Seneschal C. Carlus Xhertaltescù has informed the King that he is reshuffling his Cabinet. Senator Miestrâ Schivâ has been appinted Distain in place of MRPT leader Lüc da Schir. M.T Patritz da Biondeu MC has been appointed as Minister for Finance and for Stuff, replacing Senator da Schir in the former and Senator Sevastáin Pinátsch in the latter.
The reshuffle was prompted by the mass resignation of MRPT Ministers at the beginning of the week. Senator Pinátsch did not publicly join his party colleagues in their resignations and it is unclear at the time of writing if he communicated his resignation privately to the Seneschal or was dismissed as a consequence of the collapse of the coalition.
Mutual dissatisfaction among the coalition partners with the underperformance of the government in general has emerged as the proximate cause of the crisis. MRPT Ministers objected to what they claimed was an unfair and partisan attempt by FreeDem leaders to ascribe the coalition’s problems to their performance, and chose the final Clark of the 48th Cosa to publicly demonstrate their rejection of this.
In his most expansive public comments on the issue yet, Seneschal Xheraltescù declared that he had “made it clear” in Cabinet discussions that he was dissatisfied, but that the MRPT had failed “to take the decision” to replace an underperforming Minister from their party. This is thought to be a reference to Senator Pinàtsch.
The Seneschal also claimed that what he described as the “inability of [MRPT] ministers to communicate what their party was up to, and to communicate our legislative agenda to their own party did [the government] in somewhat too”. Although not confirmed at the time of writing, this may refer to a level of FreeDem discomfort with MRPT MC Ian Plätschisch’s legislative initiatives on Cosa reform and on attempts to resolve the Proclamation Crisis.
Branding this statement as “weak”, outspoken former Seneschal and MRPT MC Glüc da Dhi challenged the Seneschal’s leadership record stating that “a true PM” would have explicitly requested that the minister of Stuff be replaced, something Senator da Schir denies that the Seneschal actually did.
The Seneschal responded to S:reu da Dhi by declaring that while he accepted responsibility for the overall underperformance of the government it would be “ludicrous” for him to accept what he claimed was “the blame for [da Dhi’s] party’s role in slowing things down”. The Seneschal also declared that he would not “be gagged on where fault rests…I will be honest and upfront as I always have been”.