Kalistani Major History

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Rectification Act draws ire of FolksParty Members
Several cabinet resignations are expected in coming months
Kaliburg, Ananto
March 18,5078


Premier Bjorksdattir addresses pending resignations

Premier of the Republic Agnethe Bjorksdattir addressed the pending collapse of the Government over the SP’s Rectification Bill which is expected to pass into law soon. “It seems that some members of our coalition partners are not happy that the SP has returned to our traditional stance on smoking and drinking. Perhaps the comrades did not take us seriously when we noted our opposition to these changes before, or when we promised to undo them. We have kept our word and if the ministers of the Folks Party must resign over this, they may do so with our gratitude for their years of service and cooperation.”

Bjorksdattir claimed that there was no need for strict age regulations on tobacco or alcohol. “We have seen no evidence that smoking or drinking has been reduced as a result of this law among non-adults,” said the Premier. “The only thing this law does therefore, far be it from promoting healthy decision making in young adults, is legally deny them the right to do what they are now doing illegally. Prohibition does not reduce usage, it merely makes it more expensive and perversely, less safe.”

The Premier then touched on a long standing theme of the SP. “This is a matter of personal choice,” said Bjorksdattir. “Each person who uses alcohol or tobacco makes the choice to acquire it, presumably in the most efficient way possible and then use it to their satisfaction. If the goal is to reduce smoking and drinking among the youth, this seems like a role that parents can and should play. But the Republican Government is not a parent. Our role is only to regulate the public space. And we have long held that use of substances is at its core a private space activity.”

“Furthermore,” she added, “this presentation of our children as drunks and chain smokers without this law is really rather disappointing. For centuries, nations of the world hostile to the very fact of Kalistan’s existence have denied Kalistan’s legitimacy and right to exist because they paint us as drug addled pirates and narco-terrorists. They describe our fine people as ‘out of control drug addicts’ and use our liberty as a weapon against us. I would hope that our friends in the Folks Party would avoid that trope. And I am sad to see a few of their members repeating it in the press.”

The Premier noted that if the defections from the coalition lead to a big enough split between the two coalition partners, Bjorksdattir will call for early elections and let the people weigh in on the matter.