The Fall of JeskiaWeathers: A Timeline

If the fall of JeskiaWeathers could be summed up in five words, it would be this: slow, dramatic, shocking, painful and brutal.

The woman who entered into office in a landslide in December 2022 leaves the Presidency defeated and humiliated. Until recently considered by some a more stable and calmer alternative to Brandin, her presidency is likely to be remembered as the worst in history.

What exactly happened to her Presidency? Was the astonishing manner in which her Presidency collapsed, in a way akin to a tall building pounded by explosions crumbling after hours of fire, inevitable? Was it a culmination of a long process that's not merely a month old, or two months old, but many more months old?

Jeskia became the Social Democratic Party's leader in early November after Brandin was essentially forced out behind the curtain. The party had enough; Brandin was offering no new energy, no fresh ideas, nothing for the SDP, and it was time for him to go.

He was removed in a rush. The SDP was looking to get on with it as quickly as possible, as well as pass necessary reforms that would return some life to the dying old party, which had lost the appearance of stability, strength and modernity that it had back in 2020, under the Bold Ideas, Real Change platform.

Jeskia at the time, however, was only getting small warning signs of the minefield that she was sleepwalking straight into.

After several embarrassing defeats to the SDP, including their exploitation of his goodwill in offering a by-election (in which Penstubal was elected) as well as the defection of Vincent_Wolff from the Civic Unity Party, MikeBodwin decided to use his trump card, perhaps knowing that this is the move that could drive a long-lasting wedge into the ranks of the SDP.

That trump card, of course, is his nuclear deterrent act.

It was the perfect idea to get retribution against the SDP for the way in which they had behaved. He most definitely knew that Vincent_Wolff was staunchly for nuclear weapons, that Penstubal was staunchly against, and that the rest of the party leaned in different ways. MikeBodwin then proved he was a savvy political genius by making a massive gamble in holding a referendum - and it paid off.

It was already becoming clear for certain Social Democrats that it was going to be a massive issue. Nobody, however, had an idea just how much of an issue it would become, and how long it would last.

Fast forward to December 2022. Jeskia is elected President. Some within the SDP are expressing a cautious optimism that change could come, activity could be restored, the population could rise and major infrastructure projects and pieces of legislation could be completed.

However, her presidency immediately ran into massive setbacks.

The nuclear issue was rearing its ugly head. The SDP had no idea what to do about it; the party was incredibly divided. Arguments and debates took place primarily in Parliament but also outside it. Privately, within the SDP, people were unsure what to do about the nuclear issue. Brandin advocated keeping nuclear weapons and called them common sense; Vercetti (GeorgeChambers) joined in opposition to nuclear weapons.

Disaster struck for the Jeskia presidency exactly two weeks and one day into her presidency. On 8 January, she made the abrupt and rushed decision to wage war against Hylix, claiming that there were threats coming from their side that had to be dealt with. MikeBodwin, who opposed the war, exposed a private conversation which he had with her.

The private conversation revealed that the President had made up the cause for war, with the President saying "fuck it, we need the drama; let's do hylix, let's act like they doing shady shit". The President's behaviour outraged many in Demarcia, including Examed, who called her a "terrorist", and also outraged Hylix, which took the threats very seriously.

Desperate attempts were made by people like Penstubal to explain her behaviour, stating that her intentions were actually not bad; however, MikeBodwin nonetheless teamed up with Vincent_Wolff, a member of the President's own party, to propose her impeachment.

The drama evolved and evolved. Examed, despite calling the President a terrorist, ended up joining the party, primarily due to the party assuring Examed that they would be fighting to abolish Demarcia's nuclear deterrent. Furthermore, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and quickly negotiated with Hylix a solution to end the conflict and restore friendly relations.

Despite the success in dealing with Hylix, MikeBodwin and Vincent_Wolff refused to yield from demanding Jeskia's impeachment. It became clear that the last full week of January would be the most crucial one.

Jeskia's presidency became incredibly destabilized, seemingly beyond repair. No amount of behind-the-doors talks with Vincent_Wolff could change her support for impeachment. Privately, Jeskia and Penstubal agreed that it was time for a snap election; they did this believing that Jeskia could win a brand new and clear mandate to govern.

Instead, Vincent_Wolff blocked efforts to hold a snap election. Two votes to end debate on the early election act took place; both failed due to Vincent_Wolff's obstruction. She refused to back it because she believed the President should face personal responsibility for her actions.

In addition to facing troubles in Parliament, she was now facing troubles in the form of a party leadership contest. NathanielArcher (now MikeHawk) launched a successful challenge for the party leadership, triggering a battle for the helm of the SDP.

28 January was D-Day. It was the day when either Jeskia was going to succeed in passing through her early election act, potentially making it easier for her to salvage her presidency, or she was going to be utterly defeated and be forced to reconsider staying President.

Jeskia and Penstubal already pondered it for days prior; it became clear to both of them that the situation is untenable and that her presidency has no future if the early election act is defeated. Jeskia had already mulled resigning, but was told by Penstubal not to and to continue fighting, give it another shot, and hopefully success ensues.

Success didn't ensue. Jeskia was beaten and, within an hour, resigned.

One of the most divisive, chaos-ridden presidencies in the country's history has come to an end. What does this mean for the future of Demarcia? Are troubles only yet going to begin for the Social Democratic Party? What would a NathanielArcher (MikeHawk) leadership mean for the party - and possibly the country?

The SDP is more pessimistic about its future than ever before. Penstubal, despite still being in fighting spirit, also feels angry, broken, defeated. It remains to be seen what happens now.

Lake Mapper,

Demarcian Inquirer.