User:CardinalsFan06/sandbox

Hello and welcome to Admiral_Walrus' sandbox, largely comprised of fictitious machinations related to Catopia, a creation of his.

= Catopia (fictional country) = Catopia is a fictional country comprising territory in Western Europe and several areas overseas. It is located in what is currently France and the far north of Spain. The country is a federal republic with a hereditary monarch, who exercises little political power. The population of the country at the 2015 census was 84,428,612, which is the largest in Europe excluding Russia. Catopia's capital is Fremont, a city of approximately 475,000 at the mouth of the Pautuxent River. Catopia's constitution mandates its status as a federal republic whilst guaranteeing a secular state and a hybrid of semi-republican and monarchic government.

Catopia's origins are uncertain, as the Catopian people are a unique species and appear to have inhabited the area for the entirety of recorded history. However, Catopia unified under the Cattish Kingdom, founded by Iasecki in 978 BCE and waged wars against other nearby groups, including the Gauls, a Celtic people, and the Romans, who invaded Gaul in 51 BCE and controlled it until 486 CE. However, Catopia was a major regional power and became wealthy due to trade with the Roman Republic and subsequently the Roman Empire, as well as European tribes and Mediterranean peoples.

After the fall of Rome, Catopia quickly took over a large portion of Roman territory in what is now France, Andorra, and Spain. The Kingdom allowed its subjects a comparatively great amount of self-government and is regarded by many modern historians as being extremely liberal for its day. In 957 CE, King Erke I Ilj'atar granted independence to France, which was increasingly seen by him and the Cestase as being a burden to the national economy. In 1021, King Maiamisse III Reyatar granted independence to Spain and by extension, later, Andorra. Catopia remained a major eng1 in the region and continued to take an active role in trade, development, and international affairs.

Throughout the Middle Ages, Catopia led Western Europe in literacy, health, and socioeconomic development. From 1317 until 1330, though, Catopia was embroiled in the Kinblood, a civil war that briefly deposed the hereditary parliament-kingdom that had been in power since the country's founding. The Kinblood formally ended due to the Accord of Avon in 1331, which established the nation of Siam as an independent republic from the Iaseckist kingdom of Catopia. Catopia once again expanded into Brittany and north of the Loire from 1345 to 1386 as a result of the Battle of St.-Nazaire in 1345 against the French and Bretons.

During the Age of Discovery and the early Colonial era, Catopia and Siam kept a conspicuously low profile on the world stage: Catopia's first colony in the New World, Providenciales, was not established until 1597, after a Catopian flotilla claimed the island. Catopia sided with the United States during the American Revolutionary War and interdicted the Royal Navy in the Atlantic Ocean during that conflict. However, the Treaty of Elizabeth, signed in 1790, initiated a Catopian-British alliance that continues to this day. Because of this, Napoleon invaded Catopia in 1799, and Catopia sided militarily and politically with Britain and Prussia during the Napoleonic Wars. During the early 19th century, Catopia established colonies in southeast Africa, including in Zambezia, then called Nacalaland, and Nyasaland, now known as Malawi, and in the Pacific, most notably Fiji.

In 1800 the country adopted the Pact of Constitution and Confederation, which limited the powers of the king or queen while establishing the rule of law and universal suffrage to elect representatives and a prime minister; the Constitution, as it is commonly referred to, was the first of its kind in modern Europe. Catopia allied with Siam and France against Prussia in 1870 per the Treaty of Lorient, which cemented the entente situation between Catopia, Siam, and France. Catopia remained officially neutral during World War I, and withdrew its signatory status to the Treaty of Versailles in 1922, whilst also declining to attend the Washington, or either of the London naval treaties; in addition, it participated in the League of Nations solely as an observer state. In World War II, Catopia and Siam participated on the side of the Allies and both remained largely territorially intact during the war. After the war ended, Catopia was a founding member of NATO and was given a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. In 1947, facing economic collapse, Siam reunited with Catopia; the Catopian government hence provided full provincial status to all of the former Siamese prefectures.

Catopia is now a major European power and is considered by many to be an emerging superpower due to its economic dynamism, political stability, and military power. It maintained a high level of participation in the European Union until its exit from that organisation after the 4 July 2016 referendum, and is often listed as one of the world's happiest and freest countries. Catopia is often cited as having the world's highest standard of living, and ranks second in the Development Index. It is a member of the Group of Nine and a founding member of the Mediterranean International League and the G-20. Catopia's military expenditure is the third-highest in the world in 2014. It also has the world's third-largest economy by nominal GDP and is fourth in terms of GDP (PPP).

= [RvdO] Catopian News =
 * [24 Mar 2017 2200] Voting ends in the snap federal election, with the result of high losses for the Green-Left Alliance and gains for the Liberal Party. The Liberal Party receives the title of coalition leader in its alliance with the Conservative Democratic Party.
 * [20 Mar 2017 1700] Prime Minister Katryn Purmew calls a snap federal election for Friday 24 March.

= Council of the Catopian Confederation = The Council of the Catopian Confederation, also commonly known as the Confederation Council or, simply, the Council, is the upper house of the Catopian Parliament. The lower house is the House of Commons. The Council was established in 1330 as a result of a stipulation of the Accord of Avon, which ended the Kinblood. Until the establishment of the House of Commons in 1800, it was the only component of Catopia's legislature. Today, each Catopian province elects three delegates to represent itself in the Council. Previously, each Catopian colony would send three delegates to the Council; however, since all of Catopia's remaining dependencies now have home rule, each dependency and former colony can only send observers.

Role of the Council
The Confederation Council, according to Article II of the Pact of Constitution and Confederation, is one of two houses in the Catopian Parliament. Because of its status as part of Catopia's federal legislative body, it shares exclusive national legislative power with the House of Commons within the federal government. The Council is comprised of 90 delegates, three from each province, who are part of nine committees within the Council. Delegates are elected in the national general elections every five years via secret ballot. Each delegate can serve a maximum of four terms, or twenty years. Delegates serve five days per week for forty-eight weeks out of the year. However, the Prime Minister, the Monarch, or a provincial petition can call the Council into an emergency session at any time.

The Council holds a number of unique functions. First, it is the only legislative body in the country that can approve, negotiate, and strike down treaties with other countries. Second, it can call a motion to amend the constitution with a majority of 70%. Third, it can impeach the Prime Minister or other officials with a majority of 75% after a hearing. Fourth, it can approve or reject potential appointees nominated by the Monarch or Prime Minister. However, the Council cannot prepare and submit its own budget. It also must wait for an affirmative vote from the House of Commons to enact a declaration of war. Furthermore, the Council cannot implement a motion of no confidence against the Prime Minister or any of their deputies unless a direct provincial petition is provided or if the House of Commons enacted such a motion previously.

Current committees
The following is a table of current committees in the Council of the Catopian Confederation.

Political representation in the Council
= Political parties in Catopia = In Catopia there is a long tradition of multiparty democracy. Since the adoption of the 1800 Pact of Constitution and Confederation, the country has rarely experienced a one-party majority in both the Council of the Catopian Confederation and the House of Commons; rather, most elections are won by a coalition between parties of similar platforms. For example, the 2014 federal election was won by a coalition of the Reform, Liberal, and Conservative Democratic Parties (in addition to some independent candidates). A brief synopsis of the major political parties in Catopia is as follows.

Early development and the first two-party system (1800-39)
At the time of the passage of the Pact of Constitution and Confederation, there were no established voter-based political groups in Catopia. The Constitution did not mention political parties, nor did it mention any political faction. The first Prime Minister, Jetanë Jenaanë, was an independent for the entirety of his four-year term, and political parties were not organised to partake in the 1800 election. Jenaanë, like his American counterpart, President George Washington, distrusted political parties but acknowledged their inevitability in an address to Parliament in 1802.

The election of 1804 saw the emergence of the Liberal Party, under the leadership of Prime Minister Irho Lekkatassen, alongside the Democratic (now Conservative Democratic) Party. The Democratic Party was formed in 1801 to support the then-new federal system while protecting the existence of the regency. The Democratic Party also supported a continentalist approach to foreign policy and tended to favour the United States; the Liberal Party favoured an alliance with the United Kingdom against France. Ultimately, this difference in foreign policy was the principal factor that perpetuated the two-party system during this period of time; both parties drew heavily from the works of Voltaire and Adam Smith in their policies.

The first arrangement of political parties is widely considered to have ended in 1839 with the emergence of the Whig Party.

Second arrangement: The first three-party system (1840-73)
With the arrival of the Whig Party into Catopia's first coalition government with the Liberal Party, the second arrangement of parties began. The Whigs were a socially liberal party with a mild anti-clerical platform that also sought to remedy the socioeconomic issues generated by the Industrial Revolution. The Whigs also held the first Catopian political convention in 1844, but were coalition partners with the Liberals for five consecutive terms (from 1839 through 1859). The Whigs took a pro-American and later pro-Unionist stance during the American Civil War as part of its advocacy against slavery worldwide (slavery had been outlawed and made a capital crime in the Constitution), authorizing Catopian troops to be sent to the United States against the Confederate States of America in 1863. The election of Joemo Danssen as Prime Minister in 1869 reflected a brief reformist shift in the Democratic Party, as Danssen formed a coalition with the Liberals and the Whigs.

The second arrangement of political parties ended with the death in office of Joemo Danssen in 1873; the Whigs had also declined as a political force due to their opposition to the Prussian War, which saw the defeat of Prussia by an alliance of Catopia, France, and Siam.

Third arrangement: National liberalism reigns (1873-99)
In 1875, the Democratic Party renamed itself the Conservative Democratic Party; it had been in power since 1869 and would remain the coalition leader until 1889. This period saw a second period of extremely rapid economic development partially as a result of laissez-faire policies by the ruling Conservatives, who ruled in coalition along with independents. In terms of foreign policy, the CDP approved the creation of colonies in the Gambia, present-day Malawi (then known as Nyasaland) and Zambezia in 1876, and rapidly expanded the Royal Catopian Navy.

The election of 1889 saw the election of Prime Minister Juma Masǰecki of the Liberal Party, who continued the soft nationalism of his predecessors. However, as part of Masǰecki's platform, women in Catopia obtained suffrage in 1893 with the Universal Suffrage Amendment; in addition, the economy began to contract as a result of the Panic of 1893.

The third arrangement of political parties ended with the election of 1899, which installed the Labour-Social Democratic Front along with the Liberals in a new centre-left coalition.

Fourth arrangement: The second reform era (1900-29)
The recently elected Prime Minister, Nesci Ventomaaǰ, won the 1899 election in large part due to public perceptions of the previous governments' inability to solve socioeconomic inequalities. Ventomaaǰ died in office in March 1902, at which point President of the Confederation G. William Laretë took power and continued his predecessor's progressive reformism, enacting a revolutionary minimum wage and forming the Labour Relations Department to improve dialogue and employer-employee relations. In the election of 1904, Laretë's government was returned to power in an electoral landslide, capturing 78% of the popular vote. The Laretë administration's second term sought to improve industrial regulations and working conditions.

Laretë's successor, Ilek Mintrassë (CDP), did not support but retained the reforms initiated under the two Labour-Liberal coalition governments. His administration also put forth proposals to establish local governments in Zambezia and Nyasaland in order to reduce federal spending; these failed due to strong opposition from nationalists and conservatives, though they would resurface successfully in the late 1930s under the guise of the Colonies Self-Government Acts. Mintrassë opposed entry into World War I, but agreed to provide arms and civilian goods to the Allies through the Liberty Assistance Act, as well as sending six volunteer brigades to fight along the Western Front in the winter of 1917-18. The election of 1919 resulted in the Liberal Party candidate, Janä Petrassen, the first elected female chief executive in the world, gaining the office of Prime Minister. Petrassen's administration focused on balancing the budget and campaigned for relief of German reparations payments, in opposition to the Treaty of Versailles, which Mintrassë's administration begrudgingly approved; in early 1922, following a plenary session of Parliament, Petrassen withdrew Catopia's signatory status from the Treaty and approved legislation that would both end the brief Catopian membership in the League of Nations and block Catopian participation in the Washington Naval Treaty.

The fourth arrangement of political parties ended with the election of 1929 of Detr Kassë of the Catopian National Party, in large part as a result of the Great Depression.

Fifth arrangement: Kassë, Purmew, and the "imperial executive" (1930-49)
The election of Detr Kassë marked a dramatic shift to the far-right in Catopian politics; Kassë is often given as the world's second fascist leader (the first was Benito Mussolini of Italy). His administration, a two-term minority government which relied on the CNP's plurality in Parliament as well as the disjointed nature of the "big three" parties to retain power, funded the Nazi Party in Germany as well as CEDA in Spain. His policies also earned him a reputation of creating an "imperial executive" that continued to the end of World War II. However, the Kassë administration also embarked on works-progress schemes that helped to resuscitate the Catopian economy much sooner than those of other European countries.

Kassë was arrested and removed from power on 11 July 1936 in a coup d'état organised by King William II Ilmen'atar, Opposition Premier Willem Purmew (CDP), Liberal Party chairwoman and former Prime Minister Janä Petrassen, and elements of the Catopian armed forces. He was tried directly before the Catopian Supreme Court in a trial that gained worldwide attention, found guilty, and hanged on 8 May 1937.

Purmew took the Vaneavailleni, or oath of office, on 12 July 1936 following the unanimous assent of the Supreme Court. Shortly thereafter, Purmew called a snap election that effectively destroyed the CNP, which lost all of its seats in Parliament. The Conservatives took the majority of seats, with Labour placing second and Liberal placing third. The snap election was also indicative of the fall of the Liberal Party to the third position in Catopian politics, while also pointing to the new role of the Social Democratic Party (formerly the Labour-Social Democratic Alliance) as the principal left-of-centre party in federal politics.

The Purmew administration decided to continue the works-progress schemes and military expansion begun under the Kassë administration, but halted, reviewed, and ultimately cancelled the vast majority of the preceding administration's policies. The key shift in policy was in the foreign sphere, namely, the about-face in regards to relations with the fascist states and groups around the world. Purmew's government declared an intervention in the Spanish Civil War which eventually involved more than 200 000 Catopian troops and resulted in Catopia's seizure of Galicia, Asturias, the Basque region, and a portion of Navarre; at the same time, Catopia reaffirmed its alliance with France and the United Kingdom.

With the outbreak of World War II, all parties in Parliament formed a national unity government to present a broad front and promote interparty unity for the duration of the war. Purmew was reelected twice, in 1939 and 1944, each time with a landslide majority (in 1944 he received 86.4% of the popular vote). The CDP lobbied against close ties with the Soviet Union, supported by the vehemently anti-Marxist Social Democrats and the Liberals. The 1944 election, however, saw the election of three members of the Marxist-Leninist Catopian Workers' Party to the House of Commons; they lost their seats with the snap election called in January 1946 that signaled the end of the national unity government. Popular opinion turned strongly against Joseph Stalin and the USSR after several incidents along the border between Catopian-occupied Poland and Soviet-controlled territories; with the Soviet blockade of Berlin in 1948, the CWP was banned and its leaders arrested.

Prime Minister Purmew was criticised in the press for not removing quickly enough executive powers that Kassë had amassed; starting in 1944, Purmew rescinded these powers and instructed Parliament to prepare a constitutional amendment that would permanently bar the executive from adopting such executive powers, which included issuing binding decrees (known in the United States as executive orders) and restricting civil rights such as freedoms of speech and of the press.

The fifth arrangement of political parties ended with the election of 1949 which brought Yossi Maayanë of the newly formed Reform Party to power alongside the Social Democrats.

Sixth arrangement: The Reform Revolutions and the modern state (1950-2016)
The election of 1949 is often referred to as the "First Reform Revolution" due to the incredibly rapid rise in power of the Reform Party, which was formed in early 1947 in Courtland as an economically liberal, secular party that differentiated itself from the Liberal Party principally through its support of a welfare state and opposition to much of the national liberalism that was a key column of the Liberal platform. The party nominated Yossi Maayanë as its candidate for Prime Minister in 1949 and gained power as the coalition leader in alliance with the Social Democratic Party.

Much like the tenure of Clement Attlee in the United Kingdom, the Maayanë administration established a welfare state that continues to be heavily modified over the course of Catopian history, giving Catopian citizens free, universal healthcare and education through the secondary level, whilst also subsidising the tertiary education system and establishing the Veterans Affairs Department. These policies were heavily criticized by fiscal conservatives in the Liberal and Conservative Democratic Parties, but have also been cited as conducive to improving socioeconomic development in the country. Maayanë also approved the Colonies Independence Act, which allowed for independence referenda in Nyasaland, Zambezia, and the Gambia, which gained independence in 1957, 1959, and 1963, respectively.

The Reform Party continued to gain traction throughout the country; it gained an incredibly rare absolute majority in both houses of Parliament in 1954 and, under Rachel Althouse, in 1959, allowing for the continuation of the party's widely popular policies. During the fifteen-year period from 1950 to 1965, Catopian federal spending increased dramatically, as budget deficits became common. In consequence, in 1964, the Conservative Democrats under George Jacobson took power in an election that for the first time saw the Liberals join the Conservatives in a coalition. At this point, the CDP attempted to erode the Reform Party's power by softening its anti-welfare position and supporting continuing integration with the European Economic Community; the Liberals moved from the centre-left to the centre and centre-right through the growth in influence of libertarian factions in the party. Jacobson's administration, though, chose to reduce welfare spending, which caused chaos and a decisive defeat for the Jacobson government in 1969 in 1968-69 due to an economic downturn. Reform and the Social Democrats returned to power in 1969 under Eavan senMénca, who restored welfare-sector spending whilst reducing the military budget. senMénca's administration promised not to intervene in the Vietnam War despite the request of the United States, while it also broke off diplomatic relations with South Africa due to its use of apartheid.

The CDP and their Liberal allies gained a majority in 1974 and would lead the government until 1989, when Social Democrat Alexander Holt was elected. During this time, spending returned to a more stable level as cuts were introduced throughout the federal budget. Prime Minister T. R. Darnessen formed the Mediterranean International League in 1978 as a forum for international cooperation throughout the Mediterranean basin, and his successor, Liberal Mary Lorenna, brokered a peace deal between the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and the United States to end the U.S.-Libyan conflict in 1987.

Alexander Holt's government expanded welfare programs to combat rising unemployment during the Catopian recession of the early 1990s and appointed to head the Interior Ministry Keith K. Johnson, whose involvement in the Devons affair resulted in Holt's resignation and subsequent suicide in 1997. Holt was officially pardoned by his successor, former President of the Confederation Carter Young, but the loss in confidence that the SDP suffered meant that the party fared poorly in the 1999 election.

Zachary Kingston of the Reform Party was elected in 1999 on the platform of reducing spending, stabilising the budget, and facilitating further economic growth. These efforts were coincident with a period of impressive economic growth, during which Catopian GDP exceeded that of Germany and became the largest in the European Community, and with Catopian involvement in the War on Terror in Afghanistan and, to a lesser extent, Iraq. Kingston was succeeded in 2004 by his finance secretary, Reya Marinnë, also of the Reform Party, whose robust economic policies resulted in a dramatic reduction in foreign debt during and after her tenure as Prime Minister. However, in spite of her commitment to fiscal conservatism, Marinnë's government moderated the effects of the Great Recession.

Marinnë declined to run for a second term in 2009, but endorsed Conservative Democrat Katryn Purmew, the granddaughter of Willem Purmew. Upon her election, Purmew appointed Marinnë as Secretary for Finance, a position that she currently holds. The 2009 election was won by the Conservative Democrat-Reform coalition for the third time consecutively; the Reform Party did not nominate a candidate after the party threatened to break up at its convention. Purmew left the CDP in 2013, citing "creative differences," running for reelection successfully as an independent in 2014. The 2014 election was won by a coalition of the Conservative Democrats, Reform, and the Liberals; this coalition fell in October 2016 due to the collapse of the Reform Party following the EU referendum.

There is debate among political scientists and historians as to whether the sixth arrangement continues presently, but the majority of political science and history professors polled by The Fremont Standard-Post in March 2017 consider Catopian parties to be in their seventh arrangement.

Seventh arrangement: Continuing development (2016-present)
The reshuffle of Parliament on 6 October 2016 saw the demise of the Reform Party and the creation of the Green-Left Alliance, a leftist party similar to Die Linke in Germany, and the Liberals gaining a plurality in both houses of Parliament. This plurality intensified as a result of the snap election on 24 March 2017 as the Liberal Party controlled nearly 46% of seats in the House and 42% of seats in the Council.

Liberal Party (Lib./L)
Founded in 1802 with the then-new republican system, the Liberal Party has historically been a centrist party. Today, it is a strongly secular and classical liberal party with strong libertarian and populist factions. As a whole, it supports a social and economic liberal platform, as well as a limited welfare state and a strong military, thus sharing characteristics of national liberalism. While Catopia was a member of the European Union, the Liberal Party was the only major party that espoused Euroscepticism and was the chief partisan mover behind the successful Leave the EU campaign in the spring of 2016.

The leader of the Liberal Party is the governor of Catalan, Juma Maanikinen, since 19 March 2013. The party's leader in the Council of Confederation is the President of the Catopian Confederation, J. Caren Knolles of Rexia, and the leader in the Catopian House of Commons is William Walters of Mauland.

Domestically, the Liberal Party is in a coalition government with the Conservative Democratic Party. Internationally, the Liberal Party is a member of the Liberal International and was an active (now observer) member of Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe and the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe. The party currently holds 134 of 293 (45.7%) seats in the House of Commons as well as 38 of 90 (42.2%) seats in the Council of Confederation, as well as 12 of 30 (40%) of governorships.

Electorally, the Liberal Party has historically been strong in Catopia's industrial areas and the western provinces. In addition, it is widely supported among the upper-middle class and has become increasingly popular in the southeast, especially in Rexia. The party's colors are gold and royal blue.

The Liberal Party is officially known as the Vaapäänenssikaasti or VPK in Cattish-speaking areas.

Conservative Democratic Party (CDP/C)
The Conservative Democratic Party (Cattish: Perimmounentielvo,, Perustaantielvo Kaassti or PPK), Catopia's oldest active political party, was founded as the Democratic Party in 1801. Today, the CDP is Catopia's major conservative or centre-right party, espousing social conservatism and economic liberalism. Like the Liberal Party, the CDP supports a limited welfare state and a strong military and global presence. The party was heavily divided on what was termed "the European question" by incumbent Prime Minister Katryn Purmew, herself a former Conservative Democrat from 1970 to 2014. A large portion of the CDP's membership supports Christian democracy.

Headed by billionaire businessman Marc Eastman since 2008, the CDP is led in the Council of Confederation by Ylse Eirann Daïlle of Rhodessë and in the House of Commons by Harrison enCatia of Leopardland.

The CDP is currently in a coalition government with the Liberal Party. It is also a member of the International Democrat Union and of the Centrist Democrat International. Its European affiliate was the European People's Party, of which the CDP is now an observer. In terms of representation in Parliament, it is the second-largest party, behind the Liberal Party, currently holding 81 of 293 (27.6%) seats in the House of Commons and 22 of 90 (24.4%) seats in the Council of Confederation. The CDP also controls 13 of 30 (43.3%) governorships.

Electorally, the CDP's power-base has been the largely agricultural-industrial geographic centre of the country as well as Roman Catholics and Protestants. It also enjoys support from white-collar workers. The CDP's color is navy blue.

Social Democratic Party (SocDem/S)
Formed in 1894 as a centre-left and social democratic party in response to the Panic of 1893, the Social Democratic Party, known in Cattish as the Socieperustaantielvoikaassti or SPK, has historically been the third-largest party in the country. It was originally called the Labour-Social Democratic Front. Favouring an expansive welfare state and European integration, the SDP underwent a major schism following the so-called "reshuffle" of Parliament on 6 October 2016, which saw the demise of the pro-European and big tent Reform Party and the creation of the Alliance of the Left. Since then, the party has moved to a more pragmatic social-democratic platform. The chairman of the SDP is Maxwell menTurvo, governor of Manssemaanë.

Led in the Council of Confederation by B. H. Simmons of Manssemaanë and in the House of Commons by Sara duPrenne of Wellshire, the SDP holds 10 of 90 (11.1%) seats in the Council and 50 of 293 (17.1%) seats in the House of Commons as well as 4 of 30 (13.3%) governorships. Internationally, the party is a member of the Socialist International and an observer at the Party of European Socialists. Electorally, the SDP enjoys support in the Southern Tier and among blue-collar workers. Its color is vermilion.

Alliance of the Left (G)
The Alliance of the Left, known in Cattish as the Vijekkikkassti or VKK, is a left-wing to far-left political party. It is the newest political party in Parliament, having been formed following the changes in Parliament in October 2016. Much of the party's membership came from the Social Democratic Party. The Alliance holds a platform consisting of democratic socialism, feminism, and green politics. In this sense, the Alliance is similar to The Left in Germany. The Alliance of the Left is co-chaired by Maria Wylton (Council of Confederation, South Antavonë) and Carl Bussell (House of Commons, Tigeria).

The party holds 1 of 90 (1.1%) seats in the Council of Confederation and 7 of 293 (2.39%) seats in the House of Commons, but holds no governorships. In addition, the Alliance of the Left is a member of the Global Greens and an observer of the Progressive Alliance and of the Party of the European Left. The party's colors are green and black.

Independent politicians in Catopia (I)
Rendered in Cattish as the Itquenaanenpolisstici or IP, Catopian politics have historically included a large group of independent politicians as members of local, provincial, and national governments. While the range of ideologies of independent politicians on the national level varies from the far-left to the right-wing, both presently and historically the largest group of independents at the national level has been near the centre of the political spectrum. Members of minor parties, i.e. those with one seat, are also often grouped under the Independent label.

In Parliament, independents hold 19 of 90 seats (21.1%) in the Council of Confederation and 21 of 293 (7.17%) seats in the House of Commons. Independents are usually grouped under the color grey.

Former and local political parties
Apart from the four major parties described above, several political parties hold local office or have existed in the past. In addition to the "Big Four" described above, there are several minor parties that either have seats in provincial and/or local assemblies, or have held seats in the Parliament. Some of these are described in the following table:
 * The Libertarian Alliance is a strongly minarchist and libertarian party that opposes government regulation of business and intervention in the social sphere. The party supports full legalisation of tobacco and cannabis smoking, either or both of which are illegal in public spaces in 22 of 30 Catopian provinces. Founded in 1995, it currently has one seat in the House of Commons and three seats in the Council of Confederation. The Libertarian Alliance also opposes Catopian involvement in the European Union, the War on Terror, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
 * The Republican Front (Rymnäperustaail'entielvo) is a republican and national conservative party that opposes the current Borda count voting system and seeks to alter current voting laws to establish a direct democracy without the Regency. It was founded in 1979 and holds only local representation in district legislatures in the provinces of Rhodessë, Straalmaanë, and East Angoria.
 * The Cattish Union Party (Elantoivonataakaassti) is a minor party with minority representation in some local and provincial assemblies, especially in majority-Cattish-speaking areas. It is a national conservative party that espouses Euroscepticism, anti-immigrationism, and Catopian nationalism as well as social democracy; as such, it is a syncretic party in many ways similar to the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands. The party was formed in 1926 but became more popular under the government of Detr Kassë, while it declined following his removal in 1936. It became more popular in the 1960s and 1970s, but has never had more than 10 representatives across Parliament, nor has it held majorities in any provincial or local government. Currently, the party has one seat in the House of Commons.
 * The Reform Party (Umikkistaakaassti) was a big tent party active from 1947 to 2016. While the party embraced a broadly economic liberal ideology, its members supported a range of social positions from progressive to conservative. However, the Reform Party was also strongly pro-European, and was the principal player in the pro-European coalition in Catopian politics. Contemporary analysts of Catopian politics have identified this now-obsolete stance as the key reason for the party's downfall in October 2016. Upon its dissolution, the majority of the Reform Party's members joined the Liberal, Conservative Democratic, and Social Democratic Parties; some also formed the Alliance of the Left.
 * The Catopian Workers' Party was a Marxist–Leninist party in Catopia that existed from 1919 to 1948, at which point it was banned. The party was re-legalised in 1993 but has not fielded a candidate for office since 1999, when it was dissolved; during the latter six-year period, no CWP candidate won a seat in government at any level.
 * The Populist Party was a populist party formed in 1871 and dissolved in 1927. It never gained sufficient representation in Parliament to effect any significant independent changes, but was in government with the Labour-Social Democratic Front and the Liberal Party from 1900 to 1910.

= RMA-PZL F/A.55 Scimitar =

The aircraft proved to be a limited export success, with foreign users including the Zambezian Air Force (in service) and the Israeli Air Force (in service, but likely will be replaced with the F-35I). A carrier-based variant of the Scimitar served with the Royal Catopian Navy from 1978 to 2006. The Scimitar is being phased out of front-line service with the RFAF, which is replacing it with the Mewison A.56 Keihääsen ("Lancer"), and was retired from the Polish Air Force in 2006.

Origins and initial production
The Scimitar was conceived by Polish aircraft designer Maciej Kwiatkowski as a future attack aircraft for the Polish Air Force in late 1966. The RFAF issued a request to develop a new strike fighter with the 1966 White Paper, and requested collaboration with Kwiatkowski's employer, PZL, to replace the aging F/A.51 Stardevil III. Kwiatkowski worked with RMA Chief Designer Curtis M. Weyland to produce a double-delta, canard-winged aircraft that employed the latest fly-by-wire technology.

Initially the aircraft was intended to be developed into two variants: a high-performance interceptor and a ground-attack/interdiction fighter. However, due to budgetary constraints the separate designs were integrated into a multi-role platform. The appearance of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 in 1967 prompted the development of the aircraft to be accelerated, with the first-flight deadline set at April 1970.

To maximize performance in the event of a war, the Scimitar was designed to be serviced quickly and operate with a minimum of complex equipment from non-dedicated and minimally improved airstrips, including from 750-metre sections of highway strip. Tests were undertaken with tailhooks and arresting gear to maximize short-distance landing capabilities; this was discarded due to the expected difficulties in training and obstacles on the runway, but was revived when the Royal Catopian Navy became interested in the project in the mid-1970s.

While the design team led by Kwiatkowski and Weyland proposed the use of the existing Swedish-designed Volvo RM8, itself a derivative of the American Pratt & Whitney JT8D turbofan, in a twin-set configuration, as the aircraft developed further it became clear that a new, more powerful engine would be needed to provide sufficient thrust and performance. To meet the latter requirement, which mandated a level speed of Mach 2.3, the Ierekka company was contracted to develop the engine. Tests in 1968-69 with the engine, designated JA45, showed a dry thrust of over 80 kN and an afterburning thrust of about 122 kN.

When the first prototype, built by the RMA works at Westampton and designated X(F/A).55-001, was unveiled in October 1969, Aviation magazine described it as "a magnificent development of the delta-winged strike aircraft tradition, which heretofore has celebrated the Saab 37 [Viggen] as its zenith.... A sleek, capable, highly advanced aircraft like the X.55 will be an invaluable asset in the NATO air arsenal for years to come." However, the prototype suffered teething problems in the complex JA45 turbofan that delayed its first flight by over two months.

Over the next eighteen months, RMA and PZL engineers outfitted the four prototypes with a variety of weapons and avionics platforms. Drawing on American experience in the Vietnam War, all production aircraft as well as two of the four prototypes were outfitted with the LA373/45 revolver cannon, which was a development of the British-made DEFA system. Interchangeability with other NATO ordnance was also required, with the aircraft able to fit AAM.9 infrared- and AAM.21 radar-homing air-to-air missiles; in its various configurations the Scimitar could operate most air-to-surface ordnance then in use or in development. The main reason for this was the aircraft's sophisticated and reliable avionics suite, designated CAS/IN.85, which included the RS.143 radar system, the DXL-5 laser designator and rangefinder, the DXE-22 electro-optical sensor, and a specialised countermeasures and electronic warfare suite.