Pacitalia
26-01-2006, 08:32
From La Repubblica Oggia
http://www.agenews.it/foto_articoli/CASINI4dbc8.jpg
Constantino Sorantanali votes Wednesday in his
constituency of Sambuca South-Central. He was
elected the next prime minister of Pacitalia in
Wednesday's federal general election, taking a
majority of the seats in both the CAF and Senatoro.
Sorantanali wins; promises "effective and connected" government
By Manti Soratina-Murana, Sambuca
Federation of Progressive Democrats leader Constantino Sorantanali handily won Wednesday's federal general election, earning a majority of the seats in both the Constazione Ampoliticato Federali (Pacitalia's lower legislative house) and the Senatoro Federali. Sorantanali was listed prime minister-designate as soon as the results of his own constituency were finalised.
The ProDems took 42,5% of the popular vote in Wednesday's nationwide poll, with the PSC's political resurgence over the past 18 months earning them back the coveted position of Official Opposition to the Government. The social-democratic party earned 25,7% of Pacitalians' votes. Meanwhile, the Green Party placed third at 12,6%, while the NPA outperformed its expectations with a 9% vote share. The PdT earned 4% of the popular vote.
Constantino Sorantanali's victory speech was heard by 29'115 diehard FPD supporters at the ProDems' election night headquarters, the Vestibulo Conagresso di Sambuca. Chiovitti had telephoned the victorious FPD leader one hour earlier to concede defeat and congratulate him.
"First of all, I want to thank all my opponents in this election," Sorantanali said, a prim smile on his face as he absorbed the satisfaction of his victory. "The campaign was relatively clean from start to finish, and we debated the issues that mattered instead of focusing on personal attacks. I truly admire all of them for their hard work."
He went on to thank his supporters, saying they "were the foundation for our solid victory".
"Without your dedication and sacrifices, we would not be here today, savouring this," Sorantanali said.
Sorantanali promised an effective, cooperative and transparent government that would play by the rules like past governments, and listen to the issues affecting people of all races, religions and political ideologies. He also said: "My government will be savvy and pragmatic in its diplomacy," hinting that a Sorantanali government may not be as neutral as Ell chose to be.
Prime Minister Ell's policy was to "earn our keep and our respect by fighting only the battles that concern us" as he put it in 1998; but it is widely known Sorantanali disagreed with this outlook in his speech, as he said he feels "Pacitalia should use its position as one of the greater world powers to affect change and objectify international issues".
Sorantanali ended his speech by saying "the time has arrived! Change has arrived! Real government will continue!", and then, stepped off the stage into the ecstatic and deafeningly loud assembled to congratulate and thank them.
The crowd gave outgoing prime minister Timothy Ell a standing ovation that lasted 10 minutes as he joined them by videoconference from Timiocato. He thanked all of them for continuing the FPD's ability to govern effectively and wished Sorantanali well.
"We reached a crossroads this election," Ell said. "But we have come to the other side unscathed."
Meanwhile, PSC leader Fernando Chiovitti again congratulated Sorantanali, this time publicly. "We did not win," he said, "but we are back on the rise to glory once more. We have proven tonight the PSC is a viable alternative to governing Pacitalia. People have listened to us and accepted our ideas, and I am grateful for their support. We truly value every vote we received."
Green leader Neros Constantakis was carted away on the shoulders of supporters at the end of his speech in the party's Nortopalazzo election-night headquarters. The Greens earned 70 seats in the CAF and 34 in the Senatoro, marking a second-straight solid finish for the party.
"What a time it is to be a Green member!" Constantakis exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. "I am very much excited to be returning to Timiocato with such a strong caucus of representatives. We will once again defend your rights and defend the environment that makes Pacitalia so beautiful and world-renowned."
The political newcomer, the Non-Partisan Association, earned a fourth-place finish with a higher-than-expected 41 seats in the CAF and a further 26 in Pacitalia's upper house. Polls suggested Aria Speranza's party would earn about 25-30 seats in the Constazione and about 10-15 in the Senatoro. However, electors seemed to feel the NPA had the right ideas and the end result was welcomed by the NPA leader.
"I am extremely excited to see so many of our candidates earning a ticket to Timiocato to represent their constituents with a politically moderate point of view," Speranza said. "Our work paid off, and I could not have asked for anything more."
She added she would resign as leader of the party.
"I have done what I was asked to do," Speranza said. "I will continue to sit as an MPP but we need a fresh face to decide where the party goes from here."
The NPA broke from the FPD in 2005 when centrist ProDem MPPs felt the party was looking to head slightly more right. The NPA is fiscally conservative but socially very liberal, while the FPD is significantly more concerned with economic issues than social responsibility.
Communist leader Lemvi Megescu will also not be returning as party leader after his party was blown out of the CAF, earning just one seat and failing to retain any of its Senatoro chairs. Megescu himself was defeated by a PSC challenger, losing by a 9.5% margin. Deputy party leader Pedro Morales-Vayacanta was the sole Communist MPP re-elected and will most likely get the nod to take over as interim leader. Megescu had been in politics federally for 32 years.
"Am I disappointed? Certainly," Megescu, MPP for Samantino-Fano, said to LRO Wednesday evening. "I wanted to continue serving, but perhaps my swan song has come and gone. We were certainly humbled with this result. The party needs to rebuild and I will try to make myself a part of the process, but I cannot effectively serve as leader. My time has expired."
High-profile Anarchist senatorial candidate Sorcerano Torzoni was rocked Wednesday. A man widely expected to win, he placed fourth in his district, significantly behind the FPD, PSC and Green candidates. Party leader Vera Campagnolo was elected to the CAF with a slight edge over the Green candidate, the ALP's first-ever seat in Timiocato.
Meanwhile, the Partia di Traditionale did better than expected, earning 15 seats in the CAF and upping its 2004 senatorial seat count by three. Marco Quirinamo leaves for Roach-Busters tomorrow where he will meet with Imperator J.L. I. However, he was still very pleased despite placing fifth for the second-straight election.
"Christian democracy has gained a foothold in Pacitalia," he said.
The Partia di Traditionale has rebuilt itself as a Christian-democratic alternative to the FPD. Its status as a major party was destroyed in the 1988 general election, when Giorgio Cassata's hardline Conservative government pushed the country into the only major recession of its 503-year history. The recession in 1986 and 1987 was only fully recovered from in 1999, just months before Prime Minister Ell's successful re-election.
Separatism on the rise?
What could be interpreted as a little frazzling for Margherian federalists is the results for the Northeastern Independence Party, which polled 22% support late in the campaign according to the separatist-minded pollster Survista Margheriana. The party took three of Margheria's 26 CAF seats and a further two in the Senatoro. The switch from violent means to political and peaceful methods seems to have paid off for the NEIP, which is made up of former outspoken members of the disbanded terrorist faction, Gruppo Liberacione di Norte Pacitalia.
Leader Ovito Alcazár was elected comfortably in his constituency as were his two deputy leaders. Ten other candidates came close to victory, with the FPD and PSC candidates only beating them by a hair. The final vote tally in six constituencies ended up 26-24-22 in favour of the FPD, followed by the PSC and the NEIP. Had the NEIP won 13 of the 26 seats, it would have been considered a clear mandate for Margheria's separatists.
"It will take a long time and a lot of campaigning with realistic ideals and platforms for the NEIP to gain a majority of Margheria's seats," Strategic Vision pollster Timo Vantocescu said Wednesday evening. "Separatism still just isn't a major issue for Margherians. Too few people support them."
The NEIP would like to see Margheria become an autonomous region, because they see the majority Spanish-descended population as underappreciated and largely ignored by the federal government in Timiocato. Margheria is not geographically one of the farthest places from the Pacitalian capital, but separatists certainly feel this is so.
Labour gets its hands dirty
The final success story in this election (chock full of positive surprises, it seems) is the result for the Workers' Cooperative Alliance of Pacitalia, a party backed mostly by Pacitalians wishing to see the ability of workers in Pacitalia to form trade and corporate unions. Unions are disallowed by the government, which has its own agency managing and watching over the treatment of Pacitalia's 2,8 billion-strong workforce.
The WCA earned two seats in the CAF, both in the predominantly blue-collar inner-eastern area of Nortopalazzo. As well, they took one Senatoro seat. WCA leader Jávier Grandinetti was elected to the Constazione.
====================
Notable facts about the election:
The FPD swept their provincial base, Beracanto, winning all 86 seats. They also nearly swept Antigonia, but as mentioned, the WCA earned two seats in Nortopalazzo, giving the FPD the remaining 84.
The PSC had 17 majority vote shares, their best ever showing.
Lemvi Megescu of the Communists was the only party leader not elected.
The NPA had the best showing of a newcomer party in Pacitalian election history.
Voter turnout was the second highest ever, at 85.2%.
The FPD becomes the first-ever party to win more than one billion votes, based on the fact they won 40%+ of the total votes cast for the sixth straight time.
This is the Federation's sixth-straight majority government, as well.
====================
Election results for the Constazione, of 647 seats
Federation of Progressive Democrats: 351 seats
Pacitalian Social Coalition: 163 seats
Green Party of Pacitalia: 70 seats
Non-Partisan Association of Pacitalia: 41 seats
Partia di Traditionale: 15 seats
Northeastern Independence Party: 3 seats
Workers' Cooperative Alliance of Pacitalia: 2 seats
Anarchist League of Pacitalia: 1 seat
Communist Party of Pacitalia: 1 seat
Election results for the Senatoro, of 293 seats
Federation of Progressive Democrats: 150 seats
Pacitalian Social Coalition: 74 seats
Green Party of Pacitalia: 34 seats
Non-Partisan Association of Pacitalia: 26 seats
Partia di Traditionale: 6 seats
Northeastern Independence Party: 2 seats
Workers' Cooperative Alliance of Pacitalia: 1 seat
Anarchist League of Pacitalia: 0 seats
Communist Party of Pacitalia: 0 seats
http://www.agenews.it/foto_articoli/CASINI4dbc8.jpg
Constantino Sorantanali votes Wednesday in his
constituency of Sambuca South-Central. He was
elected the next prime minister of Pacitalia in
Wednesday's federal general election, taking a
majority of the seats in both the CAF and Senatoro.
Sorantanali wins; promises "effective and connected" government
By Manti Soratina-Murana, Sambuca
Federation of Progressive Democrats leader Constantino Sorantanali handily won Wednesday's federal general election, earning a majority of the seats in both the Constazione Ampoliticato Federali (Pacitalia's lower legislative house) and the Senatoro Federali. Sorantanali was listed prime minister-designate as soon as the results of his own constituency were finalised.
The ProDems took 42,5% of the popular vote in Wednesday's nationwide poll, with the PSC's political resurgence over the past 18 months earning them back the coveted position of Official Opposition to the Government. The social-democratic party earned 25,7% of Pacitalians' votes. Meanwhile, the Green Party placed third at 12,6%, while the NPA outperformed its expectations with a 9% vote share. The PdT earned 4% of the popular vote.
Constantino Sorantanali's victory speech was heard by 29'115 diehard FPD supporters at the ProDems' election night headquarters, the Vestibulo Conagresso di Sambuca. Chiovitti had telephoned the victorious FPD leader one hour earlier to concede defeat and congratulate him.
"First of all, I want to thank all my opponents in this election," Sorantanali said, a prim smile on his face as he absorbed the satisfaction of his victory. "The campaign was relatively clean from start to finish, and we debated the issues that mattered instead of focusing on personal attacks. I truly admire all of them for their hard work."
He went on to thank his supporters, saying they "were the foundation for our solid victory".
"Without your dedication and sacrifices, we would not be here today, savouring this," Sorantanali said.
Sorantanali promised an effective, cooperative and transparent government that would play by the rules like past governments, and listen to the issues affecting people of all races, religions and political ideologies. He also said: "My government will be savvy and pragmatic in its diplomacy," hinting that a Sorantanali government may not be as neutral as Ell chose to be.
Prime Minister Ell's policy was to "earn our keep and our respect by fighting only the battles that concern us" as he put it in 1998; but it is widely known Sorantanali disagreed with this outlook in his speech, as he said he feels "Pacitalia should use its position as one of the greater world powers to affect change and objectify international issues".
Sorantanali ended his speech by saying "the time has arrived! Change has arrived! Real government will continue!", and then, stepped off the stage into the ecstatic and deafeningly loud assembled to congratulate and thank them.
The crowd gave outgoing prime minister Timothy Ell a standing ovation that lasted 10 minutes as he joined them by videoconference from Timiocato. He thanked all of them for continuing the FPD's ability to govern effectively and wished Sorantanali well.
"We reached a crossroads this election," Ell said. "But we have come to the other side unscathed."
Meanwhile, PSC leader Fernando Chiovitti again congratulated Sorantanali, this time publicly. "We did not win," he said, "but we are back on the rise to glory once more. We have proven tonight the PSC is a viable alternative to governing Pacitalia. People have listened to us and accepted our ideas, and I am grateful for their support. We truly value every vote we received."
Green leader Neros Constantakis was carted away on the shoulders of supporters at the end of his speech in the party's Nortopalazzo election-night headquarters. The Greens earned 70 seats in the CAF and 34 in the Senatoro, marking a second-straight solid finish for the party.
"What a time it is to be a Green member!" Constantakis exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. "I am very much excited to be returning to Timiocato with such a strong caucus of representatives. We will once again defend your rights and defend the environment that makes Pacitalia so beautiful and world-renowned."
The political newcomer, the Non-Partisan Association, earned a fourth-place finish with a higher-than-expected 41 seats in the CAF and a further 26 in Pacitalia's upper house. Polls suggested Aria Speranza's party would earn about 25-30 seats in the Constazione and about 10-15 in the Senatoro. However, electors seemed to feel the NPA had the right ideas and the end result was welcomed by the NPA leader.
"I am extremely excited to see so many of our candidates earning a ticket to Timiocato to represent their constituents with a politically moderate point of view," Speranza said. "Our work paid off, and I could not have asked for anything more."
She added she would resign as leader of the party.
"I have done what I was asked to do," Speranza said. "I will continue to sit as an MPP but we need a fresh face to decide where the party goes from here."
The NPA broke from the FPD in 2005 when centrist ProDem MPPs felt the party was looking to head slightly more right. The NPA is fiscally conservative but socially very liberal, while the FPD is significantly more concerned with economic issues than social responsibility.
Communist leader Lemvi Megescu will also not be returning as party leader after his party was blown out of the CAF, earning just one seat and failing to retain any of its Senatoro chairs. Megescu himself was defeated by a PSC challenger, losing by a 9.5% margin. Deputy party leader Pedro Morales-Vayacanta was the sole Communist MPP re-elected and will most likely get the nod to take over as interim leader. Megescu had been in politics federally for 32 years.
"Am I disappointed? Certainly," Megescu, MPP for Samantino-Fano, said to LRO Wednesday evening. "I wanted to continue serving, but perhaps my swan song has come and gone. We were certainly humbled with this result. The party needs to rebuild and I will try to make myself a part of the process, but I cannot effectively serve as leader. My time has expired."
High-profile Anarchist senatorial candidate Sorcerano Torzoni was rocked Wednesday. A man widely expected to win, he placed fourth in his district, significantly behind the FPD, PSC and Green candidates. Party leader Vera Campagnolo was elected to the CAF with a slight edge over the Green candidate, the ALP's first-ever seat in Timiocato.
Meanwhile, the Partia di Traditionale did better than expected, earning 15 seats in the CAF and upping its 2004 senatorial seat count by three. Marco Quirinamo leaves for Roach-Busters tomorrow where he will meet with Imperator J.L. I. However, he was still very pleased despite placing fifth for the second-straight election.
"Christian democracy has gained a foothold in Pacitalia," he said.
The Partia di Traditionale has rebuilt itself as a Christian-democratic alternative to the FPD. Its status as a major party was destroyed in the 1988 general election, when Giorgio Cassata's hardline Conservative government pushed the country into the only major recession of its 503-year history. The recession in 1986 and 1987 was only fully recovered from in 1999, just months before Prime Minister Ell's successful re-election.
Separatism on the rise?
What could be interpreted as a little frazzling for Margherian federalists is the results for the Northeastern Independence Party, which polled 22% support late in the campaign according to the separatist-minded pollster Survista Margheriana. The party took three of Margheria's 26 CAF seats and a further two in the Senatoro. The switch from violent means to political and peaceful methods seems to have paid off for the NEIP, which is made up of former outspoken members of the disbanded terrorist faction, Gruppo Liberacione di Norte Pacitalia.
Leader Ovito Alcazár was elected comfortably in his constituency as were his two deputy leaders. Ten other candidates came close to victory, with the FPD and PSC candidates only beating them by a hair. The final vote tally in six constituencies ended up 26-24-22 in favour of the FPD, followed by the PSC and the NEIP. Had the NEIP won 13 of the 26 seats, it would have been considered a clear mandate for Margheria's separatists.
"It will take a long time and a lot of campaigning with realistic ideals and platforms for the NEIP to gain a majority of Margheria's seats," Strategic Vision pollster Timo Vantocescu said Wednesday evening. "Separatism still just isn't a major issue for Margherians. Too few people support them."
The NEIP would like to see Margheria become an autonomous region, because they see the majority Spanish-descended population as underappreciated and largely ignored by the federal government in Timiocato. Margheria is not geographically one of the farthest places from the Pacitalian capital, but separatists certainly feel this is so.
Labour gets its hands dirty
The final success story in this election (chock full of positive surprises, it seems) is the result for the Workers' Cooperative Alliance of Pacitalia, a party backed mostly by Pacitalians wishing to see the ability of workers in Pacitalia to form trade and corporate unions. Unions are disallowed by the government, which has its own agency managing and watching over the treatment of Pacitalia's 2,8 billion-strong workforce.
The WCA earned two seats in the CAF, both in the predominantly blue-collar inner-eastern area of Nortopalazzo. As well, they took one Senatoro seat. WCA leader Jávier Grandinetti was elected to the Constazione.
====================
Notable facts about the election:
The FPD swept their provincial base, Beracanto, winning all 86 seats. They also nearly swept Antigonia, but as mentioned, the WCA earned two seats in Nortopalazzo, giving the FPD the remaining 84.
The PSC had 17 majority vote shares, their best ever showing.
Lemvi Megescu of the Communists was the only party leader not elected.
The NPA had the best showing of a newcomer party in Pacitalian election history.
Voter turnout was the second highest ever, at 85.2%.
The FPD becomes the first-ever party to win more than one billion votes, based on the fact they won 40%+ of the total votes cast for the sixth straight time.
This is the Federation's sixth-straight majority government, as well.
====================
Election results for the Constazione, of 647 seats
Federation of Progressive Democrats: 351 seats
Pacitalian Social Coalition: 163 seats
Green Party of Pacitalia: 70 seats
Non-Partisan Association of Pacitalia: 41 seats
Partia di Traditionale: 15 seats
Northeastern Independence Party: 3 seats
Workers' Cooperative Alliance of Pacitalia: 2 seats
Anarchist League of Pacitalia: 1 seat
Communist Party of Pacitalia: 1 seat
Election results for the Senatoro, of 293 seats
Federation of Progressive Democrats: 150 seats
Pacitalian Social Coalition: 74 seats
Green Party of Pacitalia: 34 seats
Non-Partisan Association of Pacitalia: 26 seats
Partia di Traditionale: 6 seats
Northeastern Independence Party: 2 seats
Workers' Cooperative Alliance of Pacitalia: 1 seat
Anarchist League of Pacitalia: 0 seats
Communist Party of Pacitalia: 0 seats