In accordance with Free Democrats Constitution article IX (https://wiki.talossa.com/Free_Democrats_of_Talossa#Constitution), I am happy to announce that the Free Democrats of Talossa, our nation's oldest and most successful political party, will hold our annual conventions December 1-December 15 this year.
The upcoming Monarchical Succession is an excellent opportunity for our party, which has fought for the better part of a decade for an accountable Head of State, dynamic, competent yet minimalist government, and liberty and democracy in general, to consider the role of our Party in the new era where a lot of what we set out to achieve has happened.
For non-members, this is an excellent chance to jump onboard the continually winning bandwagon. Thank you.
If allowed to speak again, I hope my speech this time will also get the ball rolling on a long-time goal.
I am happy to declare the December 2024 convention of the Free Democrats of Talossa OPEN.
AGENDA:
Speeches from Party Leaders and guests
Amendments to the Constitution
Amendments to the Party Programme
Election of Party President, Party Secretary and Provincial Branch Chairs
I will start formal proceedings with a major speech of my own in the next 24 hour. We have at least one guest speech lined up. All party members are entitled to contribute whatever they want (on pains of getting moderated if it's inappropriate or unsavoury, lol)
Congratulations to the FreeDems on making it to another convention. Excited to see who is chosen for leadership and what or who are the issues for the upcoming election. Looking forward to speaking with y'all.
Opening Speech to the Convention of the Free Democrats of Talossa, December 2024by Rt. Hon. Dama Miestra Schiva, Seneschal¡Estimadăs es estimats Democrätsen Livereschti, cüncitaxhiens, amici, es toct oðreux!We gather together, in Party Convention, in celebration. For just in the last twenty-four hours, a dream long held by our party – and by its predecessors – became reality in Talossa. And by that I mean: accountability has been brought to the Talossan monarchy, for the first time in living memory. Certainly in my memory.
El Regeu tent xhenculat, es o láßeva sieu Regipäts alçar. The King has knelt, and let his Kingdom rise.
In April 1997, when I first became familiar with the term "King of Talossa", it meant to me: an eccentric genius whose bad side you didn't want to get on. Twelve months later, it meant: a narcissistic bully who will stop at nothing to hurt me and will tell any lie to get others to hurt me too.
Now, for the first time in my personal memory – which stretches back over almost three decades – "the King of Talossa" means:
a friend whom I can trust. It means a colleague I have worked with closely over years, whom I know to be more than fair, more than decent, and – despite the unfair and intemperate attacks that were made against him in his previous role– more than scrupulous about being non-partisan in his work for the Kingdom. And I hope our old friend will grace this Convention with a guest speech soon.
Even more than that.
@King Txec , First of his Name of the House of Nordselvă, will be the first King of Talossa since 1988 whose accession has been endorsed by the Talossan people as a whole, both through their elected Ziu and by referendum. You will remember that the citizens of the Talossan Republic were never asked what we thought of the accession of his predecessor.
Véu iardar Ceáiçar, non lo praisarThough it is necessary, I hesitate to talk too much about his predecessor. Because I remember with fondness John Woolley, the Kingdom's Secretary of State who politely but firmly pushed back on King Robert's bullying, so effectively that he "ragequit" his own Kingdom. And I look forward to getting to know his Grace the Duke of Lupul in whatever capacity he decides to devote the rest of his Talossan life.
But this is not an eulogy. This is a political speech marking the end of one phase of a political project. So: skip the next few paragraphs if you know it will outrage you. Everyone knows that Miestră is rude and mean, after all.
For the last decade and a half, "King of Talossa" has meant – to me, and to the trends of Talossan life which are now expressed in the Free Democrats – obstruction. Where King Robert was for most of his reign the "motor" of Talossan life, we have had a monarchy for a long time which has acted primarily as a brake.
This has meant: a lack of communication or cooperation with the elected Government and Ziu. It has meant: neglect in carrying out the ceremonial, "dignified" functions which are the raison d'être of the monarchy. It has meant: becoming most active as a monarch in matters of self-interest.
Worst of all, it has meant: a kind of "back-handed" hostility, couched in "oblique language" and the appearance (but not the substance) of political neutrality. Sometimes, I would yearn for the days when King Robert would tell you he was doing everything he could to sabotage your project, because at least you could fight that, and no-one would deny it was happening.
Those involved in Talossan politics over the last decade have lived with the knowledge that someone who does not wish you well may surface at any moment to sabotage your project. The use of "surprise" legislative vetoes – combined with a reluctance to substantively discuss legislation before it was voted on – created an atmosphere of disquiet, where the Ziu majority had to "guess" what the King was going to do and "self-censor" anything that might awaken the sleeping kraken. Free Democrats maintained, and we still do, that this was not an appropiate way for a constitutional monarch to behave.
I say all this not to be cruel, not to dance on anyone's political grave. King John is no more, and this is hopefully the end of what the Free Democrats have to say about his reign. We are interested now in what happens for the future of the Talossan monarchy.
Is This The Future?Because make no mistake - the "monarchy or republic" debate, which goes back to nearly the very founding of our ImagiNation, is not going to end. On the contrary, it will now shift onto what I consider
better terrain. Let us be honest that a lot of the impetus behind republicanism in Talossa, and behind monarchy reform in general, was disquiet about the performance of the prior incumbent. If all shades of political opinion like and trust King Txec, the question of changes to or abolition of the monarchy will be conducted on a principled level. It is perhaps easier to raise questions of "should a King be accountable to Ziu or nation for his conduct in his royal duties" when the King is not currently and actively alienating a broad swathe of popular opinion.
What we are hoping for – and what I expect, personally, to get – is
a friendly monarchy. A monarchy which really wants to balance all shades of opinion and do what's best for the Nation as a whole. A monarchy which does its whole job, as dictated by law and custom, not just what is convenient or "fun" at any one time. A monarchy which, when it has disagreements with the elected government, says so plainly, honestly, and courteously, and uses its Organic powers as a "last resort" in emergencies. A monarchy which is honest, which is not interested in fighting the Ziu majority, which does not use the element of surprise as a weapon. A monarchy which returns to the light-hearted roots of Talossa; less of the heavy pomposity, more of a "Cheerleader in Chief", as His Majesty has graciously promised.
Once we have lived for a while with a monarchy which behaves properly, in accordance with not only Talossan law and custom but with the example of constitutional monarchy elsewhere, we can discuss more sensibly whether changes to (or abolition of) the monarchy would be useful or necessary. I've got my opinions, but they can go on the back burner for a while.
This leads onto the part of which speech which is of most relevance to the Party Convention of the Free Democrats of Talossa. That is:
in the reign of Good King Txec, what is the purpose of existence of our party?Since the fusion of the ZRT and the Liberal Congress lo these many years ago, our Party has never – despite what a lot of people seem to think – been a Republican party. We have not even been specifically a "depower the monarchy" party -as Senator Plätschisch, who is here somewhere, check the toilets, would gladly remind you. Even though many of us wanted to depower the monarchy, and many were republicans. One of the former leading lights in our Republican tendency is, er, now the King of Talossa. So we see how that worked out.
No, the Free Democrats have been the party of liberty and democracy first, and reforms to that end. The question of the King's role in this, if any, has been a subordinate one.
But I don't think that this is how the electorate has seen us. Despite everything we've tried, and despite the protestations of many of our leading members, I believe the voters have seen us as the "Overthrow The King" party. Or at least, the "anti-King John" party.
In the concrete conditions of Talossan politics at the time, that turned out to be roughly correct in practice, in that we saw a capricious and game-playing King with real political powers as a threat. But, if that were really correct, it would now mean: game over. King John is gone, so the Free Democrats are done. Shake hands, dissolve, and everyone go their separate ways.
That is one possible outcome of this convention. Think about it.
But I am going to propose otherwise. I am going to propose that the Free Democrats go back to first principles, and re-establish ourselves as the party of
Liberty And Democracy in Talossa.Here is how I break those concepts down in the Talossan context. "Democracy" means: good government, accountable to the people. "Liberty" means: the ability of all Talossans to participate fully in Talossan life.
Sound good so far? Right. The planks I suggest we adopt, under the heading Democracy, are as follows:
1) Good, democratic government means separation of powers between politicians and techies.To put this in simple terms: the elected officials (under His Royal Majesty's loving supervision, naturally), should be in charge of, and accountable for, what happens, in all aspects of the Government apparatus. But people who know what they're doing – the Royal Civil Service, or technical experts – should be in charge of how it's done.
A situation where the people with the technical skills to "make something happen" are also the politicians who decide where it's implemented, and for what goals, is anti-democratic. Because you can't vote those people out, otherwise they'll just "take their ball and go home" (their ball, in this case, meaning the skills you need to run the apparatus).
I've pointed this out before, under the label of "infrastructure decay". Our National Database is no longer fit for purpose because its creator, Martì-Pair Furxheir, can't devote enough Talossan time to it. The reason our Immigration form crashed, choking off all immigration for months, was because Eðo Grischün designed the form, then found other things to do outside Talossa; his successors had no knowledge of how the form worked or even of its existence, and thus didn't even know it had crashed, let alone how to fix it.
The principle is: everything in Talossa which needs specialist skills to maintain should be run by the Royal Civil Service, or other technical experts operating on a "contract" basis with the elected Government. Anything that has to be run by politicians, directly, should be so simple that a trained parrot could take over in an emergency. If we are in a position where our politicians have to be techies to make things work, then only techies can be elected to office. That is elitist, and anti-democratic.
The principle of Talossan democracy in future has to be: politicians to the Ziu, techies to the Royal Civil Service. Crossovers between the two shouldn't be banned, but need to be carefully watched as possible points of failure. Hopefully, this term my Government will complete the replacement of the National Database with something that can be operated by a Talossan citizen of the lowest intelligence – or a politician. But I repeat myself.
2) Good, democratic government means you shouldn't have to be a lawyer to be able to make, or follow, law.Everything that I've said above about technical skills applies also to legal and bureaucratic skills. More than one budding legislator in Talossa has been distressed to find out, once elected, that our Organic and statute law, not to mention our legal procedures, are sophisticated and complex and hard to manage for newbies and amateurs. This is again anti-democratic. If you need to be a lawyer to write Talossan legislation, only lawyers can be elected to the Ziu and be effective. Honestly, a lot of the reason that Talossa's legal infrastructure is so opaque is precisely because trained lawyers wrote a lot of it.
What I've said above about "techies" therefore goes for legal and judicial professionals. We should ideally have legal civil servants who can give the elected politicians advice on "how" they can produce legislation that will not only have the right effect, but "stand up in court" if challenged. But also, we have to streamline our important legislation, and governmental procedures, so that any fool off the street can understand what's going on, and – with the help of specialists – draft amendments to it. This will probably mean some kind of "Solicitor-General's Office", under the Ministry of Justice, to provide technical legal advice; maybe to go with some kind of "Clerk's Office" in the Chancery to proofread legislation. Again, the principle is: hire more nonpolitical experts, so that politics can be open and accessible to all. Or alternatively, simplify everything. The balance between the two imperatives can be determined in practice.
We've had two, opposite points of failure of this principle in Talossan politics. We've had laws that were set up in minute technical detail by trained lawyers, that no-one else can try to amend because the same trained lawyers will jump up to tell us we're doing it all wrong – thus marking out parts of the law which have been effectively "privatized". Similar goes for ad hoc regulations of Kingdom bodies. And in contrast, we've had politicians who have been living examples of Dunning-Kruger syndrome – proposing not only clueless legislation, but being so clueless as to not able to understand why the legislation is clueless. Civil Service-based legal expertise available to all Ziu members, combined with a Keep It Simple Stupid principle when it comes to legislation, will navigate between these twin problems.
3) Good, democratic government requires a close working relationship between the Ziu, the Royal Civil Service, and the Monarchy.This kind of follows on from everything that I've mentioned above. But the worst thing about the previous monarchical era was that the King and the elected Government just gave up speaking to each other. That can't happen again. The Monarchy offers a "third sphere" of government to politicians and techies, as mentioned above, and will hopefully provide a "high-level overview" of where the Nation is going – and act as neutral "umpire" as and when necessary or useful.
So much for the principle of Democracy. What of the principle of Liberty? To put it another way: what are the barriers which prevent Talossans from feeling free to participate fully in Talossa?
I am going to sum this up in one word:
HARASSMENT. This is not only a Talossan problem, but a global one. Without getting too deeply into distressing politics outside of Talossa, we see all over the world that personal harassment is a "cheat code" in politics. If you make someone's life unpleasant enough – even remaining within the law – you can drive them out of political or social life, thus "winning the argument". Or you can just make participation a chore for them, thus sapping them of the strength to resist your agenda.
This has always been a feature of Talossan life. As I mentioned above, King Robert I was a master of it. That does not mean it is acceptable. That does not mean it is inevitable. But sadly, who is going to stop it? The legal threshold for criminal harassment – which we borrowed from Wisconsin law – is justifiably high. No-one thinks dragging people through our somnolent court system just for being a tafistră da ciul (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asshole) is a good waste of time and energy. Attempts to moderate Wittenberg regularly founder on the fact that moderators have no wish to become the targets of harassment themselves.
But we do need to impose penalties for being a tafistră da ciul. Real ones. Ones that will effectively deter those who make Talossan life unpleasant enough that Talossans just drift out of activity rather than deal with it. Ones which will deter those who won't stop just by being asked nicely to do so.
There are two branches to my suggested solution.
4) A Civil Service Code of ConductThe Royal Civil Service, as I suggest above, plays a central role in a vision of a more democratic Talossa. They have to be trusted to be non-partisan – that is, that their work product will not be affected by whether they support or oppose the political party in Government which is commissioning this work. But insisting on an excessively high level of non-partisanship is a good way of making sure that being a Civil Servant is too restrictive and no fun – let's face it, politics in Talossa is supposed to be fun. Isn't it? But worse: it constitutes a means by which civil servants can be harassed by people with a grudge. It's very hard to prove a negative – for example, that you're not "biased", when someone who's out to get you is yelling it every time you show your face in public.
We therefore need a Code of Conduct which simultaneously sets out the precise requirements for all Civil Servants, of whatever grade, to separate their work life from their political life and beliefs (if any). This Code has to mandate penalties up to and including dismissal-for-cause for Civil Servants who abuse the public's trust. But crucially, it has to also provide Civil Servants with protection from harassment by members of the public with a grudge. The precise details of the Code of Conduct, the penalties of its violation, and how we can protect Civil Servants from public harassment, can be debated by reasonable parties.
5) Empowering and protecting Wittenberg moderators against harassment.Unpleasant behaviour, including that which does not meet the threshold of a crime, needs to have negative consequences. Full stop. To the extent that we do not impose consequences for harassing behaviour, we are condoning the targets of harassment being excluded from Talossan life, thus saying that we value the harasser more highly than the harassed. That was how King Robert I won political battles – just making Talossan life unbearable for his targets until they found better things to do. That stops here.
Talossa is part of a wider world of online discourses, and – as we again have seen in many other forums – it is moderation by human beings acting according to their best judgement, and ONLY that, which effectively shuts down harassment and other toxic ways of communication, and provides forums which offer safety and participation for all those of good will.
So: Wittenberg moderators need to be empowered to shut down any and all speech which makes civil discourse in Talossa impossible. We can't, and shouldn't, make being a tafistră da ciul illegal. But we must impose a social cost. This means moderation; this means editing and deleting posts; this means exclusions, temporary or indefinite, from arenas of discourse.
We accept this when a Judge in the Cort Pü Inalt or any of our other judicial venues imposes order on recalcitrant disputants. We need to accept a softer version of this in general life. Honestly we should probably impose a higher standard of speech in Ziu debates, but that's possibly a more fundamental problem.
I understand the concerns of those who think that moderation itself might be weaponised against political adversaries, just as the harassment itself is. Well: in our Big Neighbour, we are seeing the ugly consequences of what happens when you don't impose consequences on a scofflaw just because he happens to be a major political figure. Plot twist: as King Robert used to proudly say, everyone in Talossa is a major political figure, or can be.
But the flipside of this is that Wittenberg moderators – as agents of the Chancery, the highest organ of the Royal Civil Service – must have protections for doing their job just the same as any other Civil Servant. We can no longer tolerate a Talossa where there is virtually no moderation because the moderators don't want the bad behaviour to go after them next. We need moderation with teeth – otherwise, simply, the abusers, the creeps, the tafistrăs da ciul win. And Talossa, as a nation, as a democracy, loses.
Moderators will make mistakes – and, of course, the beauty of it is that they will not only be responsible for their decisions to the Secretary of State as head of the Chancery, but they will be under the provisions of the Code of Conduct mentioned above, to make sure that they don't misuse their moderation powers to promote a political agenda. Except to the point that "being a decent human being, and not making other Talossans feel so upset and dirty that they don't want to be Talossan any more" is a political agenda.
Forgive me for this, but just look what is happening on Wittenberg right now (https://wittenberg.talossa.com/index.php?msg=30625). If I had my way, that thread would have been cut short or redirected to a private playpen long ago. It doesn't matter that I agree with one of the people in that debate and disagree with the other. The
tone of the argument on both sides is just plain noxious. It is the kind of thing that stinks in the noses of newbies. It is the kind of thing that makes people avoid Talossan politics, or avoid Talossa altogether – because, in the absence of moderation to cut that nonsense out, the only sensible way to deal with it is to ignore it. Which leads to the creeps and bullies taking over large sections of our online and mental real estate. No more. Talossa will be a much better place when a severe social cost is imposed on all those who talk to each other like that.
Anyway. There it is, friends: that's what I think of as a new political project that is necessary to bring Talossa forward in the new era of King Txec. Is this the project that the Free Democrats can unite around? I'm honestly not sure. I have no idea how many of you are actually excited by these ideas. I have no idea how many of you would be keen to just say – as I suggested above – "job done", shake hands, retire. I'm afraid I'm going to have to hear what you guys think, from your own mouths. Because I'm not prepared to drag a whole political party behind this vision. I think either you guys decide to follow the vision, or I go off and carry it on my own for a while. Which will be fine as well. The party will decide. And I urge all Talossans of good will to join us.
¡Så vivadra Talossa! ¡Så vivadra Talossa democrätic! ¡Så vivadra Talossa liverescu! ¡Så vivadra ár amic Txec!
To my fellow Talossans and members of the Free Democrats of Talossa, Azul.
It was with profound sadness and yet a sense of renewed energy that I left your party in preparation for my recent Accession. As with Talossans of all political views, I count many of you among my friends. It is impossible to erase years of association with the stroke of a pen, and I am beyond grateful that the Kingdom has bestowed upon me the great honor of the Throne of Talossa.
Prior to my Accession, I was invited by your esteemed leader, Dame Miestra Schiva, to say a few words not as a politician, but as The King. Talossa is strong because of our political traditions and not in spite of it. The often rancorous but ordinarily good-natured speeches in the halls of the Ziu and on the campaign trail remind us that our national experiment is alive and well. It would not be hyperbolic of me to state that it is not only alive and well, but it is thriving.
While some among us, myself included, bemoan when good-natured political speech turns hostile, I share a hope that our differences will not divide us, but will make us yet stronger in a renewed purpose. I believe it is fair to proclaim that all of us, we Talossans, believe that an active and purpose-driven kingdom is far superior to complacency. Let us all strive toward a greater joy in that endeavor.
It is with a humble heart that I wish the Free Democrats continued success in the current term of government. I will close my remarks with the motto that adorns my arms and is one of the defining precepts of my reign: Fraichetz dels punts, es non dels mürs. Build bridges, and not walls.
With respect,
Txec R
May I present to you: the Talossan Honours System.
Seriously. If we can't afford to pay techies, let's work out how to motivate them with something that King and Government can give them, with minimum cost but a lot of subjective value.
I also feel that I can get behind this platform, it seems to be a good direction to take Talossa into and it addresses key issues we are facing as a nation.
I can stand for Party Secretary. To my knowledge, it mainly involves putting the annual-ish Convention together, which is something I've done before and can do again when the time comes.
My life the past half-decade was spent in helping to take care of my father more and more. Now that family has him in assisted care (he's doing very well, by the way), I am far more free to at least take a limited role in party affairs. If Daph needs a Secretary-other-than-her to keep on as President, than I can be that Secretary.
The Free Democrats has a long and proud history. Our political movement in various labels claims a political ancestry founded in part in the 2004-2012 Republic and continues today as well as dissident-voices around in the Kingdom in the late aughts and early 10s. This movement has done the impossible: neutralize the grenade of a hereditary monarchy and the prevention of Ben Madison's bedroom-kingdom from becoming an incestuous one-party state with no real political alternative.
The battle for the respect of the Talossan people between We Who Left and Those Who Stayed was begun because Ben Madison refused to publicly see the error of his ways, poisoning the minds of Kingdom-Talossans against us, even in the wake of the mistakes made with the domains and Wittenberg X.
The battle between John Woolley's Talossan political establishment and the political descendants of we-who-returned in Reunision is the foundation for today's Talossan politics and may well be for the rest of time. Talossan history should be divided between Before-the-Vendetta against Kane and After-the-Vendetta against Kane. As I've said so often before, the 2004-2012 Republic is a mere by-product.
Where the Free Democrats fit in Talossa's future is something no-one really knows. However, I think we should give it at least one more year.
Ergo, to prevent the complete demise of our party and to allow Daph to continue serving as our President, I'm putting my hat into the ring for Party Secretary.
Long may King Txec reign!
GV
Great. I think I might have to extend the convention a little bit, to (a) draft a formal programme document, and (b) give people time to read it before they vote on it.
Okay. Here is my suggestion for rewriting the Party Programme, whose current version is here (https://wiki.talossa.com/Free_Democrats_of_Talossa#Party_Policy).
A. MONARCHIST/REPUBLICAN COMPROMISE
Free Democrats include both monarchists and republicans, but we all put liberty and democracy first in Talossa. We offer our support to a Talossan Head of State who is continually active, puts the interests of the Nation above defending their own interests and prestige, and acts as the servant rather than the owner of the State. We support Organic structures which ensure that our Head of State continues to operate in this way.
B. POLITICS FOR EVERYONE, CIVIL SERVICE FOR SKILLED WORKERS
For Talossa to really be democratic, Talossan politics and law must be simple enough that average people can always run for the Ziu, serve in Government, and navigate the Corts. Kingdom jobs which require technical or legal skills should be part of the Royal Civil Service, which is non-political and helps the elected politicians carry out their plans. If we don't separate politics and expertise, a small group of politicians with tech skills will end up running everything – and can't be voted out because only they know how to run the systems. We will strictly separate policy-making from administration, and establish strict rules for anyone qualified to do both to make sure they remain separate.
C. ÁR GLHEÞ
'N naziun sanc glheþ, c'è 'n naziun sanc coraziun. The Talossan language is not only one of our highest cultural treasures but something which separates our state from all other nations and nation-building projects. Our vision is that all Talossans will learn and use the national language to some extent, and the Government should set policy accordingly.
D. CULTURE
Liberty in Talossa should mean that Talossan culture should always be independent from the Kingdom authorities. The Ministry of Culture should work with ordinary citizens, non-governmental organisations and provincial governments to build Talossa's "civil society" - ways to be Talossan outside of politics or the Kingdom's administration, including language, research, sports, and leisure. This may include State funding, through contestable grants or prizes for competitions, but will always ensure that Talossan culture never needs Government or political approval to happen.
Every citizen should be able to:
• Get involved in politics without having skills, experience or training in politics or laws;
• Work for the Kingdom without getting involved in politics;
• "Do Talossa" without getting involved in politics or working for the Kingdom.
E. FEDERALISM REFORM
Provincial governments in Talossa only function intermittently; by and large the provinces only act as electoral districts for Senators. We support reforms to the Senäts and other Organic provisions to provide incentives for provincial governments to be more active, or to create new provinces, either by splitting or merging.
F. MODERATION
One of the major ways in which people are excluded from participating in Talossa is rudeness and discourtesy from other Talossans. This does not mean "making being rude illegal" – our legal system should only get involved in the worst, most dangerous forms of abuse. But clever abusers can always find a way to stay within "the letter of the law" while making people's lives miserable ("I'm not touching you!) Moderators on Wittenberg should be empowered to uphold standards of courtesy ("Wittiquette") in our main discussion forum, without fear of being bullied by either State authorities or private citizens. To do otherwise is a statement that Talossa values the input of rude bullies more than those who give up rather than keep dealing with them.
I think I'll think on it a little white to see if I can tighten the language up. I also wonder whether we should renew a commitment to *some* kind of pro-democracy OrgLaw reform. But we should probably move on to a vote before the new year on this; and a ticket of me as President and GV as Secretary
new draft===
PREAMBLEFree Democrats put
liberty and democracy first in Talossa. This means that every citizen should be able to:
• Get involved in politics without having skills, experience or training in politics or law;
• Work for the Kingdom without getting involved in politics;
• "Do Talossa" without getting involved in politics or working for the Kingdom.
• Participate in Talossa without their fun being ruined by bullying, harassment, or political interference.
A. OUR CONSTITUTION1) BASIC PRINCIPLE
Talossa's institutions are made for its people, not the other way around. If the people do not fit the institutions, it is the latter which must change. Free Democrats always support reforms to our Organic and Statute Law to promote liberty, democracy, and the flourishing of Talossanity.
2) MONARCHIST/REPUBLICAN COMPROMISE
Free Democrats include both monarchists and republicans. We support to a Talossan Head of State who is continually active, puts the interests of the Nation above defending their own interests and prestige, and acts as the servant rather than the owner of the State. We support a constitution that ensures that our Head of State continues to operate in this way.
3) FEDERALISM REFORM
Provincial governments in Talossa only function intermittently; by and large the provinces only act as electoral districts for Senators. We support reforms to the Senäts and other Organic provisions to provide incentives for provincial governments to be more active, or to create new provinces, either by splitting or merging.
B. POLITICS FOR EVERYONE, CIVIL SERVICE FOR SKILLED WORKERSFor Talossa to really be democratic, Talossan politics and law must be simple enough that average people can always run for the Ziu, serve in Government, and navigate the Corts. On the other hand, any job that requires technical or legal skills should be part of the non-political Royal Civil Service, which helps elected politicians carry out their plans.
- No Cabinet or political office should require technical or legal skills to fill; any technical aspect of government should have a Civil Servant to help, including preparing legal drafts or budgets, administering websites or social media accounts.
- All Civil Service roles should be fully documented, to make it easy for new people to take over.
- The Honours System should encourage effort and achievement in the Civil Service.
- For those who wish to be both politicians and civil servants, there should be clear rules to prevent the two roles interfering.
C. CULTURE1) ÁR GLHEÞ
'N naziun sanc glheþ, c'è 'n naziun sanc coraziun. The Talossan language is not only one of our highest cultural treasures but something which separates our state from all other nations and nation-building projects. Our vision is that all Talossans will learn and use the national language to some extent, and the Government should encourage learning materials to enable this.
2) A TALOSSAN CIVIL SOCIETY
Liberty in Talossa should mean that Talossan culture should always be independent from the Kingdom authorities. The Ministry of Culture should work with ordinary citizens, non-governmental organisations and provincial governments to build Talossa's "civil society" - ways to be Talossan outside of politics or government. This may include State funding, through contestable grants or prizes for competitions, but must never make culture reliant on government approval.
3) A POLITE TALOSSA
One of the major ways in which people are excluded from participating in Talossa is rudeness and discourtesy from other Talossans. We cannot and should not try to make rudeness and bullying illegal. But moderators on Wittenberg should be empowered to uphold standards of courtesy ("Wittiquette"), without fear of being bullied by either State authorities or private citizens.