Giulio Falcone

Giulio Falcone
Dux of La Rossa
In office 12-2 5 PC – 7-2 15 PC
Preceded by	Mario Buonestrotti di Buglio
Succeeded by	Alessandra DeGaio
Personal details
Born	11-7 46 TT Tolia
Died	X-6 24 PC Tolia
Nationality	Rossan
Parent(s)	Mario Falcone (father) Lucia Falcone (mother)
Education	University of Tolia Faculty of Engineering

Giulio Falcone (11-7 46 TT – 16-2 22 PC) was a Dux of La Rossa, reigning during a period from 5 PC to 15 PC. Propelled to power during the revolutionary period of La Denunzia, he would be the first Dux to not hail from the aristocratic Six Families, and the only to never be elected, as no elections were held until his resignation in 15 PC. He oversaw the dismantling of the power of the Families and the nationalization of their industries, and increased state control in the late years of the Silver Crisis. The Second Calming would sweep the island during his rule in 9 PC, however, internal chaos prompted the decision not to contact the rest of the archipelago, leading to a period of radio silence that lasted until the reign of Leo Minestrici.

Early Life

Born to a moderately affluent family in the city-province of Tolia, Giulio Falcone had a relatively fortunate childhood, one which would most others living on the island would envy. Raised by a stay-at-home mother, and son to a well-paid accountant, working with the Barozzo Family, among others, Falcone's youth was quite standard for a Rossan middle-class family. Although some luxuries certainly remained unattainable, it was no doubt a fortunate upbringing. Graduating from school, he would enroll at the University of Tolia, aiming for a degree in civil engineering.

During his college studies, Falcone would stumble upon a copy of La Libertà, a banned political manifesto from the time of the Spirit Revolution, a text he would later state would change him for life. Spending the following years as an engineer, eventually starting a small construction company in Tolia, he would spend his time in secret collecting similar texts. Radicalized by the pamphlet, his opinions throughout his adult life would continue being defined by its ideas, as he would curse the injustice that made him a "have" in the face of thousands of "have-nots".

La Denunzia

The Silver Crisis of 1 PC would cause societal upheaval like no other in the island's history. As the island's silver deposits dried up, the nation's economy ground to a halt. As new currency could no longer be printed (the argotto being tied to the price of silver at the time), a period of sudden deflation hit the island. A time of sharp austerity hit the nation, as the ruler at the time, Dux Mario Buonestrotti di Buglio, scrambled to straighten the course of the nation. Poverty rose to the highest levels in recorded history, standing at around 60%. Barely scraping by re-election in 3 PC, discontent with his rule continued to rise, prompting many Rossans across the island to organize marches to the streets. Falcone, for years having held himself to be against the Dux's aristocratic rule, took a decision to pay his workers a full salary out of his own savings for participating in the marches.

By the election of 5 PC, Falcone's name grew in fame, and soon became recognizable across the island. Outspoken and espousing popular rhetoric, he would spend the better part of two years throwing sharp attacks against the Dux. Arrested briefly in 4 PC, he would be released by the Dux's order as discontent threatened to turn into violence. Taken to be the representative of the movement as a whole by popular will, he would register his candidacy for Dux, with a gigantic base of support backing him. Though most non-aristocratic candidates were handily defeated over the country's past since the Spirit Revolution, when such candidacy became legal, Giulio Falcone is considered to be the first one to have truly threatened the Families' rule over the island. Even though only a portion of the population was able to vote, restricted to men in possession of property, the firebrand rhetoric placed a lasting impact on even those parts of the population, as the economic malaise threatened to take away that right for many.

Protests quelled on election day, as the nation sat by the radio awaiting for any update in vote count. High uncertainty prevailed throughout most of the broadcast, which continued into the night before a final figure was reached. Capturing 52.3% of the votes, Dux Mario Buonestrotti once again barely made it through re-election. Before the radio program officially finished, hundreds of people were already marching on the streets of the six cities. Violence and clashes with the police would erupt, as movements across the nation rose up against the local aristocrats. Nowhere would such a movement be as pronounced as in Tolia, Falcone's home, and the city most strongly hit by the crisis. Although the coronation of the old Dux would proceed according to schedule, it was done behind close doors within the Palace in Buglio, surrounded by thousands of protesters banging at the door. Continued pressure over the following days, during which the Dux remained a prisoner of his own home, finally resulted in a resignation in disgrace. The overjoyed masses are told to have carried Giulio Falcone on his back into the Palace in Tolia, without much opposition from the local police, where a swift coronation was held, and a new ruler was proclaimed over La Rossa.

Dux

Hurled into power by popular sentiment, Dux Falcone did not waste much time waiting to spring into action. Taking to the popular leaders of the movement in each of the city-provinces, he appointed five of them to the nation's Advisory Council. Immediately implementing a sharp progressive taxation rate over the citizens of the nation, the Dux sought to carry over the load of the crisis to those who least felt it, the island's thousand-year aristocracy. Before the end of the year, the Families' near total oligopolies were nationalized and placed under government control. Although many within the Families opposed the new ruler, and refused to comply by his decrees, throwing away his claims on the throne as illegitimate, a great number of them soon found themselves arrested on charges of corruption. Seizing the reins over the absolute power of the state, and calling for unity with his soaring popularity, the Dux effectively halted rebellious Families from seceding from the nation.

Although tradition dictated elections to be held at the start of 7 PC, the Dux argued against it, claiming that the corruption inherent in the system had not yet been purged, and that the ruling aristocrats of the past could compromise the nation's movement towards a more just society. With his approval still high amongst the wider nation (including many of those who never possessed the right to vote in the first place), being held up by his populist reforms, the elections of 7 PC were skipped, the first such in the history of the nation. Another elections, set to be held in 9 PC, were cancelled following the chaos of the Second Calming, as the seas around the nation cleared. Due to the disorganization present in the nation at such a chaotic time, the Dux opted not to attempt to contact the wider world, and decided to fully commit to the internal affairs of the island.

However, even as the nation's inner turmoil calmed, the Dux seemed reluctant to consider giving up power. With the Families mostly defanged, their wealth taken and distributed through welfare, with living standards beginning to grow for a vast part of the lower classes, the Dux's hold onto power had outstayed its necessity. His own Advisor from Salino, and the nation's future ruler, Alessandra DeGaio, once an avid supporter of his, would become one of the Dux's harshest critics in his later years. Claiming that his continued rule placed the very ideals he claimed to uphold into jeopardy, as no longer dissident Families, but legitimate opposition to his rule began being jailed in the same way as the aristocracy had done before him, she remained one of the few voices Dux Falcone could not bring himself to silence. In late 14 PC, the Dux announced his resignation, and proclaimed that the following election would be the biggest step towards achieving the goals that La Libertà set a hundred years ago - a true democracy, with prosperity for all. In a nationwide vote, accessible to all, the first to allow for universal suffrage, Alessandra DeGaio would succeed him as Ducissa.

Later Life and Death

After his resignation, former Dux Falcone retreated from the city of Tolia, choosing instead to spend the rest of his life in the countryside, high up in the mountains of Montesuvia. Allegedly cursing himself for falling down the same pitfalls he had spent his entire life criticizing the Families for, he would not make any public appearances in the years that followed. According to her words, the Ducissa was the only one whom he allowed to regularly visit, asking her once to vow not to repeat the mistakes he has. He died on X-6 24 PC from coronary failure, and was only found days later, when a shipment of groceries arrived at his door. As the body only arrived in the mortuary several days after the discovery, an exact time of death could not be placed.