WesWorld

Yet again elections are upon us. Will these be as exciting as the last?
Lets hope not for all our sakes. I'll shortly recap the major events in
the political landscape over the past few years. In the elections in
1923 came a large surprise, the attempted assassination of Snr.
Mussolini, one of the more outspoken opposition leaders at that time. It
is still unclear as to what exactly happened, but many people point to a
government authroised attempt on his life. However there is of course no
damning proof. The bullet wounds to Snr. Mussolini lead to his
withdrawal from the election and that of his party as well in protest.
He[Mussolini] began a long road to recovery which ended with the
masterstroke of the march on Rome. Winning large scale support in the
industrial Romagna, the fascisti were ready to march on Rome and
otherthrow the government, which was in crisis. However, some clever
maneuvering by Snr. Facta (the then PM) lead to a compromise giving the
fascisti 3 ministerial positions; Foreign Minister, Minister for
Agriculture, and the newly formed Minister for Aviation. This coup for
Snr. Mussolini ensured his continued support by the people of Italy.
After this, things returned to a sense of normalcy until the untimely
and unfortunate death of Snr. Facta due to health problems. Following
this came the Fascisti's rise to power, with Snr. Mussolini becoming
Prime Minister.

Following the great war of 1915-18, ending in our glorious Vittorio
Veneto came poor times for the socialist left which has historically
dominated Italian politics. The rise of both the fascisti and
conservatives has been due mainly to the problems caused by the war and
the unfair peace treaty of 1919. Some disgruntled persons took matters
into their own hands, Snr. Annuzio's campaign in the Dalmations doing
something to rectify the problem. Welcomed and thanked as liberators
after years of Austro-Hungarian oppression, the Italian unconventional
forces soon ran into problems as the Serbs wished for independance. This
was granted to some extent by the forming of two new provences, Tyrol
Alto-Adige and Dalmatia, with Trento and Dubronovik being the respective
capitals. Power is more devolved in these outlying regions, but large
scale industrial programs have helped to give the Dalmatians a real link
to Italy.

What are the issues facing the political parties of today? Continued
economic prosperity, social reforms, solutions to Dalmatia and the Holy
See, possible threats to our well-being. These problems will have to be
addressed by the party that comes to government. The large-scale naval
construction program instigated by Snr. Mussolini has given wide scale
employment, especially to the South, Sciliy and Sardinia. Investment in
the high-tech aviation industry has reaped dividends with many orders
from foreign nations and companies. The discovery of oil in Libya has
lead to employment and economic benefits which are only just starting to
be realised in full. Overall, our country seems to be working well. This
is the image in the minds of the Italian people.

Campaigning got off to an early start, with 4 weeks until the elections
themselves. The parties concentrated on the industrial heartland of
Italy, with the fascists enjoying huge support in Milan and Turin. Their
main contenders appear to be the conservatives lead by Snr. Ianucci,
whose charismatic smile and hard line on economic issues is being well
received. "A low tax and high growth economy is good for all" he
proclaims as he tours the streets, being at home in the city as in the
country. The fascisti have a definite lead on security matters as they
wish to continue military spending, whilst the conservatives will curb
this in favour of lower tax. No party has come forward on the issue of
the Holy See save the Christian Democrats, who in a Catholic nation have
strong links with the people. At this stage, I cannot say which way it
will turn, but I predict that the fascisti will stay in power.

Well the official results have been counted and the people have spoken.
No party has won an overall majority. Quick to capitalise on this was
the right, with the conservatives and fascisti joining forces in an
attempt to form a coalition government. Despite strong support for the
Fascisti, the hard campaigning on the economy has given the
conservatives a large proportion of the votes. As the major partner,
Snr. Ianucci will be made Prime Minister, to the displeasure of Snr.
Mussolini. The position of the fascisti in government will not greatly
change. Snr. Balbo keeping his post in the Air Ministry, and the
continuance of the Ministry for Agriculture. For Snr. Mussolini, he will
be shifted sideways at his own request into the second most powerful
seat that of Minister for Overseas Territories. As such, he gains the
post of overviewing all that happens in Libya and the EAS in addition to
a wider brief on international affairs.

Now all we can do is wait and see. The Italian people have spoken, and
hopefully they have made the correct choice.

Nice job. I'll be curious to see how the conservatives' improved fortunes affect the military and foreign relations.

"The Raj sends his congratulations to Snr. Ianucci and Snr. Mussolini on their electoral victory and formation of government. He wishes them a peaceful and prosperous term in government."

What's the date of the election? And remind me what "health problems" led to Snr. Facta's demise?

The date of the election is undecided. Lets say the 4th March for no particular reason. The health problems were historical problems that led to his historical death. They've just been brought forward 2 years IIRC.

I had an hour or so free at work so I quickly wrote down this story. I'd been meaning to do so for weeks.

The Philippines is pleased with the results of the Italian election.