Category Archives: MRPT

Cabinet Crisis, coalition, da Dhi, freedems, MRPT, news, reshuffle, Xheraltescu

Cabinet Crisis: Reshuffle announced as tone mounts in coalition dispute

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”.

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Cabinet Crisis: Ministry of Stuff at the centre of coalition controversy

In the ongoing and increasingy testy back-and-forth between FreeDem spokeswoman Senator Miestrâ Schivâ and her various MRPT interlocutors, one striking item of contention appears to be the precise problem the Seneschal and by extenson the FreeDems had with the MRPT’s performance in cabinet: the Ministry of Stuff.

While criticising Senator Lüc da Schir for a more recent lack of activity, which has been acknowledged by the latter, Senator Schivä seems to point to the longer-term decline in the Minister of Stuff’s public activity in Talossa as the more serious problem. Stating that “if cxhn. Pinátsch, for example, had even told the Cabinet [that he was unable to continue] we could have replaced him”, but that while the Seneschal had been privately “vocal” in his criticisms of what he regarded as the MRPT ministers underperformance he had eschewed a confrontation over their replacement to avoid a coalition collapse.

Senator Lüc da Schir, the MRPT leader, denied that the Seneschal had asked him to replace the Minister of Stuff but that his response to such a query would have been “sure, if Sevastain is willing to step back”. The Senator also denied that proportional representation in Cabinet was a significant motivation for his party, as they had not objected to ex-MRPT member Breneir Itravilatx continuing as Foreign Minister, even though it reduced the number of MRPT ministers as a whole. The Minister’s MRPT colleague Glüc da Dhi insisted in response that the Minister had made his difficulties clear and had tried to get additional help with content, but claimed that “elections coming up is a better motivation” for the FDT.

Senator Sevastáin Pinátsch was appointed Minister of Stuff in September 2014 [ETT: Senator Pinátsch is Editor of ETT] According to the Organic Law, the Ministry of Stuff “shall prepare, at the behest of the Cosâ, the Seneschál, or on his own initiative, informative texts about the Kingdom of Talossa”. In practice this has meant being responsible for the Kingdom’s web presence. The Senator has not publicly announced his resignation from the Cabinet at the time of writing, though Senator Schivâ referred to “rumours” that the Minister may be dismissed as a result of the collapse of the coalition.

With respect to the Minister’s level of activity, a series of posts in September 2015 on Wittenberg suggest that the Minister was experiencing some turbulence in his family life. On 22rd September, he apologised for a lack of activity, and claimed that as “life has become considerably more complicated” his Talossan time had been curtailed, and that “most of my recent work to our information platforms has been technical”. In the same thread a day later, citing chldren entering adolescence, more stress at this workplace, and long days, the Minister described sleep as his “most treasured posession”.

In a more detailed post on 30th September, which was presumably a response to the criticism in the press and in the Ziu of the lack of progress on the update of talossa.com, the Minister explained that no content on talossa.com had been updated since April of this year, and that in setting up the system he had “hoped to receive much more volunteer relief than I have”, despite “repeated requests for help”. He also stated that he was “unable to do much more than ensure that the website operates properly and securely”.

The Minister also declared that “if I am over-reaching in my hope and expectation, or am simply demonstrating that I am ill-suited to the responsibility of this Ministry, you may request my resignation”. Four individuals with editing rights [ETT: including ETT contributor Inxheneu Crovâ] to the portal responded that they wished to maintain their ability to update talossa.com, but there was at the time no direct public comment from either the Seneschal or the Distain to the request, or on the Minister’s status.

The Minister, who is also Senator for Atatürk, has regularly requested feedback on each Clark of the 48th Cosa, has attempted to briefly motivate his votes, and has not missed a vote during the entire term, according to the Database. In response to encourgements from a fellow provincial, the Senator stated on 20th December that it been “a busier year for me than last year”, but that he was “budgeting time to read bills thoroughly”.

Cabinet Crisis, da Schir, Interviews, MRPT

Cabinet Crisis: Lüc da Schir speaks to ETT

ETT: Senator, was there a specific experience being in government that led you to the conclusion that you can achieve more outside of it?
LDS: I wouldn’t single out any particular episode, although I don’t necessarily believe that coalitions are inherently bad – we as a party are just in a particular moment of our existence when giving ourselves the usual fresh layer of paint before the next General Election is no longer enough. We need some time – more than a Congress – to reflect on our role within Talossa and the best way we can deliver our platform of Liberalism, Progressism and moderate monarchy reformism to the Talossan people. Doing so while simultaneously holding Cabinet posts is close to impossible: it would be attempting to do two things while getting nothing done. Power for the sake of itself is just inherently bad.

ETT: Do you accept any of the criticism that has come the way of MRPT ministers in the present government (and is this part of the reason you want to remain outside of it)?
LDS: My reason for advising the party to decide to stay out of Government in the next Cosa is not the criticism that has been thrown at us by our former allies – that’s more like the reason we decided we didn’t want to stay in this government anymore. Still, I think that members of the MRPT have indeed publicly accepted that part of the blame for the government’s failure does lie on the MRPT’s shoulders and it would be disingenuous on my part to deny that this really is the case. My and Sevastain’s performances were severely hampered by events in our extraTalossan lives and this is truly regrettable although intrinsic in Talossa’s nature.

ETT: In the party Digest the MRPT still mentions the idea of a directly elected Seneschal- might this be a solution to the coalition problem, since the government would not depend on party support in the Cosa, and might be able appoint and dismiss individuals from office regardless of their party?
LDS: That’s not really my own opinion, and indeed I have long believed that point should be scrapped as it both has a vague timeframe and, well, I don’t really agree in principle with it. The Government should rely on the support of the Cosa and I believe the current system is good for Talossa. But I wouldn’t really say there’s a “coalition problem” going on, the last two MRPT-led coalitions have worked just fine.

ETT:If the party vote goes against you, and the MRPT is prepared to enter government, would you lean towards a particular party? Do you personally feel more ideological affinity for one over the other?
LDS: I don’t really think I would prefer a Tresplet government over a Davinescu government or the other way around. I disagree with them on a lot of issues – for instance Davinescu is against reforming the Monarchy, both are against a smaller Cosa and candidates lists. I would just hope that the new leader makes his best effort to choose the second best deal for the MRPT (the best one obviously being staying out of government for a term) and I would definitely not accept a Cabinet post. That said, anyway, if I won and we decided to prop up a Government from the outside, I guess I will simply choose the party who offers us the best possibility of implementing our platform in exchange for our confidence votes. There will be no hard feelings towards any of the two other main parties.

48th Cosa, Cabinet Crisis, coalition, da Dhi, da Schir, Davinescu, freedems, MRPT, news, Plätschisch, RUMP, Schivâ, Xheraltescu

Cabinet Crisis: MRPT ministers resign, vote against confidence

MRPT party leader Senator Lüc da Schir has confirmed that his party are withdrawing their support from the goverment. Senator da Schir has resigned as Distain and Minister for Finance, following the shock announcement by MRPT MC Ian Plätschisch that he would resigning his government posts and voting against confidence earlier today.

Senator da Schir described the collapse of the coalition as “sad and unavoidable”, and “should have ended months ago” due to pressure of academic work. The Senator claimed that the break with the FDT was prompted by the “washing of dirty clothes publicly” by FDT cabinet colleagues.

MCs Glüc da Dhi and Erschéveþ da Schir joined their party colleagues in their renunciation of the alliance with the FDT and Progressives, with da Schir stating in the Cosa that voting confidence “would put a lot of us at odds with our consciences”. S:reu da Dhi, in a lengthy statement to the Cosa, claimed that “this government has not been what any of us had hoped for”, citing inactive or ineffective ministers and a “mostly invisible” Seneschal C. Carlüs Xheraltescù. He also acknowledged that while “over the top”, certain of the criticisms made of the government by RUMP leader Sir Alxeandreu Davinescu MC were “valid points”.

S:reu da Dhi however defended the legislative record of the MRPT, singling out Ian Plätschisch’s work on the 3/4 Majority Amendment in particular. While stating that it was “not wrong to discuss some of the weak points”, he criticised the Seneschal, in what he claimed was “election mode”, for unfairly singling out MRPT ministers. S:reu da Dhi also declared that while today’s events meant the “end” of the present FDT-MRPT, he would not personally rule out coalition with the FreeDems or any other party in the future, and that his party “should always be willing to take its responsibility”.

Seneschal Xheraltescù stated that he was “saddened though not surprised” by the resignations, but questioned whether “pressure from the wider party” explained the announcements, rather than the will of the individuals involved.

FreeDem Senator Miestrâ Schivâ accused Senator da Schir of having “pretty much disappeared for the past month or two” and that FreeDem ministers “have done virtually everything for at least the last two months”. The Senator also claimed that Sir Alexandreu Davinescu wished to “destroy” the government, and being “unbelievably dishonest” in accepting the support of “of the very people who caused the failure” of that government. She also stated that she would personally not accept a coalition with the MRPT in the next Cosa, but would consider indivdual ModRad participation “if not tainted by the serial ball-dropping” of the present government.

Speaking to ETT, Foreign Minister and former MRPT MC Breneir Itravilatx stated that “I have no comment on the current back-and-forth but I am saddened by the demise of the coalition. The actions of the MRPT are an understandable response to recent public statements by some FreeDem members. Hopefully there will not be irreparable damage to future potential for policy collaboration”. S:reu Itravilatx has registered a new centre-left political party, the Talossan National Congress, which will be launched in the coming weeks.

49th Cosa, coalition, Davinescu, MRPT, news, Plätschisch, Schivâ

BREAKING: Plätschisch votes against confidence, claims MRPT are ending support for government

In a surprise announcement, Deputy Minister Ian Plätschisch MC has announced that he is voting against confidence in the coalition. S:reu Plätschisch, who is a candidate for party leader, claims that “the MRPT is tired of being a scapegoat” and that “the MRPT Ministers have resigned, myself included, on the basis of no longer possessing the trust of the Seneschal, and as such the MRPT’s trust in the government has suffered even more”.

In his “Public Notice of Resignation” posted on Wittenberg shorty after the announcement of his vote against confidence, S:reu Plätschisch expanded on the reasons for the apparent breakup of the coalition. Declaring that in the first case, “if the MRPT Ministers really the problem, we should get out and start anew”. However, it what he characterised as the “more likely” scenario, that the MRPT ministers are being “scapegoated” for a collective failure “we do not wish to work with a party who ignores our achievements while pretending they do all of the heavy lifting”.

At the time of writing no official statement has been made by the incumbent party leader, Senator Lüc da Schir, and no discussion of withdrawal from the government is visible on the MRPT party forum.

S:reu Plätschisch was Dputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Deputy Minister of Immigration. In discussions at the 5th MRPT paty conference he has stated that he feels that a renewed coalition with the FDT was “unlikely” after the 49th Cosa election, even if he had no objection to it in principle.

Speaking to ETT yesteray, before S:reu Plätschisch’s announcement was made public, RUMP leader Sir Alexandreu Davinescu MC stated that “I absolutely think that the Moderate Radicals would be excellent potential partners in the new term, not just because they’re also advocates for the monarchy, but because I know several individuals of extraordinary talent in the party who could provide great competence and energy to any government”.

Also speaking to ETT before Plätschisch’s announcement, and in the absence of FDT party leader Senator Munditenens Tresplet for family reasons, Senator Miestrâ Schivâ confirmed that “the question of whether the FreeDems will even consider forming part of a coalition government next time is still being discussed”. She did however say that in her opinion “Ián Plätschisch is, I think, being flattered and manipulated by some very clever RUMP politicians” and that “the question of the monarchy, or even the hereditary monarchy, is NOT the most vital thing facing Talossa at the moment”. Speaking in a personal capacity, Senator Schivâ stated that “the Free Democrats [should] try to become the largest party next time and set up a majority or minority single-party government” but that if this was not possible “sitting on the other benches for a while wouldn’t be a disaster”.

coalition, conventions, da Dhi, da Lhiun, da Schir, MRPT, MRPT Conference 2015, news, Plätschisch

MRPT Conference: leadership contest exposes coalition doubts

As the Fifth Congress of the MRPT gets underway, two contenders for the leadership have announced themselves. Outgoing party leader, Distain and Finance Minister Senator Lüc da Schir has announced that he will seek another term as leader, with Deputy Interior Minister Ian Plâtschisch MC also stepping forward.

Senator da Schir stated that if re-elected he will not “enter in coalition deals with any other party”. S:reu da Schir further stated that in his opinion that a “lay-low crossbench term” would be healthy for the ModRads, and that “sometimes supporting a minority cabinet from the outside can get us more than being inside it (and faring very badly anyway)”.

The latter remark seems to be an implicit acknowledgement of the criticism that MRPT Ministers have underperformed during the 48th Cosa. According to the Senator, a term outside of government would allow the MRPT to renew itself and “get to the 50th Cosa with a strong team of active members”. The Senator also declared that he favoured promoting more active MCs over “putting our best people in the Senate”.

S:reu Plätschisch wished to emphasise that his decision to contest the leadership was not a reflection of a lack of confidence in the Senator. He stated however that while he had no objection to remaining outside of government in principle, he felt his approach was different enough from his party leader’s that he “wanted to give the party an alternative”.

S:reu Plätschisch stressed that he did not think the party should pursue a coalition “to the point of being trampled on”, but he did not agree that Talossa would benefit from a minority government, and that the party should “keep its options open, depending on election results and negotiations turn out”. He further stated that despite the negative perception some party members had of Sir Alexandreu Davinescu MC the RUMP should not be excluded from coalition consideration. He also declared that he felt a coalition with the FDT was “unlikley”, though not objectionable to him.

Other senior party members weighed in on the topic, which was moved to the Congress Hall for a broader discussion of the party’s strategy.

Former party leader and Seneschal Glüc da Dhi declared that in his opinion the party “should take our responsibility in cabinet” and influence policy directly. He also stated that he did not support a minority government of either RUMP of FDT, and “could support a coalition” with either.

Senator Magniloqueu Épiqeu da Lhiun expressed support for Senator da Schir’s policy, stating that “I think we have been too government-driven” and that the party “should take some time to come to its senses”.

MRPT, news, Plätschisch

MRPT Conference opens: A “moderate, practical, and realistic” party says Plätschisch

Conference leader Ian Plâtschisch MC opened the 5th MRPT Party Conference with a appeal to his fellow party members to “contiue to advance the moderate, practical, and realistic ideals we have always stood for”. Stating that the party “bridges the gap between Talossa’s conservatives and liberals”, S:reu Plätschisch claimed that the “necessity of moderatism, and why the moderate movement will always be a driving force in our politics”.

S:reu Plätschisch also stated that during the 48th Cosa “our ministers have served soundly, our legislators have advanced our progressive, yet prudent and thoughtful, agenda, and our members have worked to make Talossa a better and happier place”. The reference to the work of MRPT ministers may be an indirect rebuke to criticism from the opposition but also from within the coalition of the performance of those ministers.

S:reu Plätschisch also revealed the schedule of the conference, with a vote on the party leadership to be held from the 1st to 5th of January 2016, and the selection of candidates for the Cosa and Senäts from the 8th to 12th January.

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LibCon Controversy: MRPT reactions

In apparent response to Senator Rôibeardescù’s statement that he “would rather fight for a party that knows what it wants, instead of one that doesn’t”, Ian Plätschisch MC published a copy of the MRPT manifesto for the former’s attention. In extending an invitation to the Senator to consider the MRPT as a new political home, S:reu Plätschisch stated that “a vote’s a vote”, clarifying later that he intended this formula to mean that the support of any individual voter is welcome, but that he did not intend to recruit the Senator as a party member.

Senator Magniloqueu Épiqeu da Lhiun of Maritimi-Maxhestic criticised S.reu Plätschisch’s initiative, stating that his party colleague did “not represent the MRPT that I know”. He further remarked, in response to criticism from Senator Miestrâ Schivâ of Distain da Schir’s silence on the issue at that point, that “(the party leader) is just one voice among many”. He also noted what he claimed was the ZRT leader’s “alacrity to criticise the MRPT at the first chance you get. I am accustomed to your vitriolic remarks towards the RUMP, but I expected more amity towards us”.

Former MRPT leader Glüc da Dhi noted that “it’s not like the FDA had a problem having him as a member untill he left…now…he’s suddenly a ‘sleazoid'”. He also called on other parties “to not get involved immediately but give Txosue and his former party some time to sort things out for themselves first”, stating that he understood S:reu Plätschisch’s personal initiative as a response to the RUMP’s first move in publishing their manifesto.

48th Cosa, Interviews, MRPT, Plätschisch

Ian Plätschisch: 3/4 Majority Amendment “is the best compromise available”

Ian Plätschisch is a Member of the Cosa for the MRPT, and joined Talossa in March of 2015. The 48th Cosa is his debut as an MC, and he has personally proposed three bills published in the Clark so far and was a co-sponsor of the Democratic Amendment. He has also made a number of proposals still being studied in the Hopper.

ETT: You became Talossan early this year. What encouraged you to join Talossa? And when you wanted to get involved in politics, what prompted you to join in the MRPT?
IP: I am a buff for politics and parliamentary procedure, that it why I joined. I joined the MRPT because I agreed with most of their manifesto. No other parties (except the RUMP) had such a detailed manifesto, and, while the Monarchy is appealing, I am not so conservative as to fully support everything about it. Also, the RUMP has so many tenured citizens that I was afraid of being left behind.

ETT: How would you rate the government’s performance so far? What do you think they should do differently? What are they getting right?
IP: The Government has done okay, but failed to pass the Democratic Amendment, the keystone of the agreement. CCX, I’m afraid, is too optimistic about the terms to which the RUMP will agree. He repeatedly asked the RUMP to indicate what changes they wanted made to the DA, but, since June 21st, I have been the only one to translate those concerns into legislative proposals.
I don’t mean to call anyone out, CCX has been a superb Seneschal, but we need to be more serious about listening to our opposition if the coalition wants to pass any amendments. The census bill will pass I’m sure, as will the Humanitarian Aid Bill that is currently Hoppered. I think the battle to institute Cosa Lists and a smaller number of seats will be much harder.
I think to some coalition members I appear as if I am constantly trying to appease the RUMP at the expense of the government, but I assure you I am just trying to find the common ground I am certain must exist. It is a matter of nuance.

ETT: Which of your bills are you most proud of, just as a piece of legislation?
IP: While 48RZ5 is the only bill of mine that has actually passed, my favorite would have to be the Cort-Ordered Pontification Amendment. While I’ve had to abandon it for being impractical, it drew enough attention that hopefully another compromise bill can pass.

ETT: And finally, if you were Dictator of Talossa for one day, what would be the first thing you would change?
IP: I would institute the 3/4 Majority Amendment immediately. In my opinion it is the best compromise currently available.

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48th Cosa: BenArd seats redistributed; Hayes stays in the Cosa

According to an announcement by Secretary of State Marti-Pair Furxheir, MC-elect Béneditsch (BenArd) Ardpresteir hs not paid the US$20 seat registration fee, nor provided the Chancery with a seat alloction. This means that under Article VII, section 9 of the Organic Law, the seats are considered vacant and, in the absence of a party leader to re-allocate them, a replacement will have to be appointed by the King “using his best judgement”. The King has therefore filled the vacant seats based on the final proposal published by the Chancery.

S:reu Furxheir also revealed that he had finally received the seat allcoation from the other independent MC-elect, Nicholas Hayes. S:reu Hayes, who has maintained a low public profile since his election, was thought to have forfeited his seats in the same way as S:reu Ardpresteir as he had failed to supply a seat allocation to Chancery. This was apparently rectified on 21st July, leaving only the four seats abandoned by S:reu Ardpresteir to be redistributed.

According to the final calculations published by the Chancery for the King’s guidance, the vacant seats are to be allocated as follows:

RUMP 2 seats (allocated to Sir Alexandreu Davinescu)
MRPT 1 seat (to Lupuluc da Fhoglha)
FDA 1 seat (to C. Carlüs Xheraltescù)

This leaves the now 200 seat Cosa with the following composition:

RUMP 69 seats
FDA 48 seats
MRPT 47 seats
TSP 16 seats
PP 14 seats
Hayes 6 seats

The government parties improve their relative position slightly, due to the (apparent) renaissance of S:reu Hayes and the non-arrival of the historically RUMP-aligned BenArd. (Hayes is not formally a supporter of the coalition but was appointed a Deputy Minister of the Interior by the present government). However the RUMP have strengthened their position in constitutional matters by extending their blocking minority position.