Turn and Face the Change

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Turn and Face the Change
Executive resignations and the business of government
Written by Pope Lexus X

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Recent weeks have seen the faces of a number of members of the Executive change - the Vice President, Grand Admiral, Minister for Radio, Minister for Communications have all resigned or been discharged from duty. In the majority, these events were due to circumstances arising in their respective 'real lives'.¹ The question must be asked; with so much change, how will President Seymour's administration be affected? The past offers some guidance.

To borrow a phrase of Oscar Wilde's: to lose one Minister may be regarded as a misfortune, to lose many looks like carelessness.² Changes to the occupants of the Executive during the term, however, are nothing new. The second oldest topic in 34 Goldenblock Avenue is the resignation of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, SenatorTC, just one month after Europeia was founded.

Such change can have a profound affect - for good or bad - on the confidence the public has in the administration, on the ability of the elected Head of Government to fulfil their campaign promises, and on the focal points of future elections. The vast majority of Cabinet-level changes are voluntary resignations due to real-life problems but, from time to time, Presidents have had to take decisive action³ themselves.

The exposure of Falconias and Karputsk as persons here under false pretences led to their forced expulsion from the Cabinet in early 2009. HEM took over the Culture Minister portfolio from Falconias. The switch of ministers led to a completely new direction for that department than that planned out during the elections. HEM put his focus on mentoring programmes and integration, despite the promise of the President during elections to pursue a Spring Festival and University reform - these would instead form part of the NeoHabighorst's campaign promises for the following term.

The later Presidency of Oliver Grey would be rocked by a series of resignations - seeing over half the Cabinet depart. While these were not due to the President or his policies, the confidence in the President was questioned publicly and ultimately the President himself handed in his own resignation due to real life commitments.

The EBC reached out to President Seymour for comment on the recent Cabinet shuffling.

EBC: When you received the resignations, what was your own personal reaction/how did you feel to lose your chosen executive staff?

President Seymour: It's never a pleasant feeling, I'll tell you that much. Every President's mind divides down into two categories: personal and political. Politically, no President likes to have any of their Cabinet resign. Generally speaking having continuity in a Ministry over the course of a term is what everyone shoots for-- having one strong leader in a position tends to overall be better for a group than having to switch between different personalities and leadership styles over the course of any given shorter timeframe. And, on the personal level it's just... sad and frustrating. Most of the resignations this term have been largely out of my hands and pretty much act of god style happenings. I didn't have control over them and neither did the people who resigned. This is a game and real life, especially things like health issues, always comes first. I don't begrudge anyone for needing time to focus on themselves IRL. First and foremost on my mind when they've told me about their situations and their intent to resign is their personal safety and wellbeing-- I've kept people like XIV, Cat, and Brunhilde in my prayers for some time, now. But, it's also a little frustrating. Not because I begrudge them or because, you know, it was well-preventable; but because the whole situation just sucks.

EBC: How much did your choice of these members to be part of your administration inform your original campaign promises?

President Seymour: Honestly, a lot. My original team was picked through a number of compromises, consultations, and talking to other players in the Region. After I decided what I wanted my team to look like, or what one or two people I narrowed down my picks for each area to be I heavily consulted with them or their predecessors. There were explicit sections in my campaign platform that I wrote in direct consultation with out-going Ministers and/or with my eventual nominees for the Ministry. So my direct answer to this question is, honestly, "a lot"

EBC: Do you feel your ability to fulfil your campaign promises is at risk following these resignations?

President Seymour: Absolutely-- but not in every area. I mean overall I think one of the things nominees do when they're nominated for any Ministry is to go back over and read the incoming President's platform to lay out to the Senate how they'll be able to accomplish the President's agenda. However, when you're nominated for a position with 20-something days left in a term it's never an easy task to be able to resolve every single bullet point of campaign promises. "Campaign in poetry, govern in prose." I'm absolutely proud of the hard-work and dedication those who I've had to tap to serve after these resignations have shown. Are we going to be able to fulfill every campaign promise? Realistically, no, but... the realities and intricacies of trying to govern well and merely ticking boxes on campaign promises are vastly different.

EBC: As RL was the biggest enemy of your cabinet, do you think prospective cabinet nominees should refuse the President's offer if they might be at risk of a RL difficulty during the term?

President Seymour: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, ultimately,

 

[Trinnien]

Well-written, sourced, and informative. I do hope we can see more articles fro PLX in the future. I also strongly approve of the return of EBC authors posting their own work.

 

[Common-Sense Politics]

Thank you for writing this. It would have been interesting to explore the more political, acrimonious component of this story that was left untold but still an engaging read.

 

[Rach]

Thank you for writing this. It would have been interesting to explore the more political, acrimonious component of this story that was left untold but still an engaging read.

Yeah, this reflects my thoughts exactly. It is a good article but if it had gone deeper it would have been amazing.

 

[Pope Lexus X]

Yes that would have been great but time was not on my side. I suppose you will have to fill that gap yourselves?

 

[Lethen]

If only we had a thread related to the topic-at-hand to post these thoughts in...

 

[Mousebumples]

Thanks for the interesting piece, PLX. I agree that I'd be interested in reading more - whether as a follow-up or as a companion piece in a Private Media paper. Still, this interview and your perspective was great to read.