The Free Democrats Want YOU!

[Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC]

The more areas of cross-party consensus the better

[Breneir Tzaracomprada]

The more areas of cross-party consensus the better

I hope we can reach cross-party consensus on the matter of an apolitical Chancery/Civil Service too, Miestra. An enlargement of it is in both the Open Society and FreeDem political programs after all.

[Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC]

It increasingly seems that the two major parties in this election - i.e. the two which will feasibly lead the next government - are the Free Democrats and the Progressive Alliance. Especially since recent events suggest that, despite their positioning as a centrist party, the PA are regrouping at least part of the people who have made monarchism the centre-point of their Talossan identity.

I've talked with the PA leader/incumbent Seneschal about having a public video chat, like I did with the TNC leader last election. This is not going to happen, which is a pity. There are a lot of things where the two parties agree (technology issues, like the Database and the National Websites, in particular). So I think we owe it to the voters to clarify any serious differences, otherwise what are they supposed to vote based on?

The most obvious difference is that the Free Democrats are in an alliance that includes an unshamed Republican party, and are ourselves interested in a wider discussion on constitutional issues. A perhaps more subtle difference is that - despite the fact that the outgoing TNC government exploded - the PA leader is the outgoing Seneschal and therefore responsible for the record of that government, from the time he took over after his predecessor was wrecking-balled out. It really doesn't do to insinuate that the reason his was an inactive Government was that we somehow failed as an opposition.

But apart from that, exactly why are the FreeDems and the PA different parties? Does it just boil down to one social clique have beef with another one? It would be shameful if so. This is why we need some kind of debate to balance this out. And honestly I think live-action chat is more conducive to actually clarifying/settling issues than duelling manifestos.

Anyway, our Election Program is now out.

[Breneir Tzaracomprada]

The more areas of cross-party consensus the better

I hope we can reach cross-party consensus on the matter of an apolitical Chancery/Civil Service too, Miestra. An enlargement of it is in both the Open Society and FreeDem political programs after all.

This could be a distinction between the FreeDems and the Progressive Alliance. @þerxh Sant-Enogat I do think we see eye to eye on this?

[Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC]

[Breneir Tzaracomprada]

There is indeed a fundamental difference in principle between the parties. We agree that there is a real need to make sure that the Secretary of State, the Chancery and the whole Royal Civil Service act without any hint of partisan bias. We do not agree that limiting the civil rights to free association of the Secretary of State are necessary or justifiable in that regard; nor that, when the Secretary of State briefly served as Free Democrats Party President during a crisis, he behaved improperly or even criminally.

This is you from February 2024. If the bolded part is still your stance then it is a reasonable potential distinction between the FreeDems and the Progressive Alliance. Certainly between Open Society and the FreeDems.

I also wanted to check as to why "you needing a break" (Txec's words) is considered a crisis on a scale to cause an appearance of partisanship for one of the nation's most powerful civil servants?

[Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC]

A Lot of people are coming to me and saying that they might not vote Free Democrats because they think we have the election all sewn up and they don't want us to have a bulldozer supermajority.

It's precisely that kind of complacency which sunk the Government in the last election and might well sink us.

If you like the FreeDem candidates and programme best, vote FreeDems. Don't engage in weird game theory which might lead to people you don't want forming the next government. If you're really worried, vote for one of our alliance partners.

[Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC]

Tapping the sign...

I've talked with the PA leader/incumbent Seneschal about having a public video chat, like I did with the TNC leader last election. This is not going to happen, which is a pity. There are a lot of things where the two parties agree (technology issues, like the Database and the National Websites, in particular). So I think we owe it to the voters to clarify any serious differences, otherwise what are they supposed to vote based on?

The most obvious difference is that the Free Democrats are in an alliance that includes an unshamed Republican party, and are ourselves interested in a wider discussion on constitutional issues. A perhaps more subtle difference is that - despite the fact that the outgoing TNC government exploded - the PA leader is the outgoing Seneschal and therefore responsible for the record of that government, from the time he took over after his predecessor was wrecking-balled out. It really doesn't do to insinuate that the reason his was an inactive Government was that we somehow failed as an opposition.

But apart from that, exactly why are the FreeDems and the PA different parties? Does it just boil down to one social clique have beef with another one?