1973 Constitutional Crisis in Ostboland

The 1973 Ostben Constitutional Crisis was a political crisis in Ostboland triggered by the potential of the Treaty of Oradea. The crisis culminated in the of the  Oliver Lindström in February of 1974, after the collapse of his Labour-lead government. After a series of complex inter-party negotiations, Karl Westerberg was appointed the head of a until the scheduled elections in 1974. It is the only time in the 20th century that such a ministry has been formed in Ostboland. In any event, the Riksdag voted down the Treaty of Oradea, and Ostboland did not become a state party.

The treaty, which proposed the creation of a Artemian Defense Community and a among the signatories, was seen to fundamentally conflict with the Constitution of Ostboland, and was incompatible with Ostboland's policy of. Prime Minister Lindström, a committed integrationist, pushed for ratification of the treaty over the objections of those within his own government and in the country. The treaty initially passed the Riksdag, but the members of the State Council argued the treaty could only be ratified via a (which required a ). When Lindström's government passed the treaty a second time over the State Council's objections, King Gustav V was advised to the treaty by the justices on the Council of Revision.

The threat of a royal prompted a political crisis. Lindström proposed a bill to "reorganize" the Council of Revision, which critics attacked as mere "crown-packing." By this time, and public discontent had grown and the treaty became unpopular. By the winter, the government was in danger of being defeated by mass defections of MPs. In November 1973, The King refused Lindström's request for an, but did agree to the Riksdag. By 1974, Lindström's government and the Labour Party had been so badly damaged that he was forced to resign. After being appointed prime minister, Karl Westerberg put the treaty before the Riksdag in June, and it was overwhelmingly defeated.

The crisis highlighted the scope of the and the constitutional importance of Ostben. The State Council was eventually reformed by subsequent amendments, but the role of the Council of Revision as the of the constitution still survives. The crisis defined King Gustav V's moderating role in Ostben politics, and signaled the fracture of the once-dominant Labour Party of Ostboland. The cause of Artemian Integration in Ostboland was irrevocably damaged, as the public became more Artemian-skeptic after the 1970s. Since the 1970s Ostboland has never considered any treaty which fundamentally limits its in matters of  or.