Kalistani Major History

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The Kalistani Free People's Press

The KFPM Holds Annual Party Conference
A 2% tax cut and a rewriting of the constitution among bold announcements by Omobo
by Romoaldo De Vincenzi
Kaliburg, Ananto
17th December 4054


Newly elected President of Terra Union and former KFPM Deputy Leader James Harrison announcing his industry reform plans

The Kalistani Free People's Movement's annual conference, which was held later than usual this year, concluded today in the capital city of Kaliburg on Ananto Island. Many had predicted a somewhat unsurprising affair but there were plenty of unexpected announcements in all departments, from a reshuffle of the Shadow Cabinet to the radical new proposal for constitutional reform. Commentators and party members alike where said to be swept away by Party Leader Karen Omobo's brilliant final speech in which she called on people from around Kalistan to;

come together, work together so that every single person living in Kalistan and around Terra can be guaranteed a safe and secure future free from poverty, economic uncertainty, persecution, tyranny and the threat of violence. It is to fight against these issues that the Kalistani Free People's Movement was formed and it is against these issues that we will fight in government.

The first shock of the conference- which began on Friday afternoon and concluded late Sunday night- was the announcement of the party's candidate for each Ministerial position in the upcoming National and District elections. Most significant was the removal of, former Deputy Leader and close friend of Leader Karen Omobo, James Harrison from candidate for Head of Government; he became the new candidate for Trade and Industry. Harrison was a distinguished lawyer prior to joining the KFPM and has been elected as the President of Terra Union, a cross-party organisation which also contains Kalistan's other opposition party the Ananto National Party. This experience will certainly prove useful in the trade aspect of his potential new role but it is the industry part which could be the most intriguing. In the past, Harrison has been a prominent proponent of free market economics and says that he favours minimal regulation of industries other than education; this is in contrast to many within the KFPM and official party policy which promotes heavy regulation.

The person to replace Harrison as candidate for Head of Government was former Finance candidate and newly appointed Deputy Leader Francesca Totti. She's the youngest candidate in the party at just 24 years old but has already developed a reputation for captivating crowds. Many members, particularly those on the left of the party, believe that she would be the ideal replacement for Karen Omobo when she eventually steps down. Finally, ex-economist Manuele Provenza was moved from Trade and Industry to Finance to replace her.

With the new party cabinet announced, Saturday and Sunday gave each candidate the opportunity to showcase their policy ideas and it was once again James Harrison who hit the headlines. Each new candidate was given a questions and answer session in which members could query them on a variety of issues, culminating in the Leader Omobo's at 8pm Sunday evening. Saturday's sessions went much down the road they were expected: Vitalico Viviani, Health and Social Services spokesperson spoke of his pledge to protect healthcare spending and Leo Ferrando, Shadow Food and Agriculture Minister, expressed his desire to promote private farming. The only slight stir caused was when Debora Ambrsino, Infrastructure and Transport Candidate, was asked whether the Party had dropped the proposal of an underground rail link. Her response was:

We definitely haven't given up on the idea. We understand that it might be difficult but we aren't shutting off any options just yet.

Debora Ambrsino refused to rule out controversial underground rail plans

Sunday began with an element of foreshadowing Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister, Elanora Raneri was resolute on the parties commitment to redraft the Organisation of Drug Exporting Nations despite the fear-mongering campaign of the government. It was not the only occasion that the KFPM would appear to undermine the Socialist Party. The next remarkable announcement came when Manuele Provenza announced his first policy if he was to enter government would be a 2% tax cut; it soon became apparent that the KFPM were pitching themselves as an anti-Socialist party for this election. By the time James Harrison took his seat, an air of anticipation had developed. This was in part due to the fact that so many party members wanted to hear him speak that he had to relocate to a more spacious venue but also because of the sheer unpredictability of the conference so far. He didn't disappoint.

Harrison's plans were extensive and detailed: the way in which Provenza's 2% tax cut would be paid for was the sale of failing industries in public ownership to competitive private investors. He explained how this would make them more successful, drive up standards and create more choice for consumers. He made sure to note that schools and hospitals would not be initially involved and neither would the transport sector but the charismatic Trade and Industry Spokesman was clear that nationalisation had failed to serve those who needed government support most.

Finally came the Leader's opportunity. Miss Omobo was going to have to do a lot in order to steal the spotlight from the various other ambitious plans submitted by her team, luckily for her she did just that. Rather than simply recommending a change in economic policy or promoting a new transport programme, Omobo explained how she would submit a bill at the next session of the National Assembly to fundamentally change the constitution of Kalistan, she wanted shorter terms, an end to coalition cabinets and paramilitaries plus a new motto. By the time she had finished speaking, the entire room had risen to their feet to applaud Miss Omobo. After the last elections there were rumours she had lost the support of the party membership, that certainly wasn't the case anymore; if this conference is anything to go by, we'll have a Kalistani Free People's Movement government by January 4056...