The following is a letter to the editor written by Senator Klatonia. The only edit made was to bold the title, it was originally sent to me unbolded.
Opposition is just a word, anonymity is not a right but it’s not a problem and read the damn label
By Senator Klatonia
Evening,
I come to you tonight with heavy thoughts on my mind. I have spent the better part of the term so far far away from any real computers, so my vision of Euro has been limited to the browser window of a popular brand of cell phone. Now that I have time and a keyboard (as I’m back home), it seems necessary to position myself on a number of issues. I do this in the fair interest of those who have supported me, and even more in the interest of those who couldn’t stand the idea of my holding an office one more time.
Three issues have been hot : opposition, anonymity and mandates.
I have not spoken with the Speaker about the idea of having the Senate body act as an opposition party would in a Westminster parliament system. As far as I am concerned, I was elected under no banner but my own and no party line nor any restriction to my curiosity and inquiries should restrict my freedom of action as a Senator. The Senate is not the opposition : it is the législative authority, and its actions should reflect the opinion of the majority of its members, with whatever compromise they can make between their agendas. These agendas are not forcibly those of the Executive, and that’s fine. If there was an opposition, it would be from a recurrent minority of Senators who do not share the opinions of a recurrent majority. We’ll blow up the bridge when we get to the water, so I’ll speak with Oliver first, then consider my options, then do what I feel is best for me and what is best for Europeia – which, it might be hard to believe, is what I do pretty much every time I make a decision hère.
If anonymity was a right, we would not have extensive background checks for citizenship. However, the way to deal with that is up to everyone. I wish not to impose my paranoïa or my desire to expose those who vilefully believe otherwise than I do. Seriously, I debate ideas, not persons, so I could not care less about who writes an idea in a newspaper. If you do… fine. But remember : while they don’t have the law on their side, you don’t have the monopoly over values, either.
Final-lay, mandates. Ahhh… was I elected with a mandate? No. I was elected. And I was completely transparent. I said I was going to vote against Senators for the Cabinet, and I did. That doesn’t mean I support the proposed ‘opposition’ system. It means I am following a predictable pattern of principles and reflexions. How predictable? It’s in my platform. The fact that it's predictable also means that I can be negotiated with, with relative ease, if one takes a minute to do so.
I was not elected with a mandate – because I know for a fact that many voted for me DESPITE disagreeing strongly with me on certain issues. They still did, though, and the other who did vote for me were liable to read the damn platform and vote either on the program or on the man. In the end, I assume people read the f-cking label before they buy anything.
Opposition is just a word, anonymity is not a right but it’s not a problem and read the damn label
By Senator Klatonia
Evening,
I come to you tonight with heavy thoughts on my mind. I have spent the better part of the term so far far away from any real computers, so my vision of Euro has been limited to the browser window of a popular brand of cell phone. Now that I have time and a keyboard (as I’m back home), it seems necessary to position myself on a number of issues. I do this in the fair interest of those who have supported me, and even more in the interest of those who couldn’t stand the idea of my holding an office one more time.
Three issues have been hot : opposition, anonymity and mandates.
I have not spoken with the Speaker about the idea of having the Senate body act as an opposition party would in a Westminster parliament system. As far as I am concerned, I was elected under no banner but my own and no party line nor any restriction to my curiosity and inquiries should restrict my freedom of action as a Senator. The Senate is not the opposition : it is the législative authority, and its actions should reflect the opinion of the majority of its members, with whatever compromise they can make between their agendas. These agendas are not forcibly those of the Executive, and that’s fine. If there was an opposition, it would be from a recurrent minority of Senators who do not share the opinions of a recurrent majority. We’ll blow up the bridge when we get to the water, so I’ll speak with Oliver first, then consider my options, then do what I feel is best for me and what is best for Europeia – which, it might be hard to believe, is what I do pretty much every time I make a decision hère.
If anonymity was a right, we would not have extensive background checks for citizenship. However, the way to deal with that is up to everyone. I wish not to impose my paranoïa or my desire to expose those who vilefully believe otherwise than I do. Seriously, I debate ideas, not persons, so I could not care less about who writes an idea in a newspaper. If you do… fine. But remember : while they don’t have the law on their side, you don’t have the monopoly over values, either.
Final-lay, mandates. Ahhh… was I elected with a mandate? No. I was elected. And I was completely transparent. I said I was going to vote against Senators for the Cabinet, and I did. That doesn’t mean I support the proposed ‘opposition’ system. It means I am following a predictable pattern of principles and reflexions. How predictable? It’s in my platform. The fact that it's predictable also means that I can be negotiated with, with relative ease, if one takes a minute to do so.
I was not elected with a mandate – because I know for a fact that many voted for me DESPITE disagreeing strongly with me on certain issues. They still did, though, and the other who did vote for me were liable to read the damn platform and vote either on the program or on the man. In the end, I assume people read the f-cking label before they buy anything.