"Fraichetz dels punts, es non dels mürs."These words -- "Build bridges, not walls" -- adorn the arms of His Majesty the King. Earlier this year, he mentioned to me that he wanted to help put them into action a little better to serve Talossa and encourage a more positive environment. In light of this fact, and in light of the fact that I've had a few citizens ask me who it is
I can see myself working with in the next term, I see no reason not to lay out a few of my possible bridge-building intentions now.
Acknowledging that no party is anywhere
near likely to get a majority -- as I mentioned at Coffee With the King on Saturday, it's almost a mathematical impossibility with five parties on the ballot -- coalition government is pretty much a given, so I may as well start with the groups I would be open to leading the URL in cooperation with in the next term.
- The PA: This probably surprises some of you given the fact that neither party is particularly keen on each other, but frankly, there is a good chance of a grand coalition being the outcome of this election. That can happen in democracy -- our German-Talossan citizens would know! There are, of course, some things I would expect out of such a partnership: respectful dialogue in private; no throwing people under the bus in public. Keeping our business honest, avoiding mischaracterization. Maintaining a decentralized model of Cabinet organization; many hands make light work! Respecting the continued neutrality of the justice system and the civil service. Agreement to pursue minor bipartisan reforms -- something along the lines of pro-democratic electoral reform, perhaps -- but also agreement not to bite off more than we can chew. Anything more specific than that, of course, will depend on what we know two weeks from tonight.
- Independent Green / Anarcho-Surrealist: Admittedly, there's not much I can say about @Garth Spencer 's platform, but I like his commitment to "keeping Talossa weird", so to speak. I think his lone campaign mailer thus far shows that he's an open-minded fellow that can find something positive in everyone else's platforms, and I respect that. Hard to put down any guidelines for cooperation at this point though, so we'll just see where the chips fall, I guess.
There are, of course, a few groups I can't see the URL agreeing to work with on points of principle:
- Green Party: I mean, this one is obvious. We've already pledged not to work with the Greens, and that's a promise we're going to keep. 'Nuff said there.
- In Defensa Traditionis: Don't get me wrong, I'm always happy to see new citizens getting involved in politics. Talossa's democracy is one of it's strongest suits -- which is exactly why we need to keep it that way. As Talossa's principled, pro-democracy party, the URL is simply too far from IDT ideologically to envision any possibility of cooperation, though I wish S:reu Maltezos well on his Glheþ-related pursuits and look forward to seeing him around the Cosa.
Yeah. The thing about the PA is that, well, parties in that tradition get mean around election time. But they're actually patriotic and committed, even though I find their vision of Talossa a bit creepy. And if the alternatives are sex pests and back-to-the-Byzantine-Empire types, and barring someone getting a near-absolute majority, there's not really much of an alternative.