Beluzia

[journey]

@TheEveningPost

[journey]

Kundrati, Etxea
@YNeuchroghagh

[journey]

[journey]

@YNeuchroghagh

[journey]

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Twelve months of the "midnight"-ers in charge in three big stories

↳ Toshiagh Andrew Quiggin photographed for an exclusive interview for The Evening Post

It has been a little more than a year after a centre-right coalition, sometimes called "midnight" after the member parties' colours, was inaugurated following a tight general election in May last year. Now, a year later, we decided to analyse these twelve months in rewind, what has been done, and what can Beluzians expect until the end of the 37th Quaiyl's term.

During the campaign, Quiggin and Conservatives have been constantly talking about being "anything, but Labour", both economically and socially, and that was the case these last months, though not as radical as some may have expected, as the Treasury is currently handled by the least radical and more pragmatic Reform leader, Kieran Norres. The 5633 budget, presented by the cabinet included somewhat big tax cuts to both the lower and middle classes, but as the opposition has pointed out, it came at the cost of cutting financing for other services, like the public broadcasting, foreign aid and more importantly, disaster relief fund, created during the second Aspallan-Mores cabinet in the aftermath of Bailon Islands storm, which took lives of 58 people and damaged the property largely. Treasurer Norres reassured that neither of the services' funding which was cut will affect their continued work, but pointed out that "sacrificed had to be made". This budget would later spark a chaos in the Quaiyl, with Solidary Front trying to block the chamber from voting, and massive public protests led by Front and joined by Alliance and Labour.

Another important issue that both Conservatives and Republicans ran on in 5633, was fishing industry support, claiming that the "most vital and historic work in Beluzia was forgotten by the Labour", and with a Republican minister in charge, the new government went a protectionist way, despite all four parties' commitment to the deregulation. Republican-led Fisheries and Maritime Affairs department enforced quotas on the fishing, created stricter rules for the foreign competion in order to protect the jobs inside the nation, though this was met with resistance within the cabinet from Liberal and Reform, and outside as well, with local and national businesses this will only hurt the economy by increasing the total costs, while the Labour opposition said that the cabinet has overreached in their attempt to support the fishing industry. Coalition would later change their position to a softer approach, while not abandoning the plan completely.

However, despite claiming to be "anything, but Labour", there was a thing "midday" coalition kept doing just like their predecessors: investment in the infrastructure. Peter Quirk, Conservative transport and infrastructure minister, back in January this year has announced that the government will be overseeing the massive review of the state of the highway infrastructure. Following the review, and publication of the MTI report, Quirk and Norres jointly announced the modernisation and the expansion projects across the nation, with an aim to connect urban centres with rural areas, a plan which, according to the ministers would take up to 10 or 15 years, depending on the amount of resources available and found, and investments from the government and the newly-introduced by the Treasury private-public partnerships (PPPs), with the model allowing private investors to finance and control the construction of major highway projects, often in exchange for reduced tolls, and lower taxes, which was a point of contention during the budget debate.

Clearly, there was and will be more of the government actions in the next three years, but we thought these three stories were the brightest examples of the twelve months of the current cabinet being in charge. The behaviour of it rather creates more questions than answers, and with a year and half until the local elections, and Conservatives slowly losing in polls, all we can do is observe whether Quiggin and the centre-right can handle their slim majority, or will their actions just keep drowning them in the eyes of the voters against the effective opposition?

@TheEveningPost

[journey]

Here's how an already consolidated Beluzian political system is consolidating even more
8 August 5635





With just two months away from the local elections taking place across the country, we thought it might useful to look at what national parties were doing in their campaigns, who's running, and how this year's election may shape the national politics in a new, more consolidated way. And for that kind of analysis article, we will take our beautiful capital city, Cirrane, and its somewhat contested race.

Blaa Corbett, a two-term Lord Mayor of the capital city, said that she will not be running for a re-election, but retire from politics, though when she was asked if she would pursue a position in the national politics, Corbett replied: "We will see". Still, technically, this election will be a race for an open seat at Niarynnyd, but there is no intrigue and questioning of who will win it, as most polls and projections predict yet another big victory for the collective left in Cirrane. So, why do and/or should we care about this race in particular? Well, some say that Cirrane may be a sort of referendum on the "midnight" coalition, and whether it did enough to win over voters and gain large in the capital.

But, this is not the only reason why the Cirrane race in particular is interesting to us. Up to three political alliances could participate in October, completely shifting the landscape compared to that of four years ago. Alliance, the frontrunner and a major power locally in the capital decided to united their forces with the frontists, independents and local activist organisations under a "Together for Cirrane" umbrella. TfC's mayoral candidate and leader of the Cirrane's Alliance branch, Ewan Moughtin, says the coalition will be a "voice for the voiceless", talking about the inclusion of various non-governmental organisations on the list. Meanwhile, in the centre, a coalition of its own is happening: Reform and Liberals have agreed to run jointly, with a somewhat boring "Liberal Reform" name. Though, the voters may have bought the trick, as the most recent polls were putting LR as a strong contender for the second-largest force in city council election. And to the right, Conservatives and Republicans are also joining forces under the name "Democratic Right"; as the parties to the right of Reform started losing ground to the same Reform, Conservatives and Republicans also decided to unite their votes into the one group to avoid any vote splitting and/or form a stronger caucus in the future council.

Now, why this is interesting? Quite simple. Two out of three of those alliances have been discussed publicly for quite a while now, and these local elections, especially in Cirrane may serve as the testing ground, to see how those coalitions stands, and whether there is any reason to actually merge parties, or stay separate, but run in a joint list, or stop the unity debate once and for all. Obviously, depending on the success or the failure of these coalitions, some things may change nationally, especially as Reform and Liberals are quite close to a national merger deal, and depending on the result in October, the agreement will either proceed or stall forever.

Even as the local elections are mostly separate from the national ones, they still form a vital part of Beluzian political life, and they do affect a lot, so just this time, and possibly maybe even a couple of next times, it might be interesting to follow some down-ballot races, to see and prepare yourself for crazy national political twists, even in our quite stable political landscape.



Cirrane Telegraph is a daily newspaper published in the capital city, Cirrane. It is considered a "newspaper of record" both in Cirrane and nationally.
#Cirrane
#LocalElections5635
#Elections
#Parties

[Credo]

Young Beluzians Elect Leader

The youth wing of the People's Party (P), Young Beluzians, has selected 24 year old Henrique Montecalvo as their first leader. The youth-wing, Founded just a couple of days after the 5730 elections, has begun to start local chapters all around the nation. Most of the members come from rural backgrounds and those studying or already working within agriculture are clearly overrepresented. We asked Mr. Montecalvo what he thinks about the future of (P) and Beluzia!

Thank you for meeting us here in Cirrane, it must have been a long journey from Halpenburg, Bailon?

- Hahaha, yeah it was. I actually live roughly an hour outside of Halpenburg so it took even longer than you probably think!

Thats's a commitment! We here at The Tribune hope you enjoy our nations capitol, especially now that you'll be spending quite a lot of time here. I presume you will be moving to Ciranne shortly, what will you miss most back home?

- I'm not a very sentimental person. I think I will do just fine. You might have expected me to say that I love the Beluzian countryside and that I loathe the urban hell that is Ciranne. I ofcourse do believe that, but I am very excited to move closer to the political action. And that excitement softens my homesickness I think. I'll have to move first to be really sure!

We will see! When did you join the party and what are your most important political issues?

- I joined the party during the presidential election of 5730. I helped Jonah Margrove campaign when he visited Bailon. I care a lot about Hosian values. I want a family one day. So I want my children to grow up in a  good country where their values are widespread not just in society, but also in the law of the land. We need to stop abortion. That is my highest political goal. The other stuff like farming subsidies, immigration and trade are important, sure. But they aren't as important as the preservation and defense of life. 

What is your prediction for this coming government?

- I think it will be a disaster. Some are calling it the horse-shoe government, which is fitting. Because you would have to have been hit with a horseshoe to think this is a good idea. I think this is a weird opportunistic power grab that seeks to exclude certain parties that challenge the status quo. The people of Beluzia will vote them out. I am sure of it!

Thank you for this interview Mr. Montecalvo. We will be following your career with excitement. 

[cm99977]

Labour surges to Beluzian election win, leftist or centrist coalition likely

Terran News Wire: August 5371

Key Points

• Labour Party surges to win 5371 election as Liberal Democrats lose grip on centre
  
• Long and complcicated government formation expected with leftist or centrist coalition likely
  
• Populist surge: Hosian Socialists enter Quaiyl tapping into socially conservative and economically left-wing base
  
• Turnout surges to almost 70%, up from 53.3% a year ago
  

The Beluzian Labour Party has won the 5371 general election, closely âhead of the Liberal Democratic Party of incumbent Toshiag Randolph P. Checkers Checkers and the conservative People’s Party, the country’s electoral commission reported.  Both Labour and the People’s Party canibalised the LDP’s centrist voter base according to an exit poll published by the Terran Polling Institute with both parties also profiting from the collapse of the Centre Party and Beluzian National Party as well as higher voter turnout.




Forming a new government is likely to be a long process with a fragmented political landscape. Election analyst Marley Dollarman told the TNW that a left-wing coalition or a centrist grand coalition are the most likely options with the Labour Party leading the government in both scenarios.

“A leftist coalition would rely on the Hosian Socialists who have significant differences on social policy with other left-wing parties. A grand coalition of Labour, LDP and the People’s Party would hold a comfortable majority but could galvanise the fringes...” Dollarman added. The Hosian Socialists surged to take around 6% of the vote in their first election appearing to fill a gap of socially conservative but economically leftist voters. 

Guy Winegardener, whose National Liberal Party aligns closely with the LDP, said he accepted the party would enter opposition with results showing slight losses. “In absolute terms around 400,000 more people voted for us this time” with significantly higher turnout at 69.6% vs 53.3% at the previous election leading to a decreased overall vote share. Both the Workers Party (WPB) and Democratic Left Front (DLF) made significant gains, with the WPB closely behind the People's Party in fourth place.

[Intruder Emerald]

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Conservative leader Julius Rounds has said he is proud of the party's start to the new term, stating the Conservatives are the party of moderate reform and common sense. Rounds has also been critical of the decision by the LDP to enter into coalition with the Workers' Party.

Today, Julius Rounds has given an interview to the Beluzian Telegraph regarding his party's election results, the legislation the Conservatives have proposed in the Quaiyl, and his thoughts on the new government. The Conservatives won 9 seats in the election with 2% of the vote. Rounds accepted he hoped for better results in some areas but said "we are a new party and this is the first of many steps. I could not be prouder of the 9 Conservatives we have got elected to the Quaiyl and I hope to see many more in the future". Rounds acknowledged that overall it had been a difficult election for the Right and said he is surprised by the formation of the new government. "I expected to see a leftist coalition led by the Labour Party, so I am surprised to see the LDP back in government for another four years. I was particularly surprsed by that". Rounds said he thought it was a surprising decision by the LDP to go into a coalition with the Workers' Party and he believes that such a coalition will struggle to survive. "I'm not sure exactly how long this coalition government can last and I expect to see a fallout at some point between the LDP and the Workers' Party".

Rounds said he believes the government will struggle to survive four years and questioned what the legacy of such a government will be. He said there is no chance that the government could do anything meaningful with such differences in opinions. Rounds also made an appeal to LDP voters saying "the leadership of the Liberal Democrats has shown it is not representative of the cente-right vote. Only the Conservative Party can fully represent their views in the Quaiyl and I think you will find that in the next election an awful lot of their voters will probably come to us".

Rounds also took time to discuss his party's legislative agenda. Rounds championed the Professional Fire Service Act, stating he is proud that it is his party that has put forward proposals for the creation of a full-time, professional, modern fire service. He also took time to discuss Conservative proposals to privatise the national train operaitng company. Rounds said "regional and local rail companies and privately owned and have shown they can do the job well, delivering an excellent service at a lower cost. Of course, we support some government regulation to make sure that private rail companies are operating effectively, however it is time to open up the national railways to the market".

Many in the Conservatives believe Rounds is promoting the party as a competent, effective and moderate centre-right party that is one day destined for government. Nonetheless, some have been critical of Rounds for not being radical enough and believe they will not attract voters from the People's Party. Rounds said he was pleased that the leader of the Workers Party, Bart Corwyn, described the Conservatives as "pretty sane", although some members of the party think it shows Rounds is just not right wing enough.

[Credo]

Opposition Struggles to Unite in Face of New Political Climate




Our current government, a result of infighting within the left, or rather defiance from the Hosian Socialist Party, has left the parliamentary right-wing without the experienced leadership that they took for granted from the LDP. 

The right-wing opposition, made up of P, NLP and C stand completely unprepared and without a plan to unite and defeat this new horseshoe government without its dark-blue flavor. 

What will be the right-wings agenda these coming four years? What will be the issue that they rally around to defeat Checkers? 

Only time will tell. If anything is clear to us right now is that similar questions are being asked in the Prime ministers office. The former government was marred by an incoherent policy agenda, no real economic progress and no actions on the issues that Beluzians care about. Obviously they can be forgiven for this due to the very early, early election. 

The one issue we know that they will be implementing is the public healthcare system that Labour promised its voters. If this is enough to satisfy those who were expecting a broad left-wing government with a labour Toshiagh remains to be seen. Apart from this, very ambitious, welfare reform nothing much has been heard from the halls of downtown Cirrane. 

They have been especially quiet on their ideas of how to fund this new healthcare system. A system which undoubtedly will require a pretty hefty amount of BEL if they plan on implementing something that works. The Labour Party's initiative to increase revenue by hiking the tax on luxury goods is something we know won't work. As long as tariffs remain as low as they do in this economy, the wealthy urbanites of Negunia will simply purchase them online from Luthori and have them delivered across the border. 

But maybe we are mistaken and haven't read the legislation closely enough. Maybe Labour also provisioned a revision on the duty free section in airports, a duty full section, where full tax is sure to be taken into account on all luxury scotches and watches flying into our republic! Or maybe, the government is way in over their heads. And their agenda for socialism in our great nation will be littered by mistakes and bad governance!

- Jenna Shirley, political commentator for The Tribune