Reichssenat

Mascyllary Reichssenat Maskillischer Reichssenat
233rd year of business
Type
Type	De facto upper house of the legislature of Mascylla
Leadership
President	The Viscount Weidmann of Wietzen, SDP since 2 March 2019
Deputy President	Lara Gohnich, RU since 11 January 2022
Structure
Seats	163
Political groups	Royal Government (29) Elpsland (6) Gotia (6) Langquaid (8) Therundy-Welsbach (9)   Neutral (129) Adwhin (10) Aldia (9) Eustria (10) Falia (7) Flussmund (8) Folnery (10) Halstein (5) Holnia (9) Ihlarn (7) Jusland (5) Kreshia (8) Kronlande (8) Laurenz (5) Nelgery (10) Sigismund (5) Tudonia (6)   Royal Opposition (5) Shwesia (5)
Meeting place
Former Elbgau Council Building, Lorenz-Prinzwald, Königsreh, Mascylla
Website
www.maskillischer-reichssenat.ma

The Reichssenat (Hesurian pronunciation: [ʁaɪ̯çse:na:t], ‘Senate of the Realm’) is the de facto federal parliament of the subnational divisions and upper house of the legislature of Mascylla. The Reichsrat is a legislative body that represents the 21 Reichsländer and Freie Städte, consisting of 163 members known as Representatives of the Reichssenat (Repräsentanten des Reichssenats; RdR) or Paire.

Membership of the chamber is by appointment of the state government; a majority of the sitting members are appointed, hereditary, and official noble peers by virtue of their position, such as representatives of universities and cities, although the chamber also has common members. The peers may include adult princes of the royal House of Ahnern, members with hereditary right such as dukes, marquesses, counts, and viscounts, holders of the major Court Appointments (Hofämter) such as the Lord Chamberlain (Oberkämmerer), the Lord Steward (Oberhofmeister), the Lord Marshal (Obermarschall), and the Lord Burgrave (Oberburggraf), peers appointed by the Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister, and peers chosen by public representation. Therefore, the institution is often referred to as the Mascyllary House of Lords (Maskillisches Herrenhaus) by foreign legal scholars.

The composition of the delegation varies depending on the state's population, the incumbent makeup of the state government, and the ruling majority (or coalition) of each state legislature, though they may or may not be publicly partisan. The chamber is able to operate at a minimum of 180 members, who are the peers with their guaranteed seats but can vary greatly in maximal size if needed to achieve popular proportional representation. However, no assembly of the Reichsrat in history was solely comprised of noble representatives.

During the War of the Five Kings, the Reichssenat was the official assembly of the sovereigns and elected commoners of the states which were part of the Elbau Confederation (1793–1798). Since its establishment in 1789 under the Kingdom of Aldia in Augusthal, it has met in various locations, and today sits at the former Elbgau Council building in Königsreh. It is represented by the office of the President of the Reichssenat (Präsident des Reichssenats), currently occupied by Egon Weidmann since 2019, of which its holder is directly elected by the Reichssenat itself. The Reichssenat is able to review and scrutinize federal and state law that was drafted by the Reichsrat without the ability to block their passing, but can significantly delay approval of the legislation and consult the Reichsrat with advice and recommendation. Moreover, the members of the chamber cannot influence the Prime Minister nor their government, and traditionally do not take on positions as government ministers. The Reichsrat is defined within the political system of Mascylla as the only legislative institution by the Constitution directly elected by the people of the country, but is, in essence, sharing its constitutional duties with the Reichssenat. The chamber is the product of long-established convention to check and balance the Reichsrat's legislative power.

Tasks and duties

Through the Reichssenat, the states and free cities participate in federal legislation and administration and in matters relating to government policy and decision-making. The states, represented by their respective governments and legislatures, operate within the Reichssenat and are able to shape and influence the aforementioned fields, while the styles of such participation are not determined and therefore highly ambiguous.

The National Council (Nationalrat) in 1793 first proposed the name Länderkammer ('Chamber of States'), in tandem with the similarly proposed name Volkskammer ('Chamber of the People') for the Reichsrat, but it was later rejected in favor of its current terminology. Still, nowadays the Reichssenat is referred to as a "second house" or "Länderkammer" and in some cases as a full-fledged upper house of legislature domestically and internationally. However, the Reichssenat is described as a sovereign constitutional body according to the constitution and is, in opposition to most countries, "not a second chamber of a uniform legislative body that would be set equal to the 'first chamber' regarding lawmaking."

Organisation

President and presidency

The Viscount Egon Weidmann of Wietzen
President of the Reichssenat
since 2019

Lara Gohnich
Deputy President of the Reichssenat
since 2022

The presidency is composed of the office of the President of the Reichssenat (Reichssenatspräsident) and one deputy president. According to uncodified tradition, the Reichssenat elects its president and vice president every two years; the two members of the Reichssenat are often voted unilaterally. They assume their offices beginning on the 1st of September every two years. If a president's position in the Reichssenat is revoked, their term as President of the Reichssenat ends as well. Their successor as a member of the Reichssenat succeeds them as president as well, diminishing fluctuations of people serving the office in face of changing party landscapes and political instability. Additionally, this enables every state and its members to be able to assume the presidency. Historically, the president had close political and hierarchical links to the monarchy, with the Monarch and the President ahead of the Prime Minister in the constitutional order of precedence.

The President of the Reichssenat assumes the constitutional tasks and duties of a Monarch when unable to do so, either by abdication, medical treatment, or otherwise, and sets in motion the assembly of the Federal Convention and the Accession Council. While they serve as representative of the Monarch, their office as president remains vacant. For that instance, the vice president temporarily takes over the duties and tasks while the president is unable to do so themself.

Members and distribution of votes to the states

State	Population	Votes (number)	Votes (visual)	Citizens per vote	Government parties
Adwhin	5,826,004	10		582,600	ABP, FB
Aldia	4,924,217	9		547,135	RU, MLP
Elpsland	841,107	6		140,185	RU, SDP
Eustria	5,208,624	10		520,862	RU, SDP, Grünen
Falia	1,440,506	7		205,787	RU, NDP, VP
Flussmund	2,061,837	8		257,730	SDP, Grünen
Folnery	5,246,111	10		524,611	SDP, MLP, Grüne
Gotia	674,696	6		112,449	RU, SDP
Halstein	535,282	5		107,056	RU, MLP
Holnia	4,724,292	9		524,921	RU, SDP, Grüne
Ihlarn	916,623	7		130,946	SDP, VP
Jusland	446,190	5		89,238	RU, JW
Kreshia	911,382	8		113,923	SDP, Grüne, MLP
Kronlande	2,231,326	8		278,916	RU, SDP, Grüne
Langquaid	815,180	8		101,898	RU, SDP
Laurenz	658,204	5		131,641	MLP, SDP
Nelgery	5,779,104	10		577,910	RU, Grüne
Pereuth	581,034	5		116,207	SDP, MLP, Grüne
Shwesia	603,226	5		120,645	NDP, VP
Sigismund	498,192	5		99,638	VP, Grüne, SDP
Therundy-Welsbach	3,644,524	9		404,947	RU, SDP
Tudonia	704,675	6		117,446	RU, SDP, Grüne
Total	48,972,336	161		263,941

Distribution of votes to the parties

Composition of Mascyllary state government coalitions in 2016