Dark Days Ahead?

Day 1,590, 21:11 • Published in USA USA • by Donovan Zoi


Less than a month ago, our nation was celebrating an historic fourth term for President Oblige and with it came the hopes of driving the last nail into the tactical farce that ONE had become at that time. Nearly a month later, we collectively find ourselves asking "Where did it all go wrong?" The sections below begin to tell the story and will hopefully foster discussion on where we can go from here.

About face for Bulgaria and Chile

The largest controversy of the March electoral cycle has been the fallout from the seemingly overnight departure of Chile and Bulgaria from their respective alliances, TERRA and EDEN. Soon after Bulgaria's announcement of its decision to leave EDEN they began their crusade against long-time adversaries Turkey, which has consequently suffered major losses to its remote territories for the first time in months.



More alarming is the rapidity with which Bulgaria and Chile are securing new MPP agreements with ONE nations, which will open up several questions for our new congress, as well as our first new President in four months. How long do we hold out any hope for a mended relationship with either of these two countries? With ONE quickly closing ranks with Chile and Bulgaria, when (if at all) should we strengthen our ties with their nemeses Argentina and Turkey, two nations whose reliability to the Terran cause is met with skepticism by many? Will a complete defection to ONE by Bulgaria tip the scales in the Balkans and Europe for months to come?

Changing landscape for allies - long-standing gains faltering.

We are already seeing the resurgence of ONE forces in areas like France and the Iberian Peninsula, where Brazil was ousted by Spain with the help of FYROM. Once our bro to the south, Croatia has also been vanquished from Mexico territory by its original owners, only to see it get quickly wiped again by TEDEN-friendly Colombia. Is there a stronger bond that can be forged just across the Rio Grande?





Canada woes

Our neighbor to the north continues its literal 3-ring circus as three identifiable factions fight for the hearts and minds of their countrymen. The only good thing to come from this predicament is the fact that each side presents its arguments through the Canadian and US media in such an eloquent and compelling fashion that the reader can easily see the merits in two of them.

However, such prized debate cannot begin to compensate for the distraction this standoff brings to a Terran alliance that is already reeling from repercussions stemming from Chile's expulsion. Canada has also made it clear that it needs to resolve this issue by herself, leading allies to think twice before even fighting for the Canadian government. This leaves nations like Ireland and France fighting to keep down a resilient UK when their damage may be better used elsewhere.

A Nation Divided

There's no question that Oblige's quest for a fourth term rubbed several people the wrong way. After all, that's another month that someone else has to wait to lead our nation. And since Oblige's affable avatar was the mascot for our 100% bonuses for his first three terms (he was President when I rejoined the game), he was easily recognizable by in-game players as a safe choice for President since nothing went terribly wrong under his stewardship.

It all came to a head in the fourth term, as political opponents* had finally found the ammunition they were looking for and brought forward impeachment hearings. Not only was he blamed for masterminding Chile's demise in the eyes of TERRA, he was also accused of ordering soldiers to vote against PTO efforts (which he subsequently apologized for). In the end, Congress fell short of the 66% needed to impeach in a 29-25 vote.

(*I feel I need to state here that the Daily Milkshake does see merits in the impeachment discussions, and that sponsors for impeachment may not have been acting on purely political grounds in bringing it forward. However, there had been a variety of political tactics on display in previous elections to the point that I can feel confident in labeling said sponsors as opponents.)

Where Do We Go From Here?

I think freshman congressman Zheng He said it best:

I suggest politicians in this country change direction. April 5th will be our first election after a 4-term president. And the first election in 4 months without an obvious front-runner ... you should be thinking about who will fill the upcoming huge power vacuum.

It looks like we have two solid candidates coming forward so far in Artela and Joseph Dinero, with other serious contenders possibly on the way. I look forward to a discussion on steps that can be taken to resolve some of the issues outlined above and look forward to participating in the debate.

Now, for the best part of this new newspaper, the Editorial section! Please leave your comments below.