This will serve as the usual running thread for feedback (bug reports, inquiries, etc.), news/communications from myself (eg. regarding turnout) and public commentary pertaining to the election.
I have drawn the order that parties and candidates will appear in on the PDF ballot (D20 roll in brackets):
- Cosă: URL (20), PROG (16;17), GREEN (16;7), BREN (12), IG/A-S (2)
- M-M Senate: Davinescu, Tafial
- VD Senate: Lenxheir, Grischun
- FV Presidium: Schivă, Válcadác'h
The process is available here, if you want to watch me attempt to speak only Talossan for five minutes (and realise I do not know the Talossan word for "tiebreaker"): link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvU0LvGiBuc)
(From this election onward, the order on the Database form will be randomised every time, so this only applies to the PDF ballot.)
Speaking of the PDF ballot itself, it too will change with respect to previous elections. It is now only one page long, with most details and information moved to a separate 7-page
pienamaintsch (supplement) which will be provided alongside the ballot. This is both intended to facilitate email/post voting, as you only need to submit one page, and to change the format of the ballot to something (subjectively) better looking and resemblant of macronational elections.
The pienamaintsch is already available here: Pienamaintsch (https://wiki.talossa.com/images/f/ff/63_Cosa_Pienamaintsch.pdf) , and the ballot for Belacostă has been uploaded as well as an example: Ballot example (https://wiki.talossa.com/images/5/58/63_Cosa_Ballot_BE.pdf)
Quote from: Sir Lüc on August 14, 2026, 11:57:42 AMThe pienamaintsch is already available here: Pienamaintsch (https://wiki.talossa.com/images/f/ff/63_Cosa_Pienamaintsch.pdf)
If I could only access that link...
Quote from: Barclamïu da Miéletz on August 14, 2026, 12:47:17 PMQuote from: Sir Lüc on August 14, 2026, 11:57:42 AMThe pienamaintsch is already available here: Pienamaintsch (https://wiki.talossa.com/images/f/ff/63_Cosa_Pienamaintsch.pdf)
If I could only access that link...
That's odd. I've uploaded it to the Chancery's Drive account: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1njogxDYEmTnZZ0gaOgMFqDoyxZ23ZEhJ/view?usp=sharing (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1njogxDYEmTnZZ0gaOgMFqDoyxZ23ZEhJ/view?usp=sharing)
Quote from: Sir Lüc on August 14, 2026, 01:35:59 PMQuote from: Barclamïu da Miéletz on August 14, 2026, 12:47:17 PMQuote from: Sir Lüc on August 14, 2026, 11:57:42 AMThe pienamaintsch is already available here: Pienamaintsch (https://wiki.talossa.com/images/f/ff/63_Cosa_Pienamaintsch.pdf)
If I could only access that link...
That's odd. I've uploaded it to the Chancery's Drive account: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1njogxDYEmTnZZ0gaOgMFqDoyxZ23ZEhJ/view?usp=sharing
I was able to access it with no problems, and by the way, it looked great!
-Txec R
Yeah, looks great. Nice work Lüc.
Thank you! I did have fun making the ballots and Pienamaintsch, so that's a bonus.
Earlier I was asking Lüc whether pointing out that alongside the elections for the Cosa, election night will also see the reveal of this years Talossan Music Top 20, voting for which is currently underway in the chatroom (https://wittenberg.talossa.com/index.php?topic=5351.msg44697#new), counts as election commentary. The answer apparently is yes, as long as I also encourage people to vote in the GE so eeh everyone go vote on the General Elections tomorrow (and on round 3 of tmt20 right now!)
As for my actual election commentary, I am kinda tempted to vote by post this time, but I have no idea who to vote for yet, because I haven't been paying attention as usual.
Oh, also, lest I forget. Major credit to the Ladintsch Naziunal
@Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial, UrGP for his help in translating the PDF and Database ballots. Now that the Database is dialed in, I really wanted to bring back bilingual ballots, and I couldn't have made it without him.
As a further update: other than the ballots and Pienamaintsch, the ballot mailers and Witt post are also ready and the only thing left is double checking the voting system. Therefore, I think you can expect the election to start a few hours earlier than what is displayed on the Database, which was set to a pretty conservative time in case something happened (2 PM TDT; I think 10-12 AM is more likely). I will let you all know.
I just wanted to say that the ballot and pienamaintch both look fantastic, they add a good air of professionalism to the whole thing. Well done!
Quote from: Sir Lüc on August 14, 2026, 01:35:59 PMQuote from: Barclamïu da Miéletz on August 14, 2026, 12:47:17 PMQuote from: Sir Lüc on August 14, 2026, 11:57:42 AMThe pienamaintsch is already available here: Pienamaintsch (https://wiki.talossa.com/images/f/ff/63_Cosa_Pienamaintsch.pdf)
If I could only access that link...
That's odd. I've uploaded it to the Chancery's Drive account: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1njogxDYEmTnZZ0gaOgMFqDoyxZ23ZEhJ/view?usp=sharing (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1njogxDYEmTnZZ0gaOgMFqDoyxZ23ZEhJ/view?usp=sharing)
Yeah the issue is TalossaWiki thinks I'm a bot.
Quote from: Mic'haglh Autófil, O.Be on August 14, 2026, 03:30:19 PMI just wanted to say that the ballot and pienamaintch both look fantastic, they add a good air of professionalism to the whole thing. Well done!
I'm very glad to hear!
The election is live and all 137 ballots have been sent out as of 10:07 TDT. Happy voting!
Whatever result comes of this election, Sir Lüc, your work on all aspects of this event continues to be outstanding. Month after month and Clark after Clark, you and MPF build on the good work of your predecessors, setting your chair next to them and sharing their table as one of them and in the best traditions of Talossa administrative competence.
GV, Senator for Fiova
Quote from: GV on August 15, 2026, 10:23:25 AMWhatever result comes of this election, Sir Lüc, your work on all aspects of this event continues to be outstanding. Month after month and Clark after Clark, you and MPF build on the good work of your predecessors, setting your chair next to them and sharing their table as one of them and in the best traditions of Talossa administrative competence.
GV, Senator for Fiova
Thank you, GV! Unfortunately MPF has been "retired" for quite some time now, but I'm proud to continue building on his legacy.
As a matter of public record, I have voted on the database with a vote of present, as is tradition. The Queen has also voted.
Best of luck to all the candidates and I look forward to working with whomever is chosen to lead my next government.
-Txec R
I've been showing the mail-in ballot around my groups of friends and they've all loved it so far. Great work as always, Lüc!
Quote from: Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial, UrGP on August 15, 2026, 12:02:55 PMI've been showing the mail-in ballot around my groups of friends and they've all loved it so far. Great work as always, Lüc!
It's really amazing!
Quote from: Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial, UrGP on August 15, 2026, 12:02:55 PMI've been showing the mail-in ballot around my groups of friends and they've all loved it so far. Great work as always, Lüc!
Well, they could cast one themselves (in 9 months most likely) if they applied for citizenship? 👀
Is the Chancery going to allow the Progressive Alliance to take back their latest mailer? It must have been an error that they sent out exactly the same text as their first one.
No, it's not the same. In order to accommodate one complaint, we adjusted the wording slightly in one respect. A member of the civil service complained that it implied that the Government had actually done the work of getting the merchandise store back open. This seemed a fair complaint, so we changed the wording to reflect the Government's managerial role. We might have been the impetus, but it wasn't fair to imply we were the ones who updated the site.
Beyond that, I'm pretty happy with it, and I think it's reflective of our pretty dramatic successes this term and the good things we want to accomplish. Though we've gotten so much interest about the embassies that I'm going to try to get that process going now... It doesn't seem like there's any partisan disagreement with the idea and everyone is on board, so why wait?
(There was a very interesting debate on Discord about the ways in which we could maybe have in-person voting at future embassies, actually!)
I appreciate the kind thought, though, and I wish you guys good luck in the election :-)
Thanks for the kind thought; I'd want the same consideration if my finger slipped on the button.
@Sir Lüc Luc, I tried to message privately but the message was blocked. About two hours ago, I received an automated confirmation of vote message from the Database. But I have not actually voted yet so am trying to find out what happened. Luc could you please look into this? I will forward the email to the Talossa Chancery gmail.
Quote from: Breneir Tzaracomprada on August 15, 2026, 07:52:39 PM@Sir Lüc
Luc, I tried to message privately but the message was blocked. About two hours ago, I received an automated confirmation of vote message from the Database. But I have not actually voted yet so am trying to find out what happened. Luc could you please look into this? I will forward the email to the Talossa Chancery gmail.
I'll tell you what happened - because Lüc is probably asleep.
In your mailer, you included a link to a ballot paper. But you included the link
with your personal identification number attached.
So, it seems that someone clicked that link to vote, and their was just registered as
your own vote. This was extremely foolish on your part, given that valid links to vote were already included in Chancery mails.
You have Dien Tresplet to thank for alerting me to this (so I could alert Lüc to it).
Whoa! That's really unfortunate. Breneir, you should not have sent out your personal link. I don't even know what the law is about this, and if the Chancery can even undo this. Let me look into it.
EDIT: "Lexh.B.4. All votes cast are be presumed to be valid. The validity of any vote may be challenged by any Talossan citizen after it is counted, by presenting the challenge as a case to the Uppermost Cort[120], with all available evidence. Should the Cort choose to hear the case, and subsequently find that a ballot has been cast or counted illegally, the final vote tally shall be adjusted to disregard the invalid vote. Special attention shall be paid to non-citizens who might attempt to forge ballots in order to interfere with or embarrass Talossa's democratic electoral process."
You can appeal to the Cort to have your vote disregarded.
The Government will also look into if a crime has been committed.
Yeah, that was clearly an accident on my part to include that personal link. I just copied the guide from the Chancery email as it seemed it would be helpful for others without noticing that it was personalized. As one can imagine I would not be voting present or abstaining from all of the referendums. Although I am interested in who accidentally voted using the link when it probably showed my name for the ballot.
Anyway
@Sir Lüc as the Secretary of State I seek your guidance concerning how, if possible, to rectify this issue. If the only option available is to fix it after the count then how does my actual vote get reflected within the democratic process?
Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on August 15, 2026, 11:31:24 PMThe Government will also look into if a crime has been committed.
I think my husband can confirm I was actually taking a mid-day nap when the email vote confirmation came in, if necessary. I am skeptical this was an accident as (maybe the SoS can confirm) my name would be visible on the ballot when the other person was voting. I will cooperate with whatever measures the Government proposes to hold whoever did this to account.
The law seems really clear. You have to wait, and then appeal to the Cort. They can set aside your vote, although I don't think you get to vote then? I don't know, though, since this has never happened before. If a vote wasn't counted or was cast by someone ineligible, the Electoral Commission could invalidate it. But the law's only provision for someone asking for a redo is the Cort, I think.
You should retain a lawyer, I'd suggest.
I won't comment further on any criminal investigation at this time.
Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on August 15, 2026, 11:53:43 PMI won't comment further on any criminal investigation at this time.
There is no need for further comment beyond the stated commitment by the current Government to look into whether a crime has been committed. I reiterate my willingness to cooperate.
Luc, I reviewed your election rules and along with the Organic Law cited by Alexandreu it seems he is correct that the election rules and the law are pretty clear and there is no way to fix this. So please disregard my own requests to look into it beyond what the Government decides to investigate. It is conceivable that the Independent Progressive party might be only supported by its founder, however, so I am saddened that a mistake and either errant or fraudulent voting might prevent me from returning to parliament.
I just woke up and I'm looking into the matter.
QuoteI am skeptical this was an accident as (maybe the SoS can confirm) my name would be visible on the ballot when the other person was voting.
Unfortunately the electronic form on the Database does not state whose ballot you're trying to cast anymore. I believe this happened prior to the last election in late 2025, when the old ballot page got mistakenly nuked and I had to restore it from the "preview ballot" page, which was mostly identical except for that bit at the top (obviously the preview ballot is not personalised).
I believe Lexh.B.13.6.1 applies here, meaning I am treating the above as a notification to me and the rest of the Electoral Commission that a potential irregularity with a ballot has taken place.
I have accordingly referred the matter to the rest of the Commission, which shall now review the matter and decide by majority vote whether an irregularity exists. Such an irregularity would then be handled according to existing law.
I will not comment on this further except to update on the Commission's findings.
Azul à toct,
a majority of the Electoral Commission has voted to invalidate the ballot cast in S:r Tzaracomprada's name. Additionally, upon review of the metadata, the Commission believes that, since the ballot was evidently not cast by S:r Tzaracomprada, he has yet to cast a ballot and is still legally eligible to do so.
Therefore, as directed by the Commission, I have removed the invalid ballot, removed the old voter entry for S:r Tzaracomprada to invalidate the old PSC, and issued a new PSC for S:r Tzaracomprada, which I will communicate to him shortly.
The Chancery will also naturally assist the Government's investigation into the matter.
(https://wiki.talossa.com/images/3/39/LesserStateSeal.png)
-- the SoS, on behalf of the Electoral Commission
Quote from: Sir Lüc on August 16, 2026, 05:16:17 AMI believe Lexh.B.13.6.1 applies here, meaning I am treating the above as a notification to me and the rest of the Electoral Commission that a potential irregularity with a ballot has taken place.
I have accordingly referred the matter to the rest of the Commission, which shall now review the matter and decide by majority vote whether an irregularity exists. Such an irregularity would then be handled according to existing law.
I will not comment on this further except to update on the Commission's findings.
Luc, I am deeply grateful. Thank you!
It thankfully seems like we're back to normal, so it seems like a good moment for the first turnout update; we're at 40 voters, or 29.2% turnout, with 13 days 8 hours left to vote.
We're a bit more than one fifth of the way into the election; last time, at this point into the election, 45 votes were cast (33.1%). It seems we're a little behind schedule, but this was also true of the last election, and yet it ended up being the election with the highest percentage turnout in post-Ben Talossa, and highest absolute turnout since July 2018, although in that one we had almost 50 more citizens.
First postal vote received! I'm expecting one more, so this is probably going to be the election with the most postal votes in a long long while, if anything.
A week (and 5 hours) left to vote. I have just sent a first voting reminder to all 84 eligible voters who haven't cast a ballot yet; two more votes have been cast already, which pushed turnout over 40%. Atatürk was the first province to reach 50% turnout, but M-M has now overtaken it.
All six voters affected by the Google ballot tampering have re-cast their ballots now, and the countermeasures I implemented seem to be working, as I haven't spotted any further suspicious log entries ever since.
I'm also happy to report that I received an email vote over the weekend (that is, someone returned a compiled PDF ballot by email), meaning all four legal ways to cast a ballot have been used by at least one voter each.
I must say, I'm heavily intrigued as to what elements of the past Breneir is encouraging us to forget in his latest mailer.
Quote from: Iac Marscheir on August 26, 2026, 01:27:34 PMI must say, I'm heavily intrigued as to what elements of the past Breneir is encouraging us to forget in his latest mailer.
Breneir's "Let's stop talking about the past, and in particular why I was unanimously condemned by the Ziu (https://wiki.talossa.com/Law:61RZ13_Sense_of_the_Ziu:_A_First_Step_Towards_Decency)" mailer is raising a lot of questions already answered by his mailer!
An additional ballot has been issued and emailed to
@Aryan Vaidya , who became a citizen midway through the election.
Turnout is 44% (61/138) with 5 days to go. I believe 35ish eligible voters haven't cast a ballot yet, but took part in at least 3 of the 4 general elections, referenda and census held in the last 2 years. Should they all vote, turnout would be a little shy of the 100 mark. If we could get to triple digits again, even if not to 105 like last time, I'd be happy I think.
There hasn't been much election debate going on so far. Although admittedly I probably missed some of it due to not paying attention. I've read the mailers, but I think party leaders questioning each other about what and how they intend to do things (or for example how they would approach the next government formation) might be more informative.
Fwiw I don't know how I'm going to vote yet. (Other than not Breneir of course. And probably not GP either because Im not really convinced yet they are not just Breneir with a fake mustache)
On another note Ive seen people wonder whether people are really just voting for URL because they want to keep out the Progressives or the other way round, but I'm kinda the opposite. It might be actually good for Talossa to have both of them in government for a term. If Miestra and AD formed a party together I'd vote for that I think.
Quote from: Glüc on August 29, 2026, 04:30:39 AMThere hasn't been much election debate going on so far. Although admittedly I probably missed some of it due to not paying attention. I've read the mailers, but I think party leaders questioning each other about what and how they intend to do things (or for example how they would approach the next government formation) might be more informative.
Fwiw I don't know how I'm going to vote yet. (Other than not Breneir of course. And probably not GP either because Im not really convinced yet they are not just Breneir with a fake mustache)
On another note Ive seen people wonder whether people are really just voting for URL because they want to keep out the Progressives or the other way round, but I'm kinda the opposite. It might be actually good for Talossa to have both of them in government for a term. If Miestra and AD formed a party together I'd vote for that I think.
A party that contained both Miestra and AD would be interesting but it would likely implode. Let me preface this by saying I do NOT intend this as an insult BUT they are both alpha personalities and would likely clash over who gets to be in charge, I do have to admit though that it would be interesting to see what they could do together.
Quote from: Glüc on August 29, 2026, 04:30:39 AMFwiw I don't know how I'm going to vote yet. (Other than not Breneir of course. And probably not GP either because Im not really convinced yet they are not just Breneir with a fake mustache)
On another note Ive seen people wonder whether people are really just voting for URL because they want to keep out the Progressives or the other way round, but I'm kinda the opposite. It might be actually good for Talossa to have both of them in government for a term. If Miestra and AD formed a party together I'd vote for that I think.
It is Crement who I have to thank for encouraging me to make an unqualified apology and to not take the repeated baiting from Miestra and sometimes Iac seriously. And to let the Green Party move beyond me. All of those are good things in my opinion and speak well to his judgement. I have no control over the party's future direction and am no longer even in the party Discord.
On your last note, we did just have a term where the URL and PA had an informal confidence and supply agreement for most of the term. The Green Party (as the third largest party) served as official opposition for most of the term. Considering that it would not be an unexpected development.
I think that Miestra and I could work together pretty easily, Tric'hard. Both of us are in a similar position, sharing a lot of macronational political values and a similar approach, and both of us eager for others to take charge but unwilling to let our goals die due to neglect.
The election has been fairly low key, Gluc, I agree - to Progressive detriment, actually, since we do better with higher turnout.
Quote from: Glüc on August 29, 2026, 04:30:39 AMIt might be actually good for Talossa to have both of them in government for a term. If Miestra and AD formed a party together I'd vote for that I think.
<soapbox>If this isn't an argument against party-based voting and in favour of direct candidate-based voting, I don't know what is.</soapbox>
Quote from: Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial, UrGP on August 29, 2026, 10:46:52 AMQuote from: Glüc on August 29, 2026, 04:30:39 AMIt might be actually good for Talossa to have both of them in government for a term. If Miestra and AD formed a party together I'd vote for that I think.
<soapbox>If this isn't an argument against party-based voting and in favour of direct candidate-based voting, I don't know what is.</soapbox>
The party based voting is actually an individual based vote. Everyone knows who basically runs each party and they are voting for that person to lead his/her party in the direction they feel is correct.
Quote from: Tric'hard Lenxheir on August 29, 2026, 12:07:03 PMQuote from: Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial, UrGP on August 29, 2026, 10:46:52 AMQuote from: Glüc on August 29, 2026, 04:30:39 AMIt might be actually good for Talossa to have both of them in government for a term. If Miestra and AD formed a party together I'd vote for that I think.
<soapbox>If this isn't an argument against party-based voting and in favour of direct candidate-based voting, I don't know what is.</soapbox>
The party based voting is actually an individual based vote. Everyone knows who basically runs each party and they are voting for that person to lead his/her party in the direction they feel is correct.
What I mean is, in the current system there is no option to vote for both AD and Miestra if you like them both. You are given a limited set of choices instead, and forced to choose between those and
only those. It stifles cross-partisan dialog and supports hackery.
Quote from: Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial, UrGP on August 29, 2026, 12:28:59 PMQuote from: Tric'hard Lenxheir on August 29, 2026, 12:07:03 PMQuote from: Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial, UrGP on August 29, 2026, 10:46:52 AMQuote from: Glüc on August 29, 2026, 04:30:39 AMIt might be actually good for Talossa to have both of them in government for a term. If Miestra and AD formed a party together I'd vote for that I think.
<soapbox>If this isn't an argument against party-based voting and in favour of direct candidate-based voting, I don't know what is.</soapbox>
The party based voting is actually an individual based vote. Everyone knows who basically runs each party and they are voting for that person to lead his/her party in the direction they feel is correct.
What I mean is, in the current system there is no option to vote for both AD and Miestra if you like them both. You are given a limited set of choices instead, and forced to choose between those and only those. It stifles cross-partisan dialog and supports hackery.
I agree with Marcel that the current voting system could be improved. I wish that we could increase elements of direct democracy and reduce the control of political parties with more independent politicians though.
Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on August 29, 2026, 07:54:13 AMwe do better with higher turnout.
Turnout has indeed been low so far. Only 4 votes yet on the Talossan Music Top 20 Final (https://wittenberg.talossa.com/index.php?topic=5351.msg44906#msg44906). Lets hope the final days see another burst of voters.
I still intend to do a TMT20 broadcast in the voice channel on discord on election night, if there's enough people around who are interested.
Quote from: Glüc on August 29, 2026, 04:30:39 AMThere hasn't been much election debate going on so far. Although admittedly I probably missed some of it due to not paying attention. I've read the mailers, but I think party leaders questioning each other about what and how they intend to do things (or for example how they would approach the next government formation) might be more informative.
This is one of those "can't win for losing" situations. In previous elections people have complained that Talossans are too mean and personal and combative. We were told
explicitly that in the last election, the URL's sharp critiques of Progressive politics lost us the election. So this election we've made a special effort to pivot to constructive "this is what WE'LL do" stuff rather than bashing the Progs. And that's the wrong rock too, apparently :D
An actual leader's debate was scheduled, but didn't happen for whatever reason. But the constructive answer to Glüc's question is that the URL
have emphasized government formation, in the sense that we keep going on and on about
team government, and criticized the incumbent's tendency to "one man band" forms of organization.
Can I also notice that there is a real problem implicit in Glüc's comment about "Miestră and AD" cooperating. The leader and Seneschal candidate of the URL is Mic'haglh Autófil. The extent to which Mic'haglh is not seen as a separate entity to myself is regrettable, and something we've been trying to counteract, but it seems that that can't happen until I leave Talossa altogether :D
Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC on August 29, 2026, 04:25:38 PMQuote from: Glüc on August 29, 2026, 04:30:39 AMThere hasn't been much election debate going on so far. Although admittedly I probably missed some of it due to not paying attention. I've read the mailers, but I think party leaders questioning each other about what and how they intend to do things (or for example how they would approach the next government formation) might be more informative.
This is one of those "can't win for losing" situations. In previous elections people have complained that Talossans are too mean and personal and combative. We were told explicitly that in the last election, the URL's sharp critiques of Progressive politics lost us the election. So this election we've made a special effort to pivot to constructive "this is what WE'LL do" stuff rather than bashing the Progs. And that's the wrong rock too, apparently :D
I think you might be conflating two things. There's a difference between criticizing policies or ideas, and attacking people personally. We see some of that in this election, too, because the main criticism that I've seen of the Progs is noting how dominant I am when it comes to government activity. And that's a completely fair critique, and it's usually true whenever I'm in government because I have a hyperabundance of energy and like to do a lot of stuff. It's certainly not coming off as nasty, when compared with the last election, when a lot of this kind of criticism was focused on my character personally. I'm grateful for that!
But that's different than saying that it would be a bad idea to establish physical embassies, or that it's unrealistic, or that people would hate it. That would be focusing on our
policies and challenging them.
For myself, I think that comes from what seems to be a very fundamental difference in the approach of the two parties. Our party is overwhelmingly focused on building things and offering new programs, and the URL is focused on changing laws. That was true in the last election, as well. I don't think either of those approaches are wrong, but they are so different that they are different visions of government, more than different programs.
Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC on August 29, 2026, 04:25:38 PMCan I also notice that there is a real problem implicit in Glüc's comment about "Miestră and AD" cooperating. The leader and Seneschal candidate of the URL is Mic'haglh Autófil. The extent to which Mic'haglh is not seen as a separate entity to myself is regrettable, and something we've been trying to counteract, but it seems that that can't happen until I leave Talossa altogether :D
I think the perception is that you provide a lot of the main energy for your party. You're on Witt easily twice as much as he is, so people just see a lot more of you.
Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on August 30, 2026, 09:24:06 AMI think you might be conflating two things. There's a difference between criticizing policies or ideas, and attacking people personally. We see some of that in this election, too, because the main criticism that I've seen of the Progs is noting how dominant I am when it comes to government activity.
It may be difficult to tell the difference between valid criticism of your government's record and personal attack when the line between individual and Government has been allowed to blur so much, but I can assure you, this is the former.
When you are in government and are running for re-election, one thing you must address, in addition to things like ideology and future plans, is past performance. Some governments likely find this quite easy; this government will have a harder time of it:
- Formation reliant on a politically extreme party, producing a narrow and often-unstable majority;
- Intentional exclusion of skilled and cooperative administrators on the basis of personal spite;
- Employment of individuals rightly condemned for sexual harrassment;
- Failure to deliver on multiple self-imposed goals related to immigration, culture, etc. (see point #2 for a major cause);
- Abuse and improper politicization of non-partisan institutions, including the CRL process and claiming Government credit for work of the Royal Civil Service;
- We can now add to the list "overzealous attempts to prosecute someone who does not actually exist".
I do not envy the Sisyphean task before you.
QuoteBut that's different than saying that it would be a bad idea to establish physical embassies, or that it's unrealistic, or that people would hate it. That would be focusing on our policies and challenging them.
On the contrary, we've said very explicitly (https://wittenberg.talossa.com/index.php?topic=5418.0) that the few and modest objectives your party is offering are generally acceptable, but that if one wants something a bit more forward-thinking, the URL is the correct choice. If we're offering any big criticism of these objectives, what we're noting is that the shift in tone between your previous platform of promising the world and this platform is the implicit recognition that last time, you bit off more than you could chew, and failed to deliver.
Final reminders going out by email right now, as well as the second PROG mailer. Two days and six hours left to vote.
Quote from: Mic'haglh Autófil, O.Be on August 30, 2026, 10:35:52 AMQuote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on August 30, 2026, 09:24:06 AMI think you might be conflating two things. There's a difference between criticizing policies or ideas, and attacking people personally. We see some of that in this election, too, because the main criticism that I've seen of the Progs is noting how dominant I am when it comes to government activity.
It may be difficult to tell the difference between valid criticism of your government's record and personal attack when the line between individual and Government has been allowed to blur so much, but I can assure you, this is the former.
I was saying was that I didn't think that you guys had been engaging in a lot of nasty personal attacks this time around, for which I was grateful.
Quote from: Mic'haglh Autófil, O.Be on August 30, 2026, 10:35:52 AMthe contrary, we've said very explicitly (https://wittenberg.talossa.com/index.php?topic=5418.0) that the few and modest objectives your party is offering are generally acceptable, but that if one wants something a bit more forward-thinking, the URL is the correct choice. If we're offering any big criticism of these objectives, what we're noting is that the shift in tone between your previous platform of promising the world and this platform is the implicit recognition that last time, you bit off more than you could chew, and failed to deliver.
We've accomplished some pretty huge things this term, and I'm glad we have even more to go, plus some new ideas to keep moving things forward. I think we have just a different approach to governance (and campaigning), though.
Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on August 30, 2026, 09:24:06 AMOur party is overwhelmingly focused on building things and offering new programs, and the URL is focused on changing laws.
And that would be why you headlined your last mailer with a constitutional scare story?* No doubt because "building things and offering new programs" doesn't excite your core vote (whom I think Glüc characterized accurately).
Honestly, I'm disappointed that the tone got dragged down so close to the finish line.
You guys have espoused a number of goals, and almost all of them are about changing the laws. I highlighted one of them: getting rid of the Senäts as we know it, in order to make it an advisory body that can delay legislation or request revisions from the Cosa. I highlighted that one in our last mailer because I think it'd be a serious mistake and that voters hate the idea. But there's others: shrinking the Cosa down more, creating a new bureau for worldbuilding, making more micronational connections, changing the laws about the CRL, supporting the Democracy Act, and asking the Chancery what changes should be made to Wittenberg.
I don't even disagree with some of these. (Although I will say that I do not think it's appropriate for the Chancery to be the deciding agency on what the future of our message board or website should look like -- they should be consulted, but we're a democracy, and the elected government should set policy). But five out of seven of them are about changing the laws.
I don't think there's anything wrong with a focus on legislation, especially since it's almost always been your own passion, Miestra. And there's nothing wrong with having those as goals... changing the law was one of our own premiere goals in the last election! You should own it and be proud, in my opinion.
By the way, I told Mic'haglh this but he may not have seen my message: the video he shared in your last mailer was marked private, so I don't think anyone can watch it.
Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC on August 29, 2026, 04:25:38 PMThe extent to which Mic'haglh is not seen as a separate entity to myself is regrettable, and something we've been trying to counteract, but it seems that that can't happen until I leave Talossa altogether :D
Now, that's a little exaggerated. I mean, there are several Talossans who are out of politics and still in Talossa. Maybe a handful more than just technically!
But I do expect it is likely that as long as you're a vocal participant in politics, whatever party you're aligned with will tend to be seen as
your party. I'll note that historically it never
really mattered who was
ex officio leader of the Progressive Conservatives or the RUMP, either. Even macronational politics have a tendency to get personalized around forceful or charismatic figures; Talossa doesn't have the mass to counteract that much.
Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on August 30, 2026, 04:25:38 PMI highlighted one of them: getting rid of the Senäts as we know it, in order to make it an advisory body
The thing is anyone can go look at the Democracy Agenda (https://wittenberg.talossa.com/index.php?topic=5419.0) (point 5, in particular) and realise that you've headlined an exaggerated scare story.
Even if it were a mathematical possibility for us to get the necessary numbers for such major OrgLaw surgery in this election. Which it isn't.
I remember someone telling me that we lost the last election because voters were turned off by what they saw as overheated exaggerations about our opponents' programme :D
Quote from: Istefan Perþonest on August 30, 2026, 04:59:41 PMEven macronational politics have a tendency to get personalized around forceful or charismatic figures
I'll pass the feedback on to
@Mic'haglh Autófil, O.Be that he has to be more forceful and charismatic :D
Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on August 30, 2026, 04:25:38 PM(Although I will say that I do not think it's appropriate for the Chancery to be the deciding agency on what the future of our message board or website should look like -- they should be consulted, but we're a democracy, and the elected government should set policy).
Even
if the Royal Civil Service were subordinated to the Government in the way the Seneschal prefers, the Secretary of State reports to the presiding officers of the houses of the Ziu, not the Government.
Speaking of the Ziu, our legislature has granted oversight of Wittenberg to the Secretary of State by law. Ziu sessions since then have not seen fit to revoke this oversight. There is of course nothing wrong with the Secretary of State consulting with the Government or the presiding officers, especially when considering an undertaking the size of Wittenberg overhaul. I have no doubt that the current Secretary of State will continue to do his duties in a thoughtful and deliberate manner. But both on the principle of maintaining the Civil Service's independence, and trusting in the judgment and integrity of its officers, the Chancery must have the final call.
QuoteBy the way, I told Mic'haglh this but he may not have seen my message: the video he shared in your last mailer was marked private, so I don't think anyone can watch it.
I did see your message; while the video in question did already have multiple views (suggesting that the link was working), I have moved it to Unlisted to be safe.
Quote from: Istefan Perþonest on August 30, 2026, 04:59:41 PMBut I do expect it is likely that as long as you're a vocal participant in politics, whatever party you're aligned with will tend to be seen as your party.
+1
Quote from: Mic'haglh Autófil, O.Be on August 30, 2026, 07:11:15 PMthe Chancery must have the final call.
When it comes to the question of infrastructure for Wittenberg, yes -- but that's intended to give the Chancery a free hand when it comes to implementing the technology. I think when we talk about how to present ourselves to the world in terms of how we prioritize Wittenberg or other vehicles, though, that's the sort of major policy decision that belongs in the hands of the elected government.
It's also important to note that it would be outright foolish to treat this as anything other than an opportunity for collaboration. The Secretary of State is in charge of our systems, and that means that Sir Luc has a tremendous amount of insight into best practices, possible problems, and what works best. I think that it's wrong to just ask him to figure out how we should present our face to the world in all of its complexity, but it would be just as wrong to try to boss him around with demands.
Quote from: Mic'haglh Autófil, O.Be on August 30, 2026, 07:11:15 PMQuoteBy the way, I told Mic'haglh this but he may not have seen my message: the video he shared in your last mailer was marked private, so I don't think anyone can watch it.
I did see your message; while the video in question did already have multiple views (suggesting that the link was working), I have moved it to Unlisted to be safe.
Oh, good! Private videos are still available to anyone you send them to by email, so it's possible that you sent it to others for vetting or something first, and that's why it already had multiple views. But I thought you might want a heads-up that there was a problem and that most people would be unable to view it.
Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on August 30, 2026, 04:25:38 PMI do not think it's appropriate for the Chancery to be the deciding agency on what the future of our message board or website should look like -- they should be consulted, but we're a democracy, and the elected government should set policy
Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on August 30, 2026, 08:10:46 PMthat's the sort of major policy decision that belongs in the hands of the elected government.
Quoteit would be just as wrong to try to boss him around with demands.
The first two quotes directly contradict the final one.
But yes, while I have nothing but the utmost trust in the Chancery's decisions, it's not like an Autofil government would do anything but support the Chancery (and the Civil Service as a whole) in the execution of their work. We trust in them; that doesn't mean we abandon them to sink or swim. The two bodies (Government and Civil Service) may not have a supervisor/subordinate relationship, but they
are designed to work in tandem, and only when they are in sync do things move as smoothly as possible.
Tomorrow in the discord: TMT 20 broadcast. The full top 20, voted on by the Talossan public (You can still vote! (https://wittenberg.talossa.com/index.php?topic=5351.msg44906#msg44906)) on election night, right before the general election deadline, along with maybe election predictions/turnout reports(?)/exit polls(?)/general discussion?
Between 14:30 and 16:30 TDT (21:30-23:30 CEST).
Be there
Last ditch mailer sent out. Less than two hours left!
With vote #97, we crossed the 70% turnout threshold.
Looks like a grand coalition is in the making?