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Picairn Chosen as Delegate of TNP
Picairn has emerged victorious in The North Pacific's Delegate elections, with the results being announced yesterday, September 20. Picairn ran in a 4-way election, challenged by Pallaith aka Ghost, Dreadton, and Blue Wolf II aka Evil Wolf. The EBC has put out an article on the matter, author Andy aka Andusre, describing the process of campaigning and the subsequent voting period.
The EBC asked Andy some questions on the events surrounding the election. Here's what he had to tell us:
The overwhelming majority of the voteshare in this election ended up going to Picairn and Pallaith, with Dreadton and Blue Wolf II never gaining much traction. Was this predictable at all during the campaigning period, or did this come as somewhat of a surprise?
"So with respect to Blue Wolf, or Evil Wolf as he is more commonly known, I would say probably not. In the first round of the elections, there was the Evil Wolf versus reopen nominations after Comfed dropped out. And as described in the article, the TNP electorate decided to reopen nominations by over 80%.
So I suspect that Evil Wolf's sort of poor performance in the reopened ballot is not particularly surprising. With respect to Dreadton, a little bit more difficult for me to say, I think, because I'm not 100% familiar with them and their history. I'm fairly confident that they have been in TNP cabinet quite a few times before.
They also potentially have been a TNP delegate before. So, you know, difficult to say, but I would not have necessarily expected them to have performed as poorly necessarily as Evil Wolf did, if that makes sense."
In your article you describe some drama that unfolded between some of the candidates. To what extent do you think this influenced the outcome?
"It would surprise me if it had a significant impact. As far as I could tell, the kind of supporters of Evil Wolf versus the supporters of, I guess, a faction represented by sort of Palliath and Picairn, those seem quite entrenched. And, you know, the, like, arguing and bickering between them was rather vicious on the TNP forums.
But I would be surprised if there were many voters in TNP who had not made up their mind and were convinced to vote either way in that election, particularly on an issue as, like, I don't necessarily want to say polarizing, but as high importance as a war effort, an ongoing war effort, which is, of course, very important to TNP and to us here in Europeia."
Though by a slight margin, Picairn has now been elected to the Delegacy. Do you expect a different course for TNP as a result of this election, or can we expect more or less the same?
"Interesting question. A different course in terms of how they approach the war or how they govern themselves. I guess that's kind of open to interpretation in whoever asked this question.
Difficult to say, but I would be surprised if anything major changes. I think probably the biggest surprise for me of the reopened election is the fact that Ghost didn't win. But despite the fact that he didn't win the delegate election, as far as I'm aware, he still holds quite a lot of influence in The North Pacific and how they make their foreign affairs decisions.
So I would be surprised externally if anything changes from the North going forward, just on account of the fact that Pallaith still has a lot of influence there and Evil Wolf doesn't, evidently. In terms of internal policy, I mean, I'm not a TNP citizen, but if I were to hazard a guess, I would probably say there might be a bit of a changing of the political map in the North Pacific, given that this is an election which was expected to be won by Ghost, and obviously that didn't happen.
So maybe Ghost himself or people who are aligned with Ghost will have questions amongst themselves about where their campaign went wrong or why they didn't quite manage to surmount that challenge from Picairn. That's probably the best that I can foresee coming from the North."
"So with respect to Blue Wolf, or Evil Wolf as he is more commonly known, I would say probably not. In the first round of the elections, there was the Evil Wolf versus reopen nominations after Comfed dropped out. And as described in the article, the TNP electorate decided to reopen nominations by over 80%.
So I suspect that Evil Wolf's sort of poor performance in the reopened ballot is not particularly surprising. With respect to Dreadton, a little bit more difficult for me to say, I think, because I'm not 100% familiar with them and their history. I'm fairly confident that they have been in TNP cabinet quite a few times before.
They also potentially have been a TNP delegate before. So, you know, difficult to say, but I would not have necessarily expected them to have performed as poorly necessarily as Evil Wolf did, if that makes sense."
In your article you describe some drama that unfolded between some of the candidates. To what extent do you think this influenced the outcome?
"It would surprise me if it had a significant impact. As far as I could tell, the kind of supporters of Evil Wolf versus the supporters of, I guess, a faction represented by sort of Palliath and Picairn, those seem quite entrenched. And, you know, the, like, arguing and bickering between them was rather vicious on the TNP forums.
But I would be surprised if there were many voters in TNP who had not made up their mind and were convinced to vote either way in that election, particularly on an issue as, like, I don't necessarily want to say polarizing, but as high importance as a war effort, an ongoing war effort, which is, of course, very important to TNP and to us here in Europeia."
Though by a slight margin, Picairn has now been elected to the Delegacy. Do you expect a different course for TNP as a result of this election, or can we expect more or less the same?
"Interesting question. A different course in terms of how they approach the war or how they govern themselves. I guess that's kind of open to interpretation in whoever asked this question.
Difficult to say, but I would be surprised if anything major changes. I think probably the biggest surprise for me of the reopened election is the fact that Ghost didn't win. But despite the fact that he didn't win the delegate election, as far as I'm aware, he still holds quite a lot of influence in The North Pacific and how they make their foreign affairs decisions.
So I would be surprised externally if anything changes from the North going forward, just on account of the fact that Pallaith still has a lot of influence there and Evil Wolf doesn't, evidently. In terms of internal policy, I mean, I'm not a TNP citizen, but if I were to hazard a guess, I would probably say there might be a bit of a changing of the political map in the North Pacific, given that this is an election which was expected to be won by Ghost, and obviously that didn't happen.
So maybe Ghost himself or people who are aligned with Ghost will have questions amongst themselves about where their campaign went wrong or why they didn't quite manage to surmount that challenge from Picairn. That's probably the best that I can foresee coming from the North."
Thank you for that, Andy! The EBC also reached out to Picairn following the election to congratulate him and ask for comments. Picairn had the following to say about his victory:
"It is certainly the best night of my life, and I will remember it for a long time. Ghost is a tough and highly experienced opponent, yet I overcame the odds and defied expectations by winning the Delegacy. I'd like to thank all those who supported my candidacy and voted for me, it is they who made the seemingly impossible possible."
- Picairn
The EBC once again congratulates Picairn on their victory, and wishes them and their region the best going forward.
TSP in Need of New Leadership
The South Pacific faced the resignation of their former Prime Minister differences-in-differences, more commonly known as Lordnwahs, last Tuesday, September 17. The region had passed the Executive mid-term point just one day prior, and with relatively positive approval ratings to boot.
The EBC got a hold of SPSF (TSP's military) officer Vrigny for his comments on the situation.
After what seemed like favourable mid-term ratings, I expect this resignation came as something of a surprise, would that be accurate to say?
"Yes, that's right. The term was going as you would expect. Lordnwahs's campaign was quite promising; it was pretty detailed, and it was somewhat being fulfilled. But yes, this resignation was as sudden as it can get. So it was a surprise indeed."
What has the overall reaction of the region been like?
"So, at least over in the Discord part of the community, as well as the forums, yeah, it was a surprise. Everyone was a bit shocked. I mean, some people were worried that this was going to turn into some sort of crisis, but it seems to be going fine. Basically, the main overall reaction was just: "wow, why would they resign?" Some people did mention that maybe the Prime Minister has too many responsibilities. And, well, this has happened several times.
It isn't the first time a Prime Minister has resigned this year. Some people say that maybe the Prime Minister has too much workload and this leads to resignations."
What effects has this had on the functioning of the current Executive?
"In Lordnwahs's resignation, he said that the cabinet is supposed to keep going as if the resignation didn't happen for now. That's basically what has been going on. The cabinet has been working because they're kind of independent from the Prime Minister. For example, when I was part of the cabinet last term, I worked on my stuff and I really didn't need the Prime Minister for most things. So yeah, it's business as usual."
What happens now? Will we have new elections soon? There were references to a 'caretaker PM' made in TSP discussion, what does that entail?
"So at first, with this resignation, I also read that the CRS, the Council on Regional Security, was supposed to appoint a caretaker PM as soon as possible to fill the gap, because The South Pacific needs a Prime Minister. Lordnwahs did have a Deputy Prime Minister, but since they weren't, well, that's Henn, but they can't just become the Prime Minister. In the end, I guess, the CRS isn't going to appoint a caretaker minister and we're going to have elections. So we're going to have an elected Prime Minister again, instead of a caretaker one."
"Yes, that's right. The term was going as you would expect. Lordnwahs's campaign was quite promising; it was pretty detailed, and it was somewhat being fulfilled. But yes, this resignation was as sudden as it can get. So it was a surprise indeed."
What has the overall reaction of the region been like?
"So, at least over in the Discord part of the community, as well as the forums, yeah, it was a surprise. Everyone was a bit shocked. I mean, some people were worried that this was going to turn into some sort of crisis, but it seems to be going fine. Basically, the main overall reaction was just: "wow, why would they resign?" Some people did mention that maybe the Prime Minister has too many responsibilities. And, well, this has happened several times.
It isn't the first time a Prime Minister has resigned this year. Some people say that maybe the Prime Minister has too much workload and this leads to resignations."
What effects has this had on the functioning of the current Executive?
"In Lordnwahs's resignation, he said that the cabinet is supposed to keep going as if the resignation didn't happen for now. That's basically what has been going on. The cabinet has been working because they're kind of independent from the Prime Minister. For example, when I was part of the cabinet last term, I worked on my stuff and I really didn't need the Prime Minister for most things. So yeah, it's business as usual."
What happens now? Will we have new elections soon? There were references to a 'caretaker PM' made in TSP discussion, what does that entail?
"So at first, with this resignation, I also read that the CRS, the Council on Regional Security, was supposed to appoint a caretaker PM as soon as possible to fill the gap, because The South Pacific needs a Prime Minister. Lordnwahs did have a Deputy Prime Minister, but since they weren't, well, that's Henn, but they can't just become the Prime Minister. In the end, I guess, the CRS isn't going to appoint a caretaker minister and we're going to have elections. So we're going to have an elected Prime Minister again, instead of a caretaker one."
The EBC thanks you, Vrigny, for your insightful input.
XKI Elects New Delegate
10000 Islands has a new Delegate(-Elect), name The United Royal Islands of Euramathania or URI for short. URI initially ran in a race against opponent candidate Elite, but Elite later dropped out of the race, leaving URI to run uncontested. The previous acting and currently still on-site de facto Delegate of XKI is Astrobolt, who's occupied the office for over 350 days now. XKI reports in an update that "United Royal Islands is currently sitting in the Regional Reserve Chair. In the past she has served as Delegate, Senator for Lyonnesse East, Casino Manager, and Minister of Education."
The EBC congratulates URI on their victory, and wishes them good luck representing their wonderful region in the World Assembly.
Executive Reform Proposals
A series of Executive reform discussions have sprung up from recent People's Assembly debate. Besides the joint Presidency-Delegacy declaration discussed previously, the PA has now moved to discussing Executive duties and responsibilities. Ideas include the splitting off of some Cultural and Media duties from the purview of the President, instead moving them to separate categories of the Executive overseen by the Senate. The proposals came in light of a perceived inaccessibility and overburdening of the Presidency. So far, no serious legislative moves have been made yet to effectuate any of the reforms, besides a Delegacy nomination amendment proposed earlier by Senator Decacon aka Rand in light of the relevant PA discussion mentioned above.
Senate By-Election to Occur Soon
Following the resignation of former Senator Prov, the Senate has an open fifth seat to fill. By-election standing has opened, and so far feature Cyborg and Olde Delaware as prospective candidates. OD is so far the only one to have put out a platform thread. The election will take place on September 23.
World Assembly
Currently up for vote in the General Assembly is a proposal titled: "Repeal "Cannibalism Act"". The Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote for the proposal, stating: "The proposal is well written with objections that are valid and factual. The ministry believes that the health risks associated with cannibalism are concerning and frowns at the fact that due to the Blockers of Clause 6, a nation cannot technically ban the consumption of human meat."
The Security Council currently features "Commend Yodle". The MoWAA again recommends a vote for the proposal, stating: "The Region That Has No Big Banks has grown into a rising power on the interregional stage, thanks in large part to Yodle's long years of service and dedication, and their individual accomplishments in cards is also touched on, naturally alluding to their regional collections as well. A combination of precise writing and detail from fellow regionmate and first-time author America the Greater makes this a proposal well worth supporting."
Debate on Regional Leadership Scheduled for September 22
The Debate on Regional Leadership is back on! The EBC has managed to schedule the panel of Quebecshire, Xoriet, Calvin Coolidge, and the nation of the people of the nation aka Peeps. The EBC thanks all the panelists for their cooperation in getting the scheduling to work out after some failed tries.
The debate will be taking place on Sunday, September 22 @ 2 PM Eastern Time or 6 PM Greenwich Mean Time! The exact timestamp will be viewable on the Europeian Discord as well, adjusted for your timezone (check events or #shows-n-streams)!