Lib Dem Leader InterviewFollowing the Prime Minister's interview with Bekenial District Radio last week, the Leader of the Opposition Hector James sat in the hot seat in the second part of an ongoing series in political hour. The Leader of the Opposition was quizzed by Anton Coles on similar issues to the PM, but was also asked about the future of the Lib Dems.AC: "Welcome to political hour. This week we have our second guest, the Leader of the Opposition, the Rt Hon Hector James. So Mr James..."
HJ: "Please just call me Hector."
AC: "Ok, Hector, naturally I will first turn our attention to the recent crisis with the Macon Union. What is your take on the situation?"
HJ: "Well obviously I am concerned about the grave threats made against our sovereignty. Initially I was trying to defend our membership, but that position became untenable once threats were made inside our Parliament by a representative of Keymon."
AC: "So do you agree with the Prime Minister's views about Macon Imperialism?"
HJ: "I initially thought the PM was exagerrating the danger, and to be honest there was none in the beginning. However, as this has developed, it is clear that there are anti-Hutorian sentiments within the Union, and the Union itself lacks the specific direction to rule out expansion by force."
AC: "So if there were some fundamental changes to the Union, would you favour a re-admission?"
HJ: "The decision to re-enter must be right for Hutori, and the conditions must be in our interests. At the moment the Union is rather vague in its goals, and it is clear that some member states have ambitions which do not fit in with Hutorian interests."
AC: "Moving on from the Macon Union, you are relatively new in your leadership. Where do you see the Liberal Democrats going from here?"
HJ: "Well it is unfortunate that Frank was not our leader in another time, he may have done exceedingly well. However, what the people need from us now is an energetic leadership. No offence to the PM, but it seems to me that it's the same old tired policies from his predecessor. I am here to re-invigorate my party. What does that mean for our voters? Well there will be less resistance to Privatisation for a start, and there will be a shift towards a localised system of governance. What I really wish to see is a system of regional Governments and Parliaments, each with the power to make their own decisions on things like education."
AC: "In terms of governance, what is your personal stance on the Monarchy?"
HJ: “I favour keeping it, so long as that is what the people want. If there came a time when the King or his predecessor became unpopular, I could be persuaded to table a bill to review the position of the King. As it is, I think the King is doing a great job representing us across Terra. I have recently been in communication with the Prime Minister about the King having a secondary Palace in the Capital for Official state functions. Sadly the PM and the Government disagree with me on this one. So there will be no change under a Conservative Government.”
AC: “Finally, how are you finding it being the Leader of the Opposition?”
HJ: “well I don’t intend staying on that side of the House if that’s what you mean. I was left a party which has suffered in recent elections, and I have had a very short time to try and turn that around. There is an election just round the corner, and I am hopeful that we could make some good gains this time. What will be important will be how other parties perform. So if the HCP retains its position as largest party, and their coalition partners also perform well, we will probably stay in Opposition. That said, there are new factors to consider since the last election, so we have the Progressive Conservatives to consider. Where will their allegiance lie? I hope that I can talk with the leadership and form a progressive government. "
AC: “Thank you for your time Hector. Next week we hope to have another interview with another Party Leader, to continue our series in political hour. Now for a song, chosen by our guest.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xB4dbdNSXY OOC: I can't do the whole fancy embedding thing, I don't know how!!