|
|
Post by Dr. Hendrei Gromsinger on Jul 6, 2021 16:46:18 GMT
Tuesday, November 13, 2006 - evening[Chairwoman Yulia Meyers - Makhachkala Metro-Rail Red Line (northbound service), Airport Station]"After the election, you'll visit me," Yulia offered, speaking into her shiny new BlackBerry Pearl phone in Hebrew. "I know, Shimon. It can happen to anyone."One who could guess which Shimon was on the other end, could guess that "it" was losing an election in an upset, as had happened to Peres twice. "Give my regards to Sonia. Bye, Shimon."After putting her phone in her purse, Yulia looked for a place to sit on the train (at this point in its journey, still mostly empty - it would start to fill up around the Novyy Khushet stop), and found an empty foursome of chairs with a rather interesting occupant. "Regina Ismailova?" she asked, to confirm her recognition of the seated woman. "Mind if we join you?""We" being Yulia (an icon, with her trademark thick spectacles), her suitcase, and her two bodyguards.
Tag tpc (Regina)
|
|
|
|
Post by tpc on Jul 7, 2021 2:02:42 GMT
[ Regina Ismailova - Makhachkala Metro-Rail Red Line (northbound service), Airport Station] "Why, yes, of course, I'd be honored if you sit next to me, Chairwoman Meyers!"
That wasn't the most coherent sentence, Regina thought. She could barely contain an excited smile; only the thought of sounding like a child being taken to a fair after eating copious amounts of candy (that is, overexcited and incoherent) contained her glee."I suppose I should consider myself lucky that such an esteemed Chairwoman is so committed to accompanying the passengers of our little train." Regina shot a playful smile - she had deliberately alluded to Meyers' statement in the Derbent post a week ago. She hoped Meyers would catch on.
tag Dr. Hendrei Gromsinger (Yulia) |
|
|
|
Post by Dr. Hendrei Gromsinger on Jul 7, 2021 3:01:18 GMT
[Chairwoman Yulia Meyers - Makhachkala Metro-Rail Red Line (northbound service)]As she sat down and made herself comfortable (the bodyguards, naturally, stood alert), Yulia tried to figure out Ismailova's rather stilted words, until, after a moment's thought, it dawned on her. "Gosh, I did say that," she exclaimed, the first word (and only the first world) in English. "You know, the press, they hound you for quotes, and when you try to make yourself heard, especially over the noise of the tarmac, the words come out so... stiff."Yulia could've had it a lot worse - the press didn't try to twist her words too much - but it still wasn't easy to be so often quoted. "I did mean that, but... maybe phrased in a more human way."
Tag tpc
|
|
|
|
Post by tpc on Jul 7, 2021 3:50:25 GMT
[ Regina Ismailova - Makhachkala Metro-Rail Red Line (northbound service)] "I'm sure your readers were charmed either way, Madam Chairwoman," Regina said, presenting a sympathetic glance at Yulia, "I know I was."
She understood what Yulia felt. Regina never really liked reading transcripts of her court appearances, always finding things that could have been better said here and there. There wasn't much more to say but to reassure Yulia. "How's your campaign going, Madam Chairwoman?"Regina knew Yulia's opponents had twisted her words before, though it seemed to not have much of an effect. She instinctively reached for a notebook in her handbag, wanting to note down Yulia's insights on campaigning. She stopped, however, realizing it would make Yulia uncomfortable. Regina pretended to skim her notebook, waiting for Yulia's response.
tag Dr. Hendrei Gromsinger (Yulia) |
|
|
|
Post by Dr. Hendrei Gromsinger on Jul 7, 2021 4:47:09 GMT
[Chairwoman Yulia Meyers - Makhachkala Metro-Rail Red Line (northbound service)]"The campaign is wonderful, because of how unlike America it is," Yulia said, philosophically. "You know, I was there in September, and it's all so negative: no one talks about what good they will do, because they're too busy talking about how horrible their opponent is. Pelosi, Hastert, Bush, Cheney, they're all playing that same card."Those four had radically different styles - Yulia had had meetings with them all (some on the September trip, others earlier), though none were friends - but they all loved a good attack ad. "Despite Lobachenko's best efforts, that style doesn't sell here. It's wonderful."Yulia took note of the notebook, but didn't comment on it. She was used to having her every word recorded.
Tag tpc
|
|
|
|
Post by tpc on Jul 8, 2021 1:49:21 GMT
[ Regina Ismailova - Makhachkala Metro-Rail Red Line (northbound service)] "I see. How was your visit to America, Madam Chairwoman?"Regina was curious to see if America had changed since she left in 2001. Dagestan had changed much from 1997 to 2001, and from 2001 to 2006. America, too, was on the cusp of many changes: a war, among other things.
"Lobachenko's ads... I shudder to think about them selling. They don't just attack you, Madam, but all women."
Regina hated Lobachenko's ads, but she was not surprised that he would run them. The amount of gender-based abuse that happened in SNB prisons was staggering, all under Lobachenko's management.
tag Dr. Hendrei Gromsinger (Yulia) |
|
|
|
Post by Dr. Hendrei Gromsinger on Jul 8, 2021 3:46:46 GMT
[Chairwoman Yulia Meyers - Makhachkala Metro-Rail Red Line (northbound service)]"America is... America. A bit more divided now than it used to be, but still mostly the same," Yulia replied. "Did you know the guy from Terminator is the Governor of California?"Initially, Yulia had expected Schwarzenegger to be a policy lightweight; he had pleasantly surprised her in their meeting. She felt that electing a bodybuilder and actor such as him, more than the rancor over Iraq and Katrina, was the most American thing going on in that country. "As for Lobachenko, he's holding back. He hasn't said anything about cup sizes or that time of month."At 60 years of age, Yulia was too old to worry about "that time of month", but not all in rural Dagestan knew this - the lack of knowledge about women's health was assuredly a policy concern.
Tag tpc
|
|
|
|
Post by tpc on Jul 8, 2021 13:33:59 GMT
[ Regina Ismailova - Makhachkala Metro-Rail Red Line (northbound service)] Regina nodded. She had watched Terminator and its sequel in college, and she had heard news about Arnold being Governor. She didn't have time to confirm the news; she had spent almost every minute resisting Volkov. She had to be well-informed about Dagestan and the world, but not particularities about US states. She had been trying to start a routine of detailed reading, but she found it hard with all the bad dreams and fits. "Did you meet him in America? How was he like?"
Any opportunity to learn was appreciated. "If Americans can elect the guy from Terminator, Lobachenko and Siluanov are foolish to think Dagestanis can't elect a hero and public servant just because she's a woman."
tag Dr. Hendrei Gromsinger (Yulia) |
|
|
|
Post by Dr. Hendrei Gromsinger on Jul 8, 2021 15:13:10 GMT
[Chairwoman Yulia Meyers - Makhachkala Metro-Rail Red Line (northbound service)]"Schwarzenegger was a gentleman in our meeting. Great to talk with, and genuinely interested in policy - and in our little corner of the world."Yulia found almost all American politicians to make good company (the exception being Vice-President Cheney, a man hardly known for his companionable nature), but with Arnold, something clicked. Perhaps it was their shared immigrant nature (he an Austrian in US politics, she an American in Dagestani politics). The train slowed down, coming to a halt at the leafy station of Irgin. In this town, newish housing developments had sprung up, replacing some of the older farmland. "You know, Dmitry Siluanov is a chess player. Every move he makes is about the ten moves ahead of it," Yulia explained, answering Regina sideways. "He'd like to win this election, but he's playing for the next election. I don't think he aims to beat me - though he'd be happy to do so - but rather to establish enough doubt that while the people may trust me to rule, they won't let me rule alone, and they won't give the... what are they calling it now, the Belgium coalition? Anyway, they won't give my coalition a majority, and then I'll have to enter a cohabitation with Prime Minister Siluanov. That's what his attacks are about."Yulia cast an eye out the window at the high-rise apartment buildings of Irgin, western-style structures. "Lobachenko is the opposite. He has the strategic vision of a toddler. I had to ride roughshod over him at Interior to get anything done on public lands, because the man can't see a year ahead."
Tag tpc
|
|
|
|
Post by tpc on Jul 12, 2021 15:40:03 GMT
Regina Ismailova - Makhachkala Metro-Rail Red Line (northbound service)] "Why would Siluanov be the one to gain if people trusted you less? Why not Lobachenko, or- "Regina looked out the window. She didn't really see anything. Her mind was far too busy figuring out Siluanov's move to make out the leaves or construction.
"I see. The authoritarians and Russophiles won't need attack ads to not vote for you. Besides, Siluanov is not on the best of terms with them."
She deduced that Lobachenko, Muhammadev, and Ignatiev would not factor in Siluanov's attack ads. Apart from the two observations she vocalized, Regina noted that the Dagestani people did not have much of a mood for Russophile authoritarians anyway, having just overthrown one.
"And the cities - well, the two parties likely to win are part of your Coalition. They're smart enough, too, to not buy into those lies."
The Greens, she thought, had no hope of winning many seats. It was a newly-established party with a narrow focus, and being anti-oil was a death sentence when most owed their jobs to oil. Whoever won there, Progressive or Liberal, would support Meyers.
"The attack ads would only work in rural Dagestan, and that's where your endorsement is needed the most, Chairwoman Meyers. Your endorsement would tip many an election in Karimov's favor."
Revival and People's had strong roots in rural Dagestan, and both Siluanov and Karimov were equally popular there. An endorsement by Yulia Meyers, the guerilla folk hero, would be the push either candidate needed, Regina thought. If Siluanov could not secure Meyers' endorsement, then he would destroy its power, she concluded.
"Karimov would lose an important advantage against Siluanov. The latter would then have a better chance of winning rural Dagestan, and of being Prime Minister by implication."
tag Dr. Hendrei Gromsinger (Yulia)
|
|
|
|
Post by Dr. Hendrei Gromsinger on Jul 12, 2021 16:17:57 GMT
[Chairwoman Yulia Meyers - Makhachkala Metro-Rail Red Line (northbound service)]Yulia chuckled gently. "I think he's skipped straight to... well, it's not quite tarnishing, it's a different move," she clarified. "The appeal to moderation is one of the easier rhetorical moves to make. Checks and balances, all that jazz. If I'm elected, his next ad will be an attack on the most extreme parts of my coalition, with the implication that he'll moderate the system. It works very well in America, less so in other countries, but I think that's the gambit here."Ismailova brought up another touchy political point, the endorsement. "I'm not going to delve into the considerations I have behind my endorsement - you'll have to read the memoir I'll write in retirement - but I will say that my endorsement is more of a hammer than a scalpel."It was for good reason that Yulia campaigned for members of all three parties, rather than just one. She feared that her endorsement of, for example, the People's Party could make the other two appear as beholden to said party, thus strengthening the Greens and SLP. She also worried she'd see the likes of Abdul Ifraimov jump in to form a totally unnecessary pro-Meyers, anti-Karimov party, and cause infighting in the bloc.
Tag tpc
|
|
