Referendum on the adoption of the system to take place in 1st August.
Inspired by King Arthur's announcement of the purchase of the book The State in the Third Millennium (by Hans-Addams II, Prince of Liechtenstein), The Most Dignified Mr. Eduardo Goethe, Member of the House of Councillors (Worker's), proposed a draft constitutional amendment by which Ebenthal would adopt the system of direct democracy, allowing regular civilians to propose laws to parliament in the first instance and even pass laws through state-sanctioned popular referendums. The proposition was made in 18 July's session, sparking a fierce debate with members of the Conservative Party and dividing members of the Moderate Party, part of the coalition that has supported the Worker's Party government since March of this year. Mr. Francisco Arrais of the Conservative Party, elected by the same constituency as Eduardo Goethe (New Switzerland), was the main voice against the motion, supported by the Duke of Guanabara, a known nobleman in the reign of former King Mateus I.
"What kind of parliamentarian makes such a profound amendment proposal simply by inspiration of an innocent act of others and, worse, does not even consult the possible consequences of this proposal? And I'm not just saying the very serious consequences that this could have for the stability of the country, but also the political consequences for the government itself, dividing its own allied base. Congratulations, this really was a fantastic political movement..." —The Mt. Dig. Councillor Mr. Eduardo Goethe.
Following the debate which only ended through calls of order by The Most Dignified Councillor Speaker The Duke of Sion, the House of Councillors took a vote. With 9 votes in favor, 4 against and 1 abstension (by the Duke of Sion himself), the motion was passed and was sent to the House of Aristocrats in 25 July. At the Aristocrats, where the Conservatives pose a higher threat, the 4 Lords of Congress by the Conservative Party managed to get the support of 2 Lords from the Moderate Party, namely The 2nd Duchess of Montana who, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, spoke on how the implementation of such a system could negatively affect the country's stability and consequently its foreign relations, and Hugo III, former Prince of Negromonte. The Marquis of Terra Nova (Worker's) was his party's only member not to agree with the proposal, agreeing instead with the Duchess. He proposed a compromise:
If we are voting for direct democracy, why not take the first step in that direction by democratic means itself? Let's let the people decide, and so we get rid of further division in our base. I propose that the matter be submitted to a referendum and I ask The Most Dignified Lord Speaker to ask His Majesty to call for it.
The members of the Worker's Party and the Moderate Party, with exception of the Duchess of Montana, supported the scrutiny; even the Prince of Negromonte changed his mind to support it. With 8 votes in favor, 5 against and 1 abstension (by the Marquis of Ferea, mimicking the Duke of Sion on her condition as Lord Speaker), the motion was approved and the Lord Speaker asked The King for him to call for the referendum, which he did. The referendum is scheduled to take place in 1st August 2021, a day before the commemoration of one year of adoption of the Conferential Doubloon as the country's official currency. If approved, the people will have the right to propose laws directly to the chambers of parliament and to call for referendums to pass laws independently of parliament. Such a system would conflict with constitutional provisions that grant the King the exclusive right to sanction or veto laws. In theory, it would be up to the Tribune of Truth's interpretation if laws passed in direct democracy could only enter into force if sanctioned by the King or if the direct vote in a referendum by the majority is valid enough.