Blanche Thyes Out Campaigning For Tidal Power // GazetteAbove: Blanche Thyes in Strom.
The leader of the new political movement 'Heitere Republikaner' (Serene Republicans), Blanche Thyes, has today been making her first campaign moves in the shadow of the upcoming election, visiting the city of Strom in Ultram to campaign for tidal power of Aloria's northern coast. Thyes, who is a former financial adviser to numerous pan-Artanian and international companies, was made leader of the minor political party several years ago, but remained in the background until now. Aside from being a religious minority member, and half-Dorvish, she has recently used her party as a vehicle to create the International Stewarship Association, which promotes her support for peace and environmental protection.
Blanche made several speeches throughout the day and attended a number of meeting and lectures at local universities, libraries and member clubs to discuss the need for a Hosian Democratic alternative in Aloria, as three new challengers threaten the massive majority of the government. She called for dialogue with the DSDP and MRDP to support a centrist, third-way movement in Aloria. The HR is campaigning hard on the issues of environmental protection, revitalisation of small businesses and meritocratic governance and economy. Blanche's radical proposals to massively invest in the environment and infrastructure are to be paid for, in her words, by a 'meritocratic stance on income taxation'.
While she may sound left-leaning, Blanche also stressed the need for economic liberalism and a strong law and order force, as well as stringent laws on civil rights and the establishment of a state religion. She said that these proposals go 'hand-in-hand' with the majority-Hosian nation she is campaigning in. Attending a church congregation meeting, she spoke about the need to keep life sacred through major roll-backs on the nation's euthanasia and abortion laws, which she said were promoting a 'domestic genocide of the disabled, the elderly and the unborn'. Time is yet to tell if she will be able to win over the illusive third-way centrist of Aloria, or if her third-way opinion will leave her knocked-down by both lanes of traffic.
Children Of The Spirit Fleeing Persecution Spread Sect Across Aloria // GazetteAbove: A CotS church built by those fleeing persecution, now full of Dorvish, Alorian and foreign believers.
It may have seemed just a year or two ago that the once mighty Children of the Spirit was on its last legs. Persecuted by the Dorvish Government for being a 'cult', and lacking the political backing of their former political puppets the Holy Alliance, the sect dwindled in number from 13 million to between 5 and 8 million worldwide, mostly in the Alorian border region of Largonia, Dorvik. However, now, the sect has new hope as migrants fleeing the persecution of the new Dorvish government have immigrated into Aloria. With them comes their Sudish language and their religious beliefs, which constitute a near-matriarchal, new-age Hosianism founded on the principles of 'spiritual awakening and enlightenment'.
Alorian CotS leader, Katerina von Schwartzhessen, has praised the massive increase in membership as 'divine intervention on the behalf of our religion'. Schwartzhessen has unveiled new plans to build a head office and a cathedral in Strom to make it the 'epicentre of new culture' is Dorvik, and says she is working on creating a large cultural institute in Aloria using donations to fund art, culture, music, theatre, film and architecture 'divinely inspired by the message of Indra and Eliyahu'. The rise in the religion has also created a large rise in hate crime against the religion, mainly from extreme pro-pan-Dundorfians. Local Draddwyrs have actually taken well to the new religion, which is almost a spiritual bridge between traditional religion and Hosianism.
While churches in Dorvik lay barren, temples to the prophetess Indra and the spirit of Elijah and Eliyahu have sprung up in small spaces across the country, as the religion climbs to close to 900,000 followers in Aloria from 70,000 at the turn of the century. One of the converted is the leader of the Serene Republicans, Blanche Thyes, and the CotS leadership has moved from Zitadelle to Strom officially. The Schwartz family that had led the sect has also handed over leadership roles from their own family ranks to more youthful and modern candidates, who they say better connect to their ideology of 'merit above aristocracy'. The sect is also supportive of the HR's new ecological foundation, the International Stewardship Association.