I'll concede to the thought that we have no clue on if Iaccoca's solutions will work. I'm just saying from a capitalist perspective they really, really won't.
New Deal Coalition Retained III: A New World
- Thread starter Redcoat
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Time for some news about what has been happening to Scandinavia
The Changes in the North
While the classic centre-left managed to get through the global wave of conservatism and the rise of Freyism relatively unscathed in Scandinavia compared to other places in Europe, it still didn’t mean that changes happened in especially Denmark and Norway after the war. The four parties in Denmark that had dominated politics since 1901, Socialdemokratiet (Social Democrats), Venstre (Liberal-conservative), Konservative (Conservatives) and Radikale Venstre (Social liberals) still held onto power up through the Cold War, but this old system was shattered in the Siege of Denmark. As Copenhagen fell to the Red Army and parts of the Folketing and Royal Family (with the exception of Prince Joachim who opted to stay behind and hold Roskilde Airport to ensure the evacuation) only barely made it to Odense, before continuing on to Hirtshals, a large number of MF’s[1][2] died, or went missing in the Battle of Copenhagen leaving barely 50 MF’s and a government that had yet to form a government of national unity. The scene was set for a new generation to enter politics
Still picture from the movie "I Nattens Mulm og Mørke" (In the Dead of Night) about a family trying to reach Funen from their home in Vordingborg due to the grandfather's past as a Colonel in the Royal Danish Army with knowledge of contingency plans and hidden partisans.
In Sweden, 100 years of neutrality was shattered with the onset of World War III. The occupation of Northern Sweden and Norway evoked memories of the Great Northern War and the Finnish War, something that would be exploited in propaganda (never mind that Denmark-Norway had fought against Sweden in the former).
As for Norway, an invasion had been expected, but not in that severity they experienced. But, for all else, Oslo was kept safe from land attacks, though bombs still commonly fell on the city. The King of Norway, Harald V, was determined to be as defiant as his grandfather had been in the Second World War, staying in Oslo to hold up morale. If he was to die, it would be in Norway, on the steps of the Royal Palace, fighting to the last. Although he luckily never got the chance, he still took a morning walk around Oslo, helping in relief efforts to make sure people knew he was with them.
When the war eventually ended, and Europe began picking up the pieces after the third devastating war in a century, a “new” ideology began appearing amongst the Scandinavian political sphere. Freyism. Especially the Danish soldiers that had served in Operation Sledgehammer together with Imperial German soldiers had picked up Freyism from their confederates. In Norway, it had more or less been naturally springing up with the depiction of the King (and his father and grandfather) as being a champion of the people.
Still from the film "Kongens Nei" "The King's Choice" about Haakon VII's defiance of the German attack on April 9, 1940. Made primarily as propaganda, it contained some obvious errors like having German soldiers in uniforms that were remarkably similar to Soviet ones
Sweden, the odd one out, did experience some Freyists appearing, but never on the scale of what was seen in Denmark or Norway. In fact, the Freyists never entered the mainstream and ended on the political fringe of the political climate. That’s not to say that some of the ideas didn’t enter the mainstream though. Especially the idea of a strong army, or rather, in this case, navy took hold in the Swedish public. Since the decommission of the Tre Kronor-class, the Swedish navy had been a corvette navy, something demonstrated against the Soviet Union in the Battle of the Baltic.
In the first elections held after the war, the political landscape had changed quite a lot. In Denmark, the Social Democrats had gained a sizable wing of Berlinguer-style left freyists and the Conservatives a wing of moderate German-style freyists. Also standing were two other parties, the Liberty Party (a name stolen directly from Germany) and the Danish Communist Party (DKP) which had forsworn the Moscow-dictat after the December Coup, and split over it with the Moscow-wing dying out during the war. The DKP had taken on Eurocommunism, with the hopes of increasing their representation from one to two MF’s. The Liberty Party, for their part was explicitly of the Prussian school of Freyism in the orthodox sense.
The result of the election in Denmark was the collapse of the Four-Party System. Radikale Venstre and Venstre lost about half their seats, the seats going to the DKP and the Liberty Party. The result was DKP and Radikale Venstre acting as parliamentary support for the Social Democrats in the Ritt Bjerregaard Cabinet I. While the tenure of the cabinet was marked with traditional policy from the Social Democrats, it was also notable for a strengthening of Kanslergadeforliget[3], laying down a longer list of basic rights for the worker and unions inspired by Berlinguer’s doing of the same.
Prime Minister Ritt Bjerregaard (left) with Foreign Minister Svend Auken (right) at negotiations in the Nordic Council
Norway experienced an even more thorough political upheaval. Again, the Social Democrats had gathered a Berlinguer-style wing, however here, the Progress Party, taken over by Freyists managed in the election to overtake the existing Høyre as the largest party in Stortinget by a three-seat margin. The result of this was a Progress Party government, with support from Høyre. Despite the economically right-wing nature of the government, the welfare state in Norway remained popular, and so, attempts to privatize or dissolve parts of it were shelved indefinitely
In Sweden, while the election saw the strengthening of the ruling Social Democrats, the more interesting developments happened in its embassies in Brussels and Washington. With neutrality now out of fashion with World War III starting and ending, the population (and by extension, the government) now sought a larger alliance. In other words, membership of NATO. As Swedish forces had slowly been integrated in NATO’s command structure due to the war, this was more a formality than anything else. On June 6, 1994, Sweden became a full member of NATO.
Prime Minster Olof Palme (right) discussing Sweden's accession to NATO with Danish Ambassador to NATO Poul Schlüter (left). The friendship between the two men, despite their political differences would come to mark the Nordic camraderie in the post-war years
With Schwarzkopf funds flowing into Scandinavia, the idea of joining together to pool resources also became increasingly popular in the four countries. While Denmark was part of the EEC, and the benefits that came with it, there was also a desire for a closer relationship with Sweden and Norway, and to a lesser extent Finland. Copenhagen, for example was rebuilt with Swedish and Norwegian stone and all three countries had fought together in Lapland. Over the months following the Treaty of Warsaw, there was talk of strengthening the Nordic Council to merge the four economies of Denmark, Norway, Sweden and FInland into a single market, along with reviving the Scandinavian Monetary Union.
After a long period of deliberation, both public and private for all involved, along with months of negotiations, the Nordic Council was renamed to the Nordic Union, with the single market to be established after a period of four years, in which the regulations would be merged into a unified list. For now, the Nordic Union remained a trade-focused project, with other ideas such as the monetary union, or a unified defence force being scrapped on the grounds of “giving up national identity”. The Kalmar Union was back, and in an equal manner this time.
The Swan Flag of the Nordic Concil was retained as the flag of the Nordic Union as the yellow-red cross of Scandinavia was considered by many Swedes to be reminiscent of Danish overlordship.
---
[1] MF - Medlem af Folketinget - Equivalent to Member of Parliament or Congress
[2] Amongst those killed was the prospective Finance Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen and the newly elected MF Helle Thorning Schmidt
[3] An agreement between Socialdemokratiet, Radikale Venstre and Venstre signed in 1933. It bears the moniker of “The constitution for employer-employee relations” in Denmark
The Changes in the North
While the classic centre-left managed to get through the global wave of conservatism and the rise of Freyism relatively unscathed in Scandinavia compared to other places in Europe, it still didn’t mean that changes happened in especially Denmark and Norway after the war. The four parties in Denmark that had dominated politics since 1901, Socialdemokratiet (Social Democrats), Venstre (Liberal-conservative), Konservative (Conservatives) and Radikale Venstre (Social liberals) still held onto power up through the Cold War, but this old system was shattered in the Siege of Denmark. As Copenhagen fell to the Red Army and parts of the Folketing and Royal Family (with the exception of Prince Joachim who opted to stay behind and hold Roskilde Airport to ensure the evacuation) only barely made it to Odense, before continuing on to Hirtshals, a large number of MF’s[1][2] died, or went missing in the Battle of Copenhagen leaving barely 50 MF’s and a government that had yet to form a government of national unity. The scene was set for a new generation to enter politics
Still picture from the movie "I Nattens Mulm og Mørke" (In the Dead of Night) about a family trying to reach Funen from their home in Vordingborg due to the grandfather's past as a Colonel in the Royal Danish Army with knowledge of contingency plans and hidden partisans.
In Sweden, 100 years of neutrality was shattered with the onset of World War III. The occupation of Northern Sweden and Norway evoked memories of the Great Northern War and the Finnish War, something that would be exploited in propaganda (never mind that Denmark-Norway had fought against Sweden in the former).
As for Norway, an invasion had been expected, but not in that severity they experienced. But, for all else, Oslo was kept safe from land attacks, though bombs still commonly fell on the city. The King of Norway, Harald V, was determined to be as defiant as his grandfather had been in the Second World War, staying in Oslo to hold up morale. If he was to die, it would be in Norway, on the steps of the Royal Palace, fighting to the last. Although he luckily never got the chance, he still took a morning walk around Oslo, helping in relief efforts to make sure people knew he was with them.
When the war eventually ended, and Europe began picking up the pieces after the third devastating war in a century, a “new” ideology began appearing amongst the Scandinavian political sphere. Freyism. Especially the Danish soldiers that had served in Operation Sledgehammer together with Imperial German soldiers had picked up Freyism from their confederates. In Norway, it had more or less been naturally springing up with the depiction of the King (and his father and grandfather) as being a champion of the people.
Still from the film "Kongens Nei" "The King's Choice" about Haakon VII's defiance of the German attack on April 9, 1940. Made primarily as propaganda, it contained some obvious errors like having German soldiers in uniforms that were remarkably similar to Soviet ones
Sweden, the odd one out, did experience some Freyists appearing, but never on the scale of what was seen in Denmark or Norway. In fact, the Freyists never entered the mainstream and ended on the political fringe of the political climate. That’s not to say that some of the ideas didn’t enter the mainstream though. Especially the idea of a strong army, or rather, in this case, navy took hold in the Swedish public. Since the decommission of the Tre Kronor-class, the Swedish navy had been a corvette navy, something demonstrated against the Soviet Union in the Battle of the Baltic.
In the first elections held after the war, the political landscape had changed quite a lot. In Denmark, the Social Democrats had gained a sizable wing of Berlinguer-style left freyists and the Conservatives a wing of moderate German-style freyists. Also standing were two other parties, the Liberty Party (a name stolen directly from Germany) and the Danish Communist Party (DKP) which had forsworn the Moscow-dictat after the December Coup, and split over it with the Moscow-wing dying out during the war. The DKP had taken on Eurocommunism, with the hopes of increasing their representation from one to two MF’s. The Liberty Party, for their part was explicitly of the Prussian school of Freyism in the orthodox sense.
The result of the election in Denmark was the collapse of the Four-Party System. Radikale Venstre and Venstre lost about half their seats, the seats going to the DKP and the Liberty Party. The result was DKP and Radikale Venstre acting as parliamentary support for the Social Democrats in the Ritt Bjerregaard Cabinet I. While the tenure of the cabinet was marked with traditional policy from the Social Democrats, it was also notable for a strengthening of Kanslergadeforliget[3], laying down a longer list of basic rights for the worker and unions inspired by Berlinguer’s doing of the same.
Prime Minister Ritt Bjerregaard (left) with Foreign Minister Svend Auken (right) at negotiations in the Nordic Council
Norway experienced an even more thorough political upheaval. Again, the Social Democrats had gathered a Berlinguer-style wing, however here, the Progress Party, taken over by Freyists managed in the election to overtake the existing Høyre as the largest party in Stortinget by a three-seat margin. The result of this was a Progress Party government, with support from Høyre. Despite the economically right-wing nature of the government, the welfare state in Norway remained popular, and so, attempts to privatize or dissolve parts of it were shelved indefinitely
In Sweden, while the election saw the strengthening of the ruling Social Democrats, the more interesting developments happened in its embassies in Brussels and Washington. With neutrality now out of fashion with World War III starting and ending, the population (and by extension, the government) now sought a larger alliance. In other words, membership of NATO. As Swedish forces had slowly been integrated in NATO’s command structure due to the war, this was more a formality than anything else. On June 6, 1994, Sweden became a full member of NATO.
Prime Minster Olof Palme (right) discussing Sweden's accession to NATO with Danish Ambassador to NATO Poul Schlüter (left). The friendship between the two men, despite their political differences would come to mark the Nordic camraderie in the post-war years
With Schwarzkopf funds flowing into Scandinavia, the idea of joining together to pool resources also became increasingly popular in the four countries. While Denmark was part of the EEC, and the benefits that came with it, there was also a desire for a closer relationship with Sweden and Norway, and to a lesser extent Finland. Copenhagen, for example was rebuilt with Swedish and Norwegian stone and all three countries had fought together in Lapland. Over the months following the Treaty of Warsaw, there was talk of strengthening the Nordic Council to merge the four economies of Denmark, Norway, Sweden and FInland into a single market, along with reviving the Scandinavian Monetary Union.
After a long period of deliberation, both public and private for all involved, along with months of negotiations, the Nordic Council was renamed to the Nordic Union, with the single market to be established after a period of four years, in which the regulations would be merged into a unified list. For now, the Nordic Union remained a trade-focused project, with other ideas such as the monetary union, or a unified defence force being scrapped on the grounds of “giving up national identity”. The Kalmar Union was back, and in an equal manner this time.
The Swan Flag of the Nordic Concil was retained as the flag of the Nordic Union as the yellow-red cross of Scandinavia was considered by many Swedes to be reminiscent of Danish overlordship.
---
[1] MF - Medlem af Folketinget - Equivalent to Member of Parliament or Congress
[2] Amongst those killed was the prospective Finance Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen and the newly elected MF Helle Thorning Schmidt
[3] An agreement between Socialdemokratiet, Radikale Venstre and Venstre signed in 1933. It bears the moniker of “The constitution for employer-employee relations” in Denmark
Ooooh, who did Bundy marry? At the end of the war he was a bachelor 
You guys are doing an amazing job. Keep up the good work!
You guys are doing an amazing job. Keep up the good work!
Hillary Rodham BundyOoooh, who did Bundy marry? At the end of the war he was a bachelor
You guys are doing an amazing job. Keep up the good work!
The governor of the state appoints an interim Senator until a special election can be held
FYI A little bit of more indepth explanation for my last post and the whole Tarrif Hike/Gas Tax Cut
With such a weird political setup as far as parliamentary control, whatever "solutions" got through Congress besides the obvious were gonna be hideous and politically motivated. I'm not pro-Tarrif IRL, but it was pretty well established earlier that the Communonationalists (and their union supporters) were, see the Wallace section in part 1. Its written earlier that Iaccoca had campaigned on auto tarrifs on the 92' trail.
As far as gas taxes are concerned, it may correlate relatively well to road use (even then above 1/3 of gas tax funds go to non-highway infrastructure) but it is a really really regressive tax the Republicans needed something juicy to get them to sign onto UAW tariff demands. If you remember earlier, Republicans have maneuvered themselves against corporate supports (like Ag. subsidies) as "against the little guy". As part of this, tax cuts in regressive taxes fit the mold of a party goal. As such, they bite the bullet on tariffs, in part becuase they really, really want the strikes to end and aren't gonna get a better deal.
Meanwhile, the Progs have been set up as free trade absolutists (As their predecessors the Western Progressives of the Burton K Wheeler Mold were), so they are gonna be unwilling to sign such a package. They do get more schools for Native Americans thoguh, which ends national troubles with the teachers unions.
As far as the economic effects, the 94 midterms are coming soon...
With such a weird political setup as far as parliamentary control, whatever "solutions" got through Congress besides the obvious were gonna be hideous and politically motivated. I'm not pro-Tarrif IRL, but it was pretty well established earlier that the Communonationalists (and their union supporters) were, see the Wallace section in part 1. Its written earlier that Iaccoca had campaigned on auto tarrifs on the 92' trail.
As far as gas taxes are concerned, it may correlate relatively well to road use (even then above 1/3 of gas tax funds go to non-highway infrastructure) but it is a really really regressive tax the Republicans needed something juicy to get them to sign onto UAW tariff demands. If you remember earlier, Republicans have maneuvered themselves against corporate supports (like Ag. subsidies) as "against the little guy". As part of this, tax cuts in regressive taxes fit the mold of a party goal. As such, they bite the bullet on tariffs, in part becuase they really, really want the strikes to end and aren't gonna get a better deal.
Meanwhile, the Progs have been set up as free trade absolutists (As their predecessors the Western Progressives of the Burton K Wheeler Mold were), so they are gonna be unwilling to sign such a package. They do get more schools for Native Americans thoguh, which ends national troubles with the teachers unions.
As far as the economic effects, the 94 midterms are coming soon...
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Extra points to whomever can come up with the most unique First Lady of Washington
Same for the replacements of the dead senators. Let's dredge up some intriguing and OTL obscure names
ITTL, the Governor of VT is Fred Tuttle of the Progressive Party
Same for the replacements of the dead senators. Let's dredge up some intriguing and OTL obscure names
ITTL, the Governor of VT is Fred Tuttle of the Progressive Party
Looks like Ioccoca and the Dems are going to take a major beating in the midterms. There will probably be enough for a definitive Republican majority in the Senate alongside a possible plurality in the House should the South become even more GOP. It's hard to tell which ways the Progressive will stand, but at best it's either moderate gains or losses. Mind if I join the team? I have a few ideas for future events, and I might want to play around with congressional and gubernatorial elections.
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