The
Danubian Empire is a federal, multi-ethnic constitutional monarchy located in central, eastern and southern Europe. It is the final evolution of the Habsburg Empire, evolving out of the Austrian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire and finally the Austro-Hungarian-Croatian Empire in the first third of the 20th century. It's constituent parts are largely drawn on ethnic lines, and they are given wide latitude and autonomy in governing their own internal affairs, though the central Imperial government still has a lot of power to regulate and oversee most areas of government. Danubia is perhaps one of the freest and most equal powers in the world, and serves as an important bulwark against the Workers' Union. As such, it's a fairly reluctant ally of the United States and the Kingdom of Prussia.
The internal politics of Danubia are a mess. Nearly 60 individual parties are represented in the 850 seat Abgeordnetenhaus (each state has a number of deputies apportioned based on population and elected by single-member constituencies, and each ethnicity number of deputies apportioned based on population and elected on a closed list system), divided almost entirely upon ethnicity. There's a German Social Democratic Party of Austria, Bohemian Social Democratic Party, Italian Democrats of the Left, Ukrainian Social Democratic Party, etc. Parties that may generally be aligned ideologically may not always get along, so as a result, cabinets and governments are complex things and can rise and fall fairly quickly. Because of this, the Danubian Emperor retains significant power and influence as a leveling power to keep a steady hand on the ship of state.
The current Emperor is
Zvonimir. He acceded to the throne in 2010 at the age of 16 due to the tragic death of Emperor Franz Joseph II and Crown Rudolf, his grandfather and father, in an airplane crash while Zvonimir was a student at Rocky Mountain Military Academy in the United States. His mother, Archduchess Rosa Maria of Austria and Tuscany, was named his regent by the Reichstag, which decided that he would only be installed after finishing his mandatory two-year military service. After graduating from the Rocky Mountain Military Academy, he spent three years at Harvard before graduating from the Imperial Naval Academy in Split. He spent two years as a helicopter pilot on the ASW helicopter cruiser, SMS
Szent István. He was enthroned in 2018 at the conclusion of his military service.
Unlike his mother and grandfather, Zvonimir installed a centre to centre-left government. During his time in the United States, he came to adapt a fairly liberal, pro-democratic outlook on the world. However, he viewed the United States as a failure in liberal democracy, specifically calling it a deformed illiberal democracy. He believed that Danubia could fulfill the promises of the United States by creating a free, liberal, multicultural democracy. He appointed
Florentina Iancu as Chancellor to head of a cabinet full of liberals, progressives and social democrats, making her the first Romanian Chancellor of the Danubian Empire. Zvonimir has taken a hardline approach against the Workers' Union and the North Bloc states, and has also been sharply critical of the United States and Prussia, straining the relationship between Danubia and its co-belligerent allies. Despite support from the Emperor, Iancu has struggled to get her government's policies through the Reichstag, but has so far managed to expand government coverage for health insurance and education, while also increasing the annual military budget.
Land of the Free
Political parties of the United States
John Elliot Russell, President of the United States
Humphrey H. Hewitt, General Secretary of the Democratic Workers' Party