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Overview of the Reich Political System

The Fatherland is split into ten Provinces, each with a Military Governor (Reichsprotektor, appointed from Berlin) in charge of military matters, and a Civilian Governor (Gauleiter, appointed) in charge of everything else, including chairing the elected Provincial Council. The Sudetenland is split into three Provinces, but these only have Military Governors, as it is a defensive region under Martial Law. Berlin exists as a separate District, not under the political control of any specific Provincial Council, although it is located wholly within the Province of Wilhelmsburg.

Each Province has a Provincial Council of between 200 and 250 people, depending on the size of the region, which deals with the day-to-day administration of their own Provinces. They also send Representatives and Senators to the Reichstag, the Fatherland's central government, in Berlin. There are also local governments and town councils, but with the exception of Berlin, which has a powerful and influential City Council, these have limited powers. The three Sudetenland Provinces also have Provincial Councils, of around 150 people, but these are chaired by the Military Governors (Reichsprotektors) and have less flexibility for deciding policy.

Every two years, the electorate in a Fatherland Province gets to vote for one-third of the seats on the Provincial Council: thus to be elected involves a six-year term of office. This elected body then chooses the Deputies who will go to Berlin as the Provincial Representatives in the Reichstag Lower House from within its ranks: between 30 and 40 Deputies are appointed, depending on the size of the Province, with an additional 20 from Berlin.

For the Sudentenland Provinces, complete elections are held every five years, and each Province sends 25 Representatives to the Reichstag Lower House.

Of the ten Senators from each Province (both within the Fatherland and in the Sudentenland) and from Berlin, five are directly elected by the populous and five are appointed by the Provincial Council (but cannot include sitting members of the Council). Senators are appointed for a ten-year period, with two Senators changing every two years. The Senators from the Wehrmacht are appointed by the Reich High Command and usually only serve five-year terms, because they are then expected to return to more usual military duties.

The vast majority of elected and local officials are members of the Nationalsozialistische Reichsarbeiterpartei (NSRAP) - the Party - although there is a smattering of independents. The Party is sufficiently powerful, however, that it is the main body running the bureaucracy of the Reich, and there are Party offices in every town and city around the Fatherland and the Sudetenland. Indeed, its position is so enshrined in the political and bureaucratic life of the Fatherland that it is a very rare, and extremely difficult, for someone to truly get on in life if they are not a member which adds to the difficulties facing non-Citizens, as only Citizens are allowed to join. Since its inception, there have been five Chairmen of the Party: Leonhard Kaltenbrunner, Sigmund Hartwin (became Chairman, SY043), Emil Urs (SY066), Erwin von Geert (SY094) and Conrad Berthelmes (SY127 to current).

The Reichstag

The House of Representatives

The Lower House is made up of 450 Representatives from across the Fatherland (including Berlin) and the Sudentenland, based on constituencies derived from population, rather than geographic area. It will introduce potential legislation and initially debate it. Legislation is usually then sent to a committee stage, where it is further debated, amended and finessed, before it returns to the Lower House to be voted upon as to whether it should be sent on to Senate.

The Senate

The Upper House, or Senate, is made up of 185 members: ten representatives from each of the Provinces (Fatherland and Sudentenland), ten from Berlin, ten from within the Wehrmacht (excluding the SS, although SS members can be elected to the Reichstag in the usual way, and the RSHA is represented within the ReichsKabinett), and the thirty-five titleholders of the Higher Nobility. It will consider legislation presented by the Lower House, but can either pass or reject it. If the former, it then goes to the Imperial Council for final approval; if the latter, it is sent back to the House of Representatives for further discussion and amendment before being returned to the Senate. The Senate can reject a piece of legislation up to three times, before it must be abandoned by the House. There is no mechanism for the House to overrule the Senate's wishes.

The most important member of the Upper House is the Reichskanzler, who is the leader of the largest party in the Upper House - which pretty much by default means the leader of the Senate NSRAP bloc. He stands as the Kaiser's Prime Minister and head of the Reichstag.

The Reichskabinett

Day to day running of the various ministries and important bodies within the government is conducted by the ReichsKabinett, whose ministers largely selected from within the Upper and Lower Houses, but with some appointed members, either from noble families with a long tradition of government service, or at the behest of the Kaiser (or, in the case of the representative of the RSHA, the Reichsführer-SS). The current makeup of the ReichsKabinett is as follows:

The Imperial Council

The Imperial Council comprises twenty-three persons: the Kaiser, the Crown Prince, the Reichsführer-SS, the Oberstgruppenführer-SD, the Wehrmacht Staff Council (six excluding Delatz), the Reichskanzler, the Imperial Chief Justice, the Archmage of the RBTA, the Party Chairman and nine others selected from among the twenty-three Military and Civilian Governors of the thirteen Provinces. Within the political and social machinery of the Fatherland, it serves two purposes: first, as the highest body which can pass or reject a piece of legislation; and second as record keepers and administrators of the deeds, ranks and membership of both degrees of the Reich nobility.

In the former capacity, it has the right to pass or veto any piece of legislation offered to it by the Reichstag, and also wields Emergency Powers for matters regarding the Security of the State. In addition, the Kaiser reserves the right to put aside even Imperial Council decisions if he sees fit. There are also statutes on the books which will allow Kaiser Wilhelm to suspend the Reichstag in extraordinary circumstances, and rule directly, advised only by the Imperial Council. He has only used these powers twice during his reign, most recently a little over thirty years ago, when the war against Sable reached a key crisis which was resolved relatively quickly. Both times, he has restored the government when the crises were resolved.

In the latter capacity, it employs twelve Imperial Registrars, who are responsible for acknowledging births and deaths within the nobility, and ruling on the suitability or otherwise of noble marriages, especially within the High Nobility. It also confers - or on rare occasions removes - titles, as well as designing and awarding coats of arms to the noble households and individuals. In addition to the twelve regular registrars are three Investigating Registrars - forensic mages who have responsibility for investigating crimes which may involve members of the nobility, or unexpected deaths thereof. The current Chief Registrar, Herr Doktor Klemens von Brandt, was also formerly one of the Investigating Registrars.

Foreign Policy

The Reich pursues an unremittingly expansionist foreign policy, through both political and military means. It is actively trying to conquer Magica Superior in its entirety, although this is proving to be harder than the powers that be initially thought possible. The recent move onto the Western Continent has, in part, been to direct the attention of the Citizens away from the fact that closer to home, the Reich is struggling to gain ground.

Within the Aussenhandel Shadows, Civilian Governors are appointed to report back to Berlin, although apart from these, the Reich's allies are largely left to run their own policies, as long as they don't actively oppose the Fatherland and its aims.

Until the Armistice was signed, the battle against Sable's forces beyond Veil 7 was extensive. However, the current cease fire isallowing both sides the opportunity to consolidate their positions.

The Reichsprotektorats

The Reich administers a number of provinces and territories as full Reichsprotektorats, as well as having Military Governors (Reichsprotektors) in place in the ten provinces of the Fatherland. Full Reichsprotektorats are usually of strategic importance to the Reich, and are therefore administered by the Reichsprotektors under martial law. The level of elected representation in a Reichsprotektorat varies, with the three Sudetenland Provinces, on the one hand, sending representatives to the Reichstag in Berlin, while at the other end of the scale, Sanguine is administered solely by the Reichsprotektor and an Advisory Council. Reichsprotektors theoretically come from any branch of the Reich armed forces, although at this time the majority of those with responsibility outside the Fatherland are, or have been, SS officers, including the former Head of the Waffen-SS, who is Reichsprotektor of the new gateway world of Sanguine.

The current list of Reichsprotektorats (excluding the ten provinces of the Fatherland) is as follows: