Alexandrian Ptolemais
05-09-2008, 02:36
THE PTOLEMAIS TIMES
PTOLEMAIS – After three months of speculation, Prime Minister James Ward has announced that the Empire will be going to the polls on October 25 to elect a new government, and that Parliament will be dissolved on September 12. Prime Minister Ward commented that “the Empire needs to have an election at the right time; while there was a push to have an election earlier this year, we felt that a mid-year election would not be beneficial.”
This year’s election will be the first held under the 2005 electorate boundary changes, and has produced some interesting possibilities. Political Commentator James Fitzgerald has said that five electorates will be very interesting to watch; Henderson South, the Bay of Cockles, Alexandria Central, Eastern Ranges and St. Pius. “Henderson South would be particularly interesting, as the seat is presently held by John Bradford by a very narrow margin – he only won the seat in 2004 by 709 votes; and without this seat, United wouldn’t be in Parliament. However, the boundary change meant that key interburban regions were moved to Henderson North, and the seat took in more rural areas – making it Conservative Alliance on paper. Alexandria Central and Eastern Ranges are seats where highly popular MPs have both decided to retire, and the seats are up for grabs, while the Bay of Cockles and St. Pius might swing to the Empire Party, especially as they are both Labour seats and the Clark Scandal last year saw voters leave Labour in droves.”
Going into this year’s election, there are six parties in Parliament, all of which have a viable chance of getting back into Parliament after this year’s election. Here is a summary of their key faces, and the last four years for them:
Nationalist Party: Led by Prime Minister James Ward, the Nationalist Party has had a very successful fifth term in office, and is hoping to be elected to a sixth term in office, and given present polling, it probably will. The Nationalist Party is centre-right, and although it advocates limited economic intervention and significant social restriction, due to its domination of power, it largely campaigns on maintaining the status quo. It is rumoured that the Nationalist Party uses unconventional methods to remain in office; however, the accusations have never been substantiated.
Labour Party: Led by Leader of the Opposition Oliver Peterson, the Labour Party is hoping to become the next government. Based on present polling, however, it is likely that it will not only remain in Opposition; but also risks losing the position of Official Opposition. The last four years have not been good for the Labour Party, its 2001 merger with the Communist Party is still causing problems some seven years later, and its support plunged in 2007 following accusations that Deputy Leader Sarah Clark had been engaged in a lesbian affair with her secretary. The Labour Party is moderate left and advocates an increase in the welfare state, the nationalisation of key assets as well as the legalisation of abortion and homosexuality, and the eventual abolition of the death penalty and the abolition of the monarchy
Conservative Alliance: Led by Deputy Prime Minister Albert Glover, the Conservative Alliance is one of the Empire’s more important secondary parties and has been involved in coalition agreements with the Nationalist Party since its 1947 founding. At its annual party conference, it announced that its main goal is to increase the vote from the 20.37% it got in 2004 to 30%, and possibly become the major party of government. It has had a good term in office, and is likely to gain an increased portion of the vote. The main difference between the Conservative Alliance and the Nationalist Party is its policy on local government; the Conservative Alliance wants to increase the number of provinces, and the types of activities that they engage in.
Greens: Led by Danielle Bradley, the Greens are the Empire’s main environmental party, and are more moderate than the Labour Party. They are hoping to regain the mantle of Official Opposition and increase their share of the vote. Like the Labour Party, the Greens are advocating an increase in government intervention in the economy, and a move toward greater social freedom. Unlike the Labour Party, they are more willing to move slowly. Their environmental stand includes a push for a moratorium on road construction, increased funding for public transport alternatives and a carbon emissions tax.
Empire Party: Led by Colin Reeves, the Empire Party is the old Alexandrian Ptolemais Coalition which is one of the Empire’s two minor parties. Its renaming in 2005, while initially greeted with significant controversy, has seen a significant boost for it in the polls; with much of its increased support coming from moderate Labour supporters. As a largely centrist party, the Empire Party supports a move toward decentralisation of government, but it also supports greater governmental intervention in the economy, particularly in state provision of welfare benefits.
United: Led by John Bradford, United is the smallest party that has seats in Parliament. It broke from the Conservative Alliance in 1998, and largely draws its support from the interburbs (an interburb is the name given for suburban areas more than 100km away from a city CBD). It is a largely centrist party and has been accused of being populist over the years.
Based on the current rolling average of the major five polls; we estimate that public support for the political parties is as follows:
Nationalist 33.2 (2004: 35.93)
Conservative Alliance 28.1 (2004: 20.37)
Labour 15.8 (2004: 22.04)
Greens 13.9 (2004: 17.22)
Empire Party 6.1 (2004: 2.59)
United 2.9 (2004: 1.85)
OOC: I welcome any questions on party political positions.
PTOLEMAIS – After three months of speculation, Prime Minister James Ward has announced that the Empire will be going to the polls on October 25 to elect a new government, and that Parliament will be dissolved on September 12. Prime Minister Ward commented that “the Empire needs to have an election at the right time; while there was a push to have an election earlier this year, we felt that a mid-year election would not be beneficial.”
This year’s election will be the first held under the 2005 electorate boundary changes, and has produced some interesting possibilities. Political Commentator James Fitzgerald has said that five electorates will be very interesting to watch; Henderson South, the Bay of Cockles, Alexandria Central, Eastern Ranges and St. Pius. “Henderson South would be particularly interesting, as the seat is presently held by John Bradford by a very narrow margin – he only won the seat in 2004 by 709 votes; and without this seat, United wouldn’t be in Parliament. However, the boundary change meant that key interburban regions were moved to Henderson North, and the seat took in more rural areas – making it Conservative Alliance on paper. Alexandria Central and Eastern Ranges are seats where highly popular MPs have both decided to retire, and the seats are up for grabs, while the Bay of Cockles and St. Pius might swing to the Empire Party, especially as they are both Labour seats and the Clark Scandal last year saw voters leave Labour in droves.”
Going into this year’s election, there are six parties in Parliament, all of which have a viable chance of getting back into Parliament after this year’s election. Here is a summary of their key faces, and the last four years for them:
Nationalist Party: Led by Prime Minister James Ward, the Nationalist Party has had a very successful fifth term in office, and is hoping to be elected to a sixth term in office, and given present polling, it probably will. The Nationalist Party is centre-right, and although it advocates limited economic intervention and significant social restriction, due to its domination of power, it largely campaigns on maintaining the status quo. It is rumoured that the Nationalist Party uses unconventional methods to remain in office; however, the accusations have never been substantiated.
Labour Party: Led by Leader of the Opposition Oliver Peterson, the Labour Party is hoping to become the next government. Based on present polling, however, it is likely that it will not only remain in Opposition; but also risks losing the position of Official Opposition. The last four years have not been good for the Labour Party, its 2001 merger with the Communist Party is still causing problems some seven years later, and its support plunged in 2007 following accusations that Deputy Leader Sarah Clark had been engaged in a lesbian affair with her secretary. The Labour Party is moderate left and advocates an increase in the welfare state, the nationalisation of key assets as well as the legalisation of abortion and homosexuality, and the eventual abolition of the death penalty and the abolition of the monarchy
Conservative Alliance: Led by Deputy Prime Minister Albert Glover, the Conservative Alliance is one of the Empire’s more important secondary parties and has been involved in coalition agreements with the Nationalist Party since its 1947 founding. At its annual party conference, it announced that its main goal is to increase the vote from the 20.37% it got in 2004 to 30%, and possibly become the major party of government. It has had a good term in office, and is likely to gain an increased portion of the vote. The main difference between the Conservative Alliance and the Nationalist Party is its policy on local government; the Conservative Alliance wants to increase the number of provinces, and the types of activities that they engage in.
Greens: Led by Danielle Bradley, the Greens are the Empire’s main environmental party, and are more moderate than the Labour Party. They are hoping to regain the mantle of Official Opposition and increase their share of the vote. Like the Labour Party, the Greens are advocating an increase in government intervention in the economy, and a move toward greater social freedom. Unlike the Labour Party, they are more willing to move slowly. Their environmental stand includes a push for a moratorium on road construction, increased funding for public transport alternatives and a carbon emissions tax.
Empire Party: Led by Colin Reeves, the Empire Party is the old Alexandrian Ptolemais Coalition which is one of the Empire’s two minor parties. Its renaming in 2005, while initially greeted with significant controversy, has seen a significant boost for it in the polls; with much of its increased support coming from moderate Labour supporters. As a largely centrist party, the Empire Party supports a move toward decentralisation of government, but it also supports greater governmental intervention in the economy, particularly in state provision of welfare benefits.
United: Led by John Bradford, United is the smallest party that has seats in Parliament. It broke from the Conservative Alliance in 1998, and largely draws its support from the interburbs (an interburb is the name given for suburban areas more than 100km away from a city CBD). It is a largely centrist party and has been accused of being populist over the years.
Based on the current rolling average of the major five polls; we estimate that public support for the political parties is as follows:
Nationalist 33.2 (2004: 35.93)
Conservative Alliance 28.1 (2004: 20.37)
Labour 15.8 (2004: 22.04)
Greens 13.9 (2004: 17.22)
Empire Party 6.1 (2004: 2.59)
United 2.9 (2004: 1.85)
OOC: I welcome any questions on party political positions.