Senebos dhygs Normandi (Normandy and Picardy)

[Normandy and Picardy]

Normandy First! - Owyn Simed New Prime Minister
The Establishment has well and truly been "defeated" in the words of new Prime Minister Owyn Simed, leader of Normandy First. Over a year ago, Normandy First winning an election would have been unbelievable, and now they have 205 seats, a majority in the Normand Parliament, leaving political analysts and former politicians scratching their heads and asking where it all went wrong. Standing on a radical populist left wing, and extremely nationalist, platform, against free-movement and immigration (they have even threatened to deport all non-Normands, although whether this will be followed through or not is to be seen) . It has been highly critical of the SLU, saying that it is an affront to national sovereignty, and has called for massive reforms of the organisation; it intends to remain within, but wants the terms of membership changed. Domestically, the party has called for a series of tax hikes on businesses and the rich, including a so called "Robin Hood Tax", whereby all those who earn over 500,000 a year are taxed 5% after income tax, which is already increased for richer people. It will also introduce "Wage Councils" for different sectors (except for the services industry, unsurprisingly), to allow workers to negotiate for fairer wages, and will increase the power of the trade unions too, along with widescale nationalisation. They have promised to eliminate the pay gap between men and women, fining businesses that don't comply. This sudden shift to the left will cause shockwaves in the Normand economy, but through investment and increasing wages, so that poorer people have more money to invest into the economy (according to the new chancellor Jon Madonis) they hope to create unprecendented economic growth. Whether they will or not is a different matter. Who knows what the future holds?


The makeup of the new Normand Parliament after the 2nd August vote (Normandy First in Red, Liberals in Yellow, Conservatives in Blue, Picards in Green, Left Choice in Pink)

[Kingdom of Grolsch]

The Kingdom of Grolsch reiterates its commitment to the SLU and states that Normandy and Picardy has every right to leave the SLU if they want to do so. However, Grolsch does not see the need for reforms. Also, it warns Normandy that if they choose to deport Grolschians, the Kingdom of Grolsch reserves the right to reinstate import taxes on Normand goods and services. In addition, the Kingdom of Grolsch is prepared to offer citizens of Normandy and Picardy who wish to move to Grolsch additional support, especially scientists, engineers and investors.

[Normandy and Picardy]

OOC: Don't worry, that was just rhetoric to get the racists to vote for them, and in reality only the domestic stuff is to be implemented, and although they are critical of the SLU they have no desire to leave it