Senate Candidate Interviews: Istillian & Pichtonia
Incredibly Intense Ideogenous Illocutions with Impressively Imposing Senate Candidates
Interviews conducted by improvident and icterical interviewer Westinor
Interview with Istillian
West: Firstly! In your opinion, which quality of yours makes you the best suited to a seat in the Senate?
Istillian: I'm going to go with a double whammy here, and say it's my experience and perspective. While most of my time has been spent in the Executive ministries, for me that has given me that perspective of how many of our laws functionally operate and affect our citizens. I've been around long enough to see how institutions like Arnhelm, or the People's Assembly have worked, and how policies like our Naval Guidelines actually affect staff and leaders. Coming off of some time away and seeing how Europeia is functioning too has given me a renewed energy to discuss current issues too, and I would say that helps!
West: that's fantastic and completely fair!! Having a fresh perspective is important and as you've noted in your platform, you're "dipping your toes back in" after a while away from public service - so, what is your primary motivation for getting back into things and running for the Senate?
Istillian: I've been slowly getting back into tracking the pulse of issues in Europeia of late, and I'm at a point where I think I could represent people well with my voice. I know I have the time to be an active Senator, and to be honest, I truly want to put my voice out there on some of the issues that I'm seeing to either challenge my own or other perspectives on incoming and current legislation.
West: Completely fair! If you were elected, then, which issues or proposals would you be prioritizing during your term?
Istillian: "How can we pass legislation to ban one citizen, Westinor."
Right now the big topic is Senate half-terms, which to be perfectly honest I am very cautious about. Having been a Vice Chancellor, something that I'm very aware of is administering elections. Having the Elections Act be so thorough with regulating and defining how the elections process is administered helped in this role. I know I would want to be very particular with the language for any proposed legislation, and with how this can be interpreted by citizens and our election administrators so as not to have loopholes or to confuse election terms. Especially noting the possibility of resignations in there too.
West: That makes sense!! Another somewhat issue I've been asked to touch on is the relationship between the Senate and the Executive - Where would you draw the line when it comes to the oversight over the Executive, especially in regards to FA?
Istillian: I would consider how I can cause the most problems for the Executive, as quickly and efficiently as possible. In all seriousness, I think we have seen how pushing for answers with our FA heads in the middle of sensitive and unfolding situations can be problematic, both for putting pressure on our leaders, and for potentially causing more damage. That doesn't mean that we can't request information or answers for issues, but timings is certainly key. For myself, I think it would be part of my role as a Senator to review what promises both the President has made in their initial campaign, review those against what ministers have set in their public speeches, and to query where they are up to - this is especially important in the mid to end of term periods, if absences are noticed, or if there is an area of accountability the public could use information on (talking about the FA space here). My view is that the Senate and Executive should be working to help each other, even if that means just having an open conversation with ministers about things they haven't achieved or have decided isn't a priority in the term - which is okay, just keep us updated!
West: that's definitely fair!! a healthy relationship is key and fostering communication that doesn't hurt the region's goals, especially at a time like this where we have undergone crisis after crisis, is important. Another key development we've seen in the past few weeks is the beginnings of a Constitutional Convention. Are there any new ideas you have in your mind which you plan to propose in the upcoming Constitutional Convention?
Istillian: The Constitutional Convention is, to put it plainly, an absolute beast of a project. There are a lot of people that are going to review this and provide input and thoughts in many areas. I suppose from my own background I'm particularly eager to review suggestions on how we can best adapt our Radio and Communications ministries, and if the Bar Association is something that continues, noting the struggles we've had with adapting our legal education outside of the Executive's domain. Many of these things could or can be resolved by a presidential campaign with the right ideas, some of these are matters to legislate. Right now, I will offer my perspective and ideas as part of the Constitutional Convention, but I am wary from suggesting new ideas right now that aren't particularly a part of the Senate's domain yet.
West: Awesome! A bit of a retrospective question - Which past Senator is the closest to how you want and expect your own term to go, if elected?
Istillian: Someone that may have flown under the radar since their service, but who served consecutive solid terms and worked on a lot of projects was Cove. They were always so thoughtful and creative with their ideas and seemed to have an endless energy in wanting to legislate and work as a Senator term after term - I truly loved that, and I hope that I can be half the Senator they were!
West: aw yay
we appreciate the cove shoutout!! Last question - In the event of disagreements, how would you balance between building consensus with fellow Senators while also maintaining the strength of the legislation originally proposed?Istillian: I certainly will not burn the whole place to the ground until I get my way. Honestly, something I work a lot with in RL, and that is a fundamental part of wanting to see something come to fruition, is knowing when to compromise. Get on record where Senators stand, and then see where you can work from there. I feel like there's always a line where you either have to stand your ground on what you're arguing for and to be loud about it, and be as completely honest as you can with the public and your fellow senators with why you feel that way, and then areas where you have to be willing to work with other perspectives and ideas - we're trying to make our region a better place, and as an optimist, I have to hope that would be the intention of my fellow senators too.
West: awesome sauce :> thank you for answering my questions isty!! sorry if they were a bit straightforward and inflexible but i appreciate your time and the effort you've put into your answers
you've made a super strong and level-headed statement on why you should be senator and i'm looking forward to see how you do this election!!Istillian: Thank you so much for this West, I really appreciate your time!
Interview with Pichtonia
West: Alright, first question! In your opinion, which quality of yours makes you the best suited to a seat in the Senate?
Pichtonia: Well, this may not be great self-advertisement, but I don't actually want to claim that I'd be the best suited for a seat, I'll leave that determination to the individual voter and their preferences. I'll say that I really like the candidates we have in the race and would be excited to serve with any combination of them. This is, I'd say, a good quality field of candidates. But what this race has in quality, it sadly lacks in quantity. Ultimately, I stand to offer a choice to the citizens of Europeia, and the reason I think I'm a solid choice for Senate is specifically how I interprete my duties as a Senator and the role of the Senate. I strongly believe in a prestigious and confident Senate that enhances our political gameplay, and I intend to serve just as confidently as Senator. I don't shy away from discussion or confrontation, especially and not least with the Executive. At the same time, I've been at the other side of the table a lot, I can try to understand their POV. And I'll always try to base my arguments on reason, and in the same sense be happy to continue discussing how to improve a bill even if I reject it. I suppose, however, all of that is hard to summarize as one specific quality, so after stealing away everyone's time reading this, I will add something entirely different in saying that I will be the Gameside candidate this election. The "Gameside Perspective" is a perspective that still isn't always met with understanding in our political gameplay, and after we had three rather Gameside active Senators last term with Delegate UPC, Vice Delegate PhDre and Sincluda, I don't know if any one of the candidates really fills that niche to the same extent this election. But I think I do. As former member of the Regional Security Council, almost since its inception, Vice Delegate and Gameside Minister, it's a very familiar environment to me, and I enjoy knowing and talking about it.
West: That's definitely a well-balanced set of considerations and I really do appreciate your contextualization of the field - saves a lot of work on my part!! - and the "Gameside perspective" is definitely one that deserves consideration, and while those are some big shoes to fill I'm glad you're gunning for a seat with that in mind! I'd like to ask, then - what is your primary motivation behind running for the Senate?
Pichtonia: Haha oh no, I think I already gave away my answer!! I'd say my primary motivation is to offer a choice in this election. I don't know, I feel like we're in a bit of a difficult spot currently when it comes to activity and finding candidates for our offices. But our political gameplay shouldn't be lame or a slog, it's an integral part of our community and I always thought it was an integral part of our outreach as well. Europeia is my home in NationStates and I don't know if I'll ever find another, or even want to find another. So if our core elements aren't a draw anymore, that concerns and saddens me.
[West gets stuck in the elevator]
West: Awesome! That absolutely makes sense - you did mention how you felt the quantity of candidates was definitely lacking, and it's awesome that multiple longtime members of the community including yourself have stepped up to lead. Turning back to another thing you foreshadowed - You've mentioned presenting yourself as the Gameside candidate, and focusing on bringing that perspective into issues in the Senate. If elected, are there any proposals you would be prioritizing during your term?
Pichtonia: As it stands, I don't have any legislative proposals that I want to bring onto the floor once elected. I've never really been one to do that, but maybe this time more than many others, I was also running so spontaneously that I didn't really take some time to look into it. And with the consituttional convention as well, I would want to be cautious not to preempt much from what'll be discussed there. I've given some broad strokes of where I stand in my platform, however, that our voters can measure me by and will also be happy to answer any and all questions that may further arise.
West: That's very fair! You had also mentioned before that you'd like to find a proper balance in interacting with the Executive - Where would you draw the line when it comes to the oversight over the Executive, especially its FA handling?
Pichtonia: If I wanted to summarize it, I would say that the Executive needs to know its limits and its responsibility - and otherwise the Senate must intervene. We see responsibility especially where it concerns activity of Cabinet members, where the Senate may often take a role in probing any issues. As for limits, I think I would be reminded of the time then Speaker Elio called the President and myself as Vice President - rightly - to order for appearing to preempt a Senate vote on the declaration of war against The Communist Bloc with the language we used. That was a very good example of a Speaker defending "their territory" and reminding the Executive of its limits, and doing so very respectfully.
Pichtonia: That was maybe a bit of a formalistic example, however. If I wanted to get more into the practical meat of our Foreign Affairs oversight, I would differentiate 1) between maybe a direction that I may just not like, where I would raise my voice but usually vote in accordance with the wishes of our Executive or at least ensure that I wouldn't block them, especially where the direction they seek isn't in drastic conflict with our wider established FA and security environment. And 2) between actions that don't necessarily stand for any direction, e.g. if our leaders failed in their communication with or contractual duties to allies, so again matters of responsibility. On this second matter, I think the Senate still very much has a role to play.
West: That absolutely makes sense. On the topic of the Constitutional Convention you briefly touched on - are there any new ideas you have in your mind which you plan to propose in the upcoming Constitutional Convention?
Pichtonia: I'll be honest, this all went down while I thoroughly enjoyed my LoA, so I first have to read into that in detail. I haven't even applied to it yet! For this interview I would just spontaneously fall back to what I said in my platform, which is my disillusionment with the People's Assembly but willingness to reform the Senate and that I feel like we can still do better at legislatively establishing our new Frontier status - though as to how, I have no solutions yet.
West: Hehe that's very fair. A bit more of a fun question - Which past Senator is the closest to how you want and expect your own term to go, if elected?
Pichtonia: Pichtonia B)
West: so based
Pichtonia: The better terms at least!
You know, I definitely think there are greater Senators than myself in our history, but I want to be myself, I enjoy how I play usually, and it's likely that my expectations will be met this way.
West: that's a really awesome answer for sure!! embracing your style of leading and playing are definitely a good way to go about things and i'm glad you're fostering a healthy way of self improving
Last question! In the event of disagreements, how would you balance between building consensus with fellow Senators while also maintaining the strength of the legislation originally proposed?
Pichtonia: I would hope to convince my fellow Senators with arguments. I think I've seen a lot here in my time in Europeia, I don't think my understanding of the law is too shabby, I often take my time to analyze. My conclusion may still be one that others disagree with, but if we can at least agree that "you have a point", then that point is what we can build on. And maybe we still don't agree in the end, but the final product is still better for our exchange of views. There have definitely been bills I voted against because I rejected a policy in full and thought any change in that direction was bad, but was glad that through my arguments, we changed it to be (in my view) less bad than it was when presented.
West: Willingness to argue productively and fruitfully are definitely important qualities in any senatorial candidate, and I appreciate the blend of considerateness and experience that you've brought in your campaign and into this interview!! Thank you for taking the time to provide such thoughtful and coherent responses, and I hope the rest of your day is fantastic!!
Pichtonia: I hope to surprise many readers by being moderately coherent for once, haha! Thank you for interviewing me West !
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