First Minister Tamvere peered out of the tinted windows of her SAV Kantaja. The vehicle was custom made to carry the First Minister. Fitted with bulletproof glass, tinted windows, and special steel construction, the state vehicle was prepared for anything. Tamvere watched as first the forest from the hills surrounding Farsund passed by and then the small house and shops once they reached the city's outskirts. It wasn’t long before she would arrive at the steps of the Päätöstalo where the Chamber of Representatives convened.
The First Minister had everything planned out: Eskola, the Greens leader, would become Deputy FM, The VDU would hold nine cabinet positions, while the Greens and Unionin would divide the remaining seven. Three seats, including Minister of the Environment, would go to Eskola, and four would go to Tapio. The finer details would be hashed out once the Chamber reelected Tamvere. This plan was preliminary and designed to get Tapio on her side once more.
Once the motorcade reached the steps of the Päätöstalo, it was flanked by journalists wondering what the late meeting was about. Tamvere’s protection detail quickly secured the area. She took one last sip of water then gave the signal she was ready. The driver exited the vehicle and opened the door for Tamvere. Tamvere stepped out and adjusted her winter jacket. The weather was brutal in early January, and the sun had already set. The journalists' questions bombarded Tamvere as she strode up the stairs into the huge building.
“Madam First Minister! What’s your opinion on the KYP joining with the KPP?”
“First Minister! Is it true you’re seeking a deal with both the Greens and Unionin?”
“What will you do if you aren’t reelected?”
Tamvere ignored the reporters; their time would come after the election in the Chamber. She entered the building bypassing the security checkpoint set up at the entrance. Krista and her security detail followed her closely. She was now in one of the most secure buildings in the country. The walls of Päätöstalo were where some of the most important moments in Storsnia’s history took place. The dictator Veli Löppönen proclaimed himself “Johtaja” after the Kariseminen more than a hundred years earlier in the Chamber Room. Päätöstalo was also the site where the Declaration of the United Republic was signed and is housed. Tamvere briskly walked through the halls passing offices of representatives new and old on her way to one of the unremarkable meeting rooms.
“Krista, you’re gonna stay out here. You know how these things are.” Tamvere turned towards Krista.
“Yeah, no problem. I’ll wait here and keep the reporters at bay until you’re finished.” Krista replied.
“Thanks, I appreciate it.” Tamvere then turned to enter the room.
Inside the mundane meeting room was a long mahogany table with brown leather chairs forming a circle around it. Normally, this room might be used for a committee meeting or for a group of representatives to sit down and negotiate legislation together. But today, the government’s next five years would be discussed.
Inside, Talvikki Eskola was already waiting for the other party leaders to arrive. The young but intelligent representative sat at one of the ends of the table with a scratchpad. She was engrossed in writing something down on the notepad when Tamvere entered. When she heard the door open and recognized the familiar face, she shot up and greeted the First Minister.
“Madam First Minister, it’s a pleasure to meet you in person finally.” Eskola was almost giddy at meeting the First Minister.
“It’s nice to meet you too, Ms. Eskola. I’m sure you’re ready to get started with this meeting.”
“Absolutely, we’re just waiting on the old man, right?” Eskola said, letting out a slight chuckle.
“Ha, the old man. I would’ve liked to hash this out over the phone, but he doesn’t work that way.”
Just as the two women discussed the “Old Man,” Villiam Tapio strode in with an aura of confidence despite his party’s recent election failure.
Tapio quickly took a seat at the other end of the table before noticing his two counterparts were already present.
“Oh, hello, Madam First Minister and Ms. Eskola. I didn’t notice you were already here.”
“No worries, Mr. Tapio. The First Minister and I were just discussing the news. Have you seen it?”The two women stood at the opposite end of the table while Tapio got settled in.
“Yes, I have. Something about the Skolts joining up with the KPP.” Tapio continued to shuffle through papers.
“Yes, Mr. Tapio.” Tamvere interrupted in her most commanding voice, causing Tapio to focus his attention on her. Tamvere was preparing to rip into Tapio like a fox with a rotting corpse. “The Skolts
have joined up with the KPP for the first time. This puts them just 43 votes away from electing Koponen. With that being said, we are here to make a deal. I respect Kopponen and his family, but he cannot be allowed to lead this country now.” By this time, both representatives were sitting at opposite ends of the table while Tamvere refused to sit. She stood, commanding the attention of the two.
“Now I’ve already made a deal with Ms. Eskola.” Tamvere glanced at the Greens leader sitting attentively. “We just need to reach a deal with you.” Tamvere looked back at Tapio.
“Well, I’m no stranger to deal-making. Why don’t we start with cabinet positions? Of course, my party would like to hold on the Deputy’s seat and-”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Tapio, but that can’t happen. Eskola will be the new deputy. However, we are prepared to give you four cabinet positions of your choosing.”
“That’s unacceptable. You can’t expect my party to work with you if you don’t put us in some position of authority.” Tapio shouted, standing up from his chair. Tapio was appalled that Tamvere refused to give up Deputy FM.
“Mr. Tapio. Your party is dying and is in no position to make outrageous demands. Unionin is now the fourth largest party behind the Greens.” Tamvere gestured to Eskola, who peaked a smile at her party’s newfound success. “Unionin hasn’t had an FM since the Lahti administration in the 1960s. It’s only a matter of time before your party will be as small as a flea on the back of a reindeer.”
Tapio was visibly upset at Tamvere’s description of Unionin. But before he could respond, shouting could be heard outside the door to the meeting room. The shouting grew louder as the crowd neared the door before it flung open. In the door frame stood a group of Unionin representatives numbering ten or more. The representative in front was an older woman with white hair and black-rimmed glasses. She wore a bright red, almost pink pantsuit and held a piece of paper in her hands.
“Excuse me, Madam First Minister, but we have urgent business with Mr. Tapio.” The woman said as she walked further into the room. She was flanked by the other representatives accompanying her, all representatives from Unionin.
“Okay.” Tamvere replied, confused.
“Thank you.” The woman said, nodding her head. “Mr. Tapio. We” The woman gestured to the group of assembled representatives. “Learned that you were in a meeting with First Minister Tamvere over aligning the party with her faction for the next five years. I was willing to discuss this with you, however, after hearing that the greens were here too.” The woman looked over at Eskola, who was sitting quietly. “We’ve decided to break with the party and align ourselves with the KPP.” The woman then handed the piece of paper to Tapio before leaving the room with her followers.
For a brief moment, the three party leaders were in silent shock. Nobody expected the party of unity to be prone to infighting. The paper Tapio now held in his hand listed several Unionin representatives who all agreed to enter a voting block with the conservative and Skolt parties.
“Tapio, what the hell was that.” Tamvere was the first to break the silence.
“I-I don’t know.” Tapio was speechless. His party was falling apart before his eyes, and he was finally coming to terms with its demise. His eyes began to water as his hard work holding the party together fell apart.
Tamvere glanced over at Eskola before turning back to Tapio. “Villiam. Is there any way you can get what’s left of Unionin to vote with us?”
Tapio looked up at Tamvere and solemnly said, “I-I-I suppose I can try.”
“Thank you, Villiam.”
Tapio then got up and shuffled his way to the door. He was visibly distraught and a shadow of the man that waltzed into the meeting room earlier.
Tamvere turned to Eskola. “Thank you for meeting with us, Talvikki. As we agreed, you will become the Deputy FM if I’m elected. We’ll work out the cabinet positions later.”
Tamvere appeared cool and collected, but on the inside, she was worried about the coming vote.
Eskola stood up. “No, thank you, Madam First Minister.” Eskola then began to walk towards the door.
“Oh Talvikki.” Eskola turned back towards Tamvere. “Please call me Kállá”
***
Several days later...
Representatives from all across the country were filling in the Chamber Room. This was the one place where Storsnians from the cities in the west got together with those in the rural east. Skolt representatives fraternized with representatives from the isolated towns in the frozen north.
Marja could see it all from her seat in the front of the room. She occupied the Speaker’s chair for the first time in her political career, and it felt good. For years she had been seated off to the side of the chamber. Here Marja could see all of the other representatives. Among them, she saw some familiar faces and could almost see the lines drawn between the parties and cantons. Aside from the representatives, Marja had a grand view of the room itself.
The chamber was recently renovated after its long history. Along the sides and back of the room stood 22 ornate columns, each representing one canton. On each column was a bronze emblem of the canton’s seal. The walls were painted a deep grey contrasting the wooden columns. Behind the speaker's seat was a large Storsnian flag hanging on the wall vertically. The ceiling was marked by a large skylight over the front of the room to let in natural light.
Today was perhaps one of the most important days for Storsnia. The assembled representatives would elect the First Minister for the next five years. This was the only session that was televised on national television and was quite the spectral. The seating gallery above the representatives was lined with cameras from various news networks.
The time to vote was fast approaching, and many of the representatives started to take their seats. Some freshmen representatives bumbled around following their mentor to their seats while the old pros knew right where to go. The clock had struck twelve o’clock, and all the representatives were present ready to cast their vote. Marja held the gavel in her hand and slammed the instrument down three times, officially starting the session.
“I hereby call this voting session of the Chamber of Representatives to order.” Marja scanned the room for those last few representatives to find their seats. “We will proceed with roll call” One by one, the deputy speaker called the names of each representative. Once finished, he produced the list to the Marja, who glanced over it.
“Wow, everyone is here. That’s a first,” Marja lightheartedly said, trying to add some humor to the tedious procedure. “First order of business is electing a First Minister. Let’s begin with nominations” Marja looked up from her notes with a smile. Before a First Minister was elected, they had to be nominated by one of their peers in the Chamber. Typically, this duty fell to the deputy leader of a party.
“Madam Speaker,” A representative shouted from the front row as they stood up from their chair.
“The Chamber recognizes the gentleman from Virmajärvi.” Marja piped back
The representative walked towards the assembled podium in the front of the room. “I wish to nominate Representative Henri Koponen of Nuokka for First Minister” There were some grumblings from the right side of the room as the man spoke.
Marja nodded and said, “ Thank you, Mr. Heino'' Just as the man sat down, another representative from the opposite side of the aisle shot up.
“For what does the Lady from South Remeli rise.”
“A nomination Madam Speaker,” She said, walking towards the same podium.
Marja nodded.
“ I would like to nominate Representative Kállá Tamvere of Outer Ensrup for First Minister.” All eyes turned to the front of the room where Tamvere sat. The representative turned and began to walk back to her seat.
“Thank you, Mrs. Kanerva.” Marja scanned the room and said, “Are there any other nominations?”
No representative spoke or stood. Marja then moved on to the next portion of the vote.
“The nominees for First Minister are Representative Henri Koponen of Nuokka and Representative Kállá Tamvere of Outer Ensrup.” As Marja announced the nominees, a team was setting up the voting processes.
This would be the first time the vote for First Minister would be conducted electronically. Before, each representative would write the name of the nominees they were voting for on a piece of paper and put it in a box in the front of the room. This time each representative would use the monitor installed at their desk to vote.
Marja looked over at the man conducting the voting to ensure everything was ready. The man nodded and gave a thumbs up.
“The vote for First Minister will now begin,” Marja said with a knock of the gavel. Almost immediately, the room erupted with conversation as party whips ensured everyone was voting the way they should. The representatives have ten minutes to vote but rarely used the whole time. Marja looked around the room at all the representatives after casting her vote. The future of Storsnia was being decided, and every representative knew this. Eventually, more and more votes were being cast. Finally, all votes were accounted for, and everyone was silent.
“Voting has concluded,” Marja said with another use of the gavel. “The votes will now be tallied.”
The screen to the left of Marja lit up with three columns. Across the top, they read “Henri Koponen, Kállá Tamvere and Abstain ''. Then Marja was handed an envelope that held the results of the vote. She was going to be the first person to learn who won. She had to remember to be as impartial as possible and show no reaction to the results. Marja carefully opened the envelope and looked over the piece of paper. The whole nation waited with bated breath for Marja to read the results.
“Abstainations, 2.”
“Henri Koponen, 183
Kállá Tamvere, 186”
Suddenly the room erupted with applause. Tamvere stood from her seat in the front of the room with a big smile on her face. She had made it to the finish line but only just. 186 votes gave her an exact majority in the Chamber, narrowly winning.
Tamvere walked down to the front of the chamber, where she would assume the oath of office. Marja joined Tamvere at the front of the room where the podium stood moments ago.
“Congratulations, Madam First Minister. Now, If you’ll raise your right hand and repeat after me.” Marja said as Tamvere followed. “I, Kállá Tamvere, affirm that in my office as First Minister of the United Republic of Storsnia will protect and defend the people of Storsnia, and dutifully and conscientiously observe the Constitution and the laws of Storsnia.” Tamvere then shook Marja’s hand before returning to her seat.
Tamvere thought about her victory at her seat. She was not entirely sure she would be reelected today with everything that happened the past few months. However, Tamvere had changed from the woman she was when she was first elected. She had become a true politician skilled in backroom deals and national leadership. If her father were still alive, he would surely be proud. She made a mental note to visit his grave with her mother when this was over. Tamvere had made it to the end of the long cold road to victory and hoped she could steer the nation down the path of prosperity.