Fourth Snap Election finally ends in coalition

In a bizarre twist of events, several minority parties on both the far left and right came together to announce the formation of the Unity Coalition, nominating Dusan Semenov, head of the Communist Baltic Alliance, to the position of speaker of the parliament, and by effect, president pro-tempore until presidential elections determine a conclusive result.

Many celebrated the announcement on the streets after a tumultuous several months filled with election after election. Despite voter fatigue, speculations were defied when voter turnout remained over 95% for all elections. Several independent candidates were able to make a debut to the parliament, taking up fifty eight of the seven hundred and seventy seven seats.

The results defied many analysts' predictions, with the Communist Baltic Alliance achieving one hundred and twelve seats, compared with the projected thirty two expected, eighty seats more. Other members of the Unity Coalition include the centre left Baltic Progress Party, achieving one hundred and seven votes, the right wing Baltic Freedom Party with one hundred and twelve votes and the far right Nationalist People's Party with twenty six. The coalition possesses a narrow margin of twenty three votes. Excluded from the front were the Syndicalist Union for Baltic People with one hundred and seven votes, the Socialists for the Magical Baltic Union with one hundred and five votes and the Front for Baltic Peoples with one hundred and ninety six.

The coalition, formed in the wake of the breakdown of negotiations of the BPP with the SMB and FBP in the prior election, has baffled experts, who believed a coalition would form along ideological lines. Political pundit Alexander Makow told the magical times, "It makes no sense. The only common points the far left and right share is their hatred for the centrists. I would be amazed if they managed to form any sort of cohesive agenda."

Other experts echoed such sentiment, though coalition secretary Ludvik Angelos rebuffed these, stating, "The Unity Coalition is named for the very ideals we cherish: unity. The moderates have proven themselves not decisive enough to take action, a sentiment clearly shared by voters."

Just published an hour ago was the party's fifteen points, which read as follows:

Crack down on corruption within the state, including introducing a requirement for all assets for any member of government to be held in a blind trust for the duration of their service, and for immediate family members to submit an audit of all assets, the monitoring for anomalous activity in the financial accounts of members of government and their immediate family and a requirement for all members of government to sign a magical contract ensuring loyalty to the state and adherence to the law;

Increase infrastructure spending by 15 million galleons over the next 3 years, including 3 million galleons to the construction of state housing;

Enhance regulatory frameworks and introduce standardisation measures nationwide;

Create a 3 million galleon SME loan fund to inject liquidity into the system;

Increase regulation of banks and ensure a minimum reserve ratio of twenty percent is introduced, over the current 8%;

Replace the healthcare subsidies program with universal free healthcare;

Introduce a universal basic income of 30 galleons a year per individual;

Establish a new department on managing internal interspecies relations;

Increase funding towards the ministry of security by 1 million galleons over the next seven years to facilitate an expansion of the guardian force from 1750 to 3000 active guardians and establish a reserve force of 5000;

Launch an emergency review of all public facilities for defects, and a full investigation into the awarding of construction contracts;

Commit 22 million galleons over the next five years to rehabilitate slums in the peripheries of city centres;

Increase the corporation tax from a flat 8% tax rate to a progressive scale ranging from 5% to 47%, and the individual income tax rate from a flat 8% tax rate to a progressive scale ranging from 0% to 44%;

Require that half of board members on publicly traded companies be employee elected representatives;

Illegalise the practice of stock buybacks by companies ;

Disband all worker unions within the state.

While most of the policies are somewhat expected, many have speculated on whether the fifteenth point has any linkage to the exclusion of the syndicalists from the coalition. Leader of the syndicalists, chairman Tom Mann, declared, "This is a clear attack on the rights of workers, and we will respond with strikes until such a time when our rights are, guaranteed under the original constitution, upheld without exception. That the CBA has betrayed the workers in the name of power proves definitively the superiority of syndicalism to communism."

Already, guardians have been deployed to monitor the situation as striking workers have marched in solidarity across the nation, including at the Marigrad floo production facility. The stock market tumbled a staggering 23%, with trade being frozen by the finance ministry as an emergency open market operation is being planned.

The new coalition will face the problems of skyrocketing unemployment, increasing bad debt, increased crime and soaring inflation in addition to strikes. Many are doubtful about the ability of the Unity Coalition to face down such a threat, though only time will tell.

"You've been busy," Sarah chuckled as she set the paper down. "Getting the left and the right to unite, you have to tell me how you do it."

"It's about finding commonalities. You'd be surprised how much room for agreement there is," Harry chuckled. "The coalition won't last, but it will live long enough to fulfill my purposes."

"Which is?"

"The destabilisation of the state."

"And...how is that going to happen? The plan is likely to succeed, it has you written all over it."

"That is the intention, but what after?" Harry challenged. Sarah blinked before shrugging. "The coalition breaks down, its purpose having been fulfilled, and conflict ensues. Right now, the coalition will take the burden of crushing the unions and weakening the working class enough for resentment builds, which despite all the policies will continue to happen. The wealthy will not be pleased either, depriving this coalition of allies in the future. They have four years until the next election, by which time, I will be prepared to take over. Besides, have you considered what will happen with such an accumulation of debt?"

"Collapse," Sarah breathed out. Harry nodded thoughtfully. "Unless...you wouldn't happen to be snapping up shares in businesses right now, would you?"

"As a matter of fact I am," he chuckled. "You will find that during panic, those with a clear head will often come out ahead. Soon...soon, the politicians will divide and fight, and there will be a place for a new leader to step in, to guide them."

"That's br-"

"Attention all students! We are entering lockdown! The wards are being attacked. Please gather in the Great Hall immediately!" Karkoff's gruff voice barked, magically enhanced to pass through all the corridors. All the students in the common room, roughly a dozen in all, stiffened at the same time, looking towards him for direction.

"Grab what you must and follow me," he hissed, quickly summoning several shrunken trunks and pocketing them. At Sarah's confused look, he whispered, "Grindelwald."

Understanding the implications, she quickly grabbed several important items, before following him closely, their wands out and their eyes observant. No one questioned him when he led them through the transfiguration floor rather than immediately ascending the staircases, instead taking the stairs up from between the transfiguration library and the medical wing up, passing the main library and duelling arena to head towards the stairs that led to the rear of the great hall.

As they entered, they were greeted by the sight of students nervously muttering to each other while the professors supervised from various points in the room. He gestured for them to check in with the various guild leaders, himself quickly making his way towards Karkoff.

"Highmaster," he called out smoothly, attracting the man's attention. Snapping up a privacy ward around them, he appraised, "What is the situation?"

"The wards are under attack, we believe by the dark lord, no one else possesses such power," Karkoff growled. "After so long, he has finally come to reap revenge."

"I doubt it," Harry muttered. "He has many followers in the castle...no, I believe he has come to retrieve something."

"What?" Karkoff exclaimed. "He's besieging the school to retrieve something? What could possibly be that important?"

"I...am unsure," Harry shrugged, the fib easily passing over the highmaster. "Regardless, he has sympathisers both among the professors and the students. We will be hard pressed to defend on two fronts."

"What do you propose? You always have a plan, White. Let's hear it."

"Hunker down, I do not believe any further action is necessary. I believe I know where the item he seeks resides."

"Where?"

"My common room," Harry smiled grimly, where his mark burns brightest.

"So we just cower here?"

"You are, of course, free to take the professors and attempt to apprehend him. However, given he managed to take down an ICW war mage, I very much doubt your odds, highmaster," Harry shrugged uncaringly, dispelling the ward and leaving a fuming Karkoff behind.

Seeing that the last students were trickling in, Harry discreetly disillusioned himself, sneaking out of the door. Taking a breath, he sealed the door shut behind him, and proceeded to descend down the staircases, towards his common room.

He heard the soft whisper of incantations, and prepared himself, descending the final few steps to see the form of Grindelwald staring at him expectantly.

"Ah, mister White," the man drawled. "I was hoping you'd show up. Quite the...ingenious set of wards you set up here. I must admit to being impressed."

"Taken from the dark lord, I shall enjoy the compliment very much," Harry returned, removing the disillusionment. It would serve little purpose, given Grindelwald's proficiency in charms. "What is it that you seek?"

"That which is rightfully mine," Grindelwald drawled. Harry sent forth several false memories to the front of his mind just as Grindelwald sent a subtle legilimency probe. Harry could easily cut it, but instead took the opportunity to slip his own probe into Grindelwald's mind, carefully slipping past the lowered defences and managing to observe several memories. Hungrily, he observed those of Grindelwald's various duels, desiring to get a feel for the man.

"Enough!" an angry shout was followed by several lances of compressed air Harry had to raise a slab of conjured marble to shield against. Harry tensed as he felt the air around the room begin to shift. He could feel the particles rubbing together, generating cackles of electricity.

He raised a shield just in time for several bolts to lash out towards him, the strikes powerful enough to cause cracking in his shield with but several hits. Harry poured more magic in them, locking eyes with Grindelwald and sending a burst of legilimency.

"Argh!" the dark lord clutched his head in pain, allowing Harry the opportunity to quickly recover and send several curses towards the man. Despite the pain, Grindlewald batted the spells with pathetic ease. However, it was all the distraction Harry needed, charging past the dark lord and into the protection of his wards, the door still open.

"Are you too cowardly to face me?" Grindelwald spat. "I could tear down those wards with pathetic ease!"

"While leaving yourself vulnerable to my attacks and draining your strength in the process," Harry countered with a steady voice. "You are not at full strength after taking down the Durmstrang wards. Shall I be the second to defeat the dark lord Grindelwald? You already lost to Dumbledore through hubris, afterall."

"You dare," Grindelwald growled. "We need not be enemies, just hand me what I want, and I shall leave in peace, with no hard feelings."

"I don't know what you want, I never managed to break open your room," Harry shrugged. It was technically the truth: only Hurst could lay claim to the feat, even if she took none of the spoils. Grindelwald sighed. "But we're at an impasse, I will not leave the wards of this room, and you cannot access your items without entering this room."

"A deal then?" Grindelwald proposed. "Retrieve the contents of the room, and I shall reward you with riches beyond your imagination...or no, perhaps it is power that you seek? Knowledge...I could give you tomes thought lost to time."

"I have no quarrel with you, but what you seek has been lost to another already."

"Who?" Grindelwald demanded, eyeing him with suspicion.

"I shall tell you, but I want a deal."

"What? Galleons? Name your price."

"The memory of your duel with Albus Dumbledore."

Grindelwald eyed him, scrutinising. Flaring his aura. Harry forced himself to remain impassive. After several moments, the dark lord ceased his actions, smiling grimly.

"A steep price. Very well, swear it."

"I swear to provide the name of the one who breached into Grindelwald's room upon receipt of the memory of his duel with Albus Dumbledore," Harry swore. Grindelwald nodded satisfiedly as magic detected the intent of the two and formed a vow, the glow connecting the two. Slowly, Grindelwald placed his wand to the tip of his head, withdrawing a white strand and allowing to hover through the air. Harry summoned it, observing the memory to see it was authentic.

"Swear it is real."

"I, Gellert Grindelwald, do swear on my magic that the memory I have provided is-"

"The true duel of Grindelwald and Dumbledore in 1945."

"The true duel of Grindelwald and Dumbledore in 1945," the dark lord chuckled. As his magic flared, signalling the vow, he shook his head. "So suspicious."

"One can never be too careful," Harry shrugged.

"The name."

"The one known as Lady Voldemort. She disguised herself as the transfiguration professor Amanda Hurst...she was the one to break the protections of your room."

"Is that so?" the dark lord muttered.

"I swear that to my knowledge, Lady Voldemort was the one to breach your room, by my magic so mote it be," he intoned, allowing the magic to flare up for real. With Grindelwald's mastery of charms, he would not risk faking it.

The dark lord huffed annoyedly, spitting, "Curse the witch. You live today, White. Consider yourself lucky you are among the few that have met me on opposing sides and lived to tell the tale."

Never turning his back to Harry, Grindelwald backed away, though Harry only dared relax as he sensed the powerful aura departing the immediate vicinity, heading upwards back towards the entrance to the school. A triumphant smirk appeared on his lips.

-Break-

"What happened?" Sarah questioned as the lockdown ended and he appeared by her side. He led her to one of the disused rooms, casting several protective charms around before smiling.

"I met Grindelwald." He chuckled at her rapid paling. "I'm perfectly fine, I assure you."

"How?" she asked meekly. "No offense...but you're…"

"Far weaker than he is currently, I agree," Harry conceded easily. There was little shame in admitting that, even as he worked day and night to rectify it. "I tricked him."

"You tricked Grindelwald?" she asked incredulously.

"I told no lies," he smirked. "But I may have convinced him that Voldemort looted his prized room."

"Was that what he was here for?" Sarah observed shrewdly. Harry nodded.

"Above our common room, there was a secret cache of items," he explained. Amanda Hurst, a disguised Voldemort, spent two years trying to break apart the defences, and managed to do so last year right before we left. I incapacitated her and took the room for myself."

"You...incapacitated Voldemort?"

"She was in another body, possession, most likely, and not at her full strength. I caught her off guard, I doubt it'll happen again."

"But...what…"

"I told Grindelwald it was she that breached the protections of the room, and he assumed it meant Voldemort had taken his possessions."

"You're directing them against each other."

"Indeed, hopefully this misdirection will buy us time to continue our plans. Grindelwald was...not expected in my original calculations. That his obsession will be on destabilising Voldemort will be beneficial to us."

"What was in the room?"

"Oh, a trove of things. Old tomes, magical gemstones, and some very illegal items. He had a phoenix egg, for Merlin's sake. Probably intended for some ritual sacrifice, I imagine," Harry mused. Sarah nodded attentively.

"What will you do with the trove?"

"Honestly, not much."

"Then...why not offer him something for it?"

"Because I didn't have to," Harry chuckled. "I managed to entice him into a trade. I gave him the misleading notion that Voldemort had taken his prize, and he provided me with the memory of his duel with Albus Dumbledore."

"Truly?" she gasped. "People offered hundreds of thousands of galleons to Dumbledore, but he never gave it away!"

"Indeed, would you like to watch it?" She gave him a deadpan look, and he chuckled, allowing her legilimency probe to enter his mind and pushing the memory to the forefront of his mind, playing it.

"It's over, Gellert," Dumbledore declared, two large golems flanking him. Hundreds of bodies were littered around a heavily breathing Grindelwald. The dark lord merely shook his head.

"On the contrary, Albus, this is merely the beginning of my revolution!" All the sudden, the air around the entire area began to distort, crushing the large golems and grinding them into dust. Dumbledore swiped his wand, animating several pieces of rubble into various animals that charged towards Grindelwald.

The dark lord's wand was a blur, several curses aimed at Dumbledore while others decimated the animals assaulting him. Lances of barely invisible air were hurled at Dumbledore, who merely conjured water, warping it into a shield and absorbing all the concentrated air, dissolving it into nothing.

With a flash of his wand, a lightning curse whizzed through the air, impacting the water and causing shocks to run through Dumbledore's body, despite him quickly dispelling the water. Shakily, he pointed his wand, twirling them in intricate motions and creating several golems, sending them after Grindelwald and providing him much needed respite.

Flicking his wand, several balls of air began gathering, each like a vortex, pulling in rubble and threatening to rip Dumbledore apart. With slight apprehension, the warlock tapped his wand onto himself, casting a self-transfiguartion that Harry knew strengthened the man's body and prevented it from being quartered by the several yankign vortexes.

Furious, Grindelwald sent the air blasts towards Dumbledore, hurling the other man like a broken kite, though even as the air was used up, Dumbledore stared back impassively, conjuring a flame whip and slashing towards him.

With a snarl, he avoided the weapon, firing several blasting curses at his opponent, and repositioned himself, taking a deep breath. Suddenly, he felt danger, and ducked out of the way of several conjured knives that soared past him. From the ground, a dozen metal chains suddenly shot out from the ground, as though from hell itself, wrapping around him and trying to restrain the dark lord.

Desperately gripping his wand, Grindelwald channeled a burst of magic that managed to shatter the chains, though not without leaving burn marks on his wand hand. Slashing his wand, he began to push hard, forcing Dumbledore onto the defensive as he hurled spells of all manner, from blasting curses to the killing curse, to those of his own creation, each as deadly as the last.

Yet if he were an unstoppable force, Dumbledore was an immovable object, always possessing an answer to every single one of his attacks. He could not sustain this indefinitely, and both knew it, yet he pressed on, managing to land several glancing blows on Dumbledore after five minutes of throwing every curse he knew.

Dumbledore transfigured all sorts of things from the rubble, from avians that dived at Grindelwald from the sky, to molten lava that threatened to entrap Grindelwald's feet, forcing the dark lord to slow his attacks in favour of defending himself. A jet of molten metal managed to entange itself around his left foot, and he let out a startled cry, firing a cutting curse at himself and amputating the leg before making a hasty retreat, reassessing the situation.

Grindelwald snarled, clearly exhausted, and cast several charms on himself before rising into the air, hovering above the battlefield out of the golems' reach. Like a god, he began hurling spears of air down at the floor, impaling the golems and forcing Dumbledore to hastily duck into a ruined building. With a snarl, Grindelwald circled his wand, conjuring a tornado that gathered the rubble around as it circled around the ruined building. He frowned as several flashes of light barely pierced through the moving wall of air and debris, snarling again when a water whirlpool surrounded his tornado and engulfed it, before hurtling towards him.

He tried to raise a barrier of air over himself, but it was too little too late, as the water swallowed him whole. He tried to force his way out, yet the water assaulted his body, trying to crush him, and all of his limited energy was focused on reinforcing the durability of his body, leaving him with insufficient magic to even cast a bubblehead charm. To add insult to injury, Dumbledore began a full-on legilimency attack, forcing Grindelwald's attention between trying to escape and preventing Dumbledore from entering his mind.

"That...was..."

"Frightening? Exhilirating? Inspiring?" Harry prompted.

"Enlightening," Sarah settled upon. Harry nodded in agreement.

"One day we'll surpass them, Sarah. One day."

"I believe in you," she returned with a smile.

-Break-

His vision began to flicker, before slowly, darkness consumed him.

Nuclear disarmament agreed upon in unprecedented move

After a global scare when terrorists in Pakistan managed to capture several missile silos containing nuclear warheads and nearly succeeded in launching a strike against India, the world governments across the world have agreed to complete denuclearisation in fears of a global war being triggered.

Secretary General of the United Nations Boutros Boutros-Ghali declared this a victory for humanity. After decades living in fear of a nuclear war obliterating the planet, it seems hope is finally within sight as nations realise the terrible capabilities that such weapons possess. Millions across the world marched in a show of solidarity for this move. The security council has commissioned a panel of experts from across the globe to supervise global denuclearisation within the next five years.

Currently, Russia and the United States by far and large possess the most nuclear weapons, the current number in the tens of thousands compared to the several hundred possessed by most other nuclear powers.

Some in Britain and France protested the move, believing that the loss of its nuclear weapons would render these states as second tier powers behind the global giants of the US, Russia, Japan and China. However, such voices remain in the minority, and most polled in the two countries believe that denuclearisation was the right option for their nations.

"Interesting," Harry muttered, finishing the newspaper Albert had forwarded to him. Several plans solidified in his head, and he pulled out a piece of parchment, beginning to pen a letter to Jade. This was too good an opportunity to miss.

-Break-

Civil War in Russia

What has long feared has begun. The Russian parliament, supported by pro-Soviet elements, attempted to remove president Boris Yeltsin from power. The military is divided, and there are reports of fighting between various military units and armed civilians. The death toll is unknown, but estimated to be in the hundreds.

Jade set down the newspaper, having already gotten the gist of the story. Straightening her robes, she gathered her documents and left her office in the ICW building and into the assembly hall, where the other mugwumps were gathered. Albus Dumbledore, the supreme mugwump, arrived, wearing his normal ceremonial robes, banging his gavel thrice. Everyone quickly moved to their seats.

"I call this meeting to order. This was requested by mugwump Lin of China. You have the floor."

"Thank you, supreme mugwump," Jade inclined her head. "I have requested this meeting to put forward a proposal called project Erasmus, aiding the denuclearisation of the muggles. Now, I know what many of you are thinking, but hear me out. Muggles have developed frighteningly powerful weapons that rely on the process of nuclear fission to cause a chain reaction. A single one of these weapons would vaporise everything within a several kilometer radius, while spreading radiation across the entire planet. In fact, with several weapons, it is very possible that ash could cloud the skies and prevent sunlight from shining through for years."

She could see the impact her words had, converting many from annoyed to frightened or curious.

"The reality is, that the muggles do not know how to dispose of this weapon, nor are many inclined to. While they have officially announced their intention to do so, the current strategy of burying nuclear material leaves much to be desired. Already, several muggle insurgencies have nearly successfully launched these weapons and incited a global war. With the instability in Russia, the likelihood of this increases exponentially. This is why I believe the ICW needs to step in. By vanishing the radioactive material and targeting several hundred key personnel and eliminating their knowledge on nuclear weapons, we can prevent the possibility of an extinction level event ever happening. I urge you to all approve project Erasmus. Thank you."

"Thank you mugwump Lin," Dumbledore mused neutrally. "The matter is now open to debate. Mugwump Hassan, the floor is yours."

"I fully support the proposal mugwump Lin has put forward. Given my relation to the secretary general of the muggle United Nations, I am well aware of the threat nuclear weapons poses to our sacred planet. While I am sure many of my esteemed colleagues might doubt the veracity of mugwump Lin's assessment, the reality is that if anything, she has understated the devastation that nuclear weapons could cause the planet and all living creatures. Perhaps most significantly, mutations and birth defects would occur at far higher rates, something I believe everyone in this chamber can agree is necessary to prevent."

"Thank you, mugwump Hassan. Mugwump Sousa?"

"This is preposterous! The proposal includes the elimination of several thousand individuals! Surely my colleagues cannot be serious," the Brazilian man spat. "It is not the place of us to play god amongst the muggles."

"A small sacrifice to ensure the safety of billions," Jade shrugged. Dumbledore banged his gavel for order as a chorus of agreements were drawn from other delegates. Few would care about murdering muggles if it meant preserving the wizarding world. A chant of 'vote now' began to echo in the chamber, as more and more mugwumps joined in. Dumbledore sighed disappointedly.

"Very well...let us move to voting procedures then. Given my moral objections, I will be exercising my veto. Those in favour?"

Jade eyed the chamber nervously as she raised her wand and lit it up. Dumbledore breaking protocol and announcing a veto was a bad sign. She felt herself relaxing only as one after another, the wands went up until there was a clear supermajority. Dumbledore looked defeated, his eyes no longer twinkling.

"Those against?"

"Only five mugwumps raised their wands, all staunch Dumbledorian allies. She sneered at these individuals. Did they not understand the threat? Regardless, the motion had passed, that was all that mattered. She sent a silent thanks to Harry. This had likely increased her credibility by several notches.

Author Note:
A bit of an exposition heavy chapter, unfortunately when your fic involves politics it's inevitable. Hopefully you found the events depicted fascinating, I always try to balance the worldbuilding in exposition with the reaction of the characters to make it more authentic and relatable. This was probably a lovely tease of what Harry has to face against, we can see he's outclassed and he knows it. That being said, he's not helpless, as seen in this chapter, in fact setting up Voldemort and Grindelwald to go against each other. The Chinese have a saying, when the clam and the stork fight, the fisherman wins (it makes more sense in Chinese) I'm not just going to have Harry waltz around tossing magic like a god and turn this into a power fantasy, he's going to have to rely on circumstance and luck a lot in the beginning against the magical titans of Dumbledore, Grindelwald and Voldemort, all three of whom have decades of experience on him.

If you enjoyed it, please consider following and favouriting. Your support means a lot. If you didn't like the story, any feedback would be appreciated! I'm definitely an amateur in writing, and any criticism helps me improve myself as a writer. As always, leave a comment, even if just to say hi! Until next time, toodles!