Political Retrospection: 2000- 2004 Part 2
Political Retrospection: 2000- 2004 Part 2
Western Europe
Western Europe would begin its own transition into the 21st century slow and steady. Jacques Chirac and the RPR would finally ascend over to the presidency in 2002 in a close race. On more surprising news would be who won in second place... the Union for French Democracy. Their ascension kept coinciding with similar political trends over in the western world though others attributed the retirement of Jospin from politics as another reason for it. President Chirac noted he would serve one term before retiring due to his age. And his administration would struggle over with various issues thus far, including the tense relationship with Haiti due to the latter's demands over for reparations. Germany meanwhile would see the continued prominence over of the SPD/FDP coalition over for the time being, especially as the FDP would eat a bit of the Greens' numbers more and more. The PDS continued to grow their numbers over in the mainstream. The CDU/CSU have remained together though have been citing their lack of direction as of late for a reason of lackluster successsor though some suspect they may be making a comeback with the right leader. Beyond that, they have been doing their best with policy and Germany's renewed interest over in nuclear power, while a little controversial, has maintained some support given the success over in other nations.
Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, they had two elections shortly. While the 2002 saw the Christian Democratic Appeal rise up, the lack of leadership and concerns over with some of their standings cause them to collapse and lead to an election in 2003 with the Labor Party winning once more. The Socialist Party gained slightly more seats and the Dutch continued to be a beacon of forward thinking. Since their grand push for same-sex marriage, other nations have begun following suit across the world. The Dutch meanwhile would become inspired by someone surprising: Portugal. Portugal's radical plan to deal with the concerns of drug use was decriminalize all drugs, and instead go for support services, fines or so on. The dramatic drops within the opioid crisis here was noticeable and alot of nations were taking interest in this radical new approach. The Portugal Socalists would win again in 2002 their election, but some were wondering how long it would last before they run out of steam. Over in Spain, the Partido Popular would win over in 2000 though by a smaller margin and then lose to the Socialists once more, all with the usual weirdness of the regional parties though some were wondering if a potential third party could rise up over in Spain not determined over by regionalism. Italy would see the Olive Tree continue to cling onto power despite a close election though not as trouble some as the earlier troubles. Italy for the most part has also been seeing an increased investment in public transportation, which has been quite a shock for the car-loving folk of the nation, though at the same time, a large level of pragmatism is present since car-drivers note that with more people taking public transportation, those who really love driving get more room for themselves. Over in Belgium, a surprising victor would see the coalition between the Flemish Socialist Party and Spirit manage to go and get a victory in 2003.
Central Europe
CETO would began expanding more over time and while still tied with NATO, it would signal a gradual growing distinction regarding how matters are done over for in Central Europe. They would contine on in development and enjoy the beginnings of the new millenium over in peace and growth. This would especially be the case some of the newer tech companies would be showing interest here, especially NexTech. Going over to Poland, they were still growing and beginning to start coming into their own right as a regional power. The Democrat Left Alliance and the Labor Union Party coalition would maintain its power over in Poland and continue on with its reforms for the time-being. Over in Hungary, political news would be in surprise with the revelation regarding some financial candals that would force prominent political figure Viktor Orbán from power. This would further damage the reputation of his associated political party, the Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance, to lose further seats. While the Hungarian Socialist Party-Alliance of Free Democrats maintained their coalition, many noted how the latter could overtake the former by the next election cycle. Meanwhile, the Hungarian Democratic Forum would also begin rising in popularity by portraying itself as the more moderate version of Orban's party, free of corruption. The HDF would also absorb a smaller party, the Christian Democratic People's Party. As for Orban himself, it's been noted he would focus more on his true passion for association football.
Over in the Czech Republic, Jan Sokol would end up beating Vaclav Klaus over for the presidential election along with his party, the Czech Social Democratic Party, holding the majority in the legislature. Slovakia would be in some rough years until the rise of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union Party in 2002, in part thanks to the new coalition with the Christian Democratic Movement. Over in Austria, Klima would end up losing over in 2002 and the Social Democratic Party being replaced by Wolfgang Schüssel and his Austrian People's Party, who would enter a coalition with the rising Liberal Forum party. While there was a mix of social democracy and christian democracy going on, it was still a growing and developing time. The Nordic nations would continue on over with their growing leftism over with Norway proving to be a fascinating case of Norway's oil management and investing it in the nation. Meanwhile, the Yugoslavic Wars were over and Yugoslavia itself nothing more but a union between Serbia and Montenegro, the latter being close to leaving it. The other nations meanwhile were recovering over thanks to outside aid and time. More and more of them would also be joining CETO, such as Croatia though some were wondering if this was also because they saw Serbia as a potential threat. The region was also becoming notable for increased influence from the Sovereign Union.
Eastern Europe
The State Union of of Sovereign Republics would continue to press forward. With them having managed to fully get themselves off the ground, the question remained in what now. Their new system has managed to survive and endure, managing to keep corruption low. The nation itself would be busy fixing the mistakes of the past, especially with the environment as they would be working to undo the damages caused over to the Aral Sea. Viktor Tyulkin would be reelected over as the Chief Director of the SUSR. Tyulkin would be working with the various leaders of the states that made up the confederated republic, especially with new Russian President Grigory Yavlinsky of the Yabloko Party. Despite his advocacy for free market reforms, Yavlinsky would so far be rather modest in his ambitions. Likely this is due to his party not being the majority over in power. Despite this, the SUSR has been doing quite well and would enter a period of cultural renaissance in cinema, television, music and so much more. Combining in all sorts of outsider influence, a new generation of young folk coming in and helping to push more with art, music and pop culture over. Matters such as folktales, Slavic and even Turkic mythology being considered over for entertainment. The government would be more than happy to support these endeavors.
Meanwhile, the rest of Eastern Europe would continue to try and grow, balancing social democracy and catching up with the increasingly progressive status quo over of Western Europe, especially since such support wins over business opportunities from large companies. The Baltics continue on with Lithuania balancing their relations with the Poles, Estonia getting closer to Finland and Latvia supporting both of them so they would not get left behind. And on some level, become more affiliated with Centraor even Western Europe compared to the other nations, especially with the three potentially joining CETO. Bulgaria and Romania would be especially prominent examples as they would try and shake off the rust from some of the worse years and continue to improve over with reforms. Ukraine would be especially involved as its federalization would allow it to begin moving forward and it would begin welcoming in a growing number of tech companies as its neon supplies could make it a regional power alongside other resources in Ukraine. And at the same time, focusing so such massive benefits would go to everyone and not just a small group of people. The three nation would also form a Black Sea trading bloc along with Armenia and Kartvelia as part of growing cultural exchange and shared heritage. Armenia and Kartvelia have also been making a leftward shift over in politics to address various issues such as lingering corruption and so on, though also becoming wealthier with their growing ties with Iran. Greece meanwhile has also been wondering on who to closer align with regarding preferable trade opportunities along with dealing the complicated relations over with Turkey.
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