Europlexa
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| Flag of Europlexa | |
| Motto: Economic Freedom, Social Liberalism | |
| No Map Available Yet | |
| Region | Bedfordian Super Continent |
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| Capital | Haven |
| Official Language(s) | English, Europlexian |
| Leader | Prime Minister Robert A. Stagg |
| Population | 20 - 100 million |
| Currency | Rouble |
| NS Sunset XML | |
The Democratic Republic of Europlexa is regarded highly amongst the paragons of conservatism for being a shining example of the ideology. The nation professes to be socially and economically liberal, and the results thus far have been astonishing.
Contents
History
Europlexa was a small backward country for 300 years, known for a strong economy but regarded as being a benevolent dictatorship. The 'Blue Revolution' (led by great thinker and speaker Prime Minister Robert A. Stagg) was based around establishing free-market principles and more civil rights and political freedoms for the populace. The Revolution quickly garnered pace with the slogan "Economic Freedom, Social Liberalism", and in a bloodless coup d'etat Stagg seized the reigns. Thus far, the Revolution is deemed to have already acheived it's aims. There was a brief period of counter-revolution for several months in which Stagg's government appeared to be under serious duress, but - by increasing police funding and toughening sentences for criminals - he quelled the civil war. Similarly, leading conservatives in the national parliament seized on a water shortage to attempt top overthrow the government. By guarantoring a steady food supply, little damage was done other than to Stagg's poll ratings amongst the middle classes (a 5% drop to 75% - the lowest ever).
Economy
Stagg has initiated a number of 'Key Reforms' to 'rejuvenate the economy'. These included bold measures such as scrapping tax altogether, rolling back government spending on religious groups, social equality and welfare over time, ending tarrifs, slimming government, and ploughing increased revenues into commerce and education. The reforms are deemed to have been successful in that unemployment has decreased by four times, and GDP/capita has meteroically risen. However, some experts point to the relative instability of an economy which massively subsidises commerce, and business is mildly angry at minimum standards imposed on waste disposal - despite the simultaneous abolition of Corporation Tax.
Freedoms
The Europlexian government prides itself on improving civil rights and political freedoms and has had marked success. The nation has moved from a kindly dictatorship to a completely free democracy. This has been acheived largely through "taking government out of people's lives". Stagg called this his 'Fundamental Freedoms'. Some United Nations officials have warned Stagg that he has slimmed government so far that the nation is frequently on the verge of anarchy. There are twenty one small political parties in this newfound political freedom, although Stagg's majority is too large to be overturned for at least a decade. Despite the loosening of restrictions, many disliked the lurch towards compulsory voting - and, in spite of the huge advances made for homosexuals and transsexuals in particular, hated the tight restrictions on historical accuracy in films.
Public services
Stagg has resculpted the public services of Europlexa along market lines, in order to ensure no tax rates. By completely privatising the health service and introducing voluntary health insurance, he was accused of propagating a "two tier system" by the main opposition parties. However, by eliminating tax - 98% of Europlexians have access to "very good or above" healthcare.
Equally, Stagg remodelled the education system along similar lines. Despite calls to privatise schools, he has been resistent to doing so - contradicting a specific pledge made in his manifesto. Roughly 30% of the Europlexian budget is spent on providing free education, whilst only two thirds of schools are privately owned or run. Stagg has claimed this number will increase gradually with time, but he called education "Public Service Number One".
Police
Stagg has, until now at least, had difficulty resculpting the police force. He claimed he wanted it to be "fully accountable", although there has - as yet - been no move in that direction. Crime is very high, and always has been since the Revolution. The police force has had it's share of funding increased by 15%, but no serious action has been taken. Stagg has outlined plans to reform the police recently, called "Direct Action". He is set to increase police numbers whilst maintaining funding levels and to take a hard line on most petty behaviour, especially graffiti. However, he did call for a socially liberal stance on soft drugs. His latest plans to introduce forced labour camps for sex offenders have been widely criticised.
Transportation
Europlexa is widely regarded as having fairly dreadful transport. Stagg's manifesto during the Blue Revolution promised an overhaul of the system, "making the lag good in ten years". This includes plans for road pricing to replace fuel tax (which was recently scrapped) and the railways to be dismantled in favour of mandatory clean fuels, and a massive increase in bus numbers. Stagg has called public transport "the enemy of free travel" and has already cut all central funding for such schemes.
Environment
Europlexa's environment was torn to shreds by the corrupt dictatorship which preceded Stagg's government - but already the envrionment is back in form. He has made "cleaning up the mess" one of his ten top priorities, and has set out an action plan to "improve our environment globally but maintain our strong economy". The plan has now begun in earnest, with the privatisation of Europlexian beaches, minimum standards set for the disposal of waste by big business, encouragement of sustainable development, replacement of fossil fuels with nuclear power, and strict greenbelts around settlements being imposed.
Social conditions
Socially, Europlexa is a nirvana. By eliminating tax, housing standards have improved three-fold, and quantifiable standard of life has doubled. Social equality has increased through the non-existence of tax, although the move towards a nobility based around "contribution to society" was greeted with mild derision. Nothing is now provided for those who do not work (2% of the population). Stagg was somewhat criticised for abolishing the state pension, but he claimed the era of dependence on an authoritarian state was over.
Governmental actions
A list of reforms undertaken by the government, in chronological order:
- Eliminated tax
- Set out a programme to cut the size of government
- Cut welfare budget by half
- Ended all tarrif programmes
- Cut restrictions on donations to political parties
- Increased spending on education by 10%
- Introduced compulsory voting
- Privatised the healthcare system with fiscal aid for the poorest
- Introduced the free labour market to Europlexa by loosening restrictions
- Legalised same-sex marriages
- Introduced free speech
- Eliminated spending on social equality and religion/spirituality
- Increased subsidies for business by 10%
- Formally recognised trans-sexuals
- Introduced legislation to improve historical accuracy in films
- Rejected plans for a youth curfew
- Abolished inheritance tax
- Established forced labour camps for prolific sex offenders
- Set up titles for those deemed "contributory to society"
- Increased funding for the police force by 10%
- Refused to pass laws restricting sexual relations
- Scrapped the state pension and replaced with voluntary contributions
- Banned smoking in public places
- Rejected plans to impose a tax on religious groups
- Privatised Europlexa's beaches
- Imposed minimum restrictions on waste disposal for business
- Scrapped Corporation Tax
- Set strict greenbelts around all settlements
- Opened borders to those refugees willing to work menially
- Privatised drug production with fiscal aid for the poorest
- Supported hospital plans to pay for blood or organ donations
- Legalised streaking at public events
- Legalised burning of the Europlexian flag
- Increased police funding to combat graffiti
- Legalised S&M relationships
- Rejected plans for six months of paid maternity leave
- Encouraged sustainable development of rainforest areas
- Legalised consenting cannabalism
- Dealt with severe water shortage by guaranteeing water for crops
- Refused to fund social equality after protests
- Opened beauty paegents to both sexes
- Repealed all marriage laws
- Introduced new nuclear power stations to replace all coal stations
- Launched damming project to counteract earlier water shortage
