Cisalpina (A Federation of Equals)

The State of Cisalpina [Italian: Lo Stato di Cisalpina], established on October 1st, 1862, is one of the constituent states of the Danubian Federation and the largest majority-Italian state.

The growth of the Redshirt activity in the last years of the Kraus presidency produced much fear in the Federation, and especially in the Italian states, which would have been the main targets of a unified Italian state.

In the states of Lombardia and San Marco the enemies of the Pan-Nationalists were obviously concerned and even the pro-Federation Pan-Nationalists considered Garibaldi the greatest threat to a prosperous Italy, it was in this situation that the Italian political leadership decided to react.

The state of San Marco, that since its birth was influenced by Pan-Nationalist movements and politicians, promoted a more close cooperation between the extra-Federal Italian states and the Federation itself, the idea was to convince the Italians that the Federation was working to create the so-awaited Italian Union and that Garibaldi's ways were ineffective. The ex-President and ex-Prime Minister of San Marco, Giovanni Arpaio, led this diplomatic initiative as Ambassador to Sardinia-Piedmont under the Valenta presidency between 1860 and 1864, reaching important successes.

In Lombardia instead the political leadership under President Silvestro Marconi tried to apply the same policy within the borders of the Federation, the Lombard solution to Pan-Nationalism was to unite the Italian peoples of the Federation under a single state; the talks of a merger between San Marco and Lombardy began in the first half of 1860 and led to the referendums of late 1860 that confirmed the union between the two states.

The constitution of the new state was a compromise between the presidential system of Lombardy and the parliamentary system of San Marco, in its new form the Presidential office was now responsible before the parliament and could be dismissed in any moment through a vote. There was some discussion if this system should be considered a Semi-Presidential Republic or an all-out Presidential Republic, in the end was decided that the lack of a Prime Minister and the lack of effective votes of no confidence made the new state a Presidential Republic with diminished Presidential powers.

Form of Government
Presidency

-The President is elected by popular vote for a term of 4 years. Presidential elections occur concurrently with the Federal presidential election. -Any Cisalpine-born male of at least thirty years of age can run for President -At no point during a President’s term can he hold a position in the Federal executive branch or command a military unit at the state or federal level -The President can be reelected an unlimited number of times. -The President can approve or veto bills passed by Parliament -The President can propose bills to Parliament -The President can be impeached or removed due to incompetence by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Parliament

Parliament

Parliament consists of an Upper House called the Senate, which shall be located in Venice, and a Lower House called the Chamber of Deputies, which shall be located in Milan.

Senate

-Elected by popular vote -Serve four year terms -2 Senators from each province -Can propose bills -Can pass or not pass bills -Can overcome a Presidential veto with a supermajority of two-thirds together with the Chamber of Deputies

Chamber of Deputies

-Elected by popular vote -Serve four year terms -Number of seats for each province is determined proportionally by population -Can propose bills -Can pass or not pass bills -Can overcome a Presidential veto with a supermajority of two-thirds together with the Senate

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the State of Cisalpina and will be located in Venice.

-It can resolve Constitutional disputes -It control that the laws passed by the parliament do not conflict with the constitution -The President will appoint the judges of the Supreme Court, the judges must then be approved by the Senate with a supermajority of two-thirds -The Supreme Court is strictly apolitical and nonpartisan, statements of political nature can lead to the dismissal of the judge

The Passing of Bills

-A bill can be presented by either a Senator, a Deputy or the President himself in one of the Houses -The bill will be put to vote in the same House that presented it -If the bill passes in the first house then it will be put to vote in the Second House -Once the bill is passed in the second House the Supreme Court will examine the bill to verify its constitutionality -After the approval of the Supreme Court the bill will be presented to the President who can either accept or veto it-The veto can't be used if the bill was passed with a supermajority of two -thirds in both Houses, if the parliament has passed a motion to overcome the Presidential veto or if the bill under exam is a constitutional amendment -Constitutional amendment needs a supermajority of two-thirds to pass and can be vetoed only by the Supreme Court

Administrative Subdivisions
The State of Cisalpina is divided into 17 provinces of:


 * Bergamo


 * Brescia


 * Como


 * Cremona


 * Gorizia


 * Mantua


 * Milan


 * Padua


 * Pordenone


 * Sondrio


 * Trentino


 * Udine


 * Treviso


 * Varese


 * Venice


 * Verona


 * Vicenza

Notable Individuals from the State of Cisalpina
Giovanni Arpaio, Former Councillor for Cisalpina and Former Ambassador to Sardinia-Piedmont

Pier Paolo Arpaio, Councillor for Cisalpina and Ambassador to Sardinia-Piedmont

Silvestro Marconi, President of and Councillor for Cisalpina

Francesco de Palma, Vice-President of the Danubian Federation and Leader of the Republican Alliance

Leone di Marino, Senator for Venezia

Enrico di Sanctis, Councillor for Cisalpina and Chairman of the Danubian Patriotic Union