- Pronouns
- He/Him
Yesterday, I conducted a short interview with presidential candidate PhDre. His responses appear in italics. Thanks for reading!
My guest today is the frontrunner in the ongoing presidential campaign. He carried more than fifty percent in the primary in which he faced off against presidential hopeful Senator Swakistek and Jahka, who was eliminated from the contest due to those results. Please join me in welcoming Senate Speaker, Interior minister, and possibly our next president, PhDre. Thanks for agreeing to an interview, Senator.
Let's start with your responsibilities as a minister in the Cabinet. Since my absence began, we've incorporated a new recruitment system. I, myself, am not well versed in its workings. Could you give our readers a brief synopsis of the system and how one uses it? Also, are there any more kinks that need to be worked out?
No problem. Indeed, thanks to our friend Alarm Siren, as well as HEM and President Earth22, Europeia has been blessed with a new recruitment program. Currently, our recruitment program is a downloadable application. Without going into too much detail, as a tutorial is available in the Ministry of Interior subforum, our new program allows us to hit nations immediately after they’ve been founded. There are a few kinks in the system, but they are minor compared to the benefits of the system itself. I would definitely say the system has been of great benefit to Europeia in the short time we’ve had it. That being said, Alarm Siren has been gracious enough to continue working to improve the system, so stay tuned in that regard.
What are you most proud of, looking back at this term as Minister of Interior? Do you have any regrets?
Looking back at the term, I am most proud of the entire Cabinet’s relationship with both Rougiers and Earthie – I definitely saw the good, the bad, and the ugly of working behind the scenes in Cabinet, and I look forward to hopefully increasing the dynamics within the Cabinet. I’m also proud of the efforts of our recruiters, especially those who are not mandated to recruit but do so anyways, spearheaded by the Citizen Recruitment Corps. But generally speaking, I’ve had the most fun working with other Ministries, planning general projects, and creating a strong base for an Interior Ministry that was left in disarray after the loss of The Imperium’s recruiting system. My regret is that I have not been able to implement many new ideas that I’ve raised in my platform – the past month has been hectic to say the least, and I think that the initial vision and leadership of Rougiers has been diluted somewhat due to his resignation and then Earthie’s subsequent vacation. However, I would not describe this as a true regret as I look forward to potentially implementing these programs in the near future, working closely with the next Minister of Interior.
Now onto your responsibilities as Senate Speaker. You have joined me in being selected by your peers to lead them in your very first term as a senator. Were you surprised by this? In addition, did you have any trouble adjusting to the new job?
I was honored to be selected by my fellow Senators as their Speaker – it’s been an up and down ride in the Senate, as we’ve seen both hasty re-writes and well written changes to Europeia’s laws. As you mentioned, I was elected as Speaker in my first ‘true’ term as a Senator, which was a pleasant surprise. I don’t think that there were any problems per sea in adjusting to being the Senate Speaker, but it did give me an insight into the dynamics of the Senate as well as the executive’s role in interacting with both the Senate and the Senate Speaker. For better or worst, there was a brief flare of emotions during the Presidential Electoral Reform Veto, which could have been avoided with a simple conversation. I think that my relationship with my fellow Senators and my track record in the Senate would allow for a friendly and productive environment for Senate and Executive collaboration. In particular, there’s a lot we as a region can do to continue to improve our electoral system.
You have been an outspoken advocate of electoral reform. Just this term, we've passed legislation to better the process by which we elect our president. Now, you seem to indicate that further changes are needed. What, specifically, is your vision for an ideal presidential election?
Yes, I have been interested in looking at electoral reform, and particularly Presidential Electoral reform. This term, I helped fight for new legislation which created a primary system in the Presidential Election Process. Our first election is underway under this new system, and I have indeed indicated that I would be in favor of working with the Senate and the general populace in rethinking our Presidential Elections. First off, I don’t believe that my vision for an ideal presidential election is necessarily better than anyone else’s – one of my first initiatives as President would be to begin a discussion in the Grand Hall regarding Presidential electoral reform. In particular, the length of campaigns and the time of the primary / run-off would be examined, however all discussions take their due course, and I would love to see Europeians come forward with their thoughts. A potential idea is to reduce the length of election season to a single week, with the Presidential Primary during the General Elections. A one day run off would occur immediately after. Again, this is only one option that Europeians should consider, and I look forward to hopefully working with the new Senate and with Europeians immediately after the elections on vital issues such as electoral reform.
Do you find reforms for our Senate elections necessary as well? Such reform would be far more difficult, in my opinion, given the number of candidates and seats available. How do you see this process being altered in the future?
First of all, I think most would agree that Senate reform, if it is necessary at all, would have to come well after we’re completely satisfied with Presidential electoral reform. Until that time, I for one feel it unwise to even begin approaching Senate electoral reform. On top of that, I agree that it would be extremely difficult to create a system which is as simple to both administer and participate in.
I think we can agree that the forward progress and attitude of our community transcends any legislative measure, ministerial program, or military activity. What can you do to effect such progress so our generation leaves Europeia a better place than we found it? Anything outside the box?
You’ve hit the nail on its head – we cannot simply point to a legislative or ministerial program and say that it in itself is pushing Europeia forward as a community. So we create more embassies, so we give new medals to the Navy. These reforms in themselves are not going to push Europeia forward as a community. It takes a community of thinkers, of believers, of individuals who are willing to change their attitudes and participate in a greater Europeian adventure. A PhDre Administration is willing to put its money where its mouth is – it believes in the potential of the Europeian people to do greater things than ever before, and in the coming term I will personally be reaching out to citizens in order to offer them leadership opportunities on projects, give them a chance to voice their opinions, and keep them informed as to what a PhDre Administration is doing for Europeia. Beyond the policies I’ve suggested, and the projects that Ministries will be working on, Europeia is about the day to day – I want be there every step of the way with my fellow citizens.
I'm heading off to a party so we'll have to cut it off here. Any additional thoughts or a message to the voters?
I’d like to thank you for having me, CSP, and I’d like to thank Europeians for showing their support for me in the Presidential Primary. On election day, go and vote for the Presidential candidate you support, be that Swak or myself. Go and vote for ten (or nine) Senators. But then come together – regardless of the result of the General Election. With a new Administration comes a new opportunity to set aside political and personal differences. I have every faith in my ability to lead Europeia – I believe that I am the right man for the job. But I also recognize that Europeia may very well feel differently – if that is the case, I look forward to working under and with him in the coming term. Thanks again, CSP, and a thank you to those who continue to stay informed in the days leading up to the General Election.
Thanks for dropping by and best of luck!
