Author: Marcelbuter
In this 3 part series we look into the politics of each of the three countries of the Federation. Our goal is to try to get to know the people behind the positions a bit better. This week we take a closer look at the Cyberian Cabinet.
This trading period all the Cabinet members are members of the One Man party. We went to the party headquarters to interview the President (Miquel Alvarez), the Minister of Finance (Bonanza), the Minister of Justice (Ossie000), and the Minister of Education (Yoran).
The first interview was with Miquel Alvarez:
Marcelbuter: How does it feel to be appointed as President for the second time in your political career?
Miquel Alvarez: It is great to be President again, especially since the Parliament is quick active. Especially after my first round as President, which I think went very well. Even though there was a motion against me during that round. Being President still gives a form of status and trust, which is something everyone finds important I think.
Marcelbuter: Experts thought that Bonanza would be appointed as President. What events took place leading up to the appointment of you as President?
Miquel Alvarez: Bonanza wanted to become Minister of Finance again and I wanted to become President. We talked about this quite early and in the end everything worked out.
Marcelbuter: What are your goals this term as President?
Miquel Alvarez: I haven’t set many goals this round as President. I talked some things over with the Federal Manager, and I will change some things according to what we talked about. My biggest priority at the moment is to achieve the status of Advanced, which can easily be combined with the position of President.
Marcelbuter: What things do you still want to achieve in your political career?
Miquel Alvarez: I still have so many goals. I would like to have a third term as President, but also the position of Minister of Finance is high on my list. Becoming Mayor of Zwollar would also be something that I would like to achieve in the future. Politically I would like to see to it that the President and Ministers get more responsibilities, but that is something which I am too busy for this round to get done completely.
After the interview with the President, we sat down with the Minister of Finance, Bonanza:
Marcelbuter: You had some strong competition from Jorref in your attempt in going for your 6th term as Minister of Finance. How, after a hard fought election, does it feel that you got elected for that 6th term?
Bonanza: It is a bit of a two sided issue, basically since I expected that this would be my last round as Minister of Finance. Jorref has a strong following and has some great ideas. He would be the ideal person to follow me up as Minister of Finance. I initially supported his candidacy, but after realized that he could not be active enough, I put my candidacy up for my 6th term.
Marcelbuter: Some people criticize the fact that you are lead chief editor for the biggest newspaper in the Federation and a cabinet member. How do you ensure that the press remain objective and does not become the propaganda speaker of the Cyberian government under leadership of One Man?
Bonanza: That’s a bit of a sensitive point actually, especially since I hadn’t thought about it because the two functions are so different when it comes to tasks and responsibilities. I don’t think that people have seen promotion for the government in the paper though, at most an article for the elections, which all parties get.
Marcelbuter: After 6 terms the position of Minister of Finance must be starting to bore you a bit. What do you still want to achieve in your political career in the future?
Bonanza: The position is everything but boring. I think that it’s even the most fun of all the positions in Cyberian politics. My first time it was hard figuring everything out, but it has been going better every time. What I still want to achieve in politics is hard to say. I don’t have any big ambitions or goals anymore, but I do plan on running for the positions of Mayor of Bahthoeveborp in the coming rounds.
After this question, Bonanza received a phone call about a dodgy bank in Eurodam from Joerik, so we went to the office of the Minister of Justice, Ossie000:
Marcelbuter: You had strong competition from Tresias Aegirsson. How does it feel to have won the election for the Ministry of Justice?
Ossie000: I didn’t really think it was strong competition. Tresias is an experienced member of parliament, but he has never really been taken seriously. Besides that, I had the support of my party, so I was expecting it.
Marcelbuter: How will your term as Minister be different than your predecessor Jerrevds?
Ossie000: I think he used 3 judges per case, while I use 1 per case. Besides that there is of course the heavily criticized rule that Mayors are not allowed to write by-laws that deny free trade. I think besides that our ideas are the same.
Marcelbuter: You said during the elections that you didn’t agree with the fact that judges need a lawyer diploma to be able to preside over cases. Can you explain a bit more about why you think this and how you are looking to change the laws on this matter?
Ossie000: If someone is a good judge, he is a good judge. A good Minister of Justice knows out of experience who could be good judges. If someone doesn’t have the experience needed, party members will also often tell you about it before you hire the person. Everyone can get a lawyer degree, but that doesn’t mean that that person will be a good judge. So if it’s up to me, the law will be removed.
Ossie000 then said that he had to get back to making sure that the courthouse was built correctly, so we made our final stop at the office of Minister of Education, Yoran:
Marcelbuter: Congratulations with your victory in the elections. What are your plans this round as Minister of Education?
Yoran: A few of the things I want to improve this round are: that it takes less time for the Ministry to start up, that diploma’s have more value in the current society, and of course a well educated population in general.
Marcelbuter: It has been almost 10 years since your last term as Minister of Education. What major changes have occurred in that time between your terms?
Yoran: The biggest difference that I have seen is the interest in the educational system. Compared to my last term there are a lot more discussions about education, which is a good thing. Besides that I found it a lot easier to find teachers and people to check exams, something which I had trouble with last time.
Marcelbuter: What do you see as the most important way to promote the educational system in Cyberia?
Yoran: As I have said in my first answer: I want people to know that a diploma is worth having in Cyberia. Until now only traders that wanted to achieve a certain position took courses. By showing new players that diplomas help with the general knowledge of that person, and that it can be done without general need for that diploma.
After a long day we finally drove back to the TMC office. We sensed that things in Cyberia would turn out just fine, but if that will be the case will be seen this round.