Osterreich Independence Party

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Osterreich Independence Party

Party-Osterreich Independence Party.jpg
General Information
Country Flag-Austria.jpg Austria
Abbreviation ÖIP
National rank 1
Colors Red, Silver
Founded August 19th, 2009
Political
President Prince of Austria
Vice President King Dom Miguel O Vader.
Secretary General Schwrzwolf
Councillor hippie007
Spokesman Ludi Deda
Members 15
Congress Occupancy 6 seats
Succeeds Austrian Independence Party
Orientation Center
Ideology Libertarian

The Osterreich Independence Party (ÖIP), also referred to as Austrian Independence Party, is a political party in Austria. With an emphasis on fostering respectful political dialog, low government intervention in the economy, and on setting an independent course in foreign policy, it has proved influential in the nation since its inception. Holding congress seats, and positions in cabinets, it also found success in presidential elections.

History

Founding

On August 19th, Travis James founded the Austrian Independence Party, a party focused on increasing levels of independence in Austria - independent thought, lower dependence on government in economics, and independence in foreign affairs. The largest immediate application of these principles was opposition to Austrian involvement in World War III - and support for reform of PEACE GC back towards its defensive origins. The party grew to 14 members by August 25th and qualified to participate in the August congressional elections by entering the top 5 parties. Fielding 7 candidates, 6 went on to win their seats, including party leader Travis James.

Early History

The first presidential election after the party was founded took place on September 5th, 2009 - and saw the ÖIP endorse Lynari, the incumbent and generally a moderate on the world war, over the challenger Metallon - a staunch supporter of the war. On the endorsement, Party President Travis James would state "my decision to endorse Lynari was not taken lightly, it was made after careful consideration of the situation that we, as a nation, find ourselves in. Lynari has done an impressive job as president and I have every confidence that he will continue to do so."[1]

Lynari would go on to narrowly lose, and politics in Austria became very contentious between the RWR and Illuminus Austria. The ÖIP, on the other hand, continued to grow and was viewed as an alternative. By September 25th, the party had grown to over 30 members, and became the third largest party in Austria.

In its second congressional race, the party went on to win 16 seats. This gave the party its greatest share of power to date with 40% of the congress. However, a number of the newly elected congressmen left the party shortly after the election to form a splinter party representing "Austrian Croats." This raised suspicions - which would later be proven right - that a Croatian takeover effort was underway, especially as they had posed as "loyal party members" for the election.

Entering Presidential Politics

Rangeley was the first Austrian president from the OIP.

While the ÖIP backed the Rot Weiss Rot's candidate in September, momentum had clearly moved the ÖIP's way in the month of September as other parties became embattled. This time, the party decided to field its own candidate - Rangeley. After some shuffling, the coalition which had backed Lynari in September re-materialized. On the election, Travis James would urge voters to vote for Rangeley "not because of the party that he represents, but because of the ideas that he represents."[2]

Rangeley would go on to win the election 77-61. The longstanding goal of withdrawal from World War III was accomplished on the first day of Rangeley's presidency, and a focus on attempting to foster cooperation in the region was implemented. The party would have an average showing in the October congressional elections with 6 seats.

With the National Front Austria growing in strength during the month of October, the pro-EDEN National Front Austria joined the Illuminus Austria party in backing the relatively unknown Querb in the November presidential election. In one of the narrowest elections in Austria's history, Rangeley was re-elected by a vote of 76-75.

Takeover and Rebirth

After securing a surprisingly narrow win for the presidential election, the party was dealt another surprise blow in the November 15th presidential election. The National Front Austria ran a takeover candidate - Hevinio - with the intention of knocking the ÖIP out of function. By a vote of 19-18, Hevinio was elected party president over Travis James. This move proved very controversial, but would be overshadowed with the Hungary-Austria War which began mere days later. The short and successful conflict helped rally the ÖIP together again, forming a new party on November 23rd. Within a matter of days, 22 had joined the new party out of the 25 who were in the party prior to the takeover. By November 25th, the party had mostly regrouped and was once again the fourth largest party in Austria, and managed to improve over the previous month in securing 7 seats.

As PEACE GC began to disband, the OIP moved its focus from alliance reform, to using Austria's new lack of alliance as an opportunity to pursue a defensive foreign policy. President Rangeley enthusiastically supported the French independence effort against Spanish invaders, committing Austrian forces to the cause when the conflict began on December 3rd. The OIP would endorse him once again, and this time would prove a much easier win, 57-45 over opponent Alfred Ball. The party would match its congressional numbers, again winning 7 seats in the Congress later in the month.

Transition

Oraizan was the second President of Austria from the OIP.

With many objectives having been met - and in some cases surpassed - the start of 2010 marked a period of transition for the OIP. The pro-defense foreign policy, which had once been an issue exclusively held by the OIP, had been adopted by all of the top five parties. After three consecutive terms as country president, Rangeley chose not to pursue a fourth, and the Austrian Independence Party decided to remain out of the presidential race between Borojevic von Bonjar and Alfred Ball in January. And after five months as Party President, Travis James chose to step aside - with Rangeley succeeding him in this role.

However, the month of January would see a re-emergence of bitter inter-party fighting, this time between the National Front Austria and Socialist Party. The party decided to back Oraizan for president in February, with party leader Rangeley stating that she "excels in exactly the areas we need to move Austria forward, in her ability to cooperate, and bring people together."[3]

The race would not go the OIP's way, with Oraizan losing 64-55 to Borojevic von Bonjar.

Croatian Invasion

While the party had been dealt a blow, events in the month of February would dramatically change the politics of Austria. The First Croatia-Austria War exposed a major vacuum in the Austrian government, and within several days President Borojevic von Bonjar announced that he would be resigning. Oraizan therefore assumed the Presidency, now an official member of the OIP. She formed a fusion government of most of the active members of Borojevic's government, as well as her proposed cabinet. On the war, she declared "I will work for an end to the war, whether it be through battles or diplomacy, to an end that is satisfactory and will ensure our independence protected from aggressors around us."[4]

Using her extensive connections that she had established in the game as well as this new cabinet, she was able to take charge and turn the war around, repelling the Croatian invaders. Addition reforms were made, with a strong emphasis on building upon what was already there, as opposed to starting from scratch as had become a trend. Minister of Defense Yonai Keiko, also a member of the OIP, put this into practice by building on and restoring much of the military's infrastructure lost earlier in the month. Though Oraizan stood a very good chance of being re-elected, she opted out of running for re-election. The OIP would not take a prominent role in the search for the next candidate, instead supporting the Kronloyale Union's pick, bobbySAURON. He proved unable to defeat his major opponent, Hedera, in the March election, who would turn out to be a PTOer.

Retreating much of the nation to Poland, the country was left weak and in many ways disabled even after Hedera was impeached and bobbySAURON became president. Later in the month, the nation was wiped off the map, taking with it the OIP, which entered a period of exile.

Exile

stoneman was the third President of Austria from the OIP.

Though Austria was put back on the map within days, due to major disruptions and the large possibility for small parties being taken over, the decision was made by Party President Rangeley to temporarily merge into the newly reformed Kronloyale Union to help stave off takeover attempts. Though it was in an exiled position, the party continued to exert influence, completely refusing to endorse bobbySAURON for re-election due to his divisive nature and the need to unite.

Instead, the parties looked to stoneman, a long time member of the OIP, to run for president. With the backing of almost all major parties, stoneman defeated Djani Ujkan Marich - but only after approximately 50 multi votes were removed from Djani in the closing hours. As President, stoneman helped to stabilize the situation in Austria in the aftermath of the chaos of March, and would end the month having seen a return of all regions back to Austria. However, the Croatian takeover would strike again, seizing control of Congress in the April congressional races. Money began to be funnelled out of the Austrian treasury en masse, and there began to be doubts about the month ahead.

Weighing his options, stoneman opted out of running for re-election, leaving it to the coalition of parties once again to field a unity candidate. Though many in the OIP feared Djani Ujkan Marich was a takeover candidate due to his history - including the 50 deleted multi-votes in the previous election - most parties were poised to endorse him against the known takeover candidate Gaganic. However, after definitive proof of Djani Ujkan Marich's connections emerged, the parties quickly removed their endorsements. Instead, they endorsed former President Rangeley.

Anti-Takeover

Rangeley returned to serve a fourth and final term as the unity candidate.

Pitting the unity candidate, Rangeley, against Djani Ujkan Marich, the unity candidate once again secured the presidency by a vote of 168 to 121 in the May Election. Having campaigned on a promise to revamp Austrian military efforts abroad, Rangeley's presidency began with a deployment of forces to South Korea, to aid them against Japan in the Second Japan-South Korea War. Other steps were taken to streamline the government, such as a consolidation of Ministry newspapers into the BundesPresseDienst.

But with Congress still controlled by the takeover, many problems lay ahead for Austria. While the treasury had largely been drained, with currency being exchanged into gold, the takeover donated this new gold back into the treasury with the hope that they could issue it as currency and continue to multiply their money. However, President Rangeley issued blocking proposals - such as defense system laws - that shielded the money from donation, while aided by congress members who proposed donation laws for small amounts of money. Though these laws would fail, they would be able to be continued nearly indefinitely, preventing the takeover from withdrawing money.

While angering the takeover, ultimately by cutting their source of income through this, and other methods - combined with the banning of many multis - their control came to an end, and Congress was restored to legitimate hands in the month of May. The Second Japan-South Korea War would end on May 25th with success in defending against the Japanese invasion, and the next day, the Osterreich Independence Party was finally remade, emerging from exile on May 26th, 2010. On May 29th, Rangeley announced that after personal reflection, he would not seek re-election.[5]

Return

Thomas765 was the fourth President of Austria from the OIP.

With the OIP officially remade, Travis James would assume the Party President position for an unprecedented 6th time in June after Rangeley stepped down from this position. The party would not play a major role in the June Country President elections, backing Fragreg over Kaiser Alex due to his opposition to imperialism. Travis James would not run for Party President on June 15th, instead stepping aside for Thomas765.

Again the OIP would not play a major role in the July Presidential elections, and it backed Penegrin in the race, the eventual winner. The party would have one of its largest congressional victories in the July elections under Thomas765's lead, with 10 seats secured. He would follow this up by running for Country President in the month of August. There were no challengers, and for the first time in many months, a candidate won a unanimous victory in a presidential race.

The rebuilding process in Austria continued during August, with Austrian deployments made abroad. But scammers struck Austria on August 9th, when Thomas was tricked into loaning gold to someone who had hacked into the Hungarian president's account on IRC. Issuing a public apology for the error, many were willing to forgive him for the oversight.[6] Meanwhile, Travis James was elected to the Party Presidency again, now serving a 7th term.

Italian Invasion

Another test for Austria came when Poland began an invasion of the Czech Republic, Austria's ally. Due to the large likelihood that Austria would be next on Poland's list of targets, and for the Czech Republic to be wiped before the congressional elections, Thomas approved a land-swap deal with Hungary to block Poland's advance. The move was a success, and Poland was halted from advancing. But in conjunction with the planned attack, Italy invaded Austria to the south, beginning the Italy-Austria War.

However, the Austrian government managed to coordinate and rally enough domestic and allied support to win both the battle of Salzburg, and Tyrol against Italy. A truce was negotiated with Italy after Austria's non-aligned and defensive ambitions were explained. The war helped to spur activity in Austria, and despite the earlier setback, a sense of enthusiasm began to emerge about the month ahead. Nonetheless, Thomas765 decided not to seek re-election.

Call for Discussion, Diversity

Though not playing a major role in candidate selection for the September Presidential election, the candidacy of Kikericsy became a lightning rod for the OIP. Including only members of Kikericy's party, Adeptus Astartes, within his cabinet, members of the OIP came out in opposition to this departure from the established norm of inclusive cabinets. However, party members also expressed concern with the "ethnic complaints" made by others against the composition of the government, stating this should not be an issue.[7]

Though the government responded by adding several government members from other parties, fears continued that the government would not give issues their due consideration. This issue came to a head with the government's decision to hold a 48-hour congress vote to join Phoenix. Party members were vocally opposed both to the proposal, and the way it was carried out: suddenly, without notice, only 48 hours for congress debate, and no adjoining public referendum vote. The government's explicit support of Phoenix was considered by Italy to be a breach of the previously agreed truce, prompting the Italy-Austria War to re-ignite. By the October Presidential elections, Presidential candidate Penegrin had agreed to address some of the party's concerns, and secured support from some within the OIP, while others largely abstained from the election.

Party Presidents

Term Citizen name Avatar Notes
August 19th, 2009 - January 15th, 2010 Travis James Citizen1590919.jpg Leader in exile between
November 16th - November 23rd
January 16th, 2010 - February 15th, 2010 Rangeley Citizen152181.jpg
February 16th, 2010 - March 15th, 2010 LasTM Citizen1406280.jpg
March 16th, 2010 - June 2nd, 2010 Rangeley Citizen152181.jpg Leader in exile between
March 29th - May 26th
June 2nd, 2010 - June 15th, 2010 Travis James Citizen1590919.jpg
June 16th, 2010 - August 15th, 2010 Thomas765 Citizen2766125 v3.jpg
August 16th, 2010 - September 15th, 2010 Travis James Citizen1590919.jpg
September 16th, 2010 - October 15th, 2010 Eldres Citizen2290225.jpg
October 16th, 2010 - November 8th, 2010 Travis James Citizen1590919.jpg
November 8th, 2010 - November 15th, 2010 stoneman Citizen1436159.jpg
November 16th, 2010 - December 15th, 2011 Rangeley Citizen152181.jpg Leader in exile between
November 22nd - March 16th
December 16th, 2011 - February 15th, 2012 OEBernd Citizen2376933.jpg Leader in exile between
January 16th - February 15th
February 16th, 2012 - November 15th, 2012 Rangeley Citizen152181.jpg
November 16th, 2012 - January 15th, 2013 Schwrzwolf Citizen3283775.jpg
January 16th, 2013 - February 15th, 2013 Luis Grindl Citizen2844376.jpg
February 16th, 2013 - February 15th, 2014 Schwrzwolf Citizen3283775.jpg
February 16th, 2014 - May 15th, 2014 Travis James Citizen1590919.jpg
May 16th, 2014 - November 15th, 2016 Schwrzwolf Citizen3283775.jpg
November 17th, 2016 - December 16th, 2016 Charles Darvin Unknown Person.jpg
December 17th, 2016 - April 16th, 2018 Schwrzwolf Citizen3283775.jpg
April 17th, 2018 - May 16th, 2018 hippie007 Unknown Person.jpg
May 17th, 2018 - September 16th, 2020 Zlatko Bec Citizen3646973.png
September 17th, 2020 - Present Prince of Austria Citizen4607333.jpg

Quotations

 As a politician and somebody wishing to run for president you should know that opposition is the best thing for a country. A country can not grow on ideas alone, it needs opposition to pick at the ideas and work them until they are perfect. If you don't have that, you just have half-success so to speak. You are not reaching your full potential as a country. Your enemies in the country are the people who will help you take the country the highest, not your friends. 
(Oraizan, September 2009)
 The path ahead requires all of us. It requires ideas. It requires thinkers. It requires Austria as a country, not to think as one, but to work as one, in diverse ways, towards the end goal of a better country. For it is not where you live in real life, or your political party that makes you an eAustrian. It is your belief and drive to make this a better place - a good faith concern for the betterment of the country, and a willingness to do what you can to accomplish this. If you have this, you belong here. 
(Rangeley, January 2010)
 Let's be Austria, the little country that was taken advantage of, and grew up into something better. Let's take a good look at what is wrong with the world, and try to fix it - not just accept it. Let's be different. 
(Rangeley, October 2009)
 We have a history, a history that we should be proud of despite several low points, a history in which we have been very successful, a history in which we have cemented our policies and succeeded in our goals. We have an Austrian history which should never be forgotten. We will always be here in some form, working for the betterment of Austria. 
(Thomas765, June 2010)