Senate Platform Analysis
Comparing and Contrasting Senate Candidates
Written by Monkey
On August 6, newly minted Vice Chancellor Le Libertie released his first chancellery speech opening the senate elections set for the following week. In his address, he encouraged the region to "to have a plan, to dream big, and to have high hopes". Europeians applauded and celebrated his first official chancellery address, before heading off to the standing thread to announce their candidacy.
A total of ten citizens have posted in the standing thread. The elected candidates would be taking over the previous five person Senate, of which only one, Speaker Lloenflys, is seeking re-election. The last Senate has tackled issues such as the IRC, abolition of Arnhelm, voting thresholds, and investigating an ERN dismissal.
The election looked to be relatively tame on the issues, with newcomers Aphrodite and Sincluda releasing their platforms first, until candidate Peeps released a platform outlining an agenda including manual recruitment, and enshrining a gameside coordinator cabinet position. Since then, other candidates in the race have stepped forward to make their stances on those issues known, and making them a core focus of this election.
Since standing, EBC radio has hosted a radio show discussing the platforms, and there have also been some candidates who opted to withdraw from the race. Lime withdrew his candidacy early on, and both McEntire and Aphrodite withdrew shortly after the radio discussion. However, two new candidates, Olde Delaware and Darcness, both announced their candidacy after the radio show. A total of seven candidates are running for the Senate, meaning that up to five of them can be elected. The following information will serve as a guide to succinctly give the candidate's various stances, and hopefully serve as a voter's guide. All information is taken directly from candidate platforms. Readers should read the full candidate platforms for the most up to date and comprehensive information.
Previous Experience:
Kazaman: Previous Senator - "It's been several years since I last served in the Europeian Senate."
Sincluda: Newcomer - "During my six months in Europeia, I have learned that the best way to succeed is to take the initiative - or get on up! So, here I am. I've gotten up, and taken the initiative by running for senate. So what if I don't have an illustrious career backing me? I have the ability to succeed, and that's all I need."
Lloenflys: Previous Senator - "We are once again on the brink of a Senate election, and as I quite often do I am standing here asking for your vote."
Peeps: Various Roles - "I've served in quite a few positions in Europeia, Mayor of Arnhelm, Senator, Councilor of Coordination, Grand Admiral, and President."
Baobab: Previous Senator - "I've been a citizen for almost a year now, and believe I have the needed experience, especially because I was already a Senator of the 77th Senate."
Olde Delaware: Various Roles - "Hereabouts I've proudly served as your Ministry of Culture, twice as Mayor of Arnhelm and three times in our Senate. I'm retired from the ERN where I rose to the rank of Ensign and most recently I served as a Law Clerk and a Deputy Minister of Culture."
Darcness: Political Activist - "I have been called 'conservative', 'curmudgeon', and even 'obstructionist', but at the end of the day, those are all resistance to causes I actively believed were harmful."
Since Unstood:
McEntire: Various Roles - "I am a former First Minister and Senate Speaker, among other roles."
Aphrodite: Foreign Experience - "I think it would be good if I told you a little about myself, seeing as not much is known about my time prior to coming here, and you would no doubt find my government experience to be most fascinating."
Misc Senate Commentary:
Kazaman: "Legislation is a tool at the Senate's disposal, but its core mission is ensuring the peace, order and good government of Europeia....here is what I propose: facilitating cooperation between the Senate and the executive by establishing conventions on the use of legislation in executive policy."
Sincluda: "I agree with what many said during that election - the Senate should not just focus on solving issues, but expanding opportunity. If I were to become a Senator, this would be one of my goals. All I need is to know what opportunities people want. If you come up with an idea, I'll be sure to work on it to see what can be brought to the Senate."
Lloenflys: "I offer to the electorate less some new vision for change in Europeia and more the variety of skills that I have which work well in the Senate. I tend to be even-Keeled and fair in most situations. When I must, I can draft or edit legislation, even though I prefer to leave those tasks for younger or newer Senators to help them build their skill set."
Peeps: "I don't believe this is the time for complacency or same old legislating. If there is a time that we need to discuss some more out there ideas to ensure that Europeia continues to be a powerhouse and a leader among UCRs and across NationStates."
Baobab: "I hope using my experience of my last senate term, I can fix the errors I made in that term and overall be a well rounded senator, I do think I can make an even better senator this term, and I hope you all think that as well!"
Olde Delaware: "I always enjoyed serving in the Senate and I joined the law clerks program to help me become a better lawmaker by knowing the laws of our region a little better. Plus, maybe I can do some good. I don't have the pedigree that some of my worthy opponents have surely but hopefully you'll consider a vote for me."
Darcness: "The Senate is, first and foremost, the architect of Europeia. This body designs and sculpts our Constitution and our laws, which form the structure, the very bones of our republic. I believe it is time the Senate takes this role seriously and truly defines the structure of Europeia...I believe it is time the Senate takes their roles as elected leaders to heart, and takes their own leader seriously."
Since Unstood:
McEntire: "I found myself advocating for a more powerful Senate which is more involved in regional affairs, particularly the Executive. I do not believe that major structural reform is needed at this time, but I would use the existing powers of the Senate to engage with the Executive where necessary and fruitful."
Aphrodite: "Another ambition that I have is to improve myself as a legislator and to further my knowledge...We improve our social skills by interacting with other people, we improve our critical thinking by reading, there is a lot of ways in which we improve ourselves every day, ergo it makes sense for me to want to improve my own legislation writing skills in this way, and I'm sure that working in a Senate with a bunch of talented Senators will help me on my way to greatness, there's no doubt about that!"
Individual Ideas:
Kazaman: Increased Executive/Senate policy collaboration - "Let's scrap executive orders entirely and pursue amendments to the law and the creation of additional legislation that helps the Senate work more closely with the executive in setting policy. I see the Naval Policy Act as a model, at least initially, for what this project could foster. Rather than crowding out the President's authority over military matters, it gives legal shape to an old informal convention, the setting of operational guidelines, by opening collaboration with the Senate....by having the Senate exercise its authority to ensure the peace, order and good government of Europeia, an important check is created on undesirable drift, and a record is kept of changes and the justifications for those changes."
Olde Delaware: On Executive Orders - "We've seen them issued for bad and for good, for a funny and the mundane. Scrapping them outright is dangerous...Both chambers can work together without removing the one of the Executive's few ways to act unilaterally."
Darcness: Ministries, Leadership, Authorship - "The existence of core Ministries belong to be enshrined in law...The Speaker should have greater control over the agenda of the Senate, so that the Speaker may lead the Senate toward the truly important matters of the day...we should enhance this pride by including authorship credits with legislation"
Since Unstood:
McEntire: Executive/Senate Reform - "Recently in the Grand Hall, I found myself advocating for a more powerful Senate which is more involved in regional affairs, particularly the Executive."
Gameside Coordinator:
For:
Sincluda: "Gameside presence is crucial to the activity of Europeia, and keeps NS and offsite Europeia connected. Gameside Coordinator should be a permanent position, although I am open to other ways of using legislation to give gameside some focus."
Peeps: "I would propose that the Gameside Coordinator become a permanent job, in the vein of the Attorney General. The coordinator would have the authority to set up any roleplay and gameside integration programs, with authority over West Europeia and the ability to ensure that they are not opposing our interests."
Baobab: "I would like to see the gameside coordinator position be put into legislation."
Against:
Kazaman: "I'd be against that. I created that role to serve purposes specific to my presidential term, and I don't see a need to legislate a new Cabinet position. I am however keen on discussing proposals for gameside policy, as part of my overall reform project."
Lloenflys: "the executive shouldn't be forced to structure their Gameside approach this way. Whether this position is a good idea or not is up for debate, and an executive may want to structure their operations very differently without someone in this specific position. I support giving the executive the flexibility to set up whatever structure they'd like in that regard, so I would likely be opposed to this act."
Olde Delaware: "But i'm unwilling to go out and buy a brass plaque and confirm someone to a brand new office that can absolutely be handled by a Deputy Minister."
Darcness: "I do not understand why we waste precious resources on anything gameside. While I do see a (quite minor) benefit in a few spare endorsements, the RMB has nothing to do with what is our real region, and should be closed down in whatever fashion is available to us."
Since Unstood:
McEntire: "As of now, I do not support the codification of the position of gameside coordinator. We have a Ministry of the Interior, and we have a Ministry of World Assembly Affairs. I'd need convincing on this one."
West Europeia:
Kazaman: "That they cease using the delegacy for any WA purpose whatsoever. There are several means to accomplish this, and I have no particular preferences over them."
Sincluda: "West Europeia should not oppose our interests, but we must find the least aggressive path forward. I support the idea that WE's WA delegate does not have to act, but when they do, they must act in line with our own delegate."
Lloenflys: "I don’t feel that strongly one way or another about the continued existence of Western Europeia in the long term. I don’t think it hurts anything to run it, but also think we don’t gain much in kicking them out. I would currently favor leaving the status quo and seeing how things develop."
Peeps: "authority over West Europeia and the ability to ensure that they are not opposing our interests."
Baobab: "I believe the solution to this is to ban West Europeians from having their WA nations in West Europeia, thus making it a delegate-less region If they were to rebel against this, further action should be taken."
Olde Delaware: "I am on record in saying WE or West Europeia should be eliminated/removed...eliminating the concerns over the Delegacy by handing it over to a Military Governor from the ERN. With the region I believe password protected, placing the delegacy in the hands of the ERN will ensure if the natives decide to break away to their backup region or otherwise try to cause issues that we hold the reigns."
Darcness: "West Europeia was, plain and simple, a mistake. It should be shuttered by whatever means are available to us."
Since Unstood:
McEntire: "I don't think that legislating this particular issue is a good idea, and would favor collaboration to strike a balance between giving them control over their roleplay and watching out for our WA interests. I am sure that a balance can be found."
Aphrodite: "I think that West Europeia shouldn't be allowed to act against the interests of Europeia within the World Assembly...I don't know if the Delegate has ever approved a resolution that goes against our interests, but the possibility for them to do so exists, I'm not a fan of hoping for the best. It is my opinion that this should be regulated."
People's Assembly:
Opposed:
Sincluda: "I don't really favor a People's Assembly. I think that it would often bang heads with the Senate and make legislating more of a hassle for everyone. "
Peeps: "I don't believe in recreating the Citizens Assembly or a similar body."
Baobab: "I believe Arnhelm/People's Assembly has run its course, I personally don't see a reason to keep it around any longer."
Olde Delaware: "I think the PA shows promise and if it is going to be properly used and maintained I would absolutely consider casting a vote for it. But I'd like to see ideas on it fleshed out further and right now it just doesn't seem like that's something we need."
Darcness: "I have often spoken passionately on the need for a Citizens' Assembly (it absolutely should be Citizens only), but over time I have come to realize that despite my best efforts, Europeia is determined to not make the Senate a position that must be earned, merely one that is won. With that in mind, the People's Assembly has no purpose, and should be shuttered."
Lloenflys: "I am not currently in favor of recreating a PA, because I haven't seen anything other than a retread of old ideas that aren't in demand right now. If someone brings me a clever, interesting proposal that is different enough to be distinct and that seems like it might work, I'd be willing to give it a shot."
Kazaman: "Sceptical of its value but I could be convinced by a stellar proposal. The thing is, I'm not sure the region would actually be served well by having a sandbox legislature. I'd rather invest in the Senate."
Since Unstood:
Aphrodite: "Currently, I don't either support or oppose the idea of an institution, that would allow citizens to write pieces of legislation."
Oversight:
Sincluda: "I likely won't be pestering the executive with questions and constantly trying to find some dirt to bring up on someone, but I will keep an eye on the ministries to see if there are issues to be addressed."
Lloenflys: "I will once again say that I would like to have a formalized oversight process that would actually teach people some things. I’ve been saying that for a long time however and it generally isn’t wanted by most Europeians, so I’ll continue to bring it up but not insist on it in the hope that people become interested over time. In its absence I will largely remain hands off unless it is clear that there is something worthwhile that needs to get a response from the minister into the record."
Peeps: "If a Minister is underperforming or I see a way we can improve things, I'll ask those questions and make those suggestions. That being said, oversight should be constructive and not destructive. All of my oversight would be focused on making things better for the Ministry, not making things worse for the Minster."
Since Unstood:
Aphrodite: "A very important thing, in my opinion, and as such, I shall strive to keep the executive in check to the best of my abilities."
Mandatory Recruitment:
Kazaman: "Highly depends on the specifics for me. I think Europeia's adopted a blanket aversion to mandatory recruitment because we prefer people to do it voluntarily and not have negative associations with recruitment, but I have no such aversion personally. I could vote for or against depending on what the proposal contains."
For:
Peeps: "Well the current extreme slump in our population, with it falling below 700 for the first time since NationStates began to count. We cannot idelly let this occur. To solve this, I would propose a bill that requires every Minister and Senator to learn how to recruit, be authorized gameside to recruit, and send a token number of telegrams per week."
Opposed:
Sincluda: "I am very much opposed to Mandatory Recruitment Training, particularly the fact that it be required by Senators and Ministers...A better thing to do would be making the region more welcoming to an outsider's perspective, such as trying to make the RMB more active and inserting ourselves into more foreign conversations (not things explicitly designed for legislating). Requiring our most important members of government to take time off to recruit is mind-boggling stupid to me...This just discourages people from running for Senate or accepting Ministerial appointments."
Lloenflys: "I opposed this before and oppose it again now. If someone can show me that the precipitous drop in Euro membership is due to recruitment failures and/or an inability to get enough telegrams out, then I might change my mind...This issue also feels to me like something better left in the hands of the executive. The executive can make clear to the cabinet that they are expected to recruit, and people can join the administration or not based on whether they want to put in that work. "
Baobab: "I am always against mandatory recruitment, however."
Olde Delaware: "I've always stood against Mandatory Recruitment. I think it does more harm than good. More often than not I've made myself look foolish while articulating that point. I've had the pleasure of serving under First Ministers who required their Ministers to do recruiting rather than it being enshrined in law and honestly I think that's the best way forward."
Darcness: "In a utopian scenario, mandatory recruitment makes sense. You must earn your citizenship. However, I've come to believe that if that were the case, Europeia would have about 30 citizens, which does not a Republic make."
Since Unstood:
McEntire: "As a principle, I am in favor of mandatory recruitment. Sometimes, shared sacrifice is necessary, and when all government officials recruit as a part of their job it boosts our telegram count and sets an example to the region...I would like, in the next Senate term, for us to consult with the current Ministry to determine whether the boost in telegrams and recruiters would outweigh the time sink of tracking and enforcing mandatory recruitment."
Aphrodite: "I am strongly opposed to the idea that we should make it mandatory for every Minister and Senator to learn how to recruit. First of all, the people that do join the government do it because they think that it's fun, and it is, which is why I think that mandating that they do something that they don't want to do is too authoritarian for me. Secondly, is it even needed? Yes, this has been the biggest slump in the history of NationStates, but it isn't needed, because the number of nations that a region has isn't the most important aspect of a region, it's the community that is the most important aspect of a region."
