Governor Stein immediately began leveraging the natural resources of Florida to turn the economy around and provide jobs. He incentivized the construction of numerous offshore wind farms to begin. In order to increase manufacturing jobs and help reduce fuel and energy costs for Floridians, Governor Stein started a major project to advance the development of sugarcane ethanol. Slowly and steadily, the Florida economy was starting to grow and even the media was starting to notice that this politically independent governor was starting to make a difference.
In time, the media was fawning over Henry Stein like Barack Obama in 2008; he represented something different. Governor Stein began holding FP rallies across the country, attracting tens of thousands of supporters, waving signs and willing to plaster their entire neighborhoods with as much propaganda as they could get their hands on. After winning two terms as governor in Florida, it became inevitable that he should be a candidate for President of the United States in 2036.
Henry was a man of above average intelligence, having graduate degrees from Harvard, Oxford and Wharton; he was an incredible organizer and extremely business savvy. He was also an exceptional orator and a skilled communicator with not just the average person, but with the media as well. He knew how to deliver his vision for America in layman’s terms, and could also present his message at a PhD level, depending on his audience. As a student of organizational theory, Henry realized that he could not be an island unto himself. He spent a great deal of time recruiting and vetting candidates with like mindsets to run for Congress and Senate under the new Freedom Party banner. By the end of the 2036 elections, Henry Stein’s Freedom Party had won control of not just the Presidency, but also control of the Congress. They also had a strong minority control of the Senate, splitting the Democrat and Republican Parties.
The Freedom Party’s near-complete domination in the elections assured that their agenda was going to meet little opposition. Even before they were fully in office, all the FP candidates journeyed to a small resort in West Virginia to spend the week identifying the new party leaders, legislative priorities, political appointments, committee chairs and members based on their skillsets. They outlined a very detailed plan for delegating who within the party would be responsible for pushing specific items of the FP agenda. These men and women were working together like no other Congress before them to try and craft legislation and executive orders to hit the ground running and take control of the situation in the United States. At a time when hope was at an all-time low, the Freedom Party was determined to restore optimism once again in America.
The winds of political change were also moving elsewhere. The EU elected a new Chancellor, Heinrich Lowden from Germany. Like President Stein, Lowden was a strong leader. He pledged to keep Europe united and to take control of the dire situation that was facing the European Union. Despite the full political and fiscal union being less than six years old, Lowden was convinced a combined European government with a close relationship with the US could succeed.
He had a lot more to deal with than the first Chancellor, who had been elected in 2030, but he was not the kind of man to back down from a challenge. His main platform had been securing the European Union’s borders against the massive influx of refugees who were trying to enter from Eastern Europe and Africa; there was simply not enough food and shelter to take in hundreds of thousands of new immigrants. The people of Europe, who had traditionally been rather involved in foreign aid to needy countries, knew that it was time to help themselves before they could be of any real value to anyone else.
Lowden’s thoughts on a potential conflict with a militarized Russia were notably absent from public view during his campaign. While the main focus was certainly going to be on feeding the people of Europe and getting them back to work, the Chancellor knew that he had to do whatever was necessary to prevent Russia from threatening the rest of the EU. After a series of harsh crackdowns throughout the country, the Russian central government had consolidated power and was once again ruling with an iron fist. Russian nationalism was at an all-time high, and so too was their continued military modernization, which had continued virtually unabated since the early 2010s. Though Lowden did not tout his furor against Russia publicly, he was constantly planning what his next move would be against them.
During this time period, the British people elected Stannis Blair as Prime Minister. PM Blair was a cousin to former Prime Minister Tony Blair, and like his cousin, he too was a visionary. Blair knew Great Britain was facing a turning point in history; its demographics were heading in the wrong direction, and the great nanny state was no longer able to support the current system with its finances in the shape they were in.
Once President Stein, Chancellor Lowden and PM Blair had all been elected to office, they began to work closely with each other to right their economies. All three governments began aggressive infrastructure and work programs designed at both improving and repairing roads, bridges, rail and power networks; more importantly, they began to put people back to work.
Michael Montgomery, or “Monty” as most people called him, had been one of Henry Stein’s closest friends for over thirty years. The two of them had worked together a number of times, and more recently, Monty had taken over as CEO of two of Stein’s companies once he was elected Governor. Now that Henry was President, there was no one else he would rather have at his side than Monty, and so he was a natural pick for Chief of Staff and senior advisor. Sparked by a sense of personal loyalty, Monty did not hesitate to accept the position.
After the first full week of Stein’s administration, Monty strode into Henry’s office with a sense of urgency; the Economic and Congressional Leadership meeting later that day was going to hold great significance for this administration. As he stepped into the Oval Office, he could not help but feel a sense of awe and excitement. Today they were going to change America.
“Mr. President, the Congressional leadership and your economic advisors are ready,” he announced with a broad smile on his face. Monty always knew that Henry would one day become President, but he had no idea that he would one day become his Chief of Staff.
The President looked up and smiled at his friend. “Excellent, Monty. It’s time to start putting people back to work.”
Monty handed him a folder while they crossed the hall at a brisk speed, heading towards the Cabinet Room. The President glanced at the first two pages while they walked, and then nodded to his friend. No other words were spoken. The two men had formed an almost telepathic form of communication that was nearly indiscernible by strangers who had not observed them together during their long tenure together in the private sector.
Henry entered the meeting room, placing his folder in front of his chair. The idle chitchat that had been filling the room suddenly ceased and there was complete and total silence.
The president began to speak, first towards his economic advisors, and then he turned towards the Congressional leadership. “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for your hard work and determination in creating this economic plan. This is going to be difficult and challenging for us to accomplish, but with your help, I feel we can do it.”