Spengler
Banned
Same, here. Also I did see where you got the story from.
Also I'd like to see this reworked. a "proper" objectivist state. With the institutions you mentioned but maybe with elements barrowed from cyberpunk.
An Examination of Extra-Universal Systems of Government
- Thread starter Ephraim Ben Raphael
- Start date
- Status
Also I'd like to see this reworked. a "proper" objectivist state. With the institutions you mentioned but maybe with elements barrowed from cyberpunk.
Ephraim Ben Raphael
Banned
Chapter 3
Being a Consideration of Feudal and Monarchist forms of Government
One of the oldest forms of government to have arisen, and therefore one of the most prevalent throughout the multiverse is that of the hereditary monarchy. Usually formed around a single strong conqueror or military leader who designated their offspring as a successor, Monarchies pass down the position of head of state from one generation to another whilst endeavoring to keep power within one family. Usually as the family grows larger a distinct upper class possessing hereditary privileges and powers develops, drawing on its blood relationship to the monarch to justify its special treatment….Being a Consideration of Feudal and Monarchist forms of Government
…What makes a monarchy distinct from the less common hereditary dictatorship is the existence of official structures making the head of state distinct for their own sake and not by theoretical (or genuine) popular demand as well as the lack of any sort of vestigial republican institutions….
…although most histories include a long period of time when the majority of states are monarchist dominated the rise of Republican and Democratic or pseudo-Socialist sentiment usually tends to bring down the more repressive monarchies, at least ending absolutism if not the institution itself. Monarchies may therefore turn to a variety of different measures to maintain stability and it will be these states which are the focus of this chapter…
Ephraim Ben Raphael
Banned
Bring it on Ephraim, can't fucking wait
It's coming!
Yeah, I'm sorry I took so long a break from this, I was trying to grapple with how to make monarchism original and interesting. But the next few updates should be fairly regular.
So do I.
It's nice to be appreciated.
Will one of the dynasties be the Kim Dynasty?
Unfortunately no.
I wanted to do it, but unfortunately North Korea would fall under the catagory of "hereditary dictatorship", plus I already did a pseudo-feudalist communist state.
Good to see it back
It is. And I'm already starting on the next update, it'll be an elective monarchy in North America- and I guarantee that you won't be able to guess where it is.
So no House of Washington in the first country? Is it Atlantis? (hey, is we're absolutely unable to guess it)
Stuart monarchy in the Commonwealth Virginia? The Strang Dynasty of Beaver Island? Norton's wacky Empire of California?
Ephraim Ben Raphael
Banned
No House of Washington and I promise you that Atlantis will not appear in this TL.
Close with the first one, not so much with the second.
Very creative but unfortunately wrong.
Ephraim Ben Raphael
Banned
Empire of Haiti
Posters cover every exposed surface in Port-au-Imperial, capital of the Haitian Empire, slowly melting under the constant humidity of the rainy season. I spot a party of workers removing some of them and putting up new ones. The new posters show a smiling younger man reaching out a hand to help up what appears to be a haggard worker. “We’re all in this Together!” the caption reads in French, and in larger letters “Vote Francois”. As I watch from the window of my cab a rival group of workers carrying posters of their own accost the first group and a shouting match develops. I ask my driver who they are and he makes a disgusted sound.
“National Democrats.” The man shakes his head. “Bastards want to put Duvalier on the throne- once we build a new one.” He suddenly looks at me apprehensively. “You aren’t interviewing the general as well, are you?”
No, I tell him. Of the three candidates in the first Haitian elections for head of state since 1988 who I approached for an interview only one has agreed to meet with me. Still the driver is nervous.
“I just want you to get the true story.” He says. “Do you know that there are people-even in his own party- who call Citizen Jean-Louis a traitor to the cause?”
I have already heard as much, but I ask to hear more just to make conversation and switch my tape recorder on.
“They say that just by running he is collaborating with the state. Collaboration! These false-socialists would rather see Francois or even Duvalier…” The man continues on, condemning the various political opponents of his chosen candidate and I look out the window.
We pass a public park crowded with a collection of makeshift tents and shacks. Ragged people mill about the park, some lining up for water or food from a large League of Nations relief tent. The park is past pretty quickly but the poor are not, beggars cluster around damaged buildings that still bear the scars of earthquake damage. The quake last year left Haiti- never a very wealthy country- battered and economically devastated. Port-au-Imperial suffered particularly badly, destroying the Imperial Palace, killing Emperor Pierre II and leaving over a million people displaced.
In the face of desperately needed recovery from the damage (recovery that remains incomplete) Haiti’s upcoming election in December to replace the Emperor is the country’s central event right now. All three major candidates (and all three hundred plus minor ones) promise to repair the Empire, rejuvenate the economy, and modernize a sorely out of date infrastructure as their respective political factions clash- often violently- over which prospect should assume the title of Emperor.
At the same time other crises are building, including ecological collapse from massive deforestation and the secessionist hispanophone Cacos rebels who want to unite their part of eastern Haiti with the Dominican Republic. On the other hand governmental institutions are still solid for the most part and the Empire is once again feeding itself courtesy of Mexican and American aid and a robust fishing fleet. Both countries have economic interests in Hispaniola and the Empire of Mexico in particular has long enjoyed a close relationship with its fellow Monarchy.
At last the car (a well used truck of American manufacture) pulls up outside a low brick building that serves as the unostentatious headquarters of the Haitian Socialist Majority Party. I pay a good bye to my driver and head inside where a secretary greets me as “Citizen Chaná” and points me on my way to a small, cluttered office.
Faustin Jean-Louis is a vibrant, thirty-something young man with the smile of an idealist and the handshake of a politician.
“It’s very good to meet you.” He tells me, sitting back down. “An anthropologist from another universe no less! And what do you think of our fair Haiti?”
I tell him that other than the weather I can’t complain and he laughs.
“They say Port-au-Imperial has two seasons- hot and humid but it‘ll get better.”
The name of the city reminds me of my purpose and after some small talk I ask Jean-Louis how it is that came to be the HSMP’s candidate for Emperor.
“Well it was quite an undertaking.” He says reflectively. “There are many in the Party who oppose even running candidates for parliament on the grounds that it constitutes de facto support for the aristocratic state- let alone Emperor!”
It does seem rather contradictory since the HSMP’s platform calls for the abolition of the monarchy completely.
“Well yes.” Jean-Louis acknowledges. “I do seek to remove the position of Emperor. But more important than that is the founding principle of Socialism -to work towards true democracy responsive to the people as a whole. With a socialist on the throne we could push through reforms to increase direct democracy and limit capitalism.”
And the opposition?
“My biggest challengers are Alexander Francois- he’s a left-wing mercantilist and the current prime minister- and Henri Duvalier -a reactionary general who has gained popularity among the upper class for his suppression of the Cacos.” The Imperial-hopeful says. “Francois is the biggest threat, he has foreign support and domestically most of the middle class. Duvalier might have money but I can beat him.”
So you think you can win.
Jean-Louis looks me straight in the eye. “I do.”
Our interview continues.
The Empire of Haiti was officially established in January 1804 by Jean-Jacques Dessalines, one of the leader of a slave revolt against the French colonial overlords who controlled western Hispaniola. Intended as an elective monarchy the constitution of Haiti nonetheless permitted the Emperor to designate his successor while also banning Caucasians from owning property (Germans and Poles were exempted from this). Jacques I (as he was styled) was unfortunately unable to remain in power long, in 1806 he was assassinated by one of his advisors, a man named Alexandre Petion. Petion was caught and executed by another of Jacques I’s advisors, Henri Christophe, who proclaimed himself to be the dead Emperor’s successor and was crowned Henri I.
Under Henri I an authoritarian labour system developed in which all able-bodied men were required to contribute time and effort producing goods for the state. The plantation system that dominated Haiti’s economy prior to independence was resurrected and while slavery remained illegal a pseudo-serfdom developed with a strict hierarchy dominated by the gens de couleurs (mulattos and their descendents).While this system produced considerable revenue most of it went to the Emperor’s extravagant building projects and support for his regime quickly waned in the face of what amounted to neo-feudalism. In 1823 the Emperor committed suicide and General Jean Pierre Boyer proclaimed the establishment of the Second Haitian Republic with himself as President.
Boyer ended the feudalism and forced labour but continued to increasingly consolidate his power, executing those who opposed his administration and declaring himself President-For-Life in 1825. Facing increasing resistance from the military establishment Boyer sought to unite the country behind him by invading neighboring Santo Domingo. The country had been under benevolent Spanish rule since its independence from the French and with the granting of independence to the Empire of Colombia under an elective monarchy in 1829 (this followed a failed revolt several years earlier) Santo Domingo made overtures to join Colombia.
After a series of early victories Boyer re-established the Empire as hereditary styling himself as Jean I, however the regency of the child-Queen Isabella of Colombia called on Spain for military assistance and Madrid responded, blockading Haitian ports and cutting off its trade with the outside world. The following economic collapse led to the incorporation of Santo Domingo into Colombia and a period of anarchy and infighting within Haiti which saw Pierre Christophe- the son of Henri I- rise to power and eventually be crowned Emperor Pierre I in 1833.
While the government of Pierre I remained as oppressive as many of its predecessors it resulted in a stable constitution that nominally made the monarchy elective again and maintained a puppet parliament. Pierre’s diplomatic efforts gained official recognition of independence from France and grew ties with a United States that was willing to support his government in exchange for trade concessions. Since the native Haitians were disinterested in resuming plantation agriculture foreign investors (mostly from the United States and Germany) were permitted to grow cash crops in the Empire, paying a token tax and employing imported Chinese labour. In addition Pierre I renamed the Haitian capital, them Port-au-Crime (before that Port-au-Prince and before that Port-au-Republic), constructed a system of roads throughout Haiti and successfully sent a military expedition that conquered much of the western Dominican Republic when it declared independence from Colombia.
After Pierre’s death in 1868 his son Michel I was ushered into power with a fixed election by the upper class who managed to control and manipulate him for the next fifty-three years by keeping him isolated and leaving power in the hands of the so called “Big Four” foreign corporations. With no central leadership the Haitian government sank into corruption and debt while guerrilla activity by the Cacos fighters began for the first time.
After the death of Michel I in 1921 a military coup toppled his designated successor and Haiti fell into anarchy, seeing ten heads of state over the next nine years some of whom attempted to take the post of emperor while others backed a short-lived Third Republic. In 1930 a joint military intervention by Mexico and America installed Emperor Georges I whose continued reign was supported by a Mexican occupation. The occupation lasted until 1946 when increasing casualties and diplomatic pressure by the United States prompted the Mexican government to withdraw.
In 1952 an uprising by Hessist revolutionaries overthrew the government, executing Georges I and proclaiming the Populist Scientific State of Haiti. Terrified by the prospect of German influence gaining a foothold in the western hemisphere the League of Nations, led by the United States, launched the Second Haitian Intervention which restored the Elective Monarchy and saw Charles I crowned and the old order restored.
By the mid 1960’s however labour activism and a socialist reformist movement who were taking their cues from similar movements in northern Europe and North America began to protest and agitate for democratic reforms and a reduction in foreign influence. Liberal governments in Mexico and America pressured Charles I to introduce reforms and the first truly free parliamentary elections in Haiti were held in 1968. Economic investment flowed in and the Haitian economy boomed, inspiring a surge in nationalist thought that both strengthened government institutions and weakened the power of the executive.
In 1988 Charles I died and internationally supervised elections saw the former Prime Minister and Social Democrat Pierre Ames elected Emperor. Although Pierre II intentionally sought to exercise less power than his predecessors, delegating most authority to parliament, he remained a highly visible public figure who endorsed candidates and occasionally exercised his veto. Since his death due to the 2010 earthquake Haiti has been administered by a regency headed by the prime minister.
The Empire of Haiti possesses a unicameral parliament whose members serve four year terms and are elected to represent their various districts. There are three major parties, the right-wing National Democrats, the centre-left Social Democrats, and the leftist Haitian Socialist Majority Party. The head of government is a prime minister with wide ranging powers who can overrule the Emperor provided he is backed by a two-thirds majority of parliament. The position of Emperor continues to remain elective and served for life, although the constitution of 1990 provides for his removal by a two-thirds majority of parliament if he becomes incapable. Nominally head of the country’s armed forces the Emperor also posses a limited veto power and certain other legislative privileges.
“It isn’t as cut and dried as Jean-Louis makes it out to be.”
I’m sipping coffee with Paul Cedras, a well known Haitian journalist and ex-mayor of Cap Haiten.
“Haiti is what you might call a second-world country. That is to say we have a large upper class, a large and growing middle class but we also have a very large body of rural and urban poor.” Cedras sketches a diagram on his newspaper. “Duvalier and the National Democrats have a considerable appeal to the upper and upper-middle class to whom he promises safety and security from the less well-off and from the Cacos who have been kicking up their heels. This has given him a well funded campaign but a strong one particularly since his supporters tend to have a higher percentage of voters than their numbers would suggest.”
I’m surprised by the possibility that a military leader might gain enough support to take the throne, given Haiti’s history with its military, and I say as much.
“You’re right,” the journalist tells me, “which is why Alexander Francois has such a strong platform. The Social Democrats hold a lot of middle class support and considerable support among the poor- hence their current control over the government. Plus Francois has foreign backing which means he can promise increased investment from America and Mexico to rebuild the economy. Of course foreign support hurts him as well since many view Francois as pawn of Mexico City or Washington D.C.”
And Jean-Louis?
“The Socialists are very well liked by the urban underclass and the trade unions. But they can’t attract the rural farmers- those will probably vote for Duvalier. And the middle class tends to see socialism as radical and idealistic- there has never been a genuinely socialist country after all. Although,” Cedras amends “I hear you have quite a few in other parts of the multiverse.”
I assure him that it’s a matter of opinion on that.
“So while Jean-Louis might win, he’d have to be able to mobilize the working class to vote en masse, something that’s been done before but could be very hard to pull off.”
Any guesses about who will win?
The journalist laughs. “Nope.” He says. “Still too close to call.”
Posters cover every exposed surface in Port-au-Imperial, capital of the Haitian Empire, slowly melting under the constant humidity of the rainy season. I spot a party of workers removing some of them and putting up new ones. The new posters show a smiling younger man reaching out a hand to help up what appears to be a haggard worker. “We’re all in this Together!” the caption reads in French, and in larger letters “Vote Francois”. As I watch from the window of my cab a rival group of workers carrying posters of their own accost the first group and a shouting match develops. I ask my driver who they are and he makes a disgusted sound.
“National Democrats.” The man shakes his head. “Bastards want to put Duvalier on the throne- once we build a new one.” He suddenly looks at me apprehensively. “You aren’t interviewing the general as well, are you?”
No, I tell him. Of the three candidates in the first Haitian elections for head of state since 1988 who I approached for an interview only one has agreed to meet with me. Still the driver is nervous.
“I just want you to get the true story.” He says. “Do you know that there are people-even in his own party- who call Citizen Jean-Louis a traitor to the cause?”
I have already heard as much, but I ask to hear more just to make conversation and switch my tape recorder on.
“They say that just by running he is collaborating with the state. Collaboration! These false-socialists would rather see Francois or even Duvalier…” The man continues on, condemning the various political opponents of his chosen candidate and I look out the window.
We pass a public park crowded with a collection of makeshift tents and shacks. Ragged people mill about the park, some lining up for water or food from a large League of Nations relief tent. The park is past pretty quickly but the poor are not, beggars cluster around damaged buildings that still bear the scars of earthquake damage. The quake last year left Haiti- never a very wealthy country- battered and economically devastated. Port-au-Imperial suffered particularly badly, destroying the Imperial Palace, killing Emperor Pierre II and leaving over a million people displaced.
In the face of desperately needed recovery from the damage (recovery that remains incomplete) Haiti’s upcoming election in December to replace the Emperor is the country’s central event right now. All three major candidates (and all three hundred plus minor ones) promise to repair the Empire, rejuvenate the economy, and modernize a sorely out of date infrastructure as their respective political factions clash- often violently- over which prospect should assume the title of Emperor.
At the same time other crises are building, including ecological collapse from massive deforestation and the secessionist hispanophone Cacos rebels who want to unite their part of eastern Haiti with the Dominican Republic. On the other hand governmental institutions are still solid for the most part and the Empire is once again feeding itself courtesy of Mexican and American aid and a robust fishing fleet. Both countries have economic interests in Hispaniola and the Empire of Mexico in particular has long enjoyed a close relationship with its fellow Monarchy.
At last the car (a well used truck of American manufacture) pulls up outside a low brick building that serves as the unostentatious headquarters of the Haitian Socialist Majority Party. I pay a good bye to my driver and head inside where a secretary greets me as “Citizen Chaná” and points me on my way to a small, cluttered office.
Faustin Jean-Louis is a vibrant, thirty-something young man with the smile of an idealist and the handshake of a politician.
“It’s very good to meet you.” He tells me, sitting back down. “An anthropologist from another universe no less! And what do you think of our fair Haiti?”
I tell him that other than the weather I can’t complain and he laughs.
“They say Port-au-Imperial has two seasons- hot and humid but it‘ll get better.”
The name of the city reminds me of my purpose and after some small talk I ask Jean-Louis how it is that came to be the HSMP’s candidate for Emperor.
“Well it was quite an undertaking.” He says reflectively. “There are many in the Party who oppose even running candidates for parliament on the grounds that it constitutes de facto support for the aristocratic state- let alone Emperor!”
It does seem rather contradictory since the HSMP’s platform calls for the abolition of the monarchy completely.
“Well yes.” Jean-Louis acknowledges. “I do seek to remove the position of Emperor. But more important than that is the founding principle of Socialism -to work towards true democracy responsive to the people as a whole. With a socialist on the throne we could push through reforms to increase direct democracy and limit capitalism.”
And the opposition?
“My biggest challengers are Alexander Francois- he’s a left-wing mercantilist and the current prime minister- and Henri Duvalier -a reactionary general who has gained popularity among the upper class for his suppression of the Cacos.” The Imperial-hopeful says. “Francois is the biggest threat, he has foreign support and domestically most of the middle class. Duvalier might have money but I can beat him.”
So you think you can win.
Jean-Louis looks me straight in the eye. “I do.”
Our interview continues.
The Empire of Haiti was officially established in January 1804 by Jean-Jacques Dessalines, one of the leader of a slave revolt against the French colonial overlords who controlled western Hispaniola. Intended as an elective monarchy the constitution of Haiti nonetheless permitted the Emperor to designate his successor while also banning Caucasians from owning property (Germans and Poles were exempted from this). Jacques I (as he was styled) was unfortunately unable to remain in power long, in 1806 he was assassinated by one of his advisors, a man named Alexandre Petion. Petion was caught and executed by another of Jacques I’s advisors, Henri Christophe, who proclaimed himself to be the dead Emperor’s successor and was crowned Henri I.
Under Henri I an authoritarian labour system developed in which all able-bodied men were required to contribute time and effort producing goods for the state. The plantation system that dominated Haiti’s economy prior to independence was resurrected and while slavery remained illegal a pseudo-serfdom developed with a strict hierarchy dominated by the gens de couleurs (mulattos and their descendents).While this system produced considerable revenue most of it went to the Emperor’s extravagant building projects and support for his regime quickly waned in the face of what amounted to neo-feudalism. In 1823 the Emperor committed suicide and General Jean Pierre Boyer proclaimed the establishment of the Second Haitian Republic with himself as President.
Boyer ended the feudalism and forced labour but continued to increasingly consolidate his power, executing those who opposed his administration and declaring himself President-For-Life in 1825. Facing increasing resistance from the military establishment Boyer sought to unite the country behind him by invading neighboring Santo Domingo. The country had been under benevolent Spanish rule since its independence from the French and with the granting of independence to the Empire of Colombia under an elective monarchy in 1829 (this followed a failed revolt several years earlier) Santo Domingo made overtures to join Colombia.
After a series of early victories Boyer re-established the Empire as hereditary styling himself as Jean I, however the regency of the child-Queen Isabella of Colombia called on Spain for military assistance and Madrid responded, blockading Haitian ports and cutting off its trade with the outside world. The following economic collapse led to the incorporation of Santo Domingo into Colombia and a period of anarchy and infighting within Haiti which saw Pierre Christophe- the son of Henri I- rise to power and eventually be crowned Emperor Pierre I in 1833.
While the government of Pierre I remained as oppressive as many of its predecessors it resulted in a stable constitution that nominally made the monarchy elective again and maintained a puppet parliament. Pierre’s diplomatic efforts gained official recognition of independence from France and grew ties with a United States that was willing to support his government in exchange for trade concessions. Since the native Haitians were disinterested in resuming plantation agriculture foreign investors (mostly from the United States and Germany) were permitted to grow cash crops in the Empire, paying a token tax and employing imported Chinese labour. In addition Pierre I renamed the Haitian capital, them Port-au-Crime (before that Port-au-Prince and before that Port-au-Republic), constructed a system of roads throughout Haiti and successfully sent a military expedition that conquered much of the western Dominican Republic when it declared independence from Colombia.
After Pierre’s death in 1868 his son Michel I was ushered into power with a fixed election by the upper class who managed to control and manipulate him for the next fifty-three years by keeping him isolated and leaving power in the hands of the so called “Big Four” foreign corporations. With no central leadership the Haitian government sank into corruption and debt while guerrilla activity by the Cacos fighters began for the first time.
After the death of Michel I in 1921 a military coup toppled his designated successor and Haiti fell into anarchy, seeing ten heads of state over the next nine years some of whom attempted to take the post of emperor while others backed a short-lived Third Republic. In 1930 a joint military intervention by Mexico and America installed Emperor Georges I whose continued reign was supported by a Mexican occupation. The occupation lasted until 1946 when increasing casualties and diplomatic pressure by the United States prompted the Mexican government to withdraw.
In 1952 an uprising by Hessist revolutionaries overthrew the government, executing Georges I and proclaiming the Populist Scientific State of Haiti. Terrified by the prospect of German influence gaining a foothold in the western hemisphere the League of Nations, led by the United States, launched the Second Haitian Intervention which restored the Elective Monarchy and saw Charles I crowned and the old order restored.
By the mid 1960’s however labour activism and a socialist reformist movement who were taking their cues from similar movements in northern Europe and North America began to protest and agitate for democratic reforms and a reduction in foreign influence. Liberal governments in Mexico and America pressured Charles I to introduce reforms and the first truly free parliamentary elections in Haiti were held in 1968. Economic investment flowed in and the Haitian economy boomed, inspiring a surge in nationalist thought that both strengthened government institutions and weakened the power of the executive.
In 1988 Charles I died and internationally supervised elections saw the former Prime Minister and Social Democrat Pierre Ames elected Emperor. Although Pierre II intentionally sought to exercise less power than his predecessors, delegating most authority to parliament, he remained a highly visible public figure who endorsed candidates and occasionally exercised his veto. Since his death due to the 2010 earthquake Haiti has been administered by a regency headed by the prime minister.
The Empire of Haiti possesses a unicameral parliament whose members serve four year terms and are elected to represent their various districts. There are three major parties, the right-wing National Democrats, the centre-left Social Democrats, and the leftist Haitian Socialist Majority Party. The head of government is a prime minister with wide ranging powers who can overrule the Emperor provided he is backed by a two-thirds majority of parliament. The position of Emperor continues to remain elective and served for life, although the constitution of 1990 provides for his removal by a two-thirds majority of parliament if he becomes incapable. Nominally head of the country’s armed forces the Emperor also posses a limited veto power and certain other legislative privileges.
“It isn’t as cut and dried as Jean-Louis makes it out to be.”
I’m sipping coffee with Paul Cedras, a well known Haitian journalist and ex-mayor of Cap Haiten.
“Haiti is what you might call a second-world country. That is to say we have a large upper class, a large and growing middle class but we also have a very large body of rural and urban poor.” Cedras sketches a diagram on his newspaper. “Duvalier and the National Democrats have a considerable appeal to the upper and upper-middle class to whom he promises safety and security from the less well-off and from the Cacos who have been kicking up their heels. This has given him a well funded campaign but a strong one particularly since his supporters tend to have a higher percentage of voters than their numbers would suggest.”
I’m surprised by the possibility that a military leader might gain enough support to take the throne, given Haiti’s history with its military, and I say as much.
“You’re right,” the journalist tells me, “which is why Alexander Francois has such a strong platform. The Social Democrats hold a lot of middle class support and considerable support among the poor- hence their current control over the government. Plus Francois has foreign backing which means he can promise increased investment from America and Mexico to rebuild the economy. Of course foreign support hurts him as well since many view Francois as pawn of Mexico City or Washington D.C.”
And Jean-Louis?
“The Socialists are very well liked by the urban underclass and the trade unions. But they can’t attract the rural farmers- those will probably vote for Duvalier. And the middle class tends to see socialism as radical and idealistic- there has never been a genuinely socialist country after all. Although,” Cedras amends “I hear you have quite a few in other parts of the multiverse.”
I assure him that it’s a matter of opinion on that.
“So while Jean-Louis might win, he’d have to be able to mobilize the working class to vote en masse, something that’s been done before but could be very hard to pull off.”
Any guesses about who will win?
The journalist laughs. “Nope.” He says. “Still too close to call.”
Last edited:
- Status