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Dear Voters of eBelgium,
We have 3 candidates for CP this month, each sponsored by one of our major parties, each with a unique perspective on what eBelgium needs and deserves in the coming month, and each of whom has published one or more articles explaining why he thinks he should be the one to lead us. Supposing that many of you, like me, find it hard to sort through these articles published over a period of time to make good comparisons among the competing candidates, I decided to ask each of them to contribute answers to the following set of questions. I made this request at the same time to all and promised to publish their answers completely unedited by me. Of the 3, Prophexy, the BCP candidate, did not send a response by the stated deadline. I also said I would alternate their responses, and have attempted to do so, but found that some responses did not lend themselves to clear divisions among the questions. However, I have given you their exact words, straight to you from their own keyboards. I hope you enjoy reading their responses and that it will help you as you make your decision tomorrow.



MaryamQ First, briefly tell us who you are and why you wish to be President of eBelgium at this time. What do you think is eBelgium's greatest strength? Her greatest weakness?

Ward A quadriligual (N/F/E/D) real-life Belgian with a passion for this game. After being criticised for (in my view: constructive) criticism, I decided to pick up the gauntlet and 'put my money where my mouth is'.

Belgium's greatest strength is our (RL and in-game) ability to handle diversity and seek solutions to complex problems through negotiation and sense of compromise.
Our greatest weakness is that we're not conscious of our strength!

Kylero Excellent question MaryamQ! Well, I am Kylero, long-time eBelgian citizen (December of 2010), Certified Multi-Hunter (68 kills), and a firm believer that eBelgium's greatest days are ahead of her. I wish to be President of eBelgium at this time because our nation's core is broken. Our community is our core, and we have way too much infighting going on. We are losing skilled players left and right, and that is not only a probelm to our community, but also to our national security and our economic productivity. I am running for President because I feel that I can set the right tone for our national discourse, and inspire a sense of unity in our community because our community is our greatest strength, but can also be our greatest weakness, as we see now.

MQ Each of you has published one or more articles recently, detailing your platforms. Please recap these briefly, so our readers may compare more directly. What do you plan for the following areas?

Home Affairs

Kylero Great question MaryamQ, and I will be glad to answer it. First, I want eBelgium to be fun, productive, and united. I seek to accomplish this in all aspects of this game.

My Home Affairs agenda is this:
1. Suspend enforcement of the MoHA immigration recommendations. I will do this because the purpose of this in the first place is to cover the arse of the CP. But the CP has nothing to do with immigration/citizenship approvals. It is up to the individual Congressperson to approve citizenship, and bear the burden of doing so in a way that prevents dangerous elements from getting into our country. I will not tell Congress what to do, or suggest what they should do. I would like to see, however, Congress pass an immigration law that is fair, works towards our national security interests, and can be followed by Congress with adequate reprecussion should it not be followed.
2. Hunt down and destroy Multis! My administration will root out the cheaters amongst us, and kill them and their families (multi farms)! My Director of Multi Affairs (Nohjis) will investigate leads from concerned citizens, and if that results in a Multi execution, the tipster will receive a cash payment. My DMA will also investigate new citizens to seek out trends and deal with Multis accordingly.

Ward Home affairs: a realistic immigration policy, a RL flyer action

Foreign Affairs

Ward Foreign Affairs: neutrality, training war

Kylero My Foreign Affairs agenda:
1. Build strong diplomatic ties with all nations that share our interests.
2. Maintain a base of Ambassadors in most countries that will allow us to know the state of the New World.
3. Maintain neutrality.

Finance

Kylero My Economic/Financial agenda:
1. Keep taxes at an adequate level that will incentivize investment and promote economic opportunity for our citizens.
2. Seek to keep the BEF/Gold exchange rate at an acceptable level.
3. Explore new and innovative ideas to grow our economy and ensure the triple bottom line of people, profit, and place!

Ward Finance: strong treasury, transparent budget, medal donation

Defense/Military

Ward Defence/military: continue funding BAF and BTA, hire mercenaries should our sovereignty be threatened

Kylero My Military/Defence agenda:
1. Provide for TW exercises to keep our military trained and ready for combat.
2. Bring fun elements back to the military by giving out awards for exemplary action.

Any other areas you think deserve special mention

Kylero My Justice agenda:
1. Promote legislation and policies that are fair and comprehensible.
2. Seek to make the judicial system more equitable and fair. Explore options to set up an Appeals Court.
3. Promote gender, sexual orientation, and racial equality. Seek legislation that can ensure this in our community.

MQ We have had some turbulent times in eBelgium recently, with impeachments, resignations, court cases, and a lot of tensions between players. What do you propose to improve the atmosphere for all?

Kylero My plan to improve the atmosphere here in eBelgium is to have my administration/team set the example. Members of my cabinet will be held to a high standard in their communications in the game, forum, and IRC. If my cabinet members fail to set the example, they will be relieved of their duties, and our country might suffer from this. For that reason, I am confident that the team I have chosen will do their best to maintain a friendly and constructive discourse in eBelgium. EVERYBODY LOVE EVERYBODY (ELE). I propose that all eBelgian citizens, when they feel afronted in the forums, IRC, or in the game, that they immediately respond "ELE", and come back to the conversation later. This will make the person who offended you to take a step back and realize they may have gone too far, and an appropriate response from them should be "ELE".

MQ Why do you feel you are the best qualified to move our eCountry forward in the next month?

Kylero Great question MaryamQ, let me tell you and all of eBelgium why I feel I am the best qualified. I am an older player. I've seen a lot of changes in our country and the New World in general. I know what every member of my team brings to the table, and that's why they were selected by me. I am pragmatic, and see things very objectively. This often times puts me at odds with both "sides", but a lot of times I agree with and am supported by both "sides". I think everyone has agreed with me on one thing or another in the past, and I don't think that's something that everyone can say about my opponent. He's a great guy, but I feel that I'm the best choice for CP right now because I am a less polarizing figure in our national discourse.

MQ Please make a brief closing statement, in which you may address anything else you wish to say to the voters of eBelgium.

Kylero My fellow eBelgians, I ask for you to support me for CP tomorrow! I have a plan to move our country foward and a highly capable team to implement my domestic and foreign agendas. I can bring unity to our community, and can bring a background of experience in dealing with all other aspects of our society. My opponent is a good politician, but he is also a good trouble starter. I fear that should he be elected as CP, our country will stagnate from internal squabbles and gridlock. I fear that our most respected citizens will be persecuted for unwarranted crimes. We don't need this. We need to move forward, and by forward, I mean for(kylero)ward!

Thank you!

Ward Working along directives can help solve the enforceability impasse that Belgium encounters on the forum. Unity is a nice word but impossible to enforce - what we can do is rally around common projects, with common goals: the Belgian flag on the map, strong Belgian citizens.