Addressing my VoC vote in the First Clark

[Sir Lüc]

Azul, I briefly rise - not in my capacity of Túischac'h, but in that of an ordinary member of the Cosă - to offer a brief note on why I abstained on the VoC, unlike the rest of the FreeDem Cosă caucus. First off and to clear any doubt, I should state I am not a member of the Free Democrats; I am an independent who accepted FreeDem seats in agreement with their manifesto.

Among the conditions I offered to the leadership when accepting to serve, I agreed I would follow the whip on confidence, budget and manifesto items (though in general I would always gladly sit in the party room and take part in Clark conversations, even on items not covered by this agreement.) And yet, I am immediately dissenting with my colleagues; this was done under my proposal and in agreement with my friends the Tanaischteă (@Miestră Schivă, UrN) and the Party Secretary (@Antaglha Xhenerös Somelieir) for the following reasons:

1. The Free Democrats and I are positively inclined in respect to the recent change of leadership in the Talossan National Congress. We feel the recent agreement on government formation is mutually beneficial and a good omen for the state of affairs in the 59th Cosă. We encourage the Seneschal @Bråneu Excelsio and the leader of the TNC @þerxh Sant-Enogat to keep course in the coming months.

2. One of the possible items that was discussed as part of the governing agreement was that I could be a neutral "ambassador" of sorts between FreeDems and TNC, by sitting in the TNC-led cabinet and the FreeDem Cosă caucus, while not being a member of either party; I would respect Cabinet collective responsibility and provide the votes for the TNC to pass Confidence, while the rest of the FreeDem caucus would vote Non. This did not come to happen, but the dual party line on confidence certainly stayed on my mind as a way to allow both for principled opposition (based on a neutral interpretation of what the Government actually does and achieves) and for recognising that the main opposition party has a right to express, through a Non vote, that it necessarily feels it should lead instead.

3. The Free Democrats and I recognise the unusual political-judicial situation that led the Excelsio Cabinet to only be fully announced over midway through the First Clark; and more importantly, the Free Democrats and I are extremely and painfully aware of the recent, sorrowful events surrounding the Finance Minister's family. We understand that he is a pivotal figure in the workings of the Cabinet and the party, and are naturally willing to allow for further slack in our evaluation of the Government's performance.