Webchester

Webchester is a island country located between the North Atlantic Ocean and northern part of the Portuguese autonomous region of Azores, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is linked culturally and politically with Europe. Webchester's capital is Webchesterfield and its three largest metropolitan areas are Eastfield, Mont Smith, and River Springs.

Webchester has a market economy with relatively low taxes, as well as one of the highest trade union memberships in the world. It maintains a social welfare system that provides universal health care and tertiary education for its citizens. Webchester ranks 3rd in international comparisons of national performance, such as quality of life, education, protection of civil liberties, government transparency, and economic freedom.

It has two main linguistic and cultural regions: English and French. Although most Webchesterians are English-speaking, national identity is fairly cohesive, being rooted in a common historical background, shared values such as federalism and direct democracy.

History
(TBA)

Politics
Webchester is a constitutional republic with a parliamentary system of government. The Webchesterian Parliament is the bicameral national parliament composed of the President of Webchester and the two Houses of Parliament: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Thr Presidential Hall is the official residence of the President of Webchester, while the houses of the Webchesterian Parliament meet at Dettmar Hall in Webchesterfield.

The President serves as head of state, is elected for a six-year term, and may be re-elected once. The President is primarily a figurehead, but is entrusted with certain constitutional powers with the advice of the Council of State. The office has absolute discretion in some areas, such as referring a bill to the Supreme Court for a judgment on its constitutionality.

The Prime Minister serves as the head of government and is appointed by the President upon the nomination of the House of Representatives. Most MPs have served as the leader of the political party that gains the most seats in national elections. It has become customary for coalitions to form a government, as there has not been a single-party government since 1989.

In the Senate (the upper house), there are 75 senators, whose seats are apportioned on a regional basis. The House of Representatives (the lower house) has 160 members elected from single-member electoral divisions, commonly known as "electorates" or "seats", allocated to states on the basis of population, with each original state guaranteed a minimum of five seats. Elections for both chambers are normally held every three years simultaneously; senators have overlapping six-year terms; thus only 40 of the 76 places in the Senate are put to each election unless the cycle is interrupted by a double dissolution.

Webchesterian federalism divides government responsibilities between the federal government and the 9 provinces. Provincial legislatures are unicameral and operate in parliamentary fashion. The head of the government in each province is the governor.