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Post by Dr. Hendrei Gromsinger on Jul 15, 2021 6:40:34 GMT
10:30 AM, January 30th[Pres. Yulia Meyers, Conference Room 3, the Green House]Throughout the consultation talks, Yulia sat at the head of the conference table, on an ordinary chair. She listened to the parties, asked questions, needled, challenged, and guided. In her lap, she kept a little black notebook in which she wrote down the total recommendation tallies. She turned her grey eyes, through the distance segment of her bifocals, to the representatives of the Liberal Party. "Who do you recommend for the position of Prime Minister, my friends?" she asked, all scripted.
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Post by tpc on Jul 15, 2021 14:57:43 GMT
[Members of the Assembly Tarlan Elkhanov, Regina Ismailova, Kiril Malenkov, Conference Room 3, The Green House]Tarlan looked around at the people around him, representatives of his party. He didn't know what they would say. Tarlan had just made up his mind the night before. He didn't think there was time to make sure everyone followed his directions, and besides it was too much effort. The consultations were going to be private; there was less need for caution. Tarlan thought knowing the true allegiances of his party was well worth the cost of any slip of the tongue. He hoped so, at least.Regina Ismailova rose first. She doesn't hesistate, Tarlan thought, she seizes opportunities without hesitation."I recommend Mayor Tarlan Elkhanov, Your Excellency."Some seated members gasped in shock. Some attempted to say more than a gasp and rise up, but Regina stared them down. At least, that was what she thought. Perhaps Meyers or Tarlan, not her, had brought them back in order."Mayor Katz and Assemblyman Karimov both want to be Prime Minister, yes? It'll take a lot of scheming before they agree on anything. We wouldn't want that - conflicts in the Presidential Majority is not a good look."Tarlan admittedly agreed - left alone, he doubted the situation between Karimov and Katz would resolve itself peacefully. He was interested, however, in how Regina would justify her recommendation given this situation."If you give the mandate to either one now, they'll see it as a blank check to strongarm the other party into submission. The loser will have to comply. They won't want to be seen as obstinate and power-hungry. They'll be dissatisfied, though - we'll have a perpetually fragile coalition, one that might not survive the next election."
What Regina had said would have seemed prejudicial, if rumors weren't circulating about P and N plans to do so. Some liberals, too, had received feelers from both parties to coalesce with them, convincing Meyers to choose Karimov or Katz through sheer numbers.
"If you give the mandate to Mayor Elkhanov, Katz and Karimov will be seething, true. However, due to the Liberals' smaller size, we'll have to offer a fair deal for both, and we'll have to remain in the president's good graces. This creates the groundwork for a more stable coalition, and Mayor Elkhanov is naturaly the one to head it as the Liberals' leader."Tarlan saw some merit in Regina's analysis. The Liberals were the fourth largest party. They didn't have the votes to rule alone. The Elkhanov Cabinet would depend on the consent of all parties and presidential approval. Perhaps the prospect of a more balanced coalition, and one in firmly in Yulia's control, would prove convincing to her.
"Better Karimov than compromise with that pinko Katz."Kiril Malenkov, construction oligarch, rose. He was elected to the Assembly through the party list. No one would elect him directly, but oligarch representation was needed, and he was one of the three Liberal oligarchs in the Assembly.Another recommended Karimov. That put the tally to 2 oligarchs for Karimov. One last oligarch recommended Tarlan.The rest were social liberals. Eight recommended Tarlan (including Regina), four recommended Katz, three younger members recommended Regina.The final tally was 9 for Elkhanov, 4 for Katz, 3 for Regina, and 2 for Karimov. The oligarchs, Tarlan noted, had more influence than their number suggested, being the main source of campaign funds for the party.Only Tarlan had not spoken.
"Your Excellency, I agree with Ms. Ismailova. Any policy that will be passed by the Katz or Karimov cabinet in its current state would be vulnerable to backlash from the losing side. Any social progress or business-friendly rule may well be overturned."
Tarlan looked at the social liberals and oligarchs. The policies that they wanted would not be sustainable unless they were able to bridge the gap between Karimov and Katz."However, I do not think the solution is alienating both. We should try, I think, to work a compromise between the two and use force only when necessary. Therefore, I cannot in good conscience recommend anyone as of yet. I will support anyone with the support of both Karimov and Katz, but until we have that person I will support no one."
Dr. Hendrei Gromsinger
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Post by Dr. Hendrei Gromsinger on Jul 16, 2021 10:15:45 GMT
[Pres. Yulia Meyers, Conference Room 3, the Green House]Yulia listened to the Liberals with their divergent views and opinions. They were much more heterogeneous than the smaller parties - the Nats, SLP, and Freedom Party had each recommended one person - but that fit with the nature of the Liberal Party. "Well, let's wargame a few things, starting with a lightning round:"
"If the People's Party recommend Katz, how do your recommendations shift?"
"If the Progressive Party recommend Karimov, how do your recommendations shift?"
"If it's a binary choice, Katz vs. Karimov, where do you go?"After dealing with the lightning round, Yulia moved to an interesting question. "Suppose I give the mandate to someone who got rather few recommenders, like Mayor Elkhanov, or Assemblywoman Ismailova, or Minister Karimov, what is the democratic rationale for such a move?"
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Post by tpc on Jul 16, 2021 14:50:26 GMT
[Members of the Assembly Tarlan Elkhanov, Regina Ismailova, and Liberals, Conference Room 3, The Green House]"Katz."
"Karimov."The Liberals' response for the first two questions was unified. They knew about the possibility of an Afghanistan coalition forming if the liberals were too obstinate. A Karimov-Siluanov-Katz alliance was against the interests of both the big business oligarchs and intellectuals.On the second question, the liberals defaulted to previous lines of division. All three oligarchs supported Karimov, all the social liberals supported Katz. Tarlan answered last. Any response in favor of one person would alienate one of the factions - Tarlan was not just a person with an opinion, he was a party leader."Whoever will give our party the best compromise."
Tarlan hoped that answer would satisfy both the oligarchs and the intellectuals. He hoped Meyers would be satisfied too.
Next, Regina answered the last question.
"We need someone with the best shot of forming a stable government. The person with the most recommendations might be very polarizing - many might like them, but many too might hate them. A person without many recommendations but accepted by everyone would leave few disappointed. That could be a better expression of the people's will than a polarizing Prime Minister that would leave some happy and some angry."
Dr. Hendrei Gromsinger [/quote]
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Post by Dr. Hendrei Gromsinger on Jul 18, 2021 5:45:56 GMT
[Pres. Yulia Meyers - Conference Room 3, the Green House]Yulia could understand the Liberals' almost resigned acceptance of Katz or Karimov, each conditional on the other; the Afghanistan coalition was a pistol aimed at the Liberal gut. Regina answered well, not too far from what the Green House's spin doctors would surely produce. It was all pretty words to paper over messy politics, but it was necessary. "Let's move on from the Premiership for a moment," the President began, before catching sight of one of her aides. "Pavel, can you bring in the cheeseboard?" she asked. The aide, Pavel, nodded. "So, moving on, what kinds of policies do you hope to work into the coalition agreement? What's your starting negotiating position?"Two butlers, summoned by Pavel, came in with an assortment of cheeses (local produce, mostly traditional cheeses) and crackers.
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