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To be honest, CP manifestos for me is boring. They all say pretty much the same thing. I support transparency etc. What does that mean? Will a CP candidate say I hate transparency and he/she will not be transparent? Others common issues mentions on manifestos contain the ideas of making eNL or their country strong. We support the army or we will have TW etc. MPP at times are common on manifestos as well but in the end are there any candidates that are against a strong country or MPPs etc? If that politicians wants to win no candidate would say anything otherwise.

While the CP manifesto is a good way to understand what he thinks are key issues, the CP manifesto is one of the means that the CP sets the agenda as well as framing the issues they think are points that the country should focus. While the actual contents and pledges should be viewed at an arm's length, but it is one of the way to see what issues the CP thinks should be address.

The best way to understand the CP candidates is to study their track record. It is best that CP's are part of the political system. It is best to elect a candidate that has served in congress or in the government. So instead of just looking at what s/he "promises" but look at their voting practices, comments in articles and the positions in congress debates that they take. This is the best way to understand the candidate.

Base on my time in eNL and my observations, the following are my opinions of the CP candidates.

Mattio

I know Mattio back in the days when I was in eNL. He was active in the party called LSD. Back in the day, I was the PP of GLD. Due to the leadership of LSD (Shakerr) and I do not get along on policy, Mattio often was the voice of to smooth relations. Overall he is a great politician. Mattio was also the ambassador to Germany which is where I got to know him well. He was active in #edeutschland and advocated the UNL lottery when it existed. Young and friendly are the best words to describes my memory of Mattio.

Mattio is experienced player. He is the VP and base on the comments I see him in the medias, he is a moderate. He wants to ease relations between the Belgians and the Dutch during the war. While I do not know did he operate behind the scene but in the comments, he encourage civil discourse and debate. He is a calm and rational player and politician.

I know Mattio is very active and still have good contacts around the world. Mattio understands the international relation theories needed for the post he seeks. Base on his compromising and calm style of politics, he should be able to unite his gov/ team. The only thing that we should pay attention to is his toughness. If he is CP, he must run the team and if he is tough enough "in a smooth way" then he would be a great CP. Be kind but do not let your team run you.

van Spjick

I met van Spjick relatively recently. I do not share a history like that of Mattio. Base on what I have seen, I am impress with his knowledge and grasp of our current situation. I bet him on IRC as one of the regulars in #eUNL. I know he was somebody in eNL but I did not know him well until I moved to eNL. In my time here I have a better grasp of van Spjick.

I know van Spjick did not favored the war too much. His main concerns is not about honor, pride, and valor etc but on policy only. Base on my discussions with him as well as his positions on debates, I believe he holds realistic and pragmatic views in foreign policy. While politicians in my party like Garmr and Auggy are more gun ho in their approach to the war, van Spjick is different as he is target oriented. There was no need to embarrass the Belgians for that is poor policy. Embarrass the Belgians would only create shame and hatred to a point that will not be forgiven. Despite our differences with the Belgians, they are important in NL policies.

Mattio base on my perception is very public politician. He comments a lot and he acts in a very "public" way. van Spjick on the other hand is not like Mattio in this regards. While he does debate or comments on things, he is not as vocal and he tends to act behind the scenes. He is not much on bla bla bla, but he excels in working behind the scenes to get things done. Base on my perceptions (it can be totally wrong but base on what I see) Mattio will be at public affairs and working the media while van Spjick is better at logistics and administrative aspect of the presidency.

Closing Remarks

It is hard to say which candidate is better. It is more depends on who you want as well as your personal beliefs on what the CP should focus on. If you like a lot of articles and public discourses, Mattio is the better candidate. However, if you think that the CP is an manager and should be good on administrating and enforcing policies, van Spjick is the better candidate.

Regardless of your personal preference, both Mattio and van Spjick are great candidates for CP of eNL. It is impossible to say which is better as it will be base on the issues that has yet to happen. If I am to predict base on what I said, Mattio is the better candidate in peace time when there are no crisis or huge problems. van Spjick is the opposite. I believe he will be a better war time or crisis president due to his logistical strength.

At this point, I have no more to say other than to wish the two candidates the best of luck. Regardless of who our next CP is, the real winners are the citizens of eNL.

Fun fact, this article contains 1150 words.

Konrad Neumann
-German President x3
-Officer of Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw (Political dedication and service)
-Knight of Orde van Oranje Nassau (Societal dedication and service)
-19 time congressman
-Advisor to the Raidoh Administration
-Former Minister of Interior of Netherlands
-Former Minister Foreign Affairs of Netherlands
-Former Party President of Green Liberal Democrats [GLD]
-Former Party President of Open Minded Germany [OMG]
-Retired Emeritus of the now defunct Phoenix
-Co-Author of the Frankfurt Treaty
-One of the negotiator, author of the Phoenix alliance under then President Donnie Bronco
-Vice/MoFA of eGermany from August to January
-Former eGerman ambassador to eAustralia, eUK, and UNL