I hereby appoint @C.d.I. Nouacastra-Läxhirescu, MSC as Minister of Defense, with @Mic'haglh Autófil, MoFA serving as his deputy. The outgoing Minister is relieved with thanks for his service.

Signed,
Ian Plätschisch
Seneschal

I am open to this.

My thoughts on moving to unicameral MMP have shifted from being opposed to not really caring one way or the other. If people can make a convincing argument that getting rid of the Senate could boost activity, go for it.

We should definitely merge provinces.

My thoughts on Monarchy reform are pretty well known. I would very much like for the Compromise on the Compromise to pass but I would not want to abolish the Monarchy or make it purely ceremonial.

What is your opinion on Monarchy reform?

Second

Send him my well wishes.

I thank the member for his question.

Looking at recent immigration data, there is serious reason to believe that the crisis of low immigration is subsiding. In the first seven months of 2022 alone, there have already been seven naturalizations. On an annualized basis, this is the highest since 2017:
-2018: 11 (including 2 dandelions)
-2019: 5
-2020: 7
-2021: 1

Also of note is that these new citizens are almost prodigiously active compared to the new citizens of prior years.
-One of them is the current Distain and has just succeeded in getting ID cards produced
-One of them has just become one of Talossa's first vloggers
-Two others have last visited Wittenberg within the past week

One possible reason for this is that we're gotten more total applications. Since the beginning of 2022, we've had about two pages worth of threads on the immigration board, while in all of 2020 and 2021 combined we only had about three and a half pages of applications.

Another reason is that the crisis of overall activity is also subsiding. When there is more happening in general, there is more for immigrants to get involved in.

Using the number of threads on the Wittenberg board as a rough proxy for overall activity, we have had about eight and a half pages worth of threads on that board since the beginning of 2022. This shows an increase in the rate of new thread creation; in all of 2020 and 2021 combined, there were approximately 18 pages worth of threads. On an annualized basis, this is a rate of about 17 pages per year in 2022 while only about 9 pages per year in 2020-2021.

It is very natural for activity to spike right before, during, and right after an election, and we observed that during the election to the 57th Cosa. Thankfully, activity has remained high rather than drop off as usual. It would be incorrect for the Government to take all of the credit for this, but we will certainly take some of it:
-ID cards are coming!
-The wiki is being updated! Also, the wiki-associated Days of Observance are giving people lots of things to talk about
-The website is being updated!
-Ministers are active and engaging
-Culture is happening! Admittedly, official events of the Ministry of Culture have unfortunately ran into scheduling issues, but Ministers in their private capacities have facilitated the Aßociù da Futbol Talossan, the TMT20, and other things.

Quote from: Breneir Tzaracomprada on July 27, 2022, 01:49:40 PM

Quote from: Ian Plätschisch on July 27, 2022, 09:51:58 AM
I'd be happy to do an interview either for an AMA or a historical episode.

I think an AMA with the nation's seneschal would be awesome.
I am thinking to gather some questions from citizens ahead of time and some from the live viewers.
@Ian Plätschisch, would a date sometime in the next two-three weeks work for you?

For those interested in submitting questions in advance for the Seneschal please send me a PM or post them here.

That timing should work.

I'd be happy to do an interview either for an AMA or a historical episode.

I'm a sucker for anything that's time-lapsed

I can probably make it

This bill is withdrawn

https://wittenberg.talossa.com/index.php?topic=1621.0

https://wittenberg.talossa.com/index.php?topic=1622.0

In fact, this was in the works before you made your speech; I suppose we had some parallel thinking.

Boycotting the TNC legislation over their failure to make any statement on promised Monarchy reform was not the right thing to do.

Not because it didn't produce any results, or that I've been convinced it's not an appropriate tactic. We knew going in that the TNC might not respond, and I stand by ethics of our decision.

It wasn't the right thing to do because it has made participating in Talossa way less enjoyable for everyone. I expected everyone to get spirited, instead everyone got downright pissed at each other and it's made Wittenberg a real drag. I've gotten several reports from my Ministers that it's more and more difficult to get motivated to be engaged, and I don't imagine that having to read through lots of people yelling at each other is fun for anyone. I can see my own posts getting snarkier and angrier and I don't like it; that's not the person I want to be.

It's my duty as Seneschal to make people want to be Talossans; all that the boycott has accomplished is make people want to flee for the hills. It's not healthy, and so it's ending now.

Based on their willingness to agree to the joint statement here, I believe that the TNC will accept this olive branch. I hope they recognize that a lot of their discourse has come off as either plainly contemptuous or slyly calculated to push the FreeDem's buttons. I know this gets said a lot, but everyone (including me) needs to remember that there are real people behind the screen. Talossa is not a role playing game; being a jerk has consequences.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." -Matthew 5:9

Long live Talossa! Long live the King!

Ian Plätschisch,
Seneschal

The FreeDems, PdR, and TNC recognize that all parties have at times failed to treat each other with respect and kindness, and that Talossa is less fun for us all as a result. We commit to raising the level of political discourse as we continually seek to grow and improve the Kingdom.

Signed,
Free Democrats of Talossa
Partì da Reformaziun
Talossan National Congress