- Pronouns
- He/Him
Conducted by Sopo
Opinion Editor
I had the opportunity today to sit down and chat with Kaboom, Presidential candidate and the race's premier underdog. The interview was conducted live via IRC.
Sopo: Welcome, everyone, to the E-News Network's first IRC interview of the April 2016 Presidential Election. Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Kaboom. Thanks for coming, Kaboom.
Kaboom: My pleasure.
Sopo: Let's jump right in. What motivated you to stand for president this cycle with GraV?
Kaboom: Almost as soon as the September election ended (I came second with 12 of 57 votes), I knew I would eventually be standing again. I had planned to have two Senate terms, then stand for President, with a hopeful Cabinet position in there.
I only had 1.5 Senate terms, and no Cabinet position (I have never been offered one). After Kraketopia's term, I felt like there was definitely places where his plan could have been built off of - my hybrid FA plan is part of that.
As for my running mate, GraVandius was someone who I knew was a hard worker and that I could work well with, having run with him back in September.
Sopo: You both joined Europeia around the same time, you both have about the same amount of experience in the Senate, and you both seem pretty focused on Interior. Do you think your ticket is hurt by the fact that there is a lot of overlap between you?
Kaboom: I do think that there's a bit of overlap; however, I do have experience more with the Navy Volunteers, Foreign Service (I joined the MoFA only two weeks after coming back to the region in May 2015 and have never left), and Communications, while GraV has done admirable work with Recruitment and Integration.
Therefore, I think whatever overlap there is isn't too major and our skills are still diversified enough to be able to function effectively while covering the widest area.
Sopo: On the flip side, what advantages do you think you have as a ticket consisting of the two "youngest" members running?
Kaboom: Being a younger member, I believe we are the ticket that newcomers to the region can really identify with.
If we can win, or even get into the inevitable runoff election that is looking more likely to happen, we can really show newcomers "hey, if you put in the work and are willing to learn, this is where you can be in about a year!"
Sopo: If you wouldn't mind elaborating a bit, what issues do you believe are most important to newcomers, and why are you in the best position to represent them?
Kaboom: I believe that newcomers may feel intimidated by the size and complexity of our forum/government. I know when I first joined, I applied for citizenship, but was so befuddled by the size of the forum that I didn't make a single post for the next two months here.
While mentoring every last person who joined has a very high cost to benefit, newcomers could benefit from somebody taking them under their wing if the newcomer asks for it.
Again, with GraV and I each having been here less than a year, we can have a connection with the newcomers. I was a newcomer once, and know how one could feel just taking a look at our mainpage.
Sopo: Moving on to policy with a question from the audience, what plans do you have for private media if elected? How would you encourage growth and activity in that area?
Kaboom: I had a similar question in my platform from Isaris. Basically, newcomers wouldn't be automatically mentored by MinComm, as it'd be a waste of time to train every prospective news outlet owner. However, we have seen some great newspapers such as Moderna and the Euro Conservative Messenger pop up, and I believe that if newcomers were encouraged to ask for help and advice for their outlets, these papers could be made even better.
Sopo: With the breaking news that Rach has entered the race with Netz as her running mate, how do you think this will effect you? What are your thoughts?
Kaboom: Five legitimate tickets. I don't know the last time that's happened - if ever - but it's good. Competition breeds quality amongst all tickets.
Sopo: Let's turn then to foreign policy. Europeia has a number of allies ranging from volatile GCRs to stalwart imperialists. What type of regions should Europeia look at for future partnerships? Should we be open to working with defender regions?
Kaboom: I believe that Europeia should not limit itself to working with exclusively raider or defender regions. Similarly, we should not take up the middle ground. This does not mean that Europeia should shy away from collaboration on working with these types of regions; however, we should remain open-minded in the types of regions we collaborate with. The only regions we really shouldn't consider working with are Nazi-themed regions.
For example, we have collaborated with DEN and TBH on numerous occasions; but I would not rule out working with, say, the Spiritus Defense Force or a defender organization of the sort.
Sopo: Do any regions come to mind that may make good partners for Europeia in the future?
Kaboom: Oh. Regions that we can reliably work with in various fields without surrendering our sovereignty - be it a joint cultural event, a state visit, or even a military collaboration - would definitely be considered. We don't just have to limit ourself to TNP, Balder, LKE, Albion, to name a few.
Sopo: Europeia's 9th Anniversary was at best a mild success. Our last true victory on the festival front was Europeia's Winter Ball in 2014. Is it possible to recapture the magic of such events? How would you make our festivals more appealing to Europeians and outsiders alike?
Kaboom: I agree that the anniversary could maybe have been done a bit better. It did irk me a bit that Balder - one of our closest allies - didn't give a speech for our anniversary. I hope to recapture our festival success with the Spring Festival I have intended to host during the first half of my term. To make our festivals more appealing, more stuff on the game-side should be held, such as polls, RMB events, flag contests, and things like that. To look to the foreign side, we should be more proactive with making sure any foreign regions we invite actually do stuff - the EuroAnniversary had only 5 topics, with two being spam games and one being an RP-mystery game.
Sopo: To conclude, I'd like to address the elephant in the room. You're running for president, but most people have ruled you out. You're too new, too inexperienced, too green. Without being able to compete on the same level experience-wise, how can you sell yourself to Europeia? What is unique about your and GraV's vision for the region? Why take the risk on you?
Kaboom: This has been the great criticism throughout both runs, and it is not an unfounded concern. However, I believe that, as I said before, we can have a connection with newer members who join, being newer, more idealistic.
Being newer, while it may be a riskier choice for President, we have both been through the old integration system. We've seen how it works. Newcomers may be able to identify with us because they can see someone who was newer, but rose to the top through hard work. They can then say "Hey, this is where I can be in a year or so if I put in the hard work and perseverance." Both GraVandius and I were first elected to Senate on our third tries. We've persevered and succeeded.
Europeia, we can integrate newcomers on a new level. We can identify with them, and help them become productive members of Europeia.
Sopo: Ultimately, I think you'll need more than newcomers to win this election, but anything can happen. I wish you the best of luck, and thanks for coming today.
Kaboom: Thanks for conducting this interview.
I look forward to interviews with more of the candidates. If you're running for President or VP and would like to speak with me, feel free to reach out. Otherwise I may be on your doorstep soon.