Willem Lodewijk

Willem Lodewijk
Lodewijk in the early 1920's
Born	July 10th, 1859 Volendam, Nieuw Hoop
Nationality	Rensselaer, Freijian
Occupation	President , Leader of Mercantile Interest Party
Years active	(1899-
Notable work	Lodewijk Doctrine
Term	(1929-
Predecessor	Rudolf Martens
Political party	Mercantile Interest Party
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Willem Lodewijk (b. 1859 - ) is the 21st president of the Federal Republic of Rensselaerswijck, party leader of the Mercantile Interests Party, and former member of parliament from the Rensselaer Parlement van Het Volk. Lodewijk rose to prominence and national recognition as the leader of a caretaker government following the Martens Administration Scandal, leading to electoral victories for the presidency in the 1929 Rensselaerswijck Snap Elections and 1930 Rensselaerwicjk General Elections, respectively, as well as a victory in the 1934 Rensselaerswicjk General Elections.

Lodewijk distinguished himself as a proponent of the now coined "Lodewijk Doctrine" and his stark opposition to government centralization and interference in public life. He is the only President to ever be elected on three seperate occasions, and is also the first President to be elected and the party they represent not be the largest in Parliament. While elected president by a vast majority of Rensselaer, Lodewijk's Mercantile Interest Party has little growth if not stagnation.

Early Life and Family

Willem was born in a small village not far from Nieuw Hoop on July 10th, 1859 to first generation parents who had just emigrated from Freijian. He was raised simultaneously learning both Freijian and Rensselaer Freijian, even though the latter's dialectal differences continue to grow as time goes on. Being the son of immigrants, Willem visited Freijian many times as a child and came to appreciate the culture of the country even better. He is an only child, with a younger brother dying at birth due to complications. His parents were middle class and worked as port workers, benefitting heavily from the successes of the Merchant classes.

A dispute emerged with civil authorities when Lodewijk was only 11. Rensselaerswijck at the time had not allowed dual citizenship, and demanded the family choose between their Freijian or Rensselaer citizenship status. His parents, unwilling to make such a decision, let the eleven year old boy choose himself. Enfatuated by Freijian from his recent travels, he chose his Freijian citizenship over his Rensselaer. President Lodewijk recounts that this "was one of the worst decisions" he had made, commenting to a reporter in early 1929 that "it was one of the worst decisions of my life... my parents shouldn't have let me choose as I was still such a young boy. If my parents knew the consequences of that choice, they would have never let me chosen it."

The loss of his Rensselaer citizenship began years of prolonged legal battle with the government, with the government seeking to deport Lodewijk's family back to Freijian. In 1905, just as Lodewijk began entering politics, the government signed into law a new act allowing dual citizenship. The government dropped its lawsuit against the Lodewijk family, but it is estimated to have cost the family thousands of Rijksdaalders in legal fees.

This dispute with the goverment would eventually come to haunt him, as questions about his loyalty to the country, patriotism, and the feasability of an immigrant being legally allowed to hold office surfaced when he began his rise into politics. By his landslide victory in the 1929 Rensselaerswijck Snap Elections, the electorate seemed not to care about his past but his role as a interim President. Questions about the incident slowly faded away as time furthered on.

Lodewijk eventually went to Nieuw Hoop University of Economics and obtained a degree in Business, finding a fascination in capitalism and making a successful business venture. His hopes of forming a business were short lived, as he discovered a new passion.

Lodewijk in the Political Scene

Lodewijk's Enter to Politics

Willem Lodewijk entered politics in 1899, officially signing up for membership of the Mercantile Interest Party. Lodewijk had a high interest in economics and even thought of starting his own business before holding off. Going to Mercantile Interest meetings and speaking to high-level party officals made him fascinated by the party and his new career goal was to work inside of the Party. He eventually rose the ranks of the party, and made it high in Party Establishment circles, being a personal confidant of multiple Merchant Interest leaders. In 1910, he decided to run for Parliament in his home district of Volendam, which he won narrowly by under 500 votes. He won for re-election in 1914, this time winning by over 2,000 votes. He expanded the port of Volendam, which created hundreds of new jobs, and famously championed for an ill-fated bill which would privatize many sectors of the Merchant Marine, making it independent from the Armed Forces. Lodewijk ran for re-election two other times, in 1918 and 1922, in which his leads over the opposition grew each time. As a member of parliament, he had been elected for the constitutionally mandated maximum of 4 terms (16 years) in office. Despite speculation Lodewijk might challenge this amendment, he announced in late 1925 he would not be seeking re-election.

Lodewijk as Party Leader

In early 1926, Lodewijk announced controversially that he would become the head of the Mercantile Interest Party going forward. This outraged the opposition, who viewed this as a suggestion that he would run for a fifth term in office. Frenzied letters were sent to both the President and Deputy President, and the latter officially tabled a vote to remove Lodewijk from his position as Party Leader.

Lodewijk made a public statement, apologizing for the confusion, but re-iterating that he would both not run for re-election and remain as Party Leader. Opposition parties did not accept this statement, stating that it was not constitutional for anyone to serve as Party head and not be a member of Parliament. The Mercantile Interest Party rebuffed, and soon the matter found itself in a prolonged court battle which enveloped the political scene in Rensselaerswijck. Even as a minor party, the Mercantile Interest Party gained significant amounts of coverage in the press and media, boosting its popularity nationwide.

After a Nieuw Hoop Federal Circuit Judge ruled that Lodewijk must resign as Party Head, the Mercantile Interest Party appealed to the Supreme Court in October. The election was approaching, as well as Lodewijk's final term as member of parliament expiring, so the Supreme Court accepted to take up the appeal. The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision in one of the most divisive in Supreme Court history, ruled that any person, as long as the majority of party members will it, can be the leader of a Political Party. The Supreme Court did however order a leadership contest within the Mercantile Interest Party to determine if Lodewijk had the confidence of the party, and Lodewijk barely survived the contest. He famously remarked on Election Night 1926 that "the Supreme Court should not have the legal right to force a leadership contest," which he viewed not as a matter of principle, but as an issue of a State meddling in party affairs.

The Fall of the Martens Administration

(For more information, see Martens Administration Scandal) The Martens Administration, seeking to expand government power, fused the offices of President and Deputy President in all but name. Once the opposition united in pushing a successful vote of no-confidence, yet the Deputy President rejected the result, the Supreme Court got involved in mid 1928, ordering the government to officially dissolve and sent a reccomendation to the Department of Judicial Affairs that prominent party officials be charged with criminal contempt of the constitution.

In a shock to all, the Department of Judicial Affairs charged and indited a total of 50 officials, including the President, Deputy President, and members of parliament with criminal contempt. Military police stormed Parliament for the first and last time in Rensselaer history, placing many in cuffs and hauling away the Deputy President. President Martens peacefully surrendered himself to police at the Presidential Estate. With nearly 15% of parliament vacant as well as the offices of President and Deputy President, contingency plans had to be enacted. The former party of President Martens, the Liberal Democrats, ceased to be and collapsed into various differing independent members. The largest party at the time was then the Mercantile Interest Party. With only 20 seats at the time in a chamber of 350, it had the most members of any party. They put forward a contingency plan of Willem Lodewijk as caretaker president until snap elections happened later in the year. A majority of members agreed, and Willem Lodewijk became President with a country seeking guidance as most top leaders had been arrested for near treason.

Caretaker President and the 1929 Snap Elections

As caretaker President, Willem Lodewijk did his best to calm fears from citizens about the stability of the nation. He declined to let Parliament choose a Deputy President, announcing in a radio address that "the situation in the legislature does not warrant a Deputy President." He pardoned the Liberal Democratic party, but not any party officials, so that "things could get back to normal" although the party would not see a resurgance in turnout and voters until the 1934 Rensselaer General Election.

He quickly moved to implement as much policies as he could, enacting what he coined the "Lodewijk Doctrine." According to the doctrine, institutions would always veer closer and closer to total centralization and that the offices of President and Deputy President could not become perfectly equal as described in the constiution unless there was a broad curb of executive and federal power. He took this tenant to heart, by pushing through bills which would grant higher autonomy and decision-making to regions while limiting his own reach on federal agencies. He even made cabinet positions subject to review and vote by the legislature.

By election day 1928, the public perception of Lodewijk was that he succesffuly turned the country around from total disaster and reversed the wrongs of the Martens Administration. He won in a landslide victory, although a majority of democratic members of parliament grouped together from both the remnants of the Liberal Democrats and other parties to form the Republican Unity Party which crushed in elections for Parliament. It formed an absolute majority without needing a coalition, and the legislature leaned heavy toward their policies. Lodewijk had been elected President "for the person, not for the party" one political analyst noted, as Lodewijk's Mercantile Interest Party had not gained any seats at all in Parliament.

Third Term Controversy

Lodewijk won in another electoral victory in the 1930 Rensselaerswijck General Elections, this time even better than before. While, his party gained only a few seats, it was enough coupled with a small upsurge in Liberal Democrat recoveries that the Republican Unity party lost its absolute majority in Parliament. Lodewijk siezed this opportunity, and on inaugaration day of 1931, a coalition government was formed with the Mercantile Interest Party giving President Lodewijk even more influence in government.

When President Lodewijk announced he would be running for a third term in office in 1934. Opposition members immediately began decrying the move as a violation of the constitution. A motion of no-confidence was proposed, but it failed an initial vote and did not curry the favor of the Deputy President.

In a subsequent lawsuit against the President, the Supreme Court intervened and overruled a Nieuw Hoop Federal Circuit Judge, ruling 6-3 that the President had technically served only one term, and that the any service in office before the 1930 Rensselaerswijck General Elections would be deemed as not a single term. President Lodewijk hailed the ruling, reportedly stating that "the Supreme Court has decided I am not another Martens." He went on to win another term, yet the public perception of the controversy damaged his coalition's popularity. A surprise resurgance from the newly rebranded Liberal Democrats propelled them to 100 seats, and a coalition with a near aligned Christian Democrats party strengthened the opposition to new heights.

Lodewijk has advocated throughout his final term in office of "Status-Quo" policy-making. He officially announced on Independence Day of 1935 that his last term would be his last run in politics.