NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: Knootian political parties, updated (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Knootoss#Political_parties)

IC:

A brown-chromatic giant donut representing the world swirled around on the holovisions. There was silence for a few seconds – then a drum beating thrice in rapid succession. The theme music of KNN World News special events burst loose with trumpets and strings, all stereo, before fading into a tense recurring drum that lasted throughout the broadcast.

“You’re watching KNN World News – your source of news” – a human female of ambiguous ethnicity smiled into the camera. “I’m Dina Stefania reporting.”

The camera shifted to her side, and the anchorwoman turned about to face it again – a new background appeared with the election posters of political parties, in the background a video link to a conference centre of sorts with people dancing. (the ‘KGPcam’)

“KNN just received the results from the cities of Amsterdam, Hoogezand-Sappermeer and Emmen – and with 78.2% of votes counted it is time for another update, Johan?”

The view switched to another camera, with a lean middle-aged Knootian standing inside a digital environment, surrounded by bar stats underscored by names of cities. The bar graphs were constantly shifting left-to-right in the circle as new results came in. Crawler bars danced throughout the environment like ribbons in the wind, digitally enhanced. The actual statistics were not visible, but it was nevertheless an impressive sight. The tall, lean man was smiling into the camera, his small, hip glasses and brown jacket giving him the archetypical image of (what KNN believed) a political analyst should be like

“Thank you, and welcome to our third update!”, he began. The digital environment morphed, and the man was now standing in-between long bar graphs – as if walking to a forest. He held at a blue-like ‘tree’, looking up at it as the camera zoomed to a position where it was just a bar with a small man standing next to it.

“First on the scoreboard, the Conservative RCPK party of Prime Minister Galadriël, taking a beating. They lose twenty seats and fall from 69 seats to 49 seats, gaining about 24% of the vote. This is the worst result for the Conservatives since the Shadow War..”

The bar dropped down in size to reflect this change, and Johan walked over to the next bar, a yellow one, which was standing right next to it in the ‘forest’. He patted against it before appropriate zooming again provided the view of a bar graph in 3D. This continued throughout his presentation.

“The liberal SLP has made a spectacular comeback in the polls in the last week, but it still loses out in this election – dropping from 63 seats to 59 in the new parliament. They lose four seats, giving them about thirty percent of the new House.”

“The greens are doing well today, making for a very happy Femke Halsema. The voters rewarded her opposition with thirteen new seats, giving the left-wing Knootian Green Party an unprecedented seventy-five seats in the new parliament and making them the largest party with about thirty-seven percent of the votes.”

“The Socialist Party, however, has been doing even better relatively speaking. It has more then doubled its support base, gaining six seats and getting ten in the new parliament.”

“An even more amazing comeback on the right is there for the Knootian Elvish Party – back on the political scene from eight years of absence. The party, which held on to just one seat, has managed to gain six additional seats so there will be seven Elvish representatives in the new Staten-Generaal.”

“The Imperialist Party, surprisingly absent in the whole campaign, has failed to retain its seat.”

After the small round stump representing the IP had driven itself into the ground, the whole view morphed again to the original digital environment, with the anchor standing in the middle.

“The government has taken a beating, but there still is a tiny majority for them to hang on to. With the amazing rebound of the SLP there are still one hundred and eight eats, just over half of Knootoss, which voted for either government party. If you include those voting for the Knootoss Elvish Party this would bring a possible Elvish/conservative coalition to 115 seats.

The opposition has had a fine day, too, but the doom scenario for the liberal party has not materialised. The left-wing opposition of greens and socialists now has 85 seats in the Staten-Generaal, up from 66, but this is still insufficient to capture a majority. I think we’ll hear these numbers when the government parties interpret their results. The government got a vote of confidence while the left-wing opposition did not.”

The camera cut back to the main studio, where the anchorwoman asked questions while the political analyst rearranged his glasses, before explaining with a friendly smile.

“Johan… is it likely though that their huge electoral gains – because they are really quite large – that these will be translated into government power for the left?”

“I don’t think so. A left-wing coalition doesn’t capture a majority, but it is very possible indeed for a combination by the liberal SLP and the opposition greens to form. Such a combination would have 134 seats combined, which is a rather more comfortable majority. Polls also indicate that this combination would be most popular with voters…”

“Knootian governments tend to be formed by coalitions of parties supporting the Prime Minister. What does this result mean for the coalition-building in the coming weeks?”

“Well, there are only so many options as some parties only want to cooperate with others. The RCPK has committed itself to four more years with the Liberal SLP; although it has not excluded involving the Knootian Elvish Party in any right-wing coalition. The Greens would like to get into bed with the liberals, although they have not excluded a left-wing coalition with the Socialist Party if Green gains would be sufficient. The SP, in turn, has pushed for a united left front while denouncing the Greens for being ‘sell-outs’.

“And the SLP?”.

“The SLP – well – the SLP. They haven’t expressed any preference at all. Their official reason at every election is that it would not be democratic to do so without listening to the voters first – an exception was their refusal to work with Dick Tator 16 years ago now.”

“So what will they do now that the results are in?”

“Hard to say. The result can be explained both ways. The government retained its confidence, but at the same time the greens were rewarded while the conservatives were cut. This gives them room for negotiation. Unless, of course, a green Prime Minister is elected.

“Then lets see about those results. What do we have so far?”

KNN World played a drum roll, interwoven with the KNN theme, before bringing up the wood of bar graphs again. This time, however, there were only a few stumps as opposed to many. The stumps were also driven into the ground in their starting position, only springing up when mentioned by the man walking through it.

“A disastrous day for Prime Minister Lady Galadriël Táralom nos Círdan, with her party put down into third place her own influence with the voters has dwindled also. She managed to capture 26,3 percent of the vote. Not nearly a majority.”

The new compromise candidate of the SLP managed to out-do the Knootian Prime Minister by capturing 26,8 percent of the vote. This means… yes, this means that Galadriël is probably out of the race.

“On to Femke Halsema, the green leader has managed to become the most Knootian politician alive with 36,6 percent of the vote.”

“About ten percent of the voters favoured other candidates.” – a wood of little tiny stumps sprang up before the camera cut back to the main studio for another round of questions.

“For our foreign viewers, what does this mean for the election?”

“Well, no single candidate managed to capture over fifty percent of the vote. According to the Knootian constitution this means that a new election must be held in fourteen days, but only the two candidates which managed to capture most votes can participate. This means that the election for Knootian Prime Minister will be between Jan Willem Daatman and Femke Halsema.

“What else can you tell us about this parliament?”

“Well, as far as I can tell its composition is quite ordinary. As all Knootian parliaments, proportional representation means that there is a wide variety in world views. There are 138 atheists, so counted by the Association for a Secular Staten Generaal. I’d say there are about forty or so declared humanists…. three protestant Christians and one Roman Catholic. There are sixteen elves in the new Staten-Generaal which I assume will count towards their Faith, and two other non-humans. Don’t ask me about them because I have no idea.”

“Then I won’t. What about gender and background?”

“There are.. lets see…” “103 men, 89 women, 8 genderqueer. Wow, that’s unusually high indeed.”

“I’m sure it will make for an interesting debate.”

“Oh, yeah… surely. Lessee… roughly thirty percent of the new MPS has a background in the civil service. Another thirty percent is from non-governmental organisations… environmental groups and such… and ten percent has a background in business. A fun fact is that 11 of the new MPS at one point in their life worked for Pink Bunny Cola,.”

“Thank you Johan. This concludes our latest update, but we will keep you informed on the Knootian elections until all the results are in. This is KNN. Stay with us.”

http://knootoss.vogels.nu/images/electiongraphs.PNG

OOC: Wasn't Galadriël supposed to remain in power until she was killed, which would then spark the rise of the Batavian Empire (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=317440)? :confused:

DA Antarctica

"Greens. Bah."

The man (A rather tall, slightly overweight person in an ankle-long coat) muttered, to no one in particular. The war was... Well, not over, but it was seemingly coming to an end, although he supposed that the major engagements were yet to happen.

An odd thing, that, but well, apparently, this was how things went.

He watched some snow falling. Thick, blackened flakes, a geiger counter would have started ticking insanely in their presence. Over him, the sky was some sort of greenish-brown, fed by a variety of high and barely visible smokestacks releasing more and more of the sickly green-brown clouds.

The ground was slowly getting covered with snow. June near antarctica. It was winter. Step after step, the man walked forward, heading for an entrance to the subway station nearby while leaving tiny marks in the black and slowly melting snow on the ground. The industrial areas were doubtlessly useful, and it was definitely good to see them working again, but it wasn't a particularly nice place to stay.

As the man vanished into the entrance, a few birds landed where he had just been, searching for possible food, finding none. Their feathers were in a surprisingly good shape... With the snow, the generally low pH of the water here was less of a problem.

DA wasn't particularly known for its beautiful environment, and it was doubtlessly interesting to know what the position of a green-led coalition in Knootoss would be towards DA... A nation that, instead of regulating the industry to protect the environment, had said industry go on as usual while an environment fitting the industrial requirements (Read: Capable of surviving them) was created.

Not that the man in question cared about this questions. Like most Angstians, he had more pressing matters to attend to.

Back on the surface, in the industrial area, a few psionic magpies were fighting a pair of landsquids, trying to steal some of the vaguely digestible 'food' the landsquids seemed to have.

Woe is heaped upon woe for the Knootian people....the degeneration of Knootness is a warning to us all! Look world and see what becomes of those who are Anathema!
While we applaud the blow struck against the metahuman Galadriël, we still await the day when the true Knootians will overthrow all corrupt metahuman liberalism. and embrace their true destiny.
Until that day, we pray for the Knootian people and pray for a conversion in the hearts of those who lead them.
May God bring downfall to the wicked.

Bridgette Iesus.

President Caine turned off the TV and turned away from the screen in a decided pout. He gulped down his whiskey and slammed the glass on the end table with a hollow, tinkling thud.

“Tom… Mr. President,” Press Secretary Shannon Coles pulled her flimsy robe around her shoulders as he tentatively stepped out of the bedroom. “What’s wrong?”

Caine turned, a sour look marring his normally handsome features. “That accursed elf managed to lose the elections in Knootoss.”

“Yes,” Shannon said softly as she gingerly sat down beside the president, “but the coalition should survive in some form; I’m sure the DDR will continue to support us against Excalbian and Pantocratorian intrusion…”

Caine turned and snapped his teeth to keep from saying something he might regret. After a few deep breathes, he gave Shannon a condescending look. “Yes,” he said harshly, “on the surface I suspect they will continue to oppose the secessionists. But our project runs much deeper than keeping Saxmere in the Confederation. Doesn’t it? A new government in Knootoss may be far less tolerant of the Order and the details its members have made on behalf of the DDR. And where will that leave us, Shannon?”

Caine turned away. “I’d like to be alone. I need to think.”

Shannon nodded and silently made her back to her own room, her head bent low.

Caine sat for a while mulling over the election results, the upcoming negotiations over Saxmere and the possibility of maintaining the Order’s ascendancy in the Confederation without the direct support of Knootoss.

The small orchestra gently played Summer from Vivaldi's Four Seasons on the lawn behind the party of splendidly dressed courtiers and pages in the lavish gardens of the Imperial Court of Christ Pantocrator. The sound of a sudden pop interrupted the background chatter and music as another clay pidgeon was shot into the air. A hand in a velvet glove pulled a trigger, and there was the crack of a rifle. The clay pidgeon exploded.

"Excellent shot, Your Majesty." started the first sycophant.

"Superb!" added another.

The Emperor nodded graciously, and handed the rifle to a page. He reached his arms backwards towards another servant, who pulled his jacket back on.

"Three from four, Monsieur." the Emperor nodded to his brother, who had just been handed a loaded rifle of his own. Basil grimaced.

"I wish I had bet on you rather than myself, Sire." Prince Basil replied as he took aim with the rifle. "Pull!"

Another clay pidgeon was fired into the air, and there was another rifle crack.

"A miss!" announced a courtier, rather too enthusiastically.

"Hmm, a shame." the Emperor observed in a dry voice. "Now you'll have to hit the next three just to draw, Monsieur."

"Your Majesty!" called a page as he made his way through the crowd of courtiers. "Begging your pardon, Sire, but the Knootian election results have been declared. Prime Minister Galadriël Táralom nos Círdan has been defeated. Her successor will be determined in a fortnight's time."

"Pull!" somebody called, and a clay pidgeon was fired into the air. Basil fired and missed.

"Blast!" he called, before handing the rifle to a courtier and allowing a servant to pull his jacket back on. He looked to the page. "Could you repeat that?"

"The Elf in the Hague has lost, Monsieur." said the page.

"And so have you, Monsieur." the Emperor added, as if disinterested in the news. "You may have your bankers see to the fifteen thousand ducats."

--------------------------------------
Noordeinde Palace
Dutch Democratic Republic of Knootoss
--------------------------------------

http://www.kulmbach.net/~MGF-Gymnasium/bilderdaten/schloesser%201/Bilder/Paleis%20Noordeinde%20Niederl_jpg.jpg

“This is our day! The people had the opportunity to choose and they chose green! The tyranny of Galadriël is over! I welcome the next Prime Minister of the Dutch Democratic Republic, Femke Ha...”

The press of a button. The newly elected green MP faded to black after a switch of the remote. The woman holding the remote was Lady Galadriël Táralóm nos Círdan, the Prime Minister of the Dutch Democratic Republic of Knootoss and the Knootian Federation – but for how much longer?

“We lost The Hague. It is over” she stated in quenya, as a matter of fact. It was the first thing she had said in well over an hour. Watching, that was all she had done. Watching the holovision all night; the victory speeches, her own parties defeat, the ever increasing margin of certainty slowly eroding every last glimmer of hope, every lingering doubt that there would yet be a turn of the tide. The margin had been small. Frightfully small. Midnight would ring and Galadriël would lead by three tenths of a percent over Daatman. One in the morning they were even. Two AM a gap - a full percentage point loomed between her and her liberal rival. Three in the morning rekindled hope – just three tenths of a percentage. But at four AM the sun was returning to Knootoss. Her long night was over and she had lost.

Amras Eärfalas, the long-time friend of Galadriëls had been with her all night. But now he stepped forward from his own seat, insisting,

“Is there no other way? Perhaps…”

Galadriël whispered dreamily, interrupting him:

“What a rejection, Amras. Eight year of leadership rewarded not even with a second chance, a chance for redemption.”

Amras Eärfalas looked at her quizzically –

“Why would they hate me so much?”, she complained quietly to herself. Amras Eärfalas paused to think, before reaching down towards her on his knee, grabbing her hand and looking her in the eye.

“Come out with me.” Galadriël turned to look at him. “Come out and meet them, your people.”

“For old time sake”, she whispered enthused, rallied by her friend.

“For Knootoss. For your people”, Amras replied again, insistantly. “You owe them a goodbye.”

“The sun is rising”, one of Galadriëls human aides reported, stepping in from an antechamber with a worried expression on his stern face, “there are people before the palace, wondering where you are. Press. The Party was also been calling, wondering where you were on election night. You’ve caught quite a racket, not being there. The leadership of the RCPK has been calling all night… they demand to…”

“… she is Galadriël”, Amras said simply with a knowing smile. That was all the explanation that was needed. “What she does or does not do matters. The Party leadership can wait.”

The elf, meanwhile, had stood up and was gazing dreamily at the streak of light that played on the floor – first sunlight approaching her from the high glass window.

“Yes. It should be here, at the Norths end. *...... one last time”, she said in her dreamy, rallied state. Approaching the window she shifted the thick curtains aside, the palace chamber bathing in the light of the pale Knootian sun. Galadriël bathed in the light, looking down upon a small crowd that had assembled.

“Yes!”, Amras exclaimed as he stood beside her. Galadriël placed her hands on Amras Eärfalas' shoulder. “Stay with me.”

Together they walked out onto the balcony. A clamour of excitement rose as she came out, but soon the voices died down as it became clear that the Prime Minister was going to say something.

“I am only going to say a few words to you today”, she began, facing some of the camera crews in front.

“My days of active politics are ending. I have fought my battles and have enjoyed them and I long for more. This nations… this Federations chances are just coming and they are exciting, and the most exciting thing of all is to keep our law-governed liberty and democracy going into the future. Liberty is our right – but it will not be sufficient unless in a democracy. We have kept it all these years and we have to keep it going in the future.

No matter what the spin doctors may suggest, you should never discount the Staten-Generaal; it is the heart of our democracy. By mastering the arts of debate you can ensure, even in opposition, that your views are heard and remembered: there is no philosophy that ever triumphed which didn't start out as a minority opinion. Never despise the party system and within that system never underrate the value of the Conservative Party. Conservatism has different shades but just one colour: blue. Conservative principles have to be adapted but they should not be forgotten. Faith in your vision and your mission is, in the end, more important than any number of schemes and dreams when you seek to tread the path back to power. And back we will be when the nation as a whole sees though this progressive hokum and when it thinks we are truly ready.

My friends, my days of active politics are ending. I have fought my battles and enjoyed them: your chances are just coming. Carry on the fight but remain true to your beliefs and be sure to enjoy your politics too. End of speech!"

Some people applauded as she turned around and went back inside the palace. Others were just listening, and yet others were busily arranging a life feed to their studios.
…
* Noordeinde, the name of the palace Galadriël turned into the Prime Ministerial residence translates at “Northend”

LNS News Story (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=9166842#post9166842)

“…this nation’s… this Federation’s chances…”
Watching Galadriël’s speech from her bedroom TV, Ambassador Rosa de Lima Benjawan grumbled upon hearing the word “Federation.” “We all know what that means.”

“Relax, honey,” her husband James remarked as he placed his arm around her, “the Green’s will do better. Heck, they may actually keep to their original promise about Columbia.”

“Well, let’s hope they do,” Rosa replied, recalling that Syskeyian maps divided Columbia into two parts: one section, Chimaea administered; the other, Knootian occupied. “Still, it is a typical Knootian election – one libertine secularist hack beats another libertine secularist hack.”

“But at least it’s a better libertine secularist hack. Besides, it could be worse – if people like van der Laan got their way, I wonder if our diplomatic immunity could save us from their Committee of Public Safety (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_of_Public_Safety).”

“You’ve got a point? But a better secularist libertine hack?”

“You’re words. Not mine.” He kissed her on the cheek.

OOC: “Your words. Not mine.” Rosa said the phrase “better secularist libertine hack” in a previous, private, unRPed conversation. So no, James is not lying.

And, a bit totally off the subject- Rezo, have you ever though of RPing a country that wasn’t a completely hellish dystopia? Just a thought. :p

Trouw Daily Cartoon
http://knootoss.vogels.nu/images/Daatmanfaces.JPG

On behalf of the people of Tanah Burung, may we extend congratulations to the Knootoss Green Party and the Social Liberal Party on their performance.

Our greatest congratulations, however, go to the people of Knootoss. It has long been our belief that the people did not support the reckless warmongering of their incumbent Prime Minister, her policies of state-sanctioned murder, and her vicious flaunting of all forms of international law. The results prove that Knootians themselves care about peace. Accordingly we reach out the hand of friendship to the new government, in the hopes that it will be formed from the forces of peace and not from the forces of war.

Mari Alkatiri,
on behalf of the government-in-exile
United Provinces of Tanah Burung

Coronada

Violeta Bi Bere strolled into the airport lounge, reading a copy of the statement as she walked. She spotted a short man who seemed to be having some trouble with his luggage.

"Well, that was heavy-handed, my dear Mari."

The Burungi foreign minister scowled at the old woman who had held his job before him. "Bad enough i had to be in the same room with that witch," he said. "No reason i have to be nice now that her own voters have rejected her. And i am not your dear."

Bi Bere let her smile drop away, just a little. More in sadness than anger. "What a shame. Well, i'm sending that nice Femke Halsema a fruit basket. Care to sign the card along with me?"

If eyes were daggers, Alkatiri would have just thrust two killing stabs into the older woman's brain stem. "No. Now leave me alone. I have my own election to prepare for."

Bi Bere sighed. "Green with envy? Well, i'll see you on the campaign trail, perhaps." She took up her quill pen and addressed the card.

Dear heart,

What a joy to hear of your success and the wisdom of your people. Come visit us some day: officially or unofficially, as the voters choose. The sunflowers are lovely this time of year, and you really must see the wind farms in Ukun Rasikan at sunset. I'll make you some gado-gado -- don't worry, it will be mild -- and we can watch it.

Congratulations to you,
Violeta, heading home

To: Femke Halsema, the Dutch Democratic Republic of Knootoss
From: President Kaizura Monamara, the United Solaris Federation of Tiburon
Subject: An Election, A Win, and Greater Ties

Miss Halsema,

Congradulations on your recent victory in the Knootian election! We are pleased to see a new chapter unfold in Knootoss's shining democratic history, and we await to see the new arrivals that your administration brings to the transatlantic alliance as well as to Knootoss's relationship with the rest of the world.

Tiburon's commitment to its allies in Europe, whether in its current form with the United Solaris Federation and the Dutch Democratic Republic or in its older form, as the NATO alliance between the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands, has always been one of mutual friendship and unity. With this in mind, and our general support of some Green Party positions, we support your proposal to end the Burungi War, but caution that any rush to pull out will result in an emboldening of any terrorist factions lingering in the area. We hope to further strengthen our solid transatlantic ties to the Dutch Democratic Republic, and express hopes for a bright and united future.

Sincerely,
President Kaizura Monamara,
The United Solaris Federation of Tiburon

http://www.demanu.com.tr/arsiv/31_06_2004_80sy/images/NatoLogo.jpg

OOC: Meh. My President's directly elected as well, although not in so contorted a fashion.

OOC: Femke Halsema may have led her party to a successful election, but she is not prime minister yet. For some reason, the Knootian prime minister is elected directly, and isn't selected by the house. Daatman and Halsema are only candidates at this point. The final prime ministerial election has not yet taken place (since none of the candidates achieved a 50% vote in the first round, the one with the least votes has been eliminated and Knoot's moving onto a second round). That out of the way...

IC:

"...and one last thing before I go to this conference..." Drapeur said. He was talking with his Foreign Minister in the Chancellor's Office of the Palais du Parlement, just two hours before he was due to board Peacock Airlines flight MP01 for Saxmere and the conference on board the Alfkonur.

"What's that, Thibault?" asked Demetrios Raoul, Minister for Foreign Affairs.

"The Knootian Prime Ministerial election. Two candidates... Daatman..." Drapeur started.

"Bastard liberal." Raoul muttered.

"...and Halsema." Drapeur finished his sentence.

"Greenie." Raoul chuckled.

"My feeling is that conservative voters will vote for Daatman over the Greens." Drapeur said. Raoul nodded. "So he'll probably be the next person we have to deal with in the Hague. What do you think?"

"Have you read his letter?" Raoul asked.

"Not yet." Drapeur admitted. "Any promise?"

"Same old nonsense." Raoul shook his head. "A few meaningless but nice-sounding platitudes thrown in for good measure. I got the impression that there might be more too the man, he might be somebody we can negotiate with. But if the letter genuinely represents his vision for the Atlantic, he may as well have pointy ears and a skirt for all the difference he'd make."

"And Halsema?" Drapeur asked.

"I think she'd probably be better, at least on the issue of Saxmere." Raoul shrugged his shoulders. "Bloody stupid albatross around our necks the thing is too."

"Why do you think she'd be better?" Drapeur insisted, avoiding the issue of Saxmere being a pain in the proverbial backside.

"Well, there's less rhetoric about her, more discourse. I just get the impression she could be reasoned with. But at the same time, I do get worried that she'd be all talk and no action..." Raoul shrugged. "Greenies are like that."

"Why are all Knootoss' political parties so irredeemably awful?" Drapeur muttered under his breath.

Vice-Chancellor von Sohn smiled at the Volksraad waiter who had just handed him a delicious looking plate of roast flamingo with raspberry sauce, peas and baby potatos. "Thank you. Ah, now, my dear friend," he said, glancing over the table at the President of the Volksraad, who was beaming at her trout a la almondine, "Things are looking up, hey? More tax cuts, more revenues, how can it be better save by us being in Heaven?"
"Well..." she began thoughtfully as she lifted a fillet neatly with her knife. However, she paused seeing a young clerk approach and bent her ear to his whispering.
"Femke Haselma is in the lead in the Knootian elections." said the President.
"Interesting." von Sohn mused. He was a neat man, in his youth considered beautifully handsome, now as sleek and elegant and slightly portly as Oscar Wilde in his prime, and as neat in his attire. "Now, why is the Knootian electoral system so complicated, Caroline? Hey? Ah well, this will be a blow to them, surely. Not exactly face, eh, with the conference in our ball park and having to bow their way out of Tanah Burung after all?"
The President looked thoughtful. "The Knootians all seem somehow the same to me. Secular, obsessed with money, obsessed with political meddling. We'll see. When Van Mierlo was here often I liked him; he was a gentleman if Knootoss ever had them. But that Galadriel was just a sort of pocket Sirithil without the class. As for Daatman..." she shuddered. "

OOC: as this also affects the elections, I'll put this one here too. ;) Apologise for those who follow all my threads loyally.

Trouw, front page

http://www.martijnbeekman.nl/beeld_portret/015_portret_groot.jpg

Foreign and Defence Minister Hans van Mierlo dies

THE HAGUE - Cabinet minister Hans van Mierlo, 89, has died from fatal injuries after falling from stairs while attending diplomatic talks on the conflict with Excalbia, in Saxmere. He fell down from the stairs of the Lavenrunzian destroyer Alfkonur directly after finishing the talks.

Hans van Mierlo was flown by Medical helicopter to St. Josephs hospital in Saxmere, where he was pronounced dead, a visibly emotional Foreign Ministry spokesman told the assembled press. It is understood Mr Van Mierlo, who has several adult children and granddchildren, arrived at hospital about 15 minutes after his fall and was declared dead five minutes later. It was more than three hours before the Foreign Ministry confirmed his death, as it is believed family members were being informed.

The Foreign Ministry also announced that the minister and his conversation partners had agreed upon a provisional agreement containing confidence building measures, which the Confederation and Excalbia will implement on a reciprocal basis so as to foster further discussions on the framework of a general settlement.

Van Mierlo had been at the head of Knootian foreign policy for almost 24 years, making him the longest-serving minister in Knootian history. He was due to retire in several weeks following the instalment of a new government.

Following Mr Van Mierlo's death, former friends and colleagues paid tribute to him. Conservative leader Hugo Deburghraeve said: "He is a very great loss. He was someone who made an immense contribution to Knootian modern history." Green leader Femke Halsema said: "Both Knootian and international politics have lost a good and gifted man.". The SLP is "in mourning about this pillar of Knootian social-liberalism, one of the Great Knootians." Jan Willem Daatman told journalists he was still too much in grief to comment, and was reportedly spotted crying in the The Hague town hall.

Prime Minister Galadriël Táralóm nos Círdan told the press in a written statement released by Noordeinde Palace that her minister was "an outstanding, extraordinary talent". In the same statement, she also announced that she would take over his duties and act as foreign minister and supreme commander of the Knootian Defence Force until a new government would be installed. She has also pledged to attend the continued talks on Excalbia in his place, where she is expected to take a firm but confrontational stance.

The Prime Minister will not be changing her schedule to attend the cremation, but she has pledged to honour the minister posthumously with the highest rank in the Order of the Guinea Pig. All other cabinet ministers have so far pledged to attend, and foreign dignitaries are also expected. The family has requested that the scope of the cremation will be limited to personal friends and acquaintances of the minister.

[See: Pages 2,3,4: the extraordinary life of “Mr. Knootoss”, obituaries page 7. Commentary, page 10,11.]

The morning after the second round of the elections

“Good morning, my sweet little Prime Minister!”

Jan Willem Daatman (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Jan_Willem_Daatman) woke up, only to look into the loving eyes of Irene (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Irene_Daatman).

“Waaah?”, he mumbled as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, one by one.

“You’ve won dear. You have a busy day ahead.”

“Oh”, the new Prime Minister-elect of Knootoss said sleepily. Last night had been a tall order for the politician and he hadn’t had much sleep at all.

“I guess I do have a lot to do,” he mumbled, pulling on a pair of slippers at his bedside. After getting out of bed, he stumbled down the stairs into their The Hague apartment in his pyjamas. Groggily, he reached for the coffee machine next to the toaster, wondering if and where Irene had hidden the sugar this time.

He rummaged through the cupboard as the water began to boil, finding the sugar at last hidden behind some cooking appliances.

It was then that he noticed the camera sticking out his kitchen window.

“Hey”, he yelled and the device quickly disappeared. Daatman looked out of the window and noticed a small group of journalists who had been camping out that night. He grinned, his eyes still adjusting to the sunlight, and darted back to put on some clothes. About 15 minutes later, the front door opened.

"Monsieur Daatman!" Virginie Merlot (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Virginie_Merlot) called from the small mob of journalists. She was an attractive young woman dressed in a light pink dress which seemed far too cheery for this hour of the morning. "Peacock Daily News, Pantocratoria. How does it feel to be elected Prime Minister?"

“I’m very honoured that the Knootian people have chosen to have me as their Prime Minister”, Daatman replied obligingly, “And I look forward to serving them as their personal representative for four years.”

"When do you intend to form a new government, and with whom, have negotiations begun yet, Prime Minister?" Merlot continued.

“I was just elected last night”, Daatman replied laughing, “but I will begin to form a new government today, I can assure you, and I intend to get the job done as soon as possible in the interest of the Knootian people.”

"How long will you allow the extremely unpopular Lady Galadriël to remain as Prime Minister despite her losing in the first round elections a fortnight ago?" Merlot continued.

“I, erm,” he paused. “I will try to form a government as soon as is possible, and I have full confidence that the new constellation of parties in the Staten-Generaal and the caretaker government will be able to work together constructively in this brief period.” He smiled, pointing to one of the Knootian journalists standing behind Merlot.

"But, haven't you known for a fortnight that you would have a fifty percent..." Virginie Merlot started but was cut off by the Knootian journalist to whom Daatman had pointed.

“Do you intend to continue the current coalition with the RCPK or is the SLP going to open up negotiations with the greens?”, a tall man with a headset asked, ignoring the young Pantocratorian journalist. “Femke Halsema has offered to become deputy-Prime Minister in your new government.”

“Well, as I said I was only elected last night”, Daatman said more tentatively. “I will have to talk about it with the people in my own party and consult with all the leaders in parliament. I will not exclude any combination that carries a majority in the Staten-Generaal beforehand. I intend to form a government that has the support of the parliament of the people.”

"Surely you've been discussing possible coalitions since the Staten-Generaal elections a fortnight ago!" Merlot spoke up, frowning a little as the Knootian journalists started to shout over her. "Prime Minister?"

“I always think ahead a few steps”, he said smiling paternalistically at Virginie, but before she could say anything else the assembled press began to hurl more questions at Daatman. Motioning with his arms for them to calm down, he took a step back:

“No further questions please, thank you for coming. I have a busy day ahead and you have articles to write. Good day”, and he closed the door of his apartment behind him.

Merlot turned to her cameraman and pouted.

"He didn't answer my question..." she muttered underneath her breath as if it was still a new experience for her.

To Violeta Bi Bere from Femke Halsema.

Dear Violeta,

I thank you for your letter. It is unfortunate that I only managed to read it after these elections were over. The last few weeks have been so unimaginably busy, but I think it was worth the experience. Something has changed, I think, for the better.

My plans for the coming period are as yet undetermined, but I will be sure to visit you as soon as I can: I am looking forward to the gado-gado and I’ll be sure to bring some of our own foods.

All the best,

Femke

To Tiburon:

To: President Kaizura Monamara, the United Solaris Federation of Tiburon
From: Jan Willem Daatman, Prime Minister-elect, Knootoss
Subject: Re: An Election, A Win, and Greater Ties

The election team of Femke Halsema was gracious enough to forward your letter to her to my own campaign office, and I will answer your letter instead. I thank you for your kind words and as the new Prime Minister of Knootoss I hope to continue the friendly relations with Tiburon and the rest of the world.

Be assured that I intend to implement the agreement reached by my predecessor, the Lady Galadriël Tátalóm nos Círdan, and further strengthen our solid transatlantic ties.

In friendship,

Jan Willem Daatman

Telegraaf
Government Survives
Halsema defeated
THE HAGUE - The second round of the Prime Ministerial elections ended last night in a decisive defeat for Green leader Femke Halsema. The government SLP party scraped through as the people elected Jan Willem Daatman to be the new Prime Minister. Jan Willem Daatman defeated the green opposition candidate after the endorsement by the conservative RCPK.

Volkskrant
Femke: time for left coalition
THE HAGUE – cheers, and tears in all camps yesterday when green leader Femke Halsema conceded the election to Jan Willem Daatman, calling for a new era of progressive change. “It is time for a left-wing coalition”, she said. “The people have spoken and endorsed two progressive candidates.” The SLP caucus celebrated all night long as their party was restored to the position of Kingmaker in Knootoss.

Trouw
Daatman elected Prime Minister
THE HAGUE – with just over fifty-tree percent of the vote in favour of Daatman, Femke Halsema conceded yesterday that the second round of the Prime Ministerial elections was a victory for the SLP candidate. With the celebrations over, the SLP party and Daatman himself will now have to decide who they are going to govern with: retain the narrow government majority with the RCPK, or a new adventure with the greens. Hard decisisons are ahead, because Daatman will have to form a government that is facing many immediate problems at home and abroad.

Spin-off thread: Justice and Liberty: Inaugural Address of Prime Minister Jan Willem Daatman (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=442157)