Feature: presidential candidates overview
Day 405, 19:40
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Published in Thailand 
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by
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by Wisdom
December 29, 2008, 19:29,
Reported by The Thai Gazette
- Bangkok and Chiang Mai - As the presidential election of January 2009 approaches, two candidates have been nominated and several others are weighing whether to join the race. This feature article will provide an overview analysis of each potential candidate.
Antonio Salgado: can he erase the tainted record?
Antonio Salgado, one of the two current candidates, without doubts has a very high chance to become eThailand's next president. He is the leader of the TNT Party, the polity with massive manpower that has gained the most seats in several successive congresses as well as holding the presidencies prior to the victories of Jack Roberts in November and Korbin King in December.
But that advantage may be a curse as well, as the election campaigns will bring up the memories of the older eThai citizens of the various abuses and grafts committed by the TNT-dominated administration under the leadership of Antonio's predecessor, former president and self-proclaimed emperor Rockman 9, now permanently banned from eRepublik.
Antonio undeniably has worked very hard to redeem himself in the recent months, improving his interactions with the older citizens and building relationships with the younger members as well as dedicating himself to helping the government, but the pain and suspicion may run too deep to be undone easily.
"Antonio is a wolf in sheep's clothing. He's been playing nice for the past month, hoping to lull the Thai population into believing he's changed and become respectable...but I don't think he has. He'll forever be remembered by some of us as Rockman's mouthpiece and right hand of corruption," said a prominent eThai politician.
Another well-known politician gave a picture of the dull economy under Antonio's leadership with the return of cronyism that was so much criticized in the past.
"I still can't trust him. His loyalty by all appearances remains to TNT first, and eThailand second. He remains a promoter and proponent of TNT's "economy within an economy", and has since the last elections made statements alluding to his continue conviction that what's good (economically) for TNT companies is perforce good for eThailand at large. I worry that a TNT presidency will see a return to nepotism... perhaps not this time born of greed and malice, but rather of lack of imagination, and a desire for simple, familiar structures," said the politician.
Antonio himself disregards the issues, emphasizing that he has returned the money gained from the so-called Czech Hospital Scandal, and said that it would not affect his campaign for the presidency.
"I really don't care, the money I received was given back... also they can use and say whatever they want... I have nothing to say," said Antonio.
ViusSolaris: people's leader or agent on mission?
In contrast to Antonio who is in the spotlight, the other official candidate, ViusSolaris, is practically an unknown figure to most of the eThai citizens, while his Democratic People's Republic has not had a role in the eThai politics, but he has stated his reason.
"Right now the well-being of the people is my greatest concern. I was promised a land of opportunities when i moved here only to find it hard to survive here for a working person," said ViusSolaris, adding that his policy is to "create stately owned food and gift industries with decent prices so that the people can prosper and Thailand become a major country."
It could be a joke, but his comment that "as the Peoples Republics president I will crush you all beneath my heels!!!" is quite reminiscent of the I-am-the-emperor-so-bow-to-me attitude of Rockman, echoing with the fear that he could be "an Iranian parachutist", who is part of a take-over mission.
ViusSolaris himself said he is from e-Iraq, a country that does not exist in eRepublik.
Korbin King, Guy Kilmore, and Ealb: is there future for the alliance?
On the other bench are the Thailand Reform Party (TRP), Sabai Unity Party (SUP), and Thailand Defense Party (TDP) as well as some minor parties, while Nobelis has already endorsed Antonio.
The TRP, SUP, TDP, together with the now-suspended Democratic Party of Estonia, have formed a tight alliance in the recent months in efforts to consolidate votes for a single candidate against the TNT rival. Their earlier endorsed candidates, Jack Roberts and Korbin King, have become presidents of November and December respectively, but there currently seems to be some kind of hesitation, if not subtle disagreement, of who they will endorse in the upcoming January election.
If their partnership survives, a single strong candidate will emerge. But in other cases, eThailand may, for the first time in months, see a couple of veteran non-TNT politicians competing with each others.
Incumbent president Korbin King, also the TDP leader, is highly admired for his extensive work with the eUnited States as one of the most-remembered presidents in that country, but some eThai politicians have pointed out his performance appears somewhat lacking during his uneventful term. As of today, King said he has not decided whether to run for another term.
"He's hardly been inactive, but it's looked that way at times. We always knew he as a man of few words, and we always knew that in his heart of hearts he's a minarchist," said a congress member who also added that "he's been a fair and transparent administrator, and has made no action that merits complaint."
SUP leader Guy Kilmore is also a potential candidate that has been publicly urged by many, including former president Jack Roberts and former congressman Jesse, to run for the presidency.
"He's a good choice for many reasons. He's been an active voice in Thailand for a decent amount of time. He's open to listening to suggestions and ideas. He's respected by virtually every citizen no matter the party. And he's not Antonio," said Jack.
Guy has not responded to the requests from his colleagues yet due to the busy personal life, but said he would make his intention known later this week.
TRP leader Ealb, although speculated to be interested to join the race, has confirmed that he would not compete for the January presidency.
"While I could probably devote as much as our last two presidents, I'm a) not sure I could, and b) I'd ideally prefer a president who was able to be more active," said Ealb.
The Thai Gazette is a quality newspaper dedicated to covering political and economic news of eThailand. It does not claim to be neutral, but it will certainly try to be as much objective as possible.
Reported by The Thai Gazette
- Bangkok and Chiang Mai - As the presidential election of January 2009 approaches, two candidates have been nominated and several others are weighing whether to join the race. This feature article will provide an overview analysis of each potential candidate.
Antonio Salgado: can he erase the tainted record?
Antonio Salgado, one of the two current candidates, without doubts has a very high chance to become eThailand's next president. He is the leader of the TNT Party, the polity with massive manpower that has gained the most seats in several successive congresses as well as holding the presidencies prior to the victories of Jack Roberts in November and Korbin King in December.
But that advantage may be a curse as well, as the election campaigns will bring up the memories of the older eThai citizens of the various abuses and grafts committed by the TNT-dominated administration under the leadership of Antonio's predecessor, former president and self-proclaimed emperor Rockman 9, now permanently banned from eRepublik.
Antonio undeniably has worked very hard to redeem himself in the recent months, improving his interactions with the older citizens and building relationships with the younger members as well as dedicating himself to helping the government, but the pain and suspicion may run too deep to be undone easily.
"Antonio is a wolf in sheep's clothing. He's been playing nice for the past month, hoping to lull the Thai population into believing he's changed and become respectable...but I don't think he has. He'll forever be remembered by some of us as Rockman's mouthpiece and right hand of corruption," said a prominent eThai politician.
Another well-known politician gave a picture of the dull economy under Antonio's leadership with the return of cronyism that was so much criticized in the past.
"I still can't trust him. His loyalty by all appearances remains to TNT first, and eThailand second. He remains a promoter and proponent of TNT's "economy within an economy", and has since the last elections made statements alluding to his continue conviction that what's good (economically) for TNT companies is perforce good for eThailand at large. I worry that a TNT presidency will see a return to nepotism... perhaps not this time born of greed and malice, but rather of lack of imagination, and a desire for simple, familiar structures," said the politician.
Antonio himself disregards the issues, emphasizing that he has returned the money gained from the so-called Czech Hospital Scandal, and said that it would not affect his campaign for the presidency.
"I really don't care, the money I received was given back... also they can use and say whatever they want... I have nothing to say," said Antonio.
ViusSolaris: people's leader or agent on mission?
In contrast to Antonio who is in the spotlight, the other official candidate, ViusSolaris, is practically an unknown figure to most of the eThai citizens, while his Democratic People's Republic has not had a role in the eThai politics, but he has stated his reason.
"Right now the well-being of the people is my greatest concern. I was promised a land of opportunities when i moved here only to find it hard to survive here for a working person," said ViusSolaris, adding that his policy is to "create stately owned food and gift industries with decent prices so that the people can prosper and Thailand become a major country."
It could be a joke, but his comment that "as the Peoples Republics president I will crush you all beneath my heels!!!" is quite reminiscent of the I-am-the-emperor-so-bow-to-me attitude of Rockman, echoing with the fear that he could be "an Iranian parachutist", who is part of a take-over mission.
ViusSolaris himself said he is from e-Iraq, a country that does not exist in eRepublik.
Korbin King, Guy Kilmore, and Ealb: is there future for the alliance?
On the other bench are the Thailand Reform Party (TRP), Sabai Unity Party (SUP), and Thailand Defense Party (TDP) as well as some minor parties, while Nobelis has already endorsed Antonio.
The TRP, SUP, TDP, together with the now-suspended Democratic Party of Estonia, have formed a tight alliance in the recent months in efforts to consolidate votes for a single candidate against the TNT rival. Their earlier endorsed candidates, Jack Roberts and Korbin King, have become presidents of November and December respectively, but there currently seems to be some kind of hesitation, if not subtle disagreement, of who they will endorse in the upcoming January election.
If their partnership survives, a single strong candidate will emerge. But in other cases, eThailand may, for the first time in months, see a couple of veteran non-TNT politicians competing with each others.
Incumbent president Korbin King, also the TDP leader, is highly admired for his extensive work with the eUnited States as one of the most-remembered presidents in that country, but some eThai politicians have pointed out his performance appears somewhat lacking during his uneventful term. As of today, King said he has not decided whether to run for another term.
"He's hardly been inactive, but it's looked that way at times. We always knew he as a man of few words, and we always knew that in his heart of hearts he's a minarchist," said a congress member who also added that "he's been a fair and transparent administrator, and has made no action that merits complaint."
SUP leader Guy Kilmore is also a potential candidate that has been publicly urged by many, including former president Jack Roberts and former congressman Jesse, to run for the presidency.
"He's a good choice for many reasons. He's been an active voice in Thailand for a decent amount of time. He's open to listening to suggestions and ideas. He's respected by virtually every citizen no matter the party. And he's not Antonio," said Jack.
Guy has not responded to the requests from his colleagues yet due to the busy personal life, but said he would make his intention known later this week.
TRP leader Ealb, although speculated to be interested to join the race, has confirmed that he would not compete for the January presidency.
"While I could probably devote as much as our last two presidents, I'm a) not sure I could, and b) I'd ideally prefer a president who was able to be more active," said Ealb.
The Thai Gazette is a quality newspaper dedicated to covering political and economic news of eThailand. It does not claim to be neutral, but it will certainly try to be as much objective as possible.
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Comments
Since the "emperor" time, Antonio has been trying to solve out our party and clean it up, looks like he's doing a great work on it.
Also, since Rockman's times... he's doing his best for our country, so... to me theres no way to think about Antonio beeing a wolf dressed as a sheep.
Guy Kilmore and Ealb are great persons too, I never spoke to much with Guy, but Ealb helped me out in the House Proposal that let us down the house taxes and let them be cheaper and with a better range of profit.
Great article/research
I also agree that Antonio has been trying his best to help the country and wouldnt be considered a dressed up sheep or whatever the analogy was.
As for KorbinKing, Guy Kilmore, and Ealb, I also believe they are welly qualified and if none of them run im not sure who will compete with Antonio.
And lastly im not sure what to say about the mysterious "ViusSolaris", he hasnt seem to have said much and Ive never even heard off him up until these last few days.
good article.
i´ve received yesterday a reply of a Pm i sent to virussolaris almost 20 days ago.
and i think that the person that said that i am promoter and proponent of TNT's "economy within an economy" isnt saying the truth. all my law propositions based on taxes and my argumentations are to all areas of eThai, of course TNT member have companies in all areas of the country, this people say that i am working to help TNT companies, but isnt true, TNT companies are working to help eThai... I ask people to point one single law that i supported or proposed as congressman that were only to "help" TNT-companies.
and i also have to thanks god that Guy isnt me, is very boring to talk with yourself 😁
I am still working in last details to show to the country a plataform, some guys already know something about it. I am sure mature eThai citizens can at least take a look at my plataform and tell me what they agree, disagree, want and expect...
There needs to be a person of the people and no wolf in sheep's clothing running Thailand!!
ViusSolaris will listen to the People and Your thoughts and ideas to make Thailand a prosperous nation!
Time has been out of my hands however that is why ViusSolaris has been quiet!
Comrades vote for the people vote for ViusSolaris!
A well written article. I will with hold any comments until tomorrow evening or day time of the next day.
It's good for Thain beeing such good quality candidates for president.
Good luck!
in my time here antonio salgado has been the the most impressive eThailand citizen. and to say that he is manipulating recruits is bogus and absolutely untrue. i was recruited by lagrange and arrived here with nothing to my name. i was able to comunicate with antonio within a few days and he helped me immensely. i asked him for advice on selecting a political party and he admitted that he had done some shady things in the past and he REFUSED favor himself or his party over another. he was completely unbiased and only intersted in aiding a new citizen. he has also been The most visible and actively productive citizen though i recognize there have been many more doing things behind the scenes. i was not here to experience his actions in the past but in the present, he has earned my vote and support for the Presidency of Thailand.
Please, the comments you heard came from?
Opponents? It has a lot of people for whom you get views of the only hates Antonio. Sometimes I think I get the part you like the story is omitting information, and a newspaper does not.
Look up information to more people, instead of just getting people to know that you will say:
"He did such and such"
Take care anymore.
I think Antonio has a very good chance of getting elected barring a viable alternative candidate from cropping up.
Yes Korbin King was uneventful. I didn't even feel we had a President. But credits to him for being not a bad President. He may not have been a great one but well, meh, it's hard really there's only so much one can do - unless you're Jack Roberts who devotes a substantial amount of time and has ideas to boot.
So if Antonio gets elected, he will be truly tested if he is the President of the Thai people he touts to be. I hope and wish that is so. To help him do that, the people (or opposition if ever) should remain vigilant and active. There are ways to mitigate or negate any damage a President does.
you mean this article?
http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/my-thoughts-on-our-presidential-candidates-703632/1
and also this one?
http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/an-endorsement-and-an-olive-branch-of-sorts-704293/1
Jack Roberts didnt say that he regrets, but he had suspects, that he never proved to be true( he never show numbers, i can say for sure that recruted members that enter my party arent "called" by me to do so, i always suggest them to wait one month +- in the country before enter politics)...after this declarations i resigned the CRO and was called by KK to work again.
Also i agree with you that jack roberts was a good president, but for me the only diference between he and KK is that he was more active in newspapers. About the coments, i have nothing more to say, they were lost, but everybody can see or imagine what is write there.( i dont even remember wich article).
I recommend you to do other thing Wooty, you arent good in telling stories you dont know about.
He said that if hindsight was 20/20 (if he could do it again) he would have appointed someone else. Wishing you could change your actions is regretting them.
What was wrong with Korbin King that makes it bad to be like him? During Robert's and Korbin's presidency we've had the wellness program and housing lottery and realistic taxes, we have a balanced budget- what haven't they done and what should they have done? Maybe if Korbin King declared himself emperor and donated himself and TRP members 99,999 baht we could all get along.
Ealb, i already say, i dont have time to spend searching bad coments. Also dont have reasons, if i apologize for them is that i regret, but this dont mean that i didnt say them or that they should be erased. Come on, maybe you are thinking i am too naive..one thing that i know is that deleting my old comments( even regreting them) would be a stupid thing.
I think that you have your reasons for not trusting me about this matter.
* Wooty, and what are you going to make with this money? You can make much more helping the country to grown and exporting somethings 😁
>Come on, maybe you are thinking i am too naive..one thing
>that i know is that deleting my old comments( even regreting
>them) would be a stupid thing.
Antonio, trust me when I say I wouldn't dream of considering you naive. That's the whole point.
And these comments weren't exactly old when they were suspected of "going away" - they'd have dated back 2-3 weeks at the time.
As to why I "have reason" to go back an dig through them still yet again...
>You want to tell a story, do it, but at least search the
>story if you dont know it or try not do distort it, because
>that way you just look like a squeaking panda.
...or so you said to Wooty trying to dismiss his comments above, including suspicions of "historical revision".
I must admit, the "squeaking panda" jab is a nice (or depending on how you look at it, nasty) tweak, given your cheerful historical participation in the charmingly infantile mimimi "squeaking rat" TNT game back in the day.
ealb, i start searching in economic forum articles from 2 months ago, but stoped when begin 3 months... i believe that topic( that wasnt mine, i just posted in one already made first) has 1 or 2 months +-. no?
And i am just saying that what wooty is saying is totally wrong. JR posted one( or two) articles where he "ask" if i am using the CRO as a "weapon" to recruit people to my own party( and companies), but wooty wrote that JR said that he was sure i was doing that...can you see the diference?
Like i said, i did a couple( or more) of bad coments and things, but i never give reasons to people question my job as congressman( was alwyas transparent) or as CRO member. And i also request that if people want to tell a story to at least tell it right or in an impartial way.
@Wooty:
>What was wrong with Korbin King that makes it bad [for Jack]
>to be like him?
To put it in perspective, Antonio yesterday lumped together our last three presidents as not substantially different: "if he have time and wish to run i think that [Guy] can become better president then the 3 last ones". Note he's not saying they're the same, but there's a strong implication that all are equally dismissible. Admittedly, Antonio for the longest time touted Rockman as a paragon of virtue an a tireless crusader for the good of all eThailand, so perhaps he's suggesting that he thinks Guy could be the Best. President. EVAR!!1!... but in the context that's not the implication one gets.
However, then as now Antonio never clarifies WHY it would be bad to be like Korbin or Jack.
For me, it seems that Antonio has changed from before. Power leads easily to abuse and corruption, but I feel that Antonio now is genuinely looking out for Thailand. I hope that is true.
Now, regarding those comments, it's clear that Antonio did delete some of his comments to show himself in a better light. You can see that here, where Ealb and Beorn are mysteriously talking to themselves:
http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/rockman-is-a-failed-president--683414/1
Perhaps Antonio deleted them in a rushed or heated moment, and now that it's so tangled and in the past, it's hard to go back and dig it up for an apology.
I am open to Antonio becoming the president. I think I fear a "relapse" or him becoming a "turncoat," but looking at his actions after the end of Rockman's presidency, I have the belief that he's changed.
However, I think that people who are recruited by him do tend to have a larger-than-life view of him. I'd advise anyone who has not been through the corruption of Rockman's presidency to read some newspaper archives from Ealb or Jack Roberts or Antonio, and look at some of the comments and form an idea from there.
The other thing that worries me is that many TNT members have not made a single comment since the Rockman Presidency, but are active every day. Are they all brought out of their caves every voting day?
Well, those are just my thoughts. Not that important.
N
i didnt say that Korbin and Jack are bad, just that Guy can be better then they were( or are, in KK case).
he is more active then both of them( media and ingame also) and i think that he can be very neutral and professional at his work. i know( correcting...i believe) that as many of you i dont have Guy entire trust, but he is one guy that dont pass this, he is always replying my PMs( and comments) about ideas. He is a person willing to hear all possible sides to take the best idea( i dont mean that KK and JR dont do this) and is always a "impartial" person in my point of view.
KK is a good president, but many people complain that he dont look VERY active( but is).
JR did a good goverment, but at the last month, at my point of view he lost some "points", blocking users in eThailand forum and not helping to create healthy discussions. When he was president i saw JR as a guy that want to make good for the country, this never changes, but NOW i think that he is also a person that mix too much "business" with "personal".
Nouveauk, as party president i recommend them to participate or at least read the news. Some of them do it, but others prefer. I cant force anyone to comment, i just request them: "if dont have an inteligent thing to say or something to add dont post plz."
Also i recommend reading my wiki page, Thai Nation together and the czech scandal wiki page 😁
'I cant force anyone to comment, i just request them: "if dont have an inteligent thing to say or something to add dont post plz."'
This is primarily why I am "not active enough" in the media. There have been many times that I started typing a post for a given article or in response to another comment, but then I realized that the comment was either irrelevant or not constructive. Erepublik has equal shares of "bad" posts and "good" posts. If I don't have a good/useful post, then I don't post.
As for ideas, I can't say that I have had any successful ones this term, but I think it's fair to say that I came up with my share. The presidential powers are very limited these days, so ideas are all we really have. Congress has much more power in my opinion, but checks and balances are very important. From what I can see, we have a rather radical congress at this time. Having a more reserved president, who just happens to have the power to make alliances and declare war, is an imperative measure to maintain stability.
Another subject that I tend to avoid in the media is Antonio's past. The main reason that I remain silent most of the time is that I arrived in Thailand just as the cleanup started. I missed most of the turbulence that citizens such as Guy, Ealb, beorn and JR were here to see first hand. Besides, they address most of these recurring points very thoroughly whenever the need arises. I don't see the need to add my two cents unless I am asked a specific question.
Well put Korbin. It is like the American media. If you are not doing anything bad no one notices you. You have done what government needs to do, keep things working without butting in all the time.
JR did a good goverment, but at the last month, at my point of view he lost some "points", blocking users in eThailand forum and not helping to create healthy discussions. When he was president i saw JR as a guy that want to make good for the country, this never changes, but NOW i think that he is also a person that mix too much "business" with "personal.
Actually I did a 24 hour ban on niceboy, at the forum. I didnt "block" anyone else. I also "removed" myself from the forum during that time period as I cant "ban" myself.
That action allowed us both a cooling down period, which under the circumstances was a perfectly reasonable action considering we both we acting out of sorts.
The rest of the paragraph you wrote is simply you voicing your dislike for me...which is fine. This is a game, but even now Im working with other parties to make a better Thailand, discussing ideas behind the scenes because of my lack of time to dedicate another run at the presidential office.
You've done some good work with the Recruitment Office, and I stand by my statement that if I was in office again, the next person I would appoint would be an independent, not affiliated with ANY party in order to avoid suspicions and conflicts of interest.