General Elections
Residence of the Prime Minister, The Citadel
Imperium, Republic of New Britain
The past few days had seen the air grow heavier and heavier inside the residence and offices of Prime Minister Tetley while outside, the orbit of the Earth around the sun had begun to bring the colder and more miserable winter weather to the capital of the United Kingdom. Tetley watched as the rain rapped against his bulletproof windows in great waves, reminiscent of those pounding the shores of the islands of the nation, and those pounding the party he served as leader. With a cup of Earl Grey in hand, Tetley walked slowly back over to the small desk in his bedroom, upon which sat a small paper with the royal seal emblazoned upon the top, upon which sat a small signature upon the bottom.
Disturbing Tetley from his morning thoughts was a loud knock on the thick wooden door. “Come in, it’s open.” He called half-heartily to the unwanted guest, who he saw to be Chief of Staff Heath as he turned around, watching Heath shut the bedroom door.
“Geoffrey said you were already dressed.”
“Indeed I am, Tobias.”
The two stood in silence, listening to the rain pelt the building’s windows and façade, listening to the utter inability the two had to stop the inevitable.
“Mr. Prime Minister, you’ve done all you can do for the good of this country. It’s time.”
“I know, Tobias.” Tetley, however, didn’t follow Heath as his long-time friend and political consultant walked towards the door. “Tobias?”
Heath stopped and turned around, looking at his friend, who contented himself to stare at the falling rain. “Yes, Mr. Prime Minister?”
“Our chances?” A low rumble of thunder shook the glass in the room while Tetley waited for an answer.
“You’ll win, sir.”
“I meant the party.”
“I know.”
Tetley finally turned to face a dour-faced man, aged with lines and thinning hair from years of overbearing stress. He quietly moved towards his closet, upon the knob of which hung his jacket and a raincoat. “It’s time.”
With the city of Imperium shrouded in a grey mist from the pouring rain, the black motorcade made its way slowly from the main entrance to the Citadel with the xenon lights on and the wipers working furiously to make the roads visible. Under the cover of the weather, the motorcade made progress with few media outlets filming the transit of the motorcade. The only shots made available showed the motorcade leaving from the indoor embarkation site, thus shielding the Prime Minister from the prying eyes of the press. The M1 motorway had been ordered closed for the morning for the historic, although periodic, journey to Pennbury Manor, the official city residence for the reigning monarch. Inside the middle limousine, Tetley and Heath sat facing Deputy Prime Minister Whiting and Foreign Minister Deveraux. Before arriving, Tetley finally spoke to his most senior ministers.
“Everyone, I’d just like to say that regardless of the outcome, the past six years in office have been a true pleasure and I am quite honoured to have worked beside all of you.”
“Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister.” Came the sullen replies at randomly staggered intervals.
As the limousine pulled to a stop underneath the overhang for the carport, Tetley smiled. “But let’s make sure we at least get five more.”
Several kilometers distant, from the comfort of a warm fire-lit room, a tall, blonde-haired man casually flipped on his television. Inputting a memorized number, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party smiled as the news network cut live to footage of his opponent walking into the residence of the King, with his toadies in line behind him. On the screen the royal red carpet led down the marble reception hall to the golden throne of the manor, upon which the world saw the young monarch sitting peacefully.
“It’s ridiculous how staged these events are.” A loud feminine voice declared. “Firstly, it needs to be written out and stamped as an oral command is not sufficient for this act.”
“I know, Helen, I know. But nonetheless, it’s tradition. The monarch always gives a public proclamation – then the attorneys write the paperwork and he signs the order. He’s just lending an air of credibility to the whole affair.”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t irk me all the same.” The chief of staff for Daniel Collins frowned. She was truly well-aware of the day’s proceedings, however, the ostentatious nature of the relationship between the invalid king infuriated her. The prime minister truly ruled the country with the king being too sick to do anything but die. And the fact that Alistair Tetley was walking down that aisle infuriated her even more. Collins deserved to be there. But then with a faint smile she remembered. He very well could be in a few weeks.
At Pennbury, Tetley quietly kneeled before the throne – a truly denigrating act, but one of tradition.
“Rise, Alistair. What brings you to Pennbury this morning?”
Tetley did so, the use of his first name feeling unfamiliar and strange as nobody but the King could formally address him as such, and with no family to attend to he no longer heard the name except for these special occasions. Of course, everyone present knew the reason, but Tetley played the game as well as anyone else if not better.
“Your Majesty, the allotted time for the sitting of the current Parliament is about to expire, and I beseech thee to dissolve Parliament so the people of your Kingdom may elect a new Parliament so as to better serve you.”
There was a quiet pause while cameras flashed in such intensity and at such short intervals that future replays would be done in slow motion so as to prevent seizures from erupting from susceptible viewers. Tetley stood before King Michael I, with Whiting and Deveraux behind him, while they awaited the confirmation.
“Upon the advice and consent of the Privy Council to dissolve this sitting Parliament, I hereby proclaim that this Parliament stand prorogued until the 15th of October. (IC, not RL) In the interests of best serving my people and having their advice in my court, I hereby proclaim that a new Parliament be called speedily to serve.”
Tetley, and all those present bowed. “God Save the King.”
In the background, those not visible to Daniel Collins still heard the loud, but not raucous cheer. “God Save the King!” With a slight raise of his own glass of brandy, he looked over at his Chief of Staff. “God Save the King.”
Imperium, Republic of New Britain
Through the pouring rain engulfing most of the landmass of New Britain drove the limousine carrying Tetley and his senior ministers onwards to the Citadel where they still had a country to run – even if Parliament was officially dissolved. A shrill noise broke the painfully awkward silence until Heath flipped open his cellular phone. “Yeah, what is it, Howard?”
Tetley watched his Chief of Staff as the limo passed over the 42nd Street Bridge, which crossed a small tributary of the New Thames River, a tributary that would likely begin overflowing into the drainage ditches if the storm continued like forecasted. When Heath snapped his phone shut Tetley asked the question on everyone’s mind. “Anything I should know, Tobias?”
Heath grinned. “Yes, sir. An aviation company based in Ilek-Vaad has announced they’re spinning off a subsidiary that will be headquartered, and operated out of, Regal. Just broke over the Lassic News Service wires and Howard tells me that the ABN are about ready to run a confirmation story.”
“Any word yet on a reaction from either Guryev or Velchenko? Or by Collins for that matter?”
“No, sir. Although my suspicion is they won’t really touch the news.”
Tetley genuinely smiled for the first time all day at the first bit of good news all day. “Emily, what do you know of this Ilek-Vaad?”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs shook her head. “Very little, sir. No official diplomatic contact has been established. I would presume that the country is guided more by free-market economics than planned by the diversifying of the company by sending it overseas. Perhaps that hints at an economically-orientated power, but outside of that anything will be sheer speculation until I can get back to the office and read some briefs.”
Whiting nodded his consent as well. A long-time friend from elementary, the Deputy PM and the PM had managed to independently arrive in Parliament, and despite the political opposition, Whiting was confirmed as Tetley’s deputy a year ago. “Mr. Prime Minister, I believe this is a coup worth writing home about.”
“Earl, I entirely agree with you. Tobias, if you could call Garret over at T&I and have him meet with me in my office.”
“I’ll have him bring along a deputy as well.”
“Exactly what I was thinking.”
On an Aircraft Over the Azazian Sea
“You have got to be fucking KIDDING ME!” shouted Vladimir Velchenko. A member of the last sitting Parliament – and expected to be voted into office once again in two weeks – he had arranged a flight back to his native Regal, where he represented one of the poorer Russian districts in the city. Crumpled in his hand was a fax received from the Socialist Revolutionary Party’s offices in Imperium stating that Regal had just been selected by a foreign firm as its new headquarters.
“Everything had been working out so well for us, then this!” he shouted towards the general direction of his chief of staff. “And now Tetley will claim all the credit for this while all his opponents are stuck on flights back to their respective districts – most importantly among them the SRP on its way back to our districts, several more hours in the air.”
Vladislav Rodenko served as Velchenko’s chief of staff despite the ridicule of their names having happened to rhyme. Born in Regal, born into an English island amidst a sea of Russians, Rodenko – like Velchenko – was acutely aware of the disintegration of the Russian culture in the UK. Now, the two had a chance to try and reverse those defeats by allying themselves with the Conservative Party to build a winning minority coalition if not an actual majority. But news like this played into the DSP’s hands. “I think we should ignore it. I think we should ignore it because a single action, a single company moving to the region’s wealthiest, and most prosperous city matters not to a region of poverty. It might play up for a few days, but in the end, when we start campaigning we can make sure the public understands that after six years in office, the DSP has managed to lure only one firm to the northwest.”
“Yes, yes, I understand all this. I know all this. But, damnit Vladislav! If the media even plays the story, which I suspect they will because they must know how much this infuriates us, it’s free publicity for the DSP.”
“I won’t deny that the announcement today hurt us, sir. But that’s the way it’s played. Hopefully tomorrow something will happen that hurts Tetley the way this hurt us.”
“Well, we’re running out of days. The election is in a little over two weeks.
Imperium, Republic of New Britain
The Azazian Broadcasting Network
Live Feed
“Good afternoon and thank you for joining us for the Morning Roundup here on ABN,” a square-jawed man with warm brown eyes and gleaming white teeth began, “I’m your host Percival Brown and this is what’s happening. Earlier this morning Prime Minister Alistair Tetley visited Pennbury Manor and requested the dissolution of Parliament and therefore setting in motion the elections to begin in a mere 17 days. With more on this story is William Lowell at the Citadel.”
The screen cut to an image of a young man with dark black hair and another set of warm brown eyes. Dressed sharply in a black suit with a blue shirt and black tie the youth smiled and nodded towards the camera. “Thank you, Percival. Early this morning, under the cover of rain, Prime Minister Tetley left the Residence and headed off to Pennbury Manor.” The live feed switched to a taped report featuring the same journalist.
The report began with a tape of the motorcade pulling out of the Residence, over which the journalists voice was dubbed. “Around 8AM this morning, Prime Minister Tetley left the Residence along with Deputy Prime Minister Whiting and Minister of Foreign Affairs Deveraux. The trip to Pennbury had long been expected after a meeting between His Majesty and the Prime Minister at Newcastle last week failed to result in the Royal Proclamation calling for the dissolution of Parliament. Shortly after arriving, with all the traditional pomp and circumstance, the Prime Minister requested the dissolution of Parliament.” The video cut to a recording of the live feed recorded earlier.
“Your Majesty, the allotted time for the sitting of the current Parliament is about to expire, and I beseech thee to dissolve Parliament so the people of your Kingdom may elect a new Parliament so as to better serve you.”
There was a quiet pause while cameras flashed in such intensity and at such short intervals that future replays would be done in slow motion so as to prevent seizures from erupting from susceptible viewers. Tetley stood before King Michael I, with Whiting and Deveraux behind him, while they awaited the confirmation.
“Upon the advice and consent of the Privy Council to dissolve this sitting Parliament, I hereby proclaim that this Parliament stand prorogued until the 15th of October. (IC, not RL) In the interests of best serving my people and having their advice in my court, I hereby proclaim that a new Parliament be called speedily to serve.”
Tetley, and all those present bowed. “God Save the King.”
The screen then cut back to the journalist with the little “Live” showing in the upper left corner showing that the reporter was now truly speaking from outside the capital of the country. “The Prime Minister then returned back to the Residence arriving just a shore time ago, where he is expected to leave tomorrow morning in order to return to his district of Salisbury just outside the city of Breningrad after receiving word that the Conservative Party is putting forth a candidate to oppose the Prime Minister, a break with traditional politics that has sitting PMs running unopposed in their home districts. Percival, back to you?”
“A quick question for you, William. Has there been any reaction from the Office of the Prime Minister regarding the announcement today that a firm from Ilek-Vaad will be moving the headquarters of a new subsidiary firm to the city of Regal?”
The journalist nodded. “Yes, Percival. As a matter of fact, Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry Lauren Conners will be addressing the media in about half an hour with the official announcement by the government. The announcement comes at a critical time for the DSP as recent allegations against the Prime Minister by the Conservative Party and SRP have stemmed from their claims of economic stagnation in the primarily Russian northwest.”
“Has there been any reaction by the Conservative Party of the SRP for that matter?”
“As of right now there has been no word from the more vocal members of the SRP or the Conservative Party with most MPs returning to their home districts; although later tonight SRP head Ivan Guryev is expected to have a press conference later tonight from the party’s headquarters in Regal. Conservative Party chief Daniel Collins is also expected to make a press conference, although that won’t be until after Mr. Guryev has spoken to the media.”
“Thank you, William. And as William Lowell reported, the Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry will be making some remarks shortly, and they will be carried here for you, live on ABN. In other news this morning a child is reported missing in Artega after—“
***
With a sudden click the television was off, leaving Tobias Heath to sit in his office in a rare moment of peace. After returning from Pennbury, Heath and the Prime Minister had briefed Dr. Jackson and Conners on the announcement and on exactly what the Deputy Minister could say – and not say – since the first three days after dissolution campaigning was illegal. For now, Heath could do little but wait until the speech was written for Conners. That or he could call the campaign office in Salisbury.
For decades, the unwritten rule of Azazian politics was that the major parties did not run opponents in the home district of the ruling Prime Minister. In the prior two elections, the Conservatives had remained true to the tradition and in the last election in particular, Tetley had run unopposed. Now Collins was acting like a spoiled sack of shit trying to muddy up Tetley’s concern with the DSP by having to worry about winning his own district.
Quarry’s Crossing, Voting District of Duckington, Republic of Bennington
The small quaint mountain village of Quarry’s Crossing was also known as home to Minister of Defence Daniel Blair. Blair, young and previously well-liked by the majority of the nation, had run the Ministry for the whole of Tetley tenure as Prime Minister, and had even been vetted for the post of Foreign Affairs until former minister Ivan Valovich requested the appointment of his deputy Emily Deveraux. Then, the war had happened. Not the war involving the rest of NATO and the OMP, but the comparatively tiny war with the rogue state of Novikov. A state that had been set to provide the United Kingdom with all the grain the Azazians needed, for the oil and other resources Novikovian businesses needed. Then they got greedy.
The war had been both unpopular and costly – in terms of both lives and Credits. Although the architect of the war had been the Prime Minister himself, the architect of the operations and the missions had been largely Blair himself. What he had promised to be a quick and painless war to absorb the islands into the folds of the Kingdom had turned out into a still short war. But a war far bloodier than imagined, a war that had incidentally cost a reserve unit from Duckinton Township at a massacre. A war that had dragged Blair through the mud in his hometown. And as his hybrid automobile drove through the suburban streets he found the presence of signs stating “Right the Wrong! Reginald Rowen for Parliament!” entirely unnerving.
Conservative Party Headquarters
Imperium, Republic of New Britain
Daniel Collins opened the door to his second floor deck, overlooking the garden behind the offices of his party. For the past six years, he had wanted this moment to arrive. Having ascended to the leadership of the party, having driven the party back to prominence in politics on a national level, the Conservative Party stood ready to seize power in Parliament, either by sheer majority as some polls suggested, or through a minority coalition with the SRP – which ideally would not happen, but would still permit a government run largely by the far larger Conservative Party.
Unfortunately, problems not anticipated, and wholly unexpected could serve to damage the Party’s chances – just as it could for any party involved. Today, however, the damage had come to Collins and his Russian allies with news of an economic stimulus to the Russian northwest despite their joint claims of isolation and stagnation at the hands of the Tetley administration. And by sheer coincidence, likely unknown by the Vaadian corporate heads, the only party with the chance to comment – albeit indirectly – on the event would be the ruling party, the party running the government while campaigning is forbidden. The Democratic Socialist Party.
Ancillary Briefing Room, The Office of the Prime Minister, The Citadel
Imperium, Republic of New Britain
Another young member of the DSP, Lauren Conners came from the city of Port Hamptonshire in the north of the United Kingdom. Having run on a free-trade policy with the promise of bringing economic investment to the people of her city, and to the whole of the Kingdom, Conners reveled in the fact she was announcing the plans of AFA International. Although unable to campaign officially, the statement was being read on live national television, to those on their lunch breaks in her hometown. Free publicity, there was nothing better. And so as she stepped to the podium, bearing the seal of the Ministry of Trade and Industry in order to keep the event low-key and free from controversy, Conners smiled to the sea of light.
Azazian Broadcasting Channel
Live feed
“Good afternoon, everyone. I am Lauren Conners, Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, the Department of Foreign Investment. I am pleased to be standing before you today to announce that the firm Avery Frost Aeronautics Limited has decided to spin off an entirely new corporation headquartered in the city of Regal, in the Republic of New Russia in the northwest of the United Kingdom. This after the situation in the native country of Ilek-Vaad necessitated movement abroad and after a prior agreement with Ledley’s Aviation Limited brought the United Kingdom to the mind of Mr. Avery Frost. The United Kingdom is delighted to welcome Mr. Frost and his business to the Russian northwest of our great country. Thank you all for coming, and have a nice day.” Conners nodded and began to walk off the podium.
“Ms. Conners, are the claims by Mr. Collins and Mr. Velchenko about economic stagnation thus false? Is this a trend we can expect to be continued?”
To that last comment, although well-aware she could not comment directly, Conners simply turned around and smiled. Vague enough that she hoped the message could be read but neither heard nor seen.
Over the Island of New Australia
Flying into Breningrad had always been a challenge for its high spires of commerce and congested air lanes, all of which impeded a smooth flow of air traffic. Yet, sitting comfortably in a leather chair on a chartered aircraft, Alistair Tetley minded very little. With his glasses lying like a feather upon his knee, he rubbed his eyes as for the first time in a very long time he had no aides, no meetings, nobody shouting or complaining or demanding something be done somewhere. Although still tasked with running the government, he could no longer use His Majesty’s aircraft in order to travel. Fortunately, his private lifestyle afforded him a few luxuries such as chartered aircraft.
Alistair Tetley had been born here in Breningrad, and had moved only a few dozen kilometers outside the town to the township of Salisbury, which lay in the foothills of the nearby mountains and allowed him a modicum of privacy and solitude when away from the capital. He had always found himself enamored with history and politics and the quiet civility of the hills, which set him at great odds from the rest of the DSP and his own family as well. Despite his vast wealth, he preferred the restful atmosphere and rustic lifestyle of Salisbury to the bustle and commotion of Breningrad, which stretched for kilometers in every direction but to the east towards the mountains. From his mountain villa he could view the massive port and the even more massive naval base. The towers of glass that stretched into the sky like the tiny fingers of a people desiring more than a control over just an earthly existence, and these too he could see from his villa, which stretched horizontally across the ground like some Roman villas of old.
Down the long drive could be found the actual town of Salisbury, an old town known for its mining of silver, a town where time had stood still with narrow cobbled streets and homes and offices looking as they did when first built. Of course, nearby Trenton sported the malls, office complexes, and the few ore processing centres still around as Salisbury had become much more of a tourist resort in the foothills – something that disturbed Tetley, but that he appreciated for after the summer months, the cold dry air pushed the urbanites back down to the city. Yet, as his plane passed to the west of the town, he feared his return home. He had not been back since the war, and perhaps for that very reason he was immensely unpopular – so unpopular that Conservative Party placards littered the streets and signs the front lawns. The town had slowly been ebbing away from their MP, their PM and towards a poster-boy for Collins’ party: Arthur Kent.
While his plane landed and taxied over to the special isolated hangar, Tetley replaced the glasses on his face and gathered his small messenger bag, which held the important documents he would need in the coming few days before returning to Imperium to run the government. The plane rolled to a gentle stop and the pilot came forth from the cockpit, “Mr. Prime Minister, you are free to exit the plane.” The pilot nodded and the flight stewardess at the rear of the aircraft opened the door and lowered the steps and waved her arms, encouraging Tetley to walk over towards the door.
“Thank you, all, my regards to the copilot as well, it has been a delightful flight. I suppose I shall see you in a few days’ time.” Tetley nodded to the crew of the aircraft before walking to the door, from where he saw a giant banner hanging off the hangar door that read: “Arthur Kent: The Right Choice”
Salisbury Township, Republic of West Oceania
Night befell the quiet town of Salisbury, where an old man with plump round cheeks and sparkling, dazzling eyes and a smile befitting a grandfather – that he was. On his lap he bounced his little grandson, a scant four years old, while the parents stood surrounded by television film crews flooding the face of Arthur Kent in the brightest of lights possible. The cameras, however, he paid no real mind. Instead he concentrated on raising his leg by lifting his foot, then slamming it down to draw out shrill laughter from the toddler.
“Mr. Kent,” a dark-haired woman asked, “the tradition has always been held that opposing parties don’t put candidates up in the incumbent Prime Minister’s home district; why did you choose to run?”
Turning to face the native Azazian reporter – one of the few in the journalism business – he handed his grandson off to his waiting, loving parents. “Aniya, this is how I think of it.” With the use of a simple wooden cane, topped with a simple golden palm tree, the 60 year old life-long politician rose slowly from the wooden chair. With a quiet, dignified shuffle befitting a man with chronic arthritis in his knee, Kent maneuvered himself towards the shut window – that he unlocked and pulled inwards, revealing the streets outside the historic inn. “That, Aniya, that is the town of Salisbury. If you take that road for say thirty minutes or so you’ll hit the eastern industrial complexes outside Breningrad. Did you happen to come in that way, Aniya?”
“Um, yes, yes I did.” Stammered the reporter, surprised at the question for the answer.
“Well, did you notice the shape of the factories?”
“What factories?”
Kent smiled, but not meanly, not cynically, just warmly, welcoming the puzzled look on the reporter’s face. “Ahh, what factories indeed. Aniya, when I was but a young boy my father worked in a steel mill down that road, back when the town of St. Brendan existed, and the steel mills of East St. Brendan threw their heavy smoke and smog into the sky, when the people of the mountains had reliable jobs, when the government made sure those steel mill workers were secure in their jobs.” Turning to return to his seat with the window open, pulling in a cool mountain draft, Kent continued. “But now, now in Breningrad that road has nothing. Why, Aniya?”
“Two main reasons,” Kent carried on, “One is the irresponsible actions of the current government in not protecting the manufacturing industries in this great country of ours. All the great steel plants here in the east closed down and moved to the northwest with our comrades in towns like Orel, Archangel, and alike. But there too, there too the factories have been closing because it has become far cheaper to terminate thousands of well-paid employees for metals mined and refined in distant lands for mere pence. And this government, the government of the Prime Minister says this is a good thing.”
Kent shook his head slowly. “And that, that is not something I can believe. But secondly, there’s another reason you saw no factories there. Firstly, there was a factory still in operation in East Breningrad. I knew the man who owned it. Raymond Cartwright. A good man. A fine man. Do you know where he is, Aniya?”
“No, sir. But what does this have to do with –“
“Just listen, just listen, Aniya.” Kent rapidly replied. “Raymond Cartwright is a dead man. The Prime Minister got us into a war. A war for land, plain and simple, he wanted to add to his precious little empire and Raymond Cartwright. One of the opening moves by the Novikovians was to take out Cartwright’s steel mill. Intentional? Accidental? I don’t know. I don’t know who pressed the button to release the missile. All I know is my friend Raymond Cartwright is dead because his steel mill was obliterated in the Novikovian War. And it wasn’t just my friend’s steel mill. All along the Home Islands there are burned out, gutted out, blown out factories, offices, military barracks, depots, communication centres. Why did so many thousands have to die? Because this Prime Minister took us to war. A war that does nothing for the good of this country. A war that has done nothing but rob towns and cities of their youth, of their promise, of their future hopes and dreams. All for what? Land. To the Prime Minister I just simply ask; is that it? Is that the best you can give us?”
“Frankly, Aniya. I feel this country needs a change in direction. Salisbury was lucky. I was lucky. My nephew came home the other day on a hospital ship. His ship, the HMS Devonshire, sunk by a Novikovian submarine. Many good lads and lasses did not come home. Because of them, for them. For those that lost their lives and for those that lost their livelihood I am running against Mr. Tetley.”
Ilsen, Republic of Rimbaldt
The tiny island of Ilsen sat offshore of the large island of Rimbaldt, from which the republic took its name. Ilsen came to be thousands of years ago as the sea levels rose and the stone hill which jutted out from the island of Rimbaldt – not known by that name yet of course – became isolated and cutoff from the “mainland.” With settlement came the name and the city of the same name at the island’s southern tip, which lent itself to being a sheltered harbour where ships seeking rest but not port could rest. Ilsen thus grew up as a shipping town. And Daniel Collins grew up in Ilsen.
Like his archrival Alistair Tetley, Collins had been fortunate enough to be an adroit politician from a town unlikely to put up another such figure for centuries. Unlike his archrival, Collins would rather see the sitting government be thrown into the ranks of the opposition. With an estate home on the southern coast, just outside of town, Collins strode along his private beach listening to the gentle crashing of the waves on the coarse sand underneath his feet. Elections frequently brought quiet time to Collins – for rarely if ever could he afford a moment of peace in Imperium. With a tinge of sadness he realized that lack of peace could be why the woman behind the ring on his finger slept in another man’s bed. Nonetheless, his job was more important that Ann Marie. Frankly, his job was more important than himself – and he could never let himself lose sight of that simple fact.
Queensbury, Republic of Bennington
Politics was the furthest thing from the mind of Emily Deveraux as she stared down at the man lying beneath her, in whose hair she twirled her fingers. Outside the low-lit bedroom overlooking the coastline a pile of textiles, of socks, lingerie, slacks and skirts had accumulated in a haphazard hurry. While low moans emanated from the room with the open door, the television in the living room the next floor down spat and sputtered facts and figures, politics and polls and then cut to clips of Arthur Kent’s statements. On the bar countertop, next to a half-empty glass of red wine sat a small paper.
From the Office of the Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister
Madam Foreign Minister; I regret to inform you, but I’m not sure how much campaigning the Prime Minister will be able to do on your behalf. Friends of mine in the Conservative Party have written to inform me that they intend on running this Arthur Kent fellow unto the end – win or lose. Simply said, it’s not a ploy, madam. And with this Kent fellow already having made the rounds once or twice in Salisbury, the Prime Minister is now in a dead heat and I’m afraid he’s going to have to stay here and concentrate on winning his own district. I’ll tell you what I’m going to try to do though. I’m going to get in touch with Ivan Valovich and see if he’ll come down to Queensbury and run interference on this Jillian McLeigh character. It’s going to be a tough two weeks, but we’ll pull through madam.
Sincerely,
Tobias Heath
On the other side of town, an older woman, in her fifties, sipped from a cup of tea while stirring her vegetable soup mindlessly. At the far end of the noisy diner sat an amateur film crew recording every last moment of the white-haired woman’s meal. The woman was Jillian McLeigh, the Conservative Party’s candidate for the city of Queensbury. Out of the corner of her eye she had been watching the young men filming her. As the city magistrate she quite accustomed to politics, and these impromptu interviews were her forte. With a final gulp she finished her tea, leaving her to concentrate on the few vegetable left in the now-cold broth. With a polite hurry she left the requisite cash and a generous tip on the checkerboard tabletop and headed out towards the direction of the wannabe journalists.
“Mrs. McLeigh, may I have a word with you?” the taller of the two asked.
Feigning surprise she stood in silence for a moment. “Why of course, sir. What can I do for you this fine evening?”
“Ma’am, I’m with Channel Three News, and I was wondering if I could ask you a few quick questions?”
McLeigh nodded, recognizing Channel Three as a startup news station that had a slightly liberal, but overall fairly even bias. “Absolutely.” She replied, wondering how many other channels would pick up the interview.
“Ma’am, what inspired you to run against Ms. Deveraux, who serves as this country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs? After all, aren’t you a career magistrate?”
“Ahh, an excellent question… what’s your name, sir?”
“Oh yes, Ted.”
McLeigh smiled. “Of course. Ted, our system is set up so that each person is replaceable – if I were to win this contest against Ms. Deveraux, well I wouldn’t be doing the country much harm because there are numerous others in Parliament capable of handling the portfolio. I assure you, if the case were otherwise I’d be happier running against Ms. Richards.”
“The Minister of Justice?”
“Yes.” McLeigh responded to the ad hoc question. “But as for why I’m running. It’s quite simple, I don’t feel that the Tetley administration has done enough to promote a fair justice system in this country. It’s true, we have an extremely low crime rate, but why is it so much higher in the northwest and west of this country than in the east? As for Ms. Deveraux, I can’t say that I agree with the policies she carries out for the Prime Minister. This nation has become embroiled and entangled in far too many overseas disasters – not least of which has been the bloody conflict in Novikov. Not to dishonour the men and women serving over there, but there dispatch to that godforsaken land is an insult to them, their families, and this country as a whole. Additionally, she’s led the nation into far too many foreign alliances and organizations that threaten the security of this country. The entire Automagfreek War could spell ruin for the United Kingdom. Instead of critizing these undemocratic countries, we support them and join alliances with them to fight democracies like ourselves, like we find in honourable nations like Sarzonia.”
“So are you saying you’d advocate pulling the United Kingdom out of the NATO alliance?”
McLeigh laughed quietly. “Ted, as a first timer I doubt I’d have the influence to change the foreign policies of the nation – after all I’m a mere magistrate. But if I won and the vote came up… I think I’d vote for it. Of course I would need to see the details, but I think I’d vote for it.”
Duckington Township, Republic of Bennington
Atop a soapbox, albeit a glorified soapbox consisting of reinforced plywood, a tall sullen faced man with sunken cheeks waved a paper wildly about in the crisp morning air while his words drew raucous applause and huzzahs from the assembled mob below him. Reginald Rowen loved to feed one-liners to the crowds as if they were starving fish in a fish bowl. With a wave of his hand to the right, the crowd swayed to the right, and to the left, like a school they swam in unison to his left. Rown loved the mob. He loved that uneducated mobs ruled democracies.
As Rowen finished spouting party platform after party platform, he smiled and waved to the crowds before finding his security detail which whisked off to his waiting armoured car. Inside, in the back seat he found April Carlson, his top aide and long-time friend. “How’d I do, April?”
Carlson, a mid-forties brunette well versed in local politics, simply smiled. “For not knowing the cameras were filming… very well.”
“My oh my,” Rowen dead-panned, “there were cameras?”
Seven kilometers away, in the town of Quarry’s Crossing, Daniel Blair sipped his tea and ate his bagel with cream cheese while glancing down reading the morning paper. “Bloody hell,” he muttered.
“What is it, babe?” came a soft woman’s voice from around the corner in the laundry room.
“It’s just that the damned Artega Pioneers lost again. Seven games in a row. I can’t believe how awful their starting pitching is this year.”
Ellie Blair leaned around the corner wearing a pair of Daniel’s shorts and an oversized t-shirt. “Honey, I think there are more important things to be concerned about.”
“I know, I know. I’ve got a speech today at the high-school.”
Ellie laughed. “No, Daniel, I meant Andrew. He needs his diaper changed.”
“Bloody hell, this morning couldn’t get any worse, could it?” Daniel stood up, finished his tea and kissed his wife on the forehead. “He’s in the living room?” to which he watched his blonde wife simply nod. “I’m getting there.”
Daniel walked into the spacious living room, made more spacious by the high vaulted ceiling in the rural estate home. Sure enough, from the corner near the television set little Andrew Blair sat with his finger in his tiny nose while a horrendous odor wafted out into the room. “You sure are a stinker, Andy.” He moaned while turning on the television habitually set to the Azazian Broadcasting Network’s 24-hour news station. While he found the diapers and powder in the adjacent shelving unit he turned the volume up.
Azazian Broadcasting Network – Channel 2
“Thank you, Amy. For more coverage, we turn to political analyst Scott Stephenson of the Franklinshire Research Institute for Political Affairs. Thank you for joining us, Scott.”
“Thank you, Brian.”
“I’d like to ask you about the comments made by Reginald Rowen, who is the Conservative Party’s candidate to oppose Minister of Defence Daniel Blair in Duckington. In a semi-private speech on the streets of Tannerville, Rowen accused Mr. Blair of being a traitor to the people of Duckington, this in light of the massacre of an entire group of soldiers based out of Tannerville. How much do you think this charge is going to stick?”
“Yes, Brian, I do. Mr. Blair has been the Minister of Defence for the government since Alistair Tetley took the reigns of the government; and it has been Blair’s task to oversee, organize, and ultimately lead any military actions undertaken in His Majesty’s name. The disaster of war in Novikov left many, many dead from Mr. Blair’s home district – and that isn’t something these broken families are likely to forget a mere couple of weeks after the formal cessation of active combat.”
“The next question on everyone’s mind is how much Rowen’s charges of betraying the trust of Duckington, referring to the local slump in economic growth, will play out with the public?”
“Very well, unfortunately for Mr. Blair. The Duckington voting district has normally voted Conservative in the previous decades simply because of the former factories that sprouted up in the area long ago. Two elections ago, the factories had begun to shut down and the people voted out the Conservative Party MP and voted in Daniel Blair as he promised to begin brining back industry and jobs to the township. Two terms later, the outsourcing of these jobs has only accelerated while the Conservative Party has begun to back off its support for free trade, the primary cause for the job loss. This is while Blair’s boss continues to tout the long-term advantages of a free-trade system. It comes as no surprise that before the dissolution, Rowen was polling with a nine point lead over Blair. It’s possible that the Minister can win, however, because his position within the Cabinet gives the people of Duckington someone placed very high in the government – and that is a fact both Mr. Blair and the people won’t likely forget. The question is whether or not Mr. Blair can counter the charges levied by Mr. Rowen.”
[ooc: For all of you who may happen to be reading this, I'd like to apologize for this post because frankly, it's not that well written. Unfortunately, I have a lot of work to do for school this week, and with these elections scheduled for this coming weekend I need to get the policies of the parties established as quickly as possible./ooc]
The Queen’s Tea House, Salisbury, Republic of West Oceania
A small quaint house, painted white with trestles overgrown by green ivies, served as the first town meeting featuring the sitting Prime Minister. With a quick glance out of the windows, the borders coloured a light shade of lilac, Tetley turned around once more to face the stay-at-home mothers and fathers gathered for an informal sandwich and tea. Dressed rather casually in black slacks and a jacket with a blue cotton shirt beneath, Tetley poured the pots to all those partaking in the drinking.
“Well, Mr. Prime Minister, we can see that not having a woman around the house for you really does make you quite domesticated.” Jibed a woman of wide girth.
Tetley smiled politely. “Usually, I have my kitchen staff do all the work, but when I’m at home, I suppose you’re right. But then, as these fine gentlemen will attest,” Tetley waved towards the few scattered fathers lingering towards the back, “there is nothing wrong with homely sophistication.”
The crowd laughed quietly. Timidly, one of the more politically minded men moved forward, coughing slightly to gain the attention of the Prime Minister. Tetley noticed and turned around, expecting to find an unfilled cup. “What can I do for you, sir?”
“Actually, sir,” the man stuttered hesitantly, “I’d like to ask you about the future you envision for the country. After all, we are voting in less than two weeks.”
Pulling out a chair, Tetley invited the man to sit at the table reserved for the leader of the nation’s government. “Is there anywhere in particular you’d like me to start?”
“Well, sir, I lost my only son not too long ago. I’d like to know what you intend on doing to honour those who gave their life for King and country in Novikov?”
Tetley frowned and nodded his head knowing fully that no response could ever fill the hole in the bereaved father’s life. “I aim to ensure that nothing so devastating ever befalls this country ever again. Your son gave his life in the most noble and honourable fashion, and in doing so saved the lives of hundreds of millions. For, if you’ll allow, I’d like to explain once more that for which your sons and daughters fought.”
“Our United Kingdom faces grave challenges, graver still only half a year ago. To the credit of you, the hard-working people of this country, the UK’s economy grows at a staggering pace each and every year – a situation that fuels the growth of this country in terms of population. But we have only so much land to support us. And before the war the United Kingdom had been on the verge of watching its agricultural system collapse. For that reason I signed a trade agreement with the nation of Novikov, they supplied us grains and other foodstuffs while we supplied them an equitable amount of mineral and organic resources. The Novikovian economy, hit a wall and they demanded that you, the taxpayers, shell out even more money to keep their inefficient, planned economy afloat; and that, ladies and gentlemen, is not something I even contemplated out of the sheer ridiculousness of the idea. But Ms. Kacnerova demanded, and eventually they began to sink our ships carrying those essential food supplies. The nation of Novikov attempted to starve the United Kingdom into submission, starve us into accepting a renegotiated treaty that was, and is in any sense of the word, ludicrous. They then declared war upon us. They bombed our cities, our ports. They drew the first blood – no matter what Mr. Collins might suggest to the contrary. Upon taking the oath of the Prime Minister, I swore with my life to defend Crown and Country. And so I ordered our young men and women into harm’s way. Their lives will forever weigh upon my soul. But through the ultimate sacrifice of men and women like your son, the United Kingdom has been secured. We will have food for another several hundred million people, and we have shown the international community that the Azazian people will not bow to terrorist threats from rogue nations.”
“And about how we will honour your son,” Tetley continued, his voice growing much softer and calmer, “we will do so in the only way acceptable. Those that gave their lives shall never be forgotten through monuments and tributes in their honour. Those that served in His Majesty’s Armed Forces shall be honoured through the upgrading of our forces to levels that exceed the abilities and capabilities of the forces that went to war against Novikov. Lastly, I pledge that never again – unless forced by a foreign power or foreign circumstance – will I enter the United Kingdom into an armed conflict. For we have already lost too much.”
The assembled sat in silence for a brief moment, contemplating the words of the Prime Minister with most ready to accept his statements – except for one woman who now stood up and raised her voice. “Sir, I lost my two daughters and one of my two sons. I am nearing sixty years old and am in no shape to get a job. I have one son entering a university and I no longer have any source of income with which to send him. Your war killed almost my whole family, leaving only my one son and no way to care for him as he deserves. Why don’t we just stop dealing with these foreign countries, they seem to only cause us trouble?”
“I understand your anger and frustration ma’am. I truly do.” Tetley sighed and stared into his rapidly cooling tea. “However, I must think to the interests of the whole Kingdom. Our nation now depends on an interconnected and secure global trade network to provide us with resources and goods and services that we can no longer produce here at home. Without these sources, by isolating ourselves, millions would lose their jobs and millions more would die through a long and agonizing starvation. Advanced post-industrial economies like the United Kingdom cannot survive independently in isolated bubbles much as we’d all like. For that reason, I intend on keeping our good relations with our good friends in NATO and throughout the Pacific. I hope that if I am reelected I shall even be able to bring more nations to the UK as friends and allies. I simply cannot isolate our great state.”
“As for your own needs,” Tetley went on, “there is little that can be done for the moment. I hate to speak so ill of the Conservatives, but there is no denying that last year they opposed legislation, along with some of my DSP colleagues, that would have provided more benefits for those families who lost significant wage earners – especially including those families of members of His Majesty’s Armed Forces that gave the ultimate sacrifice. Unfortunately, that was one main piece of legislation that the Conservatives opposed, and quite strongly. I’d like to help you, ma’am. But with such opposition I am in simply no place to get anywhere. If you help reelect me I will push ever harder to get that bill through Parliament; and I hope I do so because that truly is one of the better ways to never forget those that gave their lives.”
Good evening, everybody. I’m your host Peter Rayder and I’d like to welcome you to this expanded General Elections edition of The Daily Pulse, the show that brings you up to speed on the politics of the United Kingdom. Tonight I am proud to bring you the leaders of the four main parties in the coming elections. Representing the Democratic Socialist Party is current Prime Minister Alistair Tetley, who will be speaking last. His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition in the Conservative Party will be represented by Mr. Daniel Collins while his newfound political allies in the Socialist Revolutionary Party will be represented not by party leader Ivan Guryev, but Deputy Leader Vladimir Velchenko. Lastly, but speaking first, will be Christian Democratic Party with party leader Reverend Timothy Pendall. Before we begin, however, we’ll return to our news headquarters in Breningrad for a check of the evening’s top stories.
In the Green Room, flanked by his personal security detachment, Alistair Tetley stood quietly pacing buttoning and unbuttoning the jacket to his black three piece suit. The vest was a simple interlinked pattern of silver thread on a black silk background. Beneath the vest was a silk cobalt blue shirt with a matching black tie, the dark, cool colours now a well-known trademark of the Prime Minister. On the wall-mounted television a young blonde girl ticked off the major stories from around the nation before cutting back to Rayder as he introduced Reverend Pendall, who appeared rather fashionable this evening Tetley mused. Pendall had led a growing party in the north islands of the archipelago as the party spread in the wake of the diminishing power of the Socialist Revolutionary Party (SRP). As he took his seat in his navy suit with a simple white dress shirt and red tie, his bald head shone in a distinguished fashion. Tetley watched as Rayder welcomed Pendall to the show and exchanged the annoying formalities and pleasantries. But then again, it was election season.
Now, Reverend Pendall, your party voted in favour a few years ago of the election amendments that led to the institution of the newer MMP electoral system, a system that ought to benefit smaller more regional parties against those national parties like the DSP and the Conservative Party. Could you tell us more about the system?”
Certainly, Peter. In such a large and wonderful nation as ours, it is unfortunate but also inevitable that smaller parties simply vanish as they become unable to raise the capital necessary to compete on larger and larger media venues now necessary to successful campaigns. With national parties gaining more prominence each year, more small parties have been obliterated and the MMP system gives smaller parties a fighting chance by preserving their spot in Parliament. Now, what the voter will find next week will be a ballot with two sides. The first side will be a vote for their district candidate. The second will be a vote for a particular party. And this is how the electoral staffs will put it all together. Based on the last census, the people will elect their own MPs, and that’s a little more than half of Parliament right there. The remainder comes from the second part of the ballot: the Party Vote. This is where the system gets slightly complicated, but not overly so I assure you. The Party votes ensure that the total seats in Parliament are allocated proportionally according to the Party Vote, including the district votes. So long as a political party wins either 5% of the vote or wins a single district, it will be represented in Parliament. The hope is that this will provide more independent voices with which the people can challenge the ruling parties.
Now where did this drive for the MMP system come from, Reverend?
Initially, the idea was a brainstorm of the Christian Democrats and Progress, an even smaller party that we typically compete with in local elections, but with whom we ally for general elections. Realizing that the DSP and the Conservatives would not buy into the whole system, we approached the SRP and with their help organized a national petition that earned enough signatures, thanks to the support of your audience and the rest of the citizenry of the United Kingdom, to make its way into an electoral reform act. And the rest, well, next week, will be history.
So now that the public has an understanding of the new electoral system in use throughout the nation, what exactly sort of policies does the Christian Democratic Party stand for?
Anywhere in particular you’d like me to start?
With Novikov! The offline cameras swung frantically to capture the outburst. With a distinguished air of professionalism befitting a seasoned political analyst and reporter, Peter Rayder kept his lips straight waiting for the signal from the producers that the upstart had been found. With an unseen signal he let the producers know the young man should stay. A little spice to what would have been an otherwise bland series of interviews.
Tetley nearly spat out the tea swirling ‘round his mouth. A quick glance down at the prepared question list confirmed his suspicions: there were to be no substantive questions on Novikov. Someone get me Tobias! he shouted to the nameless aides gathered with him. His eyes glued to the screen, he watched as Rayder began to ask the man questions. Things were about to get interesting.
Excellent suggestion, sir, and if I may, what’s your name and where do you come from?
My name, my name is Nikolai Svoboda and I come from the city of Poldi’sk in the the young man paused for a brief moment, in the Royal Crown Colony, he spouted in a tone mocking the English aristocrat Sir Thomas Cahill who ran the territory, of Novikov. I had been attending the university until war was declared. Joined the army, watched my university, Poleskiá Štátna Univerzitný, be shelled into rubbles by your Royal Artillery Corps, then heard my father was killed while onboard a ship sunk carrying refugees to Prostéjov. And now I sit here as an oh so loyal servant to His Majesty wanting to know the stance of the Christian Democratic Party towards UK aid to rebuilding Novikov.
Tetley watched. Pendall was going to have fun with this for sure. Anti-Tetley rhetoric despite all their similarities in policies would provide evening news sound bites. He watched as Rayder offered the seemingly warm condolences of a man who could care less so long as it boosted his ratings. As Pendall turned to face the young man Tetley only wished it were Collins being broadsided like that.
Well, sir, I am very sorry for the loss of not only yourself, but also the Novikovian people. That war will undoubtedly be a scar on the United Kingdom for many, many years to come. I fully support the rebuilding of Novikov, but we must all remember that the United Kingdom also suffered heavily in this war. The room burst out into a moderately loud chorus of huzzahs orchestrated to humiliate the Novikovian who dared criticize the United Kingdom. Yet, at the end of the day, we must all recognize that the situation is far different than it was six months ago. Novikov is now a part of the United Kingdom, and as such the Novikovians and Azazians are brothers and sisters under not only our flag, but also our God. In order to better ourselves, we must learn to work together. And so the Christian Democratic Party will push for increasing financial aid to Novikov, in particular ensuring that the Novikovian youth can finish their educations as only through an education and understanding of our history can we avoid the terrible wrongs that brought our two states to such a tragic war.
I’d also like to point out, Peter, that officially the Christian Democratic Party recommended finding a peaceful solution to the conflict before Novikovian forces began attacking installations in the United Kingdom. We never supported the “Shoot first, ask questions later” policy offered by the Prime Minister and the DSP.
Rayder took back control of the interview, sensing an opportunity to begin steering it towards his prepared questions. That brings us to foreign policy, Reverend Pendall. The Christian Democratic Party came out vehemently opposed to the United Kingdom joining the New Alliance Treaty Organization, or NATO, because of what you termed the “godless” men who ran these countries like “bullies ruling a children’s playground.” Does the CDP still stand firm in these beliefs, or have they changed given the ongoing Gholgoth-OMP conflict involving some of these “godless” men with whom the United Kingdom is allied with through NATO?
Well, Peter, I must say that the CDP remains firmly and resolutely opposed to the participation of the United Kingdom in the New Alliance Treaty Organization. In fact, in the Empire Act proposed by Prime Minister Tetley, the act which established this United Kingdom, Mr. Tetley called for increasing trade and commerce between democratic nations sharing the same ideals as the new United Kingdom. The United Kingdom that I know believes firmly in democracy, Peter. And what we see out of the Citadel, on a daily basis, is the continued support for non-democratic regimes attempting to oppress democratically elected governments. We find nations like Hamptonshire resigning from NATO because of their disagreement with certain nameless NATO members over the conflict. We find like-minded nations such as Pacitalia staying neutral but clearly allying themselves philosophically with those suffering the wrath of the godless men. And yet the Prime Minister stands by idly watching these countries suffer. It’s preposterous and downright negligent of his own promises enumerated in the Empire Act.
Now I noticed you neglected to mention the democracy of Sarzonia in your response, despite the fact that Sarzonia is actually involved in fighting whereas the other two nations remain neutral. Why the omission?
Peter, while I am the leader of the Christian Democratic Party, I am also a member of the Church of Azazia, which separated from the Anglican Church. In my capacity as a reverend I simply cannot condone the policies supporting homosexual unions in Sarzonia, and I won’t put the good name of Azazia up there with such blatantly sinful nations – and heads of state.
So then you are saying that President Mike Sarzo is sinful?
I can’t say I’ve ever met the man, nor can I say I know the man. But homosexuality is a sin and I cannot support sinners unless they are willing to repent.
So then I take it that the gay marriage proposals likely to come before Parliament next year—
No, Peter, the CDP will firmly vote down any proposals to legalize gay marriage. Recent opinion polls by your network have suggested that up to 50%, one out of every two people, do NOT support legalized gay marriage. And the Christian Democratic Party supports the interest of those 50%.
It would thus be safe to say that the Christian Democrats will also opposed proposed legislation decriminalizing marijuana and opening up prostitution as a government-regulated business?
Absolutely, Peter. The Christian Democratic Party stands solidly behind its established commitment to protect and serve the people of the United Kingdom through the preservation and upholding of our common Christian heritage. As such, the CDP will unequivocally oppose any and all such legislation that threatens the stability, safety, and security of the average Azazian family. That said though, there remains a great deal of work to be done to rebuild the United Kingdom after the Novikovian War. With many critical civilian infrastructure targets destroyed and damaged, we have a unique opportunity to rebuild the country in the fashion we choose.
Because you see, Peter, we now have the opportunity to rebuild our economy so as to treat everyone fairly so that everyone benefits from our policies of free trade. Revitalizing the manufacturing industry is critical to the reconstruction of the Kingdom as well as growing wealth in the Russian sectors of the population that were highly neglected during the Tetley administration thus far. The National Healthcare System, the NHS, remains in disrepair after the war and we need to redouble our efforts in funding the re-supply of medicines necessary to keep the population safe. We need to fix the looming problem of what happens when people begin to retire en masse. And while the Christian Democrats stand ready to alleviate the suffering of the average Azazian family, we cannot do so without the support of you the voters. So please, please come out and vote next week. And when it comes down to voting for your party of choice, I’d like to remind you to vote for the Christian Democratic Party. Thank you everyone, goodnight, god bless.
Tetley sat stunned, having just been on the phone with his Chief of Staff. Pendall ran a small party, large enough to be known nationally, but too small to be a serious threat – although his reopening of the gay marriage debate would likely siphon votes away from the more radically conservative elements of the Conservative Party, which officially sanctioned civil unions but not gay marriages – unless of course Collins changed his mind between then and now. Possible, but unlikely. Regardless, Tetley had his work cut out from him. As Rayder thanked Pendall and the audience, that Novikovian still remained with the cameras focusing on him before the fade to black and commercials. This simple face-to-face with the people of the United Kingdom has just gotten a whole lot more difficult, in part because a whole bunch of people new to the United Kingdom already resented the United Kingdom.
[ooc: a great deal more to come, the other three parties will be represented, it's just I've spent all night working on this and I'm quite tired, both mentally and physically so just hang in there and you'll find out where the other parties stand in the coming days. Likely tomorrow and tomorrow night. Thanks for your understanding. /ooc]
Welcome back to the programme, everybody, I’m your host Peter Rayder, and our next guest is the Deputy Leader of the Socialist Revolutionary Party, the Honourable Vladimir Velchenko. The camera panned out to show the tall, clean shaven man with cold blue eyes and angled features sitting already sitting across from Rayder. Now, we should point out to our viewers that Ivan Guryev is actually the leader of the SRP, but declined to be on the programme, leaving it to his deputy and protégé, Mr. Velchenko. Thank you being here.
Thank you for having me, Peter.
Earlier this year, your party split from its traditional alliance with the DSP over what your party claimed were its failures to redress the grievances and problems faced by the Russian northwest. Would you care to elaborate?
Certainly. Traditionally, the DSP has counted on the SRP for support from the Russian northwest to secure Parliamentary election after Parliamentary election; and this is why the past 20 or so years have been run by a centre-left government. However, the DSP has grown complacent in addressing the needs of the citizenry of the entire United Kingdom as witnessed by the declining median income for the Russian republics of the northwest. For example, most of the heavy industry in the past twenty or so years has been located in the northwest for its ample supplies of valuable and requisite minerals plus the deep harbours that allow for easy shipping of finished goods to either domestic or foreign ports. The Tetley administration announced earlier this year that the industrial production of the United Kingdom had dipped 0.7% this year. What he neglected to mention was that this report found that over 80% of the reduction of manufacturing was to be found in the Russian northwest as the remainder involved a downturn in the boat-building industries heavy in the southeast. Furthermore, when his government did become aware of the problem a little less than half a year ago, the Prime Minister did nothing but start a war with a Slavic nation to keep our minds off the brewing domestic problems. After all these slights and blatant disregard for the Russian community both I and Ivan Guryev decided that the Socialist Revolutionary Party could no longer be affiliated with the Democratic Socialist Party. We now find ourselves allied with the Conservative Party and I am working in concert with my esteemed colleague the Honourable Daniel Collins to defeat the DSP next week.
Traditionally, though, do not your party and the Prime Minister’s share a lot of the same goals and objectives?
Peter, the policies of the SRP are based around continuing to promote the equal rights deserved by the Russian people, who continue to be treated like second-class citizens as the callousness with which the current administration disregards their plight evidences. There are some key differences between the SRP and the DSP that ought to be cleared up. If elected, the SRP plans to enact more tariffs and trade regulations with our trading partners to slow and halt the loss of manufacturing jobs to overseas sweatshops with which we cannot compete. This means that the foreign policy of the United Kingdom would also need some revision as dictatorships and purely capitalist nations, nations without minimum wage and factory safety laws, would be blacklisted until they can prove they can compete with workers and companies from the United Kingdom on the same playing field. Our membership in free trade zones and such will need to be revisited to check for imbalances in the net trades of the UK, which currently exhibits a net deficit that must be corrected. These reevaluations of our treaties and agreements may even mean resignation from those alliances that promote systems of government that provide cheap almost slave-like labour as opposed to our own unionized men and women.
You speak of unions, Mr. Velchenko, but one union has had negative things to say about the SRP. The teachers’ union has declared that the SRP idea to introduce Russian as a second national language would serve only to disorient and disadvantage youth throughout the nation. Any comments?
They’re wrong, Peter. Flat out wrong. If anything, having English as the only official language promotes that idea of the Russian people as belonging to the second-class citizenry, a promotion that will do nothing but drag the whole country backwards. As a nation we must embrace our cultural diversity, especially when it comes to linguistics. At schools throughout the northwest, Russian children must grow up learning English, often times ignoring or forgetting their native tongue and that cannot continue. A long time ago we fought a war over this gulf between the English southeast and the Russian northwest because the people in the northwest literally were second-class citizens; and as conditions continue to degrade, I don’t want to see the modern UK enter into another similar conflict.
Are you saying the country could be headed towards another civil war?
I certainly hope not, however, there are certain frightening similarities between the current state of Anglo-Russian relations now and back then. As much as the Prime Minister boasts about being a student of history, he seems to be inviting one of our bloodiest chapters to repeat itself.
You mention conflict, and so I’d like to talk about the most recent conflict in the history of our nation, and the one with perhaps some of the most significant impacts here at home. Your party, like the Christian Democrats, did not support an aggressive stance towards Novikov, but fully endorsed the War Act when put forth by the Prime Minister after the first Novikovian missiles and bombs landed on Azazian soil. With respect to Mr. Svoboda in our audience, who earlier asked about aid to Novikov to assist in rebuilding his territory, what sort of proposals can we see from the SRP about rebuilding Novikov?
Our fraternal comrades in Novikov share the same blood as the Russians here in the UK. Currently, the government oppresses the Novikovians by forcing them to sit, humiliated, under the all-too-watchful eye Sir Thomas Cahill, the Royal Governor of a former sovereign country. While we in no way, shape, or form condone the actions undertaken by the rogue former Prime Minister Kacnerova, we believe that the Novikovian people deserve more respect from their conquerors. As such, I’d promote the ascendance of Novikov from being a royal crown colony to a full-fledged republic with all the privileges and responsibilities inherent to such a territory within the Kingdom. From there we can continue to sponsor and subsidize the reconstruction of the damaged infrastructure, both physical and human. Novikov will play a critical role in the future of the United Kingdom as the land and its people offer much benefit to the United Kingdom, and it is in our interest that we reciprocate these benefits as much as possible.
We’ve heard about reconstruction; but we want to know about reparations, repatriations, and results from your war crimes trials.
Tetley watched as that young Novikovian once more made his voice, and vicariously the voice of his people known. Despite the war being a bloody and costly victory, it had been far from pyrrhic as the United Kingdom could not feed its own people and satiate their economic needs with new domestic markets and new natural resources. Yet, the Novikovians had lost and had been conquered and annexed. Undoubtedly, this would not be the last time they plagued government officials.
Ah, well then, there are several good questions from the audience. Thank you, Mr. Svoboda, for partaking in this programme as it displays that the Novikovian people truly are our equals in this great democratic state and that you should be treated as such. Repatriations of those prisoners of war ought to be completed in the coming weeks and months as our war crimes investigators ensure that nobody in our custody has committed such hateful and despicable acts against the citizens of the United Kingdom. For despite our common blood, the chemical weapon attack on the city of Philadelphia killed hundreds, especially the young and elderly. And in civilized warfare such barbarism cannot go unpunished. Those acquitted of such crimes will be quickly repatriated if they so choose. For the trials themselves, of course some officers of the Royal Army and Marines will be charged.
But my father died at the hands of your esteemed Royal Navy. What about those officers?!
The Royal Navy does have its own faults from this war. And they will have to pay for their misdeeds and misconduct just as everybody else. My apologies for their omission a moment ago. However, I must clarify that while we have evidence of NBC weapon usage being order from the very upper echelons of the Novikovian government, retaliatory massacres and systematic executions of Novikovian POWs were merely unit level reactions to the barbarism and utterly inhumane treatment of Royal Armed Services personnel and the people they serve and protect. For that reason, I can say that no high officials in the United Kingdom will likely be charged as so far as the Committee on Azazian War Crimes, on which I am a member, has yet to find no evidence of the Prime Minister or his deputies ordering such brutal reactionary killings. Lastly, reparations. I can’t say that there will be significant reparations because of those gruesome steps taken by the Novikovian government to wage war on the Azazian civilian population. Despite the chemical and biological attacks on the United Kingdom, our government did not respond in kind because our government conducts war in a more civilized fashion that places a respect on the dignity of human lives – a respect not evident in the Novikovian war campaign. It is possible that certain reparations can be made, for the rebuilding of your university, perhaps. But it is doubtful large-scale reparations will be made only because of the widespread death caused throughout the United Kingdom during the war.
Tetley jotted a brief point down, noting that Velchenko’s plan could be potentially worse for Novikov than leaving it a colony; and that was worth pointing out on air in a few minutes. For now though, he listened while Velchenko prattled on about education reforms that were quite similar to the DSP. In fact, Tetley mused, the entire split between the DSP and SRP was quite finny because there were very few actual differences outside of the economic policies to revitalize the Russian northwest. Unfortunately Velchenko had decided to use a rather incendiary rhetoric that would make it difficult to woo any of his party’s usual voters to his own party. It was no wonder why Guryev would be retiring after this election. There was more talk about the National Healthcare System and reforming it, all very similar to the DSP – which allowed Tetley to tune out the rest of the interview and rest for the next two segments. Daniel Collins, and then himself.
Once again, we welcome you back to the Daily Pulse, where tonight, we have expanded coverage for the general elections scheduled for this coming week. Live in the studio, we are now joined by leader of the Conservative Party, the Right Honourable Daniel Collins of Ilsen. Thank you for appearing on the show, Mr. Collins.
My sincere pleasure, Peter.
We do have a limited amount of time, so let’s get straight to the heart of the matter. After six years of Alistair Tetley residing in the Citadel you now believe the time has come for the Conservative Party to take Parliament and for you to live in the Citadel. Why?
A simple, one-word question that requires a complex and convoluted response. But I shall try to make it as painless for your audience, and yourself Peter.
Haha, thank you, Mr. Collins.
Quite frankly, the DSP has done an abysmal job in securing the United Kingdom against internal and external threats to her citizens. The prima facie argument with Novikov attracts quite a deal of media attention – and understandably so with the great loss of life. However, I am not here to belabour a point that I believe has been well made to the Azazian people, but also well taken by the Azazian people. I believe that the United Kingdom knows Alistair Tetley’s decision to go to war was unfounded and ultimately has placed this nation in greater danger than we were before the first missiles started landing on our soil.
Firstly, I’d like to address the long-term causes of the Novikovian War. Peter, how long has the Democratic Socialist Party been in power?
Almost twenty years if I recall…
Twenty years. For twenty years, the DSP knew of the impending agricultural crisis, that the diminishing farmlands of the UK would no longer be able to sustain the growing population. What did the DSP do? They did nothing, nothing but wait. If I may, the Conservative Party put up before Parliament, three years ago, a bill that would have made farming more profitable for Azazian citizens thereby guaranteeing that all our farms wouldn’t fold in favour of foreign firms fielding fruits and vegetables. However, the bill was defeated by the majority DSP because they opposed direct intervention in the economy of the United Kingdom. Their opposition, their apathy, led us to the rapid inflation of food prices, in particular items such as bread, milk, and other perishable goods. Their ignorance brought us to food riots in the northwest where conditions had already been rather poor, but in light of the increasing cost of living spiraled even more rapidly into absolute chaos. Finally, Mr. Tetley went to Novikov and signed a deal bringing us more food from an inherently inefficient economy that hit the wall. Novikov demanded more money from a small loophole and began firing when we refused to pay higher prices. Quite simply, the Democratic Socialist Party has been the problem, and continues to be the problem as we have yet to see any legislation providing for the long-term sustainability of Azazian food production.
That’s a pretty damning statement, Mr. Collins.
I wish it didn’t have to be, Peter. But the people of this great country deserve to hear the cold hard facts of the matter. Facts that bear out gross negligence on the part of the Tetley administration and the Democratic Socialist Party. But I would be remiss if I didn’t continue on with my statement of facts and figures for there the negligence is quite substantial – I assure you. One of the other fundamental problems faced by the United Kingdom is a result of the misguided war, that of the losses suffered by His Majesty’s Armed Forces. While our brave soldiers, sailors, and airpersons fought bravely and more valiantly than ever anticipated, the sheer fact is that the Prime Minister sent them into combat with an armed forces that simply was not equipped for modern warfare. Ships decades old, submarines brought out from mothball yards, tanks running only through cannibalization of broken down or damaged vehicles. The Royal Air Force, while not playing a significant role, even lost a few of its vintage stealth bombers because maintenance procedures on the antiquated craft had not been as stringent as suggested, prior to the war, by the RAF. Now, because of the great loss of life and material, our country will spend the next decade or so slowly expending its tax revenue on rebuilding our armed forces when we need to spend it on reconstruction of the United Kingdom, and the Royal Crown Colony of Novikov. These rearmament figures from the Admiralty, in the Whitehall Memo dated just two weeks ago stated several hundred billion Credits worth of new ships and weapons will be needed in the next five years to bring us back to our prior state of readiness. But that fact, in and of itself, could be surmountable if not for several other key factors.
The first of which, is our national infrastructure. Thankfully, due in large part to the noble efforts of His Majesty’s Royal Navy and Air Force, the Home Islands received much less damage to their infrastructure then planned and anticipated by both our own forces, but even by those in command of the Novikovian armed forces. We can see by the sheer fact that so many millions of you are watching this live that in the past several weeks we have been able to restore much of our telecommunications infrastructure, an infrastructure essential to the continuance of our commercial and financial affairs. But there are still ports and highways damaged. Philadelphia will take several months to return to full capacity while the newly built bridge between New Australia and Vetraz will have to be torn down and entirely rebuilt after suffering damage in the war. These repairs will cost us even more billions while our new territory of Novikov requires much, much more in order to restore those lands to even a semblance of a working order.
Details! Give my people details! cried the school-less student in the back.
Very well then, sir. Details you shall have. The first aspect will be to revitalize the private sphere in Novikov. And, before you protest, I realize that antebellum your lands were run by the state to rather an extensive degree – but such extensive oversight led, almost directly, to the crippling shortages in the weeks and months prior to the outbreak of war. Free-market economic systems would largely alleviate the possibility of any such circumstances, at least to the cataclysmic levels witnessed by both our parties only weeks ago. The United Kingdom will invest greatly, through private firms, into the newly burgeoning markets of Novikov as our resources are simply far greater than those of your own domestic industries. With this influx of capital, both private and public investors will develop Novikov into a rich industrial land that it deserves, and ought, to be. Your mass-transit networks will be beefed up and improved to conform to UK-wide environmental and economic concerns over automobile usage. There is quite a lot going on in Novikov, Mr. Svoboda. And a lot more is yet to come.
In fact, Peter, there is much to come for the whole of the United Kingdom, especially as relates to the political structure and organization of the state. Although the Conservative Party objected to the transformation of our looser Commonwealth into this United Kingdom - we will not cause chaos by reverting back simply because we win the election, despite the claims of the DSP. Instead, using the institutions provided under the framework of the United Kingdom, we will seek to decentralize powers of Parliament. If I can see a show of hands, how many of you are from the Home Islands… a vast majority, as I suspected. The fact of the matter is that the outer territories, including the newly annexed colony of Novikov, exist almost as separate entities, with little interaction with the Home Islands. Yet, Parliament still runs these territories, colonies, and even two republics without their local consent - the antithesis of the democracy that we claim as our heritage. This must change.
Additionally, the social fabric of this nation must change. Under the Tetley administration Parliament has led the nation slide towards decadence and decay. I do not support the segregation of the gay and lesbian community and I stand for the civil unions; but I cannot and will not support the gay marriage legislation proposed by the Democratic Socialists. There is a line beyond which lays the collapse of the Azazian family unit - and the proposed legislation is that line. That line also consists of proposed legislation to expand the social welfare state, which given the financial situation I’ve previously outlined, would be disastrous to the state. In this era of reconstruction, we need a fiscal responsibility, an obligation for economic forethought, and moral leadership. All absent with the Democratic Socialist Party.
Thank you, sir. Everyone, the Right Honourable Daniel Collins of the Conservative Party. Standby, after the commercials we will be bringing you Prime Minister Alistair Tetley of the Democratic Socialist Party. We will be back in a moment.
Pacitalia
17-09-2005, 04:34
OOC: This is... well, it's bloody fantastic, if I may be so bold. Great work! :eek: *definite tag* One of the best threads I've ever seen.
OOC: This is... well, it's bloody fantastic, if I may be so bold. Great work! :eek: *definite tag* One of the best threads I've ever seen.
You see why I nominated him for best scene-setter?
Thank you, sir. Everyone, the Right Honourable Daniel Collins of the Conservative Party. Standby, after the commercials we will be bringing you Prime Minister Alistair Tetley of the Democratic Socialist Party. We will be back in a moment.
The green room buzzed with anticipation, an anticipation that climaxed with the slight squeak of the round door knob turning and freeing the lock thereby opening the door. From the only partially comfortable couch, Alistair Tetley watched the two aides to the show’s host enter and whisper something to the bodyguards barring entrance to the room. Mr. Prime Minister, the one man – no older than his early twenties – said, you’re on in five.
Thank you. Tetley stood slowly, taking one last quick glance at his briefing on the likely questions as forseen by his communications department. Standing at a slight 1.67 meters, his contemporary style of slightly gelled hair sticking upwards at the front complementing his sharp, black modern-cut suit, the youngest serving Prime Minister prepared to address a national television audience of several dozen million. With a quiet smile and warm brown eyes, he thanked his Deputy Chief of Staff who had been sitting in an unusual silence while Tetley had gathered his thoughts. Prepared speeches were worthless with hecklers in the audience.
The walk through the crowded hallway filled its silence of words with clicks and flashes of bulbs from politically star-struck backstage personnel who had never before met a head-of-government. With warm, albeit entirely political, greetings and handshakes he made his way to the heavy cloth that separated the studio stage from the backstage, and upon working his way out into the bright, bright lights of national television he even saw a few in the audience stand – if not out of respect for the man, the office.
As he approached the seat in which his return to office would largely be determined, the host stood and extended his hand. Mr. Prime Minister, it’s an honour to have you on my show and if I could, if you can’t even remember which camera to face, look over there at Three. Tetley nodded his head and took a small sip from the glass of water sitting by the edge of the round mottled grey table that separated the guest and the host. With a nod he accepted the placement of an audio device in his ear while a small microphone was placed on his lapel. A hand in front of a camera signaled the countdown.
Five, four three, then the voice stopped and the fingers flipped.
Welcome everyone, I’m your host Peter Rayder, and I’m now joined by the Prime Minister, the representative of Salisbury, Mr. Alistair Tetley.
Tetley listened without a trace of emotion as the crowd betrayed their own thoughts in either cheers, polite claps, or vehement hisses and shouts. With a turn of his head and a broad smile he acknowledged the gamut of the emotions in each of the persons present. Finally, after the volume had subdued to a practical level he turned back to face the host. Thank you for having me, Peter. It has always been a distinct pleasure of mine to come face to face with the people of this great country of ours and to be speak about the matters that concern both the citizens and myself.
Well we are certainly glad you’re here, sir. You have now been in office for six years, and yet you are seeking re-election despite having been in office for two terms, why?
Actually, I’ve only been in office full-time for this past term as I succeeded the Lord Dover after he retired for health reasons. This is only my second time running as the leader of the Democratic Socialist Party, a position I am most humbled to have been granted by my colleagues and peers. Keep in mind, Peter, that I am only forty-four years young at this point in life, and I still have numerous ideas from which I think the country could benefit and I am now here to ask that the people grant me at least one more term to help bring about all my initiatives, all of which I have not yet been able to fulfill.
Sir, if I may, what are some of these initiatives?
Most important to me are the domestic reforms, reforms that hit at the centre of Azazian society. I have to say that I most strenuously object to the words of my counterparts Mr. Collins and Rev. Pendall. I see the fabric of this society as nothing short of finely woven textile, a textile composed of so many threads of differing weights, differing strengths and weakness, differing colours and patterns. One person may not like a certain strand, a certain colour, or a certain pattern – but any attempt to remove that strand, colour, or pattern would leave the tapestry of our society in shambles. Beyond that, this tapestry has yet to be completed as it continues to evolve, continues to grow into a sum far greater than any individual part. And an attempt to begin to segregate based on colour would only begin to erect barriers against the complex interconnectividity that is our society. I believe that to best serve the people of the United Kingdom, we must begin to open our society to foreigners and those with whom we might disagree.
In particular, I shall start with the Novikovians. One of the finest gentlemen, one of the finest statesmen I have ever had the pleasure to meet and become acquaintances with was that of the late premier of Novikov, Fredric Ulyanov. And he was a Novikovian until his very last breath. I understand the deep-rooted hatred that many Azazians may harbour towards the Novikovian people in light of this terrible war, a point I fully intend to address later this evening. However, for every family that lost someone in the UK, the very same can be said for the whole of Novikov – a nation that suffered even more grievously with respect to its civilian population. The Novikovian people are our brothers and sisters in humanity, even more so than in King and country, under which Azazians and Novikovians now find themselves united. Our two peoples must now find a way to work together under the flag of the United Kingdom for shall we ever be divided and set against each other, the whole will succumb to the constituents plain and simple.
Now, I realize that we have a Novikovian here among us tonight, Mr. Svoboda, would you please stand. It’s alright, sir… if you’d like to continue to sit, that is your choice, your right. However, I’d like the audience here, and across the nation, to look at Mr. Svoboda. What makes that young man any different than the rest of us? His first language might be different, his culture might be different, but he is, first and foremost a human being who has suffered greatly. And secondly, he is now a citizen of this United Kingdom. As much as this nation has a responsibility to itself to assist each other in rebuilding our lives, we also have a responsibility to those whom we have done harm, to those fellow human beings who suffer. The foundation of this United Kingdom was based on the concept of a liberal empire, an empire which strives to bring justice and fairness to the Pacific – how can we claim to strive for the Pacific when we cannot bring justice and fairness to those newest houses bordering our own backyard? First and foremost, the United Kingdom must be rebuilt, but we must also seek to rebuild Novikov. In fact, we must seek to rebuild both into one truly united kingdom, a kingdom that does well in remembering its past and its social differences, its social prejudices, and social intolerances – all things that will take time and hard work if we are to overcome them as I know we will. But we cannot begin to rebuild, to reshape this great state, until we begin to accept everyone under this flag I wear on my lapel.
This not only includes, Novikovians, but also, members of the gay and lesbian community, a community so obviously disparaged by both Mr. Collins and Rev. Pendall. Without a doubt, their community remains in the minority in this United Kingdom, but at one point in time so did the Russians, the Azazians, and to lesser extents the Spanish, Dutch, and French descendants. And while I do not claim all have been fully integrated into a greater Azazian society, there has been a significant and measurable amount of progress with wage slavery no longer permitted, with elections now free and fair and open to all people everywhere with laws sanctioning the stratification of our society now overturned and repealed by the Privy Council and by Parliament. And while the gay and lesbian community identify themselves not by nationality, they do have a common bond in their sexuality, which is as real an identity of character and personality as any blood type or linguistic root. And in respect to our history, and our character as a nation, as a people, we cannot subject this community to the life of second class citizens merely because we feel uncomfortable with its members. To do so would dissolve this united state and break every pledge every government has made with respect to preserving the rights of its constituents. If reelected, I will put before Parliament a bill that would both recognize and legalise gay marriage. I do not expect its acceptance or its passage to be easy. But I feel that we must continue to weave the tapestry of our society and that we can’t shrink from the challenge of incorporating a new strand, a new colour, a new pattern into our lives.
Lastly, with regards to our society, I feel that we have begun to neglect our own. The policies put forth by the Conservatives and the Christian Democrats would seek to eliminate the social welfare state that we have created and carefully changed to best suit the needs of the Azazian people. Mr. Collins, not more than a half hour ago, claimed that my proposals recklessly endanger the economic security of our people through increased government spending. What I find absolutely ludicrous is the implied suggestion that people losing their national healthcare coverage, that people losing access to the public transit they depend on, that people losing their right to education because of rising costs… that those losses are of lesser consequence to the Azazian people than that of Parliament authorizing more money in the short-term to ensure that in the long-term those rights, those lives are truly and more than adequately secured. When I was growing up as a child, my mother always talked to me about relationships when I brought home my new girlfriends. She told me that the best things in life do not come without struggle and heartache. The same goes with the relationship we all have with this united country. The very best for our country will only come about after we begin to invest in earnest for the future security of all our people, young and old.
Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. Rayder smoothly interjected. Tetley availed himself of the short pause to have a sip of water, for his throat had become rather parched after the long-winded, but hopefully well-taken response. He looked back at Rayder, who returned a smile. We’ll be back after these commercials with the Prime Minister, Mr. Alistair Tetley. The lights on the camera dimmed, then flicked off before Rayder turned once more to the leader of the United Kingdom. Very nice answer, sir, now if only the people will listen. We go back live in five.
Tetley glanced calmly about the room while reading over a report brought to him by Howard Robertson, his Deputy Chief of Staff. Several events had been happening recently which would be of some relevance to the far more interesting second portion of his interview. They were news items regarding things that his counterparts had no real knowledge of – just quite yet at least. And while Rayder talked with his own makeup team and staff, Tetley desperately tried to continue running the state as the leader of the caretaker government, a position he deeply hoped would not be his last. But as the producers in his ear began the 60-second countdown Robertson moved away with the briefs still in Tetley’s hands, briefs he slid onto his lap beyond the notice of anyone on stage. With another sip from his water, Tetley stretched his arms and rolled his head about to crack some settled bones in his neck. The hard part of the interview was about to commence.
Welcome back to the Daily Pulse, I’m your host Peter Rayder, and sitting across from me for the second part of his interview, is Prime Minister Alistair Tetley. During the last segment, Mr. Prime Minister, we discussed – well, more like you informed us – of your domestic vision for the United Kingdom from the contentious issues of Novikovian participation in the political and social structure of the country to the issue of gay and lesbian relations and to the shoring up of the social welfare state at the foundation of this nation. Now, if we might move on to the more controversial realm of particularly foreign affairs.
Certainly, Peter.
Now, earlier in your term you advocated the United Kingdom joining the New Alliance Treaty Organization, also known as NATO for short, and in a speech delivered before Parliament, you claimed that admittance to NATO would open the United Kingdom up to greater markets and thus expand commercial opportunities for enterprises and entrepreneurs. Additionally, you claimed that admittance would shore up alliances and defence pacts that would help secure the safety of the state. Especially in light of the Novikovian war, where the United Kingdom saw no assistance from her NATO allies, how would you rate these rather hollow promises?
Peter, the United Kingdom proudly stands as a member of the New Alliance Treaty Organization and our government has thus made good friendships and alliances with numerous nations including – but not limited to – Vastiva and Schultaria Prime, with whom the United Kingdom also shares membership in the Alliance of Pure Research and Engineering States, also known – thankfully – as TAPRES. Between the two of these institutions the scientific and military leadership – both private and public – have benefited substantially while our commercial trade has just begun in earnest, a fact reflected in the continuing robust economic growth evidenced by the latest Ministry of Trade and Interior economic report. I continue to stand by my decision to join NATO, and for that matter, their lack of action in the Novikov War came from my own hand because the United Kingdom needed the whole fruits of the victory that I knew would occur. Our agricultural industry no longer can supply us with enough food and we needed to expand our own domestic food supplies by reigning in control over Novikovian farmland, which is sufficient to satisfy several hundred million more persons.
Then what about the Imperial Confederacy, Mr. Prime Minister? The organization is all but defunct and serves nothing but a drain on the taxpayers as we fund representation in an organization that literally does nothing.
Again not true, Peter. I have here on my personage a brief summarizing the details of a meeting held by former foreign minister Ivan Valovich and Lord Exeter outlining the proposals to formally establish the Treasury of the Imperial Confederacy here on Azazian soil in the city of Caliz. The influx of international capital into an Azazian city will serve as a beacon to the stability and dependability of the Azazian markets, a reputation that will serve only to bolster our continued economic growth. Furthermore we have made contact with our great ally Largent in the first stages of coordinating this meeting, which I predict will be entirely fruitful for all parties – but especially the United Kingdom.
But do you deny the lethargy we’ve seen from the organization?
Regretfully I cannot say that I do. However, we must keep in mind that the United Kingdom did write the charter for the Confederacy, which is inherently a far weaker system of government than a federal alliance of sorts. Indeed, my main point of contention with the Imperial Confederacy is that its charter ensures that the union remains weak and incapable of decisive action – something I intend on noting to my counterparts at a planned meeting of heads of state and government to reinvigorate the organization.
One thing a lot of my viewers tend not to understand is why the UK refuses to enter into economic and trade groups that would benefit our country; do you have any reasoning for this?
Neither from lack of interest nor from draught in trying, Peter. In fact, we are a party to the Free Commerce and Trade Association of Democratic Nations, shortened to FCTADN, in which we have established trade ties to JRV and the Democratic Colonies. Additionally, I have plans to look into joining several even large trade associations if reelected to supplant our former participation in the Ur Trade Pact a number of years ago, the collapse of which sent the country into an economic recession. We depend, as a modern society, on foreign powers for some critical resources just as these powers depend on us. And so it is in our best interest to find organizations to best facilitate fair trade between all parties.
Any organizations in particular?
I hesitate to name names, but one that we have been eyeing – although without any official contact between our two parties – would be the newly forming League of Associated Nations and their Dominions, which promises to be extremely beneficial to the economy of the United Kingdom. Outside of that I can’t truly say. However, I would like to point out that there have been some advancements as we are preparing to sign bilateral trade treaties with several nations under the auspices of this caretaker government.
Fair enough. One of the main issues I’d like to discuss before we run out of time would be the still controversial Novikov War. Why did we enter conflict, Mr. Prime Minister?
A fair enough question, Peter. As I mentioned previously, the UK has been witness to a declining agricultural industry by the hands of free-trade economics. It has simply become far more beneficial and profitable to become a nation of CEOs and IT personnel than commercial dairy farmers. Our nation is wealthier because of this shift, although admittedly we grow less and less of our own food each year. A few months ago I signed a trade treaty with the leadership of Novikov that would provide fair compensation for their foodstuffs. Through that leadership’s own incompetent management of their resources they entered into a recession, which led them to demand more and more money from us for their food. I refused to let Novikov hold the UK hostage through starvation. From that point, they escalated the conflict by sinking our ships and then declaring war and attacking us. They launched first, Peter. I wish we could have resolved everything peacefully, but I will not allow the UK to be held hostage. Plain and simple. At that point, it became a question of carrying through and seizing those foods we so desperately needed – and had been rightfully assured. I also wish that the Novikovian leadership had not authorized the use of chemical and biological weapons – but they did and so we were forced to up our own response. Why they fought a superior power I would love to know, Peter. But we did win, despite the heavy and horrific costs, but because of that victory our nation is now secure for decades to come.
Along similar lines, Peter, I must therefore disagree with Mr. Collins in that the United Kingdom needs an even firmer hand in dealing with the Royal Crown Colony of Novikov. We cannot allow the lingering elements of that former barbaric regime to regain power and dictate to us on an equal playing field and to then use our own systems against us. We must remain strong and thus able to enforce Parliament’s wishes on the outlying areas of the United Kingdom. Any decentralization will weaken the state and put us all in jeopardy. All of us. The fact of the matter is that the government provided us by the Empire Act requires a strong central government with powers vested in Parliament and executed by His Majesty. Any deviance from this plan could destabilize the political structure of this country and that would have entirely unforeseen and calamitous ramifications on our national economy.
Well, I’m afraid our time is just about up, Mr. Prime Minister.
If I could, I’d like to say one final thing.
Absolutely, Mr. Prime Minister.
I would humbly ask you, the citizens of the United Kingdom, for your support next week. I realize that many of you are now dissatisfied with my leadership and how that reflects on the whole of the Democratic Socialist Party. I assure you personally, however, that the DSP remains fully committed to the people of the United Kingdom and will continue to strive to bring about nothing but the best for all of you. We may not always agree, but we do have the desire to do what is right and best at the centre of our manifesto. Next week, if you are concerned with the future stability of the country, the stability and security of this country for your children and grandchildren, vote for your local representative from the DSP. Thank you, and may God bless you and may God save the King.
Tetley smiled broadly now as the crowd shouted God save the King! He hoped that the small amount of fervor he now witnessed would carry over into the next week to election day, now only a few days away. Half-heartedly he listened to Rayder closing out the show, and increasingly to the voice of Robertson bringing him the full briefing on everything that had been happening during the show.
Ooc: I wanted to thank Pacitalia and Novikov for their kind words that truly meant a lot given the amount of time I’ve invested in this storyline of mine. Now, I intend to continue these elections in a separate thread that I will post a link to here when I write the first one. However, that might not happen for a few days as I have a massive amount of school work with which I must keep busy.
[ooc: as promised, the link to the day of the elections for all of those who may or may not have been following this thread. The election day thread is entitled "373 Seats" (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=445372) ]