Opinion: FM Debate In Review - Calvin Edges Out OD, But Both Stand As Winners
debate analysis by United Vietussia
You can find the transcript here.
Question 1: Minister Accountability
On this question, we saw a bit of a divide occur. Calvin and cuddles both seemed to be on the side of informing the public, while DAX and OD seemed to be on the side of protecting the privacy of the Minister. cuddles went to an extreme point of view, stating that if remediation was not found, he would release all details to the public to keep them informed. Calvin distanced himself from the handling of the Bri situation by Pichto, stating that more information should have been made public and that he would try to avoid handling it like Pichto did. As it stands, no candidate really went after another on this question and it's hard to say there was much separation or a clear winner of this question.
All candidates receive a 9.
Question 2: Recruitment
Overall, this issue has been a bit of a loser for OD throughout the campaign after his opposition to mandatory recruitment in the Senate. He reversed course in the campaign, but cuddles scored a decent hit on OD in this exchange:
cuddles - question for the candidates, what will you do if you fail to meet your own expectations?
OD - I'd be frank and own it, every member of the Government must hold themselves accountable to the people that elected them. Right, wrong or indifferent.
[...]
cuddles - so you would just say, "my bad guys" OD?
OD - As the FM, my job is to lead by example and if I am not doing so, then I need to work harder. I would fine myself, probably 100 TG. Force myself to do better. I'd probably fine my Ministers extra TGs as well, motivate them to do better. Show them that not even I or the SM is immune to punishment on this one.
OD - I'd be frank and own it, every member of the Government must hold themselves accountable to the people that elected them. Right, wrong or indifferent.
[...]
cuddles - so you would just say, "my bad guys" OD?
OD - As the FM, my job is to lead by example and if I am not doing so, then I need to work harder. I would fine myself, probably 100 TG. Force myself to do better. I'd probably fine my Ministers extra TGs as well, motivate them to do better. Show them that not even I or the SM is immune to punishment on this one.
OD receives an 8, Calvin and DAX receive a 9, cuddles receives a 10.
Question 3: Integration
There was a flurry of activity in this question. First, Calvin questioned why cuddles was the only one who hadn't supported recombining Recruitment and Integration into Interior, and the answer that followed struggled to really help answer it, so I think Calvin wins this line of questioning. OD even helped to pile on a bit on cuddles here and really drove home the point of why most tickets want to recombine Interior. Overall, this question was a major loser for cuddles as he struggled on the issue and admitted to being unfamiliar with the Integration Reward Meter. Calvin may have been on to something when questioning DAX about Discord buddies and other buddy systems, but I believe he ran out of time and wasn't able to push the issue quite as much as he would have liked, but he still got in some solid points.
cuddles receives an 6, DAX receives a 9, others receive a 10.
Question 4: Culture
We saw OD come out punching on this question, taking aim at Calvin. He got in some solid points on Calvin in his questioning, but perhaps became too overly aggressive and hurt himself in the process. Calvin was able to turn back around and take a quick shot at DAX towards the end, questioning whether she only planned to use Weekend Games as her Culture plan. cuddles was largely silent on this question, which may have hurt him.
cuddles receives an 7, others receive a 9.
Question 5: Communications
The dispatch question by OD ended up being a loser for cuddles, as cuddles got very defensive when questioned and never really answered OD. Calvin was able to nail DAX a bit with the "purpose of the EBC" question as DAX seemed to struggle to give a solid answer and seemed to dance around the question a bit. Ultimately, time ran out, but Calvin probably walked away as the most memorable candidate for this question.
cuddles and DAX receive a 8, OD receives a 9, Calvin receives a 10.
Question 6: Cultivating Talent
OD led the charge on DAX for this question, calling in on personal experience of working as a Deputy Minister under DAX to kick it off. He criticized DAX for not giving him training opportunities and seemed to imply that the same could happen if DAX was elected. It ended up being a big loser of a question for DAX, but she saved face by owning up to the past and stating that she had learned. Calvin piled on a bit, questioning why there would be hesitancy in giving new faces a chance at serving as a Deputy Minister. cuddles interjected a bit with some personal experience, but was ultimately drowned out by OD and Calvin in a question that served as a fairly large win for them.
DAX receives a 6, cuddles receives an 7, Calvin receives a 9, and OD receives a 10.
FINAL TALLY:
Calvin - 56 (9-9-10-9-10-9)
OD - 55 (9-8-10-9-9-10)
DAX - 50 (9-9-9-9-8-6)
cuddles - 47 (9-10-6-7-8-7)
In review, we got a debate where Calvin and OD consistently stood as the leaders, but Calvin probably just finished ahead of OD, likely due to OD's aggression. DAX struggled to find any real "wow" moments and her biggest moments might have been those that will reflect poorly in the end. cuddles started fairly strong but got significantly weaker as the debate went along.
What did you think of the debate? Don't forget to tune in tonight for the Second Minister debate at 9:30 PM EST.
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