Mr. Cyprias, Praetor of Insularia, speaking in the Istalian parliamentAfter accepting the invitation of the Istalian Nationalist Party, it was only a matter of time before the Praetor of Insularia, one of the Selucian regions, appeared in the Italian legislative chamber to give his speech, something that some were waiting impatiently for not being sure of what topics he was going to talk about, especially because of who had invited him.
Although the meeting between the heads of state of Istalia and Selucia, Mr. Appiano de Borromei and Mrs. Curmidia, took place in absolute normality - although the Rector tried to avoid referring at all times to Mr. Appiano as "Emperor", using instead the term "Head of State" - the meeting, according to both teams, was "fruitful" and resulted in agreements in economic and educational matters that will benefit both countries, historical allies in a continent very given to political instability.
However, and especially after the appearance of the Praetor of Marestella in Istalia announcing her intention to request the transfer of the headquarters of the Aurorian Patriarchal Church to another place, many were eager to check what would be the words of the regional leader of Insularia, traditional political bastion of In Marea-Civis Sinistram, where they have governed uninterrupted since 4522 and in which in the last three centuries have only been in opposition less than 70 years. For this reason, the regional federation of the party in Insularia is the most influential, and its leaders have traditionally had a lot of maneuverability allowed from the national leadership. However, this trip to Istalia of the five regional leaders - of which three have refused to meet with Mr. Appiano de Borromei, preferring instead to hold meetings with their fellow Istalians - is the first of such magnitude, and after the change of political regime in Istalia, several of them have not hidden their discontent. The Praetor of Insularia, convinced progressist and republican, hesitated until the last minute on whether to accept the offer of the Istalian Nationalist Party, knowing their ideology, but finally accepted, according to his press team. To avoid political tensions, the Praetor decided to agree on a date in which the Rector of Selucia, Mrs. Curmidia, was not already in the nation, so that she could not be blamed for anything he could say in the legislative chamber. Today he has finally appeared in it, and his words have left no one indifferent.
"Honorable representatives of the Istalian people"
has started saying
"First of all, I would like to thank the Istalian Nationalist Party for the invitation they made to me to appear in this House, the summit of the legislative power of Istalia. I think it is an important and even necessary step, and I would like that in the near future, this would not be an exception but rather a routine where political leaders of some nations traveled to others to share their experiences and impressions in the most important decision-making place of a nation. When they invited me to appear in this House, I doubted about the suitability of doing it, but finally I understood that these actions are the ones that strengthen the democracies.To go to a political space to debate ideas, to listen to how others think, how they think "those from outside ", and learn.
I have been in charge of Insularia for more than twenty years, in which I have put all my effort to achieve a more united, open and tolerant society, capable of building and not of destroying and above all, in which each and every one of its members feel equal to others. I have tried to bring the concept of "democracy" to its maximum exponent, through decision-making proposals, through referendums and citizen consultations, as well as the integration of representatives of civil society in the regional government. I have never hidden that I am a convinced republican, who defends the concept of "republic" in its pure meaning of "government of the people", and for that reason, in spite of the limitations that the current system by which all countries are governed from Terra, I have tried to approach the maximum that I have been allowed. At no time have I concealed, therefore, my rejection of monarchical forms of government, and this is what I expressed when I learned of the change of political regime in Istalia, and that is probably the main reason that led the Istalian nationalist party to offer me to come here.
For my ideals, any monarchical government is bad for the people. The institution of the monarchy is based on the idea that some citizens, by the mere fact of being born in a certain family, must necessarily be above others. And not only that, but in addition to having a monarch, emperor, king, sovereign ... above the others, they also grant those same privileges to their closest relatives, also for the same fact, without any merit. This problem diminishes in the case of the elective monarchies, which, after all, are nothing more than a for-life presidential system in which the winner of the elections is granted the title of "sovereign", but otherwise , differs with the traditional monarchy. I also object to this type of monarchy, since it makes the life of some citizens to be marked by the decision, at a certain moment, of others. My perception is that the people are sovereign, and as such, it should be them who decide to whom they want to give the power to make decisions that will affect collectively the functioning of their lives and, if necessary, be able to withdraw peacefully that power to the person or people chosen. For more than 20 years, I have made my position available to citizens, in the various regional elections that have been held in Insularia. Again and again, they have decided to give me their confidence to make decisions that affect their lives, and therefore, I return this privilege in the form of referendums, so that it is ultimately the people who decide whether the decisions what I want to take are correct or not.
On the contrary, a monarchy suppresses, partially or totally, popular sovereignty. While an elective monarchy does give citizens the possibility of electing their sovereign, even at a certain time, it continues to eliminate the power of the people since, once the decision is made, the chosen person and their family will remain in power to the end of their days, except violent actions. In the case of hereditary monarchies, not even the people have the power to elect the sovereign, but rather, by simple family connection, a person is imposed who will say to govern "in the name of all", but who, ultimately , the only thing he will do is try to represent a group of people that has not decided to put him there. In monarchies, political capacity does not count, mistakes or bad decisions are not penalized, it simply attacks the will of a people to govern itself, because deep down, there is an underlying idea that the people will not be able to to make their own decisions. It is, therefore, a system based on distrust and the desire for power, and therefore, I will never be able to give it the go-ahead.
Of course, there are situations and situations. The monarchy that has been established in Istalia has been carried out through providing the people with the ability to choose, but between what? They were offered a choice between "monarchy" or "chaos", and of course, before those words, the people understood that "monarchy" should mean the opposite of "chaos", that is, "order" and therefore they thought that that was the right decision. From that moment, the figure of the Emperor in Istalia has grown to become practically a personal cult, something that clashes sharply with the republican principles with which I rule my life. With these words I do not stand up as a representative of Selucia, not even of Insularia, I represent myself as a citizen, contributing with my personal vision on a specific topic.
However, as a convinced progressist myself, I must also defend that we are all equal. My opposition is firm to any law that opposes this and therefore, I categorically reject any attempt to discriminate against people because of their origin, religion, sex or sexual orientation, which is something the Istalian nationalist party has done, for example, with its military law in which it attacks the LGBT collective. The citizens have to measure themselves by their individual qualities, not by the labels that an intolerant society has decided to place on them. It is necessary to instruct the citizens in the republican concepts of freedom and equality, so that all of them are capable of projecting themselves in others and perceiving that nobody has to be above anyone because of conditions that a person does not choose, but rather that they form part of their being. This is something that Selucia has been decades, if not centuries, defending, and trying to teach its citizens. That is why we have achieved a just and egalitarian society, a modern society in which it is about fixing the mistakes made in the past by people who were not able to understand this. That is also represented in the Insularian motto that my party decided to stablish, and which says that we are "one voice, one people, one virtue".
Thank you very much to all of you for listening to my words and I hope it makes you think.
This way the Praetor of Insularia ended his speech, shouting the mottos of both nations and the regional motto of Insularia.
Patriae Unitas et Civium Libertas! Ave Selucia, quia fuimus sumus, et quia sumus erimus! Unus populus, una vox, una virtus!
After his speech, there have been mixed reactions in the House