Istillian on Reform
Executive Modernisation from a First Minister's Perch
Written by Maowi
After a brief hiatus while the region selected its two new senators - with Darkslayer and Ervald filling Olde Delaware and Rotasu's seats - the Senate has resumed work on its Executive Modernisation Omnibus Bill at a ferocious pace. Senate Speaker Lloenflys tentatively suggested moving the bill to a vote next Tuesday or Wednesday; what is likely to be this year's defining piece of legislation may be passed - or rejected - within a week or two.
But the power to determine whether the bill sinks or swims does not lie solely with the Senate. As it is a constitutional amendment, both the first minister and the chief of state have the ability to veto the bill - or to send it to referendum, which is the action First Minister Istillian pledged to take in his campaign for the position. He stands by this decision still: "I have been unwavering in my response to send the bill to referendum so far, and I do intend to stick to this approach," Istillian told the Europeian Broadcasting Corporation last Thursday. This is undoubtedly reassuring to many voters, who as a result have more leverage over the Senate's decision-making process for the bill.
The reform debate has brought with it broader discussion on the root causes of the key problems we face as a region today, and the best strategy for tackling them. For Istillian, leadership burnout features high on the list. "I do feel that I have tried to communicate the need for awareness of burnout measures to be in place, especially for future presidents and vice presidents." His experience having "'grown up' in the region under a split system" means he personally places an emphasis on "ensuring that the future roles of power have a strong support network around them when potentially taking on both sides of the executive." This, for him, should include "a top down method of assigning a work load, so the future president isn't tasked with so much responsibility." Indeed, efficient delegation of tasks and responsibilities is at the core of the modernisation discussion; one of the main arguments for reunifying the executive is that a split executive is cumbersome and hinders creativity and cross-departmental initiatives with unnecessary bureaucracy.
One issue Istillian thinks we will need to guard against in a merged executive is any sort of ambiguity about task assignment. From his point of view, "we are able to accommodate so much right now because there's a very clear distinction between what everyone's duties are." However, envisioning what a unified executive would entail, "if I were in the position of president I'd have to have a very secure line of communication, and know exactly who to rely on when I need to focus on a specific task at any given time; otherwise, it's a little bit of everything being worked on with split focus, and it could risk taking a while to get one thing done." The example he provides is the overlap between Foreign Affairs and Culture, which have historically seen extensive collaboration. "Who do I then see about handling the creation of a new diplomatic treaty while also managing a cultural event with a region?" The removal of the clear cut separation between Domestic and Foreign Affairs could, he believes, cause internal confusion if not addressed adequately.
So, what changes will a unified executive bring about within individual ministries? Istillian believes that deputy ministers may become increasingly important. "Deputies or junior staff, while still roles requiring a rather hefty amount of responsibility, are not held to account in the same way [as confirmed ministers]" - but this responsibility will only grow under a single executive. "If a Culture minister struggles with FA [foreign affairs] event and idea planning, but have incredible creativity for DA [domestic affairs] cultural activity, are they more suited to a deputy type role, or so they just need a strong FA deputy themselves? [...] The Senate, and future senators, may need to ensure that future ministers have the ability to have a FA and DA understanding, or at least a network and people in mind that will allow them to coordinate a lot more than one person is doing right now." Perhaps Senate oversight on the way ministers structure their own ministries could become more important to holding the executive to account for the effectiveness of its governance.
Senate oversight itself did feature as a prominent issue in the recent by-election, and is still under discussion in the Senate. The slightly stricter approach of raising the approval threshold to 75 percent appears to have been overridden by a consensus towards raising the threshold for all nominees to 66 percent, following lively discussion on the issue in the Grand Hall. To Istillian, this solution is satisfactory. "I think this solves the oversight dilemma they [the Senate] were facing, and provides the incumbent first minister or president with a clearer outcome from the Senate."
When it comes to the president/vice president structure and dynamic, Istillian says he has some "personal conflict," as there are situations where the various options would each be preferable. Something the Senate is making a decision on is whether the vice president should be required to take on a Cabinet position. "In a unified system, having a VP [vice president] serve in a Cabinet role where you might need them to facilitate or take over your own duties could overburden them if they are also a minister - but say you're capably managing things, you might essentially have someone sitting in a high level executive role with a low level of responsibility, potentially not utilising them where you could." Istillian draws on his own experiences, both as a second minister and managing one, to inform his position on this issue. "I believe that managing a ministry is an almost essential core responsibility of the position [...] "You are not only an advisor and support person to the FM [first minister], you are a leader of people in the region in a very real way." While he is not certain how this could translate to our future system - which still has some question marks hanging over it - "I know how I can utilise the system we have right now."
The Senate's latest draft bill also contains a mandate for the president and vice president to present at the start of their term how they intend to split responsibility over the various Cabinet ministries. Istillian believes this could present a new sort of challenge for candidates for the office. "While I think the discussion should happen with your VP, you'd have to really make a very strong platform together, and have a solid discussion for what your combined goals are prior to running in this combined way." This, in his view, may potentially cause relatively newer members to hesitate when deciding whether to run for high executive office, but is also an opportunity to firmly establish goals in advance.
Despite his promise to send the Senate's proposed bill to the people, Istillian's perspective on the situation - as a shining example of what the successes of the executive split have been - is uniquely invaluable. His experience serving in Domestic Affairs leadership at every level means he has great insight into the way power and responsibility are distributed throughout the structure; his words are definitely something to bear in mind through this reform process.
