Macedonia (1983: Doomsday)

The Kingdom of Macedonia, sometimes simply refered to as Macedonia, is a constitutional monarchy located in the lower Balkan peninsula near the former nations of Greece and Turkey.

History

 * See main article: History of Macedonia

Government
The government of Macedonia is divided up into three different branches, much like the United States once was. There is the Executive Branch, the Legislative Branch, and the Judicial Branch, which are all headed by a different group or person, and their abilities are all given and restricted by the Macedonian constitution.

The king is the traditional head of government and state, and he oversees many official, ceremonial, and representative matters of the state, bestows honors such as heads of the military and so on, although in many political matters he is advised by the President. He also has the power to dissolve the Assembly at the recommendation of the President. The remainder of the King's powers are all limited and overseen by the Macedonian constitution.

The President is the real head of government and state, is elected every 4 years and can only serve three terms, just as is the Assembly, and is the leader of the Executive government, and his powers in this branch are that he can appoint and dismiss the members of his cabinet and coordinates the policies of the and activities of the government. As head of the Assembly he guides the law-making process, usually with the goal of enacting the policies of his government, and also is the tie-breaker in case of this event in the Assembly's law-making process and has the power to veto a debating law, which can be overturned by a 2/3 Assembly decision.

The heads of the Judicial system are the members of the Supreme Court, who are all appointed by the President, and control the judicial decisions on a federal level as well as acting as the court in a federal case. Though they are appointed by the President, they are dismissed by either their own wish, or by the King.

The Assembly is divided up into the five main political parties: the Liberal Party, the Conservative Party, the Socialist Party, the Freedom Party, and the National Party, though they are allowed to have as many seats in the Assembly as voted for, there are laws in place by the constitution that limit the terms they can have to four, and a term is six years in length. The Assembly has the power to create new laws and add new amendments to their constitution.

The current king of Macedonia is King Alexander I of Macedonia of the Royal House of Karadjordjević and the current president is Gjorge Ivanov, head of the Conservative Party of Macedonia, who looks forward to getting Macedonia into the League of Nations as fast as possible, and expanding Macedonia's power and establishing relations with more parts of the world. Currently, the Conservative Party runs a centre-right coalition government made up of them and the National Party and Freedom Party, with the Liberal Party and Socialist Party making up an opposition coalition.

The political parties in Macedonia are currently:


 * The Liberal Party, a mainly leftist party which fights for the basic rights and liberties of citizens and for a more democratic system of government.
 * The Conservative Party, a mostly rightist party which commits to political and economic practices of the democratic nations before Doomsday.
 * The Socialist Party, a centre-left party which originally was created to remake a communist country in Macedonia, but now mostly fights for the rights of the working class and the 210px-HRH_CrownPrince_AlexanderII_cropped.jpgnalization of certain industries.
 * The Freedom Party, a centre-right party dedicated to reducing the size of government, removing the monarchy, and decreasing governmental regulation of the economy.
 * The National Party, a far-right/far-left party that seeks to promote ethnic Macedonian power, and to basically turn Macedonia into a police state.



Politics
Macedonia political scene is heavily influenced by both inside and outside forces, and is under a constant change based on the progress of regional events. Macedonian domestic politics are dominated by two main forces, the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party, which often exchange the majority in the government, although their have been instances when this hasn't occured. The Conservatice Party, currently headed by Gjorge Ivanov, currently holds the majority in the government against an opposition lead by the Liberal Party, under Branko Crvenkovski. The last general election was in 2007, and the next one will be held April 12, 2011, as stated in the current Macedonian Constitution.

2011 Macedonia General Election
The next Macedonian general election, to be held on April 12, 2011, will be for the current 170 seats in the Assembly of Macedonia. Currently, 78 seats are held by the Conservatives, 34 by the Liberals, 20 by the National Party, 24 by the Socialists, and 14 by the Freedom Party. The Conservative's coalition is made up of themselves, the National, and Freedom parties, giving them 112 seats in the Assembly, versus the opposition of the Liberals and Socialists, making 58 seats. The current President of Macedonia, Gjorge Ivanov, will be running for reelection, versus the opposition leader, and head of the Liberal Party, Branko Crvenlovski. The only other major candidate is Ljubisav Ivanov-Dzingo of the Socialist Party, as the National Party and Freedom Party decided to not propose a canidate for president, and instead back the Conservative candidate.

The current issues of the Macedonian election are:
 * Relations with Serbia and Greece
 * Future of Albania
 * Development of the Macedonian Economy
 * The Current Situation of the National Bank
 * National Transportation

Party Viewpoints-

Conservative:

Serbia and Greece-Take a staunch stance against any offensive movements by Greek or Serbian but continue on the current path and keep relations growing.

Future of Albania-Closer integration of the Albania-annexed provinces and a wide-scale free trade agreement with the Republic of Albania.

Macedonian Economy-A more free market dominated by agrarianism in the country and banking in the cities.

National Bank-A wide-scale investigation into the National Bank and cutting of any loose ends that may have caused the corruption.

National Transportation-Build a national system of railroads across the country to provide for national transit.

Liberal:

Serbia and Greece- Be willing to use multilateralism with Serbia and Greece to solve common problems and continue one current path.

Future of Albania-Larger scale independence for the Macedonian provinces, focusing on the Albanians freedoms in Macedonia and making them feel better in their new country.

Macedonian Economy-A free market economy with restrictions on multiple industries and a market dominated by industry in the cities and mining in the country.

National Bank-Terminate many high-ranking parts of the National Bank and replace them with a well-investigated gorup of government officials.

National Transportation-Build a national system of railroads across the country and work with the Conservatives to make this happen.

Socialist:

Serbia and Greece: Take a strong stance against their actions and discourage far-right nationalists from these countries in Macedonia.

Future of Albania-Basically turn northern Albania into Macedonia's fuel tank and attempt a fair-trade agreement with Albania.

Macedonian Economy-A mostly socialistic economy with multiple nationalized industries, mainly mining, and attempting to give Macedonia a sizeable shipping industry.

National Bank-Disolve the privated version of the bank and nationalize the entire organization.

National Transportation-Devlop the nation-wide system of roads while also attempting to continue development of green technology.

Military
See main article: Military of Macedonia

National Bank
The National Bank of Macedonia was established by the National bank Act of 1994, and the idea was long campaigned for by the government's large conservative sectors. The National Bank quickly opened up divisions all over the country and began making loans to the many small businesses in Macedonia beginning to get their start.

During the Civil War, the National Bank gave many loans to the Macedonian government, which were each soon paid back after the war. However, as the new millenium dawned, the National Bank began to make more loans, but soon the bank began to show signs of corruption as it made secret deals with many of Macedonia corporate executives and began sh ortening loan terms to small businesses.

And as the years went on, the corruption became more and more apparent, and it came to a head in 2007 when the government stepped in and began an investigation of the National Bank. In early 2008, the scale of corruption was fully revealed and many in the Assembly began pushing for the Bank's dissolution. Although this idea was quickly discarded, the National Bank continues to show corruption and is major issue in the upcoming general election.

Agriculture
Like many Post-Doomsday societies, agriculture was the main industry and primary employer at the beginning of the Kingdom from about the founding up until late 1994, and until then if there was an excess of food, it would be stored in storehouses, which a majority of cities and towns built. However, by early 1995, crops were in a huge surplus due to the natural arable land of the Balkans combined with minimal famine and a lasting peace existing within the Kingdom, and soon many people began looking at other industries as a source of money and jobs.

Agriculture still kept a slight dominance over these industries for the remainder of the millennium and kept growing thanks to coal and bio-fuel vehicles being reintroduced in the mid-to-late 90's and allowing for faster crop production and faster crop consumption. By the end of the 20th century, agriculture was booming and many people began contemplating the idea of markets where food could be sold, before this food was sold by large groups of farmers who would fund a farm, some would cultivate and others would sell in towns or cities.

In 2001, the Macedonian Farming Corporation became the first large-scale company to employ farming and began using farming vehicles, storehouses (much larger than the original ones and using salt and ice to keep food preserved), and outdoor marketplaces to bring in the money. Today, the MFC enjoys competition from many other farming and agriculture companies, although none as big as it is, and, with the reintroduction of electricity, they have begun to use air-cooled storehouses and indoor food markets.

Fishing
Fishing is the second industry that evolved in the country during 1993, and although at the time agriculture made up most of the economy, fishing would soon become not only a viable industry but a booming market in the modern day. After the government decided to support expanding the economy and creating new industries in 1995, fishing soon became its own viable industry in the growing economy and people began building wooden boats and fishing rods with which they began to go out farther to sea and capturing many more fish.

As the years progressed, so did the fishing industry and soon the Macedonian Fishing Company (MFC) was founded to make money off this growing industry and to expand on it, and that happened very quickly as the market continued to grow and grow. Then, in 1997, when the Civil War started, the MFC was constantly harassed by the rebel navy and the MFC was forced by the government to shut down temporarily to keep the fishermen and the industry safe.

After the Civil War, the MFC was put back into business and the fishing industry boomed because, while the war was going on, the fish population was able to boom due to reduced fishing, and the number of fishermen in the industry was greater than ever. Soon new laws were put into place by the Assembly to protect the fish by banning fishing in certain areas and limit the number of fishermen they can have out at sea.

Then in 2002, two new things were put into place that changed the industry forever. One, the MFC was finally able to develop metal fishing boats powered by coal and bio-diesel that could go out farther to sea, and two, the MFC, which was accused by the Assembly of monopoly on the market, was forced to split up into three different companies, the Greater Macedonian Fishing Company, the Aegean Fishing Conglomerate, and the New Macedonian Fishing Company, each headed by a former MFC executive.

Steel and Mining
In 1995, after agriculture in Macedonia flourished, the government decided it was time to diversify the economy, and that the best place to start was with mining. In the later half of that year, three new iron mines, and two new coal mines were opened in Macedonia, and some mining equipment was made functional because they had been fitted to run on bio-diesel.

In 1996, mining iron and coal had become a large and booming industry in Macedonia, by then employing 10% of the population, and soon factories began to open up in the major Macedonian cities that began to produce steel from the iron that had been mined. Within the next few years, the steel industry also boomed and many people began to migrate to major cities to get jobs working at these factories. Steel would soon become a valuable resource in rebuilding the nation.

Automobiles
After 1996, when steel became producible again, many people began looking at rebuilding the automobile industry in Macedonia. In 1997, the Macedonian Automobile Company (MAC) became the first company in the new country to start building new automobiles, although at that time they only had one factory in Skopje, and it only made motorcycles that were made to run on bio-diesel.

Then, in 1999, they started mass-producing cars again, though at a slow rate, but by now they had also made enough money to build a few more factories in the country. Then in 2001, two new companies, the Bitola Automobile Works (BAW), and the Greater Macedonian Automobiles (GMA), were founded and the automobile industry boomed with the added competition to the industry. In the modern day, the automobile industry is still a large industry, in fact it is the fifth largest industry in the entire kingdom.

Arms
In 1997, after steel had become a large industry in Macedonia and conscription had been introduced to the military, an arms industry was created in the kingdom to make weapons for the army, and also make it so the government didn't have to make the weapons themselves. In late 1997, the Zastava Arms Corporation was reestablished and began converting old factories, and soon began looking at old Yugoslav arms designs.

In 1998, the first new machine guns and assault rifles began to roll off the line and they were bought by the government almost immediately and were distributed to the armed forces soon after. Then in 2001, after years of being an industry and with steel and energy now major industries, along with a model being found in an old Yugoslav military outpost, the government ordered the companies to begin making the T-55 tank again, and by 2005, they had developed a tank that they called the M-84 main battle tank, and also put it into production, although they don't have the capacity to mass-produce them and as such only make a few each year. In the same year, a new machine gun, the Zastava M84, which was originally developed by Yugoslavia in the early 80's but deisgn was stopped after DD. After its design was completed, it was put into production and named the Macedonian Army's official machine gun, although the M72 is still the most widely used. After 2006, when howitzers and armored personnel carriers were introduced again, the MAC began making them as well, although at a very slow rate.

Energy
In the mid 90's, when the automobile and mining industry boomed in Macedonia, energy was obviously the next part if the economy that had to be made viable again. The mining industry fed into energy as coal was made the first major source of energy for Macedonia and was first used to power new mining equipment and eventually in 1999, coal was used to power their brand coal-burning electricity factories, that at first only supplied energy to the king's palace and other government offices.

Then in 2005, the Macedonian Energy Company (MEC), began building coal-burning factories in the major Macedonian cities and for the first time in over 20 years, electricity was brought to the people of Macedon. In 2006, bio-diesel, which had originally been only made by the government and some farmers, was first being made by the MEC and sold to people to support the automobile industry. Now, research is being started on new, renewable energy sources. Currently, the MEC has also prospered from the success of the Macedonia sports leagues which now use electricity from their coal-burning plants to power their arenas, including scoreboards and big screens.

Alcohol
In 1996, the amount of wheat and corn in Macedonia was growing and soon grapes became a huge resource in the agriculture industry and many people began looking to alcohol as the next big industry to be formed. Unfortunately, the Civil War put an end to that idea as all wheat, corn, and grapes were used by the government to feed troops and the alcohol industry idea was put on hold as the war progressed and more foodstuffs continued to be sent to the troops.

However, a huge turn around came after the war, when in 2001 the Macedonian Beer and Whiskey Company (MBWC) was founded that began using the recent excess in crops to make beer and whiskey. Soon, parties were sent out to find old wine distilleries that still had wine in them, though little wine was being found and most of the beer and whiskey being sold to only the rich people and government officers were big handicaps of the industry.

However, a huge breakthrough came in 2004, when huge amounts of wine were discovered in a ruined basement in northern Greece and soon the Macedonian Wine Corporation (MWC) formed, which funded more wine searches and sold the wine back in Macedonia. Eventually in that year the price of beer and whiskey had been cheapened enough that middle class people were now able to buy it and soon wine was being produced in Macedonia, although little wine was actually produced due to the long-fermenting process.

Tourism
In 2003, when reports from a small resort on the coast being found by an exploration party, people in Macedonia jumped at the chance to be able go on vacation again and soon the Macedonian Vacation and Resort Company (MVRC) bought the resort from the government and made it part of their corporation and soon they soon began sending more parties to find similar coastal resorts, eventually they found 3 more resorts and began building some more of their own.

In 2005, the resorts, after months of repair and constructing coal-burning factories to power the buildings by the MEC, were opened to the public and soon tourists came, hoping to get away from the stresses of the city. Although the government and several CEO's argued against the huge number of of tourists going to the resorts and the decreased workforce, this turned around when the tourists returned from vacations and showed the energy that came from their rests and began to put out more products than ever, and the huge money the MVRC was producing for the state made the government turn around, too. Then in 2007, many tourists began arriving from out of country, mainly from Turkey and the Alpine Confederation, and the tourism industry boomed again, and it is still today a major industry in Macedonia.

Telecommunications and Electronics
In 2007, with much help from both Alpine and mainly Turkish scientists and economic experts, the Kingdom of Macedonia was able to craft a stable telecommunications and electronics industry which soon lead to the creation of the Macedonian Telecom Conglomerate (MTC) and the Macedonian Electronics Corporation (MEC) which now have large holdings in the market.

By 2008, the first televisions and radios began rolling of the line, and with Turkish help, the MTC was able to build new radio stations and even a few television stations were built which provide mainly news and sports shot with the MEC's new cameras. By 2009, they begin supplying televisions to the MVRC's hotels and setting up new television stations that now accept commercials, which makes the industry even more viable and money-making, allows the MEC and MTC to employ more workers and create new products and stations. By 2010, both companies are a major player in a hugely successful market that continues to grow and both countries now export their products and service to the countries who helped them build their market, Turkey and the Alpine Confederation.

Tobacco
Before Doomsday, the arable grasslands of the southern and central Balkan peninsula were a huge source of European tobacco domestically, produced billions of dollars each year, and also helped support the economies of many countries. However, after Doomsday struck, the economies of many countries were either shattered or non-existent and tobacco as an industry vanished almost instantly. But, recently, the farmlands of Macedonia have begun to be seen by many as ripe for tobacco production, and leading the way was the Macedonian Tobacco Corporation (MTC) which bought about two dozen acres of farmland in 2005 as farmland for growing tobacco, and many people liked the idea of being able to access tobacco products for the first time in decades.

Then in 2006, when the first large rounds of product first began to come in, they were originally sold in crude boxes and the tobacco was wrapped in the usual paper and sold at multiple markets across the big cities in Macedonia, and sales were so great that soon the MTC began to produce chewing tobacco and some cigars. However, a great concern came in 2008 when many reports came in early that year of cases of lung cancer and other forms of lung disease, and the MTC, along with its main competitors, Skopje Tobacco Products and the Bitola Tobacco Conglomerate, were put on the chopping block as the cause of this outbreak of disease.

The next year, amongst controversy, the Macedonian Tobacco and Tobacco Products Administration Board was created as a board of people who would make laws concerning tobacco and tobacco products, and soon laws were made that put a moderate tax on the products and put restrictions on where tobacco could be sold along with restricting the amount of additives that could be put in tobacco products. Today, tobacco is still a major industry in Macedonia, although sales have as of yet has still not recovered from the PR blow and profit blow they got after the MTTPAB was created and the the new tobacco laws were put into place, though the disease rate from tobacco is way down.

Sports
Prior to the Civil War, sports were only small competitions held in small towns or regions in the lands across Macedonia, and sports were seen by the Assembly as a minor cultural aspect at the country's beginning. However, after the Civil War, national unity became a great priority in the Assembly and a common culture was seen as just as high a priority as any, and soon talks over creating some national sport leagues became commonplace in the Assembly's meetings.

In 2002, after a final meeting on the subject, the Macedonian Football League was established, and seven teams from some of Macedonia's largest cities were created and the Phillip II Arena in Skopje was reopened to host these new games. The cleanup of the arena was a huge undertaking as hundreds of workers had to work around the clock to cleanup all the dust and grime that had developed in the 19 years the arena had been closed, and soon the arena was cleaned and the games began.

Today, the MFL includes 15 teams from Macedonia and 1 team from Turkey who represent their country in the games. The Turkish team represents the good relations between the country and is often seen by visiting Turkish citizens and political dignitaries. Then in 2005, the Macedonian Handball League and Macedonian Basketball League was also created and new arenas in other Macedonian cities were opened to host these games as well, with 9 teams in the MHL and 11 teams in the MBL, and both competitions are often visited by tourists and visiting dignitaries.



Ethnicity
Being in the area that it is, Macedonia has multiple ethnic groups in the kingdom. These different ethnic groups, although recently learning to cooperate, have had their disputes and problems with each other in the past, the foremost example of course being the Macedonian Civil War.

The Macedonian Civil War started when the Serbs, an ethnic group living in mainly northeast Macedonia, declared independence as the Serbian Republic, although contrary to its name, it was actually a Fascist Dictatorship run by "President" Milan Milutinović, who began "ethnically cleansing" the country. The Macedonian Army found several death camps that were made to kill the non-Serbs that were left in the Republic because they couldn't afford to leave or were banned from leaving by the "President's" laws. After searching these camps, the army found hundreds dead, and even more were exhausted from being forced to work in Serbian mines all day, and many were also starving because of the little food they were served. After the finding of the camps, all officers and soldiers in the Unity Party's "Police Corp", as they were officially called, were rounded up by Macedonian soldiers and a majority were taken to court where huge show trial were performed to further shame these soldiers, the majority of these "Policemen" were executed, however, those who had little to now part in the "ethnic cleansing" were given only mild sentences for low treason.

After the Civil War, January 2 became Macedonian Unity Day, a day that celebrates the unity of Macedonian nationalities and the great sense of nationalism instilled by the end of the Civil War, even many Serbs celebrate the holiday. Today, the legacy of the Civil War can still be felt every January 2nd, and a statue was erected in Skopje to memorize the people whose lives were lost in the, as of yet, deadliest conflict in the history of the Kingdom.

International Relations
Macedonia currently has open diplomatic relations and political alliances with all trading partners of their close ally and trading partner, Turkey, including Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Sicily, and Jordan. They also have good relations with the Alpine Confederation and conduct trade with the Confederation via a small series of highly protected land routes through to the Balkans peninsula up to the Alps as well as a sea route through Venice. Relations have also been established with Venice, Tuscany, and San Marino, as well having made contact with New Rome. Trade is conducted with each of them via multiple sea routes. They also have an open diplomatic and economic relationship with the Alpine Confederation, and through their partnership with them, they are currently applying for membership into the League of Nations, albeit with some problems and a likely veto from the Federation of Greece. Macedonia is a founding member of the Mediterranean Defense League.

Turkey
Relations with Turkey were officially established in 1993 and both countries have established an embassy in each others respective capital cities and now Turkey is Macedonia's foremost and most powerful ally. During the Macedonian Civil War, a Turkish Expeditionary force was sent from the homeland to assist the Macedonians in combating the Serbs, as the Turks had better training than even the Macedonian troops and their officers were also helping with training troops and giving strategic assistance to the Macedonian commanders, and while serving there, multiple Macedonian and Turkish officers wrote a training manual still used by both countries today. After the war ended, the relations between the two countries grew greatly and the Turkish government sent over a military attache to the Macedonian embassy who continues to assist them today. Macedonia and Turkey are currently experiencing a great era of relations and cooperation which continue to grow, and after Greece, Macedonia and Turkey's common foe, help found the Atlantic Defense Community, the two have begun talks about creating their own common defense group.

Rhodope
Contact with Rhodope was established in 1995 and after a minor border dispute, the two countries established embassies in each others capitals, although relations have had there strains over the years, including selling weapons to Rhodope's former enemy, Vidin, and minor border intrusions in 2007. In 2007, multiple expeditionary groups from Macedonia, backed by some paramilitary groups from Macedonia crossed into territory claimed by Rhodope from the 1995 agreement, and tried to establish an illegal hunting settlement. However, after a few weeks there, the Rhodope army, which had been patrolling the area after the sounds of gunshots had been heard in the area, found the settlement and brought the settlers and paramilitary men to court.

They were charged with illegal immigration, smuggling weapons across the border, and on top of that, the false charges of murdering civilians, and all, including children, were given sentences from ten years, and some paramilitary officers were sentenced to death. Afters news of these sentences got back to Skopje, outraged was raised in the Macedonian Assembly who ordered the Rhodope government to return the settlers, and after a small arms deal, the civilians were returned to Macedonia, however, they refused to return the soldiers. The Rhodope government demanded a substantial payment from the Macedonian government in return for the soldiers, and on the day of their sentenced death, the money was given just minutes before the executions, so they were returned, and soon the strain settled down.

But more recently, the Macedonian ran into trouble when Rhodope went to war with Vidin, and soon soldiers were found with documents which stated that Macedonia had been selling arms to the Vidin military. But what they didn't know was that some troops along the front line had been equipped with these false documents by their officers, in the hope that after tensions rose between Rhodope and Macedonia, the latter would declare war. It was later found that some Vidin troops had been been equipped with Macedonian weapons, and outrage was raised between the two governing bodies, and Macedonia threatened to declare war and place an embargo. But it was soon found in an intelligence office that Vidin had faked the documents and that the weapons were from black market dealers in Serbia, tensions cooled down. Today, they continue to have reasonable relations as both continue keep embassies in each others capitals and continue to trade goods, although border disputes do tend to cause an occasional problem, but these have as of yet been solved with little conflict.

Balkans
Contact was made with the other countries of former Yugoslavia in 1992. Although Macedonia does own portion of southern Serbia, Serbia has grudgingly allowed them to control the area, as it is still somewhat troubled due to scattered resistance which remains in the area in conquered in Bosnia, but is seen to the Macedonians as a little threat, though possibly a future one. Relations with Croatia were established in mid-1992, and although they still had strained relations with Serbia, they managed to keep relations with both countries and now Croatia and Macedonia have embassies in each others capital. Contact was established with Bosnia a few days after Croatia, and after a little period of concern in the Assembly over having relations with an Islamic republic, they established embassies in their capitals and continue to have relations to this day.