NationStates Jolt Archive

Prime Minister steps down amid fraud claims

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Prime Minister William Kingsley Jr.

Prime Minister William Kingsley Jr has resigned from office after weeks of mounting pressure. Mr Kingsley, leader of the governing Social Democrat Party, summoned a press conference in the capital at 11:45 AOTC. Flanked by Deputy Prime Minister Simon Dwyer and Social Democrat Party president Alastair Campbell, Mr Kingsley announced his intention to relinquish the premiership.

"It is no longer possible for me to function in the role of Prime Minister under these circumstances," Mr Kingsley said.

"I have confirmed with the President my intention to be present at Government House this afternoon to tender my resignation from the office of Prime Minister."

Mr Kingsley, visibly shaken, refused to take questions during the brief appearance. He did, however, speak candidly about the events of the past six months. He repeated his denial that party funds had been misappropriated and emphatically rejected suggestions that he had failed to meet requirements in electoral law by not declaring a six-figure donation to his personal legal fund. This month authorities launched two separate investigations.

"I'll dispose of these vile and baseless accusations in exactly the same time it has taken my political opponents to perpetuate the damn lies," he said defiantly.

"This is an attempt to bring down a government and to destroy the will of the people. It is an assault on our democracy. But I know we will endure. The SDP is not about to go down in a sea of innuendo. This is but a temporary aberration. And tomorrow, we'll be back."

Mr Kingsley appeared agitated as he left the podium. Besieged by journalists, he reportedly told one press photographer to "piss off". He told a female reporter: "You print one thing wrong, sunshine, and I’ll sue you."

An elevator in the adjoining corridor provided a quick escape from the onslaught of cameras and microphones. SDP president Alistair Campbell repeated Mr Kingsley's assurances that no wrong-doing had been committed.

"We are one hundred percent certain that the investigations being conducted by the NPS and the Electoral Commission will clear the party and Mr Kingsley. There is nothing illegal about the way in which we conduct our business. We have always assiduously adhered to the electoral laws of this country."

Asked why it was then necessary for the Prime Minister to step down, Mr Campbell said it was "only sensible".

"This media mountain you have constructed from what was the tiniest of molehills has made it impossible for Mr Kingsley to fulfil his duties as Head of Government. If anyone is to blame for this nonsense, it's you people with your wanton disregard for the truth and total lack of decency."

Despite resigning from office, Mr Kingsley is to remain parliamentary leader of the Social Democrat Party "for the foreseeable future".
"We are hopeful that the investigation will clear Mr Kingsley of any wrongdoing," Deputy Prime Minister Simon Dwyer said.

Opposition leader Servius Bach said Prime Minister Kingsley's resignation was "an admission of guilt" and he denounced the Social Democratic government as "corrupt" and "morally bankrupt". Mr Bach, speaking in Somerset on Monday said the donation scandal had "destroyed public confidence" in the government and "seriously threatened" the country's political stability.

"The Prime Minister is a pathological liar. That is now clear. It is clear from the statements he has made over the last six months; both publicly and privately. It is clear from his abysmal record as a 1990s minister. And it is clear from his actions this week. Yet he has the full backing of his party and the Cabinet. How can Prosperitans trust their elected officials when the most powerful man in the land is facing two separate inquiries into fraudulent activity?"

Mr Bach refused to accept that Mr Kingsley would be cleared of wrongdoing.

"That now seems highly doubtful. Only the naïve and Mr Kingsley could possibly believe that. We are adamant that the only way forward is a change in government. An election must now be held and the people given a chance to deliver their verdict."
Servius Bach would move for a motion of no confidence in the House when it resumed next week.

The Prime Minister's decision to resign comes a mere 18 months after the first SDP government took office.

- AdferoLive.nvp

From PNN.pc

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Prosperitan prime minister William Kingsley Dmn has
resigned amid claims he engaged in fraudulent behaviour.
His government lasted only a year and a half. At any rate,
the opposition plans to introduce a motion of no-confidence
in Kingsley's government to officially topple it.

Kingsley out as PM, Novus Prosperitas in flux
Political experts say his career is over, Social Democrat Party "finished"


Martina Felicida, Securitas
PNN Novus Prosperitas correspondent

William Kingsley Dmn, the prime minister of Novus Prosperitas, has resigned amid charges he has, on two separate occasions, engaged in fraudulent activities.

The prime minister told a crowd of reporters he intended to submit his resignation to Prosperitan president Adeodatus Waterhouse Monday afternoon. Mr Kingsley charged the accusations as "baseless smears" and resolved to fight them, but admitted he "could not do that while occupying the office of prime minister".

While appearing slightly shaken by the accusations, Mr Kingsley said the revelations were a thinly-veiled "attempt to bring down a government and to destroy the will of the people".

It is an assault on Prosperitan democracy, he said, also pledging that Prosperitas "will endure" through the political instability.

But whether or not Kingsley ends up cleared of the charges, political experts both in Pacitalia and in NP say his career is over, and that it is also likely his party, the Social Democrats, are "finished" as a mainstream force in the country's political scene.

"Mr Kingsley and the Social Democratic Party are so closely intertwined that there is no way one will survive if the other doesn't," Liz Cunningham, a professor of parliamentary politics at the University of Mandragora, said. "Mr Kingsley might be able to adapt as an independent politician but that is an uncertainty. It is unlikely he could join another party, nor would he want to, based on his character and his convictions."

On the other hand, the Social Democrats are widely seen as Kingsley's party, she said.

"If he falls from grace," Cunningham noted, "so, too, will they."

Pacitalian prime minister Archetenia Nera returned last week from a short visit to Securitas, the Prosperitan capital, in which she met with Kingsley and a few members of his cabinet. The prime minister declined to comment on the unfolding drama in the Republic's northeastern neighbour, but Agustinate of International Relations Vasiliou Bandanaris noted "the government had a wary eye trained on the situation".

"There is no real cause for concern at this point," he said, "but we do hope for cooler heads to prevail."

The opposition leader in the Prosperitan parliament, Servius Bach, plans to introduce a non-confidence motion next week to officially topple Kingsley's government.

MPNN, Bergamo

Instability has again gripped the continent as the Prime Minister of Novus Prosperitas has resigned over allegation of fraud and irregularities with donations. Ex-PM Kingsley has announced his intention to fight the allegations against him, but feels he is unable to do this whilst discharging his duty as head of government.

President Cuthbert, is expected to return to Manhattan Prime within the week, whereupon he will regain command of the country and issue a formal state on the situation in our neighbour state. Early reports from his staff indicate he is likely to assert Manhattanite support for the new leader, whomever that might be, but to remain aloof of internal NP politics. We'll be bringing you more on this situation as it develops.

In other news, the Manhattan Prime News Network is confident that it will soon be returning to offices in the capital after a several month absence, as the Manhattan Civil War slowly draws to a close.

(OOC:Winny Peters? Lol, brilliant picture.)

Pressure mounts for early election
Opposition doesn't have numbers to topple government

Public demonstrations have followed the resignation of Prime Minister William Kingsley Jr amid two criminal investigations. Thousands are taking to the streets in major cities across Novus Prosperitas demanding the dissolution of the SDP government.

On Monday, Libertas leader Servius Bach acknowledged that the Opposition does not have the numbers to force an early general election. Speaking to an impassioned crowd of 3000 at a rally in St John's City last night, Mr Bach said Prosperitans had the right to "hold their government to account". Although they did have the opportunity to do so every three years, Mr Bach said there were "extraordinary times", such as the present, when urgency would override tradition. He pointed to a recent published in conservative newspaper The Prosperitan Herald, claiming that "80 percent" of voters had "lost faith" in the SDP administration.

"So long as Mr Kingsley remains leader of the SDP and a sitting MP and so long as the SDP remains in power under Mr Kingsley's leadership then I believe the country is at grave and unnecessary risk."

Mr Bach said that new Prime Minister Simon Dwyer was "but a puppet". His brief address to the "anti-govenrment" rally - one of many held in major urban centres this week - was met with raptuous applause. In the streets, protestors handed out anti-government fliers. In the capital itself, Parliament buildings and the Treasury have been the target of vocal picketers chanting "Dwyer out". As a result of the public backlash, the National Police Service's Special Branch has been forced to tighten security around the premier and senior ministers. Although the demonstrations have been for the most part peaceful, police officers have so far been involved in at least one major scuffle on the steps of Parliament House. The incident occurred when protestors attempted to charge the Minister of Revenue as he conducted a television interview. Although no one was seriously hurt, three arrests were made. Two men and one woman have been charged with disorderly behaviour and assault.

The country's third largest political party, the Christian Democrats, have called for the President to intervene. CDP leader Conan George told Radio Adfero Live on Monday that, although no precedence existed in modern times, the only appropriate solution to the crisis was for His Excellency to invoke his reserve powers as prescribed in the constitution and dismiss the government. Mr George said a government could govern if it held the confidence of the House, but not after the people had suffered such a "devestating loss of confidence".

"It is inappropriate for a democratic government that is the subject of these, uh, very serious investigations and allegations to remain in office," he said.

Prime Minister Dwyer responded to Mr George in a press release tonight. He called the Christian Democrats "ignorant" of the principles on which the Prosperitan system had been founded.

"Furthermore, Party, and government business must remain distinct from Mr Kingsley's personal affairs," the Prime Minister argued.

Political scientist and Adfero commentator Susan Walker of the National University of Novus Prosperitas said such an intervention by the president would raise "interesting" questions about the country's constitutional arrangements and could create a new crisis.

"The President would, legally, be within his right to dissolve Parliament and call a general election," Dr Walker said. "However, such a situation as this has never arisen in Novus Prosperitas before."

- AdferoLive.nvp

Electoral Commission "clears" SDP

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Former prime minister William Kingsley Jr.

After months of speculation, the Electoral Commission has announced the findings of an investigation into undeclared political donations. The ruling, released this morning, exonerates former prime minister William Kingsley's party of wrong-doing.

Mr Kingsley, arguably the country's most controversial politician, resigned in November last year after charges he had misappropriated party funds and that the governing party had failed to declare a six figure donation were referred to the National Police Service (NPS) and the Electoral Commission respectively. Since then, Mr Kingsley has vigourously mainatined his innocence.

"I'll dispose of these vile and baseless accusations in exactly the same time it has taken my political opponents to perpetuate the damn lies," he said at the time.

In its decision on Monday, the commission found that SDP secretary Antonia Foster had not committed an offence when she filed an incorrect annual return in 2007. However, the commission ordered the party to file amended returns and auditors reports for the years 2005 and 2006. In 2007, the party received $150,000 in undeclared payments from its previously unknown Victoria Trust. It was the only year the commission could act on as the period for prosecutions expired on the other years.

In addition, the commission found a lack of evidence that Mr Kingsley knew of a $100,000 donation to his personal legal fund by multi-millionaire Rod McCain. However, the commission did not release its full findings so as not to prejuidice the ongoing police investigation.

Libertas leader Servius Bach, who has led the attack against the SDP for its failure to declare cash and donations, said he still believed Mr Kingsley and his "inner circle" had broken the law. He thought Ms Foster was kept in the dark about the trust donations.

"The former prime minister never told the secretary or the wider party about the Victoria Trust," he said. "That should be cause for great concern."

However, Mr Kingsley dismissed Mr Bach's comment as "uneducated". Upon hearing of the news today, the former prime minister appeared elated.

"We had all these claims of a sinister nature made against us and now they are being disposed of one by one. Just as I said they would be."

Nevertheless, a second inquiry, launched by the NPS into Mr Kingsley's enigmatic Victoria Trust is continuing. The investigation is said to be in the final stages and its findings are expected to be made public later in the week.

- AdferoLive.nvp

Police: Kingsley, SDP didn't break the law

A National Police Service (NPS) inquiry has found no basis for fraud charges to be laid against SDP leader William Kingsley Jr or party officials. Earlier this week the Electoral Commission also cleared the party and its leader of breaching laws relating to electoral returns.

The NPS announced today its investigation into SDP finances found no evidence of fraudulent activity, but warned that other laws may have been broken. In particular, the investigation raised further concerns about the way in which donations were channelled through the Victoria Trust. However, the information uncovered by the police had already been considered by the Electoral Commission.

Evidence also showed Mr Kingsley received a $40,000 gift in 2007 that should have been declared on the Register of Pecuniary Interests for MPs.

"The Victoria Trust made payments on behalf of Mr Kingsley to settle litigation. The payments were funded by a donation to the Victoria Trust."

The information was forwarded to the auditor-general and Mr Kingsley had been asked to consider filing an amended return to the Register of Pecuniary Interests.

"Having assessed a range of information from various sources, and having considered the elements of the alleged offences contained in the appropriate legislation, the NPS is satisfied that no offence was committed," police said in a statement tonight.

Mr Kingsley said the police decision was "totally expected" and the investigation should never have been conducted.

"My advice to the NPS is to go and find some real crooks," the former prime minister said over the telephone.

The police and Electoral Commission inquiries had been driven by a "smear campaign" and he accused the "right-wing media" of a "disgraceful campaign of character assassination".

Hundreds of thousands of dollars from the trust were not declared during the past four years, but only the 2007 return was subject to police action because the others were outside the six-month prosecution deadline.

The Electoral Commission found the declaration was "materially false", but says there was no intention to deceive.

Mr Kingsley maintains that its legal advice was that the cash, paid in one instalment to the SDP, did not have to be declared as it came from separate sources, each under the $10,000 disclosure threshold.

In its full ruling, withheld until the results of the police investigation, the Electoral Commission said it was waiting for SDP's returns for the 2005 and 2006 years and that it had been given "inconsistent accounts" of donations in those years.

- AdferoLive.nvp

Kingsley supporters rally

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"We're in it to win, and we're going to win!"

In Somerset this evening, more than a thousand turned out in support of SDP leader William Kingsley Jr, marking the end of the six month-long donations scandal. The crowds were predominately young and working class.

It is in Somerset where Mr Kingsley's support remains the strongest. The SDP leader has represented the constituency of Somerset Central since 1999. The supporters waved banners promoting the SDP government's progressive policies in health and industrial relations. They also burned effigies of Opposition leader Servius Bach and Christian Democrat Conan George. Two men were subsequently arrested. Despite this, the pro-SDP demonstration remained peaceful and at 17:30 AOTC Mr Kingsley made a brief appearance.

After shaking hands and posing for photographs with well-wishers, Mr Kingsley was invited to speak before the crowd. He condemnded the earlier actions of protestors, chiding them for "wasting good butane" to much laughter. The former prime minister then defended his actions over the last six months and his record in government.

"Every donation the SDP has ever received has been legal and no individual has ever personally retained any donations," he said.

Mr Kingsley condemned Libertas leader Servius Bach as "conceited" and warned naysayers that the SDP would prove a formidable electoral force in the upcoming general election.

"We're in it to win, and we're going to win!" Mr Kingsley said to cheers and a loud applause.

What next?
Today a new opinion poll showed resurging support for Mr Kingsley and the government. In the latest Adfero/Consensus Poll, the SDP closed the gap with Libertas by 10 percentage points. The gap was 8 percentage points compared to 18 percentage points six weeks ago.

In a "preferred prime minister poll", Simon Dwyer remained unchanged on 23%. However, William Kingsley Jr rose from 19% to 21%. Servius Bach fell from 25% to 22% and Conan George remained unchanged on 17%. Libertas finance spokesman Jonathan Keyes continues his meteoric rise in popularity, lifting his support from 11% to 15%.

Political commentators believe the decision by the Dwyer government to cut income tax for the middle and lower classes, though seen as a pre-election bribe by many, has been successful in slowing the opposition's momentum. The full benefits of a universal dental-care system may also be proving helpful.

Nevertheless, high unemployment and forecasts of a recession have only added to the SDP's woes in recent months.

The question on many's mind is whether Mr Kingsley will, as speculated, take the reins of power once more or whether he will step aside as leader of the party he has built up over the last decade and allow fresh-blood to flow.

Prime Minister Simon Dwyer was unwilling to comment on the matter this afternoon, though he made it clear there was "never any question" of Mr Kingsley's innocence.

"The investigation had to run its course ... In order so that certain parties would be satisfied. But we were always satisfied," Mr Dwyer said in his weekly press conference.

Asked whether he intended to campaign as prime minister in two month's time, Mr Dwyer responded by saying "I will only discuss government business".

Meanwhile, Libertas leader Servius Bach said the SDP government was "unstable" and "split down the middle".

"A party should have one leader, and one leader only. Both Mr Dwyer and Mr Kingsley must make it clear to the nation what their intentions are."

- AdferoLive.nvp

Parliament dissolved, PM sets 7 March as election date
Kingsley: "We will seek a fresh mandate"

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Prime Minister Simon Dwyer leaves Government House after requesting the dissolution of Parliament.

The general election will be held on 7 March, Prime Minister Simon Dwyer formally announced on Wednesday. Mr Dwyer fronted a media conference with SDP leader William Kingsley Jr and other senior party officials this morning.

Speaking to members of the parliamentary press gallery, a "proud" and confident Mr Dwyer said the Social Democrat Party had a "driving mission" for a historic second term. The Prime Minister said the election presented the nation with a "big choice". He said the party would "fight hard" to secure re-election. To date, the SDP is one of only three political parties in Novus Prosperitas' history to form a majority government.

"I am immensly proud of all that we have accomplished these last three years. In health. In education. In employment relations. This has been a government of great social progress," Mr Dwyer said.

"We have governed in the interests of the many, not just the few.

"We have shown through our record that we are a party of vision. A party of integrity. And a party of considerable talent."

Mr Dwyer said the SDP's strong credentials would win over those concerned about a slowing economy and rising support for the conservative opposition. He argued that Prosperitans would judge the SDP on its achievements in office and not "smear". He listed the introduction of a minimum wage and free universal dental care as two of his greatest triumphs.

SDP leader William Kingsley, present at Mr Dwyer's side, told journalists he looked forward to the campaign ahead. Mr Kingsley agreed the SDP would seek a "fresh mandate" but again declined to answer questions pertaining to his future in the party he co-founded nine years ago, and what, if any, role he would play in a second-term SDP government.

"The media, that's you lot, won't decide this election. The people of Novus Prosperitas will. And they will look past the lies and propaganda you are perpetuating on behalf of the Right-wing," Mr Kingsley said.

The former prime minister then turned his sights on Opposition leader Servius Bach. He described Mr Bach as a "policy light-weight" and "Manchurian candidate". Mr Bach, he said, was not driven by principle or purpose in politics.

"He changes his mind more often than the ordinary person changes his undergarments," the SDP leader joked. "And that's dangerous for anyone who wants to lead a country. This election will be about substance not who has the flashiest smile."

Servius Bach welcomed the announcement, describing it as "the last honourable act of an otherwise dishonourable government". Mr Bach said the court of public opinion would settle the question of the SDP government's legitimacy "once and for all". The Libertas leader vowed to fight vigorously in the interests of the people. In a precursor to the campaign, Mr Bach attacked the SDP's record in office, criticising the Kingsley-Dwyer administration for presiding over "excruciatingly"high taxes and "bloated bureaucracy".

"The three years have been a period in which business and free enterprise have suffered under the excess of red tape; the ordinary Prosperitan, too, has faced a level of nanny statism in their every day life not seen since the Junta. If Mr Dwyer and his party want to make this campaign about substance then Libertas will ensure that the real issues are put before Prosperitans and we will hold the SDP to account."

Christian Democrats leader Conan George echoed Mr Bach's comments. He called for an end to "sleaze and corruption" in government. Although the Kingsley-Dwyer government had made "strides" in "some" policy areas, its legacy would "forever be tarnished by scandal".

- AdferoLive.nvp