Join the new world

Today was meant to be a traditional campaign article day. My first official article was focused on diplomacy and although that should be the focus and strength of any new Indian Government, it won't be the only issue.



But I got sidetracked... by what you ask? By this question from a new player in Yuuva, "pls tell me how to stand for cp elections".

The more I thought about this question and its simple answer (secure the support of a PP), the more complex it became. Then I thought... why not write about the process. A window into how one person is going through the CP race.

I don't think it gets done very often but I think there is value in writing about it for the benefit of new players. So here is my campaign blog... if I had a campaign blog.



When did I decide to run for CP?

I knew I wanted to give the race a try eventually. Partly to answer the question of whether or not I could dedicate myself fully to a new country and have its citizens trust me back. Partly because we all need reasons to stick around and for me the media and politics has always been that reason.

When Alector asked me to be his VP and I accepted, I was setting a goal for myself to take the next step. When Alector ran into trouble and had to pull himself from office, I knew for sure at that moment I would attempt a run (I would not otherwise have run against him, regardless of how the month went).

The first step for me in a CP¨race was to start talking to people to measure the level of interest and if this was a good idea. Of course we all believe we would make good CPs, why else would we want the job... the important point is not what you think of yourself but how others perceive you. The feedback I got was very positive and so I took the plunge.



How do you get a nomination for CP?

For a party president (PP) the process can be very easy. You can choose to nominate yourself and none can stop you. However, doing so can completely ignore the will of your party and can severely limit you going forward.

When I took over as PP of Yuuva two months ago, I did so on the premise of allowing membership a more important voice if they chose to exercise that right. One of the ways to do this was by running a primary poll with declared candidates being presented to the party and voted on until one person garnered 50%+1 or more support.

Now appearances are extremely important, especially in a CP race. I didn't want to run the poll but the people that I thought might have time to do it (it is a fair amount of work), all said no. I had written an article on the 25th, the deadline for the poll to start was the 27th. I felt I had no choice. I would run the poll myself and I would deal with the appearance of a conflict of interest after. Then I waited.

Nobody expressed an interest to run.

I was expecting Hamturk to step forward but he never did. Then I had to debate with myself on what my responsibility was in chasing Hamturk down or just start the poll on time as planned. It's not like the Indian media is so full of articles that it would be missed. Also Hamturk had participated the previous month so he knew all he needed was a one line message to me.

Only a young Yuuva member stepped up and so there was a primary poll but one that would appear to all outsiders as a foregone conclusion. Hamturk would eventually contact me... 30 hrs after the official close of the poll and minutes before my publishing the article about the results.

In retrospect my duties as a PP should have inclined me to chase Hamturk down... if for no other reason than to mitigate the appearance of bias. By not doing so I angered the ICP who felt I had been unfair to Hamturk when they had done me a favor by including me on their ballot even though I didn't complete the proper steps. Anger noted, the mistake will not be repeated in the future.



How do you prepare for the job of CP?

You need to have ideas. You don't need to know everything or be an expert anywhere but you should at least have goals that you write about and communicate to your electorate.

And yes, in the case of India, if a candidate wanted to campaign on the basis on this single fact, "I will fight Croatia until we kick them out!". It is completely valid. It is a bit incomplete, people will expect you to explain how you intend on doing that, but it is nonetheless valid.

Then once you have ideas and a broad outline of where you want to take the country, you need to build a team around you that will help bring that vision to light. Building a cabinet can be one of the most challenging aspects of being a CP candidate.

Readers will judge you not only on the changes you want to attempt to bring but also on the people you surround yourself with. If you don't take your cabinet seriously, how can you ask that electors take you seriously in turn?

I started talking very early to some individuals and they have made me work hard. A lot have said yes to advisory roles but those stepping forward to shoulder the load are few. The thing is, a lot of active Indians have been in Government before, they know how much work it can be. We all measure our time carefully as it is very valuable... in the equation of life vs. virtual government, life usually wins. So at this stage I have the core of my cabinet but it still needs some firm YES before being complete. I want to strengthen my foreign affairs team as much as possible and my defense team could use a few leaders as well.



General tips and comments on running for CP.

* Don't run for CP if you can't take things in stride. During a race you will be analyzed, critisized and attacked. It is the nature of the position and also it is the responsibility of everyone else to make sure they are electing the right people. The fun thing about a democracy is that you always elect the person you deserve.

* Have at least one strong idea when you start your campaign. Don't try to re-invent the whole country, you won't be able to in one term and the amount of work required to lead a country is surprisingly high.

* Your cabinet is an extension of you. Have people that are strong where you are weakest. Bridge divides if you can with people that can work different groups. Avoid people who divide. They might be really effective short term, but long term a nation always suffers from the politics of division.

* Be willing to put a lot of time and effort in trying to be CP and know that there are never any guarantees. You never know when a mistake will blow up in your face, when a member of your cabinet will resign on you or when a total fabrication will rear up to attempt to take you down. Be philosophical about this, keep calm and push through.

* If a CP race makes you lose perspective and you forget this is a game, don't do it.

Those that missed it, I invite you to read my first campaign article here. Stay tuned for more.

Thank you.