User:Gylias/Sandbox

The Latte Revolution (French reformed: Révolution d'café au lait) was a period of significant economic, social, and political change in Gylias during the 2010s. It coincided with the term of Prime Minister Marie-Agnès Delaunay, and marks the start of Gylias' Second Republic.

Economic reforms included reducing bureaucracy, switching to a negative income tax model, and encouraging innovation and risk-taking. Social reforms included consolidating the various assistance payments into one, changing immigration law, and fostering increased patriotism. An electoral reform led to a transformation of politics: the number of parties declined, smaller parties merged into larger ones, and new electoral blocs consolidated.

The Latte Revolution marked Gylias' most significant period of transformation since the Golden Revolution. It transformed the Gylian consensus by bringing new issues to public debate, such as the risk of stagnation and bureaucratisation. The national symbols also changed, introducing a new flag, anthem, and currency.

Name and symbolism

The term "Latte Revolution" emerged in reference to its central figure, Marie-Agnès Delaunay. Due to her blonde hair and light brown suit, wags compared her appearance to latte. Marie-Agnès enjoyed the nickname, and appropriated it. She even adopted latte art as the logo of her party, the Movement for Action and Democracy. Thus, she turned "Latte Revolution" from a mocking term to a positive one.

A similar term was "Blonde Revolution", initially scornful then reappropriated as a positive.

Marie-Agnès' embrace of light brown as the colour of the Latte Revolution was notable. Brown had previously been associated with the Front for Renewal of Order and Society, and thus right-wing extremism. She succeeded in transforming brown as a political colour to reflect herself.

Dynamics

Prime Minister Marie-Agnès Delaunay played the driving role in the Latte Revolution

The distinctive feature of the Latte Revolution was its hierarchical nature. Marie-Agnès governed in a personalised manner, relying on charismatic authority. She organised the MAD as a personal party. Except for finance minister Dana Tan, none of her ministers matched her profile.

Political commentators described the Latte Revolution as a "top-down" project, and Marie-Agnès' leadership as dominant. President Carmen Dell'Orefice observed how, at cabinet meetings, ministers behaved more like subordinates than equals. She enforced strict party discipline in the MAD, defying Gylias' tendency towards weak party discipline.

Critics charged that her government was a "friendly dictatorship", and the Latte Revolution a "vanity project" compared to the Golden Revolution. Historian Nina Raukan compared the two:

"We remember the Golden Revolution as a time of mass mobilisation. In fact, its big ideas came from an alliance of radicals, dreamers of all stripes, and the government. This alliance won the silent consent of the majority. Thus, the Golden and Latte Revolutions are similar. The difference is the latter's big ideas came from Marie-Agnès herself."

Marie-Agnès had a small circle of advisors she relied on for decision-making, rather than the cabinet. They were former minister Julie Legrand, political writer Virginia Inman, and economist Leále Tiekat. Marie-Agnès admitted in her memoirs she was impressed by the thesis of Virginia's The Future and Its Enemies. Virginia herself considered Marie-Agnès to have pursued "dynamism" in office against "stasism", as per its thesis.

Ideas

Marie-Agnès favoured pragmatism over ideology, often saying: "As long as an idea is good and it works, I don't care where it came from." She saw ideologies as "exhausted" and rigid, incapable of adapting to new situations.

Despite her anti-politics rhetoric, commentators identified distinctive traits to her policies. She governed as a populist, using the MAD and referendums to mobilise support. She attacked the established parties and presented herself as a break from the past.

Marie-Agnès brought new issues to Gylian politics and public life. Her signature issues were reducing bureaucracy, encouraging "courage and initiative" in Gylians, and a "muscular" foreign policy. She presented her policies as revitalising and strengthening Gylias. Julie recounted Marie-Agnès telling her in a conversation:

J'aime faire bouger choses, mettre feu aux poudres. Nous n'avons eu puissance d'une idée en marche depuis Révolution doré. Putain, c'temps qu'on récupère! ("I like to shake things up, light a fire under people. We haven't had the power of an idea in motion since the Golden Revolution. It's fucking time we got it again.")

Economic reforms

Marie-Agnès began her term with daring reforms. She replaced the þaler with a new currency, the gilda, at a rate of 𐑜1 = Ŧ1.000.000. She used the change to have a "reset" at the National Prices Board, reducing all prices and wages by half. She simplified the tax system, adopted a negative income tax model, halved income tax brackets, and increased land value tax to reduce other taxes. Other reforms ordered remote work as the standard, merged the assistance payments into one Citizens' Assistance payment, and implemented active labour market policies.

Marie-Agnès prioritised reducing bureaucracy. Her government cut red tape for small businesses and pushed for e-government. She used digitalisation to streamline public service. Gylians began to pay taxes mainly online, using pre-filled tax returns. She implemented tax breaks and subsidies for start-ups, and reforms to ease starting a business or self-employment. She used these reforms to encourage "courage and initiative" in Gylians. She argued that a strong social safety net and reduced bureaucracy would encourage innovation and risk-taking. She established a national council for regulatory reform, to simplify administration and spur public discussion of "right-sized regulations".

Although radical, her economic reforms took an eclectic approach and didn't abandon the Gylian consensus framework. On the contrary, Marie-Agnès presented her reforms as strengthening it. The new economy law presented mandatory unionisation and cooperativisation. Several large-scale infrastructure projects expanded high-speed rail, including the Antánas–Lænas tunnel and the Ðajyr–Ryðai and Velouria–Narona bridges.

Marie-Agnès pursued the ideals of a Goldilocks economy and democratic control over policy. She called a series of referendums to shape the details of her policies. Her speeches to the Public Advisory Council and commissioning organs repeated the theme that Gylians didn't want their country completely closed, which was impossible, or completely open, which would leave it unprotected. Thus, the public was responsible for debating and deciding what degree of control to apply.

The reforms produced a great leap for the Gylian economy. It enjoyed high productivity and developed a technological advantage. Gylian products gained a reputation for planned resilience, and became prestigious exports. International trade increased, although foreign investment remained stagnant as investors disliked Gylias' mandatory cooperativism. Economic growth increased: GDP grew by an average of 4,6% in 2010–2019, up from 3,7% in 2000–2009. The strengthened tax code and streamlined administration allowed the government to run a modest surplus, and the debt/GDP ratio decreased.

National symbols

Marie-Agnès paired the economic reforms with similarly daring changes to national symbols. In 2008–2009, she launched a national debate on changing the flag and anthem. The Gylian Herald wrote that she went into the debate as a "swaggering gambler". She quipped that the flag's white background made it look like a surrender flag, and bluntly dismissed the anthem as "a funeral dirge".

Her suggested changes were modest in comparison. Her flag proposal was a blue-white-blue triband (colours previously used by the Liúşai League and Alscia) with the seal in the centre. Her anthem proposal was "Arise, Gylians", previously used by Alscia.

The proposals won support in a 2009 referendum. Parliament then passed the Law on National Symbols of 2009, replacing that of 1959. It contained an extra provision that defined a national cockade of blue, white, and gold, based on the flag.

Political reforms

Marie-Agnès achieved major success in shaking up Gylian politics. Her reforms had several components: streamlining public service, regional reform, electoral reform, and constitutional reform.

She worked closely with President Laura Varnaþ to promote political reform. Laura and Marie-Agnès coordinated their public interventions, with Laura using the right to presidential address.

Streamlining public service

Marie-Agnès streamlined public service by merging and abolishing ministries, and consolidating administrative agencies. She reduced the cabinet to 14 ministries and the civil service to 78 administrative agencies.

Regions

At Marie-Agnès' urging, Laura called several referendums on merging Gylias' regions. Marie-Agnès' government supported it strongly, and her high approval ratings helped them carry the day.

Several referendums were held throughout 2008 and 2009. The ones she prioritised won comfortably: merging Arxaþ and Alţira, and merging Sváen into Elena. Her push to merge the northern regions had mixed results. Salxar and Makarces voted to merge, as did Gacar and Gerşyr. Tandar rejected the proposal to merge with Salxar.

The result reduced Gylias' regions from 20 to 16. The government adopted merged names for the provinces: Salxarces, Gercar, and Arţia.

Electoral law

Marie-Agnès repealed the Law on Electoral Representation of 1960 and brought in a new electoral law, the biggest change to Gylian elections. The provisions included: abolishing parties' restriction to one candidate per circonscription, varying circonscriptions between 3–5 members based on population, Gregory method for vote transfers. It cut the Gylian Parliament to 400 Deputies and 160 Senators. One new provision tied the Chamber of Deputies' size to voter turnout. A number of seats would be left vacant to reflect the percentage of voters that didn't turn out.

Election Day moved from fixed dates to the last Saturday and Sunday of a month, with the electoral calendar shifted accordingly.

Marie-Agnès also banned the Revolutionary Rally and Front for Renewal of Order and Society, calling them "disgusting dregs of Gylias' past". She strengthened the Directorate for Protection of the Constitution and imposed stricter policing and prosecution of anti-democratic tendencies. She declared in a national televised address:

"Gylias' democracy is non-negotiable. We must always strengthen it, never weaken. As your Prime Minister, I'll fight to eradicate any authoritarian formations, no matter what. We enjoy our freedoms, so we must protect them by the sword. We owe no quarter to whoever threatens our freedoms."

New Constitution

Marie-Agnès' government preferred to repeal existing laws and replace them with new ones. The most significant "break with the past" was replacing the Constitution of 1961.

Marie-Agnès took a central role in the drafting process. Her proposed changes were somewhat modest, but she presented them as exciting transformation. They included repealing the "miserable compromise" by acknowledging use of state mechanisms, abandoning "outdated" elements, and implementing defensive democracy elements.

Coming on the heels of regional consolidation and electoral reform, her draft passed Parliament and was approved by referendum. Symbolically, it took effect in 2011, 50 years after its predecessor. The new Constitution declared Gylias to be a "direct democracy, using state mechanisms as necessary". Julie approved of this change, as it acknowledged the Free Territories' legacy while "throwing out all the euphemisms and evasions" used to cover Gylias' existence as a state.

Defense reforms

Marie-Agnès' government revolutionised Gylias' defense policy, changing to a stronger posture reminiscent of armed neutrality.

She bolstered the Gylian Self-Defense Forces, raising defense spending to 3% of GDP and boosting recruitment. She directed the Office of Industrial Production Coordination to boost Gylias' defense industry, and stepped up orders of weapons systems from traditional allies.

She deepened defense and security cooperation with old and new allies such as Ossoria. She supported both the expansion of the SCR Eltykan base and the establishment of further Ossorian military bases in Gylias. She pushed for the creation of a defense union in the Common Sphere.

The GSDF adopted a new military doctrine, which emphasised deterrence and asymmetric warfare. It planned for a national redoubt in case of invasion, relying on fortifying the Salxar and Naryn mountains. GSDF training was updated to emphasise manoeuvre warfare and fifth-generation warfare. The Constitution of 2011 jettisoned many previous restrictions on the GSDF and the government discussed with allies about shifting from a purely defense-oriented posture.

Social reforms

Marie-Agnès sought to reform Gylian nationalism, changing its "inward-looking" nature to one more "optimistic and proud". She frequently invoked patriotism in speeches and policy framing, and encouraged Gylians to "boldness" and greater national pride.

Her government carried out notable reforms to immigration law and nationality law. The former changed to focus on skill shortages and emphasise assimilation of migrants. The government slowed down the pace of migration and reformed the Penal Code to facilitate deportation.

She repealed the Law on Common Nationality of 1962 and replaced it with a new nationality law. The new law removed the previous "respect for statelessness and non-citizenship", and made Gylian citizenship essential for exercising rights and responsibilities. She created a path to citizenship for migrants, while tightening regulation of unlawful entrance. Citizenship qualifications included fluency in Gylias' national languages, work placement, and demonstrating willingness to integrate into Gylian culture and remain long-term.

Foreign policy

Marie-Agnès advocated a "muscular Gylias", a departure from traditional Gylian foreign policy methods.

Her government's diplomacy focused on the soft power aspects of Gylias' economy and democracy, and exercising influence through strengthened alliances. Her use of "muscular" as a descriptor reassured other states that Gylias would not become more aggressive or confrontational, simply more assertive.

Reflecting its new direction, the government provided materiel to Ruvelka during the Zemplen War.

She supported reinforcing the Common Sphere, overturning Gylias' traditional skepticism of strengthening the CS. After Tennai joined the CS in 2015, she worked with Tennai and Cacerta to build a pro-reinforcing consensus in the Common Sphere Council. She brought her reformist instincts to summits, where she encouraged fellow leaders to support cutting red tape and preventing economic isolation.