Peninsular for New Republica South

[thepeninsular]

Hello everyone!

For those of you who don't know me, I'll be making a short introduction: I am The Peninsular (you can call me Peninsular or simply Penin), currently Deputy Minister of Education, as well as emissary to multiple regions - Europe, Forest, Deutschland - as well as the newly appointed Ambassador to Texas.
I came to the region about 9 months ago, from Europe, and have since been politically active. It was after my transition from Europe to XKI, as I had been European ambassador to XKI before, that I was appointed Foreign Affairs Secretary by the newly elected Delegate Dominion of Compassion due to my involvement in foreign policy before. In the Islands, I found the opportunity for political involvement that I didn't have before. I proceeded to serve in this position - mostly as an advisor - under DoC for the entirety of his 6 month term. About 3 months into the term, I successfully applied for Deputy Minister of Education as well, and joined TITO. I also took up emissary positions, as I find that a Foreign Affairs advisor should actively take a part in FO work as well. During that time, I developed a few ideas, some of which may be realized together with other regions.

"The state is an affair of the people", a quote which I could not agree with more, as well as my strong will to help improve the Islands, motivate me to run in this election. Firstly, I'd like to say that Ater Nox has done a marvelous job at improving the political party environment, for example introducing the Delegate Debate that had its debut during the last election. I intend to keep this up if I get elected, not only for Delegate elections, but also on the level of a Senatorial election. Furthermore, I intend to expand on this concept and introduce a platform for regular debates about political matters, as well as encourage new players to check out the party system and contribute to the political process in the Islands.

Feel free to ask me any question you have!

Also, I would like to wish Jabberwocky the best of luck for this election!

[Deleted]

All the very best thepeninsular! This is going to be a great election!

[Lethoica]

Good luck thepeninsular, I will be back with some questions for you once we get closer to the election.

[Siuts]

Good luck thepeninsular, I look forward to a more elaborate explanation of your Political Party Policies.

[Deleted]

thepeninsular, what are some of your plans with respect to the political party system that we have?

Also, how do you plan on increasing awareness of these parties in XKI?

[thepeninsular]

May 9, 2018 13:20:56 GMT -5 @kozmix said:

thepeninsular , what are some of your plans with respect to the political party system that we have?

Also, how do you plan on increasing awareness of these parties in XKI?

I have two main plans to improve the political party system further. The first is what I call "Increasing Party Interaction":
Like there are talks and debates on TV where politicians discuss a topic, I plan on introducing Party Debates. These are planned to be debates concerning political topics prominent in the Islands at the time they are held, and will be held on a regular basis. Such debates would be mostly held on Discord to allow for a faster, more realistic debate, with each participating party sending one or two of their members to debate the topic while also discussing ideas to solve it.
Furthermore, I aim to introduce, similar to Ater Nox's Delegate Debate, a senatorial debate on the Forum where both candidates can lay out their ideas and plans and interact with the other as they debate these.

My second main plan is encouraging new party foundings:
Currently, there are two big parties in XKI, MSPP and TIP. I plan on encouraging players to found their own party. I believe the biggest problem in this regard is that people think "What am I going to be able to accomplish against the two biggest parties in the Islands?", so I plan on introducing a kind of helping hand for new parties to establish themselves. This could be accomplished by establishing a fund to help new parties cope with advertisement and campaigning expenses, which often can be pretty big. Also, I plan on introducing an optional "Introduction Thread", a thread which will be announced forumwide where the party founder/founding members can introduce their party and what they stand for/what their ideas and plans are.

I plan on increasing awareness of the political parties through mainly two measures. First of all, I plan on using regional Telegrams in cooperation with the Ministry of Education to increase awareness of both the Forum and the Party system. Secondly, I believe the aforementioned party debates, held on the Discord, should be visible to everyone and be publicly announced to increase attendance and awareness.

[Jabberwocky]

Excellent reply from my worthy foe; well played! Terrific campaign ad too, very attractive. Alas, my impecunious state prevents me from employing pleasing visuals.

[Woonsocket]

thepeninsular has paid to make this thread an announcement. Do not remove the announcement.

[Lethoica]

thepeninsular Can you explain party debates in more detail? Like how often would the debates be and who would set the questions. Also how do you feel about VC debates?

[thepeninsular]

May 10, 2018 10:54:16 GMT -5 Lethoica said:

thepeninsular Can you explain party debates in more detail? Like how often would the debates be and who would set the questions. Also how do you feel about VC debates?

Party Debates are a form of debate that focuses on a more realistic realtime discussion. As I said, they would for that reason be held over the Discord, with each participating party sending one or two people. The questions would mostly be determined by what is going on in the Islands at that time; the debates would mostly focus on political issues/events present. The moderator of the Debate would set the questions, however non-participants would also be able to send him questions to add to the list. The structure of the Debate would probably look along the lines of this: Short Introduction of the debaters - Short overview over the general topic - Introduction statements (each side presents their view on the issue) - Question time (both sides are posed the same questions) - Open debate (The open debate would be a general discussion between both sides, e.g. debating pros and cons of a solution and generally interacting with the other side instead of just answering a question).
I plan for at least one party debate per month, with debates between that in case an interesting topic is brought up.

As for VC debates, I generally find the concept good, and they can certainly be done in some situations. However, I find chat-based debates a more viable form due to a number of reasons: a) Debaters can give more detailed answers better, and can lay out their concepts in a rather structured manner, as they can think through their answer to a good extent, while still maintaining a realistic debate speed. b) Chats are normally easier to moderate and also make it a lot easier for the attendants and spectators alike to keep track of the discussion. And c) Not every debater might have a microphone.

However, I do think that VC elements could be implemented in Debates.

[Deleted]

thepeninsular, one party debate a month? Elections are already held every alternate months, what added benefit would off-month debates provide?

[thepeninsular]

May 10, 2018 13:07:35 GMT -5 @kozmix said:

thepeninsular , one party debate a month? Elections are already held every alternate months, what added benefit would off-month debates provide?

One debate a month is first and foremost a minimum goal. I am very sure that we can do them more frequently, and I will definitely aim to do it more frequently, however I find aiming safely at first is a good choice. Also, these are only the regularly set dates, debates could of course be organized outside of these dates.

These Party debates are intended to keep the political party system up and running even when it is not election time, as it tends to stagnate somewhat during that period. These debates, even if only the minimum goal is achieved, would also serve as a sort of preparation for the upcoming elections, so long-term planning is required for parties, e.g. collecting ideas, working out concepts in that period of time.

[Alkasia]

You've done a great job in the FA department with your work as an emissary and FA Secretary under DoC. You'd do great in this position too. Good luck!

And good to see TDP running candidates!

[Deleted]

Commiserations, thepeninsular. This was a rather interesting election and you campaigned hard. Hope to see you in the Council very soon.

[Louisistan]

Thanks for running, thepeninsular.

[New Minerve]

thepeninsular, You had one of the best campaigns yet, and i really do like the idea of Debates, and a more focused political system. So between a great campaign like this and ideas like those I'm really hoping you run again because I'd love to see the debates implemented.

[Jabberwocky]

I was surprised to win the election. My opponent is a long established and respected figure in these Isands, with a record of public service. After a close race, it was someone`s decision in the closing minutes that allowed me to squeak by. I am humbled and honored, and resolve to work closely with the other parties to help increase party membership and encourage our citizens to become involved at a political level. That was my intent when I ran; winning was a by product of my desire to increase involvement. To have run unopposed would have been a mockery of our very system.

[Lethoica]

Nice try thepeninsular, you ran a great campaign and almost won. I hope to see you run in the future!

[Paffnia]

Commiserations, thepeninsular.

[Alkasia]

A close election indeed. Those are always the most exciting.

Never give up, my friend. You've done a lot for the Islands and I can clearly envision you as even a Minister someday. You'll be on the Council soon enough. Keep an eye on the next elections.

[Siuts]

A belated commiserations, thepeninsular. Thank you for running, campaigning and your excellent ideas. I echo the opinions of others in this thread in that I hope to see you on the council soon. Please, just don't run against me in the next election, I'd hate to loose