The Morovian Telegraph

Royal Succession Act Controversy

Briesk – When there was no news from the Winter Palace during summer, the Kingdom of Morovia returned to its lowest ebb. Many reasons were put forward to explain the decline, among them, a dissolved Royal Assembly and the loss of InfoMorovia. However, few can argue that the main reason was that the King was nowhere to be found.

When the King returned to Briesk, his subjects cried for deep-reaching reforms including electoral reforms, royal succession reforms, and some even went on to press for constitutional reforms. The citizens of Morovia were delighted that the King, too, agreed that such reforms were needed. Elections were promptly held and the electorate put a couple of new faces into the Royal Assembly, in line with the desire for sweeping reforms.

The Royal Assembly quickly drafted several radical bills to be voted upon. Among these bills was the Royal Succession Act (RSA), an act meant to provide for succession to the throne in case of the permanent absence of the Sovereign or any of the Royal Family to succeed the Sovereign, or the Abdication of a Sovereign without a designated or willing heir.

In essence, this bill was to empower the Royal Assembly to appoint a Regent should the King, or another member of the Royal family, not post to the forums or communicate with the Cabinet or the Royal Assembly within one month of the King’s previous communication (if the King did not designate a Regent). If the Regent completed his/her three-month term and the King had still not returned, the bill enabled the Royal Assembly to appoint a Successor to the King. This document received much support throughout the country and was passed by the Royal Assembly.

Then came the surprise. His Majesty King Vincent III published a Statement Regarding the Royal Succession Act, which, in effect, vetoed the Royal Succession Act. This was the first time in 6 years that the King has exercised his prerogatives to refuse assent to any legislation passed by the representatives of the people. Robert Gresham, easily the most prominent critic of the Crown, lambasted His Majesty’s statement as a poor decision, stating that he actually wish it [the RSA] went further in its provisions qualifying further to mean three strikes, you’re out reform.

The King’s veto rocked the Royal Assembly, and the whole of Morovia, with mixed responses. The Hon. Bill Bekkenhuis, who voted Yea for the RSA, promptly asked the Royal Assembly not to override the King’s veto although the Assembly had the votes and power to do so, but to give the Winter Palace some time (seven days) to devise a compromise.

The Hon. David Oatney, who proposed the RSA, said that he [did not] believe a Compromise from His Majesty’s Chambers is forthcoming, adding that ...it is a sad day when the principle of Parliamentary Supremacy, which is a basic principle of democratic Constitutional Monarchy, must be asserted in a legislative showdown with the King we are sworn to Liege. The Hon. Bekkenhuis and the Hon. Oatney are both caught in a very strange position. The Hon. Bekkenhuis has always appeared to subscribe to liberalism yet was the first to come to the King’s "rescue". The Hon. Oatney, on the other hand, is the leader of the Conservative Party.

James Murphy, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, while maintaining that it is the King’s prerogatives to veto legislations as such rights are guaranteed by the Constitution, entered into a difficult and intense debate with the Hon. Bekkenhuis for changing his vote to Nay, beginning with a question, "Why must the king always be amused?"

The Assembly is the people’s legislature. We the people expect our legislators to represent US, not the Winter Palace. We expect our representatives to be strong, to be courageous and to be able to act without fear, argued Murphy. …Legislation cannot be stopped just because the executive branch dislikes it. That’s just obnoxious.

The Hon. Bekkenhuis replied, Is there any reason to dismiss a solution agreeable to both King and Assembly other than as a show of force on the part of the Assembly? This debate carried on with both parties adding to the already very delicate issue, with Murphy calling Bekkenhuis’ formula as Happy King = good legislation.

Murphy ended the thread summarizing his contention that the Assembly exists for a reason. There is a three branch system of checks and balances. When one of those branches renounces its prerogatives in favor of those of another, the balance is upset and this can lead to an unhealthy situation.

Nobody is sure where this issue will lead Morovia. It is unlikely that Vincent III will ever be succeeded in accordance with the RSA. However, this episode (still unfinished) set, or may set, more than one controversial precedence: the people legislating the powers of the King; the King exercising his rights to veto legislations; the people overriding a King’s veto.

Steven Foong
Editor, Movovian News
The Morovian Telegraph