Lord of Krungh
The Lord of Krungh (洚侯, krungh-go) was a Themiclesian politician, military officer, and civil servant. Born to the aristocratic lineage of the lords of Krungh, he entered the civil service 1838 and governed four counties and two prefectures then sat in the House of Commons as Lord Gwrjang-goi for 13 years. He first became a minister in 1883 under the Lord of M′i and rose to become prime minister after the Lord of Snul-lang died in 1894. Winning the 1897 and 1904 general elections, he governed Themiclesia for 15 years and 110 days until his death in 1909, becoming the longest-serving and oldest prime minister in modern history.
As prime minister, he was a devoted practitioner of the New Policy of the Conservative Party. The New Policy was meant to benefit and empower the agrarian aristocracy and smaller landholders in the countryside. The party under Krungh enacted a range of socially- and economically-progressive policies that effectively formed a coalition between the rural aristocracy and the urban poor, in order to fight the Liberals in the House of Commons. As the party courted votes in cities by progressive policies, it maintained power in the countryside through a massive patronage (for aristocrats and gentry) and bribery (for commoners) scheme. While the policy was meant to perpetuate the superiority of the privileged class, Krungh re-iterated that he did not condone excessive rents, instead encouraging collusion to prevent competitiven rent reductions. The government also strongly opposed land and income tax on aristocrats, since this would increase operating costs. To fund social programs, Krungh enacted land taxes on urban and industrial land and a progressive income tax on income by non-aristocrats and molested Liberal patronage schemes that ran through the industrial elite. Due to his highly prejudicial policies, his premiership was known as the Great Darkness amongst the middle class.
The Lord of Krungh remains a divisive figure in Themiclesia today. On the one hand, he pioneered the progressive income tax and enacted a range of anti-discrimination, labour-protection, child-protection, union-protection, and welfare laws that are cherished in Themiclesia today, albeit mainly to appease the urban working class and preserve the rural interests of the upper class. On the other hand, he exempted the aristocracy from most forms of taxation, and his obviously-prejudiced policies are still criticized in Liberal circles as unstatesmanlike and anti-egaltarian. His most influential legacy, however, was the extension of the franchise to all citizens above the age of 25, irrespective of sex, which forced policy revisions by Liberal and Conservative alike and changed the political landscape irrevocably.
Timeline
Personal
- 1817: born.
- 1839: Deputy Secretary to the Magistrate of Mrjan-lan County.
- 1841: Treasurer of Sjing-brjêng County.
- 1845: Magistrate of Troh-mjei County.
- 1848: Magistrate of Bjeng County.
- 1849: Director of Poor Relief in Tsjing-Brjêng Prefecture.
- 1850: Colonel of Cavalry Militia in Ngrêk Prefecture.
- 1851: Magistrate of Krong-nêng County, Lord Gwrjang-goi.
- 1854: Exchequer of Dzar-mlêng Prefecture.
- 1859: Magistrate of Dzar-mlêng Prefecture.
- 1861: MP for Hwal-lang County.
- 1871: Lord of Krungh (death of father, 3rd Lord of Krungh)
- 1883: Minister of Munitions.
- 1885: Minister of Revenues.
- 1886: Secretary of State for War.
- 1889: Magistrate of Pjang-nubh Prefecture.
- 1891: Secretary of State for Administration.
- 1894: Prime Minister.
- 1909: death, aged 92.
Policy
- 1892: Progressive income tax on commoners.
- 1896: Stamp duty on daily publications.
- 1898: Industrial and urban residential land tax.
- 1899: Civic education, providing free books and food for children up to the age of 12.
- 1900: Maximum working hours established at 14 hours per day and 80 per week, for adults, and 10 hours and 54 hours respectively, for children under 14.
- 1900: Factory and business owners may not prevent worker assemblies outside of their property or dismiss workers for the same.
- 1901: Factories must provide at least one work-free day per month.
- 1901: Factory owners responsible for mechanical failures that result in injuries and death.
- 1904: Public Drilling Act (forbids large public assemblies under leadership, used to suppress public union meetings) abolished.
- 1904: Representation of the People Act, extending franchise to all citizens aged 25 and above, irrespective of sex.
- 1906: Union of Unions established uner government patronage.
- 1906: Public Employment Register established, all advertisements for labour to be public to reduce "unemployment by ignorance".