Wildcard Submission #1

Common-Sense Politics

Audentes Fortuna Juvat
Deputy Minister
Honoured Citizen
Citizen
Pronouns
He/Him


With ten days before polls open for the next presidential election, one has to wonder...who the hell is going to run? Further, and frighteningly, in the current atmosphere of apathy and low energy, has anyone even thought about it?

Let's start with some likely candidates...

Common-Sense Politics

A source very close to the sitting President assures this correspondent that, under no circumstances, will he pursue another term. Apparently he commented to Vice President Drexlore that he wouldn't touch this coming election with PhDre's wedding tackle. He's excited at the prospect of returning to ministerial work. So he's out.

Skizzy Grey

If he was interested in it, it would be hard to imagine that the Minister of Foreign Affairs wouldn't be the leading candidate for the top job. Skizzy's been among the most active individuals in any branch of government and has been, from the start, CSP's right hand man. Not only is he excellently positioned for the transition, there might not be a single more influential guy in the region. Let's not forget him being a celebrated former chief executive. If he can talk himself into it, this one might be over before it even starts.

Elias Greyjoy

After a strong push for the presidency last time around where he attained more than 28% of the vote in a three-way race, Elias may find himself in a strong position for another try. He has the "what might have been" card to play and he's stayed engaged with a solid term as Grand Admiral (the only man to hold the position other than CSP since September of last year). Though he may be enticed by the impending vacancy at WA Delegate, no one would be suprised to see Elias' name on the ballot come the 31st.

Vinage

We have no reason to believe that the former two-term president wants another crack at it and sure, he's been a tad distant lately. However after stepping down from the delegate seat we expect him to get restless in short order. He's proven he has the chops. Keep an eye on him.

Drecq

Is Europeia ready for a greenhorn president? If the answer is yes then look no further than the sitting Speaker of the Senate. Drecq's only been active here for about eight months but we know two things about him. He doesn't lose and he doesn't fail. He doesn't piss anybody off either. If he can put together a blockbuster platform and attract a high-profile runningmate, he could put up one hell of a fight.

Drexlore Greyjoy

Seems logical that the sitting VP would be a viable and willing candidate, right? This humble correspondent has no idea but one can't help but feel he's been waiting his turn for some time. Stay tuned.


These short suggestions are meant to be a catalyst for two processes. The first is to get candidates to start getting their proverbial shit together. The second is to get everybody having a more substantive conversation and debate about what we need out of our next president and who has what it takes to be that leader. Have at it!
 
While I know exactly why I'm not on these sorts of lists any more, it does make me a little sad. :p

My prediction is no Skizzy, probably either Drecq, Drexlore or both.
 
I like to read new shiny articles ^_^ but people are unpredictable , there could be people of who you never thought that they will be candidating....
 
Is there anyone active enough to run for President? We haven't had a public post in the Goldenblock for a month, and until today we didn't have anything in the Senate for two weeks.
 
McEntire said:
Is there anyone active enough to run for President? We haven't had a public post in the Goldenblock for a month, and until today we didn't have anything in the Senate for two weeks.
Good question.

CSP isn't going to run. Vinage isn't going to run. Neither am I. And obviously, veterans like Rachel, Swak, NES and PASD aren't active enough anymore to mount a serious candidacy. Therefore, unless Lethen unexpectedly throws his hat in the ring, we're going to have a first-time President next term, drawn from the region's pool of emergent leaders.

Unfortunately, none of our emergent leaders have distinguished themselves this term. Malashaan has done a decent job at Culture, but hasn't been a star there the way he was in the Senate. Elias has been similarly mediocre, and hasn't done much to assuage concerns some of us have about his judgment. I'm not sure what Drex and SD have been doing. None of these folks have been absent, but none of them are putting in even half the effort required to be a passable President. I could make similar comments about Drecq -- he's a good Speaker, and he was a hell of a recruiter when he first joined us, but his stint as Interior Minister under Swak was mediocre at best.

The guy who intrigues me is Cerian. People dismiss him because of his brusque style and commitments to other regions, but he's the only citizen who might be willing to serve who has demonstrated a willingness to work as hard for this region as a President must work to be successful.
 
Skizzy Grey said:
McEntire said:
Is there anyone active enough to run for President? We haven't had a public post in the Goldenblock for a month, and until today we didn't have anything in the Senate for two weeks.
Good question.

CSP isn't going to run. Vinage isn't going to run. Neither am I. And obviously, veterans like Rachel, Swak, NES and PASD aren't active enough anymore to mount a serious candidacy. Therefore, unless Lethen unexpectedly throws his hat in the ring, we're going to have a first-time President next term, drawn from the region's pool of emergent leaders.

Unfortunately, none of our emergent leaders have distinguished themselves this term. Malashaan has done a decent job at Culture, but hasn't been a star there the way he was in the Senate. Elias has been similarly mediocre, and hasn't done much to assuage concerns some of us have about his judgment. I'm not sure what Drex and SD have been doing. None of these folks have been absent, but none of them are putting in even half the effort required to be a passable President. I could make similar comments about Drecq -- he's a good Speaker, and he was a hell of a recruiter when he first joined us, but his stint as Interior Minister under Swak was mediocre at best.

The guy who intrigues me is Cerian. People dismiss him because of his brusque style and commitments to other regions, but he's the only citizen who might be willing to serve who has demonstrated a willingness to work as hard for this region as a President must work to be successful.
I think even more than my brusque style, tbh, is the fact that I am a committed Imperialist, and Europeia is not. I don't think Europeia should be and wouldn't pursue Imperialist policies were I Europeian President (because I don't think Imperialism, at least how I define it these days, is really in Europeia's interests, due to its established brand), but its an understandable qualm that many people would have - and let's face it, as president, my brusqueness could cause major diplomatic incidents.

:p
 
I would support Cerian. As to his brusqueness and any possible diplomatic quagmires we could get in because of that, not so long ago he was a capable Foreign Minister.
 
Cerian Quilor said:
Personally, I think I barely got a C as a Foreign Minister. :p
Having inherited the Foreign Ministry from you, I strenuously disagree. The ambassador corps has never been in as good of shape as it is now, and the work you did last term is the chief reason that's the case.

As you know, the President sets the agenda for foreign policy. Swak is a great guy, but he set the wrong priorities. We didn't suffer any lasting harm, but we spent that term spinning our wheels on initiatives that had no lasting significance. That's not your fault.
 
Skizzy Grey said:
Cerian Quilor said:
Personally, I think I barely got a C as a Foreign Minister. :p
Having inherited the Foreign Ministry from you, I strenuously disagree. The ambassador corps has never been in as good of shape as it is now, and the work you did last term is the chief reason that's the case.

As you know, the President sets the agenda for foreign policy. Swak is a great guy, but he set the wrong priorities. We didn't suffer any lasting harm, but we spent that term spinning our wheels on initiatives that had no lasting significance. That's not your fault.
I don't know about -never been in as good a shape-, but certainly the best in a while.
 
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