Sainte-Croix

Sainte-Croix, officially the Federal Grand Duchy of Sainte-Croix, also known as the Federation of the Holy Cross, is a federal semi-absolute constitutional monarchy in Western Europe, consisting of five federal regions (including the capital region), one autonomous territory (Victorinica), and one overseas dependency (Pourpre Islands). Its neighbours are France to the south and east, the United Kingdom to the north, and Histalpol to the northwest. Sainte-Croix is a federation ruled by Grand Duke Charles III. The seat of government of the grand duchy is Sainte-Trinité, where the Croisian Federal Parliament is located and where the monarchy resides. The five federal regions of the grand duchy are: Britannia, Chilaibourg, Hansealand, Lexovia, and Sainte-Trinité, the most populous being Chilaibourg. Sainte-Croix is a developed and industrialised country, with one of the highest living standards in Western Europe according to the Human Development Index, and one of the wealthiest countries by purchasing power parity. Sainte-Croix is a member of a number of supranational unions and organisations such as the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the Alliance of Independent Nations, the Liberal Monarchist Bloc, and the Lehicro Economic Community.

Government


Sainte-Croix is a federal parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchy, with the Grand Duke of Sainte-Croix being the head-of-state and the Prime Minister being the head-of-government. The powers of the monarch and the government are defined and mostly limited by the Second Charter (la Charte Deuxième), which has been the federal constitution of Sainte-Croix since 1789.

The monarch and the grand ducal family, according to the Second Charter, continue to hold some political powers; both the monarch and the heir apparent have the ability to dissolve the Federal Parliament, dismiss head-of-government or any minister, appoint any minister other than the head-of-government, and veto parliamentary legislation. The monarch is the leader of the Federal Army (l'Armée fédérale de Terre), the Federal Navy (la Marine fédérale), and the Federal Air Force (l'Armée fédérale de l'Air), in addition being the head of the Croisian Crown, and the Sovereign of the Federation.

Charles III is the current Grand Duke and his wife, Marie-Louise II is the current Grand Duchess-consort. The grand ducal couple has assumed the throne in 2011, after the death of Grand Duke Hendrik I, the last monarch. Because the couple does not have children yet, Prince Willem VI, brother of Charles III, is first in the line of succession and thus the Crown Prince of Sainte-Croix.

Like other democracies, the Government of Sainte-Croix has three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The High Council of the Federal Grand Duchy (le Haut Comité du Grand-Duché Fédéral) represents the judicial branch, the Federal Parliament (le Parlement Fédéral) represents the legislative branch, and the Prime Minister represents the executive branch.

The Federal Parliament is a bicameral parliament, with three stages for legislation to pass: the Chamber of Representatives, followed by the Senate, and finally the monarch. The Chamber of Representatives, as the lower house, reviews and votes on legislation first. If the legislation passes the lower house, the Senate, as the upper house, then reviews the legislation in order to pass it or send it back to the Chamber of Representatives. If the legislation passes the upper house as well, the monarch must grant Royal Assent for the legislation and make it law. The Chamber of Representatives has 295 seats and is divided proportionally between federal regions based on population, whereas the Senate has 150 seats and is divided equally among the regions.

In addition to the Federal Parliament, each of the five federal regions (as well as the overseas territories of Victorinica and the Pourpre Islands) have their own bicameral parliaments. Federal regions also have their own High Councils and Minister-Presidents as well as government cabinets.

There are currently ten political parties represented in the Federal Parliament. All of the parties are either in support of the Social Coalition, which is currently in government, the Free Coalition, which is in opposition, or the Popular Union, which sits in the crossbench. The Social Coalition has been in government since 2004, and is now in its fourth term. Its leader is Celine Bernard, who is the incumbent Prime Minister of Sainte-Croix and Member of the Chamber of Representatives for the North Alexandrette constituency in Lexovia.

Foreign Affairs
Sainte-Croix is a founding member of the Liberal Monarchist Bloc and the Lehicro Economic Community, two sub-alliances of the Alliance of Independent Nations. Outside of the AIN, Sainte-Croix is an original member of the NATO, the Council of Europe and the UN, as well as a member of the OECD and the WTO.

Sainte-Croix has exchanged diplomatic missions with 10 AIN nations, and more than 120 UN nations. In 1980, the Iranian Revolution and the USSR invasion of Afghanistan have caused the shutdown of the Croisian embassies in Tehran and Kabul, the first shutdown of Croisian missions in the Middle East. Events like the Arab Spring, the Central African Civil War, and the Syrian Civil War have also caused shutdown of Croisian embassies. According to the Federal Directorate of Foreign Affairs website, Croisian missions will be closed when "property or employees in the missions are under threat of harm".

Due to Sainte-Croix's NATO membership, Croisian forces have been deployed for numerous overseas conflicts in the past in support of the organisation, such as the Yugoslav Wars, the Gulf War, and the Operations Enduring Freedom. The Croisian Government has been strongly criticised for its involvement in anti-communist plots during the Cold War, such as Operation Lumière-Blanche and a Croisian chapter of Operation Gladio.

Military


Croisian Federal Armed Forces is a conscript army with a total of 450,000 active and reserve personnel. This is due to the enforced conscription policy of the nation for both genders. All Croisian citizens between the ages of 18 and 26 are required to serve 9 months as part of the armed forces, and are then listed as reserves until retirement. There are several exceptions to this rule. Citizens can choose to do alternative service (which is community service that does not involve the military) or weaponless service in barracks or overseas. In addition, while military service is compulsory, deployment for overseas conflicts is optional in peacetime. In order to deploy, troops must sign-up and undergo physical exams.

The Federal Armed Forces is part of the Federal Directorate of Defence, and consists of the Federal Navy (35,000 active; 75,000 reserve personnel), the Federal Army (100,000 active; 130,000 reserve), the Federal Air Force (45,000 active; 55,000 reserve), and paramilitary forces (10,000 personnel). The navy itself is divided into two main fleets: an Atlantic fleet and a Pacific fleet. The Atlantic fleet is headquartered in the Union of Lugdunensia while the Pacific fleet is headquartered in the Commonwealth Realm of New Holland. The air force is currently expanding its fleet of UCAVs (combat drones) and AC-130 gunships for purposes of aerial surveillance and aerial defence.

Federal military expenditure is currently 4.1 percent of gross domestic product; approximately $18.63 billion. Croisian annual military expenditure (both total and per capita) is higher than those of most Western European nations. Parties with non-interventionist policies such as the Socialist People's Party and the Communist Workers' Party have called for ending conscription and reducing military expenditure, while neo-conservative parties such as the Moderate Coalition and the National Party have called for maintaining the current military policy of the federation.

Health
Federal Directorate of Health & Social Affairs manages the federal healthcare system, while each of the five federal regions, as well as the overseas territories of Victorinica and the Pourpre Islands, possess their own regional Health & Social Affairs directorates. All regions of Sainte-Croix and the territories of Victorinica and the Pourpre Islands have free universal healthcare. Abortion and contraceptives are available on request and are covered by the UHC system.

Average life expectancy in Sainte-Croix is 81.5 years, one of the highest in Europe. Average female life expectancy is 83.8 years, whereas average male life expectancy is 79.2 years. Total fertility rate is 1.76 per 1000, while infant mortality rate is 3.2 per 1000. Teenage pregnancy rate is 5.3 births per 1000 women aged between 15 and 19, numbers similar to (although slightly higher than) those of Belgium and the Netherlands.

Drug use
Since 2004, limited amounts of marijuana, cocaine, crystal meth, and ecstasy have been tolerated in Sainte-Croix, one of the few AIN nations where there are decriminalised narcotics. Sainte-Croix is also the first and so far only AIN nation to have a legal market for the aforementioned drugs, with government stores in all cities and towns supplying limited amounts of these drugs for a price with tax, generating hundreds of millions of francs in revenue for the Croisian Government every year.

The ruling Social Democratic Alliance, backed by the rest of the Social Coalition, supports the measure (and has been the one to propose it in 2004), using increasing revenue and decreasing drug use as its arguments. Progressive Right and the Moderate Coalition have been the main opponents of the measure, arguing that tolerating drug use is immoral and that the legal drug market has increased government control over citizens' lives. Moderate Coalition Leader and 2016 prime ministerial candidate Manta Variana has promised to repeal the act if he is elected.

Education
Like the nation's healthcare system, education is administered by the Health & Social Affairs directorates. Education in Sainte-Croix begins in preschool (ages 0-6 years), followed by primary education (ages 6-12), then secondary education (ages 12-18), and finally higher education (ages 18+). All regions of Sainte-Croix and the territories of Victorinica and the Pourpre Islands have universal education; all public schools and public institutions of higher education are free for all Croisian citizens and authorised immigrants, as well as some unauthorised immigrants (depending on circumstances of arrival and accommodation). The free public education system is funded by taxation and other miscellaneous government services.

Sainte-Croix has adopted the Bologna process, and is a member of the European Higher Education Area. The amount of time in the Croisian higher education system has changed as a result; a bachelor's degree now takes three years to obtain, while a master's degree takes an additional two years, and a doctorate degree takes an additional two years. Duchess Isabel University and Princess Mary Britannic University, the two most prestigious universities in Sainte-Croix, have each received "Bologna Certificates" for their assistance to the Croisian Government in adopting the Bologna process.

Environment
Environmental policies of the federation are administered by the Federal Directorate of Environment & Energy Policy, as well as the regional directorates of the same field. The goal of the incumbent government is to reduce the current national CO2 emissions by 60 percent by the year 2020, through greater use of photovoltaic energy, promotion of public transportation, "green grants" (special monetary assistance provided to CO2 reduction projects), and taxation of hydrocarbon fuels (a carbon tax of 20 francs per metric tonne of carbon dioxide emissions). These programmes have been put into effect between 2006 and 2009. As a result of increasing environmental quality due to reducing CO2 emissions, Sainte-Croix has received an EPI score of 65.9 in 2012, making it the 15th cleanest nation in the world. The nation has received a rank of 10 on the Pilot Trend EPI, thus the 10th most improving nation in the world.