New Faces: the Arinaga teamOctober 4430 (backdated)Masaki Arinaga, Staatsminister (34)Masaki Arinaga's triumph in the HDV leadership election last year was universally explained as a decision for a new generation to take charge in Hulstria and Gao-Soto's oldest party. Following the meager results of the generation brought into the cabinet by Severin Goddestreu, the new Staatsminister exemplifies that a wholesale succession is needed to revitalise the HDV's message. The contrast between him and his cerebral, Goddestreuvian predecessor is marked, in style as well as in politics. Arinaga is on the left of the Hosian Democrats, what is usually described as its Schallist wing, as indeed were two of his progenitors, Obe and Tobe Arinaga. Arinaga is a Kamist, but has nevertheless spoken much to the inspiration he derives from the Hosian tradition the HDV takes inspiration from:
"It's all about a society where people see and help eachother."Kathrine von Raske-Zilberschlag und Cuijpers von Anderinch, Deputy Leader and Klubobfrau (65)The most prominent remaining member of the previous HDV generation, Kathrine von Anderinch returns to the Reichstag to act as her new leader's political wingwoman. With a rather small majority and inexperience in the Staatsministerium, it is anticipated that Jungfrau von Anderinch will be indispensable to keep Arinaga's leadership moving along. The successor of Severin Goddestreu in the Finance Ministry, Kathrine von Anderinch is also identified with the Goddestreu plan, but her name is as ancient as her noble titulary leads one to suspect: her ancestor Julius von Anderinch was Governor-General and one of the signatories of the Labsburg Declaration, the HDV's founding document.
Norbert Rieperts, Minister of Foreign Affairs (46)Former International Studies Associate Professor at Heinrich University, Norbert Rieperts, continues in the portfolio he had under the last term of Goddestreu. He is most noted for his response to the OTRA's request for government help in repatriation of Ostlander Kunihito now that the government of the former sixth Crownland seems to be definitively moving to purge the nation of the last vestiges of apartheid. It is expected that Rieperts will continue the internationalist course of the HDV and continue to pursue a new relationship with Ostland, with rumours that he will be accompanying OTRA President Yataka to Wolfsheim and the Touryou state in a visit originally planned by his independent predecessor, Morimoto. Rieperts has often spoken of the need for an assertive and constructive foreign policy, with a leading role for the Crownlands in safeguarding the peace in Dovani. He has his work cut out for him, it seems, with the recent outbreak of the Dovani War.
Lotaru Kulemensu, Minister of Internal Affairs (48)Public lawyer Lotaru Kulemensu was brought in to revise the electoral code, which has so far been operating on the merest basic interpretation of the Basic Law. It is well-known that the HDV wishes to reintroduce the Mixed Member Proportional System, in which MdRs are elected both from geographical districts known as
Wahlkreisen and topped up from party list, as it existed under the first United Imperial Crownlands.
Ludo von Marck, Minister of Finance and Vize-Staatsminister (42)Arinaga's most important leadership rival, Ludo von Marck, served as a backbencher from Budenlar in the last Imperial Diet. He hails from the famous mountain resort of St. Anton in Budenlar, the planned location of the Dovani Economic Forum. It is likely that in addition to the imperative of giving him an important portfolio, the new Minister of Finance will be given the task of coordinating efforts towards economic cooperation on the Western coast of Dovani. He is slightly to the right of the leadership, which so far seems to reassure the more fiscally conservative wing of the HDV that the costs of the Staatsminister's ambitions will be kept in check.
Yoshitomo Sando, Minister of Defence (51)A former professor of Military History at the RBW's Otto III Military Academy in Numamura, Yoshitomo Sando takes over as a dependable pair of hands at the Ministry of Defence in a time where like as not the RBW might see some action. Sando is known to be an advocate of caution when using the RBW, holding tight to its principal function as a defence force, but he has also advocated their use in peace missions. If Foreign Minister Rieperts should fail in his endeavours to help along a peaceful solution, it will be Sando's task to ensure that the RBW's first deployment outside the Crownlands' borders in a long time will be a success.
Prosperina Gubler, Minister of Justice (36)A scion of the conservative Gubler family, Prosperina Gubler cuts an unusual figure. Though she is known to be tough on issues of law and order, she has rather more moderate opinions on many ethical issues (at least for a Gubler). Although she favours promoting alternatives to abortion, Frau Gubler has also written in favour of legalising and heavily regulating euthanasia, which is at present illegal. With Gubler at the helm at the justice ministry, we can expect a tightening of the law and order policies of the HDV, while indeed some cautious progress might be made in other areas. Gubler herself is considered ambitious and might be a potential rival for the Staatsminister if she does well. In common with much of her family history, the new Minister of Justice speaks frankly and freely - in her time as spokeswoman for Agriculture last term, she often surprised frontbench colleagues with comment on their own portfolios.
Maruta Emaichi, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport (31)Hulstro-Showan Maruta Emaichi is another of the "new generation" taking over the helm. Former leader of the HDV's group on Syakusen-Graaffsberg city council, she is best-known for her ambitious agenda of revitalising the public transport in the city. Among others, she secured funds for extending the city's metro network through the Herzoginnejoch-Kogoyama tunnel and into Hennersdam-Numamura, linking the two metropolitan areas. Emaichi is a devout Aurorian Patriarchal Hosian, and has often spoken warmly of the principle of subsidiarity from her church's social teachings. It is expected that she will oversee a decentralisation of transport powers where possible.
Sarahae Fukuyama, Minister of Health and Social Service (38)Given the prominence of the new Staatsminister's healthcare plans, the appointment of Sarahe Fukuyama at Health and Social Services comes as no surprise to political analysts. The 38-year old latest addition to the political Fukuyama dynasty and great-granddaughter of internationally-acclaimed Foreign Minister of the Crownlands Seodoru Fukuyama functioned as Arinaga's campaign manager. Reputedly, her persuasive skills played a vital role in securing enough momentum for Arinaga to appear on the ballot. As a close confederate of the Staatsminister, she will most likely be among the first to speak out in matters where he does not wish to tread. Fukuyama is one to watch.
Justus Löw, Minister of Education and Culture (49)Justus Löw was headmaster of various schools in the sub-urbs of Labsburg before being elected to the Imperial Diet. Löw is a passionate defender of the freedom of education and in particular of the right to religious education. He doesn't speak very often outside of his personal area of expertise, but colleagues paint him as being middle-of-the-road HDV, a man that most Hosian Democratic MdRs get along with politically as well as personally.
Takenao Fujimura, Minister of Science and Technology (51)Dr. Takenao Fujimura is mostly considered to be a bit of a grey mouse, a technocrat. Though he has been a passionate advocate for many technological businesses in his youth, serving on Miyako's city council, he kept his distance from politics to focus on his engineering career for most of his life. He was drafted to be the HDV's science spokesman by Arinaga in the run-up to the last election.
Elizabeth Klapp, Minister of Food and Agriculture (42)Elizabeth Klapp's appointment as Minister of Food and Agriculture has a lot of rumours going around about relations between her predecessor, Prosperina Gubler, and Staatsminister Arinaga. During her term in the portfolio, Gubler sometimes showed herself to be critical of regulations on farmers. By contrast, Klapp is an outspoken proponent of green solutions, whose upbringing on a farm in rural Budenlar has, in her own words, made her more aware of the need for sustainability.
Isa Henurikusu, Minister for the Environment and Tourism (35)The entry of Hulstro-Showan actress Isa Henurikusu into politics generated a lot of media attention for the HDV. The actress, well-known for roles in many Syakusen entertainment classics, started off her career as Rot Fengsie's friend Liselu in the hit series
Tasyumon. Following that, she has done a large amount of voice acting and screen acting in the growing entertainment sector centered around Syakusen. The Staatsministerium denied that Henurikusu's appointment was due to her popularity as an actress, as pundits suggest, an appointment attempting to exploit her status to further expand the tourism sector:
"She's been a great advocate for preserving our nature and culture and showing them to the world both in her acting career and after her election to the Diet."Fumihiro Kimoto, Minister of Trade and Industry (53)CEO and founder of Kimoto Electronics, which he built up from the ground in Miyako, Fumihiro Kimoto was described by Arinaga as
"the very image of the new, self-made businesses of Hulstria and Gao-Soto". A modest man, Kimoto started out selling newspapers and went on to become a millionaire. As the new Minister for Trade and Industry, he has said he is chiefly looking to work with Ludo von Marck on economic integration in Dovani. He has taken a particular interest in the economic situation in Ostland's Touryou State, which he personally believes would benefit from investment by the growing businesses of Gao-Soto.