Great Morstaybishlia: Difference between revisions

[[File:King Galfridus.png|right|thumb|150px|King Galfridus in 1977.]]

Years of tension between the central government and many local councils and authorities led to a snap referendum for independence at the end stages of the Auroran Imperial War. The legitimacy of the referendum was questioned, and on the 6th of June that year, the poll saw 54% of the population vote to the South Staynes Sucession Act of 1975. Greta Vardem was declared President and South Staynes declared independence as a sovereign state from Morstaybishlia. The initial first few weeks saw lots of infighting. Soldiers and people loyal to the Morstaybishlian Empire were told to leave, whilst politicians were given a week. Guerrilla infighting between Morstaybishlian loyalists and the new South Staynish Army ensued creating a large shift in the opinion polls of [[Galfridus]]. Thousands of people were killed in the streets. This gave Morstaybishlia yet another problem to add to their list. At the point of the referendum, the Auroran Imperial War had started a ceasefire period. Greta Vardem saw this time to establish a non-aggression pact with her Axis neighbours, as well as a reluctant Morstaybishlia.

Being unable to prevent this loss of fatherland, Galfridus was severely criticised and his position was labelled weak by the devolved government. Wince Lavin, Prime Minister, saw this time to rally the power of the people to force the King in handing over executive power to Parliament. His plan succeeded, and on the 16th of July, the parliament replaced the throne as the main decision making body of Morstaybishlia.

After gaining independence, South Staynes struggled to find international recognition. Many other sovereign states declared the referendum was not legitimate and that Greta Vardem and Wince Lavin had collaborated to replace the throne with parliament. This resulted in many of the Empires' allies turning a blind eye to the situation; unable to find adequate reason to support either the Empire or South Staynes. Furthermore, Morstaybishlia did not recognise the new sovereign state. However, many opposing the Morstaybishlian Empire did. [[Norograd]] and [[Ethalria]] recognised the new state immediately and began their own relations with the country.

[[File:Greta Vardem colourised.jpg|left|thumb|150px|Greta Vardem in 1975.]]

For the first few months, Greta Vardem made many decisions that would grow South Staynes as a power and which pushed themselves more onto the world stage. They signed recognition and alliances with many Auroran countries except Morstaybishlia. Under Greta Vardem, South Staynes' economy grew by a record breaking 4% in its first year.

In 1976 however, in one of the most controversial moments in history, a gunman in a police disguise was mistakenly identified as Labius Deputy Police Officer Hans Drekker and was allowed on set during a live broadcast on national television where the President was filming. The gunman, Fred Greidman, fired and shot Greta several times in the chest and stomach before shooting himself. Immediately following the incident, Vice President Morgan Lugin seized control of the senate and began his oppressive doctrine. The people grew angry and soon infighting resumed in the major cities. The armed forces was dispatched and under Morgan Lugin was ordered to fire live ammunition at violent protesters. Hundreds upon hundreds died. This action sent the country into civil war and Lugin lost the trust of [[Delores Sofura]] and other Auroran allies. With infighting reaching extreme heights, Lugin was forced to resign by his own council and later jailed. After a recession, the interim government ran by seven members of the Vardem Committee believed it was in the national interest to league with Morstaybishlia. The committee flew to Sani Bursil to sign the Acts of Union 1977, forming a political union with the United Kingdom of Morstaybishlia to create the United Kingdom of Great Morstaybishlia.