Kingdom of Sardinia

Sardinia, officially named the Kingdom of Sardinia, is an insular kingdom in the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Italian Peninsula. They are a member of the Entente, which collectively had a successful Homecoming campaign, with Sardinia regaining its lost province of Piedmont.

History
The situation of Sardinia and the Savoyard Monarchy in 1936 was bleak. With the Socialist Republic ready to take over the island and a deep division between the ruling Sardinian Action Party and the King, many were certain that the country’s days were numbered.

Shortly after Black Monday, the SAP would be ousted from power; an incredibly bold move by the Monarchy, that would certainly have caused its demise, if not for the support of the remains of the Royal Army and of the Algiers Government.

The following years would be tense and full of political backroom deals in order to reinforce the Democratic Sardinian Union and weaken the Sardinian Action Party; ultimately, the scheme would only be partially completed by the time the Second Weltkrieg broke out. In the two years between the Commune invasion Germany and the Entente intervention, the King and the Government laid everything on the line, in order to gain popular support for an intervention against Mussolini’s regime; eventually, the SAP was forced to relent, and Sardinia issued an informal declaration of war to the Socialist Republic.

Second Weltkrieg
Due to its limited forces and resources, Sardinia didn’t have the spotlight in the war; however, its soldiers fought valiantly, and its commanders made a name for themselves. The King himself, Amedeo, would join the ranks of the army to assist in the reclamation of the mainland. This move, together with the favourable publicity granted by the Catholic-Conservative government, managed to restore the image of the monarchy in Sardinia and beyond, and restore the popularity of the Gentleman King turned Soldier King.

Post-War
As the War in the Continent ended, the Sardinian Army triumphantly entered Turin and the reconstruction of Piedmont began. After a round of special elections in 1946, the Government formally moved from Sardinia to Piedmont, despite the protests of the Sardinian populace. In this period, the idea to grant Sardinia a special autonomous status started gaining support within the government in order to both appease the Sardinians and reward them for their support during the Weltkrieg. Antonio Segni, the conservative Prime Minister, initially opposed the idea. However, with the Republicans in Piedmont and the Socialists forming a common front and the need to get rid of them becoming ever more pressing, at game start Segni is now considering whether to support this idea, and use the political power gained from a success in Parliament to effectively isolate and destroy the Republican-Socialists.