Provinces of Brutland and Norden

Brutland and Norden is divided into two largely autonomous provinces (Nord-Brutlandese: provenzo), constituent political entities that shares its sovereignty with the Nord-Brutlandese federal government. The two provinces, Brutland and Norden, are stem from the two large kingdoms that united to form the present-day country. The two provinces also correspond to the traditional division of Nord-Brutlandese landmass.

History

---

The Treaty of Union signed on the 7^th of September 1761 was the birth of the nation of Brutland and Norden. In it, the two previously independent kingdoms united to form one country, turning the previously dynastic union into a formal union of two countries. In the process, both of the Kingdoms became provinces.

The Treaty of Union maintains that both provinces remain sovereign. Throughout the 18^th and 19^th centuries, both countries largely maintained their own institutions and governments, although successive monarchs and governments started to erode on these privileges. King Simon III issued standard and identical currencies for both countries in 1799. King Chester the Pious started to assert the federal government's role by amalgamating the royal councils of Brutland and Norden in 1830. Involvement by one province in foreign affairs (Norden in Arnautia, Brutland in Ceretania) means involvement of the other, and so the militaries of the two provinces were integrated together in 1837. King Chester the Pious also forbade the Parliaments of the provinces from independently pursuing different foreign policies, thus bringing the sphere of foreign relations to the federal government.

Ever closer union was achieved by the modernizing King Kyle the Fair of Brutland and Norden. He sought to unify the governance and practices of the two provinces. Weights and measures were harmonized in 1856. Communal boundaries were set in 1863. Language was standardized in 1868. The Parliaments of both provinces tried to resist some of the reforms, but popular support for the changes were strong.

The division of responsibility of the federal and provincial governments were finally set in the 1898 Constitution of Brutland and Norden.

Functions

---

The Nord-Brutlandese Constitution states that whatever is not the power of the federal government is within the ambit of the provinces. The federal government is responsible for the country's foreign affairs, defense, currency, weights and measures, language, tariffs and customs, citizenship, social security, and interprovincial affairs. The federal government can also legislate on minimum standards that provinces must adhere to.

Provinces, on the other hand, are responsible for internal security (the police are largely in control of the provinces), health care, education, delivery of citizen services, road and rail transportation networks, among other things.

Provincial Governments

---

The country's two provinces are still not uniformly harmonized; this is especially evident in their differing government types.

Brutland
Brutland maintains a unicameral parliamentary constitutional monarchy form of government. Its ceremonial chief of state is the King of Brutland, a position nominally held by the King of Brutland and Norden. Nowadays, this is delegated to a viceroy, styled Archduke of Brutland (Duchinzo di Brutellia).

Real executive power rests in the Premier (Primire) of Brutland, the province's head of government. The Premier presides over a Council of Ministers, which represents the government voted in by the province's unicameral Parliament, the Chamber of Commons (Cambro di Commonzu).

Norden
Norden, with its republican past, maintains a bicameral presidential constitutional republic form of government. The province's chief of state and head of government is the elected Governor (Gobernotto), presiding over his appointed Cabinet Secretaries, which are confirmed by the Norden Senate.

The bicameral Nordener legislature is composed of the Senate (Senato) and the House of Commons (Caso di Commonzu). The legislature has no say in the election of the governor and serves only to legislate, pass the budget, and act as a check to gubernatorial powers.

Union Territories
The territories not included in the two provinces are called Union Territories (Terru di l'Unnone). They are administered directly by the federal government and elect only local officials. The Union Territories Government Act in 1902 allowed the grantal governments in the Union Territories to take over the functions of provinces.

Comparison

---

The table below compares the country's two constituent provinces.

	Brutland	Norden
Capital	Brutland City (Brutia)	Nordville (Vilònorda)
Population	90,397,919	90,087,646
Area (km2)	1,181,820	971,708
Pop. Density (hab./km2)	80.28	94.40
Form of Government	parliamentary constitutional monarchy	presidential constitutional republic
Head of Province	Archduke Charles II of Brutland	Governor Adam Lambroglio
Head of Government	Premier Lúanna Staiola	Governor Adam Lambroglio
Legislature Type	unicameral	bicameral
Legislature	Chamber of Commons (Cambro di Commonzu) Seat Distribution: PC: 1 PV: 1 PDS: 20 PP: 209 PN: 19	Senate (Senato) Majority Leader: Bricco di Bricarico [PP: Albiore-Redutto-Rodige-Anza Norda] Minority Leader: Adalberto d'Oratino [PDS: Onna] Seat Distribution: 0-6-29 House of Commons (Caso di Commonzu) Speaker (Ledaretto): Thorizio Nicottini [PP: Cortel Osta] Majority Leader: Antonella Scarcella [PP: Codigliana] Minority Leaders: Carissa Flocco [PDS: Sagliana] Gervasio Litti [PC: La Fabbricana Sorda] Carolina Viotti [PV: Spadavecchia Ostennía] Seat Distribution: 7-10-47-436