Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN on Yesterday at 06:15:07 PM

Quote from: Breneir Tzaracomprada on Yesterday at 05:44:23 PMUnless there is a one-seat shortage for a majority again.

Look, I don't want to interrupt you guys doing this,



 but I still wonder what you think your alternative was to doing the deal and getting the seat :D

The goal of the Free Democrats was to stop (a) the constant campaign of personal attacks/insinuations of bias against the Secretary of State; (b) the OrgLaw proposals, now thankfully memory-holed, which would have allowed the King to nominate a successor without Ziu approval. Mission accomplished.

Quote from: Breneir Tzaracomprada on Yesterday at 05:44:23 PMUnless there is a one-seat shortage for a majority again.

Quote from: þerxh Sant-Enogat on Yesterday at 05:59:52 PM

Quote from: Breneir Tzaracomprada on Yesterday at 05:44:23 PMSo this is indeed a policy change as you supported the restriction of discussion during this last term to the Standing Committee.

Not true

Quote from: Breneir Tzaracomprada on Yesterday at 05:44:23 PMSo this is indeed a policy change as you supported the restriction of discussion during this last term to the Standing Committee.

Quote from: þerxh Sant-Enogat on Yesterday at 05:33:28 PM

Quote from: Breneir Tzaracomprada on Yesterday at 04:56:01 PM

Quote from: Breneir Tzaracomprada on Yesterday at 12:29:41 PM

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on Yesterday at 11:36:20 AMBut you literally spent an entire term upholding something that you now admit was an error. Seeing now that the Agreement was indeed used to block the Ziu's consideration of Chancery Reform and that historic Organic Law reform was achieved outside of that Agreement, Open Society would welcome the Progressive Alliance's support for our effort to ensure an apolitical Chancery/Civil Service.

Reposting for the operative part which was ignored. Ahem.

No answer is an answer too. I mean, while you're making promises...

I still support the discussion of a bill ensuring an apolitical chancery, as I explained in the Standing Committee. We need to find the good balance to preserve freedom of political affiliation and activity of all volunteering citizens, and I rely on the collective wisdom of the Ziu to find this right balance.

Quote from: Breneir Tzaracomprada on Yesterday at 04:56:01 PM

Quote from: Breneir Tzaracomprada on Yesterday at 12:29:41 PM

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on Yesterday at 11:36:20 AMBut you literally spent an entire term upholding something that you now admit was an error. Seeing now that the Agreement was indeed used to block the Ziu's consideration of Chancery Reform and that historic Organic Law reform was achieved outside of that Agreement, Open Society would welcome the Progressive Alliance's support for our effort to ensure an apolitical Chancery/Civil Service.

Reposting for the operative part which was ignored. Ahem.

No answer is an answer too. I mean, while you're making promises...

Quote from: þerxh Sant-Enogat on Yesterday at 04:49:01 PMEvery MC should be allowed to assess in good faith the performance of the Government, without any party line injunction or whip instruction. That's also a promise of the Progressive Alliance, as stated above.

• The job of the Government is to govern - to enact its programme. The job of the Opposition is to oppose - to critique the Government's programme and its enactment thereof, and to offer alternatives.
• It is not the responsibility of the Opposition to help the Government with its programme or the enactment of it - unless the Opposition becomes part of the Government and gets to help determine that programme.
• The Opposition might find it good to allow individual members to work for the Government in the Civil Service or in administrative, non-Cabinet roles, if this will be good for the Kingdom and support Opposition priorities

• There would have been no TNC government at all without the deal to temporarily give the TNC one seat. I don't think there has been any other time in history when a Talossan party literally gave a seat to a political opponent. Give us credit.
• Under Seneschal Excelsio, the Free Democrats seriously debated providing a Cabinet Minister (and we were aware that people inside the TNC were arguing very hard against it). The major argument against it was the principled one I mentioned above - if we became part of the Government we could no longer properly act as an Opposition, and there would therefore be no effective Opposition, which would be bad for democracy. And how would we vote on the Vote of Confidence? Could we vote against a Government we were part of? Eventually Seneschal Excelsio withdrew his offer, which we didn't object to because we were in two minds on the whole thing anyway.
• Seneschal Sant-Enogat later renewed the offer to bring us into Cabinet. All the issues mentioned above still applied, in addition to the collapse of trust between the two parties caused by the campaign of political destruction waged against Seneschal Excelsio. So the decision to turn it down was easier. By a staggering coincidence, that collapse of trust (and the way the TNC rewarded the political wrecking-ball responsible by making him Distain and a member of the Standing Committee) is the main reason the Standing Committee didn't do very much.

• The Cabinet will be drawn from those Parties (and independent or non-political Minister) who agree to a common programme and to collective responsibility for that programme, and if they have Cosa seats, to vote YES on the VoC.
• Qualified and enthusiastic Members of Opposition parties will be welcome to take on non-political roles, even Deputy Ministerships, to enact Government policies but not get to help decide those policies.
• We promise never to try to blame the Opposition for not helping the Government enact its programme. We would expect the Opposition to help only if it's something that they politically agree on, and we would ask politely for such help.
• Terpelaziuns are an important part of keeping the Government honest. We pledge to answer all Terpelaziuns honestly, and all polite Terpelaziuns politely. We won't claim that our own failures are the Oppositions because they asked too few Terps, or too many.
• Free Democrat MCs will be required to uphold Party policy and collective decisions, including on Votes of Confidence. This is how we keep accountability with the voters. A party which just lets its MCs do "whatever" can't be held responsible for anything.
• No rage-monsters or wrecking balls in Cabinet. Trust is necessary.

Quote from: Breneir Tzaracomprada on Yesterday at 12:29:41 PM

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on Yesterday at 11:36:20 AMBut you literally spent an entire term upholding something that you now admit was an error. Seeing now that the Agreement was indeed used to block the Ziu's consideration of Chancery Reform and that historic Organic Law reform was achieved outside of that Agreement, Open Society would welcome the Progressive Alliance's support for our effort to ensure an apolitical Chancery/Civil Service.

Reposting for the operative part which was ignored. Ahem.

Quote from: Sir Lüc on Yesterday at 12:20:48 PM

Quote from: þerxh Sant-Enogat on Yesterday at 04:44:11 AMSystematically voting for the fall of a Government when in opposition must not be a principle.

A small quasi-philosophical note on this; even if the government of the day was performing well, an opposition party that wished to lead a future government should by definition vote against Confidence, as otherwise they would essentially publicly admit they don't believe they could do a better job.