Join the new world

Citizens!

It is election time again, and this month it is a 3-horse race with Huey George, Mr Immanuel Kant and Rory Winterbourne II seeking your support. I enjoyed putting together January’s Debate, so thought I would do another one!

The statements of the candidates can be found below
MIK
Rory
Huey George

Their answers are below, and the candidates are listed in the order they replied.

Hopefully what follows is a useful insight to how our candidates think, and may help you arrive at a decision as to who to vote for.

The questions

Just like last month each Candidate was first first sent five questions. However this time, they all received four the same, plus one tailored around their offering. They were each sent a sixth and seventh follow up question based on their answers.

For their answers below, I have italicised the questions, applied bold to their bespoke question, and underlined the follow up questions to highlight where they have been asked different things and to signpost what I hope are the most interesting Q&A’s.


MIK

1. What area of the eUK’s Governance do you think is most in need of improvement?

In my view the weakest area of the current administration is the cabinet itself. One of the most important aspects of leadership is delegation. If elected I would have an active cabinet each member of which would publish an article and be held to account. The danger we are falling into in the eUK is relying on one person to do everything but that offers us no sustainability long term if anything should happen in RL or if the Huey gets bored and moves on.

Building a strong cabinet will ensure long term stability and enable us to do more as each member of government plays their part.

2. Two prominent members of ‘the Cabal’ have several times called for abolishing what they call ‘the meta congress’. Do you take a view on if/how Congress can play a role in the eUK’s politics?

Congress has always been a very mixed experience for me. My worry is much of what some people call 'meta' is actually just discussing how to vote on in game policies. As CP I will value Congress' input into many of my decision making policies. Using the congress chat to hurl insults or ignoring it entirely are not acceptable positions. We might disagree on ideas, but we must disagree well.

I will also add that we all need to pay our respects to the current Speaker CV who has been instrumental in getting congress back on track. My hope is he will continue to bring the country together.

3. There’s been increased attention on the work and aims of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over the past two months. Can you outline what you see the purpose of the MoFA as being?

In my manifesto I outline that I will be abolishing the role of MoFA. Instead I will be merging the MoD and the MoFA into a single ministry. For too long our MoFA has done nothing while others do all the work. The largest challenge for the MoFA is managing relationships to keep our TW's active under my proposal having Defence and Foreign Affairs working closer together can only increase our stability and ability to manage our TW's.

4. What three words sum up your campaign?

Unity, Innovation, teamwork


5. Your manifesto places a lot of emphasis on having an active Ministry of Defence and Foreign Affairs - how will you break the pattern of Ministers being inactive?

Having an active cabinet is crucial to a strong government. The issues with inactivity of the previous MoFA lasted for months with no action being taken. It was only after Congress began asking about the inactivity did the CP act.

I pledge that any cabinet member not doing a sufficient job will be removed and replaced. However, more important than sacking people is choosing a cabinet which knows the expectations and responsibilities of serving in government.

I will make myself available to help support and train members of my cabinet and have deputy ministers so more players can get involved even if they don't have enough time to serve as a full Minister.

6. You talk about an active Cabinet and Delegating, but you want to remove what many have felt is an important Ministry. Do you see this as a contradiction, and can you tell me more about how you see a MoDaFA being staffed/ran? What would it be doing?

Having one central ministry allows for better coordination of our TW’s. The Ministries will be joined but I am not going to restrict the position to just one person, I want to see it run as an active team who can coordinate military and foreign affairs issues, which will allow more time and energy to go into these two vital functions rather than running them in silos.

For too long the roles of MoFA and MoD have been too disjointed and haven’t worked closely enough. Having a joint ministry is a positive way forward.

7. You pledge to remove inactive Cabinet Ministers but I observe that a MoD War Game was discussed several times by yourself and has not happened. Would you have sacked yourself this month, and can you tell us why the WG didn't take place? Were there any barriers?

This term I voluntarily agreed to do some work Surrounding the war-game.

This had been planned and organised with a TW partner but was agreed to be delayed when SHA (who floated the idea this time around) launched his article calling for interest in his ‘wolf pack’ suggestion.


Rory

1. What area of the eUK’s Governance do you think is most in need of improvement?

I believe CP candidates should be more open to shaking things up on a monthly basis. This period should encourage candidates to introduce fresh concepts, discard ineffective or overly demanding old ones, and foster a dynamic political environment.

Currently, we are burdened with the simultaneous implementation of every idea ever proposed, leaving one individual to bear the responsibility due to a poisoned political landscape that hinders collaboration. Take, for instance, Appleby's Navy-esque proposal—temporarily pausing existing MoD initiatives and redirecting resources to test this idea could be a worthwhile experiment and an interesting addition to a manifesto.

2. Two prominent members of ‘the Cabal’ have several times called for abolishing what they call ‘the meta congress’. Do you take a view on if/how Congress can play a role in the eUK’s politics?

I assume the vocal members are fervently brandishing an outdated peace treaty, using it to claim that meta opinions go unheard. Our focus should be on collaborative efforts, supporting new players, and recruitment, but Congress hinders these goals. It's time to put it out of its misery, much like a rabid dog, and remove the obstacle it has become to the nation's growth and general well being.

3. There’s been increased attention on the work and aims of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over the past two months. Can you outline what you see the purpose of the MoFA as being?

I see it as more of a journalistic role, creating summaries of world events to inform the nation. It's an extremely difficult role to fill.

4. What three words sum up your campaign?

Godzilla go rawr.

5. If elected what single change would you make which you feel would have the biggest impact on the eUK?

I’d install a dictator and dissolve Congress.

6. Pluckier Congressmen such as myself might suggest that with the right engagement and activity Congress could be a good nexus for collaboration. If you went ahead with abolishing it, how would you foster collaboration and open dialogue to fill that gap?

The current state of Congress is quite toxic, and despite the best efforts of plucky Congresspeople is lacking substantial collaboration. Introducing a dictator opens up possibilities for exploring different government types. Abandoning the closed Congress model and enabling the entire nation to vote on issues eliminates toxic scenarios and gives a voice to those unwilling to be part of the congressional system.

7. How would a Dictatorship avoid the un-dynamic, non-collaborative characterisation of the Presidency outlined in your answers?

Becoming CP might seem overwhelming for new players, but having the support of an experienced dictator guiding them through the daily tasks could inspire a new wave of leaders. Additionally, the flexibility to hold elections whenever needed* addresses situations like someone going AWOL and comes with the added assurance of zero risk to the treasury being pilfered.

*I clarified this with Rory - Dictators can pass the commandership of the Dictator-MU on in order to pass on the Dictatorship itself. In the event of going AWOL the candidate highlights the ability to liberate a nation and set up a new regime.


Huey George

1. What area of the eUK’s Governance do you think is most in need of improvement?

While I believe the eUK excels in all aspects of Governance, it's crucial not to become complacent. I see potential for enhancement in the area of participation. This could be achieved by actively acknowledging and understanding how individuals wish to engage in eUK's Governance. It involves listening to diverse opinions, thoughts, and views with an open mind and fairness. Balancing critical debate with reflective thought is key, allowing space for different perspectives and discouraging dominance by any single individual.

2. Two prominent members of ‘the Cabal’ have several times called for abolishing what they call ‘the meta congress’. Do you take a view on if/how Congress can play a role in the eUK’s politics?

Regarding the role of Congress in eUK politics, I emphasise my consistent collaboration with Congress throughout my terms as CP. The government should actively engage with Congress, fostering mutual respect for collective choices. Even in cases of prior disagreement, Congressional members should trust the government's decisions. Congress should promote a participatory spirit, as detailed in my response to the first question on governance.

3. There’s been increased attention on the work and aims of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over the past two months. Can you outline what you see the purpose of the MoFA as being?

The MoFA's purpose lies in maintaining and enhancing our neutral and considerate strategy, which has proven successful over the years. As a respected country and training war partner, the MoFA should actively contribute to the cabinet. It should work to strengthen our international relationships, stay informed about global events, and highlight any that may impact our nation.

4. What three words sum up your campaign?

Strengthen, Improve and Innovate!

5. Last month we discussed your ambition to foster community cohesion, how have you approached this over the course of the term and do you feel it is working?

I've actively engaged with all members of our community and Congress to foster productive connections. Finding common ground, expressing appreciation, and understanding each other are fundamental. Valuing a diversity of viewpoints as a reflection of our diverse playstyles is crucial. This approach has resulted in the re-discovery of common ground and increased open and constructive dialogue among players who were once adversaries. While progress has been made, there is still work to be done, requiring time for reflection and healing so all feel that they can freely participate.

6. In reference to collaboration, communication and engagement several members of the public and Congress have been vocal about the challenges they have getting info from Cabinet, and the Government's interactions with Congress are typically updates about Training Wars or Donate requests. What more do you think can be shared with Congress and the public in the interests of a "participatory spirit"?

It's a little difficult to address this one as the feedback is unspecific. However the Government operates under principles, one being that transparency is crucial and that all information can be shared. In addition the nature of our interactions with Congress is a mutual process where we both shape it.

From past experience, the more specific and clearly defined an information request can be made by a player the better. This ensures that the government can share accurate information, meeting the expectations of the player who initiated the request.

Taking these thoughts one step forward, in the interest of participation, the Government can better support players in defining their information requests so they are more targeted.

7. To what degree do you think Cabinet members should role model the values described in your answers to the other questions?

I have some expectations that cabinet members should model the values I described, however while I try to be empathic and try to see things from others perspectives I do sometimes struggle, So like the UK it’s where a diversity of viewpoints should be a valued commodity as this reflects the diversity of playstyles we have in the UK. It’s useful to have a diversity of viewpoints in my cabinet as it’s invaluable to helping the UK improve and innovate.


The Verdict

Well this reporter will forgive any reader for wanting to shout Go-jira, Go! but it is interesting to note the similarities between two of the candidates who are willing to articulate obstacles to collaborative politics, in contrast to Huey who describes a greater satisfaction with the current political zeitgeist. I expect there will be citizens who feel some surprise at the suggestion that the Government has good communication with all members of the community. Hopefully this encourages a conversation about the flow of information from the Government which has been the subject of media focus over the last few months. As always readers are encouraged to share their thoughts and experiences.

Interesting points have been raised around what can block ‘political dynamism’ in the eUK, but it does not appear that every candidate sees dynamism as something to strive for, with Huey repeating an appeal for continuity which often characterises his campaigns. It is nevertheless a positive sign that some big ideas are floated by Rory as to what may raise the standard of political discourse in the eUK, which is something I am sure lots of people are becoming particularly concerned about.

Huey has a more contemporary track record to reflect on in these debates, which the questions have touched upon. It doesn’t feel unfair to say the candour shown by Rory and MIK in identifying what they see as challenges and issues they want to tackle isn’t always easy to locate in Huey’s replies, perhaps a reflection of his political acumen. There is of course nothing wrong with sharing successes, but in reference to some of the questions given to the trio you, as readers, will be best placed to judge the degree to which you feel they’ve answered the questions.

My thanks goes to the candidates for taking the time to respond. Hopefully this is an interesting or useful read to complement your decision making on election day and offers a window into the minds of the eUKs political actors.

Happy voting,
Mr Woldy