Phoenixia: Difference between revisions

On March 15, 1931, Ausilio Leone led Unionist action squads and supporters in a march on the capital city of Phoxia, which resulted in the overthrow of the Cadrega Government, Unable to handle the mounting chaos. Despite having only 34 Unionist deputies at the congress and no prior political experience, Ausilio was appointed Premier, leading to speculation about the reasons for the king's decision.

While some suggest that Peter I was advised by archconservative Agostino Facktron and General Roberto Giannotti to form a pact with the Unionist leader, the reasons for his appointment remain disputed.

In December of that same year, the Cartaleo bill was approved, effectively granting Unionists an absolute majority of parliamentary seats.

The subsequent 1932 elections were marred by violence and physical assaults at polling stations, with one of the most vocal critics of the Unionist Party, liberal Girolamo Mattia Perotti, brutally murdered.

Despite the blatant abuses of power by the Unionist regime, the king failed to intervene when Ausilio dropped any pretense of democracy. Peter I signed without protest laws that eliminated freedom of speech and assembly, abolished freedom of the press, and declared the Unionist Party the only legal party in the Kingdom of Arafors. The party was ruled by a grand council made up of Hares squad leaders, Ausilio and his friends.

In 1934, a corporate reform was passed, abolishing trade unions and establishing several government-controlled trade associations. The Unionist regime enforced authoritarian rule, crushing political and intellectual opposition and promoting traditional social values. Membership and approval of the Unionist Party became mandatory, and those who did not pledge allegiance to the party were banned from employment and public life.

Propaganda newsreels were broadcast before all feature films in theaters from 1935 onwards, and Unionist propaganda was widely featured in posters and state-sponsored art.

At the heart of this Unionist ideology was the concept of "new citizens." This idealized version of the Araforsian citizenry would embody the values of loyalty, duty, and selflessness, and would view themselves as active participants in the creation and maintenance of a strong, unified Araforsian state. This notion of the "new citizen" was fundamentally opposed to individualism and autonomy, which were seen as selfish and detrimental to the greater good of the state.

The Unionists argued that only through a strong, well-equipped military could the country fend off external threats and assert its dominance in the region.

On March 24, 1938, General elections were held with only a one-party Unionist list; and universal suffrage was limited only to party members, bureaucrats, landowners, and soldiers.

In 1939, Leone Ausilio and the Great Magister of Arafors, Diego Serjovic, reached an agreement that ended a stalemate dating back to 1845.

Paxism became the religion of the state, while other religions were still tolerated, religious marriages were recognized, and religious instruction was introduced in public schools. In turn, religious officials had to swear allegiance to the unionist regime, which had veto power over their selection. While Ausilio and the prominent unionists were anti-religious and atheists, they saw the opportunity to gain greater consensus among the population.