Politics of Aleramia
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Aleramia operates as a constitutional federal directorial monarchy with a multi-party system. The current political system is the result of historical and constitutional developments, and in particular the reforms of the early 20th century resulting in the introduction of universal suffrage and direct elections at the nations level as well as successive constitutional laws adapting the traditional institutions ot the democratic reality. Unlike most countries, Aleramia does not have a single, codified constitution, rather relying on a series of laws, known as 'constitutional laws' dating back to 1459.
The head of state is the Monarch, currently William XXIII who also serves as the head of state of the country's fourteen provinces. Effective executive power is vested in the Council of State (Oronese: Consili de Stat), a collegial executive formed by eleven directors and a Chairman (President), whose post rotates every six months. The current Chairman is Matté Ornagh (PRD). Legislative power is vested in both the Council of State and the Legislative Assembly (Assemblea Legislativa), a bicameral legislature formed by the Grand Council (Gran Consili) and the Delegazion. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislative branches.
Constitution
Unlike most modern countries, Aleramia lacks a codified constitution. Instead, the Aleramic constitution is formed by a series of laws and regulations, known as the Constitutional Laws (Legg costituzional)
Government
Monarchy
The Aleramic monarch, currently William XXIII (Guglièlmo XXIII), is the regnant head of state of the State of the Aleram. The Constitutional Laws establish the monarchy as the uniting entity for the States of the Aleram, a de iure dynastic union resulting from the incorporation of various sovereign territories (the modern-day provinces) through the Devotios which ceded the sovereignty in each province to the Monarch. As such, the Monarch of Aleramis is not the King of Aleramia, but rather the monarch of each province, with exception of Cjargna, where he serves as a co-sovereign together with the Archprelate of Damàr.
The current duties of the Monarch are largely ceremonial and representative, in line with the country's status as a de facto constitutional monarchy. The Monarch is considered unresponsible for his actions and his acts must be counter-signed by a member of the Council of State. The Monarch names the members of the Constitutional Court after the candidates are proposed by the Legislative Assembly and the Council of State. The Monarch is also the nominal commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the States but has only a symbolic, rather than actual, authority over the country's military.
The Monarch's representative functions are aided by his power to nominate, on the advice of the Council of State, royal representatives at the province level. They are known as bailiffs (Baliv) or as Deputàt dal Regn (Royal Representative) in Cjargna. Since 2014, there are 10 bailiffs, as four provinces (Tigullio, Calsiana, Brembes and Bobes) have abolished the position, transferring its representative functions to the provinces' executive bodies.
According to the Ordonnance of 1488, only members of the House of Aleram may inherit the position of monarch of the States of the Aleram. Historically and up to 2015, the orden of succession was determined by agnatic primogeniture, excluding all female and female-line descendants from the orden of succession. In 2015, however, in a new constitutional amendment introducing absolute primogeniture, whereby the closest blood relative to the monarch, regardless of sex, is the heir to the throne. The current Crown Princess is Maria Elisabetta, born in 2015.
Executive branch
Although the monarch is the head of state, executive power is vested almost exclusively on the Council of State (Consili de Stat). The Council of State is a collegial executive made up of twelve members, who collectively serve as the country's head of government and also act as ministers, individually presiding over each federal department. The individual members of the Council of State are known as referred to as the departmental Heads (Capo/a, Capi in plural) of their respective federal departments.
Even though the twelve members of the Council of State are each assigned a portfolio corresponding to a Department of the federal administration, they are not individually responsible for the work of the agencies under each department's umbrella. Government agencies are instead ostensibly autonomous, as councillors of State are barred from interfering with agency matters, including the application of laws. Heads of agencies do not respond to the councillors of State, but instead to the whole Council of State collectively as well as to their respective legislative committees.
The members of the Council of State are elected individually every five years, coinciding with the Grand Council legislative election. They are elected by a joint session of the two chambers of the Legislative Assembly. The vote is conducted through exahustive balloting until a candidate obtains an absolute majority of the votes. The seats in the Council of State are distributed to three geographical groupings. Once elected, a member of the Council of State cannot be dismissed neither by impeachment nor a confidence vote, only suspended. Although there are no term limits for the members of the Council of State, on average they have tended to serve for a decade. The insulation of the Council of State from the legislature is considered the key feature behind the stability of the country's political system, as the members of the Council's long terms of office enable for the implementation of long-term policy-making initiatives.
The Council of State is presided by its Chairman (President del Consili de Stat). The Chairman of the Council of State's role is limited to arbitrating disputes between members of the Council of State but they also undertake external representation functions normally performed by a president or prime minister in single-executive systems. The chairmanship is rotatory, changing every six months in April and October. The current (1 April - 1 October 2019) Chairman of the Council of State is Matté Ornagh (PRD), who serves as the Head of the Department of the Environment.
The other current members of the Council of State are: Michel Fontana (PSU), Cjarla Vascot (PRD), Francesch Pognant Airass (PRP), Usoeubi Fumagaj (CD), Rafaell Oliver (PCCI), Leonora Pedemonte (PSU), Sandrina Franscitt (PE), Lorenz Raviola (PRD), Ciara Baudin (CD), Delia Moratt (CD) and Elena Bordogn (PSU).
Legislative branch
Legislative power is primarily attributed in the Constitutional Laws to the Legislative Assembly, the country's bicameral legislature. The Legislative Assembly (Assemblea Legislativa) is formed by a lower house, the Grand Council and an upper house, the Delegated Council, commonly referred to as the Delegazion. The two chambers are equal (perfect bicameralism) and an identical must be passed in both chambers to become law.
The Grand Council (Gran Consili) is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly. It is directly-elected every five years through universal secret suffrage by all citizens over the age of 18. The Grand Council is formed by 351 members (known as 'deputies', deputà in Oronese) elected from fifteen constituencies through a open list proportional representation system. The constituencies are coterminous with the country's provinces with the exception of Calsiana. The Grand Council's presiding officer is its President (President del Gran Consili), the speaker of the lower house. The President of the Grand Council also presides over the joint sessions of both chambers of the Assembly. The President is elected every year for a single, non-renewable term. The current President is Martina Gori (PRD).
The Delegated Council (Consili Delegà or Delegazion) is Aleramia's upper house. The Delegazion is formed by 84 members, known as delegates (delegà). Each province is allocated 6 delegates regardless of its population. Unlike the lower house, there is no federal legislation on the election of the Delegated Council. Instead, each province selects the election method. In some provinces, like Alta Langa and Tigullio, the provincial legislature designates their delegates but the majority of members are directly-elected, either through a majoritarian system or proportional representation. Elections to the Delegated Council take place every seven years. The last held election took place in 2014. The presiding officer of the Delegated Council is its President (President del Consili Delegà), who is elected every year for a single, non-renewable term. The current President is Filipp Bordon from the Carnian League.
Although both chambers are usually in session parallelly, they operate separately. However, both chambers of the Legislative Assembly hold joint seatings for a limited number of significant events, such as the election of the members of the Council of State, the granting of pardons, the recommendation of judges to the Crown for appointment and to hear the monarch's oath to uphold the Constitution during his enthronement. Both chambers of the Assembly also appoint members to three bicameral committees.
Judicial branch
Constitutionally autonomous bodies
Since 1979's constitutional reforms, the Aleramic Basic Laws recognise five autonomous institutions. These are the National Electoral Office, the Advisory Board, the Royal States' Bank, the National Audit Office and the National Ombudsman Office. The Constitutional Law of 1980 guarantees each institution's autonomy and limits the possibility of interference in their internal functioning by, amongst other measures, requiring legislative supermajorities to choose their respective presidents and designate its members.
- The National Electoral Office (Burò Elettoral Nazional, BEN) is the organisation in charge of the administration and supervision of all federal election, enforcing federal legislation on electoral spending and transparency. The BEN also manages and updates the electoral inscription system, the political parties' register and coordinates the work of the twelve provincial electoral courts.
- The Advisory Board (Gionta assessora) is an advisory body of the Executive Council on constitutional and judicial aspects of legislation and policy. The Advisory Board must be consulted by the Council of State on proposed legislation before a bill is submitted to parliament. Its advice is not binding although the government is required to react to the advice and it often plays a significant role in the ensuing parliamentary debate. The board members are mainly legal specialists, former ministers, members of parliament and judges or professors of law. The ex officio President is the Monarch, although in practice, deliberations are presided by the Board's vice-president.
- The Royal States' Bank (Banca real di Statt) is the States of the Aleram's central bank, which sets the interest rates and controls the money supply. The Royal States' Bank is governed by its special charter and it is committed to using monetary policy to promote economic growth and social welfare through a commitment to a stable and low inflation rate and full employment. The current governor of the Royal States' Bank is Marcel Roncaj, with a non-renewable mandate from 2010 and 2020.
- The National Audit Office (Controll nazional di Finanz) is the federal audit court of Aleramia. The Office supervises the financial management of the federal administration, the various federal agencies, parliamentary and judicial expenses as well as those private companies where the federal government has a majority share.
- The National Ombudsman Office (Burò nazional del difensor civich, BNDC) was created in 1975 and it is formed by the National Ombudsman and various specialised ombudsmen. The BNDC is tasked with charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints of maladministration or a violation of rights, acting as the country's de facto national human rights institution.
Advisory bodies
There are a number of advisory councils that counsel the government as well as the legislature on detailed areas, such as economic planning, biotechnology or nuclear research. The most important council of this kind is the CPE, the Economic Planning Commission (Comission de programmazion economica). It represents the so-called social partners: trade unions and employers' organizations and economic experts drawn from academia to achieve a broad consensus on economic policy-making and facilitate social dialogue. The CPE is divided into three thirds, with the government appointing academics and economic technicians, whereas the unions and the employers each appoint their own delegates.
Political parties and elections
Political parties
Electoral system
Grand Council
Delegazion
Last electoral results
Provinces
Political landscape
History of the political landscape
