Kelssek's domestic politics thread

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For convenience I’ll be posting political developments in Kelssek here. For more betterness, see the http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=549096 I will respond to things posted either there or here, if appropriate. The formatting etc. looks better on Jolt, though.


Polls are heartening news for Drapeau

By: Shyam Rama
January 5, 2009

Early polling shows a strong cushion of support for President Dominique Drapeau as he prepares to face a recall referendum on January 26.

In a poll conducted by the polling firm Digita, 63% said they were opposed to recalling Drapeau, while only 32% expressed support. Similar numbers were reported from a poll conducted by the Kelssekian Press, which saw 65% against the recall and 32% in support.

So far, prominent political figures have declared neutrality in the public debate over whether Drapeau should be recalled. Prime Minister Peter Coakson and Leader of the Opposition Pierre Gautain, the two who were most involved in the most recent controversy over presidential activism, have both avoided commenting on the recall. Supporters of the recall say Drapeau is a threat to the system of parliamentary democracy and is attempting to grab power for himself by turning Kelssek towards a semi-presidential system.

The Digita poll did highlight concern with the president becoming too involved in politics, with 52% saying they thought Drapeau was overreaching his office. An overwhelming 85% also said they preferred a parliamentary system to a semi-presidential or a presidential one. Although Kelssek has been under a parliamentary system by tradition and convention, either system is theoretically possible under a strict interpretation of the written constitution, in which the President has broad executive power, but which by convention is only exercised at the behest of the Prime Minister - a position which, despite its dominant political role, is not mentioned in the written constitution.

The campaign to collect the signatures for the petition to trigger a recall has been led by a multi-partisan group of backbench MPs. By law, the number of signatures required is 10% of the number of votes cast in the election; making the job somewhat easier as turnout had been relatively low during the 2006 presidential election, due to the fear of violence in the aftermath of the August Crisis. The result of the election, a 71% victory for Drapeau, was thought to have been fuelled by anger at the right-wing Patriotic Liberation Front militant group which was responsible for the kidnapping and murder of Labour Minister Justin Kermana as well as a bomb attack on the Trades Union Congress headquarters in Neorvins.

The move to recall Drapeau is thought to have been triggered by his sacking of former Prime Minister Pierre Gautain last month, although his use of reserve powers early in 2008 had also been questioned. He had rejected the initial Liberal-Conservative coalition proposal in which Conservative leader Joshua Anger would have been Prime Minister, and also refused to read the government’s Throne Speech after accepting a more palatable proposal with Gautain as Prime Minister.

While Drapeau’s motivation for the controversial move has been widely debated, according to sources, Pierre Gautain had requested a prorogation of Parliament, thus allowing him to escape a confidence vote, and Drapeau had been so incensed with the request that he removed Gautain instead, even though defeat in Parliament was almost certain.

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COMMENT AND ANALYSIS
Presidential recall election’s biggest issue not the president

Jan. 20, 2009

LORENE WALTER

Ahead of the referendum on whether to recall President Dominique Drapeau on January 26, you might expect people to be talking about whether or not he’s a threat to the parliamentary system and the merits of that system. Perhaps constitutional matters and whether the constitution should be amended to put into writing what has for so long been unwritten tradition would also be a hot topic.

Presidential elections, due to the limited impact they usually have, tend not to invoke as much interest or engagement as a parliamentary election. Even in this case, where the very question of whether the presidential election will continue to have a limited impact dominates, Kelssekians just don’t seem to be getting very exercised about it.

What is drawing a furious debate, however, is the other thing the nation will vote on next Monday: the national anthem. Thanks to a bill passed in the last session of parliament, in this, the first federal election to be held after the bill’s passage, a second ballot question will appear throughout the country on whether to keep the current wordless royal fanfare, or switch to The Maple Leaf Forever.

Opinion is decidedly mixed on the issue. Opponents of The Red And Blue decry its history as a tune associated with the old monarchy. After all, we went to a great deal of trouble to get rid of them, so why keep their little tune around? And they look enviously at other countries’ official anthems, with their declarations of how free/powerful/strong/harmonious/wonderful/homely their nations are, and their occasional declarations of willingness to die for the motherland. Maple Leaf is a perfect replacement and most people already treat it as the national anthem anyway.

The other side points out that in a multilingual and multicultural society, the words are precisely the problem. English and French versions are readily accepted and available, and even have official status already. But what about Japanese? Russian? Mandarin? Arabic? Welsh Gaelic? The various other languages spoken by the various groups in the country? As we often have to remind ourselves, just because we have two official languages doesn’t mean everyone speaks them. And anthems with words are just so… long. Might as well just hum the silly tune and get on with the school day, the professional hockey game, and Wednesday morning in the House of Commons, which are basically the only times we play the damn thing anyway. And isn’t there something unique about having a national anthem with no words? Isn’t there something, too, to be said for simplicity and not having the typical silly jingoistic clichés that plague so many other anthems?

We’re in this situation, of course, because back a century ago in the aftermath of the revolution, the fathers of confederation simply got caught up in squabbling over the anthem with the result that they simply compromised on the one that no one wanted. The socialists and the republicans wanted The Maple Leaf Forever, the Liberals didn’t know what to think, and for some bizarre reason the Tories went for Bing Arises which was about the conquest of Beaulac and extolled General Bing, who was universally reviled by the Beaulacois for bringing them under the rule of the foreign roi terribles. This after taking part in a violent revolution to dethrone Bing’s master. Perhaps it was an early manifestation of our complex relationship to our history and the Guedian Kingdom, but seriously.

There hasn’t been a poll done yet on the national anthem question, surprisingly, but then again all the pollsters in their infinite wisdom thought the presidential recall vote was the only one that mattered. However, in perhaps a telling sign, the organisers of the Alavaria Olympic games are scrambling to find someone to sing a national anthem at the opening ceremony, scheduled mere days after the vote. So, perhaps, in a sense, we will be changing our national anthem to the one it was originally supposed to be. It’s odd to be correcting a mistake like this over a century after the fact, but there we go.

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ELECTIONS KELSSEK
Preliminary uncertified results of federal election held on January 26, 2009.

Eligible voters (citizens of Kelssek aged 17 years or older): 153,687,299
Total votes cast: 95,119,457 (61.5% turnout)

RECALL OF PRESIDENT
Do you agree to revoke the mandate granted to Dominique Jean Drapeau to serve as President of Kelssek?

Acceptez-vous d’accord pour révoquer le mandat accordé à Dominique Jean Drapeau à être la Président du Kelssek?

Yes/Oui: 31,394,776
No/Non: 55,644,822
Spoilt or blank votes: 8,079,859

NATIONAL ANTHEM
Pursuant to Bill C-215 of the 40th Parliament, passed on October 14, 2008, do you agree that the national anthem of Kelssek should be changed to “The Maple Leaf Forever” in the form current in the National Songs Act (Bill C-227 of the 39th Parliament)?

En conformément à projet de loi C-215 de la 40e Parlement, adopté 14 octobre 2009, acceptez-vous d’accord pour changer à hymn nationale du Kelssek à la “Toujours la feuille d’érable” comme à la Loi Chansons Nationale (projet de loi C-227 de la 39e Parlement)?

Yes/Oui: 49,462,117
No/Non: 44,681,653
Spoilt or blank votes: 975,687

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2009 | EDITORIAL

Drapeau’s seizure of power to be applauded

With President Dominique Drapeau assuming the absolute executive power today and the abolishment of Constitution, Kelssek is moving into a new era towards the building of a great prosperous and powerful nation.

President Drapeau’s insight and capability are of incomparable merit and the illustrious feats already accomplished by His Excellency are a hallmark of what has come to be known as able leadership.

By the removal of the bickering and retarded government coalition of Green and United Communist Parties whose character only becomes more corrupt by the day, President Drapeau has expressed his clear desire for strong and able rule with no interruption or disruption by obstructionist forces. There now stands nothing in the way of a true paradise for people of Kelssek.

It is also clear that the scheming machinations and lies of the cockroach traitor Joshua Anger and his malfeasance cronies in the Conservative Party are acting to destroy the country and handicap the nation. Kelssekian people must not allow these scum worms to compromise the building of a great prosperous and powerful nation. As in the ethos of united we stand and divided we fall it is therefore better off without the partisan and division of the multi party Parliament.

Parliament has only shown its intense corruption and the feckless government of Peter Coakson is greatly to be detested. It is under the leadership of His Excellency that Kelssekians shall build a great propserous and powerful nation. All should applaud the revolutionary actions of President Drapeau and long may his illustrious reign continue.

5

When asked about this turn of events, Lord Vire Khaz of House Damis replied simply “groovy”. Reporters were unable to glean any more insights from him as he was distracted by the week-long celebratory peace bender with the leadership of Xiopothos.

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OOC: You’re a jerk Kel. I can’t believe you’re not from Alberta.

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— Begin quote from ____

OOC: You’re a jerk Kel. I can’t believe you’re not from Alberta.

— End quote

OOC: Err…I don’t get it…

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OOC: Kel is from British Columbia and so am I. It’s just that at first I thought he was from Alberta, which is a more conservative province. Plus it’s April 1st, I didn’t remember that for awhile either.

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— Begin quote from ____

— Begin quote from ____

OOC: You’re a jerk Kel. I can’t believe you’re not from Alberta.

— End quote

OOC: Err…I don’t get it…

— End quote

OOC; It’s a Canadian thing. Kelssek is TEP’s Canada by Proxy, like BL is TEP’s PRoC/PRoK by proxy. Alberta’s the most ‘right wing in view’ of the Canadian Provinces, and Coocoostan is saying that’s really left wing and perhaps he’s irritated by it, with the fact that it’s a change like that which is so horribly right-wing/dictatorship in some people’s eyes.

IC:

Clanntiarna Ryan Wilder of the Freehold Demesne, in Luma province, stated today that he ‘nearly punched’ the person who told him of the situation in Kelssek, saying ‘Political matters should be off the allowable things upon April Fool’s.’

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When informed of the news, Ludwig said “Pity, eh… Coakson seemed to be a reasonable man. Well, let´s wait and see what´ll become of Kelssek.”

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When asked about the matter, the Blue House Press Secretary craftily dodged the question, and continued doing so until reporters stopped asking.

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House of Commons Debates
2ND SESSION, 40TH PARLIAMENT
Wednesday, May 27, 2009

[Statements by members - cont’d]
and her tireless work is making the neighourhood more pleasant and promoting healthy community life.

On behalf of my consitutents I would like to wish Ms. Popovic a very happy birthday and thank her for all the work she has done for the residents of Hastings.

Ms. Teresa Wong (UCP, Latrobe North - St. Kilda)
Mdm. Speaker, this week, the St. Kilda Hockey Club has emerged as winners of the Hockey Kelssek Major-Junior Championship. The entire city of Latrobe applauds and celebrates the skill, passion, and devotion to the sport that has brought the team the honour of the Tavish Cup.

Their dedication and pursuit of excellence against all odds should be an inspiration to young people throughout this country. In fact, these young players can teach all of us about perseverance and sportsmanship.

They have brought joy and cheer to many people and we celebrate their achievement with them.

ORAL QUESTIONS

Electricity infrastructure

The Right Hon. Pierre Gautain (Lib., Leader of the Opposition)
Mdm. Speaker, the government has failed once more to provide the most basic sort of services to the people of Kelssek. The indefinite shutdown of the reactor in Noua Cymru is causing ripple effects and intense strain on our power supply.

Will the Prime Minister resign and allow the formation of a government that will take action to ensure Kelssek does not suffer from third-world standards of infrastructure?

The Right Hon. Peter Coakson (Grn., Prime Minister)
It is quite ironic, Mdm. Speaker, that the Leader of the Opposition is here berating this government for a problem that he created while in government. In fact, I recall the former leader of the Conservative Party, who was his public safety minister, stridently defending the decision to rush the reactor back into service and it is no surprise that now this government is having to clean up the mess they made.

[Translation]

The Right Hon. Pierre Gautain (Lib., Leader of the Opposition)
Mdm. Speaker, that past mistakes were made by members of my government I concede. But it is not the responsibility of that member for Mazinaw Southwest now, it is the responsibility of this government now in power, and they must do more to rectify the situation.

Can the government tell us when the reactor will be back in service and when the residents of Noua Cymru can stop dealing with brownouts just to keep Kirkenes running?

The Right Hon. Peter Coakson (Grn., Prime Minister)
This is a decision that will not be made by politicians who have no expertise in it, it will be for the experts who work with nuclear safety and energy every day. Mdm. Speaker, I assure Noua Cymru’s people that we are doing everything we can to resolve the problem.

[English]

Velocit Kelssek

Mr. James Thompson (KCP, Peachland-Westbank)
This Communist-Green coalition has flip-flopped again on the high speed railway, Mdm. Speaker. After railing against foreign ownership of infrastructure and formenting civil unrest and a blockade of our transportation infrastructre last December, he has now announced, with no public input, with no consultation, that a Pacitalian company will now own half of Velocit.

Why has the Prime Minister displayed such hypocrisy to the Kelssekian people?

Ms. Mary O’Leary (Grn., Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister)
Mdm. Speaker, the critical difference is that this government has not sold out the Kelssekian people and never will.

Some hon. members
Oh, oh!

The Speaker
Order. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister has the floor.

Ms. Mary O’Leary (Grn., Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister)
This government has done the necessary actions in a manner that satisfies the desire of the Kelssek people to have the democratic power over a critical piece of infrastructure, and to have that railway in the first place. The member opposite should in fact be applauding this sensible compromise.

Mr. James Thompson (KCP, Peachland-Westbank)
The Prime Minister has not been elected to his office. He has masterminded a coup in league with his allies in the Communist Party to bring down the previous government. He continues to tell lies to this House and to the people.

Will the Prime Minister admit that he is a hypocrite and has lied to the people of Kelssek, therefore he is unfit for this office, and will he submit his resignation today?

The Right Hon. Peter Coakson (Grn., Prime Minister)
Mdm. Speaker, that the hon. member does not understand parliamentary democracy or the history of this House is obvious enough. Let him not mislead people, we know full well how our system works.

Government conduct

Ms. Juli Polgaer (Lib., Don Valley East)
Kelssekians are aghast at the blatant hypocrisy exhibited by the Communist-Green government, Mdm. Speaker. My question is for the Prime Minister. Is it not true that as someone so close to Alan Kerk, and as someone who was in a government which never escaped the suspicion of taking bribes, how are we to know that this mysterious deal is entirely aboveboard?

Mr. Renaud Boullion (Grn., Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health)
What is this nonsense? Why –

The Speaker
Order, please. I remind hon. members that remarks must be addressed to the Chair at all times and furthermore, to all members, to refrain from making personal attacks.

[Translation]

The hon. member for Saint-Lambert-de-Lauzon.

Mr. Patrice Juilen (Lib., Saint-Lambert-de-Lauzon)
Mdm. Speaker, I believe my hon. colleague is referring to the Velocit sale to the Pacitalian SFR company. With all the government said about it when they were in opposition, it is only reasonable that Kelssekians, my constitutents, are asking why this deal was done.

Can this government prove that they are clean of corrupt dealings?

The Hon. Robert Shanklin (Grn., Minister of Transport)
I certainly hope the hon. member does not subscribe to guilty until proven innocent, Mdm. Speaker. If they have evidence of wrongdoing that is not fabricated by the Conservative Party let them produce it for all to see, but Kelssekians know this government is clean and this government is not going to give credit to baseless attacks on our integrity.

Mr. Patrice Juilen (Lib., Saint-Lambert-de-Lauzon)
Mdm. Speaker, this deal smells to heaven. This sudden turnaround on foreign ownership is simply inconsistent. Either this government is hypocritical, or it is corrupt, which is it?

[English]

The Hon. Robert Shanklin (Grn., Minister of Transport)
Mdm. Speaker, allow me to read a quote I believe is pertinent.

Right now, I think the Liberal Party is in crisis. There is a grasping and flailing and they are in search of direction and they must find it soon because as a private citizen, I would have trouble giving them my vote.

These words were spoken to KBC Radio One a month ago. Would the hon. member like to know who said that? It was the seventeenth Prime Minister, the former member for Lasalle, the former leader of the Liberal Party.

Electricity cuts

Mr. Clive James (Lib., Peterborough East)
Mdm. Speaker, the government continues to brazenly exploit the fact that the Conservative Party is seeking a new leader to launch all sorts of contentious laws and programs and fall asleep at the switch, literally.

They waited for the Conservatives to ditch their leader before announcing they were selling out the Kelssekian people. And now they are taking advantage to push through communism with the Worker Ownership Act and they are not doing anything about the reactor situation in Noua Cymru because they think we cannot hold them to account for it.

What does it take to get this government to stop playing political games and do their jobs?

The Hon. Anne Cressey (UCP, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labour)
Mdm. Speaker, surely the member opposite is not suggesting that every government decision must wait for a time when the opposition is ready to challenge it. If we are going to wait for them to get their act together we will not get much done. But this government is getting things done.

Mr. Clive James (Lib., Peterborough East)
Was is not these same parties which were lecturing us about civility and respect, Mdm. Speaker? Where is the respect here, for the opposition, and for the people of Kelssek and the voters of Kelssek? Where is the respect for the democratic process? None of that, Mdm. Speaker, they waited until they knew there was no chance of being defeated on confidence that this dishonest government chose to spring its hypocritical sell-out and they took advantage of the opposition when the party was in a moment of weakness.

How else do they plan to take advantage of the voters of Kelssek?

The Hon. Anne Cressey (UCP, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labour)
If the hon. member is saying the other side of the house is incompetent that is something we can agree on. Mdm. Speaker, there is this saying that if you find you have dug yourself into a hole, you should stop digging. Perhaps the hon. member should consider doing so. Our duty is not to make sure every opposition party is healthy and ready to oppose before we act, our duty is to get things done for the voters who expect nothing less.

[continues next page]

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Velocit to reach Aubrey following bilateral agreement

Jun. 23, 2009

GREGOR YEVALI
COOCOOBAD BUREAU

A deal has been struck that will bring the Velocit high speed railway to Aubrey, the government has confirmed today. The bilateral agreement was signed during Prime Minister Peter Coakson’s visit to Coocoobad this past week.

Under the terms of the deal, the Coocoostan government is to bear the cost of constructing the track extension, and will form its own company to maintain the track. Velocit will be responsible for the operation of the service.

While planning details are yet to be finalised, it is expected that the extension will be complete by late 2010. It will join the branch line of the Velocit Pacific between Neorvins and Langlois, with direct service to both cities expected.

“This is a great step in bilateral amity and cooperation. This link will greatly facilitate tourism, trade and business between our two nations and enhance the transportation links for the city of Aubrey,” said Coakson.

During his official visit, Peter Coakson also met with President Yuri Simonov and congratulated him on his election as President of Coocoostan.

“Coocoostan has gone through a very difficult period and we are glad to see that it has emerged once again as a healthy, constitutional, democratic state. I am confident that with President Simonov’s leadership, Coocoostan will become stronger and greater.”

Aubrey will be the second Coocoostani city to be included in the Velocit network, with existing plans for service to Coocoobad already proceeding.