Mochelenist

Mochelenist (Vistarian: Mochelenistisch), alternatively referred to as a Solitaire monarch or Solitarian, is a political term and insult originating in Vistaraland. As a political epithet, the term describes a monarch or other head of state who does not adequately perform the non-ceremonial duties bestowed upon them, preferring to delegate to advisors or elected figures, while in some contexts is has become a colloquial term for any leader who fails to perform the duties expected of them by their team.

The origin of the term dates back to the 1440s, during the late reign of Emperor Hector IV. While historical judgements on Hector IV have proven exceptionally controversial, the perception of the time led many to decry him as having been an unfit leader who ruled through advisors. During this time, games involving playing cards were a novel introduction from Suvania, becoming briefly associated with Vistari high society. As such, the term emerged to reference the Emperor, implying he would prefer to play card games such as solitaire (Called mochelen, from the word for the game in Autern), rather than ruling the nation as was seen as his prerogative. The term rose to popularity throughout the remainder of the 15th century, with a continuation of such negative perceptions of the decadence of the monarchy having been noted during the reign of Aelbert I.

During its existence as a term, Mochelenist and the derived Mochelenisme has been used both in the original manner as to accuse monarchs of being unwilling or incapable, as well as a critique of constitutional monarchism and the emergent movement of Royalistic populism, which rose to some prominence after its foundation in Norgsveldet during the 17th Century. This, while in some part reflecting the long standing rivalry between the Vistari and Norgsveltian Empires, is suggested to represent the concerns held by the Vistari aristocracy of the time. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the merchant class had seen a considerable shift towards what would become the upper middle class, with those who had worked in conjunction with the Vistari Colonial Company accruing a significant amount of wealth. As such, for the nobility which remained on the Vistari mainland, the idea of a limited monarchy became a threat to the political sway they had previously enjoyed under absolutism, with the notion that mercantile interests would dominate any Constitution written in lieu of the Norgsveltian system.

Throughout the tenure of the Imperial Advisory Council, created as a body with a heavily limited role in governance, the use of Mochelenist system as a derogatory political term to describe a further weakening of monarchical power became a mainstay within the royalist and conservative movement preceding the Imperial Conservative Party. Until the Great War, the Imperial Conservatives used such accusations in their opposition to the creation of a Vistari Constitution. When such a document was issued by Tyrene I following the War of Imperial Succession, empowering the Advisory Council, opinions were split amongst the Imperial Conservatives. The majority Loyalist faction expressed the Vistari Constitution, and the limited democracy it implied, as a necessary compromise with the Vistari middle class offered by the monarch rather than by committee. Despite this, absolutist-leaning Advisors, alongside a portion of the traditionalist religious wing of the party, left the Imperial Conservatives to form the breakaway Anti-Mochelenist Group in 1928. The party would later be absorbed into the emergent Ademarist Democratic Party in the 1930s, however the name would later be carried on by the legislative movement to increase monarchical power, self-identified as the Anti-Mochelenists. Following the formation of the Imperial Parliamentary Council, this group has been recognized as a cross-party convention in the Chamber of Representatives, including the National Fundamentalist wing of the Imperial Conservatives, as well as members of the Traditional Royalists and National Rijk Prerogative.

Within the north of Vistaraland and the Western Provinces, the term has become more broad and less politically inclined, referring more generally to those in high society, with a lavish lifestyle which the pejorative title often implies is unearned. As such, despite its roots in Absolutist thought, the term has found considerable use amongst a number of populist groups to express an anti-elitist position, causing disquiet amongst many within the established Anti-Mochelenist convention.