Talk:Parliament of Greece

I'm confused. First: Why are there two identical houses in the Greek Parliament? Or are they not identical, but selected in different ways? And second: Why is there such a difference in political parties between the two houses? Zahir 17:55, 17 February 2009 (UTC)

I, too, am curious as to why both houses seat 250 each, and yet there is such a discrepancy between the political parties in both houses... Seth 18:40, 17 February 2009 (UTC)

There's 250 because it's based on the original council of 500, and there are 2 branches. If it seems "scattered" it's because I have not brushed up on my knowledge of my model, the US House of Representatives. Misterxeight 00:19, 18 February 2009 (UTC)

I've never heard of a legislature where both chambers are exactly equal, but that doesn't mean it could not happen. It would be novel, definitely, and there should be a reason for it. I'd think that the two chambers would at least be elected differently (say, a proportional system in one, a district-by-district system in the other). That could also explain a difference in the parties making up each one - although maybe not such a huge difference. Benkarnell 02:04, 18 February 2009 (UTC)

There've been hints of some kind of aristocracy. Perhaps one house is elected by them? Or maybe it is divided between landowners/others, between men/women, between Greek Orthodox/Others, etc. Perhaps one house is chosen by organizations like labor unions and universities, the other by direct popular vote? All kinds of possibilities. Zahir 02:11, 18 February 2009 (UTC)

If the two houses have totally different constituencies, then the parties that control them are likely to be very different from each other. I like the idea of men/women, although that seems far-fetched even for IB. Benkarnell

From the advice above, I think we should add that maybe let's say the Boule (alternatively "Vouli") is elected by the people, why the Gerousia is maybe from each periphery of Greece; or maybe vice-versa. Politics is not my strong suit (history and typo-fixing are my strengths in IB), so I would be delighted if maybe people posted ways for this to work. Feel free to adjust anything to make it more understandable. All I ask is that in at least 1 house, the Imperialists are the majoiry. The political parties in Greece are the

• Imperialists
• Orthodox Party of Greece
• Communist Party of Greece
• SNORist Party of Greece
• The Green party, Far Left Association, Jewish Party, conservative, Royal Democratic, Coalition of Hellenic Expatriates, and the Hellenic Party

Misterxeight 01:41, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

An interesting idea--the "people" versus the "periphery." I'm wondering how that breaks down? I suspect by "people" you mean something like "the heartland" which may or may not include the major cities and/historically most ethnically Greek of the provinces. For example, areas with a Turkish majority as opposed to Athens or Sparta. Among other things this creates something like a de facto empire in which certain parts of this country are declared more-or-less colonial territories but also given full political representation. An interesting balancing act, if it works. Zahir 17:37, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

I think that by peripheries he means that the second house is elected by the perifereies - the various provinces; the first house, I presume, is elected by the entire country at-large on a proportional representation basis. Benkarnell 18:00, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

If Zahir's theory makes more sense we can go with it. But as Zahir suggested, I doubt people such as the Vlachs, Turks, Albanians, Aromanians, and all the other Non-Greeks will be able to vote. Depends on how all the other countries around the world would react. However I doubt these institutions would be created by Constantine, they'd probably be made during the London Proto-call Misterxeight 18:48, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

Just something to consider--the Ottoman Empire was organized according to (more or less) self-governing ethnic groups. Thus all Christians (which were considered such a group) were one body, all Jews another, all Muslims yet another, etc. Over time, the system broke down, but it might have be something of an inspiration for the Imperialist Party.

From what you're describing, it sounds as if Greece will be basing the franchise (i.e. the power to vote) on ethnicity. My guess is that nations-of-origin would object quite strongly, unless this has been the status quo for quite some time. In which case, they would still disapprove but not make so much noise about it.

I am very curious to see how the Aristocracy fits into all this. Zahir 17:06, 25 February 2009 (UTC)