The Resurgent Dream
30-09-2007, 05:52
When Magdaleno Caballero, the three term Socialist mayor of Madero Cabello, had decided not to run for a fourth term, the Socialist had nominated the affable Danilo Da Gama who easily defeated the Imperial Action Party’s Regis Gaite. However, Da Gama had not fared well in the transition to the Confederated Peoples. The people of the city had become paranoid, suspicious of seeming stability and wondering when the next big crisis would occur. Gaite, while popular personally, was seen as much more radical than Caballero, as weak and as unable to keep public order. His reputation declined rapidly over his term, reaching an all time low immediately after a riot targeting Christian Lebanese shopkeepers. Although police successfully broke up the disturbance, one Lebanese shop owner was killed and three more Christian Lebanese were injured in the violence. After the incident, Da Gama was portrayed as incapable of keeping order in the streets and as a coddler of demagogues.
The best thing Mayor Da Gama had going for him in the upcoming election was his opponents. The Confederal Action Party had been almost completely destroyed in the Confederal elections and wasn’t causing anyone any worry. The Democratic Concordance candidate, Eleuterio Keiva, lacked any significant base of support. The Democratic candidate, Medardo Badillo, had run for office three times before, each time for a different party. Naturally, he was seen as completely unreliable. The Labour candidate, Reseda Magallanes, was an ideologue with an obstructionist record in the municipal legislature. The Institutional Revolutionary Party candidate, Ajan Saer, was a demagogue and a Maztlanan nationalist infamous for his opportunism and dishonesty. The weak and unpopular Da Gama seemed almost guaranteed another term do to the complete inability of any of the other parties to come up with a seriously viable candidate.
The mayor, of course, wasn’t too comfortable. Although the new system had proven remarkably stable, Confederals had lived through fifteen years of chronic political instability. Besides, even in a stable environment, the politics of a multi-party democracy was always unpredictable, especially at the local level. Nonetheless, as the election approached, things remained almost eerily uneventful. Even the minor crises that frequently plagued every local government were missing. It made him nervous.
Da Gama was sitting in his office when Deputy Mayor Marco Fabrega knocked lightly on the door and then came in, “Sir, we have the Wake reception in twenty.”
“I’ll be right down,” Da Gama said as the door closed. He frowned slightly to himself. He had been over this reception a hundred times and every time he had come to the conclusion that receiving Beatrice Wake as she and her lover arrived in the city was both the politically advantageous and the appropriate thing to do. Still, such a controversial guest couldn’t help but bring controversy in her wake. He smirked slightly at the accidental pun.
The best thing Mayor Da Gama had going for him in the upcoming election was his opponents. The Confederal Action Party had been almost completely destroyed in the Confederal elections and wasn’t causing anyone any worry. The Democratic Concordance candidate, Eleuterio Keiva, lacked any significant base of support. The Democratic candidate, Medardo Badillo, had run for office three times before, each time for a different party. Naturally, he was seen as completely unreliable. The Labour candidate, Reseda Magallanes, was an ideologue with an obstructionist record in the municipal legislature. The Institutional Revolutionary Party candidate, Ajan Saer, was a demagogue and a Maztlanan nationalist infamous for his opportunism and dishonesty. The weak and unpopular Da Gama seemed almost guaranteed another term do to the complete inability of any of the other parties to come up with a seriously viable candidate.
The mayor, of course, wasn’t too comfortable. Although the new system had proven remarkably stable, Confederals had lived through fifteen years of chronic political instability. Besides, even in a stable environment, the politics of a multi-party democracy was always unpredictable, especially at the local level. Nonetheless, as the election approached, things remained almost eerily uneventful. Even the minor crises that frequently plagued every local government were missing. It made him nervous.
Da Gama was sitting in his office when Deputy Mayor Marco Fabrega knocked lightly on the door and then came in, “Sir, we have the Wake reception in twenty.”
“I’ll be right down,” Da Gama said as the door closed. He frowned slightly to himself. He had been over this reception a hundred times and every time he had come to the conclusion that receiving Beatrice Wake as she and her lover arrived in the city was both the politically advantageous and the appropriate thing to do. Still, such a controversial guest couldn’t help but bring controversy in her wake. He smirked slightly at the accidental pun.