[URL Convention] Nomination of a Candidate for Seneschal

[Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC]

A Real Party, For Real Politics

¡Estimadas es estimats cuncitaxhiens, amici, es cunmembreux d'ár noua Uniun!

Just a few days ago, I was grieving the end of the journey of the Free Democrats of Talossa, our imagiNation's oldest and most successful political party.

What a wonderful experience it has been, then, to preside over this inaugural convention of the Union of Free Reformists, Talossa's newest and only real political party.

By "only real", I mean a political party as someone outside Talossa would see it. A group of individuals with different political ideologies, who through debate and discussion put together a political program and a leadership team to win public support.

That's historically not how political parties work in Talossa, though. They generally work as fan clubs. One dominant personality, and a following who more or less vote how he (and it is usually a he) tells them to.

When I confessed, a few years ago, that I was afraid of this happening in the Free Democrats, this was taken up and used as a "dunk" on me. Ironically, by one of the worst culprits of that kind of politics. But we'll get back to that.

But what we've seen over the last few weeks is actual debate. People with different opinions and different perspectives coming together to try to build something new, something greater than the sum of its Free Democrat and Reformista parts.

In that regard, we welcome @
M:sr Pôl dal Nordselvă, the first person to join the Union without being a member of its predecessor parties. The first of many to come, we hope.

Friends, compatriots and colleagues: unless an unforeseeable upheaval occurs in Talossan politics, the upcoming 62nd Cosa election will be a contest between The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.

We're the Good, of course. Or rather, we hope to assume that virtue.

I don't want to spend too much time on The Ugly, because that is not a political issue. It is an issue of elementary sanitation. The need to take out the trash, as it were.

They say that lack of shame is a superpower. It is; but only to the extent that people allow it to be. If you expect shame and chiding to regulate bad behaviour, and a sufficiently shameless verpă and/or vesneir just acts like nothing happened; then you had better have some way to escalate, to effective ostracism or a cordon sanitaire. Otherwise, the aforementioned verpă is in fact correct.

The phenomenon of fan club politics makes it worse. As is being demonstrated in our Big Neighbour, voters who are in a political "fan club" don't want to know that their leader is sexually reprehensible. Or, if confronted with the evidence, simply ignore it. The only way to dislodge a "fanclub" member is if their leader personally offends them. In the Talossan sense, my party leader is a creep who makes other Talossans feel dirty: I sleep. My party leader doesn't give me enough seats in the Cosa: real miéidă. Long-standing Talossans will get the reference.

So you can't dislodge the fan club. It wouldn't matter if you could, because a vesneir can keep seats in the Cosă and make an asineu of themselves with Terpelaziuns with only their own vote. So again, it's not a political issue, but one which would have been settled in the olden days with the Charivari, or maybe the pillory.

Enough of that. Onto "the Bad". Well, that's mildly unfair. Certainly not bad people. But bad politics. In fact, and this is as I see it worse: no politics.

There was a phenomenon in French politics of the 20th century where, since conservative politics had a bad name from years of monarchy and dictatorship, even the Right-wing parties called themselves "left" or "radical" or some such. We seem to have that issue in this country, too. Thus the main conservative party calls itself "Progressive" (and I shudder to mention what the good name of Green politics has been subjected to).

I'm going to spill a bit of tea here, as the young people would say. A few weeks ago, a Cabinet minister was approached with an offer to join the main opposition party. Of course, I'm none too happy with that – as it would have effectively brought down the ¡Avant! government without waiting for an election. Totally legal, I hasten to add! Hardball politics, but not outside the bounds of acceptable conduct!

But here's the thing. The offer was not made on the basis of political principle. It was not made on an appeal to dissatisfaction with the Government's record or political stance. No, it was made on the basis that... the Progressive Alliance's internal culture was "fun". I believe the actual comparison was made to "how things used to be in the Talossan National Congress". Only, you know, without the verpă.

I realised that previously I referred to this party as "conservative". I did so on the basis that, whatever changes are suggested to Talossan institutions or structure, they're agin' it. But that's not actually the right word. The right word is apolitical.

This party is, as I see it, not a political party in the way our new URL is. They are not held together by shared politics, but by friendships, by its internal culture. In a party which is a "social club" writ large, it's not a surprise that the party should have no distinctive politics of its own - or rather, that its politics should "default" to the preferences of whoever its most confident member is.

And an "apolitical party" produces an "apolitical politics" for Talossa. Confused? What I mean is: a politics that essentially holds that Talossa should not have politics. That debate about different visions of Talossa's future, its raison d'être (sorry, raziun d'estar), its institutional nature, is divisive and unseemly - even that it "drives away prospectives" - and that elections should reduce partly to deciding a team of administrators for the next six months, and partly to one of those funny things that Talossans do to be quirky.

I believe a kind of politics which doesn't think that there should really be politics is a danger to our democracy. A few months ago, the effective leader of this party – not its "on paper" leader, but come off it, guys – wrote a thread discussing court action to declare party lists inorganic. In which he made an effective argument that a party vote should be a vote for a blank cheque for a leader to hand out seats to whoever puts their hand up after the votes are already in. Friends and colleagues, that is an appeal for "fan-club" politics in its purest form.

There still seem some who still seem to believe Talossa was pretty much perfect in 2011, before Reunision fouled everything, up by bringing in a group of Talossans with a different vision for the nation – that is, "real" politics. And may I say, if you wanted evidence of that, it's the discomfort of seeing our King wear the Sash of the Republic. To quote from the classics: the Republicans may have been on the losing side, but history is still out over whether it was the wrong one.

In contrast, the URL defends party lists in our current system as democratic. If the voters are to hold the legislature to account, every ballot should allow voters to know who they're putting in the Cosa (with some margin for flexibility, as in the current 1/3 of the seats). If our opponents got their way in going back to "blank cheque/fan club" voting, would the secret ballot be next on the chopping board?

You don't need to necessarily agree with URL's formal politics – our support for democratic reforms, "min-monarchism" and the rule of law – to appreciate our stance that there should be real politics in Talossa. That a country where politically indistinguishable "clubs" or "teams" compete on the same level as high-school cliques would be boring and annoying.

And as a formal demonstration that the URL is a political party, and not a fan club, we are going to nominate our candidate for Seneschal right here, in our convention, by a vote. And I am going to nominate my good friend and colleague @Mic'haglh Autófil, O.Be  as that candidate.

I'm old, I'm tired, I'm admittedly running out of inspiration. I need a break. I need to hand over responsibility for political leadership to a younger, enthusiastic Talossan, with a bit of fire in his belly. Someone who hasn't been ground down by years of the same arguments again and again with the same people.

Will Mic'haglh be able to command the political loyalty of the old Free Democrat base? Which is, in part, a base made up of my personal fan club – or at least my old friends from decades past, going back to the days of the Republic, who don't really pay much attention but will vote more or less how I advise them?

He'd better. I'm tired of trying to maintain a political majority which doesn't rely primarily on active Talossans. Maybe the other parties are fan clubs who don't care but will vote how their old friend asks them to; we should be better than that.

We are going to go out there, friends and colleagues, not just to sell Mic'haglh for Seneschal. Even though he deserves it! He works as hard as any Talossan I know, has celebrated victories and accepted defeats with good grace, and has never had a harsh word to say to even his worst opponents in public, as far as I know.

But we are selling an honest politics. For example, we are selling an attitude to immigration which says – sure, we would massively benefit from an influx of new citizens. But to do so we have to look honestly at Talossa-as-it-is and answer: would you invite your friends to immigrate? Your family members?

The de facto opposition leader seems to think even asking these questions is somehow talking down Talossa. Again, their stance is essentially anti-political: Talossa is the political status quo of its institutions, which are not to be meddled with. If the migrants aren't flooding in, it must be the Government not "selling" it properly. Or even worse, the Government must be wicked and want Talossa to depopulate and fail.

I mean, you don't really need to believe that (for example) reforming the Senäts to make it less a sclerotic mess and a waste of citizen time and energy would bring the prospectives in. But less bureaucracy means more energy for productive efforts. And let's face it, you know what really would bring more citizens in? If we could honestly go out there and tell people that sexual harassment was effectively sanctioned. Not that sex pests get a slap on the wrists and they continue to big-belly their way around, behaving like nothing really happened. (Because until they change their ways, or remove themselves, it didn't.)

The Union of Free Reformists – the URL, or simply our Union – is a vote for more than a leader or a leadership team. It's a vote for a vision. It's a vote for a way of doing politics which is actually "political" in the good sense, that is based on principle and debate. And at the same time tries to minimise "politics" in the bad sense, meaning thuggish, bruising, personalised "team sports".

We are the party of freedom and democratic reform. We uphold the banner of the liberal/reformist traditions in Talossa, including the history of the Talossan Republic, going all the way back to Danihél Laurier and the other brave reformers of the pre-Internet period. And a party which is capable of real leadership transition – that is, not just a different front man propped up to wave to the masses while Svengali makes all the decisions from behind the throne – is the only party which can embody that tradition.

I therefore call upon you, members of our new and beautiful Union of Free Reformists, to rise as one and endorse my nomination of Mic'haglh Autofíl as the next Seneschal of the Kingdom of Talossa.

¡Så vivadra Talossa! ¡Så vivadra Talossa democrätic! ¡Ja pevar din 'n Uniun!

[Antaglha Xhenerös Somelieir]

I second this nomination

[GV]

Consider your nomination of Mic'haglh Autofíl as our next PM as being endorsed by myself.

Your run as a political force, Miestrâ, has been seismic.  You single-handedly kept the Republic together and led us to Reunision, taking the bull by the horns and initiating that most-worthy process - a true Talossan miracle.

Your history of Talossa has been anything but boring, and I will not rehash it here save that I'm glad as all-get-out you are still here with us, and hope you will always be.

I've been concerned over Miestrâ-burnout for some time.  (As for myself, in the past seven years at least, I never would have been able to be effective as a PM or anything beyond simply voting on the Clark every month.  I am still that way and will continue that way indefinitely, I think.)

Every empire has a shelf-life.  Save one: God's sovereignty over all things, which will never end.

But human institutions?  They come and go.  And so do people.  Miestrâ has realized her ending in such a level of activity as she has put out has come upon her, and I raise my glass in tribute to her as a person and as the best Talossa can be.

Ergo, I will mindlessly obey Miestrâ's latest diktat.  I am a sheep.  BAAAAAA!  ;-)

Again, I ask everyone to vote Mic'haglh Autofíl as our PM nominee.

GV, Senator for Fiova

[Mic’haglh Autófil, O.Be]

Vaes amíci, vaes cünpartizaes*, vaes colegas:

I am humbled to have the nomination of someone who has proven both her Talossan patriotism and her leadership abilities time and time again. I am honored to accept this nomination; let me say a few things to try and gain the confidence of everyone else.

Talossa is a nation that is turning over a new leaf. We have a new, more involved, and more unifying King. A new and reinvigorated party that -- as Miestră pointed out -- has already grown larger than the sum of its preceding parts. A political system that continues to grow into its own, so to speak. A democratic tradition that continues to mature, even if only one party has grown beyond "personal politics". A changing of the guard in our nation's elected leadership would certainly fit the theme!

I believe that in the next Cosă term, Talossa will continue to need what it has, and preferably a majority version thereof: a Government that, to borrow a phrase from a former President of the United States, "can walk and chew gum at the same time". A Government that can keep one eye on the future, even as the other monitors the issues of the day. A Government of clear eyes, clean hands, kind words, and firm deeds. If you all would have me as your candidate for the Seneschalsqåb, I would do my utmost to keep our nation's government on the straight and narrow path, a path that leads, as it must, ever forward.

* "party-mates"

[Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC]

Is there any interest in a vote on this? If so, let me know within 24 hours

[GV]

Is there any interest in a vote on this? If so, let me know within 24 hours

Yes.  Let's get this done.

[Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC]

I am happy to call for a Yes/No/Abstain vote that @Mic'haglh Autófil, O.Be will be the candidate of the URL for the 62nd Cosa election.

You have 72 hours to vote.

[Antaglha Xhenerös Somelieir]

I am happy to call for a Yes/No/Abstain vote that @Mic'haglh Autófil, O.Be will be the candidate of the URL for the 62nd Cosa election.

You have 72 hours to vote.

Yes

[GV]

I am happy to call for a Yes/No/Abstain vote that @Mic'haglh Autófil, O.Be will be the candidate of the URL for the 62nd Cosa election.

You have 72 hours to vote.

YES - GV

[Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC]

And I vote PËR.

By a vote of 3-0, @Mic'haglh Autófil, O.Be is confirmed as the candidate of the URL for Seneschal at the 62nd Cosa election.

I invite the Seneschal candidate to give a closing address to this convention, upon which I shall declare the convention closed.

[Mic’haglh Autófil, O.Be]

My fellow Free Reformists, friends all:

I am truly humbled to have not just the nomination of one of the most prominent Talossans in our nationette's history, but the vote of confidence of our nation's largest and only matured party. We have a good bunch here, and these last few weeks have been quite the joy to see. Both on this forum and elsewhere, we've seen Free Democrats and Reformists come together to build something even greater than what they had beforehand. Our new party -- our new Union, if you ask Miestră! -- has a little bit of it all. On one hand: a new outlook, ready to face the challenges that the era of King Txec is already sending us. On the other: a proud tradition, tracing its history back into the earliest days of Talossa's drive for liberal democracy, winding through the Republic, through the "Great Abdication", through Reunision, to the present.

Almost as long as there has been a Talossa, there have been Talossans who know that the work of national self-improvement never rests, nor should it. Perfection is not obtainable, but that's no reason to rest on one's laurels and say "meh, I'm perfectly comfortable just sitting here". Continuous Improvement is a requirement in many fields, and government -- even at the micronational level -- is no exception. The only alternative is stagnation. Under an Autófil government, we won't just sit still; we'll keep the march of progress moving. We'll work to keep all that which makes Talossa wonderful, of course: many of its traditions and institutions, its historical and cultural idiosyncracies, are what draw people here in the first place. Those ought to be not just kept, but promoted, and they will be. But there comes a point with some things, institutions included, where one has to look at them and ask the hard question: "Is this really the best I can do?"

To be frank, there are a few places where I don't think we're doing the best we can do. Some of these issues are smaller, with simpler solutions: things like re-arranging the boards on Witt to make sure prospective citizens (and even those who haven't yet been convinced to apply for citizenship) can see what Talossa's community is all about. Enforcing Wittiquette more stringently (as well as using social pressure generally) to ensure that people aren't harassing each other (sexually or otherwise), while still ensuring that honest debate is unimpeded. Some other issues need bigger solutions: keeping prospectives interested, or reforming the immigration process outright. Examining the proper role of the Senäts in Talossa's system of government. Navigating the turbulent and often transient world of micronationalism.

In my initial remarks accepting the nomination for my Seneschal candidacy, I said Talossa needs "a Government of clear eyes, clean hands, kind words, and firm deeds"; allow me to expand on that a moment. Clear eyes, unclouded by poor judgment, with the ability to visualize concrete goals, notice developing problems, and see the steps needed to conquer both. Clean hands, unsoiled by the kind of conduct we've seen from some of the Opposition parties, whether it be "dirty politics" or just blatant harassment. Kind words, to keep dialogue civil in the Ziu, ostracize antisocial behavior, and keep cultural events enjoyable for participants and attractive to observers. Firm deeds, that we may be known not just as the party of good ideas, but the party that makes them happen. (If you prefer the former PdR motto: "Mac'htici Idéăs, Mac'htici Resultaes" -- "Powerful Ideas, Powerful Results".)

In sum, a Government that keeps its promises while also keeping itself honorable. Let them know us by our fruits.

I mentioned earlier that we are Talossa's only matured party. What do I mean by that? It's rather simple. Immature democracies, a group which Talossa is working to leave, tend to feature parties that revolve around the leader. Parties are not political in nature, but personal. Their legislatures are effectively high-school cafeterias endorsed at the ballot box -- you can sit with (or vote for) the jocks, the nerds, the goths, the stoners, etc. Most Talossan parties fall into this "immature" category, independents and intentionally-apolitical parties like COFFEE excluded of course. But not ours. Ours is a party that behaves internally to set an example for not just other parties, but the country as a whole. We are a party of honest, frank debate, kept polite and professional. A party that follows its own rules, just as we must remain a nation of laws. A party that decides on things democratically. A party that can both talk the talk of leadership and walk the walk of a leader. With your support and a good campaign, I would be proud to be that leader.

Like anything in life, it will not come easy. Campaigning is always a dicey thing in Talossa given the "unplugged" nature of a good chunk of the electorate. On top of that, there will always be "electoral inertia" to overcome -- what Miestră described earlier as "fan club" votes. But if we want to walk the walk and remain Talossa's only matured party, then we will need to make it an election about the issues:

• Antisocial behavior must be punished, not just by Witt moderation, but at the ballot box and in the public square by social pressure.
• "Bad" or "dirty" politics ought to be rejected by the electorate as well.
• No politics makes us into little more than a nation of high school cliques. If prospectives are expressing an interest in politics -- which several are -- then why would we stifle the nation's political discussion? Debates can and should be had while keeping them mature and respectful.
• Immigration must be examined more holistically to ensure that prospective citizens are given enough to keep them here, but not so much that they are left to fend for themselves without mentoring. There's been some talk of dividing the immigration process into two phases, which is an idea that I think has merit; it lets people demonstrate their interest a little more clearly without just having citizenship dropped on them.
• In addition to reforming the process, a URL Government is by nature best-equipped to implement the solutions finalized by the Royal Commission on Immigration, both because of our leadership experience and because we are the only party that actually believes in changing things that don't work.
• While foreign relations remain a largely untapped potential, they are perhaps best explored for the organizations you can find out there. Did you know there's a "Micronational Olympic Federation"? As an example, some of the events they host include contests in chess and poker. I think we probably know a few people who could represent Talossa well, given TalossaChess and the Maricopan Poker Tournament. (Just...maybe we should count me out on the chess if we want to medal...)
• Cultural events should continue with greater input from the Zouaves. Our good friend Bråneu Excelsio has laid a good foundation at the Defense Ministry over the past few years, even if there may be some smaller things that could use a refresh or some finishing touches. There's a lot of potential there for encouraging and rewarding creation and participation in Talossan life -- military pomp and whatnot can be a good eyecatcher. We ought to make better use of it.

New team, new leadership, new ideas. Same honor, same passion, same skill. That's what the URL brings to the table, and what I intend to bring to the Seneschalsqåb in December. With your help, we'll get there. Thank you.

[Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC]

STANDING O! STANDING O!