Politics of Craftia

The politics of Craftia take place within the framework of a federal parliamentary constitutional democracy, where the President of Craftia is the head of state, the Prime Minister of Craftia is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Craftians elect parliamentarians to the federal Parliament of Craftia, a bicameral body which incorporates elements inherited from the Westminster system. Craftia largely operates as a multi-party system in which voting is compulsory.

Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Parliament of Craftia. The legislature is the parliament, which consists of the president as its head and two houses whose members are elected by popular vote. The role of the president as the head of state has been largely ceremonial since independence in 1987.

Legislative
The Parliament of Craftia, also known as the Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Craftia. It is bicameral, and has been influenced by the Westminster system.

The Craftian House of Representatives has 150 members, each elected for a flexible term of office not exceeding three years, to represent a single electoral division, commonly referred to as an electorate or seat. Electorates are not the same as local government areas, and they do not usually correspond to the same area as well. Voting within each electorate utilises the plurality voting system. The party or coalition of parties which commands the confidence of a majority of members of the House of Representatives forms government.

The Craftian Senate has 76 members. The nine states return eight senators each, and the one territory (the BCT) returns four senators, elected through the single transferable voting system. Senators are elected for flexible terms not exceeding three years and elections are held on the same day as those for the House of Representatives. The Senate is afforded substantial powers by the constitution and has the power to block legislation originating in the House as well as supply or monetary bills. As such, the Senate has the power to bring down the government, as occurred during the 2050 Craftian constitutional crisis.

Because legislation must pass successfully through both houses to become law, it is possible for disagreements between the House of Representatives and the Senate to hold up the progress of government bills indefinitely. Such deadlocks are resolved under a procedure called a double dissolution election. Such elections are rare, not because the conditions for holding them are seldom met, but because they can pose a significant political risk to any government that chooses to call one.

Elections
At a national level, elections are held at once every three years, usually in September. The Prime Minister can call an election for the House of Representatives at any time during the month, but Senate elections can only be held within certain periods prescribed in the constitution. The most recent Australian federal election took place on 5 September 2070.

The House of Representatives is elected using the plurality voting system. The Senate is elected using the single transferable voting system, which has resulted in a greater presence of minor parties in the Senate. Minor parties were historically only rarely able to win seats in the House of Representatives, but since the 2010s has shifted Craftian politics from a two-party system to a multi-party system, though the two main parties still hold massive majorities in both houses.

Voting is compulsory for all Craftian citizens between the age of 18 and 65. Voting is not required for citizens who are elderly (over the age of 65), have disabilities, incarcerated or cannot understand English, Chinese (including dialects), Indonesian or Reatinese. There are currently 15,681,432 registered voters for the 2073 federal election.

State and local governments
The parliaments of Craftia's nine states and one territory are structured differently to the federal parliament. Unlike the federal parliament, state and territory parliaments are unicameral. Each state has a Premier, who is the head of government and is equivalent to the Prime Minister, while the Bankera Capital Territory, which is a territory, has a Chief Minister who is also equivalent to the Prime Minister.

Elections in the nine Craftian states and one territory are held every three years. Addams, the Bankera Capital Territory, Berhardsson, Jebsten and Kagstron hold elections in the same year as the federal elections, albeit in different months (January, April, December, February and June, respectively). Meyang and Wintaro (in July and March, respectively) hold elections in the first year after a federal election. Jagsland, Lumina and Western Craftia (in November, May and October, respectively) hold them in the second year after a federal election. The states and territory are not allowed to hold elections in August or September as they clash with federal elections.

Ideology in Craftian politics
Within Craftian politics, the Craftian Greens and Liberal Party of Craftia is considered centre-left, the National United Party and Mojang Democratic Party are considered centre to centre-left, Craftian Reform Party is considered centre to centre-right, and the Craftian Conservative Party is considered centre-right to right-wing.

The states of Addams and Wintaro are comparatively conservative or centre-right, while the Bankera Capital Territory, Berhardsson and Kagstron are comparatively centre-left. Jagsland, Jebsten, Lumina, Meyang and Western Craftia are regarded as politically moderate or "bellwether" states.

Political culture
Craftia's political spectrum is extremely wide with a variety of political ideologies being represented. Minor parties have always commanded a significant amount of electoral support (usually between 20 and 30 percent), leading to a majority of federal elections resulting in coalitions instead of a single party leading a majority in the house.

The strongest parties in Craftian politics are the National United Party and the Craftian Conservative Party (the dominant pair, centre-left/social democracy and centre-right/social conservativism respectively), followed by the Liberal Party of Craftia (centre-left/social liberalism), Craftian Reform Party (centre to centre-right/classical liberalism), Mojang Democratic Party (centre/ethnic rights) and the Craftian Greens (left-wing/green politics). Minor parties include the Liberal Democrats (centre/liberalism), Republican Party of Craftia (centre-right/liberal conservatism), Socialist Party of Craftia (left-wing/democratic socialism), Christian Unity Alliance (centre-right/Christian democracy) and the Libertarian Party of Craftia (centre-right/libertarianism).

In terms of economic policy, the Conservatives are the least interventionist of the three major parties, with the Liberals being more centrist, and the United Party being significantly more interventionist.

Initially, United ran on a Craftian reunification platform from its formation until 2004 (when reunification was acheived), and then a democratic socialist platform, though as of late the party has shifted towards a social democratic and Third Way ideology.

The Conservatives were originally formed as a result of the lack of a strong and united neoliberal, pro-free trade and right-libertarian party. However, it has shifted sharply authoritarian in recent decades starting from the 2030s. It has also generally favoured assimilationist approach to immigrants and indigenous peoples rather than the multiculturalist policies of United and the Liberals.

The Liberal Party was originally a centrist, classical liberal party, before moving towards the centre-left in the 2020s. In recent decades it has established a more socially progressive platform while remaining somewhat economically centrist, putting it in a left-libertarian position on the political spectrum.

Timeline


Since independence in 1987, there have been 26 Prime Ministers of Craftia. The longest-serving Prime Minister was Kevin Abbott of the Liberal Party, who served for over 10 years from 2040 to 2050. He is the only Prime Minister to serve over a decade. Political parties considered to be to the left of centre in politics have served for a majority of Craftia's history since independence: 20,529 days in office compared to the right-of-centre political parties' total 9,385 days in office.