2020 Swedish Crisis

The **2020 Swedish Crisis** was a series of events from 1 January to 7 February 2020 as a result of the total destruction of the government caused by the 2020 Stockholm bombings.

Without a government nor a royal family, a constitutional crisis occured, and the county governors informally convened as the Great Council to vote upon a new government. After a long debate on who should be king, it was revealed that Alva Odenberg - Governor of Sodermanland and Acting Prime Minister - was at least partially responsible to the bombings and was arrested. Supreme Commander Fredrik Holgersson took command of the country as "Chancellor" and promptly established the Liten-Riksdag, thus bringing at least some order into the country.

## The Great Council and First Succession Crisis

The bombings had left no survivors, meaning that there was neither a Riksdag nor Royal Family, prompting a constitutional crisis. In an immediate response, a "Great Council" comprised of all the county heads was convened in Drottningholm Palace, with Governor of Södermanland Alva Odenberg being sworn in as Acting Prime Minister. Governors from far-away counties reportedly joined the council through Skype. After a long discussion, it was agreed upon that the Constitution would still hold and that a new Prime Minister and Riksdag would be elected, but the question of the new monarch was still open.

The next day, the Great Council voted 15 - 6 in favor of forgoing a Regent and having an Elective Monarchy, meaning that a new king would have to be elected by the Riksdag (or in this case the GC) from a pool of all eligible royal families. Odenberg announced the following day that a majority of the governors (specifically, 12 out of the 21 supported Prince Wilhelm of the German Empire, stating that "His great academic skills will go well in administrating the kingdom, and his personality will show the true face of the nation." Later that same day, Governor of Uppsala Edgar Nilsson said that he and the other 8 governors that did not support Prince Wilhelm had chosen John, Prince of South St. Maarten by saying that "Academic abilities aren't enough to warrant him as a choice for the nation; you need someone who actually knows how to rule." This prompted the start of the succession crisis.

The situation was actually stable and not violent, though a standoff occured on the 7th when the German military spotted 4 Maartenian aircraft carriers off the coast of Newfoundland, with no news of any military exercise. While the Swedish military brushed this off as a simple naval patrol,
the nation of China took a proactive stance and rallied their military in protection of Sweden. The Maartenian government later sent out a much larger fleet (5 battleships, 2 submarines and 5,000 soldiers) on the 20th to aid Prince John's claim on the throne, but by then it was too late (see below).

On the 17th, with Odenberg's (along with Tommy Edgren's) arrest for treason, the Great Council was suspended, and on the 21st Prince John conceded defeat and revoked his claim to the throne, thus ending the first chapter of the crisis. Despite this, the country was still in turmoil, and the situation would only be aggravated.

## Holgersson's Revolution and Second Succession Crisis

*Main article: Holgersson's Revolution*
On 22 January 2020, Christopher II - now the undisputed King of Sweden - was declared King of Germany by Lieutenant General Matthaus Windischmann, leader of Messerschmidt's Revolution. This was quickly found out to be a constitutional violation - specifically, it violated the Act of Succession, which stipulates that the King of Sweden must not hold titles elsewhere. Protests rose up in Stockholm demanding that Christopher II either abdicate as King of Sweden or King of Germany.

Two days later, Supreme Commander Fredrik Holgersson declared himself Chancellor of Sweden, which he described as a "transitional leadership" as the Riksdag is elected and the Prime Minister chosen. While many have praised their efforts, the protesters from before suspected that the move was a coup d'etat and have furthered their efforts, even threatening to storm Drottningholm Palace. Holgersson initially reacted by police force, and he was able to drive them far from the palace, but eventually he decided to form the Liten-Riksdag on 1 February to stay true to his promise of restoring the Riksdag.

The Liten-Riksdag itself, however, caused problems. Melina Hagstrom - the Chairwoman of the Swedish Social Democratic Party - supported Holgersson's conservative reforms (such as the death penalty), which was contrary to her own party's ideology. The already tenuous balance between the SSDP, the Centre Party, the Christian Democrats, and the Direct Party (the last one being formed by protesters who initially joined the SSDP but was ejected by Hagstrom) was upset, and many MPs switched sides and formed their own groups.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 3 January 2020 edition of the Konungariket Herald
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 24 January 2020 edition of the Konungariket Herald
3. ↑ 4 January 2020 edition of the Konungariket Herald
4. ↑ "News LIVE from RNN-Reich News Network (July 11th 2019)" from Germany Third Reich
5. ↑ "The Sverigesriket Crisis of Succession" by Shongbao
6. ↑ 13 January 2020 edition of the Konungariket Herald
7. ↑ "News - Prince John Of South St Maarten" by South St Maarten
8. ↑ 22 January 2020 edition of the Konungariket Herald
9. ↑ 25 January 2020 edition of the Konungariket Herald
10. ↑ 26 January 2020 edition of the Konungariket Herald