Darnan Cyras
Darnan Cyras | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Prime Minister of Gylias | |
| In office 2 January 1958a – 5 March 1976 | |
| President | Reda Kazan |
| Succeeded by | Aén Ďanez |
| Chair of the General Council of the Free Territories | |
| In office 1938–1958 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 May 1902 Ďary, Xevden |
| Died | 25 October 1989 (aged 87) Mişeyáke, Mişeyáke, Gylias |
| Nationality | Gylian |
| Political party | Democratic Communist Party |
| Spouse | Gianna Calderara |
| a. Originally Chair of the Executive Committee of Gylias, renamed Prime Minister by the Constitution in 1961. | |
Darnan Cyras (7 May 1902 – 25 October 1989) was a Gylian revolutionary and politician. He served as the Chair of the General Council of the Free Territories during the Liberation War, and subsequently became Prime Minister of Gylias from 1958 to 1976. He was a key figure in the transition from the Free Territories to Gylias, and his government had a great impact throughout Gylian society.
He was born into a poor family in Xevden, and adopted leftist and anti-imperialist ideas in his youth, eventually becoming an anarcho-communist. He studied and lived in the Cacertian Empire in 1920–1935, before returning during Xevden's disintegration. He won election to the Xevdenite parliament as an independent in 1935 and 1937; his radicalism and marginalisation in that body convinced him that a violent revolution was the only solution.
When the Liberation War erupted, he joined the People's Army, briefly serving as its leader, and proclaimed the Free Territories. He served as the Chair of the General Council in 1938–1958, and was later elected General Secretary of the Democratic Communist Party at its foundation. In the General Council, he strove to avoid conventional leadership and maintain the anarchist momentum of the Free Territories. He gathered an influential circle of allies, known as the ferroses, and shifted to a withering away of the state position in the second phase of the Liberation War, to some controversy.
Darnan established the Executive Committee of Gylias in 1958, serving as its Chair; it became the Cabinet (and his post became Prime Minister) after the Constitution was adopted in 1961. He led a coalition that came to include the Progressive Alliance, Liberal Union, and Independent Regional Alliance for Minorities, and won federal elections in 1958, 1962, and 1969. He announced his retirement before the 1976 election, and was ultimately succeeded by Aén Ďanez.
He sought to preserve the Free Territories' anarchist heritage, and promoted a decentralised model of development. Significant achievements of his tenure included the consolidation of direct democracy and a colourful political culture, the popular drafting of the Constitution and six codes of law, the economic transformation of the National Obligation period, and the Golden Revolution, which profoundly transformed all facets of Gylian life. Foreign policy was marked by Gylias' accession to the Common Sphere and the creation of special relationships with Kirisaki, Cacerta, and Delkora.
Darnan was known for his unassuming and uncharismatic image, at sharp odds with other Tyranian revolutionaries and the strong personalities of cabinet colleagues. His main strengths were behind the scenes, in his ability to assemble a strong team, establish common goals, and delegate policy execution to adept ministers and civil servants. He is considered one of Gylias' most consequential Prime Ministers, as his tenure saw the emergence of the Gylian consensus and the modern Gylian identity.
Early life
Darnan Cyras was born on 7 May 1902 in Ďary, a village now located in Tomes. He was of mixed Gylic descent, and came from a poor family. His parents worked as farmers and teachers, and he had two older sisters, Ďaşa and Ţaone. The children helped their parents with farm work from an early age.
Darnan spent much of his time studying independently in the local libraries, and received a clandestine education. He read Gylian and imported radical literature, which shaped his politics.
Cacerta
Aided by contacts with the Gylian opposition and Alscian supporters, the family moved to the Cacertian Empire in 1920, settling in Cesena. This marked a great improvement in their quality of life. Over the next few years, Darnan enrolled and dropped out of a law school, an economics school, a polytechnic, and a teaching institute, and briefly worked in a soap factory.
Although a good student, he was hampered by his initially poor foreign language skills and lack of academic credentials due to his clandestine education. He learned Italian, English, and French as his main foreign languages. Failing to pass the General University Exam, he continued studying independently and ended up leading a bohemian lifestyle among Cesena's artistic circles. He would later reflect with humour that he was part of the lumpenproletariat during this period. He was also involved in activism and began writing articles for radical publications.
While in Cesena, he befriended and began a romantic relationship with Gianna Calderara. They later married.
Return to Xevden
A brief moderate interlude began in Xevden with Láaresy taking the throne in 1934. Seeking a negotiated solution to Xevden's crisis, he restored constitutional rule and called new parliamentary elections. Darnan chose to return to Xevden and join the Gylian opposition, while his family remained in Cesena.
He stood as an independent candidate for his village district, and was elected in 1935, after the rest of the opposition stood down in his favour. The election as a whole was marred by fraud and political violence, and produced a hung parliament, dealing a blow to hopes of an end to the crisis.
Darnan made a name for himself in the legislature as a radical firebrand. One biographer described him as "by some measure the most far-left member of parliament": he spoke bluntly, called for immediate dissolution of the Xevdenite state, and insulted Xevdenites. During one session, he told one pro-government MP, "The only service you can render the world is to go home and hang yourself." On another occasion, threatened with expulsion by the presiding officer for an insulting statement, he went to the presiding officer's desk and smashed the gavel on his head, causing a fight.
His far-left positions and strong rhetoric attracted a following as the parliamentary deadlock added to Xevden's woes. A snap election was held in 1937, yielding largely the same results. Darnan, re-elected in Ďary, became completely disillusioned with parliamentary politics. He thought they were a "waste of time" and a violent revolution was now imperative.
Liberation War
Darnan heard of the People's Army rebellion in the Salxar mountains in early 1938, and hastened to join them. Initially an ordinary PA member, he grew disillusioned with the statist comunist leadership, which looked to the Ruvelkan Socialist Republic as a model. He deplored its inflexible authoritarianism and prioritisation of military needs in resource allocation, which alienated the population of its territory.
His agitation contributed to rebellion within the PA ranks, leading to a mass mutiny in March which brought the anarcho-communists in control. He was initially resistant to assuming a leadership role, but relented at their insistence, becoming the head of the PA. He issued the General Declaration of 12 March 1938, which proclaimed the Free Territories. When the General Council was constituted later that year, he became its Chair.
During the first year of war, Darnan took part in negotiations with Láaresy to find a peaceful solution. Darnan came to respect Láaresy and his family as well-intentioned and sincere about redressing Xevdenite injustices, particularly for holding back the Xevdenite forces. However, Darnan had no desire for a peaceful solution, and dragged out the negotiations to stall for time. More Gylian insurgencies broke out, with Xevdenites losing control of territory beyond the Nerveiík peninsula. The Liberation War was now in progress.
Inexperienced in military matters, Darnan left these to PA commanders, and concentrated on politics. He exercised his duties as Chair of the General Council in an even-handed and low-key manner. Outside the General Council, he advocated anarchist self-organisation — achieved through communal assemblies in governance, workers' councils in factories, and village committees in the countryside. The economy was reorganised along anarchist principles, with private property abolished and workers' self-management and common ownership becoming the new foundation.
The People's Army adopted a largely cautious strategy, taking up the tactics of the Border Guard in the Alscian Border War. They maintained a primarily defensive posture, and encouraged rebellions, subsequently coming to aid them in liberating the territory and integrate it into the Free Territories. By leaving other factions to fight amongst themselves for supremacy, they conserved their strength, and advanced slowly. As well, the Free Territories' provision of social services and social revolution gained exposure throughout Tyran, earning them admiration among leftists and attracting international volunteers to the International Brigades.
Darnan formed lasting partnerships with close allies, including future cabinet ministers, and gathered an influential circle of allies known as the ferroses. At the Democratic Communist Party's founding congress in 1946, he was elected General Secretary, and allies the Freeman sisters were elected to the central committee. He then renounced his leadership post in the PA, already a formality, but remained a figurehead.
The second phase of the war began in 1948, after a coup d'état destroyed the Nerveiík Kingdom, brought Tymzar to the throne, and the Xevdenites into the conflict. The Xevdenites launched a massive offensive, which mainly decimated other Gylian factions. The PA strategically retreated and harrassed the Xevdenites with guerrilla warfare tactics and sorties. Decisive victories at Mytin and Nerazur in April turned the tide of war against Xevden. The other Gylian factions now united behind the Free Territories, turning the conflict into a straightforward battle.
During the war, Darnan displayed a mixed attitude towards violence. He worked to avoid massacres in the Free Territories, but was blasé about popular violence and humiliation of former oppressors. He wrote, "Revolutions take a life of their own, and all we can do is try to direct their energies in the right direction." He encouraged forceful expropriation and redistribution of private property, and a hostile environment against monotheists that led most of them to flee, with all traces of their presence destroyed afterwards.
As victory seemed increasingly likely after 1948, the anarchists faced new challenges. Darnan abhorred the "alliance of convenience" with statist communists, and was relieved to finally break it in 1956 with the Lucian Purge. The goal of abolishing the state was challenged by a coalition of liberals, "constructive" conservatives, and moderate leftists, which argued that state mechanisms were necessary for rapid relief, reconstruction, and development. Darnan and the ferroses sought to compromise by gradually shifting to a withering away of the state position, which provoked controversy in the anarchist camp.
The PA captured Velouria on 2 January 1958, ending the war. Darnan issued a brief message for the nations of Tyran:
"The Gylian people are victorious. Xevden has crumbled. The Gylian people are now independent, and will remain free and sovereign. They greet the nations of the world in a spirit of solidarity and friendship. They will work towards companionship with other peoples."
Prime Minister of Gylias
Transition
Darnan announced the creation of an Executive Committee of Gylias, with himself as Chair. From the start, it was a broad left–liberal coalition, continuing the popular front of the Free Territories. He maintained his consensual style, giving committee members great freedom to implement policies, experiment, and come up with new initiatives. Historians commonly cite the formation of the Executive Committtee as his greatest achievement, owing to its mix of accomplished members and excellent teamwork.
He envisioned the Executive Committee in a purely supervisory and coordinatory role, providing an umbrella for direct democracy. Sensitive to symbolism, he refused to seat it in Velouria, and began building a planned capital in Mişeyáke. Among colleagues, Darnan was referred to as "Old Darnan", an egalitarian title from the Liberation War and humorous acknowledgement of his seniority compared to the average age of the Executive Committee.
The first years of Darnan's tenure were dominated by the National Obligation period. The transition from the Free Terrritories to Gylias preserved much of the Free Territories' anarchist heritage: direct democracy through communal assemblies remained the basis of governance, a federal organisation based on subsidiarity was adopted, and the Free Territories' economic model was applied throughout Gylias. The first federal election took place in 1958 for the directly-elected Popular Assembly. It produced an overwhelming victory for the coalition, which was now formalised to include six parties.
A popular drafting process produced the Constitution and six codes of law, approved and implemented in 1960–1961. Darnan took part in the process, concentrating on preserving the anarchist substance of the Free Territories. He agreed to symbolic concessions to the liberals, including the use of more conventional office titles — the Executive Committee thus became the Cabinet, making him the Prime Minister — and the creation of a figurehead presidency. Responding to criticism of these concessions, he pointed to article 1, which enshrined the temporary nature of the state in the Constitution, arguing that it outweighed all other considerations.
Significant to politics was the adoption of the Law on Electoral Representation of 1960, which implemented ranked voting for all Gylian elections. Coupled with the reorganisation of the Gylian Parliament, five-party electoral blocs consolidated. The cabinet now encompassed the Progressive Alliance, Liberal Union, Independent Regional Alliance for Minorities, and two independents.
Golden Revolution
Darnan's coalition was reelected in 1962, winning a majority in the Chamber of Deputies and falling two seats short of one in the Senate. Some historians consider the election the latest point at which the transition from the Free Territories to Gylias ended. More significantly, rationing had also ended, and the National Obligation period gave way to an economic boom, which lasted throughout the government's tenure.
The radical reorganisation of the economy encompassed socialisation through cooperatives and workers' self-management, land reform, indicative planning through the Hermes Programme, and the implementation of price controls through the National Prices Board. These bore fruit after the National Obligation period: in 1962–1976, average economic growth was 10,6%, average per capita income grew dramatically, inequality and poverty were drastically reduced, and GDP per capita grew from Ŧ700 (1958) to Ŧ3.248 (1976).
Although Gylias' GDP continued to lag behind the Sidurian average, strong redistribution mechanisms, generous social security, and cooperativisation achieved high quality of life indicators. Gylians on average were better housed, better educated, healthier, more politically active, lived longer, and more satisfied with their lives than before.
The unprecedented levels of general prosperity fed into an atmosphere of revolutionary exuberance and optimism. The Golden Revolution was now thriving, bringing profound and far-reaching changes to all aspects of Gylian life. A new society emerged, shaped by numerous social movements and radical reforms — famous examples of the latter included transformation of gender and sexual norms, regulation of drug distribution and sex work as public monopolies, and the establishment of public education on anarchist principles.
A thriving civil society emerged, with high rates of social and civic engagement, and values of volunteerism and mutual aid were promoted by various groups such as the Anarchist Federation, Revolutionary Youth Union, Committees for the Advance of the Revolution, and Revolutionary Communications Office. Popular culture thrived, with the appearance of a vibrant artistic scene known as Groovy Gylias, and Gylian culture achieved wider popularity and influence through the Gylian Invasion. Notably, socialised luxury achieved widespread acceptance in society, manifested in clothing and jewellery, Gauchic and demopolitan aesthetics, francité, and aristerokratia.
Throughout its term, Darnan's government enjoyed a dominant position in Gylian politics. The fundamentals of its domestic agenda became the basis of the Gylian consensus. He easily saw off the "anarchaos" protests of 1968, organising a referendum on abolishing the state and encouraging voters to vote invalidly, leading to its invalidation. However, the protests still fueled his misgivings about the anarchist–liberal "miserable compromise". The government was re-elected easily in 1969, an election which marked the debut of the LSD Party and the ascension of the progressive conservative National Bloc, triggering a political realignment.
Significant legislation in its last term included a reform of local government to create regional governments, construction of high-speed rail, the introduction of fishing quotas, and a push to reduce dependence on fossil fuels for electricity. Although expansion of hydroelectricity was relatively uncontroversial, a proposal to build nuclear power plants was contested by the Green Party and environmentalist organisations, and did not proceed.
Foreign policy
Foreign policy generally took a backseat to the social revolution for Darnan. The first years saw Gylias somewhat isolated on the international stage due to suspicions regarding its anarchism; events such as the Arnak Trials added to the matter. The appointment of Erika Ďileş as foreign minister in 1962 was a turning point: the charismatic and glamorous Erika achieved the normalisation of Gylias' foreign relations and laid the basis of Gylian diplomacy — multilateralism, negotiation, and maintaining a reputation as an honest actor.
The most significant foreign policy achievement of Darnan's tenure was Gylias' accession to the Common Sphere in 1958. The CS provided aid and technical expertise to Gylias during the reconstruction of the National Obligation period, and crucially, a community of like-minded governments pursuing broadly similar, interventionist policies. Darnan hoped that the CS would become a "third force" in Tyran, standing between established great powers, and challenging the domination of capitalism. However, he was strongly opposed to moves that would turn the CS into a supranational union.
Darnan's government built close relations with Cacerta, Kirisaki, Delkora, Megelan, and Ruvelka. He was acutely aware that Gylias and Megelan essentially stood alone in Tyran as broadly anarchist societies, and was sensitive to symbolism, drafting diplomatic messages to challenge the state-centric perspective. During an official visit to Ruvelka, he insisted on visiting the former Ruvelkan Free Territory and met with members of the Alliance of Freedom and '14.
In general, Darnan did not involve himself too closely in foreign policy, leaving the ceremonial aspects mainly to President Reda Kazan and Erika. He also traveled relatively little outside Gylias. This fit in with his broader pattern of rejecting the "cult of leadership", but disappointed other Tyranian revolutionaries who expected a greater commitment to world revolution.
End of term
Having initially set the Gylian Parliament's term at 7 years to aid the revolutionary agenda, Darnan's government saw a gradual dissipation of revolutionary energy during the 1970s. Much of its agenda was achieved, ministers grew older, and there was a lack of new ideas as the government approached 18 years in office.
Darnan announced at the DCP's 1974 congress his retirement as General Secretary, and announced he would not run in the upcoming federal election. His deputy Aliska Géza was elected General Secretary, and consolidated her status as likely successor. However, her death in a car accident on 26 December 1975 prompted national mourning and completely uprooted the 1976 federal election.
Darnan was appalled to see the demoralised and leaderless Progressive Alliance finish joint first with the Revolutionary Rally, a previously marginal bloc of statist communists, the kind he'd thought the Lucian Purge had permanently ostracised from public life. With no clear coalition emerging, he remained as caretaker when the new Parliament was inaugurated on 1 February 1976. He was disappointed that the PA chose to form a coalition with the RR, even if the stated goal was to "restrain" the RR, and ended his term on 5 March 1976. His 6637 days in office remains the record for longest-serving Gylian Prime Minister.
Final years and death
Darnan largely retired from public life after leaving office. He lived in quiet retirement with his family, making few public appearances, and sporadically writing articles and editorials. His low profile and the lingering shock of 1976 caused his reputation to reach a low ebb during the wretched decade.
He detested his successor Aén Ďanez, and was disappointed by the PA's participation in her government. The PA's inability to produce new inspirational figures during the wretched decade troubled him. As the 1980s went on, he became increasingly vocal in his public criticism of Aén.
Enjoying reasonably good health, Darnan lived to see Aén's ouster by the Ossorian war crisis of 1986 and the formation of the Filomena Pinheiro government. Filomena consulted with Darnan in private and acknowledged him in public as an elder statesman. He assisted in compiling his writings into a single collection.
He died of natural causes in his Mişeyáke apartment on 25 October 1989. In accordance with his wishes, he was cremated and given a simple burial in his family home in Ďary, with only family members in attendance. The urn's location is marked by a stone with the simple inscription "Darnan Cyras 1902 — 1989".
Political positions
Darnan was a committed anarcho-communist throughout his life. He drew from an eclectic array of influences, and was open to different interpretations of how to achieve anarchism. He once said, "I've been asked, am I a communist or a socialist. I answer: it doesn't matter. Communists and socialists agree enough on what our task is and what must be done."
He was mainly focused on economic policy in office, but saw the value of social policy and quality of life issues, due to his wide reading and the influence of his family and allies. He was fond of quoting Joseph Déjacque that "the worker has a right to the satisfaction of their needs, whatever may be their nature" and Emma Goldman's advocacy of "everybody's right to beautiful, radiant things", which showed symbolic support of socialised luxury.
He was an internationalist, believing that the world revolution had to be universal or it would fail. Gylias being largely alone in Tyran as an anarchist-influenced society frustrated him, and he was unenthusiastic about Gylias being a "beacon of the revolution" — besides realistic issues like Gylias' small population, he thought attempting to seize a revolutionary leadership role was alien to Gylias' character.
Public image
Darnan was an anomaly among Tyranian revolutionary leaders in lacking charisma and oratorical talent. Sofia Westergaard famously joked that he was "a political nonentity". Many contemporaries echoed the assessment: Mette Elvensar recalled of her first state visit, "He gave the impression of being so thoroughly ordinary it's baffling to think he got further than a county council."
He was a middling orator, preferring a simple speaking style and laconic vocabulary. Few quotes from him entered the collective memory, and his speeches were frequently unmemorable, if competently delivered. His more loquacious and gregarious official spokesperson Penelope Morris became more popular than him, to the point that the media regularly bypassed him in favour of using Penelope directly as a source.
His personal appearance was similarly ordinary: he wore large glasses and preferred to wear very simple and casual clothing — usually T-shirts, jeans, and jackets. His personal aversion to ceremony brought him into humorous disagreements with resource minister Neelie op het Mensink, who was a strong advocate of high sartorial quality within the cabinet.
Those who met him found that in private, Darnan was friendly and laid-back, making sincere efforts to entertain his interlocutors. He formed several lifelong friendships, and enjoyed the company of his colleagues and allies. His favourite hobbies were gardening, reading, and writing, and he frequently vacationed in Gylias' protected areas or coast. He led a very frugal lifestyle, using a bicycle as his main transport, and was a vegetarian and teetotal.
Darnan rejected the conventional image of leadership. His style was consensual, acting as a chair of the cabinet rather than a head of government. His deliberate assumption of a secondary role in his own government won him praise from historians and commentators, since it preserved the Golden Revolution's decentralised character by allowing multiple charismatic and influential ministers to share the spotlight. Rin Tōsaka reflected in her official biography that Darnan was "wonderful to work with — he was very modest and quiet, and trusted you to handle your ministry."
He abhorred caesarism and personality cults. Various commentators argue that he deliberately exaggerated his mediocre public image to discourage "blind worship". When the Ďary communal assembly sent him a proposal to make his family home a museum dedicated to his life, he replied, "I must decline. That is a cult of personality." He sought to present himself as serving in office out of responsibility rather than enjoyment of power. During one speech, a heckler shouted, "If you hate being Prime Minister so much, why do you do it?". He remained silent for nearly a minute, then shrugged and said, "Worse alternatives."
Darnan was suspicious of specific goals for the Golden Revolution, believing they risked inspiring dogmatism. It was only with great reluctance that he suggested les quatrations, deliberately phrased to be open-ended. In his writings, he similarly deemphasised theory in favour of practical experimentation. Philosopher Margot Fontaine commented that "Even Darnan's writings went out of their way to discourage anyone from seeing them as sage or prophetic — they were usually titled 'Reflections', 'Remarks', 'Some Thoughts on…' or a variation thereof."
His deliberately undistinguished public image had the side effect of depriving opponents, particularly right-wingers, of a central bogeyman figure with which to attack the Golden Revolution. His lack of charisma and leadership qualities made it hard for enemies to vilify him as dangerous or sinister, since he appeared so unexceptional.
Private life
Darnan was married to Gianna Calderara until his death. They had no children; he once remarked, "I can either attend to the revolution, or be a parent. I can't do both." Theirs was a devoted marriage, although Darnan was quite self-conscious of the age gap between them. Gianna was his intellectual and politicial equal; her extroverted personality and musical talents compensated for Darnan's laconic personality. She took a high-profile role as an activist and commentator during the Golden Revolution, and enjoyed her public role as a hostess and in official ceremonies, although Gylias has no official role for spouses of officeholders nor a precedent for such.
Darnan and Gianna had an open marriage. She had several affairs, and he had a long-term mistress: his secretary Georgia Hamilton.
Darnan enjoyed the company of women, with many of his closest friends and allies being women, and was uncomfortable with traditional conceptions of masculinity. He was initially bothered by Esua Nadel's portrayal of him as a womaniser, and upon meeting her once, protested her portrayal was unfair and made him look like a sexual predator. Esua responded that she bore no malice and reassured him readers understood the joke and would not assume the worst of him. This resolved their differences. On his last day in office, he sent Esua a note remarking, "I'm going to miss looking forward to your jokes about me."
Darnan's religious beliefs were ambiguous. He practiced the rituals of Concordianism mainly out of habit and cultural heritage. According to Gianna, he said he was "incapable of religious feeling", and preferred to regard myths, legends, and deities as primarily stories and symbols. Biographers have debated whether he was an agnostic or atheist.
Like many Gylians, he was strongly hostile to monotheist and universalist religions, a key aspect of the Gylian ascendancy. He saw monotheist religions as inherently totalitarian, and polytheistic ones as inherently democratic. He approved of monotheist adherents being driven out of the Free Territories and their physical traces destroyed, but did not display any particular enthusiasm for it. He helped bring in the Law on Religion of 1959 and Bureau of Religious Affairs, which mainly targeted proselytism rather than religious doctrine. He preferred orthopraxy and was suspicious of orthodoxy. When Mansuriyyah was discussed in a cabinet meeting, he was casually insulting towards Mansuris for their intolerance, saying "They're naturally incapable of coexistence."
Besides his native Tomesian, he was fluent in English, French, and Italian — or, as a popular joke went, "speechless in three languages".
Legacy
Darnan is considered one of Gylias' most consequential and successful Prime Ministers. His "non-leadership" role in the Free Territories and Golden Revolution have earned him praise. Historian Nina Raukan writes that "Darnan sacrificed personal glory for the well-being of the revolution", and in resisting self-aggrandisement and personality cults, ironically achieved a more lasting impact.
Darnan's government was able to preserve the Free Territories' anarchist heritage during the transition to Gylias and oversaw what cultural commentator Hanako Fukui considers "the most successful, comprehensive, and radical transformation in Tyranian history". While he receives little credit for the achievements directly, his main contribution was in the background: assembling a strong cabinet full of imposing figures working together towards a common goal, complemented by outside figures of all stripes, from the ferroses to the Revolutionary Communications Office. The Gylian consensus that emerged during his tenure has remained a cornerstone of modern Gylian society, its fundamentals supported by mainstream political formations of both the left and right.
As a result of his "non-leadership", public polling reveals Darnan is dimly remembered among Gylians, who associate the Golden Revolution more with other iconic ministers. His reputation suffered during the wretched decade, but subsequently recovered and underwent historical appraisal during the 1990s, a time of renewed national optimism and self-confidence. His surviving family members and cabinet colleagues appeared in the 1999 documentary Nation Building, which encapsulated the standard perception of the era. Gianna commented in 2002, "Academics I've talked with usually don't talk much about Darnan the person, but admire his political skills and talent for recruiting ministers. This is exactly as he would've wanted."
Even back in the Free Territories, a popular revolutionary song lightheartedly celebrated his non-heroic image, with the lyrics "He's a mighty good leader (x3) / All the way / He's a mighty good leader (x2) / He don't lead anything / He don't lead anyone".
Darnan's career usually baffled or amused his contemporaries. Geirbjørn Feldengaard, himself relying on a "man of the people" image in his career, once quipped during a meeting, "Darnan, a personality isn't an impediment to a political career, you know." Ossorian High King Laisrén IV similarly remarked to the Taoiseach, "For the warden of Tyran's biggest madhouse, he's a remarkably average fellow."
Anarchists remain divided on Darnan's legacy. While he is generally respected for his government's achievements and commitment to ultimately achieving an anarchist society, there is a strong debate about his adoption of the withering away of the state principle, criticised as a mistake.