The Free Democrats Want YOU!

[Miestră Schivă, UrN]

The Free Democrats of Talossa are seeking expressions of interest to be a candidate on our Cosă list for the upcoming election.
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Requirements:
1) agree with our 50 word statement for this election, and preferably with the major themes of the Party Program;
2) pledge to participate in the Free Democrats caucus in the 60th Cosa and vote according to its line;
3) not be annoyed when pestered by the Party Whip to vote on every Clark.

Enquiries to the Party President (me) or Secretary (@Antaglha Xhenerös Somelieir).

[Miestră Schivă, UrN]

POP QUIZ: what are the effective differences between these three 50 word statements?

1.

I have dedicated my energy to promote the values of healthy coexistence, Community, the Arts, Fun and Excitement.
My goal is to unite people through shared visions and bring unity and positivity to Talossa; to balance different viewpoints and unite Talossa for a better future.

2.

...a coalition of independent MCs from across the political spectrum, dedicated to creating a more pluralistic approach to Talossan politics. Each member pursues their own political (or non-political) agenda without the limitations of formal party structures, fostering a vibrant, diverse range of views. Join us in shaping Talossa's dynamic and prosperous future!

3.

We strive to protect a traditional yet democratic Kingdom.
We want to continue fostering immigration, transparency, inclusivity, and goodwill among citizens.
We promote cross-party collaboration to make our Nation more visible and our government more active.
We are honest and committed.
We also think our Province is the best.

The apparent explosion of the TNC has resulted in fragments whose politics all seem to be vague platitudes that no-one could disagree with, with no particular "unique selling point" or even significant difference between them. The Free Democrats previously asked "what does the TNC stand for"? Now we might ask "what do the various Té-En-Tzells* stand for?" I can understand why no-one wants to be associated with the infighting, paralysis or rudeness of the outgoing Government - but I can't understand why they don't stick together, if they don't actually disagree with each other.

In contrast, everyone knows what the Free Democrats stand for. And in addition to that, we're working on a specific Agenda for the New Free Democrat Government. Having a strong platform, and the team to enact it, was what led to the old TNC's landslide of a couple of terms ago. We learn.


* A Talossan word I just made up, meaning "offspring of the TNC". TNCidoj in Esperanto.

[Miestră Schivă, UrN]

Make that four Té-En-Tzells now. I'm reminded of Karl Marx's saying that organizing the peasantry is like putting potatoes in a sack with holes in it. It seems that the TNC was something like that. Interested to hear what their two sitting Senators plan to do!

Also, it's been pointed out to me that the IND Party's call for "a more pluralistic approach to Talossan politics" is interesting given that the IND Party's leader was one of the loudest voices for a "TNC-only cabinet" excluding Sir Lüc da Schir, at the time of the last government negotiations.

[Breneir Tzaracomprada]

Make that four Té-En-Tzells now. I'm reminded of Karl Marx's saying that organizing the peasantry is like putting potatoes in a sack with holes in it. It seems that the TNC was something like that. Interested to hear what their two sitting Senators plan to do!

Also, it's been pointed out to me that the IND Party's call for "a more pluralistic approach to Talossan politics" is interesting given that the IND Party's leader was one of the loudest voices for a "TNC-only cabinet" excluding Sir Lüc da Schir, at the time of the last government negotiations.

I really like the term Té-En-Tzells.

[Miestră Schivă, UrN]

I really like the term Té-En-Tzells.

I realised too late that it sounds kind of like "incels", sorry about that :D

[Barclamïu da Miéletz]

I must say membership in that party is quite tempting.

[Baron Alexandreu Davinescu]

Well, the TNC has mostly dissolved because of the start of the last term.  During the last negotiations, there was an inter-party debate and discussion about what we should do.  It was pretty freewheeling and intense, with some hard bargaining, but the majority came down in support of Braneu's wishes.  He's an awesome guy, kind and enthusiastic, and we mostly backed him in his wishes to move in a productive way.  But once the debate was over, Breneir left the party and started his own rival party -- I forget what it was called.  And almost at the same time, I had to become inactive for months at a time (RIP my mom).

So Braneu is a gifted leader and a great guy, but now he was hung out to dry -- he suddenly lacked the institutional support he needed from long-time Talossans.  There's a lot of bits and bobs to running things, even with things set up to be mostly automated.  It was a completely unfair position for him to be in, way too stressful and not anything like what he'd wanted.  So he quit and renounced, not unreasonably.  (I'm just glad he's back.)

But that was pretty much the beginning of the end.  Another talented and kind newcomer, Therxh, was pressed into service, and Breneir eventually rejoined.  And while he rose to the occasion, he obviously was going to have a hard time keeping things going while also recruiting and maintaining (even though the opposition was being kind and put the good of the nation ahead of partisan advantage).

Therxh has asked me to join his new party, and while I'm not a huge fan of the name, I'm a huge fan of him.  I said yes immediately.  I hope others join, too.  I hope to work with Braneu again closely.

The Greens (?) do carry on a lot of the TNC spirit -- kindness, comradery, centrism.  As a centrist project, it's probably never going to satisfy someone who yearns for a crusade.  And that's why I hope we will be as successful as the TNC -- sometimes things need to be improved in Talossa, but there's also a lot to just promote and celebrate.  The Reds (?) are not the crusaders at the gates -- we're the people sipping coffee inside (presumably alongside our caffeinated comrade).

It's going to be interesting times ahead, as yet another giant change crests the horizon.  I'm glad to be shoulder-to-shoulder with Therxh once more as the new dawn arises.

[Miestră Schivă, UrN]

Well, you can't really be a centrist party if there's no "Right wing". The TNC (by which I mean the Breneir/AD TNC, not Breneir's microparty of yore) was effectively the "centre-Right" because it regrouped the RUMP/Balançéu constituency - which has now lost its raison d'être. This is what I was getting at with the lack of any ideological "protein" in any of the Té-En-Tzell's programs (except Bråneu's mandatory coalition idea?). The FreeDems is putting up a mild reformist (centre-Left) platform, and I believe there is going to be a firebreathing republican option on the ballot as well. So that might be the new axis, against which *someone* is going to have to be the centre-Right, if not the Right.

One of the failures of the Free Democrats this term have been that we were so focused on getting a solution to the constitutional issue that we slacked off on Duty One of any opposition, holding the Government to account. And the outgoing TNC government, despite their Seneschal being a polite chap, did, as we say around these parts, the square root of not very much. The complete flop of the Database Commission, and the fact that our web presence is now on the incumbent MinTech's personal server, is perhaps the most shocking. The implosion of the TNC might make it more difficult to run on that in the election, but to the extent that individual candidates/parties were responsible in the outgoing Government, we can still question whether they'd do anything different next time.

(I mean, in the last FreeDems government, I remember one oppositionist being quite persistent asking about what we were doing to the Zouaves. Fair play to him; but I would have never thought of just saying "shut up and go away, it's a state secret".)

[Breneir Tzaracomprada]

One of the failures of the Free Democrats this term have been that we were so focused on getting a solution to the constitutional issue that we slacked off on Duty One of any opposition, holding the Government to account. And the outgoing TNC government, despite their Seneschal being a polite chap, did, as we say around these parts, the square root of not very much. The complete flop of the Database Commission, and the fact that our web presence is now on the incumbent MinTech's personal server, is perhaps the most shocking. The implosion of the TNC might make it more difficult to run on that in the election, but to the extent that individual candidates/parties were responsible in the outgoing Government, we can still question whether they'd do anything different next time.

Miestra, appreciate the honest self-assessment here as I know I criticized the FreeDems during the start of the term for not holding the Government to account. I recall asking "citizen inquiries" about the Data Commission, the OrgLaw Standing Committee, etc. in an effort to fill in the gaps. And I am relieved that we were able to finally solve the constitutional issue after years of jar-jarring.

[Baron Alexandreu Davinescu]

Well, you can't really be a centrist party if there's no "Right wing".

I'm not sure I agree with this -- there is no real right-wing party in Talossan terms, but they have existed in the past.  A right-wing party would presumably fight to return to hereditary succession, restore some of the royal powers, restrict immigration or otherwise try to create more hierarchy, and... hm, probably some other things.  It's possible that one of the newer parties will take that tack, although it doesn't seem very likely.  I do agree that the TNC was center-right in that sense, so it's a good point.

One of the failures of the Free Democrats this term have been that we were so focused on getting a solution to the constitutional issue that we slacked off on Duty One of any opposition, holding the Government to account.

Probably Duty One is always going to be ensuring the survival of the country, right?  Probably that just goes without saying -- maybe Duty Zero?  And I think we've been struggling around a crisis point for a while, and resolving it with an all-round compromise was the higher calling.  I having nothing but respect for the recent forbearance and integrity of the Free Democrats over the past term.  That's thanks in large part to your leadership, I'm sure.

On a personal note, for that matter, I will never forget the grace and support I have experienced from so many Talossans, both in public and in private.

(I mean, in the last FreeDems government, I remember one oppositionist being quite persistent asking about what we were doing to the Zouaves. Fair play to him; but I would have never thought of just saying "shut up and go away, it's a state secret".)

Saying that it's just not a priority is always going to be a fair answer, but it's an answer that you might pay for during a campaign.

[Miestră Schivă, UrN]

I having nothing but respect for the recent forbearance and integrity of the Free Democrats over the past term.  That's thanks in large part to your leadership, I'm sure.

I accept the sincere compliment and the goodwill, but I acted for only the most selfish reasons! Those being: there is no political benefit in mindless partisanship when your opponent is going in a direction of mutual benefit. As a political strategy, this clearly succeeded this term; and I've always been sincere in wanting to turn down the overall levels of mindless partisanship. My thanks will always go to the two Senescháis this term for making the effort.

(I mean, in the last FreeDems government, I remember one oppositionist being quite persistent asking about what we were doing to the Zouaves. Fair play to him; but I would have never thought of just saying "shut up and go away, it's a state secret".)

Saying that it's just not a priority is always going to be a fair answer, but it's an answer that you might pay for during a campaign.

Probably you can say the same for "I'll tell you later". :D

More seriously, the Minister of Defence and Foreign Affairs is not up for re-election this time, but the guy who was Seneschal in that government will be. I myself have been in the position of "I can't fire this Minister, even though he's incompetent/uncommunicative, because there's no replacement". But I paid, as you say, a political price for it.

[Breneir Tzaracomprada]

More seriously, the Minister of Defence and Foreign Affairs is not up for re-election this time, but the guy who was Seneschal in that government will be. I myself have been in the position of "I can't fire this Minister, even though he's incompetent/uncommunicative, because there's no replacement". But I paid, as you say, a political price for it.

Yes, you did, and good on Talossan voters for making you pay it, Miestra.

[Miestră Schivă, UrN]

More seriously, the Minister of Defence and Foreign Affairs is not up for re-election this time, but the guy who was Seneschal in that government will be. I myself have been in the position of "I can't fire this Minister, even though he's incompetent/uncommunicative, because there's no replacement". But I paid, as you say, a political price for it.

Yes, you did, and good on Talossan voters for making you pay it, Miestra.

As the outgoing Distáin, I suppose I should ask you what you think of the performance of the Minister of Defence/Foreign Affairs?

[Breneir Tzaracomprada]

More seriously, the Minister of Defence and Foreign Affairs is not up for re-election this time, but the guy who was Seneschal in that government will be. I myself have been in the position of "I can't fire this Minister, even though he's incompetent/uncommunicative, because there's no replacement". But I paid, as you say, a political price for it.

Yes, you did, and good on Talossan voters for making you pay it, Miestra.

As the outgoing Distáin, I suppose I should ask you what you think of the performance of the Minister of Defence/Foreign Affairs?

I think the lack of progress on LOSS was regrettable but Open Society's membership certainly can't be described as low activity so voters can judge. The decision on who to bring into cabinet and keep in cabinet, though, is Therxh's so you might want to ask the leader of The Red and Green Party.

I do commend your terpelaziuns directed toward Mximo as Def/Foreign Min and Therxh as MinImm and Seneschal. There is is a workable balance between being considerate of extra-Talossan realities and ensuring the necessary level of accountability for the incumbent government and I am glad you eventually found it.

[Miestră Schivă, UrN]

Priority One (or near to it) for a Free Democrat-led government will be actually putting an end to the ongoing saga of the National Database.

I have personally been yelling about this for more than two years now. The Secretary of State has also been continuously grumbling over the last two years about how it's impossible to do more than the basics with the current system without citizen M-P Furxhéir's help, and he's often unavailable.

The last Government promised a committee to replace the Database. Nothing ever happened, for reasons that seem to boil down to "the Minister of Technology was too busy". Fair enough; but the rest of his Government don't seem to have been much busier.

We will move away from this Database by the end of the 60th Cosa. Hopefully we'll have a full replacement running by then - just perhaps, we might have to go back to running things manually for a while. But we can no longer tolerate the status quo. We can't tolerate the tech guys sitting around talking about a new total solution but nothing ever gets done and we don't get any partial solutions.

Free Democrats get things done.