the surrounding countryside at least since the 10th century, first as counts and later as dukes.

By statute, the Royal Family encompasses all male-line descendants of Blönland's first king, Rupprecht, from "approved marriages". King Rupprecht ruled from 1445 to 1477 and declared Blönland a kingdom in 1461. In reality, the earliest common ancestor of all current Princes and Princesses of the Blood is King Georg I., who ruled from 1805 to 1856. The Royal Family currently encompasses 56 individuals excluding the King and Queen - Princes, unmarried Princesses and Princesses Consort. Princesses born into the Royal Family traditionally give up their title upon marriage, there are currently 22 such former Princesses.

Princes who marry without the a person deemed of "insufficient rank" and give up their succession rights normally keep their title for life but a lower title, in recent times almost always "Count/Countess of Burgenau", is granted to their spouses and children, who do not obtain membership in the Royal Family.

Two cadet branches of the von Burgenau family not descending from King Rupprecht I exist. They do not belong to the Royal Family but hold titles in the Nobility of Blönland.

List of Kings of Blönland since Georg I

(Unless noted, Kings are sons of their predecessors)

Number	Name	Birth	Rule	Death	Consorts	Notes	Picture
	Georg I	1770	1805-1856	1856	Olga, née Princess of Remsfalen-Lüningen
	Friedrich-Alexander II	1802	1856-1889	1889	Countess Friederike of Burgenau, née Baroness von Glückuhn (morganatic)	Descendants excluded from line of succession
	Georg II	1804	1889-1895	1895	unmarried	Brother of Friedrich-Alexander II, died childless
	Georg III	1847	1895-1917	1917	Alexandra, née Princess of Remsfalen	Nephew of Georg II
	Albrecht IV	1884	1917-1955	1955	Friederike, née Princess of Blönland
	Georg IV	1911	1955-1968	1968	Clothilde, née Princess of Baringen
	Friedrich-Alexander III	1945	1968		Olga, née Princess of Remsfalen

Legislative branch

The Diet

The Diet (Landtag) is Blönland's parliament and supreme legislative organ. It consists of two chambers.

House of Lords

The House of Lords (Herrenhaus) is the upper house of the Blönnish parliament and

Judicial branch

Criminal Justice and Penal System

Criminal courts exist in every major town. They are complemented by a system of "flying judges" that travel between police stations and jails, who often work part-time and sentence defendants in small cases but also adjudicate civil disputes.

Sentencing in criminal trials in Blönland is noticeably harsher than in other countries, which is frequently criticized by human rights groups. It is not uncommon for a first-time shoplifter to be sentenced to several years in prison. In September 2023, the House of Deputies vowed to "explore alternatives to long-term imprisonment" for young, nonviolent and first-time offenders, including electronic tagging, penal labour and corporal punishment. One of the reasons for high punishments is the fact that the State provides no assistance to those who can't afford a lawyer. While many prominent defendants can hire lawyers thanks to donors, including the non-governmental organization Blönnish Justice Fund, those less fortunate must usually resort to defending themselves in a trial. Combined with the controversial system of giving prosecutors bonuses for successful convictions, this leads to a high amount of harsh sentences and subsequent retrials or acquittals of innocent persons who were enticed by the court to plead guilty.

Blönland is one of the countries in Uletha that still actively use the death penalty. Except in military tribunals, the death penalty requires a trial by jury. Executions are possible for murder, certain cases of manslaughter, aggravated rape, serious drug offences, "offences against the life and dignity of the King" or other members of the Royal House or conspiracy to commit such offences, terrorism, treason, war crimes, and, in wartime, for desertion, grave insubordination and cowardice. Under the newest Criminal Justice Law of 2022, the death penalty is mandatory for capital crimes committed against children. Executions are carried out by hanging or shooting. Appeals are limited and most condemned prisoners wait 6 to 18 months until their execution.

Political history and culture

Parties

Due to its history and federalism, Blönland's party structure is highly complex. Many ideologies are represented by two or more parties, and many parties are historically associated with one of the two constituent countries, even though all except for openly separatist ones now participate in elections in both parts of the country. One notable example is the United Social-Democratic Party, which was created through the merger of Blönland's and Remsfalen-Lüningen's social-democratic parties in 1937. The lack of a minimum vote barrier encourages the formation of new parties, often from ideological splits or personal conflicts between prominent members.

Political divisions

Left vs. Right

Blönland is a very traditional and conservative society and left-wing parties, including social-democratic ones, have had less success than in other countries, only participating in coalitions for 12 of the last 100 years. Nevertheless, there is a large array of political factions left of the center, many hostile to each other. The center and right wing is also split into a multitude of parties along fine ideological lines and regional differences.

Unionism vs. Autonomism vs. Separatism

The three main political positions regarding the membership of Remsfalen-Lüningen in the Kingdom of Blönland are Unionism, Autonomism and Separatism.

Unionists want to preserve the status quo or reduce the level of devolution and federalism. Autonomists approve of the union but want more rights, usually for Remsfalen-Lüningen (essentially a return to pre-1952 conditions) but often for both constituent countries. Some demand that the name of the country is changed to "Kingdom of Blönland-Remsfalen" or "Kingdom of Blönland-Remsfalen-Lüningen".

Separatists want Remsfalen-Lüningen to leave the Kingdom. They differ on whether it should become an independent republic, restore the Grand Ducal Crown in personal union with either Blönland or Remsfalen, or rejoin the Kingdom of Remsfalen as a province. There are very few separatists in Blönland proper.

Monarchism vs. Republicanism

While all right-wing factions except for right-wing Remsfalian separatists firmly stand on the side of the monarchy, the centre and liberal camps are split on the issue and republicanism is widespread on the left except for the VSD, which has a tradition of social-democratic monarchism. Many republicans criticize the lack of gender-neutral primogeniture and the King's continuing political role. Among republicans, most want a purely parliamentary system while some want the President to have the same or more powers as the King.

List of main parties

The list includes all main official political parties of Blönland. Parties on this list are or have recently held seats in the federal or one of the two provincial legislatures, provided ministers, or are otherwise currently or historically important.

Party name	Translation	Abbreviation	Founded	Ideology	Notes	Party Coalition (on federal level)	Seats in House of Lords	Seats in House of Representatives	Colour	Logo
Vereinigte Linke	United Left	VL	1976	Communism, Left-wing extremism, Left-wing populism	Loose coalition of several leftist fringe groups.
Blönnische Kommunistische Partei	Blönnish Communist Party	BKP	1922	Communism, Left-wing extremism
Remsfälische Arbeiterpartei	Remsfalian Workers' Party	RAP	1915	Communism, Remsfalen-Lüningen separatism, Socialism, Left-wing nationalism and populism
Vereinigte Sozialdemokratische Partei	United Social-Democratic Party	VSD	1937	Big-tent Social Democracy, Socialism, Unionism, Monarchism	Arose from the 1937 union of the Blönnish Social Democratic Party and the Socialist Party of Remsfalen-Lüningen
Ökologisch-Soziale Partei	Ecological-Social Party	ÖSP	1990	Social Democracy, Socialism, Environmentalism, Left-liberalism
Republikanisch-Demokratische Partei Blönlands	Republican-Democratic Party	RDP	1992	Social Democracy, Republicanism, Unionism, Left-liberalism
Christliches Zentrum	Christian Centre	CZ	1997	Christian Democracy, Centrism
Remsfalenpartei	Remsfalen Party	RP	1963	Remsfalen-Lüningen separatism, accession of Remsfalen-Lüningen to the Kingdom of Remsfalen, Social Conservatism, Centrism, Populism
Freiheitlich-Demokratische Partei Blönlands	Liberal-Democratic Party of Blönland	FDB	1946	Liberalism, Federalism, Free Market
Neue Liberale	New Liberals	NL	2010	Social Liberalism, Digitalization	Split from FDB and RFP
Remsfälische Freiheitspartei	Remsfalian Freedom Party	RFP	1952	Liberalism, Federalism, Free Market
Piraten und Unabhängige	Pirates and Independents	PI	2008	Liberalism, Republicanism, Digitalization, Internet freedom
Libertäre Allianz	Libertarian Alliance	LA	1987	Right-libertarianism, Federalism, Market radicalism, Conservatism, Populism, Gun rights	Split from FDB and RFP
Christlich-Demokratische Partei Blönlands	Christian-Democratic Party of Blönland	CDP	1930	Christian Democracy, Federalism, Unionism, Moderate Conservatism, Monarchism
Bauernpartei	Farmers' Party	BP	1944	Conservatism, Agrarianism, Populism
Lüningische Christlich-Demokratische Partei	Lüningen Christian-Democratic Party	LCDP/LCP	1919	Christian Democracy, Moderate Autonomism, Conservatism, Monarchism
Freiheitlich-Konservative Alternative	Liberal-Conservative Alternative	FKA	1999	Conservatism, Right-Wing Populism
Partei der Bibeltreuen	Party of the Bible-Faithful	BT	2007	Christian Fundamentalism, Right-Wing Populism
Remsfälische Kichenpartei	Remsfalian Church Party	RKP	1965	Christian Fundamentalism, Christian Democracy, Conservatism
Blönnische Volkspartei	Blönnish People's Party	BVP	1921	Conservatism, Nationalism, Right-Wing Populism, Libertarianism, Unionism, Monarchism	Started participating in Remsfalen-Lüningen elections in 2016.
Partei der Königstreuen Lüninger	Party of Lüningers loyal to the King	PKL	1921	Conservatism, Nationalism, Unionism, Right-Wing Populism, Monarchism
Liste Huttendorfer	Huttendorfer List	HUTTENDORFER	2016	Conservatism, Right-Wing Populism, Libertarianism	Fairly recent party founded by businessman Wilhelm Huttendorfer.
Groß-Blönländische National-Demokratische Partei	Greater Blönland National Democratic Party	NDP	1960	Conservatism, Nationalism, Isolationism, Irredentism
Partei für Recht und Ordnung	Party for Justice and Order	PRO	1998	Conservatism, Nationalism, Right-Wing Populism, Right-Wing Extremism
Partei der Nationalen Wiedergeburt	Party of National Rebirth	NWG	2020	Extreme Nationalism, Right-Wing Extremism	Split from NDP