Empire of the Ring

People from all walks of life filled the auditorium.

Today was the day to decide on the final draft of the revised constitution, so the auditorium was heated with the enthusiasm of the participants.

Although he promoted the constitutional amendment through the media and collected opinions from all walks of life, he had arranged public hearings several times because he thought something was lacking.

If only a few people who lead the revolutionary government decided on Kazakhstan’s future, it could be another issue later on.

Youngho was curious about the atmosphere of the public hearing, so all the revolutionary leadership, including Youngho, were present at today’s hearing.

“This is a great turnout. I didn’t expect such a high number of participants. Now I understand your intention to hold a public hearing, duke.”

“Even if it seems like a wasteful argument, it will narrow down ideas. When did you have such a democratic debate in Kazakhstan? But look, they’re doing quite a nice job although it’s their first time. Don’t you see hope for the future?”

“I feel proud to see Kazakhstan’s hidden power. I must reflect on my poor judgment of the Kazakh people. If we go through this democratic process, we can accept all the results of the referendum. I’m going to hold a lot of hearings like this. It’s an opportunity to experience how important the democratic process is.”

*There is no need to take the public opinion with the things that require professional opinions. It won’t be a responsible government if we accept any public decision. A responsible government should do what it supposed to do regardless of public opinion. It’s not true democracy to rule out expertise because of the majority’s vote.”

“I learned a lesson from you, duke.”

“Very well. I don’t think there’s anything special going on, so let’s just go back to work.”

Just as they were about to leave, Youngho saw a professor at Kazakh State University exercising his right to speak. He was arguing that some provisions of the amendment were unreasonable. It was very impressive to see the professor and other panel members debate on an idea.

“The Prime Minister should be appointed by the king himself. While it seems reasonable for the majority party to appoint the Prime Minister, there is no safeguard against the long-term rule.”

“Then the king’s authority will become too great.”

“The National Assembly can keep it in check. The prime minister appointed by the king must be approved by the National Assembly.”

“How are we going to resolve it when the National Assembly holds back the king on purpose and put the brakes on the government’s work?”

“It will be judged by the people. If people see a member of the National Assembly not doing his job properly, he won’t be re-elected.”

“Then, is there a way to control the king if he nominates someone who’s not qualified? ”

“We need to establish institutional mechanisms to prevent the unreasonable nomination of the Prime Minister. It’s going to be like a Royal Personnel Committee. Only when the nominee was approved by it, he would be passed down to the National Assembly for approval. If the personnel committee is made up of experts from all walks of life, it will be a means of keeping the royal family in check.”

“The institutional safeguards are important, but they’re tantamount to destroying the authority of the royal family on our own. How will foreign countries think of Kazakhstan?”

“If we want to select a person who has been verified according to democratic procedures, why would it undermine the authority of the royal family? On the contrary, the royal family will be praised for listening to the personnel committee.”

The professor at National University was making an unexpected remark.

It was only natural that the majority party to lead the government. The king’s involvement in government figures was unheard of in Europe. Even though the remarks could lead to a misunderstanding that he was bought by the revolutionary government, the panels at the hearing were being drawn into the professor’s strange logic.

“What is that guy doing? Is he siding with us or is he trying to stir up trouble?”

“Right. He’s trying to shake up the usual system. We don’t want to be criticized for manipulating the government.”

Park Jong-il and Cha In-soo were upset that the professor said something unnecessary, making them misunderstood as if the king were coveting power. In Europe, the king was only a symbolic figure and the true power belonged to the people and government. However, the king’s ability to nominate the prime minister and the existence of the royal personnel committee would overshadow the constitutional monarchy.

The professor even went on further.

“In order to become a constitutional monarchy, the first queen must also be stipulated in the Constitution. That way, we will have a true constitutional monarchy. That’s because it’ll be the basis for the royal family to continue in the future.”

“Isn’t that too much? The reason for a constitutional monarchy is to keep power in check. Since we had the Archduchess Fatima, who is respected and loved by people, we aimed to develop Kazakhstan with the prince consort as a focal point. If we put her name in the constitution and vote on the monarch which is only a symbol, it would be tantamount to defaming her. Why would she even want that?”

“I don’t dare to defame her authority and character. I’m just saying that we should put her in the constitutional amendment for the continuity of the royal family. She’s from a Serbian royal family, so we should give the family legitimacy in Kazakhstan. The royal family is the only influential royal family in the multiracial country of Kazakhstan.”

When his remarks were over, the audience, which had been dead silent, applauded like thunder. There was a roar of applause from everywhere.

“Her Majesty, Fatima! Long live the Queen! Hail to the Duke!”

“I don’t know why I was named there…”

“Did you put some revolutionary army members in the audience?”

Listening to the hearing, Youngho could not help but feel the cringes.

The hearing was broadcasted through TV and radio stations to all cities of Kazakhstan. Thus, Fatima’s appointment as a monarchy became an open secret now.

The professor of Kazakh State University, who captured the audience and the panels with strange logic and sophistry, even stressed that the Arirang Autonomous State should be made into a royal territory and left as a permanent royal property.

The logic was that if a royal family was rich, it would not be swept away by corruption.

***

The elections took place with a result of a 91 percent approval rate for the new constitutional monarchy out of 93 percent voter rate.

It was phenomenal to see such a high voter turnout and approval rating. This was funny since such rates were usually only possible in communist countries, but apparently, it could happen in Kazakhstan, too. It seemed that all people except those who could not come to vote due to illness or age participated in the vote. The elections, which voted for the acceptance of the Constitutional monarchy and the parliamentary elections, set a new record in the history of democracy.

The whole nation was overwhelmed by the excitement that Kazakhstan had become a new constitutional monarchy. People were hopeful that they would join the ranks of advanced countries in the near future.

At the same time—the revised constitution was announced in a month, Kazakhstan would establish Fatima as its first monarch and the National Assembly.

The revolutionary government was busy needed to roughly unravel the clues of the reformation so that the new government would be able to make it as the basis for their work.

The issue of moving the royal palace to Astana had been discussed in-depth, but they decided to leave it in the Arirang Autonomous State as the state belonged to the royal family. Fatima’s opinion played a huge role in the decision. It was natural for her since she likes simple things and did not want to go through the hassle of moving. Youngho also agreed. If the royal family was moved to the capital, the development of the barren West would not be possible. The presidential palace in Astana would be turned into a cultural space and returned to the public of Kazakhstan. Instead, a temporary palace would be built on a site just next to the Capital Garrison Command. It was because of the symbolism that the royal family was fully supported by the military

The names of the respective militaries had changed in part. The Capital Garrison Command was changed into the Royal Armored Division, and the Countryside Force of the Arirang Autonomous State had been transformed into Royal Bodyguards. The two organizations were set up to move solely on royal orders. It was General Kasim’s idea to have such a royal army. Most of the revolutionary army officers and soldiers were deployed to the Royal Armored Division. In the constitutional monarchy, where the royal family was not allowed to rule, the royal power was bound to weaken, and the royal armed forces were established as a means to complement it.

In the case of the European royal family, usually royal guards were only symbolic and they entertained tourists’ eyes. There were no royal armed forces. However, although Kazakhstan decided to become a constitutional monarchy, the royal family was given the right to nominate a prime minister and an army that was ordered only by the royal family. As far as authority was concerned, European royal families would not be able to keep up with the Kazakh royal family even when it came to power.

“If the Archduchess becomes the queen, you’d become the Duke of the Kingdom of Kazakhstan. There will be many restrictions on your activities in the future.”

“So I’m going to travel around before the coronation.”

“You’re going abroad now?”

“We plan to visit Azerbaijan and Georgia. I think we should visit both countries in advance before the coronation.”

“Is there a specific reason for your visit?”

“This is a preparation for when the Russian Canal is blocked. We need Azerbaijan in order to go to the Persian Gulf, and Georgia’s cooperation is absolute in order to the Black Sea.”

“Ahh…!”

“There is a need for a new exit in case the canal is blocked.”

“The carrots to present to the two countries must be, of course, the resources.”

“For now, resources are our only weapon. Of course, I have other ideas, too.”