Saridan

[Rogue]

Die Republiekhuis - In the House of the Republic, the seat of government, the new ministers of the SNP-FP-Sentrum government stood to pose for the cameras. A new team, led by already incumbent State Secretary Andries Pienaar, to lead the country for the coming 4 years. The new government, center-right of nature, took the last two months to hammer out a coalition agreement that satisfied all three parties. The largest party in this coalition, the SNP, has to moderate its platform and add "water to the wine" on a wide variety of issues, all in order to come closer to the more centrist and liberal FP and Sentrum. What remains is a relatively balanced coalition agreement where the involved parties put a clear emphasize on defense, the economy and education. 

The SNP under Pienaar came into the negotiations with the clear intend on continuing rearmament, willing to give in on other topics. With this in mind, the coalition agreement details that the current direction on defense will be maintained, as will the billions worth investment package pledged by the previous government. On the economy the parties have agreed to further privatization efforts and cut the amount of federal regulations, clearly aimed at introducing a liberalized market economy. When it comes to education, both the FP and Sentrum demanded additional investments into this sphere, with specifically Sentrum calling for the introduction of a new student loan scheme to allow for more students to enter higher education. These measures have also been included in the agreement. 

One of the more contentious topics agreed upon in this coalition agreement is the role of the State President. Both the FP and Sentrum wanted to limit the powers of the office, making the Volksraad more important. After much debate, the parties agreed that limiting the power of the state president would require a constitutional majority, something they do not have in the Volksraad. Instead the government will be introducing several measures to strengthen the powers of the Volksraad, making sure that it is not overshadowed by the executive branch. One such agreed upon measures is the strengthening of parliamentary commissions and the ability for the Volksraad to impeach the state president, something not possible under the current law. 

All in all this new center-right government will thread a new course on several topics, while remaining on course on others. The next 4 years will prove whether or not their partnership will last.