Kalopian Dawn
Your source of fresh Kalopian newsMay 5440Here comes the iron fist
Following the collapse of support for Worthy Homeland in latest election, all its top members resigned; "time to put discipline back" says new leaderAristarchos Kouridis arriving at the party meeting where he was elected as new General Secretary38 seats and 7 million votes. These are the total losses for Worthy Homeland following the latest elections, which were called after the total breakdown of the Simatos government after ministers from the Center Union resigned in masse in protest for the recent statements made by some members of Worthy Homeland, which until then were their coalition partners. While the law that started it all was amended by an alliance between some rebel Worthy Homeland parliamentarians and members of the Unsubmissive Left, most of these Worthy Homeland deputies have now lost their seats, as has the only Prefect that Worthy Homeland kept until then and that was also part of these huge controversy: Ekaterini Ioanniade, the Prefect of Elaiona, has lost the governorship of the region, a position the party held since the start of the century, 40 years ago.
According to until then Prime Minister Iason Simatos, who at the time of the election held an approval rating of less than 20%, "the elections have shown us that citizens have grown tired of our divisions and fights", indirectly blaming the rebel deputies for the loss of confidence of the Kalopian voters.
There is not only a single person to blame for Worthy Homeland election results, as all the people involved in the latest conflict have suffered losses: recently elected candidate for the Presidency of Kalopia and former minister of Justice Stavros Florelis, who resigned following the approval of the "Better and Stronger Military" bill and was key in its later amendment only got 13% of the popular vote, finishing in last place. Governor Ekaterini Ioanniade, who previously ruled in Elaiona with absolute majorities and extreme popularity saw her support collapsing to a mere 6%, barely retaining her very own seat in the regional parliament. Prime Minister Iason Simatos has been unable to retain his seat.
All in all, in the aftermath of the worst nightmare in an electoral night for Worthy Homeland, where their previous coalition partners, the Center Union, have got an absolute majority by the slimmest of margins and will now be able to do and undo at their pleasure for this legislature, a joint letter was published in social networks by Stavros Florelis, Iason Simatos, Ekaterini Ioanniade and the four other candidates to the regional Prefectships:
To the militancy of Worthy Homeland, to our supporters and to the Kalopian citizens,
We listen. We watch. And we apologize. These election results send a clear message to our party: things cannot remain as they have been for this last legislature. In a way, the absolute majority granted to the Center Union will give our party the opportunity to rebuild itself and to become, once again, the powerful tool it was in its previous days to build a better, egalitarian and rightful society in our great and glorious nation. However, this will be not done by the signatories of this letter. We have come to the common understanding that our last actions during these past years have disenchanted our potential supporters, and sent an image that we don't want to be associated with.
For this reason, the following signatories present their immediate resignation from all their political positions within the party, except those who have managed to win a seat and will remain as normal parliamentarians.
-General secretary Iason Simatos
-President Stavros Florelis
-Regional secretary of Elaiona Ekaterini Ioanniade
-Regional secretary of Thalassa Pericles Barou
-Regional secretary of Oroseira Zoe Rodineli
-Regional secretary of Kithara Medea Fotili
-Regional secretary of Wantuni Iakovos al-Shud
Speaking after the publication of the letter, Mr. Florelis said that he "doesn't regret his actions", but the way all of it was carried on.
"Do I regret standing up for my beliefs and for fighting for an egalitarian society? Absolutely not. It could have been done in another way, that maybe Kalopian citizens would have understood better? Seems like it"
This letter seems to put an end on the political turmoil of the past few years, with a coalition government more and more broken every single month, and gives Worthy Homeland some time to rebuild itself from the very start. And for this reason, the party membership assigned this task to its recently elected new general secretary to replace the ill-fated Iason Simatos, who came to politics and became the very first Prime Minister of Kalopia without a university degree, at the forefront of the party: Aristarchos Kouridis.
Who is Aristarchos Kouridis, the new general secretary of Worthy Homeland?The 39-year old philosopher-turned-politician is no stranger to politics. Previously a member of the Thalassa parliament, where he was well known for his powerful rethoric and his fiery speeches, he was also a member of an anti-evictions platform, and his allies and enemies alike describe him as a "powerful machine" unafraid to speak up, something Worthy Homeland desperately needs after Iason Simato's apparent dislike for standing up.
Right after securing his election as new General Secretary of Worthy Homeland, Mr. Kouridis announced that it was time "to put some discipline back" in the party ranks, an stated that the party will start "a fiery campaign" in the Kalopian parliament to remind citizens why they should all come back to support Worthy Homeland.
"Discussions and different points of view will be held where they belong: in the internal organs and institutions of the party. But from the party outwards, we shall be a monolithic bloc, working to improve the lives of our beloved Kalopian citizens. Some people have forgotten about that, but I will remind them if deemed necessary".
Asked on whether he would form a coalition government in future events with either Center Union or Unsubmissive Left, Mr. Kouridis said that he "will hold the head of government of Kalopia", or if else, each case will be studied when the time comes. On whether his party will provide stability to the two regions where the others have not managed to win an absolute majority, he was clear: "citizens of Wantuni and Oroseirá have made their choice. We will not join any coalition government nor compromise with a single party. We will study each proposal as it comes, and we will extract our conclusions on whether to support it or not".