Discussion of mergers between provinces would seem to be between those provinces. If two provinces want to merge, then what business is it of the others? No one from Vuode has approached the 18th Convocation about a merger, if that's something your province wants.
It seems like the only conceivable purpose for this body would be as a vehicle for provincial pushback against an encroachment of the Ziu, but that doesn't seem likely.
Barring that, if something is a national issue, why discuss it here rather than among the people elected to handle national matters in the Ziu?
Regardless, I withdraw my motion and the Government can proceed.
The government has nothing to do with this. Yeah, "many hats" are at play, but let's not get the legal statuses confused here. This is not a governmental project, nor is it a national initiative for the Ziu to get involved with. This is a meeting of the provincial executives (somewhat similar to COSLA (convention of local authorities), here in Scotland, but not exactly).
The purpose of this committee, as far as I gather, is that it acts as a think tank for inter-provincial matters and its members act as liaisons between their local assemblies and the other provinces and, if required, the national institutions. I don't know...but, this seems like the perfect place for two provinces to begin discussions on mergers.
Well, S:reu Distain, I gather that yourself and the Seneschal are both interested in discussing provincial mergers within this body. That initiative is a component of the Government programme. I'm not saying that you folks are legally acting as the Government here, but I don't see much point in pretending not to notice the obvious. There's nothing
wrong with this, by the way!
Glancing back at the origin of the Council, it was intended as a way for the provinces to "work together for mutual interest," "giving the provinces a united voice when addressing the government of Talossa." This matches what seems evident from its very nature: it's intended as an institution to allow the provinces to co-ordinate and push back on the Government or Ziu when necessary. I mean, honestly, does it even make sense otherwise? If two provinces want to do stuff together, then it makes sense for them to talk to each other. If people are interested in doing something spanning across the rest of the country on a national level, then they work through the national legislature. We don't have a very federalized system, so nothing else really makes sense.
But I will cede the point since it really doesn't matter very much, and I am not interested in arguing for the sake of arguing. Maybe this will jumpstart something, or... I don't know? Worth a shot, I guess.
I will support the motion to move to nominations for Governor-General, which leaves the measure one vote short of passing by acclaim (four out of eight currently). I suggest we leave a week for any contrary voices or additional support, and then move to a week-long vote on the motion.
