The Bland Man's Muse

A Policy-Making Muse

As I outlined in my previous article, I shall be positing a set of policies and ideas that I believe to be the right ones. They shall be implemented as soon as I am voted in, providing our party with immediate and decisive action. Time get started.


Policies? What Policies?

For a long time now, our party has been without any sort of real policies. This has put us at a huge disadvantage in comparison to the other parties, and is very damaging to our long-term goals. If we want to achieve anything, we need to show people what we actually stand for, instead of spreading empty promises. What’s the point in having a party which has no direction? I’m going to see to it that this issue is resolved.


Foreign Affairs – Staying in Phoenix and continuing strong ties within the alliance is, of course, an essential part to any foreign policy. Without them we would be stranded and lost. We should look to increase our standing further and encourage an even higher-level of trust and communication between the countries. We have also seen many tension arise lately, such as with Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. If we are to progress as an alliance, we need to talk-out and calmly discuss any concerns are problems. There is no need to resort to childish behaviour. The preference would be to set our differences aside and concentrate upon the goals of the alliance as a whole, rather than individual glory.

We must also pursue better relations with countries who are neutral. Many people shrug them off, or underestimate their importance, but I have seen time and again the impact they can have. A prime example is Italy staking its claim with EDEN, when it had once been much closer to Phoenix. This is partly down to neglect, and not communicating properly. I am not saying we should pressure them into anything, or try and persuade them one way or the other. We simply need to approach them in a friendly manner and talk them as we would to any Phoenix member. They may not be in our alliance, but their friendship would be invaluable.

Home Affairs – This is a huge part of the daily running of the eUK and should be treated as such. More manpower goes into this ministry than any other, and rightly so. It is a well-oiled machine which works efficiently. However, there is always room for improvement. Home Affairs have always run great competitions and carried out fun activities, but this may not always be good. Fun though they may be, they actually have very little functional value. Only those concerned with the forums are bothered about them, and even then the number is very low. I believe that Home Affairs should dedicate the vast majority of its effort to the retention of new players, as well as sending constant encouragement to join the forums. Part of this could be achieved by placing just one or two dedicated people within the in-game chat rooms, as well as staying active on the in-game forums. In this way, we can better reach those who are perhaps out of the loop or need help. This would give them a person to go to for help, and perhaps make them feel more involved.

Military – One main concern is politicians becoming too involved in the military, which could slow the process of decisive decision making. The military should be given further independence from the government. Its leaders should not change every time the Prime Minister does, nor should its leaders be chosen by politicians. The only decisions which the government should have over the military is where and when they go to war. Everything after that should be left to the commanders. There is no need for any sort of committee or other such nonsense. And, with the onset of V2, the military will require greater funding, as well as much wider advertising power.

Economy – This area is more important than ever with the new changes. Many new players will be confused or unsure about the new system, and should be advised on what to do by more experienced players. The Ministry of Economy should keep track-of, and publish, which type of workers are in the eUK, how many there are, and how many are needed. They should outline areas which need more personnel, and ones which are overpopulated. This will help players make the right decision on which path to choose and would help to keep our economy running smoothly. We must also outline how people should set-out their daily routine, based on type of job, the quality of the products and their experience level. This would further help people to improve their efficiency when working.

Inter-party Policy – This is just a brief outline of how I view the running of the party itself. Foremost in many minds is what we will be doing about the Country President elections. I feel that we should pursue an alliance with other parties similar to our own, and run a candidate together. Last time we took over 60-votes, which would have been more than enough to swing the results one way or another. We proved that we can have an impact on what happens, and that others should pay us more heed. I believe that we now have a better position to deal from, and can hold a little more sway in proceedings.

However, while I will try and seek out an alliance with other parties, I will hold a poll within the party to see who we believe should run. Anyone can nominate themselves, and we will all make the decision together. Once that is decided, we will organise the manifesto and advertisement a good few weeks before the elections themselves. This is so we will not be caught unprepared should the negotiations with other parties prove fruitless.

Another concern lately has been administration and forum-access. The setting up of a debate section was a set in the right direction. We must smooth out our differences through reasonable discussion, and should never resort to simply taking a person’s access away. I can guarantee that I would not do this without first having seen both sides, and never without good reason.

Note – These are just the bare-bones of policies, and a place from which we can build upon. They are not set in stone, but they are the direction I will seek. The party will discuss them as a whole, and we will all have a say, no matter how long we have been a member. Everyone will get their chance.



Vote smart. Vote Bland.



Internal Affairs

I have already outlined some potential solutions to our problems within the party above. Now I’d like to elaborate on some other points, and really get into the nitty-gritty of different aspects which are of a concern to the party’s current membership.


Wikipedia – This is so horrendously outdated that it isn’t even funny anymore. If people are to know more about us, then we need a place where they can easily find information about our party and come to their own conclusions. We are the only Top 5 party without a properly organised Wikipedia page, and this is something I will seek to rectify. The task of updating our page will be placed under the jurisdiction of the Public Relations team. However, there is no point in having a Wikipedia page if we have no policies o write about, which is why I am really pushing for them to be implemented now.

Recruitment – Another issue which has been plaguing the minds of many members lately. This will of course be the responsibility of the Recruitment Manager, but I hope to aim them in a slightly different direction than previously. I believe that the party needs to return to its roots regarding recruitment, and really try to reach out to newer players. As such, I shall be directing the recruitment team to seek out and message any new players who are yet to be affiliated with another party. I have also seen from experience that many newer players go onto the in-game chat room throughout the day, and so I intend to get some willing volunteers to remain the room and help out anyone who might happen across it. But again, without proper policies, we cannot have a clear message to tell people. I cannot stress the importance enough.

Forums – It looks to me that our forum has become cluttered and flooded with all kinds of useless threads and information, making it quite confusing for anyone new to the party. We must make this area streamlined and easy to navigate, so that people can find the information they need much quicker. I shall be taking a few days to clean up the forum as I see fit and to really put it in order. Then it might not be quite so overwhelming for our new members.

Goals – This is an extremely important section, and one which I shall divide up slightly for easier reading. These will be what I intend to do with our party game-wise, as opposed to forum based legislation.

Congress: I truly believe that with the right organisation and coordination, we can get between four-six Congress members this coming month. We came tantalisingly close to achieving the target of six members in our first month of running, so it easily within our power to reach it.

Membership: Whereas other candidates have stated what position in the rankings they want our party to be in, I think it is more important to look at membership numbers. As such, I will not be seeking any specific place amongst the other parties, and will instead aim for a membership number of over 200. I think this is a reasonable margin, and one which can be reached quickly.

I think you’ll agree that this is a reasonable set of goals and targets, which we can all achieve by working together as a group. But these are just the first few steps in the right direction. There is so much more that we shall need to do in the coming month.


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Haven’t you heard about the word?

Wrapping-Up

That’s the end of my bit for now. I hope you find what I have written useful, and trust that you will make the right decision come tomorrow. By which I mean the right decision for yourselves, regardless of whom you choose. Together we shall take this party forward, and lay down a stable foundation for future months from which we can continue to build. Thank you for taking some time to read my article, and I hope to hear from many of you soon. If you have any questions or queries regarding my manifesto (or whatever else), feel free to ask me either in the comments below, or via a PM.


Till next time.

Your Resident bland man,



Blandman