Earlier this week, one man had a dream. A dream that one day all users would be able to have their views on the current presidential candidates represented in a newspaper article. So, this man created a poll to fufill that dream. Slightly later this week, another man ripped off the first man's dream and created a poll of his own. You are now reading the second man's article.
My poll asked five questions about the upcoming presidential debate between the incumbent President, Kraketopia, and the Citizens' Assembly Chair, Ogastein. The poll received 16 responses, all on July 24, and the results will be analyzed for significance in this article.
The first question asked what topic you were most looking forward to. The choices included all of the Ministries, also leaving a space for any answer you wished to insert. The winner was Foreign Cultivation/GAP, with 6 people choosing that option. Following closely behind was Interior/Citizen Integration, with 5. Rounding out the responses, Culture-2, Communications-1, Foreign Affairs-1, and EAAC-1 (as a fill-in.) The only topic to receive no response was ERN.
What does this mean? Well, if we think about it, why would people want to see a topic discussed? Most likely, there has been heavy discussion, ideas floating around, or just a desire for change. Therefore, I don't think anybody should be surprised to see the GAP at the top of the list. This topic has generated the most buzz out of any of these, with a lot of the talk being directed at the head of the Ministry, Lethen. Many are saying the GAP is progressing too slowly, or not showing enough results. Looking at the candidates' platforms, Kraketopia presents no real change, and defended both Lethen's, and his own, records. Ogastein argues for change, and calls for the completion of the handbooks, which is also promoted by Kraketopia.
Interior is another Ministry that has seen a lot of criticism, so no surprise this is also near the top. Again, most of the talk has been directed at the Minister in charge, in this case, Drecq. Specifically, regarding a discussion over the future of the Ministry in the Senate, talked about in a previous of this newspaper (Integration Ministry, for those of you who want to look it up) where he appeared to place most of the blame for inactive newcomers on the newcomers themselves. This statement has divided the region, with many supporting this claim, stating that you can't force people to stay, and most will leave regardless, and a few saying that the Minister in charge of newcomer integration should not be making claims like this. In regards to the candidates' platforms, Kraketopia wishes to add a deputy Minister who would be in charge of the technical side of Interior, leaving the head Minister to spend more time on newcomer integration. Ogastein proposes splitting Interior into two departments, with the new department focused solely on newcomer integration. He also talks about revitalizing the CSO and replacing the Patron/Buddy system.
The only other response that I feel merits a discussion is Culture, which placed third in this poll. Due to the resignation of Zenny Anumia, Senator and wife of Kraketopia, so close to election season, there certainly has been a lot of talk about why. After an interview released by the Grand Hall Forward, it was revealed to be based on personal differences, not on the President's handling of Culture. This has sparked another discussion, which is not really the point of this article, so stay tuned for more on that at a later time. For the platform analysis, Kraketopia wishes to focus more on day-to-day events, and spend more effort on the game's RMB. Ogastein wises to turn this Ministry on its head, in perhaps his most bold proposal of the campaign. He would scrap the Ministry of Communications, fold that into Culture, expand the EBC with a possible newspaper that would be released game-side. On top of that, he wants to get the Hall of Fame going again, and introduce a Throwback Thursday, to ensure newcomers understand more of Europeian history. He also would like to focus more on day-to-day events.
For the other topics, most are understandably low interest. In particular, Foreign Affairs and the ERN have been almost universally praised for the work of their leaders, Anumia and Common-Sense Politics, respectively, and both candidates want to keep things mostly the same, except Ogastein would transfer dispatches to Foreign Affairs, as there would be no Communications anymore. One of the bigger surprises, for me, is that Communications did not garner more interest. This Ministry has seen heavy criticism for months, after the first Minister had to be replaced, it just recently has started putting out dispatches, which have also been critiqued, although not as frequently as the other Ministries higher on the list. So, it appears that Communications has done enough to take the spotlight off itself, for now.
The next question asked how important the debates are in a presidential election. Out of 16 responses, the average turned out to be 6.875, on a scale from 1 to 10. This is a moderately high number, and one that is not too surprising. Debates are a good chance to learn more about the candidates and their positions, as well as see how they handle themselves in a high pressure scenario. Despite the last presidential debate between Kraketopia and Drecq be widely panned as uninspiring, it appears Europeia has recovered, and is now looking forward to the next one with certain expectations.
What are those expectations? Well, the next question asked something along this line, when it asked what it is most important for the candidates to do in this debate. Clarify their positions received 11 votes. Show how they handle themselves in a high pressure received 5 votes. This points to the fact that both candidates received several questions over the specifics of their platforms. As both of these candidates are well-established, less are concerned with how they handle themselves, which makes sense.
The last two questions will be analyzed together. The first asked which candidate would be hurt more by a poor debate performance, while the other asked who would win the debate. By a vote of 10 to 6, most respondents felt Kraketopia would be hurt more if he flopped, whereas the vote was split 8-8 as far as who would win. This actually makes sense, as Kraketopia, the incumbent, has more pressure to uphold his image going into this than the challenger. The President probably should be held to a higher standard, as he is the President. The second result also is unsurprising. This is a very close election, with Kraketopia not seeing the surge of support he used to be able to count on, due to the actions of the DAF, pointing out his missteps in office. Also, Ogastein has not fully capitalized on this apathy, leading to this deadlocked vote.
To conclude, as we go into this debate, expect to see increased focus on Foreign Cultivation and Citizen Integration, clarification of platforms, and a bitterly divided audience. Kraketopia has more to prove going into this, but no clear favorite has emerged. All things considered, this debate should prove most telling as we approach Election Day. Until next time, this is Calvin Coolidge, preparing for a nail-biter.
Here's all the data.
My poll asked five questions about the upcoming presidential debate between the incumbent President, Kraketopia, and the Citizens' Assembly Chair, Ogastein. The poll received 16 responses, all on July 24, and the results will be analyzed for significance in this article.
The first question asked what topic you were most looking forward to. The choices included all of the Ministries, also leaving a space for any answer you wished to insert. The winner was Foreign Cultivation/GAP, with 6 people choosing that option. Following closely behind was Interior/Citizen Integration, with 5. Rounding out the responses, Culture-2, Communications-1, Foreign Affairs-1, and EAAC-1 (as a fill-in.) The only topic to receive no response was ERN.
What does this mean? Well, if we think about it, why would people want to see a topic discussed? Most likely, there has been heavy discussion, ideas floating around, or just a desire for change. Therefore, I don't think anybody should be surprised to see the GAP at the top of the list. This topic has generated the most buzz out of any of these, with a lot of the talk being directed at the head of the Ministry, Lethen. Many are saying the GAP is progressing too slowly, or not showing enough results. Looking at the candidates' platforms, Kraketopia presents no real change, and defended both Lethen's, and his own, records. Ogastein argues for change, and calls for the completion of the handbooks, which is also promoted by Kraketopia.
Interior is another Ministry that has seen a lot of criticism, so no surprise this is also near the top. Again, most of the talk has been directed at the Minister in charge, in this case, Drecq. Specifically, regarding a discussion over the future of the Ministry in the Senate, talked about in a previous of this newspaper (Integration Ministry, for those of you who want to look it up) where he appeared to place most of the blame for inactive newcomers on the newcomers themselves. This statement has divided the region, with many supporting this claim, stating that you can't force people to stay, and most will leave regardless, and a few saying that the Minister in charge of newcomer integration should not be making claims like this. In regards to the candidates' platforms, Kraketopia wishes to add a deputy Minister who would be in charge of the technical side of Interior, leaving the head Minister to spend more time on newcomer integration. Ogastein proposes splitting Interior into two departments, with the new department focused solely on newcomer integration. He also talks about revitalizing the CSO and replacing the Patron/Buddy system.
The only other response that I feel merits a discussion is Culture, which placed third in this poll. Due to the resignation of Zenny Anumia, Senator and wife of Kraketopia, so close to election season, there certainly has been a lot of talk about why. After an interview released by the Grand Hall Forward, it was revealed to be based on personal differences, not on the President's handling of Culture. This has sparked another discussion, which is not really the point of this article, so stay tuned for more on that at a later time. For the platform analysis, Kraketopia wishes to focus more on day-to-day events, and spend more effort on the game's RMB. Ogastein wises to turn this Ministry on its head, in perhaps his most bold proposal of the campaign. He would scrap the Ministry of Communications, fold that into Culture, expand the EBC with a possible newspaper that would be released game-side. On top of that, he wants to get the Hall of Fame going again, and introduce a Throwback Thursday, to ensure newcomers understand more of Europeian history. He also would like to focus more on day-to-day events.
For the other topics, most are understandably low interest. In particular, Foreign Affairs and the ERN have been almost universally praised for the work of their leaders, Anumia and Common-Sense Politics, respectively, and both candidates want to keep things mostly the same, except Ogastein would transfer dispatches to Foreign Affairs, as there would be no Communications anymore. One of the bigger surprises, for me, is that Communications did not garner more interest. This Ministry has seen heavy criticism for months, after the first Minister had to be replaced, it just recently has started putting out dispatches, which have also been critiqued, although not as frequently as the other Ministries higher on the list. So, it appears that Communications has done enough to take the spotlight off itself, for now.
The next question asked how important the debates are in a presidential election. Out of 16 responses, the average turned out to be 6.875, on a scale from 1 to 10. This is a moderately high number, and one that is not too surprising. Debates are a good chance to learn more about the candidates and their positions, as well as see how they handle themselves in a high pressure scenario. Despite the last presidential debate between Kraketopia and Drecq be widely panned as uninspiring, it appears Europeia has recovered, and is now looking forward to the next one with certain expectations.
What are those expectations? Well, the next question asked something along this line, when it asked what it is most important for the candidates to do in this debate. Clarify their positions received 11 votes. Show how they handle themselves in a high pressure received 5 votes. This points to the fact that both candidates received several questions over the specifics of their platforms. As both of these candidates are well-established, less are concerned with how they handle themselves, which makes sense.
The last two questions will be analyzed together. The first asked which candidate would be hurt more by a poor debate performance, while the other asked who would win the debate. By a vote of 10 to 6, most respondents felt Kraketopia would be hurt more if he flopped, whereas the vote was split 8-8 as far as who would win. This actually makes sense, as Kraketopia, the incumbent, has more pressure to uphold his image going into this than the challenger. The President probably should be held to a higher standard, as he is the President. The second result also is unsurprising. This is a very close election, with Kraketopia not seeing the surge of support he used to be able to count on, due to the actions of the DAF, pointing out his missteps in office. Also, Ogastein has not fully capitalized on this apathy, leading to this deadlocked vote.
To conclude, as we go into this debate, expect to see increased focus on Foreign Cultivation and Citizen Integration, clarification of platforms, and a bitterly divided audience. Kraketopia has more to prove going into this, but no clear favorite has emerged. All things considered, this debate should prove most telling as we approach Election Day. Until next time, this is Calvin Coolidge, preparing for a nail-biter.
Here's all the data.
