We will be picking a new Culture Minister. A vote is already in progress as the party decides on its options.

Happily, the record reflects that I didn't oppose this.  Instead, I actively encouraged you to work on the project, and mentioned it frequently as something I wanted to see happen.  Here's an example. It was just a question of the sheer amount of work. And I'm not afraid of hard work.

Being the most progressive member of a conservative party was sometimes awkward, of course. I know some people in my party at the time opposed it, just like some people in your party at the time opposed it, but I'm not sure how that's really relevant when I've been consistent on this the whole way through. It's false to suggest that I ever stood in the way. I remember when I was defending the bill to establish the secret ballot, I had to argue for quite a while with Cresti. Sometimes that's how it goes.

I'm not a big believer in the idea that it's good to "rattle" someone -- I'm not sure it says much about the truth of the matter.  So I don't know that it matters a lot if someone is getting upset. But people should have learned at this point not to believe you, Most Honourable Seneschal.

That's why I was asking! I won't.

To clarify, I mean the total number of seats each individual was permitted to hold.  For example, this Cosa it's 20 seats maximum per person.  Would it be 2 seats maximum per person under this new law?

EDIT: Okay, so it sounds like it would be 2 per person for an election like this one.

I was thinking about sponsoring this as a Government bill, but I don't want to put any cross-party sponsors in a tough spot.  Would there be any objection to this?

I definitely think it's worth considering this change.  But I think that the fact that the Cosa is so representative is a significant good thing.  It's really a matter of weighing both factors, and deciding which is more important: respecting the democratic vote as much as possible or making political power more rarefied.

Will there be any effect on things like the party seat rules or the number of seats a person can hold?

At week four, the Mençeis were dishonouring the name of their province every single game:

Quote from: Tric'hard Lenxheir on November 03, 2025, 07:26:15 AM1. Manager-less Team 1 3-0-0 902.80
2. Vuode Villains 2-1-0 1,139.20
3. Banqeu da Cézembre Zambonis 2-1-0 915.60
4. Cjovani Squilats 2-1-0 913.10
5. Els Talossaes Rexhitais 2-1-0 847.00
6. Tigreux dal Belacostă 1-2-0 993.50
7. Gordon Hiatus Support Team 1-2-0 859.90
8. Cézembrean Amateurs on Ice 1-2-0 795.90
9. Maricopa Havana Hijinks 1-2-0 745.40
10. Maritiimi-Maxhestic Mençeis 0-3-0 681.60

But now we've risen to #6, in a storybook development that can only be rivaled by epics like Air Bud.

Songs will be written and monuments will be built.

Have you ever wanted to be a journalist?

Have you ever wanted to report on the news, analyze what's happening, and be heard by hundreds of people?  Then we have a project for you!

@Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial, UrGP is our current Landitsch Naziunal, or national Talossan-user, and he's looking to start a new journalistic effort.  I'm just trying to help give a leg up: this would be an independent outlet that's not under government control, covering the news of the day.  In a country with very little reporting, you'd have a lot of influence and you'd be helping your country!

Imagine reporting out an exciting election campaign, or the latest development in national trends from Infoteca, or the surprising events of the day!  Imagine seeing your words translated into our national language, and running simultaneously in both Talossan and English... informing people and helping them learn!

I'll be reaching out to some specific people with experience in this, but maybe you have always thought it would be interesting to have that kind of influence?  If so, reach out to myself or Tafi today through Discord or private message!

Quote from: King Txec on December 07, 2025, 07:45:12 PMI don't know, but it seems like someone should ask the actual, reigning king, his thoughts on his role in Talossa. Just an idea.

-Txec R

Your Majesty, what are your thoughts on your role in Talossa?

Barclamïu, I have a pretty long track record in Talossan politics, and I've spent a lot of time fighting for democratic reforms.  The old system of laws was just a crazy hodgepodge of dozens of individual things that only a few people knew about, until my project of coming up with el Lexhatx.  Or even recently, only a few people would know where to find information on things like the government budget or immigration statistics, until my project of developing Infoteca.  My legacy in Talossa is one of good-government reforms and systems, and I plan on continuing in that tradition.

But don't take my word for it.  Stay engaged and hold us accountable!  If you see me sponsoring a bill to favor Christianity -- unlikely, since I'm an atheist, but let's just speculate -- then you should speak up!

There's a reason why I insisted that we leave the door open to work with the URL, even after everything, and it's because I sincerely believe that it's better to hear everyone's voice.  And that goes for you, too.

I think probably just that it's more granular, which this bill is specifically supposed to change.  So I guess it depends on whether or not you think it's good that the Cosa more closely resembles the actual vote.

Most Honourable Seneschal, I'm not rattled, just bemused that you guys are still doing this.  It's a lie to suggest that Mic'halgh ever presented those terms to me.  You guys are lying.  Again.

We went through a whole campaign of this, and the voters just rejected it in a very clear voice.  It's not a good idea to try to scare people by lying about your political opponents, since it creates a lot of animosity and scares people.  And also we just saw how it doesn't work. 

People aren't going to believe you, since they're going to see that it's not true.

Quote from: Barclamïu da Miéletz on December 08, 2025, 01:26:03 AMPardon my intrusion but I would call all this democratic backsliding if we ("we" as in the country) were to reinstate Robert I's citizenship, considering that form what I've read he's had dictatorship fantasies. My guess would be that once he regains his citizenship, should that happen at all, he would want to return to power. Correct me if I'm wrong I guess.

I don't think I would vote for Max's bill, personally, unless Robert I came back and apologized.  You might have seen how I can be a stickler for that kind of thing.

Please be aware that Max has agreed to a coalition agreement in which he is only going to work on promoting our language, and anything else requires approval from me.  Talossa will not be turning into a theocratic autocracy on my watch, don't worry.

Quote from: Mic'haglh Autófil, O.Be on December 07, 2025, 09:39:03 PMWe had established an opening position which would have called for:

• One or more guarantees of open discussion on democratic/legislative reforms;
• An appointment of one or more URL members to senior non-cabinet posts, to prevent the experience of the previous TNC administration which kept everything tightly within their party; and
• An assurance of no politicized "investigations".

I think you might have made a mistake here.  Your opening position didn't ask for "one or more URL members to senior non-cabinet posts," but rather five of the eleven posts in the Cabinet.  You didn't mention anything about investigations, either.  Whoops!  But that's okay.

Anyway, it seems weird that the alliance that we announced a month ago took you by surprise.  If you recall, when we first discussed working with the IDT in November, you actually sent out a mailer to the country attacking us for it?

I hope we can move past this pattern, Mic'halgh.  The URL approach of hard-charging aggression and creativity with the truth played a large role in the election outcome.  I think that it's really hard to sell people on this idea that you guys are the lonely warriors for virtue and we're rabid monsters of oppression, because it depends so heavily on people ignoring the evidence of their eyes and ears.  They're not going to believe that we're slamming the door on you to be "cliquish, insular, and hostile to feedback from non-party members," because they see the opposite happening.

However, we're going to stick to our plan: we're still hoping you guys are willing to work with others and get things done for Talossa.  We're always going to want to work with you, even if it may not be the position of command to which you're used.  Like I said before:

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on December 07, 2025, 07:11:32 PMIf you guys change your mind and are interested in being a part of the Government, we're still happy to discuss how to advance the interests of your constituents in achieving your party policy goals, since a lot of them seem great.  I respect your decision if you're just taking that off the table, but the door is open if you guys change your mind.  And of course, we'll be happy to discuss other items such as cooperation in the Senate, as well.

Quote from: King Txec on December 07, 2025, 07:42:49 PMCan someone please explain to me how this works. I don't see how this reduces the size of the Cosa, so maybe I'm reading it incorrectly.

-Txec R

As I understand it, the total number of seats that can be assigned would be reduced to 20, and this means that the Cosa would be less representative of the vote.  So someone can vote for themselves and still not get a seat, since you'd need multiple votes to get even one seat.

Ok I think this is mostly right:

PARTY	#	%	/20	Seats
Progressive Alliance	41	43.62	8.7	9
Uniun dels Reformistaes Livereschti	31	32.98	6.59	7
Green Party	13	13.83	2.76	3
In Defensa Traditionis	7	7.45	1.49	1
Independent Green/Anarcho-Surrealist	2	2.13	0.42	0

You can -- and should -- consider whether very large reaction memes are a great way to discuss legislation, Max.

I'm not a math whiz, so I might be wrong.  But this means the first two new citizens can claim seats, and those seats will be equivalent in voting power to 5% of the vote, instead of the current 0.5%... something like six votes in the most recent election, for example?  Is that right?

So this proposal would reduce the size of the Cosa from 200 to 20, but would still permit new citizens to claim seats?

Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC on December 07, 2025, 06:58:29 PM

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on December 07, 2025, 05:59:41 PMThe Progs do not have the same political differences from the UR

I would have thought not; which is why it is such a surprise that you told Mic'haglh that the Progs were not interested in a formal coalition with the URL (153/8 seats), but it turns out you are keen on one with the Absolute Monarchists (102/4 seats).

The terms on which we are engaged with the IDT are very similar to what I just mentioned for the URL, as you will note.  We did not have an appetite for the scale of collaboration that was initially proposed.

Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC on December 07, 2025, 06:58:29 PMIMHO discussion can continue about specific items of legislation, including the Budget; but there can be no more talk of a confidence agreement while the Government already holds an absolute majority of seats.

Well yes, a confidence and supply situation would be suitable to support a minority Government, so that doesn't make sense definitionally, I would think?  But I take your meaning.

If you guys change your mind and are interested in being a part of the Government, we're still happy to discuss how to advance the interests of your constituents in achieving your party policy goals, since a lot of them seem great.  I respect your decision if you're just taking that off the table, but the door is open if you guys change your mind.  And of course, we'll be happy to discuss other items such as cooperation in the Senate, as well.

Quote from: Max Maltezos on December 07, 2025, 05:52:40 PM

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on December 07, 2025, 05:47:57 PMOkay, so he wasn't literally a tyrant, since for the latter part of Talossan history, he followed the forms of democracy and divided powers, and he never wielded authoritarian power with force.  We're using the term like many people do, to refer to someone who acts as a strongman and subverts the process of democracy in order to trample on the rights of others.

Well, heaven isn't a democracy...

If we had a state religion (theoretically), I would think that the Archbishop of Abbavilla would have the right to suspend or depose the King/Queen based upon his actions, but that would seem too theocratic...

And since Robert is a Christian now, I don't think he'd mind my philosophy. This is just my personal opinion.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We don't have the same religion, but from what I understand of Christian heaven, it's full of angels.  And there's a famous quote by an American politician, James Madison, that addresses the distinction:

If Men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and the next place, oblige it to control itself.

Listen, Max is a theocrat who supports absolute monarchy through the divine right of kings.  I disagree with the vast majority of his politics, and I think he knows that.  But he seems to be a decent person who genuinely loves Talossa, and we have some common areas, and so we found a way to work together with a sharply circumscribed agreement.

The Progs do not have the same political differences from the URL, since we're much more aligned on our basic values.  If we entered into an agreement together, then I would expect that you would withdraw from such an agreement or begin blocking legislation if you felt that the actual things that happened were beyond bounds.  However, I suspect we'd actually be united at such a time.

I do not think it's beyond the pale to let the most enthusiastic user of our language in years work on promoting the language.  I think it makes obvious sense.  But if you're in doubt, then I urge you to hold us accountable, whether you're looking from the outside or part of the conversation in Cabinet.

We're still ready and willing to talk, if you guys are up for it.  I think you'll find that I'm open to just about any approach, even if we have to work out the fine details: some support contingent on specific policy promises, representation in the Government so you can be a voice in the room and help guide Talossa, or whatever else.

We really did mean it when we said we wanted to work with everybody.*

*still not Breneir tho, dude's gotta apologize for real