Fascist Auhority Party Elects New Chairman; Calls for "Change In Hulstrian Government"Richard Wenceslas is retiring from the FAP and politics after over 15 years as ChairmanFAP Headquarters- Many have dubbed him the "Benevolent Chairman" or the "Quiet Leader" because of his mainly uneventful reign and stark silence in the media, Richard Wenceslas declared that he would be retiring from the post of chairman in the Fascist Authority Party to a crowd of reporters and party members in a press conference last month after serving almost 15 years as chairman. Wenceslas, taking over after former chairman David Thorsten retired in 2644, was a former candidate for Governor-General, and helped the FAP stick together after many difficult election years; Wenceslas, while very active in the Imperial Diet, has struggled with a Hulstrian population that simply does not want to vote. In the past 2-3 elections, voter turns have decreased to 68-65%, the lowest turnout rates in centuries for the Imperial Crownlands; the Fascist Authority Party has been hit hard by this lack of participation, leaving them with little or no gains in the Diet. The low-voter turnout instead only benefits the Christian Liberals and their friends while the likes of the KHP and the FAP get leftovers with most of its base not showing up to the polls for support. The Fascist Authority Party, other than their success in passing the "Hulstria-Vorona Security and Defense Argeement", has not passed any other huge pieces of legislation in the Imperial Diet. They have passed laws but often had to water them down to get support from the Christian Liberals, who control a ridiculous majority gained directly from low voter turn-outs, and sometimes attempts to compromise utterly fails, leaving the Diet in stagnation. Greater Hulstria itself has been hit by political inactivity and blandness; many party officials, as well as citizens, are angry at the slow pace of the national government in dealing with problems and in affairs in general. "A change in leadership and government is needed!" says Xavior Gaston, the newly elected Chairman of the Fascist Authority Party in a speech to party members, reporters, and citizens outside the FAP National Headquarters in Kien, shortly after being announced the new chairman by the Party Cabinet. "For years we have been technically ruled by a small band of political parties in Greater Hulstria. The low-turn out rates in elections have paved the way for CLA dominance in the Imperial Diet and the further exclusion of the Fascist Authority and Imperial Hulstrian parties; while we may work together in the cabinet, it does not seem we work together at all in the Imperial Diet, and that is my friend a true shame. A change is needed my friends, a change is needed to bring Hulstria into the next half of this century!". Xavior Gaston, a strong Hulstrian nationalist and monarchist, is considered to be a major shift in party ideology; the last few chairmans of the FAP have been moderate, centre right but the election of Gaston to the party's highest office may have very well shattered what is left of the FAP's moderate view of political affairs. Gaston is believed to take a hard-line approach in delivering the party message to the masses in the Crownlands, promoting strong central government, social conservativism, and a sound national defense; the new chairman has not ruled out to compromise however, saying that the "FAP will reach out to other parties, bring in their ideas, and work from there, we will not exclude anyone" but will not be bullied into pursuing an agenda in either he or the party itself is totally opposed to.
"Greater Hulstria Needs New Leaders and New Ideas" declares new FAP Chairman Gaston"I am calling upon fellow Fascist Authority Party officials, citizens of Hulstria who support of the Fascist Authority Party or not, to come to the polls in 2759, to come to the polls to represent true democracy!" yelled Gaston. "The democracy shown in the past few electoral cycles is in no way democracy, I say they are a sham! Citizens must understand that low-turn out rates hurt political parties, not just the FAP, from advancing in seat representation and pushing for their agenda in the legislature; new power, new parties, and new ideas for Greater Hulstria need to arise, new leadership needs to come into play, and to reject the status-quo". Gaston went on to bash the current Governor-General Anders Raske for his ineffective leadership in reaching out to political parties "Anders Raske has been as silent as our own former chairman. He is unwilling to work with other political parties and when he does, he only will sign into legislation that has been extensively amended by his own political party. The current budget on the floor right now my friends is a clear example on his child-like attitude towards governing; the Fascist Authority Party has rejected his budget that wishes to bring Greater Hulstria into a 100 billion crown plus deficit....Let me say that again, a budget with a 100 million crown deficit! His alarming speeding spree would crush the fiscal straint Hulstria holds dearly; for the past 200 years Greater Hulstria has always maintained a surplus of money and has never gone into a deficit! His reckless idea will only hurt the economy and will only cripple efforts for future spending ventures! The FAP opposed directly to his proposed budget-deficit control plan, and I do use the word control loosly, and offered our own proposal of allowing for the current surplus money to be spent in the budget but still allow for a surplus. Anders Raske decided to instead go right to vote on the budget and dismissed Fascist Authority Party suggestions; that Hulstria, is pathetic and overtly ridiculous". He continued on by saying Raske has "shown in clear daylight his hypocrisy on bipartisanship", that Raske "only believes in compromise when the FAP is proposing legislation but when it comes to his legislation, his legislation is just, and does not have to be changed". Gaston declared that the FAP "will not continue to suck up to Raske and propose changes at the snap of his finger anymore" after he went on with "a budget that wasn't fully debated on".
"The Fascist Authority Party believes in responsible budget management," said chairman Gaston. "While the Fascist Authority Party and the former Hulstrian Nationalist Party opposed eachother at every issue, we always came together in uniting against out of control spending in the budget, and always put our fiscal conservatism front and center in budget battles. They if they were still around would be throwing stones as Raske for his outrageous budget plan. Hulstrians should be in revolt over his budget plan!".
Xavier Gaston then touched on Raske's attempt to shove the Fascist Authority Party and the Imperial Hulstrian Party out of important cabinet Ministries a few years back to make way for their friend, the Free Capitalist Party; the cabinet also proposed kicking out Gerald von Keither, FAP member and author of the Hulstria-Vorona Security and Defense Argeement, to make way for a Christian Liberal representative, yet Raske put in no arguement for the change, in fact he didn't propose any arguement for any of the changes. Raske openly threatened the Fascist Authority Party leadership in the cabinet debate, hinting that if the FAP voted against the cabinet, he would exclude the FAP the next time a cabinet was proposed. The Fascist Authority Party did not tremble in Raske's threat and opposed the cabinet anyway, citing that the Free Capitalist Party was too inexperienced and not up for the jobs put ahead of them. Funny enough, the Free Capitalist Party did not vote at all in the cabinet proposal, and has ever since the vote 3 years ago has been inactive in Imperial Diet affairs missing over 35+ plus articles of legislation. It is suspected that if the FKP continues to be inactive, their national status as a political party may end. The statement has soured many within the Fascist Authority Party, even before Gaston arrived; the clear bully-like tactics exerted by Raske has disappointed officials and are worried that as long as the CLA hold the majority and low-turn out rates continue, Raske will continue to behave in that way of not taking in bipartisanship or other parties ideas. "The Christian Liberals in general and their cabinet proposal disappointed many Hulstrians. That is no way of properly working with other political parties and the FAP is upset by the fact that it always has to be us in debates that have to compromise yet when it comes to the CLA, compromise or discussion does not apply to them".
"The CLA and their cabinet proposal disappointed many Hulstrians" said Xavier GastonGaston appeared to be geninuely angered by the Governor-General's recent actions, calling into question his train of thought and the Christian Liberal Party's logic in letting him stay their candidate for Governor-General "The Christian Liberals should take a deep, deep look into their party, and find themselves. I know for a fact Raske does not represent the whole Christian Liberals and they should re-organize themselves to get better people to represent them in the Imperial Diet. If Raske continues to represent the CLA in such an office as Governor-General, then relations between the FAP and the CLA will only continue to crumble". He said "The FAP wishes to continue to work with the CLA, we worked well together in the past but it will be almost impossible for us to do that if Raske continues his partisanship and his attitude towards other political parties in Greater Hulstria. The CLA does not have the HNP anymore or the FKP, they need to work with not only the FAP but the KHP. That is the only right thing to do in this current political environment".
Xavier Gaston also said a statement after the speech that the Fascist Authority Party will continue to endorse the Imperial Hulstrian Party for Governor-General and hopes for the KHP to take Governor-General once again after their successful run with Edmund von Greifstein in the late 2720s. He also expressed support and admiration for the current Emperor of Hulstrian, Franz VI, who now holds the title of Head of State in the nations of Talmoria and Hulstria, the first Hulstrian Emperor since Heinrich I to hold a Head of State title in more than one country. Including gaining a Head of State title, Hulstria has increased its colonial land on Dovani; Hulstria has control over the Talmorian territories, known as the South-Western Territories, making Hulstria the single largest colonial power on Dovani, with Franz VI being dubbed the "Emperor of Dovani" because of his control of the mass amount of territories and over 490 million people. Those colonies were aquired after the overthrow of the oppressive Islamic government in Talmoria by a Hulstrian nationalist party.