Duxal Conclave

A Duxal Conclave was an obscured gathering of electors appointed by the Six Families to elect the new Dux. With the first one held in 1044 TT, it used to be the sole legitimate means of electing the Dux until the first national elections were held in 104 TT. The process was established during the Unification of La Rossa, and has been outlined in the Uniting Charter. Much like modern elections, conclaves used to take place once every two years, occurring on the day and night of 7-2, corresponding to the 1st of Umbre in the Rossan Calendar, and the beginning of spring on the island. In the case of a Dux's premature death, common at the time, as few would resign before their passing, an emergency conclave was held at the earliest convenience to fill the vacancy, though the regular conclave remained scheduled.

Though the number of electors varied somewhat throughout history, the longest continuous period (from 864 TT to 220 TT) saw 48 electors in attendance, with 8 appointed by each family. Originally, a vote of two-thirds was necessary to elect a Dux, as widespread consensus among the Families was taken as necessary for the Union's stability. This would quickly be whittled down into a simple majority, beginning with multiple failures to elect Domenico Buonestrotti di Buglio over objections by the Barozzo Family. As the Union had no established capital, a fact that continues to this day, Conclaves were held at various locations on the island, though usually in the palaces of the Six Families. Locations were usually set several years in advance, as to not allow incumbent Duxes to exert soft power over the process.

Historical development

The First Conclave was held in 1044 TT, shortly after the hexalateral signing of the Uniting Charter by the Six Families, which established peace, commerce and unmoving borders between the city-states following centuries of sporadic warfare and conquest on the island. The Conclave, meant as an informal, celebratory event to complete the formation of the Union, was to serve to prove that former enemies were able to sit down at the table and agree on issues of importance. The Dux, seen as a symbolic presider over the Union, was the first major stepping stone towards that goal, while being uncontroversial enough that major opposition was not expected. A secret ballot was held among 19 of the Families' representatives, with an agreement that only a candidate who reaches at least two-thirds of the votes would be able to take this office. Among the gathered were merely those who had been able to respond to the invitation, though their distribution roughly reflected the power of each Family (5 Giannones, 4 Minestricis, 4 Barozzos, 3 Miglios, 2 Buonestrottis and 1 Morelio). With only two dissenting votes, Giuseppe Giannone di Salino, who had been the main diplomatic negotiator behind the Unifying Charter, ended up being selected.

As the gathering repeated the following years, the process became more formalized (the Families were allocated electors in the same ratio as the First Conclave), though no one had sincerely attempted to challenge Giuseppe Giannone for his position. The Dux was, at the time, still only a symbol of cooperation, while the action itself was to be taken by the Families individually, who were expected to self-regulate amongst one another. The period after Giannone's death, however, was marked by uncertainty, as the old generation of peace was replaced by a newly ambitious youth. Weak attempts at compromise necessary to reach the two-thirds threshold for electing a Dux was not a matter of the position, but of more fundamental disagreements that had been bubbling for years without resolution. A failed ballot was usually followed by an hour of arguments and attempts to persuade the rest to vote for the majority's candidate, before another ballot was tried. As the ballot was secret, it became difficult to find out who the hold-outs were. The Conclave in 1012 TT notoriously took nine days to resolve, after Giovanni Giannone di Salino (the son of Giuseppe Giannone) saw backlash from a minority of Families who feared he would establish a dynasty over the island. After dozens of unusuccessful attempts to get him elected, a compromise was found in Giampaolo Alonso Morelio di Lorma, though he would be ousted merely four years later after his inability to keep the Families under control.

After the Barozzo Family of Tolia began to impose trade barriers on the Miglios of Padeno, arguments emerged over the basic nature of the agreement. Failure to elect Domenico Buonestrotti di Buglio, who took a sharp anti-Barozzo stance, ultimately led to the end of the two-thirds rule. Claiming he had been legitimately chosen at the Conclave in 1008 TT (with merely 12 votes at the end of the gathering, which the Barozzos furiously left), the Miglios, the Minestricis and the Buonestrottis imposed a sharp blockade on Tolia with the Dux as their backing, until the Barozzos gave in and surrendered their claims. Though much of the enforcement was undertaken by Families acting on their individual behalf, the incident led credence to the idea that power was vested in the Dux, who could, with widespread backing, act against the other Families when their actions went against the nature of the Unifying Charter.

The Dux would take greater explicit control over the following octades, moving from a vaguely symbolic representation of political power held by the majority, towards an actor capable of exerting true power over the island. The process for electing the Dux had its balance shifted by Urso Barozzo di Tolia, who in 865 TT proclaimed that the following Conclave would be held on more equal terms. The electoral body was expanded to 48, with an equal 8 electors being distributed among all Families. In efforts to curb the excesses of the wealthier ones, who had begun to more aggressively exert control over one another, Barozzo (whose Family, after the humiliations it had experienced under the Union, was now seen among the weaker ones) would give stronger political power to the less powerful factions on the island, aiming to help overrule the most entrenched interests. The fierce competition for dominance that had emerged between them led to little pushback when it came to attempts to defuse it, though it was not without political trouble. The Miglios had originally threatened to boycott the Conclave, which was to be seen as a repudiation of the Union as a whole. However, the expansion of the electors to 8 created internal strife among the Miglios, as previously unrepresented branches and factions of the Family had now begun vying for a chance at stronger participation in the process. In the end, the Conclave was held with full attendance, and in time the new process became more accepted as a necessity to keep the Families in balance.

Niccolò Barozzo di Tolia was another Dux from the Barozzo Family that left an impact on the Conclave, though markedly shorter-lived. In his attempts to create stronger loyalty for himself, in the face of dissenters, he would abolish the secret ballot that had become a crucial part of the Conclaves. Where previously arguments on issues could be held openly, without private persuasions being punished, Niccolò Barozzo attempted to bring out a confession of loyalty from each of the electors, implicitly stating that dissenters would be punished. Indeed, he would die in a duel by sword after one such dissenter had gained nearly enough votes to challenge him. Following his death, the rule was reverted, and never revisited.

For several centuries, the process remained unchanged, until the grand reforms of Giorgio Miglio di Padeno, who attempted to modernize the island's political machine in order to make it more adaptable to the changing times, marked by automation and mass production. Establishing a truly administrative government, complete with a national bureaucracy to coordinate conditions between city-provinces, the Duxal Conclave also saw a change in its process, expanding the body in 220 TT to 96 people, equal between the Families. In addition, each Family was, during the gathering, to elect a single man among their representatives, who would be able to serve as the Dux's Advisors, to carry forward information from their home city-provinces and give him advice on how to proceed with changes to maximize welfare of the island.

Modern elections

The Conclave would be abolished under the rule of Michelangelo Giannone di Salino, elected in 106 TT in order to resolve the national crisis that had began from pro-democratic demands from the populace. Abolishing the archaic system of rule, the Conclave would instead be replaced by a nation-wide ballot among all men possessing property, in order to bring back legitimacy to the system and to reduce the threat of further protests, which could be resolved at the elections. Advisors would be empowered to be able to veto the Dux, though they too would be elected, at a city-provincial level. Eventually, suffrage would be expanded universally.

Current elections carry on a degree of continuity with the Conclave system, taking place via secret ballot and accepting the rule of majority. The Dux holds on to most powers that had been granted to him during the old system, only being restrained by Advisors. However, the dissolution of the formal Familial system that once ruled Rossan politics resulted in changes to the balance of power, as rather than being held equally, the most populous city-provinces proportionally hold the greatest portion of the vote. Smaller city-provinces, on the other hand, wield disproportionate power in the Advisory Council.

Political advocacy has pushed in both directions, aiming to either abolish the Advisory Council as it exists, and replace it with a more proportional body, or to create a body of electors that would be equally distributed between city-provinces, giving them the same power regardless of population. The system, as it exists, is currently prone to both gridlock or unrestrained Duxal power, often switching between the two at each election. Some political analysts have stated that any such reform, rather than resolving the issues, would only exacerbate some of them, either empowering populists or creating less responsive, less accountable, and less democratic governments.