Kalopia

[Aethan]

Kalopian Spring brazes for impact as internal elections are on its way; party doing "damage-control" over Presidential remarks' leak

Former Health minister eyes leadership of the party whilst KA cabinet members put distance between the government and the HoS

The Kalopian Herald — December 5731

HELIOS – President Lakaridis' remarks about Kalopian minorities – labelled as "false and AI generated" by the presidential team – have started a fire within the nation that the government is trying to put out. Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexandros Metrotis, who was Lakaridis rival in the 5730 Kalopian presidential elections, have been "extremely busy" dealing with embassies around Terra asking for clarifications about what did the President actually meant, if he meant it at all, with his remarks. Meanwhile, Kalopian Spring leader and current minister of Trade and Industry, Yorgos Stavriades, seemingly has instructed its cabinet members to put some distancies in all public appearances between the HoS and the "excellent labor" the current coalition government is actually doing.

"We are not the Head of State, nor we give him any confidence and support. He is an independent figure over which only the Parliament holds power. We are focused in our labor of building the best Kalopia for all" was everything minister of Science and Technology, Venizelos Speropoulos, said when asked about the controversy. But not everyone has kept it quiet: former minister of Health Theseus Moraitou, who resigned over the controversial abortion restriction bill "he couldn't agree with", has been fast to speak up and condemn President Lakaridis words, calling them "unfit" for a figure supposed to "represent all Kalopians equally". "Difference is what makes us great" he said "We all have different backgrounds, but we are all Kalopians and an attack on one is an attack on us all. President Lakaridis words are not just unfit for such a role, but are also potentially dangerous for our country and society". 

In fact, Mr. Moraitou has called for Phalanx, President Lakaridis' party, to condemn the president words as an act of "reparation".  But for Mr. Moraitou, there's something else in this: next month, Kalopian Spring will celebrate its 2nd National Congress, where Yorgos Stavriades hoped to retain the leadership of the party he founded and that now, it's turning more a more into a close race between both figures, with Theseus Moraitou gaining ground over the past weeks. Both candidates claim the placement of the latest electoral poll – which positions Kalopian Spring as the country's largest force at the expense of a sharp fall of its coalition partners – are a result of each one's policies, and both believe that the election of the other candidate "would negatively affect the party's prospects". Next month, party members will decide who gets to keep leading them, but for the moment, Mr. Stavriades has assured that the government coalition with the Phalanx is "as strong as ever", despite poll numbers indicating that the government would heavily lose its majority in Parliament – from 66.67% of the vote it obtained in 5730 to merely 32.6% of the combined vote – being unable to revalidate the majority. Some internal sources believe that keeping the current populist government at any cost is not worth it, but others have pointed out that staying in friendly terms between both parties is what has allowed Kalopian Spring to pass some of its bills presented to parliament despite the opposition of the rest of the parliamentary arc. "It's true that ruling together with a conservative–populist party is not the ideal for a progressive–populist party" said an internal source "but despite some of our legislation failed to pass in the Parliament due to the opposition of our coalition partners, we will keep fighting and pushing for it to be approved soon. And despite of that, we have managed to push for some other legislation that otherwise would have failed to be approved, thanks to the good relationship and compromise of this government. So it's a difficult position".