Julian Wieselbraun

Julian Wieselbraun
President of the Federal Republic of Axmanie
In office 1 July 2015 – 1 July 2019
Vice President	Konrad Schuester
Preceded by	Gennaro De Sanctis
Ministerpräsident of Martzglaas
In office 12 August 2003 – 12 August 2013
Preceded by	Wolfgang Hartz
Succeeded by	Michael Kertschmeyer
Senator of Martzglaas
In office 1989–2001
Preceded by	Olaf Daisler
Succeeded by	Ernst Klebert
Regional Leader of the KP in Martzglaas
In office January 1984 – March 2013
Bezirksvertreter to the Landtag of Matzglaas
In office 1981–1985
Personal details
Born	Julian Wilhelm Arminius Wieselbraun 7/3/1950 (age 69) Uetersen‎,Martzglass
Political party	Konservative Partei
Spouse	Akademie der Politikwissenschaften von Kiergelensburg
Children	5
Residence	Kiergelensburg
Alma mater	Akademie der Politikwissenschaften von Kiergelensburg
Profession	Politician

Julian Wilhelm Arminius Wieselbraun, born 7 July 1950 is a Axmaniean politician serving as President of the Federal Republic of Axmanie since 2015.

Wieselbraun was born and raised in Martzglaas, after finishing his classical studies he went to the Otto Lindmann Militärschule (Otto Lindmann Military School), then afterwards he went to the Akademie der Politikwissenschaften von Kiergelensburg. He met his wife Brunhilde De Jong during his last year at the "APK" and married her in 1977. After his studies he went back to Martzglaas and became involved in politics. In 1978 he joined the KP and became one of the most preeminent members of the party in the Lander.

In 1981 he was elected to the the landtag of Martzglaas, in 1984 he was nominated regional head of the prty. In 1989 he was elected to the Bundesrat. After the end of his two terms in 2001 he decided to return to regional politics and in 2003 he was elected Ministerpräsident of Martzglaas.

In 2012 following terrible results of the KP in the federal parliamentary elections he decided to comeback in national politics. In 2013 after the end of his term as Ministerpräsident of Martzglaas he submitted his candidacy for the the KP primaries. Following an hard fought campaign he was nominated as the KP candidate for the presidential elections.

He won the presidential elections on 1 June 2015 in a landslide with 66,1% of the vote in the second round. At 65 years old, he became one of the oldest president of Axmaniean history. He and his binomial Konrad Schuester were inducted respectively president and vice-president on 1 July 2015. On the June 2016 parliamentary elections, the KP won a majority in the Bundestag, the first time in 12 years.

Early years

Julian Wilhelm Arminius Wieselbraun was born on 7 March 1950 at the Heilige Maria hospital in Uetersen‎,Martzglass. He is the son of Ernst Heydrich Wieselbraun the famous commander of the 10th Panzerdivision during the second Axmano-Visargian war and of Greta Kurz an housewife. During most of his youth, he was raised by his mother mainly because of the different assignment of his father at the Visargian border. He was sent to the Pension Albrecht Raeder considered to be one of the most elitist private school in Axmanie. Afterwards he went to the Graf von Herspel military school, thus avoiding the draft. Five years later, he left with the title of "Junger Marschall der Akademie" due to his exceptional commanding capabilities. Although he seemed destined to a military career thanks to his father's famous name, he decided instead to engage in politics. He joined the Akademie der Politikwissenschaften von Kiergelensburg, were he met his future wife Brunhilde, in 1974. But, he left 3 years later after having punched a teacher in the face.

Early political career

Rising figure of the KP

After leaving the "APK", he went back to his home lander, Martzglaas and joined the KP, the conservative party of Axmanie. He became politically active in 1978 by participating in his first fundraising for the party. The next year he became Bezirksführer of the party for the district of Haßau. Later that year, he made his first speech at the regional congress of the KP, were he made a strong impression on the public.

Bezirksvertreter of Martzglaas

During the 1981 lander parliamentary elections, he was elected to the landtag for the district of Haßau with 54% of the votes. During his term, he was a vocal critic of then Ministerpräsident Richard Hoess. Once elected, Wieselbraun drafted a law that would privatize the lander highway company. He sponsored bill that would reduce income tax on low-earners, increased cuts on welfare allowances and reduced childcare subsidies. In 1983 he opposed a bill that would mandate the landeskriminalamt (state criminal office) to videotape homicide interrogations. During his term he gained the nickname of "Eisen Wieselbraun" (Iron wieselbraun) for his rough and direct style of politics. In 1987 he won a second term with this time more than 60% of the casted votes. He led the push to impeach Ministerpräsident Horst Träger following the evil goods scandal. The same year, he drafted the controversial "Alle tragen" (All carry) law which allowed any legal gun owner to carry a weapon in the enclosure of a school. In 1989, following his election to the the Bundestag, he resigned as Bezirksvertreter of Martzglaas.

1989 Bundesrat Elections

In May 1987, Wieselbraun commissioned a poll to assess his prospects in a 1989 Bundesrat race. He created a campaign committee, began raising funds, and lined up political media consultant Ulf Rainer by August 1987. Wieselbraun formally announced his candidacy in January 1988. Wieselbraun was an early opponent of the Michael Von Rumfeld administration's 1988 official peace negociations with Visargia. On October 2, 1987, the day President Von Rumfeld and the Volksvertretung agreed on the joint resolution officially launching the peace negotiations, Wieaselbraun addressed the first high-profile Kalstadt anti-agreement rally, and spoke out against the settlements. He addressed another anti-agreement rally in March 1988 and told the crowd that "The upcoming settlement is an insult to the brave Axmaniean soldiers that died during the conflict".

Decisions by Konservative Partei incumbent Peter kalls and his Sozialdemokratische Partei predecessor Karoline Braun to not participate in the election resulted in wide-open SDP and KP primary contests involving 11 candidates. In the March 1989 primary election, Wieselbraun won in an unexpected landslide—which overnight made him a rising star within the Konservative Partei and started speculations about a presidential future, and led to the reissue of his memoir, Träume meines Vaters (Dreams of my father). In July 1989, Wieselbraun delivered the keynote address at the 1989 KP National Convention, seen by 7.5 million viewers. His speech was well received and elevated his status within the Konservative Partei.

Wieselbraun's expected opponent in the general election, Social Democrat primary winner Pietro Kertsch, withdrew from the race in June 1989. Six weeks later, Albert Kranz accepted the Social Democrat nomination to replace Kertsch. In the November 1989 general election, Wieselbraun won with 70% of the vote.

Legislative career

Senator of Martzglaas

Wieselbraun was sworn the 3 January 1990. He was described by the analysts as a "loyal" KP Senator. He resigned on 13 November 2001 when he decided to return in regional politics.

Legislation

Wieselbraun sponsored the Geordnetes Einwanderungsgesetz (Orderly Immigration Act).In 1990 he voted against the official peace settling between Axmanie and Visargia.

With the help of senators Dirk Kempf, Morgan Hess and Matthias Kruger he introduced the Bundesgesetz über die Transparenz der Ausgaben (Federal spending transparency act) which authorized the establishment of Axmanieausgaben.reg, a web search engine on federal spending.He opposed a bill that would have mandated the Eidgenössischer Geheimdienst the Axmaniean Intelligence Service to release videotape files on civilian request. In 1990 he voted against the official peace settling between Axmanie and Visargia.

In 1995, he was reelected for a second term in office.

In March 1997, Wieselbraun and Senator Hartmann introduced a corporate jet provision to the Ehrliches Führungsgesetz (Honest Leadership Act), which was signed into law in September 1997. Later in 1997, Wieselbraun sponsored an amendment to the Verteidigungsermächtigungsgesetz (Defense Authorization Act) to add safeguards for personality-disorder military discharges. This amendment passed the full Senate in the spring of 1998.

In may 2000 he sponsored the abolition of the Bundeskrankenkasse für Kinder (Federal Children's Health Insurance Program), which he claimed was a unnecessary on the federal government's budget. The same year, Wieselbraun sponsored legislation that would have required nuclear plant owners to notify lander and local authorities of radioactive leaks, but the bill failed to pass in the full Bundesrat after being heavily modified in committee.

Comittees

Wieselbraun held assignments on the Bundesrat Committees for Foreign Relations, Public Works and Veterans' Affairs through December 1994. In January 1996, he left the Public Works committee and took additional assignments with Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. He also became Chairman of the Bundestag's subcommittee on Valasian Affairs. As a member of the Bundesrat Foreign Relations Committee, Wieselbraun made official trips to Visargia, Ganji Islands, Aselious and Agarntrop.

Ministerpräsident of Martzglaas (2003-2013)

Main article: Gouverneursamt of Julian Wieselbraun

Wieselbraun declared his candidacy for the 2003 Martzglaas gubernatorial election the 12th of June 2002. His campaign focused on four themes: welfare reform, taxation reform, crime reduction, and education improvement. Wieselbraun's campaign advisers were Katrina Steiner, Joel Vorbrecker, and Guido Bäsler.

After easily winning the Conservative primary, Wieselbraun faced popular Social Democrat incumbent Ministerpräsident Angela De Vrij. In the course of the campaign, Wieselbraun pledged to sign a bill allowing Martzglaasers to obtain permits to carry concealed weapons. De Vrij had vetoed the bill, but Wieselbraun signed it into law after he became Ministerpräsident. According to The Monatlicher Kurier, the race "featured a rumor that she was a lesbian, along with a rare instance of such a tactic's making it into the public record – when a regional chairman of the Wieselbraun campaign allowed himself, perhaps inadvertently, to be quoted criticizing Richards for 'appointing avowed homosexual activists' to lander jobs". The Monatlicher, and others, connected the lesbian rumor to Guido Bäsler, but Bäsler denied being involved. Wieselbraun won the general election with 53.5 percent against De Vrij's 45.9 percent.

Wieselbraun used a budget surplus to push through Martzglaas's largest tax-cut, 2 billion AM. He extended government funding for organizations providing education of the dangers of alcohol and drug use and abuse, and helping to reduce domestic violence. Critics contended that during his tenure, Martzglaas ranked near the bottom in environmental evaluations. Supporters pointed to his efforts to raise the salaries of teachers and improve educational test scores.

In 2006, Wieselbraun signed a law that required electric retailers to buy a certain amount of energy from renewable sources, which helped Martzglaas eventually become the leading producer of wind powered electricity in Axmanie.

In 2008, Wieselbraun won re-election with a record 69 percent of the vote. He became the first Ministerpräsident in Martzglaas history to be elected to two consecutive five-year terms. For most of Martzglaas history, Ministerpräsidents served tree-year terms; a constitutional amendment extended those terms to five years starting in 1975. In his second term, Wieselbraun promoted faith-based organizations and enjoyed high approval ratings. He proclaimed the 12 May 2011, to be Tag Gottes (God's day) in Martzglaas, a day on which he "urged all Martzglaasers to answer the call to serve those in need".

Throughout Wieselbraun's first term, he was the focus of national attention as a potential future presidential candidate. Following his re-election, speculation soared, and within a year he decided to seek the 2013 Conservative presidential nomination

1st Presidential Campaign

Primary

Incumbent Social Democrat president Gennaro De Sanctis was completing his second term , but due to growing unpopularity he refused to apply for a third term. Thus, the field for nomination for President of both parties was wide open. Wieselbraun's second term as Ministerpräsident of Martzglaas had already ended when he announced his candidacy for President of Axmanie. He entered a large field of hopefuls for the Conservative Party presidential nomination that included Björn Storch, Hans Wehrner, Walter Bendt, Gebhart Bauer, Hubert Köch, Elizabeth Beckmann, Daniele Marcello, Peter Häller, Kurt Wolff, Johannes Stamper, and Ulrich Kristens.

Wieselbraun portrayed himself as a moderate conservative, implying he was more centrist than other KP candidates. He campaigned on a platform that included bringing integrity and honor back to the Roter Palast, increasing the size of the Axmaniean Armed Forces, cutting taxes, improving education, and aiding retirees. By early 2014, the race had centered on Wieselbraun and Storch.

Wieselbraun won the Obenkruul caucuses, and although he was heavily favored to win the Nord Weichsel primary, he trailed Storch by 19 percent and lost that primary. Despite this, Wieselbraun regained momentum, and according to political observers, he effectively became the front runner after the Wilklemfeld primary, which—according to The Pferd Nachrichten—made history for his campaign's negativity. The Neuburg Gazette described it as a smear campaign.

General elections

On the 25 of July 2014, Wieselbraun surprised some observers when he selected Konrad Schuester a former lawyer to be his binomial. At the time, Schuester was serving as head of Wieselbraun's vice presidential search committee. Soon after at the 2014 Conservative National Convention, Wieselbraun and Schuester were officially nominated by the Konservative Partei.

Wieselbraun continued to campaign across the country and touted his record as Ministerpräsident of Martzglaas . During his campaign, Wieselbraun criticized his Social Democrat opponent, incumbent Vice President Pietro Janssen, over gun control and taxation.

The two candidates then engaged in three presidential debates in September and October 2014. On November 4, Wieselbraun won the presidency with 66.1% of the popular vote to Jansen's 33.9%. He became the oldest man to be elected president. Wieselbraun delivered his victory speech before hundreds of thousands of supporters in Kalstadt's Veterans Park.

Presidency (2015-2019)

Julian Wieselbraun was elected in a period of economic slowdown of relatively high unemployment rate (8%) and of lack of confidence in the government. His campaign motto was "Mehr Arbeitsplätze, weniger Steuern und Wohlstand für alle" (More jobs, less taxes and prosperity for all). During his term, he enacted several laws reducing taxes, decreasing social programs and easing the capabilities of businesses to hire and fire employees. During the first 2 years of his term, he enjoyed a record high popularity, but, after he signed the bill allowing gay marriage, his popularity among conservatives sharply decreased.

Domestic Policy

In his first speech to the Volkvertretung, Wieselbraun said that he wanted to end the policy of the "nanny-state", for so signed into law a bill that repealed the Programm zur Unterstützung von Studenten (Student Assistance Program), he eliminated the infamous educational federal fund assistance which gave federal funds to landers that sponsored student access to university.

Wieselbraun signed the Emissions-Deregulierungsgesetz (Emission deregulation act) which abolished the federal cap on emissions by car companies. In February 2016, Wieselbraun reversed a De Sanctis-era policy that had unlocked funding of embryonic stem cell research and pledged to "Halt this nonsense for good".

In may he allowed a loan of 5 billions Axmanische Marks to car manufacturer Trattenwald Automobileindustrie (TAI) to help it purge it's debt in attempt to save more than 30,000 jobs. He also signed the Finanzielles Versöhnungsgesetz (Financial Reconciliation act) that ended the process of the federal government giving subsidies to private banks to give out federally insured loans.

President Wieselbraun's 2016 Parliamentary Address focused on themes of economical growth, stressing the importance of innovation economics to make Axmanies more competitive globally. He spoke of a 5 year plan to decrease federal spending by more than 15%. He also stressed the issue of cutting taxes, reducing taxes for oil companies and increasing tax cuts for the wealthiest Axmanieans to stimulate the economy, reducing parliamentary earmarks, and reducing government intervention in healthcare. He promised that his administration would create more than seven million new jobs by 2019.

LGBT Rights

During his campaign, Wieselbraun did not endorse a single piece of LGBT rights legislation, although he did meet with an approved group of the HK (Homosexuelle konservative), which endorsed his candidacy.

President Wieselbraun's views on gay rights were often difficult to ascertain, but many experts feel that the Wieselbraun Administration wanted to avoid bad publicity without alienating the conservative Christian voters. Thus, he did not repeal President De Sanctis's Executive Order banning discrimination based on sexual orientation in the federal civilian government, but its critics felt it was ignored. He vetoed a bill that would have repelled the schweigen (keep quiet) policy in the armed forces.

But in 2017, with the SDP making a stunning comeback in the polls mainly by stressing issues such as gay marriage, Wieselbraun surprised even his most vehement opponents by signing into law the Ehe für alle Gesetze (Marriage for all act) which allowed unions between two people of the same-sex. The new law faced a huge backlash from the traditionalist and ultra-conservatives, that brought it to the Oberster Gerichtshof. The 7th of August 2017, in the ruling Dietrich vs Petersen, the Oberster Gerichtshof ruled that gay-marriage was a right like others and should be considered as such.

Economic Policy

Wieselbraun took office during a period of mild economic growth and rising unemployment. One of his first measures was to give TAI (Trattenwald Automobileindustrie) a 5 billions Axmanische Marks loan to preserve more than 30,000 at risk jobs. In November 2015, he signed the Konsolidierungsgesetz (Spending consolidation act) whose objective was to reduce government spending by 15% in 4 years.

In January 2016, Wieselbraun signed the Steuersenkung und zur Schaffung von Arbeitsplätzen Gesetz (tax reduction and job creation act) of 2016, which cut the corporate tax rate to 25 percent, lowered personal tax brackets, increased child tax credit, doubled the estate tax threshold to $11.2 million, and limited the lander and local tax deduction to 10,000 AM. Lower to middle-income households get a tax cut of 0.1 to 1.6 percent while higher incomes receive 1.8 to 4.3 percent. While corporate tax cuts are permanent, many individual tax reductions will expire in 2024, resulting in lower after-tax incomes of −0.1 to −0.2 percent for lower to middle income households and higher after-tax incomes of 0.1 to 0.9 percent for higher income brackets.

In may of the same year, Wieselbraun signed two bill, both easing employment rules and further cutting federal spending, The Arbeitsrechtliches Gesetz (Employment regulation act), which greatly reduced the the influence of the trade unions in wage bargaining and the Militärisches Umstrukturierungsgesetz (Military reorganization act) which increased the manpower of the armed forces but made massive cuts in arms development, technological development, monitoring programs and pension allowances.

During his term, Wieselbraun also signed numerous trade agreement, with the goal of making Axmaniean products more competitive on the International market and boosting job creation. We can list the Deralion economic Treaty with Aselious, the Visargine-Axmaniean Cooperation Treaty with Visargia, the Agarntrop-Axmanie mutual development pact with Agarntrop, an economic partnership deal with Grafenland and a free-economic trade deal with Geordinia.

In general, Julian Wieselbraun's economic policy has been widely lauded by various economic specialists, despite repeated claims that his policies have favored the wealthy and the elites. His record has been very good, with unemployment rates falling at historical lows (3%), the average income raising by 4.5%, and the average disposable income by 2%. In 2018 and 19 Axmanie as had the largest trade surplus from the last 20 with a record 17.9 billion Axmanische Marks.And also, for the first time since the Axmano-Visargian wars, Axmanie as had balanced budget.