Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN on Yesterday at 07:49:23 PMOne of the failures of the Free Democrats this term have been that we were so focused on getting a solution to the constitutional issue that we slacked off on Duty One of any opposition, holding the Government to account. And the outgoing TNC government, despite their Seneschal being a polite chap, did, as we say around these parts, the square root of not very much. The complete flop of the Database Commission, and the fact that our web presence is now on the incumbent MinTech's personal server, is perhaps the most shocking. The implosion of the TNC might make it more difficult to run on that in the election, but to the extent that individual candidates/parties were responsible in the outgoing Government, we can still question whether they'd do anything different next time.

Miestra, appreciate the honest self-assessment here as I know I criticized the FreeDems during the start of the term for not holding the Government to account. I recall asking "citizen inquiries" about the Data Commission, the OrgLaw Standing Committee, etc. in an effort to fill in the gaps. And I am relieved that we were able to finally solve the constitutional issue after years of jar-jarring.

Well, you can't really be a centrist party if there's no "Right wing". The TNC (by which I mean the Breneir/AD TNC, not Breneir's microparty of yore) was effectively the "centre-Right" because it regrouped the RUMP/Balançéu constituency - which has now lost its raison d'être. This is what I was getting at with the lack of any ideological "protein" in any of the Té-En-Tzell's programs (except Bråneu's mandatory coalition idea?). The FreeDems is putting up a mild reformist (centre-Left) platform, and I believe there is going to be a firebreathing republican option on the ballot as well. So that might be the new axis, against which *someone* is going to have to be the centre-Right, if not the Right.

One of the failures of the Free Democrats this term have been that we were so focused on getting a solution to the constitutional issue that we slacked off on Duty One of any opposition, holding the Government to account. And the outgoing TNC government, despite their Seneschal being a polite chap, did, as we say around these parts, the square root of not very much. The complete flop of the Database Commission, and the fact that our web presence is now on the incumbent MinTech's personal server, is perhaps the most shocking. The implosion of the TNC might make it more difficult to run on that in the election, but to the extent that individual candidates/parties were responsible in the outgoing Government, we can still question whether they'd do anything different next time.

(I mean, in the last FreeDems government, I remember one oppositionist being quite persistent asking about what we were doing to the Zouaves. Fair play to him; but I would have never thought of just saying "shut up and go away, it's a state secret".)

Quote from: Mic'haglh Autófil, SMC EiP on Yesterday at 07:44:57 PM

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on Yesterday at 07:40:38 PM

Quote from: Mic'haglh Autófil, SMC EiP on Yesterday at 07:38:36 PMThat provision is criminally underutilized. Would be a lot of fun to see newer citizens taking advantage of it in the future!

For sure -- we've had a couple people do it, but it probably needs promotion again.  Maybe we need a quickstart guide for them added to the What's Going On page?

May also be worth the MinImm -- whether the incumbent or their successor -- making a note of alerting them to its existence once they've been naturalized.

Yes, I agree.  That was done for a couple of months, and it had great success.  We should get back to it.

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on Yesterday at 07:40:38 PM

Quote from: Mic'haglh Autófil, SMC EiP on Yesterday at 07:38:36 PMThat provision is criminally underutilized. Would be a lot of fun to see newer citizens taking advantage of it in the future!

For sure -- we've had a couple people do it, but it probably needs promotion again.  Maybe we need a quickstart guide for them added to the What's Going On page?

May also be worth the MinImm -- whether the incumbent or their successor -- making a note of alerting them to its existence once they've been naturalized.

Quote from: Mic'haglh Autófil, SMC EiP on Yesterday at 07:38:36 PMThat provision is criminally underutilized. Would be a lot of fun to see newer citizens taking advantage of it in the future!

For sure -- we've had a couple people do it, but it probably needs promotion again.  Maybe we need a quickstart guide for them added to the What's Going On page?

That provision is criminally underutilized. Would be a lot of fun to see newer citizens taking advantage of it in the future!

Well, the TNC has mostly dissolved because of the start of the last term.  During the last negotiations, there was an inter-party debate and discussion about what we should do.  It was pretty freewheeling and intense, with some hard bargaining, but the majority came down in support of Braneu's wishes.  He's an awesome guy, kind and enthusiastic, and we mostly backed him in his wishes to move in a productive way.  But once the debate was over, Breneir left the party and started his own rival party -- I forget what it was called.  And almost at the same time, I had to become inactive for months at a time (RIP my mom).

So Braneu is a gifted leader and a great guy, but now he was hung out to dry -- he suddenly lacked the institutional support he needed from long-time Talossans.  There's a lot of bits and bobs to running things, even with things set up to be mostly automated.  It was a completely unfair position for him to be in, way too stressful and not anything like what he'd wanted.  So he quit and renounced, not unreasonably.  (I'm just glad he's back.)

But that was pretty much the beginning of the end.  Another talented and kind newcomer, Therxh, was pressed into service, and Breneir eventually rejoined.  And while he rose to the occasion, he obviously was going to have a hard time keeping things going while also recruiting and maintaining (even though the opposition was being kind and put the good of the nation ahead of partisan advantage).

Therxh has asked me to join his new party, and while I'm not a huge fan of the name, I'm a huge fan of him.  I said yes immediately.  I hope others join, too.  I hope to work with Braneu again closely.

The Greens (?) do carry on a lot of the TNC spirit -- kindness, comradery, centrism.  As a centrist project, it's probably never going to satisfy someone who yearns for a crusade.  And that's why I hope we will be as successful as the TNC -- sometimes things need to be improved in Talossa, but there's also a lot to just promote and celebrate.  The Reds (?) are not the crusaders at the gates -- we're the people sipping coffee inside (presumably alongside our caffeinated comrade).

It's going to be interesting times ahead, as yet another giant change crests the horizon.  I'm glad to be shoulder-to-shoulder with Therxh once more as the new dawn arises.

Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN on Yesterday at 05:41:32 PMIt is kind of fun, but it also means you become a "main character" in politics, with people from all sides lobbying you for your vote, to join their coalition, etc, and you make enemies as fast as you make friends. This is why we brought in the provision for "1 seat for new citizens", to bring in a low-stakes way to start in politics. For some reason people have just not been interested in that. Wild, as 1 seat in the last Cosa would have changed everything.

I know that I mentioned this as an option when I talked with new citizens. I don't know if it continued after I was MinImm. That may be why its use declined. But I am still glad to have co-sponsored the legislation and hope it will be used more in the future.

Quote from: Bråneu Excelsio on Yesterday at 06:24:03 PMWhen I Joined I had no idea what the Cosa was and didn't understand why would I care about one seat in it; now I'm spending 2 coffees worth of money for 1 seat.

1 vote will get you at least 2, maybe 3 seats!

Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN on Yesterday at 05:41:32 PMbut I suppose where all that ended up with the current "TNC potato sack" breaking.

Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN on Yesterday at 05:41:32 PMyou make enemies as fast as you make friends. This is why we brought in the provision for "1 seat for new citizens", to bring in a low-stakes way to start in politics. For some reason people have just not been interested in that. Wild, as 1 seat in the last Cosa would have changed everything.

I think this info should be added to the New Citizen Guide, provided to new citizens.
When I Joined I had no idea what the Cosa was and didn't understand why would I care about one seat in it; now I'm spending 2 coffees worth of money for 1 seat.