hawk11

OOC: There's four characters as far as I know. Prime Minister Hawk: Prime Minister of Palintine. It's been established his identity has been protected since the beginning of the nation. High Senator of Foreign Affairs Lee Chang-ho: Prime minister's chief foreign advisor. Capable of acting in his name for FA matters. High Senator of Internal Affairs Kim Shi-won: Prime minister's chief internal advisor. Capable of acting in his name for IA matters. Current main character of this RP. Ex-Viceroy: For all those who don't remember past RP, that'd be Sumeragi before Triyun banished her. Edit Note: This is the only time the ex-viceroy's going to be mentioned, odds are.

High Senator of Internal Affairs Kim Shi-won had no jurisdiction in foreign affairs. That was Senator Lee Chang-ho's jurisdiction. Lee was the mastermind behind the prime minister's diplomatic blitz shortly after what the Palintine Civilian Free Press had dubbed the "Kyokujitsu Blunder." Much more popular treaties were passed through the senate with relative ease, specifically the replacement of the defunct A.N.C.A. with the Ferrous Pacific Brotherhood. When it ratified, it sparked a new wave of regionalism in the country. Citizens who once argued over whether or not the sun rose in the east now confidently agreed that the FPB would be the future of the Pacific. Such confidence was not something Senator Kim had. It was all too convenient. The nation of Triyunica recently reemerged in the form of the Revolutionary Directorate of Southern Triyunica, and immediately the prime minister signed away the nation to them. The treaty called for order and stability, a long-term goal of Palintine in the region. It was no wonder that the citizenry latched onto the FPB so quickly and without hesitation. Since the ratification, the region has taken steps in the right direction despite the efforts of particular nations to halt progress, but it still irked the senator. Was this the way? Signing away the nation to participate in foreign wars, sacrificing Palintinian blood for a goal that just seems so impossible for today's day and age; was it the right choice? Senator Kim had voted against the proposal at the time, which had gone through 40-8. Senator Kim spent a lot of time on the floor debating against this proposed treaty. His litany of arguments all came full-circle to one conclusion: the eventual rise to prominence of the Triyunican state and the forcible reestablishment of the Palintine Autonomous Region, or worse. Fellow senators openly laughed at the notion. Neo Triyunica had collapsed, and even life under the regime was far from tragic. Southern Triyunica had approached Palintine as equals on the world stage, not as a father coming to reclaim his son. The senator was simply written off as a fear-monger, and his approval rating afterward reflected this by falling 10 percent. The senators who voted against claimed to do so because it was a treaty that did not provide an exit clause. Indeed it didn't, another reason Senator Kim believed that the Triyunican state was nigh. An argument he did not approach on the senate floor, however, was the fact that the prime minister himself could possibly be acting as a Triyunican plant. This was a no-brainer argument to the senator. Prime Minister Hawk was the appointment by Neo Triyunica to preside over the Palintine Autonomous Region. He certainly proved himself to be in favor of the development of the region at the time, but he still represented Triyunican authority despite given autonomy. The viceroy served at the pleasure of Triyunica. This was clearly backed up by the fact that the previous viceroy had been dismissed by the emperor when she tried to exert her own authority to use her armed troops. Granted that specific viceroy had a few screws loose in pursuing that action, it was still an autonomous action that was squashed by the authority of Triyunica. Prime Minister Hawk was still appointed by the very authority that had proposed this treaty, it is not unlikely that he was reminded of this at the time. Prime Minister Hawk remains an enigma to the people of Palintine. His records were lost in the collapse of Neo Triyunica, and he has always been known as "Hawk." He has never given a surname in his time of power, and "Hawk" is obviously not a common name. It's not even Korean. Hawk himself was noticeably foreign in his own nation, possibly purposefully keeping his own identity secret from the very people he is supposed to represent. His position of absolute authority over the senate is a complete enigma within Palintine, which claims to be a people's political paradise. How can a nation with an unchecked executive claim to be a political paradise. Granted the prime minister hasn't flexed his power in the nation's short history, the very notion that he could is practically a slap to the face of the very liberties the nation desperately wants to be associated with. Can the nation truly be free under this hypocrisy of a leadership? To Senator Kim, the answer was no. Something had to be done about the prime minister's unchecked power, or it could very well be the end of the nation.

Press release from the Elective Dictatorship of Palintine Classified: The prime minister has declared the armed forces to be at DEFCON 2. All enlisted and reserve troops have been ordered to readiness.

These are times I wish could be back.

Bros's eloquent way with words is only hindered by his inability to draw

"...Oops." -Jacob Goldstein

Palintine pulled out of ANCA. Also, you spelled "Palintine" wrong under Ferrous Pacific

Unnumbered amount of days later... High Senator of Internal Affairs and Junior Senator Kim Shi-won cycled through the news channels at his usual slow pace, allowing just a few words to be uttered and enough time to scan the text on screen to see if it was worth watching. Most of the channels were buzzing about the same media story. The senator didn't blame them, because even he was taken by surprise. He flipped through more channels. "-Minister held an unexpected meeting-" *click* "-arrived in Kyokujitsu Teikoku earlier today-" *click* "-unsure about who exactly was involved-" *click* "-met with unknown officials-" *click* "-unsure of details surrounding-" *click* "-senators infuriated-" *click* Senator Kim snapped out of his impulsive switching and went back a channel. "-of the trip. High Senator of Foreign Affairs Lee Chang-ho commented on the prime minister's sudden leave for the meeting:" The scene switches to Senator Lee speaking to the press on the steps of the senatorial building. "This was planned before the conflict between Kyokujitsu Teikoku and Imperial Wellington and our A.N.C.A. allies. Now that the region has stabilized, Prime Minister Hawk took the opportunity to hold the meeting at the earliest moment possible. There is no need for further concern, the prime minister has the best interests of the people at heart, like always." The scene cut again to this network's "talking head". "The prime minister is expected to return sometime within the week and present the results of the meeting to the senate. In the mean time, protests have spread throughout Seoul in opposition of the prime minister's decision to join Kyokujitsu Teikoku for a meeting. A poll conducted by the Palintine Civilian Free Press of its subscribers indicated that 78% were against political dealings with the Empire of the Rising Sun. Only 19% were in favor of the meeting, with 3% refusing vote. The Palintine Civilian Free Press is Palintine's premier newspaper, with about 80% of citizens subscribed to it. The senate-" *click* Being a cabinet member, Senator Kim knew why the prime minister wanted to travel to Kyokujitsu Teikoku in the past. Before the war, Prime Minister Hawk had wanted to meet with the Sumeragi in order to dissuade her from making any rash moves in the region in order to keep stability. Unfortunately, before the meeting could be held, a shooting war broke out over an island in the region, and ultimately the Korean people united behind the side of Imperial Wellington, Neo Japan, and the Xi'an Empire. Senate rejected the notion to go to war since Palintine had no standing navy at the time. Senator Kim himself was in favor of supporting A.N.C.A., as was the prime minister. The need to have this meeting after Imperial Wellington forced regional stability eluded him though. He was as in the dark as Senator Lee was, and he didn't like it in the slightest. Palintine had no business in the south Pacific, and Senator Lee wanted to keep it that way. Apparently the prime minister had different plans, and only time could tell what he had in mind. Senator Kim didn't like it.

OOC: Nah, I admit that my government structure is confusing to a degree. That's actually exactly why these events (and the ones coming) are occurring.

Three Days Later Sentator Kim Shi-won put the book down with an auditory sigh. Three straight days of reading left his mind exhausted, but he managed to read every word of the book, and he had boiled it down to one word. Rubbish. Indeed the prime minister had "justified" his position as the head of state. The justification, however, was that the prime minister position was devised to protect the citizens from the tyranny of the majority. The prime minister himself just spent a good amount of time reprimanding Kim about such a thing not being possible in the current system, so why was the position even necessary? He was sure that he didn't miss anything. The entire conundrum filled Senator Kim with disgust, so he went to return the bothersome book to the minister. As he entered the office, the prime minister was once again at the large bookshelf, leading Kim to alter his thought from the previous visit about the books being for show. Obviously, it was what the prime minister did between meetings. "Did you enjoy the book?" Prime Minister Hawk asked the senator as he took a seat in front of his desk. Senator Kim thought for a second before answering. He could either kiss the prime minister's $@! and tell him that the book cleared up all problems, or he could come out and say what has been bothering him. He chose the latter. "To be honest Mr. Minister," Senator Kim began, "the ideas you presented in it also seem a tad...flawed." The prime minister turned from his shelf. Strangely enough, the look on his face was almost glee. "Oh? Do go on." The senator was taken aback. "Well sir, you did explain why your position has executive power over the senate, but the problem is that the reason why there's no checks and balances over you was never quite explained." The prime minister sat back at his desk and looked at Senator Kim. The delighted look on his face remained. "Well now, it wouldn't quite be a dictatorship if there were checks and balances over the executive, would it?" "No sir, I guess it wouldn't be," The senator said as he thought this over. "But then how can we call ourselves an elective society if we don't elect the man who has the most power in the country?" "We don't. We call ourselves an elective dictatorship." "Exactly, how do we call ourselves an elective dictatorship if we do not elect this dictator?" The prime minister froze for a minute. "Honestly man," he said to the senator. "What is the senatorial standards for education these days?" The minister shook his head as he jotted something down on a note-pad. A quick glance by Senator Kim revealed that it said 'Note: Look into public school system.' "We're not an elective dictatorship because we elect our dictator! That would make us some kind of twisted democracy! We are an elective dictatorship because we elected to put ourselves under a dictatorship. The meaning of elective is not 'by election', but 'optional' or 'by choice'. "When our country was founded after the collapse of Neo Triyunica, I gathered the senate together to take a long, hard look at where we wanted to take our nation." The prime minister said as he swiveled his chair around so it faced the wall behind the desk. On that wall was a painting, in which the senate chambers were depicted. The seats were filled in the amphitheater-like room, and there were four men on the floor. The four men looked as if they were arguing with each other fiercely, close to physical violence. "The meeting itself lasted three days. Those three days were filled with much debate, and several times the outbreak of violence seemed inevitable. Many men wanted to make the country a direct democracy, another group felt that we should be a representative republic, and some felt we were fine with what we had. Ultimately, the debate was solved by a man who managed to convince the floor that there was no need for change. He compelled all to believe that the current system was fine enough to survive in the world we had been so violently thrust into. The senate would continue to be elected by the citizens, and they would continue to make laws. The laws would then be inspected by the executive, who decides if they're in line with the constitution. You know the rest." Senator Kim had heard most of this jazz before while growing up. The story of the country's creation is something of legend these days. The prime minister had been able to convince the floor to accept the current regime. The senators all put aside their differences and united for the good of the country. The people, invigorated by the small changes in government, produced the biggest economic boom in Palintine history out of the worst depression. Palintine did not rise through arms, but through the speech of one man. That man was now sitting in control of the country. "Am I right?" The prime minister turned his chair. Indeed the prime minister was right. All of this had taken place, but it didn't feel right to Kim Shi-won, junior senator of Gangwon-do. Why had the senate considered despotism correct? Is the will of the people truly being reflected with the prime minister holding executive veto powers? "You're right." The senator said.

The prime minister dropped the paper on his desk. "And why should I care, senator?" He said to the man across from him. The senator in question was Kim Shi-won, who was considered the second most powerful senator under the High Senator of Foreign Affairs Lee Chang-ho. Senator Kim considered himself the go-to man on domestic matters, and frequently liked to remind the prime minister of such. The senator raised an eyebrow. "Why?" He asked in what sounded like a condescending tone. "The nation's youth are moving against the administration!" He pointed accusingly at the paper on the desk, as if it were the root of the problem. The prime minister leaned back in his chair. "And what do you want me to do about it?" The senator paused for a second. "I thought as much," Prime Minister Hawk continued. "You seem to forget the entire basis of our political system. The system is set up so that no one party can have absolute control of the country. The reason for this is because people, like the seasons, change. They decide they want different things out of life. One minute you're the popular party, and the next minute you're a foot-note in history." The prime minister rose from his seat and walked over to the bookshelf of his office. The shelf itself was a large one, denoting that the prime minister either really liked to read, or needed a lot of books to do his job. "The theory behind it is that, along with our liberal protest laws, it will prevent armed uprisings. When people can change something without having to resort to arms, you'll find that they won't a lot of the time." "Yet the group that is becoming popular seeks to change that." "You're forgetting the basis again." The prime minister said as he cycled through books. "If the people want the change, then they're entirely entitled to that change. The only thing they have to do is convince the current representative government that the change is necessary." The senator adjusted himself in his seat. "With all due respect Prime Minister, the system sounds flawed." "It's worked up until now, has it not?" the minister said as he continued browsing the shelf. "Yes, but only because there's never been much opposition," the senator protested. "This is true, there's never been a clear opposition party in our nation before," the prime minister agreed. "That's why this is a particularly important time in our nation's history, Senator Kim. No one has ever had to deal with this situation before, therefore history will look upon our decisions as precedent. What we do here will shape our nation's political climate for years to come." The senator thought about this for a second. "Well sir, all of this talk about the people's will brings up an important and practically blatant contradiction," Senator Kim said as he stood from his own chair. "And that's what exactly your role is in the 'government of the people.' Your entire position interferes with the people's will since you're incapable of being removed from power, hold supreme veto power over the senate, and can ratify and enforce new laws at your whim." The prime minister selected a particularly heavy volume from the shelf and brought it back to the desk. He dropped it with a loud thump. "Read that." "What is it?" the senator said as he picked it up. "The Theory of the Elective Dictatorship and the Constitution of Palintine: Volume 1. It will explain my role in the government." The prime minister sat back down at his desk and opened the paper again, flipping rather hastily to a section labeled "SPORTS". "That's it?" the senator asked quizzically as he dusted the volume off. "Yep." Prime Minister Hawk said as he focused his attention on the Palintine Ice Hockey League (PIHL) scores. He frowned as he found out his favorite team lost the night before. "Who was this written by anyway?" "Me."

TPA