Corporate Council
In TN 1551 the spiraling chaos of the Lyonnesse League prompted the corporations upon which the nation's economy were based to band together and depose the corrupt league government. That meeting, known as the Lake Tristan Conclave, decided the fate of the Lyonnesse League and both created and shaped the United Mercantile Federation. Over the cycles that followed, the companies continued to meet to discuss political and economic issues, formalizing their relationship in TN 1572 as the Corporate Council. It should be noted that while only twelve companies form the Council, every corporation in the UMF recognizes its authority and follows its dictates. Over the cycles several cornpanies have learned to their chagrin what it means to challenge the Council. Their stock was attacked by the combined might of the Council and the companies either rendered worthless or taken over and dismembered. Unsurprisingly, such challenges are rare.
The Council serves a number of roles, but its principal concern is ensuring that conditions in the UMF and its neighbors remain favorable to Mercantile business concerns. Competition is a good thing, but too much can damage the market and the Council works to ensure that trade wars within and without the UMF do not escalate to a great extent. They attempt to mediate disputes between companies, but also seek to head off trouble by establishing pricing guidelines and distinct areas of influence. They also coordinate the Mercantile response to foreign threats, making it difficult for foreign concerns to establish a foothold in the UMF or Federation-dominated foreign markets. The classic example of this is Paxton Arms, whose attempts to break into the CNCS Gear market have long been stalled by Northco through the aegis of the Corporate Council. The Council also lobbies for reform within the CNCS, particularly the removal of trade barriers, knowing that a level playing field will turn their present success into future dominance.
Corporate and Federation interests do not always coincide, however, and it often falls to the Corporate Council to mediate a common path, or more often, to force the corporate line. Corporate influence over fiscal and foreign policy in both the Caucus and bureaucracy is considerable, a result of sponsorship of election campaigns, virtual domination of the electoral process, and by knowing what skeletons are in which closets. Persistent public lobbying lends this process an air of respectability, but it is a rare secretary or career civil servant who can hold out against pressure from a single corporation for long - none can withstand the combined efforts of the Corporate Council.
Members of the Corporate Council
Structure
The organization of the Corporate Council i s loose, but follows a set of guidelines that date back to the Conclave of TN 1551. The Council's number is restricted to twelve members. The UMFs top eight companies (calculated on the cycles'turnover as reported to the UMPs finance department) are granted automatic places on the Council. These eight members select the other four a t the start of each cycle from any other Federation company with a turnover of at least 1 billion marks. Other corporations and individuals may appear before the council to present petitions or evidence, or to face charges.
The Council has no set venue or meeting schedule. Its members gather wherever and whenever they need to, though certain trade shows like the Rapid City Expo or the annual Lyonnesse Business Awards are almost always accompanied by a meeting. Any member may call a session and propose business, but at least five days notice must be given. The Council is chaired by the head of the UMFs largest Corporation, which is usually (but not always) Northco.
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