Solentia

[Zanz]

Financial experts applaud growth in Solentia
Halion, Orame
February 2795



Solentia has recently seen dramatic growth of its Gross Domestic Product, say financial experts at the National University of Halion.

Professor Daniel Hodge, who lectures on economics at the National University said today that his ongoing project to track growth in the Solentian economy revealed a massive growth of 5.673% over a 14 year period, compared to an only 3.268% growth over the same period by Solentia's most economically powerful neighbor, Istaliana.

Prior GDP statistics were derived from a 2781 Selucianum Nationalis Statisticae Officium world GDP rankings report that placed Solentia at third on Terra, Professor Hodge said. Since then, natural growth has occurred in Solentia, until January 2795. Then, says Hodge, with the appointment of new Financial Minister Michael Brown (SHP), a drastic change occurred.

"Minister Brown's budget passed in the Senate in one month, and all but eliminated the budget surplus that Solentia's growth had been stagnating under for years. When money is allowed to pile up for years on end and is never utilized, that's money that could otherwise be helping to grow the economy."

The budget referred to increased government spending by nearly 225 billion Solenar, primarily allotted to the underfunded Defence and Foreign ministries. These Solenar, now available to stimulate the economy, had an immediate effect.

Code: Select all

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January 2795 (pre-Brown Budget)
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GDP: 10,953,141,379,260 SOL
Consumption: 8,793,991,185,892 SOL (80.29% of GDP)
Government Spending: 325,004,500,000 SOL (2.97% of GDP)
Investment: 1,834,145,693,368 SOL (16.75% of GDP)
Surplus: 223,897,067,419 SOL

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February 2795 (1 month post-Brown Budget)
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GDP: 11,181,505,959,327 SOL (2.08% increase)
Consumption: 8,798,424,656,564 SOL (78.69% of GDP)
Government Spending: 548,003,500,000 SOL (4.90% of GDP)
Investment: 1,835,077,802,763 SOL (16.41% of GDP)
Surplus: 1,510,726,717 SOL

These rises in GDP seem even more dramatic when expressed as nearly 100 billion LOD, the standard of comparison for Terra.

[Zanz]

The Voice of Solentia reports Supremacist paramilitary organization

Solentian Racial Supremacy Party-backed news agency The Voice of Solentia reported this morning that the SRSP has formally organized its paramilitary arm. The news report called the arm the 'Supremacists,' and commented on their structure as an organization, as well as their leadership and membership.

JAMES WHITE, REPORTER: The Supremacists, who began military drill instruction at the local level nationwide this afternoon, are essentially a massive modern version of the Conservationists, the Taylorian-era Conservative Party of Solentia paramilitary arm infamous for their siege of the Federal Independent Party headquarters following irreconcilable differences in the Senate. It's only fitting then that they should be lead by a direct descendant of the fiery Julia Taylor.

SRSP meetings in towns across the nation provided the groundwork for the Supremacists' recruiting drive; SRSP members were asked directly whether they were willing to fight for their party and their beliefs, should it come to that extreme. Many brave souls answered the call. This system of town organizations helped to ensure that Supremacists have been recruited from all regions of Solentia, but most interest was not surprisingly found in the SRSP dominated region of Nukeya. Over 800,000 men and women are participating in training nation wide.

Longtime SRSP member and Solentian Minister of Defence Richard 'Dick' Taylor is the man tasked with running the show tactically for the Supremacists. He recently resigned his seat in the Senate representing Nukeya in order to clear more of his schedule for the new demands of his position as Commander of the Supremacists... He's here with me tonight. Minister Taylor?

DICK TAYLOR, SOLENTIAN MINISTER FOR DEFENSE AND COMMANDER OF THE SUPREMACISTS: Hello, Mr. White.

JW: Minister, a lot of people outside of the SRSP's backers feel that the creation of paramilitary forces by individual parties throws the delicate balance of Solentia politics off. They claim that organizations like the Supremacists do nothing but create fear in the citizenry, and some very radical groups call for the ban of such organizations. Your response?

DT: I think that to say that 'a lot of people' feel that way about paramilitary organizations is a bit too far, Mr. White. My party and our predecessors are indeed some of a minority of parties that have organized paramilitary arms during the Federal Republican era, but I need to point out that we are far from alone... The RadNats too have made extensive use of paramilitaries, both in the distant and recent past. Our parties are simply not too high and mighty to recognize the political value that can be exercised through paramilitary branches. I also think that claiming the organizations like ours do nothing but create fear is a fallacy... The Supremacists are organized primarily to ensure the security of Solentians everywhere. Why anyone would fear security is beyond me.

JW: What is the mission of the Supremacists?

DT: 'To provide for the defense of Solentians across Terra who face the challenges brought upon our superior race by interaction with inferior peoples.' It's quite a mouthful, obviously. In layman's terms, we were created to fight for the right of the Solentian race to be held as the master race in Solentia. Is it so far fetched to think that Solentians should rule Solentia without the interferences of Asians, Arabs, and Blacks?

JW: What is the significance of the timing of the organization of the Supremacists?

DT: If you ask me, Mr. White, an organization like the Supremacists is long overdue. My party has been, for years now under Chairman Holt, been working to recognize the superiority of the Solentian race. Now, we have an important piece of legislation up, the 'Racial Supremacy and Purity Act of 2802,' that has the potential to incite violence from inferior and uneducated minorities. Already we see the creation of this ridiculous 'party,' the Minorities for a Better Solentia, who seek to undo all the the SRSP has accomplished and harm the Solentians in our nation. That's why we've formed the Supremacists.

JW: Thank you, Minister of Defence Taylor. As I'm sure all our listeners can tell, I'm sure we'll see gains for Solentians under your party's guidance.

DT: I can only hope so. Thank you very much.

[Zanz]

Voice of Solentia
"The news Solentia wants!"
June 2938

HALION - This term has been one of progress for the traditionally slow-to-change nation of Solentia, says Supreme President James Harding (CPS). It's not hard to see what he means. Since the election in August 2936, the Solentian Senate has passed a whopping number of reforms across the spectrum, ranging from granting civil freedoms to economic liberalization. A coalition government composed of the Conservative Party of Solentia (CPS, 48 seats, Senate Majority Party) and the Utilitarian Party of Solentia (UPS, 12 seats) passed 8 bills (at time of writing) against consistent 'nay' votes from the veteran Federal Independent Party (FIP, 40 Seats).


Solentian cities have benefited from a liberalized economy under the CPS-UPS coalition government

The UPS' "Liberal Reform on the Solentian Economy" [parts 1, 2, 3, and 4] package ensured wide ranging liberalization of Solentian markets that have for hundreds of years been over regulated by FIP-socialism. The bills also removed tariffs on trade goods, a first step toward Supreme President Harding's effort for an end to centuries of FIP-enforced isolation. While internationalism is stalled by the need for 2/3rds of the Senate (66 seats, the coalition has 60) needed in order to ratify treaties, it can't be said that Foreign Affairs Minister Uwe Johannes didn't try, he proposed 4 ratifications that sit in debate waiting for comment from the notoriously silent opposition.

The CPS, for its part, set its sights on strengthening the military and morals of a Solentia described as being 'far from the Golden Age of Julia Taylor' in these categories. Solentian military forces were bolstered with a newfound nuclear capability that ensures the Federal Republic will be safe from all those who wish her harm, and the Solentian Intelligence Service was untethered, allowing greater preemptive defense capabilities. A CPS bill still in voting (but likely to be voted down) establishes the Conservatives as the only party in Solentia dedicated to the moral health of the nation.

With the reemergence of the 'Conservative' and Unionist Party (CUP, 0 seats) slightly after the election, the future of the coalition is unsure. The CUP is likely to take Senatorial seats from the CPS in August, and already liberal news media have been flouting plans for a FIP-CUP coalition, which will surely mean a mutually backed Supreme Presidential candidate. In spite of this, Supreme President Harding is optimistic.

"I believe that the voters of Solentia will realize that if they want freedom, both economic and civil, then a vote for the CPS or the UPS is the only real option. I will be running for Supreme President again, I believe that we do not have any time to revert to the old socialist ways, we do not have any time to further our isolation! If I should not make it past the first round, I whole heartedly throw my support behind the UPS candidate, and I wish them the best of luck in what is sure to be a tightly contended election!"

[Sir Thomas Hill]

Solentia Broadcasting Corporation
- Your Solentia, your way
- December 2938


Small dreams for Big Jim


HALION - Conservative and Unionist Party Leader James Clarke has said that his party is not aiming for a Senatorial Majority in the next Senate sitting. He insists that whilst his party will campaign hard in each and every seat accross Solentia, a sense of realism must be maintained. The CUP will instead be looking at gartering enough of the popular vote to oust the current regime, which he has labelled "dangerous".

Speaking during an interview with a major T.V station, 'Big Jim' warned a listening electorate that voting for the current coalition would result in unwanted foreign interest. Solentia's long-held stance of isolationism is "at risk" he said if current plans and reforms continue. He said that the only reasonable party who would truely defend Solentian interest at the coming election was an isolationist one such as the CUP. Political commentators have noticed a slight reluctance in the Conservative leadership to criticise FIP policy beyond highlighting areas of difference. On the ground however, the bitter campaign remains a staunchly four-way battle with candidates in each constituency forming no alliances.

The potential FIP-CUP alliance seems then, a dream. Somethin that will only become reality if and when the political reality matches the poll results and offers on the table. Many had assumed that the CUP and CPS would ally and form a rightist bloc however senior CUP officials said that not only had the party not been approached, but that the Leadership seemed unwilling to negotiate on matters of constitutionalism and foreign policy.

"It's about priorities." said one Senatorial candidate, Charles Auld who is the CUP's Religion Spokesman. "Some of us accept that the CPS and CUP potentially have more in common than we do with the FIP. But at the end of the day, foreign policy, tradition and good governance are what this party stand firm on and we cannot afford to abandon that in favour of a more comfortable alliance."

For now, it would seem the CUP remain firmly independent of any coalitions. Party officials have repeatedly reassured voters on their website that no coalition would be agreed until the election results were in an the public had spoken at the polls.

[SenorNoPants]

Federal Independents Launch Attack At Vulnerable CPS Senators
The party comes to the aid of its candidates in battleground districts in what is deemed to be a tough fight

A Solvernment News Network! Report

HALION - The chair of the Federal Independent Senatorial Committee (FISC) has authorized a series of ads attacking the Conservative Party of Solentia directly. The commercials address the most recent heated debate over the hurriedly passed budget overhaul by the Conservative Party and its allies the Utilitarian Party of Solentia. The full-scale series of campaign ads comes at a time of immense Federal Independent frustration and anger over the issue of slashed social services in the Health & Social Services Department.

Senator Hugh Bridgen, chairman of FISC, spoke to reporters reasoning the party's decision to log the airwaves significantly over one issue. "This is one of the most outrageous acts by the CPS-UPS alliance, a pure demonstration of irresponsibility and fiscal inability on the ruling government's part. Voters should be cognoscente that this coalition has done great harm to their vast social services guaranteed by the state. This action is unlawful; voters cannot be denied services the law guarantees them" said Bridgen to reporters outside his Halion office.

This action is unlawful; voters cannot be denied services the law guarantees them. - Senator Hugh Bridgen

Senator Russ Donahue, a Supreme Presidential nominee for his party in 2936, said that he ran his platform on the principle of fiscal responsibility and stability. Under a Donahue Administration, he says, an issue like this would not have been even considerable.

"This is something you wouldn't have seen if I had been in office. The voters made their decision, I respect that, but they should now realize that Supreme President Harding is not only financially incompetent, but also seeks to bail out his friends at the defense industry which he led the reform to partially privatize this year. Something seems suspicious there. If the Supreme President's party wasn't about kissing up to the defense industry companies, why would they grant over $600 billion SOL in funding to a department this country never uses for good reason?"

Brent Jansen, a Federal Independent candidate for Senate in Shinatawa, has stated that he intends to use the latest budget matters to his advantage in his campaign. Squaring off against four other Senate candidates for the seat, Jansen says at least three of them are easily targeted: CPS and UPS for passing the measure and the CSP for its constant inactivity on a difficult issue.

"I know that when I tell the voters in my district about what's taken place here and that the special interests have bought the rights to Conservative Party and Utilitarian Party senators, they'll have a hard time voting for them. It's a matter of standing up for your constituents. Here in my district in Shinatawa, we have nothing to gain and everything to lose by this increase in defense spending."

Criticism of the budget legislation has been ramped up by Conservative & Unionist Party representatives alongside Federal Independents. In a deal many Federal Independents feel the CPS has offered because it fears losing power, the Conservative & Unionist Party has been offered several seats in a potential cabinet make-up. CUP Leader James Clarke was quoted yesterday during a debate in the Senate over a hypothetical government.

"Naturally, you can understand why our members will forgive me for refusing this particular arrangement. It is not in CUP custum to support Health Secretaries from parties who slash Health Spending despite Universal Healthcare being the law, nor Defence Secretaries who triple their own spending, nor finance secretaries who take sums away from public services and into breaking our long-held policy of isolationism and international-neutrality. These are not small matters and these are not things that the CUP can support. A CSP-hold over these major Offices would lead to this county's ruin if their latest budget is anything to go by. No debate on fiscal reform, they get hurried through the backdoor of the Senate and within a month, our Healthcare service is destroyed. The people of Solentia deserve better Mr. Harding. So much better."

It is unsure how voters will react to such legislation, but Federal Independents have gauged that it will lose them a deal of support in a hotly contested election.

[Zanz]

Voice of Solentia
"The News Solentia Wants!"
May 2939

HALION - The political stage is set, it seems, 3 months before election time. Recent events have inflamed tensions so efficiently that even the FIP has been drawn out of a three year silence make itself heard via the liberal news outlet SNN.

Several high ranking Federal Independents appeared before the network in order to smear Conservative and Utilitarian Senators for supporting the recently passed Budget Proposal of November 2938, which cut a bloated and inefficient Healthcare and Social Services budget in favor of FIP-crippled Foreign Affairs and Defence Ministries which were barely able to keep afloat with their previous allocations.

CPS Chairwoman addressed CUP leader 'Big Jim' Clarke in the Senate today responding to accusations of 'back door dealings.'

"Waste, Mr. Clarke? Our country was an international laughing stock, waiting for the inevitable moment when any lunatic dictator with a gun should invade to find our borders under-defended and our military fatally under-equipped. My party did what was necessary, and I applaud the UPS for supporting, in order to secure the safety and security of every Solentian. What use is government supplied healthcare when our hospitals have been bombed by the Deltarians? What use are social services when our people are made the slaves of the inferior races who are not so naïve as we, to ignore the power of a military. You can call it waste, Mr. Clarke, but I call it necessary."

Clarke responded.

"What concerns me, Ms. Bryant, is that the state of the defence funding had been deemed adequate for basic defensive purposes under multiple administrations, on both wings of politics and yet your party saw fit to privatise that service and then increase the budget to a non-existant force. Our Armed Forces were equiped and prepared for basic border defence and civil control in the rare event of an uprising, and that was viewed as fine by everyone. However to triple the spending on a force that has now been privatised, is waste. There is no way around that fact. Unless you are paying private Military organisations without public consent or knowledge, then there really is no reason why that money cannot be spent on frontline public services such as our public healthcare service.

This country has been neutral and independent, fiercly so, for the last 500 years. Our neighbours enjoy cordial relations with us and have respected our neutrality. The only instance I can think of where that is not the case was the push for a Greater Majatran Superstate by force, which was created by and only engaged in by members of the far-right, including, if I am not mistaken, a one Mr. Harding? I'm no genealogist but that seems a somewhat striking fact does it not?

Waste, Ms. Bryant, is spending money on a private force and cutting spending to state-funded public services. Are we to understand that the CSP plans a war? Because let me tell you, that is far from the minds of the man on the street. We are a peaceful people and we would rather like to stay that way thank you very much."

To which Ms. Bryant responded.

"Mr. Clarke, it may suit you to recall the 28th Century Naval Organization Act of 2701, which the CUP supported. It established Solentia's navy as one which Solentians could look upon with pride and know that they were secure from all threats foreign to their way of life. Since the passage of that bill, the CUP has supported nothing but assault after assault on the nation's military capabilities. If previous administrations have deemed 11.5b SOL adequate to fund such a force, then previous administrations have treacherously deceived the Solentian people. The budget has nothing to do with the freeing of the Solentian market, only with the guaranteeing of the Solentian nation. Supreme President Harding, a descendant of the great Supreme President Roger Harding, is the champion of Solentian power and security, and you and anyone who would support communist welfare systems over national security are not fit to lead this nation!"

Supreme President James Harding was the personal target of an attack from 2936 election opponent FIP Senator Russ Donahue. Donahue accused the nation's executive of 'kissing up to the defense industry.'

"Senator Donahue is entitled to his opinion," said the Supreme President to reports in Halion. "But I am owned by no one. The Solentian citizens felt that I was their man, and until they say otherwise, I still am. We may look back and say 'what if?' But we know NOW that my party provides for the defence of the nation, and that my party is perhaps the most fiscally responsible in Solentia, because my party gives the Solentian voters what they want, and that is unrivaled and undefeatable security in a dangerous world."

[Sir Thomas Hill]

Solentia Broadcasting Corporation
- Your Solentia, your way
- June 2939


Key Tory in row over Homosexuality


HALION – Top-ranking Tory official Nicholas d’Amiens has been the subject of a bombardment by leftist press following his description of Homosexuality as an “unfortunate side-effect of sociological decadence over the last few hundred years.”

Speaking in what he thought was a closed and private meeting with business executives, the CUP Internal Affairs spokesman was challenged on his parties stance on some “moral” issues. Shareholders in the firm in question (Benson and Barnett, a pharmaceutical manufacturer owned by the CUP-Donating Al-Aahil family) have apparently become concerned that the party’s stance on moral issues was too blured and sought confirmation. Apparently, the executives did not like what they heard and have walked out of a deal to fund the CUP campaign in Nukeya as is tradition.

Reaction to the scandal has been varied. Though the CUP does not have an official stance on homosexuality and has elected one homosexual leader in the past, many on the party’s right wings are still opposed and continuously push for the rise of the “Religious Right” that produced Supreme Presidents such as Catherine York and Gabriel Button.

The “Conservative Right Way” group, headed by Andrew Master a former aid to the Kennedy administration, has been sidelined in a bitter fight that resulted in CUP Leader James Clarke removing Mr. d’Amiens from his position as Internal Affairs Spokesman. In an emergency reshuffle of his team ahead of the election, Mr. Clarke has replaced him with key centrist Ivan Beauchamp. A deal has been done with Benson and Barnett and their sponsorship of the Nukeyan campaign has been confirmed. Though some have hailed this a victory for Mr. Clarke’s leadership, some have questioned his blatant assault on the far-right and suggest that he may have just lost the Catholic vote.

[Sir Thomas Hill]

Solentia Broadcasting Corporation
- Your Solentia, your way
- June 2939


Step to the Right


HALION – The Conservative and Unionist Party have started a push back to their Rightist roots following the latest General Election that saw them miss the opportunity to force the CSP and UPS into opposition. The FIP-CUP Coalition that never was has now been officially terminated and the Tories have announced an independent strategy.

High ranking CUP officials have blamed the pre-planned coalition with the FIP for the party’s lack of gains at the polls. Leader James Clarke has announced that a coalition is off the cards. He has managed however to maintain his own position by giving up key positions to Religious-Right members of the party such as Cardinal Callaghan, known homophobe Nicholas d’Amiens, Jordan York of the old York family and Sayeed Akil Al-Aahil of the Islamic Church of Solentia.

There has been some speculation that the CUP has been under pressure to officially endorse it’s own “Conservative and Morality Party” heritage by changing name and colour, though most suspect that Mr. Clarke, a keen modernist , will avoid such a move in fear that his party will lose what few gains he made this year.

In Senate, the latest push for legislation by the Action for Civil Democrats has lead to angry voices. The Shadow Senate Warden, Annie Weston, has labelled most of them “destructionalist”. The policies, which did not have debating time in Senate, are mostly centrist though some have given opportunity for the Conservative Reform Group to force a religious agenda.

[Zanz]

Voice of Solentia
"The News Solentia Wants!"
December 2939

HALION - After an election where a magnificent 85.19% of Solentian voters made their voices heard, the Conservative Party of Solentia has been given a second mandate to govern. Last term's majority party, the CPS gained a seat in the August 2939 election amid dramatic losses for the rival Federal Independent Party.


CPS gains were unexpected in most predictions, given the emergence of two relatively conservative competitors.

The largest gain in seats went to the active and energetic Utilitarian Party of Solentia, who will send a respectable 20 Senators to Halion this term. Even more impressive was the Supreme Presidential race, where UPS challenger Sven Eisenhart garnered a stellar 47.15% of second round votes, giving CPS incumbent James Harding a substantial run for his money.

"Mr. Eisenhart is and always has been my party's second choice for the Supreme Presidency, after myself," said Supreme President Harding. "If I hadn't made it to the second round, we would have supported him anyway. It's encouraging to see that Solentians are so adamant about seeing a Supreme President from either the CPS or the UPS."

Following the election, the Senate surely had to take a moment to assess its situation. The FIP, which only 6 years ago held every seat in the Senate, lost a crippling 23 seats, leaving them with 17. This will surely be a quite term for the party which is notoriously unwilling to work as part of any coalition in which it is not the main powerbroker.

The Conservative and Unionist Party and the more recently reformed Action of Civic Democrats had what most experts are calling 'underwhelming' showings at the polls. Many, even in the CPS, expected at least 'Big Jim's old boys' to take a sizable chunk of Solentia's conservative vote from the CPS. These fears have shown themselves to be unfounded, a fact that most pundits are attributing to the CUP's weak stance on national security and socialist tendencies.

The ACP, which reformed only slightly before election time, was relatively unheralded, and 7 seats is respectable in a party which is so unknown on the national scale. In spite of being Solentia's smallest party, they have proven to be prolifically active, and have sent many bills to vote quickly in the post-election frenzy. Though some in the Senate are upset about the lack of debate time on the bills, CPS leadership is hardly concerned.

"When it comes down to it," CPS Chairwoman Andrea Bryant told reporters, "Solentia has sat idle for too long. We may not agree with each bill that the ACP has proposed, but they are at the least an excellent opportunity for the parties to establish themselves again, for the voters to have a more clear picture on the differences between parties. They will go a long way toward getting rid of this coalition nonsense that the conspiracy theorists in the FIP and CUP keep spouting when the voters see that the UPS and the CPS have many ideological differences, and it will help the voter to realize that our party is one which is able to see PAST those differences with the UPS in order to cooperate on the things that matter most.

"Also," she added with a smile, "we [the CPS] can almost kill any of these bills by ourselves, anyway."

What lies in the future for Solentia? Many expect treaties proposed in the last Senate will be sent to vote this term, now that an internationalist friendly Senate is in place. Organizations like the Majatran Cup and the FIFA World Cup [soccer] may soon have another signatory nation. Also, Supreme President Harding has suggested that more economic freedoms may be on the way, especially in the health care and social welfare areas. These are likely to be opposed fiercely by socialists in the CUP and FIP.

[SenorNoPants]

President of Federal Independent Party Resigns
The executive of the party willingly resigns over failures in the most recent election

A Solvernment News Network! Report

RHEGIUM - The President of the Federal Independent Party has resigned in response to significant losses at the polls in this most recent election, offering rationale that the party needs a fresh slate. The announcement came early this afternoon as Party President Barry Elridge made an address outside the Bailen Building in downtown Rhegium declaring his intent to resign.

In a moment of obvious grief for Elridge, the short-termed party leader explained that he felt he had let the party down in two elections and had failed to uphold the popular Progressive Independence agenda. Elridge, interrupted at times choking back tears, stated that he could no longer lead the party in good standing and keep party standards of political efficacy. After delivering a surprisingly short speech for the often wordy Elridge, the long-time Federal Independent was escorted to his motorcar and driven off.


Elridge delivered his resignation speech in front of the Bailen Building, Federal Independent HQ

The story of Barry Elridge is filled with ups and downs, seemingly falling short when he was so close to victory. Elridge began in Orame as a determined student to be the first in his family not to pursue a blue collar job. He was among the best students in his school and aspired to be valedictorian, however this was cut short when his high school closed due to funding shortages. Later he moved on to Trudeau University, a prestigious school in Orame, and became a leading figure in student government. His experience in student government garnered momentum, eventually leading him to chase down the student council presidency. In a close race though he was denied this opportunity when he lost by only a handful of votes. Elridge eventually graduated with a degree in political management and worked as a campaign manager fresh out of school.

After working on several campaigns Elridge decided to run for Orame State Senate, winning a seat there and establishing a record of working with others. After a stint in the Senate, Elridge then won an appointment as director of the state health system by Governor Grant Beaudon. He exemplified promise in this position and soon earned a position in the national Federal Independent Party. After some politicking, Elridge made his way to the Party Presidency. Battling to keep a party in its prime and at the helm of government, he fought a slope that continued to only slide deeper.

With the absence of Elridge the party now has a new leader. Freshly instated Party President Christopher Lefolst took charge of the party shortly after Elridge's resignation when the party convened to elect a new leader. The former Minister of Education & Culture for 14 years, Lefolst is no outsider to Halion. On the contrary, Lefolst is known quite well for his work as Minister and his reputable accomplishments during his tenure in the department. His polished record of committed policy and dedicated reform positions him for what many are anticipating to be a powerful party presidency.

I'm honored and privileged to lead this party into its next era. I have but one thing to say: the Federal Independent Party is back. - Party President elect Christopher Lefolst

Lefolst says that his primary goal for the party is to deliver on the Progressive Independence Agenda, the platform the party began to abandon under Elridge. The election of Lefolst is seen as a victory for the party's leftist base.