Politics of the Erishlands
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Political system of the Erish Realm Politisch't system af det Erischryk | |
|---|---|
| Polity type | Unitary semi-presidential constitutional monarchy |
| Constitution | Constitution of the Erish Realm |
| Legislative branch | |
| Name | Ryksdag |
| Type | Bicameral |
| Meeting place | Ryksdag building |
| Upper house | |
| Name | Landsting |
| Presiding officer | Liexne III, President of the Landsting |
| Appointer | Hereditary |
| Lower house | |
| Name | Folksting |
| Presiding officer | Eirik Geiralkson, Speaker of the Folksting |
| Appointer | Direct popular vote (two rounds if necessary) |
| Executive branch | |
| Head of State | |
| Title | Monarch |
| Currently | Liexne III |
| Appointer | Hereditary |
| Head of Government | |
| Title | Realm President |
| Currently | Eirik Geiralkson |
| Appointer | Direct popular vote (two rounds if necessary) |
| Cabinet | |
| Name | Realm Cabinet |
| Current cabinet | First Geustavson cabinet |
| Leader | Realm Chancellor |
| Appointer | President |
| Ministries | 13 |
| Judicial branch | |
| Name | Erish judiciary |
| Supreme Court | |
| Chief judge | Rif Routgeirson |
The politics of Erishland take place within the framework of a representative democratic constitutional monarchy. Under the 1948 Constitution of the Erish Realm, the authority of the state derives from the public will, and it is obligated to uphold both "the provisions and soul of the constitution".
The Erish political system operates as a semi-presidential constitutional monarchy, wherein the monarch, currently Queen Liexne III, acts as head of state, whilst the duties of head of government are carried out by the Realm President, currently Eirik Geiralkson, and the Realm Cabinet headed by the Realm Chancellor, currently Aleiv Geustavson. The Erish legislature, the Ryksdag, is composed of the lower Folksting and upper Landsting. The Folksting is the originator of all legislation, which the Senate reserves the de jure power to reject; both houses maintain extensive oversight powers of the executive branch. The President and monarch are the ceremonial speakers of the Folksting and Landsting, but delegate their duties to deputies. The judiciary is independent, and follows a civil system of law. The highest court, the Supreme Court, has the power to strike down unconstitutional laws.
Erishland has a multi-party system, though it is dominated by the Democratic and Liberal parties. Members of the Folksting are elected through mixed-member proportional representation every three years, and have the power to remove members of the Cabinet, or the Cabinet as a whole, via a vote of no confidence. Because it is rare for even a coalition to hold a majority of Folksting seats, minority governments are commonplace. Custom dictates that the largest coalition with the most seats forms the Cabinet; the first Geustavson Cabinet is the result of a coalition between the Democratic and Labour parties. In situations where the President and largest coalition are politically opposed, the President retains authority over matters of defense and foreign policy, whilst the Chancellor and Cabinet take charge of all other areas.
Constitution
Monarchy and presidency
Within the Erish political system, the role of head of state is officially held by both the monarch, currently Queen Liexne III, and the Realm President, currently Eirik Geiralkson. The monarch inherits their station, whilst the president is elected to a single, non-renewable six-year term by a national popular vote. Both the monarch and the president are the only persons in government to be members of all three branches of government: the monarch and president officially preside over the Landsting and Folksting respectively, and together over the national Court of Assizes, though these duties are normally delegated.
Under the constitution, executive power is placed in an institution called the Realm Office (Erish: Rykambet), which is composed of the monarch and the president. In a de jure sense, the monarch and president are mostly coequal heads of state and government who may only exercise executive power by consent of the other. This coequality exists as a set of reserve powers to countermand the President in exceptional circumstances; the monarch additionally retains exclusive reserve powers to dismiss appointed executive officials and to dissolve either house of the Ryksdag, although both are subject to limitations.
In practice, beyond the monarch and President participating in certain official state ceremonies such as reception of foreign officials, the monarch is a mostly ceremonial figure; it is for this purpose that the monarch is considered head of state, whilst the president is a head of government. Nonetheless, the monarch still is generally considered to have the right to be consulted by, to advise, and to warn the President and the Realm Cabinet during monthly meetings of the Cabinet which include them.