Mordusia

[Rogue]

The National
January 5007
Government Signs Defense Deal with Lourenne and Narikaton

Randworth: The Government, spearheaded by the Federal Ministry of Defense, has striken a deal with companies in Lourenne and Narikaton for the procurement or purchase of large quantities of new military equipment. The purchase, to be approved by parliament in the coming weeks, would see the Armed Forces enter a extensive deal with Lourenne that would build a major production plant in Mordusia, delivering over 4000 jobs, and see 40 Rafael multirole fighter jets be produced their for the Mordusian airforce. Furthermore 50 strategic airlifters will be bought from Lourenne as well. The deal with Narikaton includes the construction of 5 Zeven Provincien class air defense and command frigates for the navy with a new "Project-M" destroyer reportedly being build by the domestic Mordusian National Shipyards, of which 5 have been ordered as well. The navy will also receive new diesel-electric submarines, also produced by a domestic naval company.

The massive deal had been in the works for years with a Joint Select Committee narrowing the field of potential ships and aircraft to eventually decide on the tested Rafael and the Zeven Provincien frigate. The deal will mark a major improvement of naval and aerial capabilities and will give both branches equipment they can use for years to come. A similar deal and procurement plan is being developed for the army as defense spending keeps increasing but selection for it still needs to go through the Joint Select Committee.

Chief of Defense General Sebastian Quin stated that "this new procurement plan and the deals forged with our allies expand our capabilities by a large degree. It is a opportunity for the combined armed forces to specialize, modernize and professionalize to a degree not possible before. We are excited for the future and look forward to getting our hands on this new equipment."


OOC Source: Google
The Rafael from Lourenne, soon to be the new main multirole fighter of the Royal Airforce

[Rogue]

OOC Source: Hollig.com

Randworth: The Federal Ministry of Economic Development has reported to Parliament the finalization of the planned privatization of state enterprise, with the MBC being the last state owned company to be put on the stockmarket for over 60% of its shares. It marks the end of an era, according to many, with the state now only owning shares in private companies but no longer being responsible for the management of said companies. According to Federal Minister Maica Macfair the privatizations will save the government "billions" annually, with the ministry already preparing to invest some of the freed up funds in improving digital and physical infrastructure and further aiding state governments with the transitioning to "more substainable energy sources." While initially the plans saw fierce oppossition from oppossition parties that has now faded as the Mordusian Labor Party, once the most prominent force in Mordusian politics, collapsed and saw itself disband.

This paved the way for full MPP control off parliament which is now only being oppossed by the Freedom Party. In its last year till the election the Anderson ministry has now proposed a final major legislative package aimed at education, which is to reform the education system and more more responsibilities to the states as well as remove the requirement to sing the national anthem every day. The package seeks to "diversify" education and bring in more private involvement as well as state involvement, particularly in higher education. As stated the elections are just one year away, with Prime Minister Anderson announcing he will once again run for his seat and seek the premiership of the country. Under the past 4 years the Anderson Ministry and MPP governance have clearly left their mark, with a greater emphasize on local and state initiatives, a smaller government and greater freedom for the private market all seeing their introduction this term. Whether voters appreciate all that change remains to be seen at the ballot box.

[ReformedEndralon]

New Dawn in Mordusia - Nationals win landslide

October 5057

Election Results

The newly formed National Party has won the Head of State and Parliamentary elections in emphatic style, securing 171 seats out of 200. The Reform Party has agreed to form a government of national unity with the National Party in order to oversee constitutional reform and a series of economic reforms designed to reverse decades of Communism.



James Gregson celebrates the National Party victory

These elections are the first contested elections in Mordusia since 5014, which was followed by over 40 years of Communist one party rule. The National Party swept all five regions and its victory in Parliament gives it a super-majority. However, the leader of the National Party James Gregson has promised that Mordusia will enter a new democratic era and has proposed legislation that will reduce the life time of a Parliament from four years to two and a half years.

Constitutional Reform

Both the Reform Party and the National Party have promised a series of constitutional reforms, aimed at restoring parliamentary sovereignty and weakening the role of the all powerful Head of State under the Communist regime. President Higgins has vowed to conduct herself as a ceremonial Head of State, representing Mordusia at home and abroad, and leaving the newly re-established Prime Minister to govern the country. However there are some differences between the Reform Party and National Party as to whether Cabinet Minister should sit in the legislature, or be independent of it.



President Katie Higgins will take on a more ceremonial role

The National Party have also proposed other symbolic changes, such as altering the national flag and reviving the significance of national sports including Mordusian Rules Football and Cricket.

[ReformedEndralon]

Mordusia and Malivia to compete in annual Test series

November 5057

The cricketing boards of Mordusia and Malivia have agreed to compete in an annual Test series. Thomas Stewart, the President of the Mordusian Cricket Board (MCB) announced;

Today is a great day for cricket in Mordusia, Malivia and across Terra. The two premier cricket playing nations will compete against one another every year, and this will bring new fans and investment to cricket in both nations. Its a win win for sport in both countries

Thomas Stewart at a press conference in Mordusia.

The two cricketing boards have agreed the following;

1. The inaugural series will take place in Mordusia in December 5057-January 5058.
2. The venue shall rotate each year.
3. A total of five Tests will be played in each series.
4. Revenue from tickets will be used to support charities in both nations.
5. Revenue from TV rights will be split between each cricketing board to be spent as each board see's fit.

Mordusia is in the process of making cricket its summer sport. Cricket has historically been popular in Mordusia and is widely played in neighbouring nations with Aldegar, Saridan, Rildanor and Kanjor either being signed up to the Terran Cricket Council Treaty, having historically been members of the Terran Cricket Council organisations, or having cricket as a national sport.

[ReformedEndralon]

Malivia threash Mordusia 4-1 in first cricket Test series

February 5058

The first Test series has concluded in Mordusia with the visitors from Malivia winning the series 4-1 (full results listed below). Although disappointed with the results, Mordusian captain Dickie Douglas commented;

It's been a fantastic experience. I am disappointed but at the end of the day, the better team won. I thought we had them in the third Test, but the sadly that single wicket loss really shook the team. Malivia batted and bowled really well in the final two Tests and we were thoroughly outplayed. I must say, I hope I can have the honour of captaining my team when we get to play the return fixture in Malivia next year.

Cricket has enjoyed a resurgence in Mordusia during this competition and the hungry spectator can only hope that more nations are willing to make the journey down under.



The Malivian team celebrate their win

First Test - Randworth
Malivia 384 & 217
Mordusia 266 & 270
Malivia wins by 65 runs

Second Test - Port Alexander
Mordusia 268 & 303
Malivia 182 & 256
Mordusia wins by 133 runs

Third Test - Kimberly
Mordusia 286 & 256
Malivia 268 & 275/9)
Malivia wins by 1 wicket

Fourth Test - Cheltendon
Malivia 260 & 283
Mordusia 230 & 133
Malivia wins by 180 runs

Fifth Test - Griffany
Malivia 334 & 332
Mordusia 352 & 169
Malivia wins by 145 runs

[Polites]

Kanjor supports Camdun

[macmckeown]

HELEN JENKINS LOSES IN LANDSLIDE TO PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVES, RESIGNS AS LABOUR LEADER


Helen Jenkins declaring that she won't lead Labour in opposition


Brian Gore speaking to voters in Camdun

In a shocking twist of events, the Labour-Green coalition under Helen Jenkins has lost in a complete landslide to the Progressive Conservatives under Brian Gore. In every state, the Tories won a majority or plurality of the vote, with even traditional Labour strongholds in industrial southern Mordusia swinging towards Gore's party. A tearful Jenkins, upon the release of the exit poll proclaimed,

"My fellow Mordusians, the dream of a progressive and socialist Mordusia will never die, and we will fight even harder in the next Parliament to ensure that Gore and his band of neoliberals are held to account and not allowed to tear apart our social state and Medicare. While we may feel defeated, this isn't the worst this party has ever done. We have always bounced back, and we will bounce back even harder next election, under new management".

While the Labour government was considered unlikely to maintain their majority, the final nail in the coffin was a proposed tax plan introduced by Michael Donnelly, which completely turned off business support for Labour, due to proposed increases in VAT and corporation tax, and a lack of tax cuts for middle-class Mordusians, who supported Labour after the Tories deregistered from the electoral roll. 57% of voters in a recent MBC poll said that they disapproved of the tax proposal, with 36% saying they strongly disagreed.
The Labour manifesto was also poorly received, proposing increases in working age benefits, strict regulations on advertising, and more social housing development, compared to the simple deficit and tax focused campaign by the Tories, with their ads comparing Jenkins and Michael Donnelly to bandits, stealing from the poor to give to the unemployed.
A vicious row has erupted in the Parliamentary Labour Party, with Defence Minister Andrew Wilkes saying his thoughts on the situation,

"A change is needed. I fought for a Labour government as hard as possible, but it's clear that we didn't listen to the public when they expressed concerns. We didn't need to propose a massive VAT increase before the elections, we didn't need to talk about benefits when people are thinking about their income, and we didn't need to cut off business contacts whenever they expressed concerns about our agenda in Parliament".

Brian Gore is almost certain to become Prime Minister of Mordusia, as Labour has ruled out a coaliton with the Parti Canrillaise. The most likely outcome is a minority Tory government dependent on Labour and Green votes, with Labour looking at a spell in opposition, after six years in government.

Heidi Parker, New Orange Times

[macmckeown]

AZADEH HOSSEINI ELECTED LABOUR LEADER; WILKES DEFEATED

Coliwick North MP Azadeh Hosseini was just selected as leader of the Labour Party after a brutal race with Andrew Wilkes, former minister under Jenkins' government.
Wilkes announced his candidacy just three months after Jenkins stood down, with Theodore Lefevre serving as interim leader, and Hosseini announced her candidacy just two days after.
Wilkes ran on a more centrist platform than Hosseini, aiming to win back lost voters to the Tories, whereas Hosseini wanted to maintain the ideological direction set forth by her predecessor, while speaking directly to Mordusians in order to figure out what went wrong.

We shouldn't throw the baby out with the bathwater

said Hosseini at a hustings,

Jenkins led this country out of a low tax, low spending haven to establishing new programs and a better society for all Mordusians

Wilkes proposed that Labour moderate significantly, saying that they need to get in touch with Labour's working-class supporters by moving away from big spending schemes and more towards wealth creation, by supporting drilling in northern Mordusia and fighting for a lower tax burden on working Mordusians than the Tories proposed.

Labour needs to be the party of working people. We cannot ignore the base that got us into office and kicked us out when we ignored their concerns about the direction we took while governing

said Wilkes at the Labour convention where Hosseini was ultimately elected.
Hosseini won by a considerable margin over Wilkes, but his support is unlikely to be ignored, as he picked up support from over half of the PLP, as opposed to Hosseini, who already represents Labour's weakest state. Wilkes congratulated Hosseini on her victory, but was reportedly in tears when he found out that he lost.

Betty Hunter, MBC News

[Quonk the Great]

Green Party Achieves Historic Result; Maxwell Seeks to Become First Green Prime Minister

The Green Party increased its support for the third election in a row, reaching 82 of 300 seats to become the largest party of the centre-left bloc, and party Leader and former Deputy Prime Minister Jonathan Maxwell is well-positioned to become the first Green Prime Minister in Mordusian history under a pending Green-Labour coalition government.

Maxwell’s tenure as Leader has moved the Greens closer to the political centre, broadening its support among urban and liberal voters beyond its traditional environmentalist and rural base. Addressing a jubilant crowd of supporters, he said, “we are not a third party, we are not a fringe party. We are a party that intends to govern our great country.” In addition to strong environmental policy, the Greens are expected to champion political decentralization, civil rights and greater support for international institutions. They will, however, have to conclude a coalition with the Labour Party, with whom they have had some disagreements in the past over matters such as national spending, if they hope to achieve and be successful in a potential first era of Green national leadership.

[Quonk the Great]

Just a few months since its formation, the Green-Labour coalition has passed a broad package of economic reforms including an increase of the corporate tax to 22%, support for profit sharing and solidarity strikes, and new regulation of the stock market. Prime Minister Maxwell, considered among the more pragmatic, centrist “Bright Green” wing of his party and expected by many to pursue a more pro-market tack as at the helm, is thus making clear the progressive credentials of his government and that, while he may be a reformist, he is still very much a Green. This bill, along with further announced environmental, education and infrastructure reforms, should assuage the left wing of the Green Party base, many of whom had been growing uncomfortable with Maxwell’s moves to the center, while possibly discouraging those who may have voted for the party in hopes of a more pro-business shift.

When asked whether he deceived voters during the campaign, the Prime Minister dismissed the idea, saying, “they knew what they were voting for, we’re the Green Party. These policies are all fully consistent with the message we put out on the campaign trail.” Eyes are now on the upcoming budget, which will further signal the future trajectory of the government.