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Hello eNetherlanders,

Today we find ourselves in the midst of a referendum to repeal the Senate and decentralize Dutch politics. The measure has proven to be hotly contested, mobilizing the elite players on both sides of the issue to a degree not seen in Dutch politics since at least the beginning of 2011. Its refreshing for this player to see our relatively sleepy domestic politics get a good kick in the pants. Between fighting off Poles and Croats, its nice to see eDutchmen can still come together to try to sway the nature of our system.

The referendum, in my opinion, seems to be spurred on by a healthy anti-elitist sentiment that pops up now and again in eDutch politics. Personally, I am of a mixed mind with regards to this.

On one hand, the elites and old political players in the eNetherlands really do deserve their aristocratic influence. They are that devote their time and effort into maintaining our country and the forum. Those who volunteer their time and effort should be rewarded accordingly. If this means having a political class of players distinguished by eDutch orders and awards, then good. They've earned it. I for one do not have a ton of time to do the things required to be a minister or a head of state. Heck, even in the times I've served as senator, I've not been able to be as active as I'd like.

And think about the degree of instability that would be introduced in Dutch politics if these players grew discouraged or dissatisfied with the mistakes new or different leaders would bring. It is a dangerous strategy for the masses in a weak nation to alienate the even smaller, competent group of people that currently shepherd society.

So for those reasons, I am happy to see the referendum failing, and wish that it does not pass. The elite players in this country deserve to have their hard work and political ambition rewarded. Taking the Senate away represents a move away from this sentiment.

On the other hand!

I believe many eDutchmen, myself included, are growing increasingly unhappy with the continued single-party rule present in the Netherlands. The Croatian PTO threat has faded into obscurity, and there seems to be no demonstrative need for our single party system.

Yes, the Croats may come back anytime. Yes, there is a suspicious number of Italians in the country. But these are political situations that might not go away for quite some time. Using these things as an extended excuse to continue uniparty rule means that we'll be in one-party rule for a loooong time.

I can anticipate the response. "So go ahead and make your own party. Nothing is stopping you!" While technically true, it is not actually so. Firstly, not everyone has 40 gold to throw around into making a party. Its fairly ridiculous that you can start a business that will stick around forever for 10 gold, but you have to pay 40 gold to start a party that may be wiped out at any time. A majority of folks that do have 40 gold to invest are perfectly fine with the single party system, as they are the ones that get elected.

Secondly, based on the fragile geopolitical position of our country, it would frankly be stupid to invest that 40 gold into a secondary party, even if you did have it! With the frequency of our country being wiped off the map, there is no guarantee your party would be around tomorrow or the next day. Poland has but to decide it wants all of the Netherlands and your 40 gold is gone by the end of the week. Trusting private citizens to start parties only works if starting parties are cheap, or if the existence of the state is relatively stable. eNetherlands has none of these things.

This is a tricky situation, but there is also a solution. If the elites of Verenigd Nederland truly care about the democratic process in eNetherlands, they should allocate 40 gold from our treasury's account of over 1046 gold (March Financial Report) to establish an opposition party. Place a trusted older player at the head of it, perhaps a common dissenter to the policies of VN or someone leading the charge for this referendum. Then at least our citizens will have the ability to make a choice.

This proposition will automatically be against the wishes of VN. Why would they want to spend money to harm their own political ambitions? There are a number of reasons for even them to favor this proposition:

1.) It will grant their wins greater legitimacy, as they will be sanctioned by a democratic process
2.) It will represent a good faith gesture by the eDutch political elites that will suppress acts of populism like this referendum and further grumblings of aristocracy.
3.) It will invigorate Dutch politics once more, making eNetherlands a more exciting place to live, and making government participation more open to newer users.
4.) It will give the government more reason to maintain the state, as they effectively lose double the gold when the Netherlands is wiped off the map.

I predict the grumblings of aristocracy will continue to grow without the creation of an opposition party. In losing West and East Netherlands, our Parliament is smaller. Yet, we still have (more or less) the same number of political elites in the country seeking office. When we had four territories, our parliament was bigger than our political populace, and those that wanted to participate that were moderately qualified could. That was how I got my second term in Parliament, and I was happy for it.

Now with less seats, these opportunities are closed. Look at our current Parliament:

Daniel Parker: 11th Term
Mael Dunbar: 5th Term
Auggustus: 11th Term
Pierre Delvaux: 8th Term
Shrubbery: 10th Term
Paladijn: 11th Term
PerfectMelody: 9th Term
hollenboer: 13th Term
Heikanu: 8th Term
Tim Veltkamp: 7th Term
Luuklag: 16th Term
ChristiaanB94: 10th Term
ArtemIvanov: 25th Term
Broersje: 6th Term
Antiko: 6th Term

Lots of repeat customers, some amazingly so!

Now in all honesty, VN has been good about getting some newer people in the Parliament. It is not all elites chosen by VN, and I think they know better not to have that. Sitting in this current parliament are also:

DevilofExcitement: 3rd Term
Kiecho: 2nd Term
NoTie112: 1st Term

But this move just seems a bit hollow to me without the democratic process. These three MPs are engineered into their government to give newer uses a voice, even if it is only 16% of the body. And what makes these people any better than any other newer user? These are the perils of single party rule, even if it is desperately trying to look like multiparty rule.

Now that seats in Parliament are at a premium, competition for them should be more important than ever. I'd much rather have the ability to chose from more candidates via an opposition party and not have a voice in Congress than have one predetermined ticket that has a guaranteed chance of having a small minority voice in Parliament. Let the political elites in the Netherlands win legitimately, don't have their wins preordained by committee.

I would love to hear what the the presidential candidates have to say on this issue of getting more competition in the Dutch system. I will be voting on the issue of creating more competition in Dutch politics, and I urge other Dutchmen to do (and declare!) likewise. I also urge the VN to consider donating the gold to establish an opposition party. It may threaten your control of eDutch politics, but it will pay off in the long run, both for your party and for the future of Dutch democracy.

Thanks for reading and consider subscribing! I don't write much, but when I do, it tends to be long and (hopefully!) well thought-out.

-Imperial Hammer