Socialists Take to the Streets to protest President
"Ananto acting like a King" says most demonstratorsKaliburg, Ananto
January 7, 5408Anti-Empire Socialists protest proposed Institutionalist Reforms that would strengthen Office of President of RepublicAnti-Monarchy socialists took to the street to protest the proposed reforms of the Institutionalist Faction of the SPoK aimed at strengthening the office of the President of the Republic. The Institutionalists, a caucus within the Socialist Party were responsible a year and a half ago for calling the snap elections that saw Micahel Ananto elected President of the Republic. In that election, socialists who are aligned with the Institutionalist Wing also took the majority of the National Assembly, electing 46 of 56 deputies in the election, and have ousted enough Internationalist members of the Party Central Committee to convene a national congress to begin drawing up a new platform.
The ousted Internationalist wing of the Party, one which has held sway for decades in the Party and favors an open trade and investment posture, but is also closely identified with the Republic, has since formed a rump congress, as Party activists have taken to the streets to begin protests in Kaliburg, Sulari, and Nevaras City to protest the ouster of the Internationalist Members from the Party Central Committee, and to call for President Michael Ananto to step down.
As some Institutionalist Deputies took to the air to call for peace and reconciliation, others doubled their efforts to promote the division. Marian Jones, from Yoshimi, who is affiliated with the Institutionalist Wing stated, "These people are upset that they have lost a fair election. Ananto was the clear favorite of not only all of Kalistan's voters, but also the majority of the Socialist Party, and just because his last name is Ananto, they want to argue that he doesn't belong in the office." The President of the Republic, for his part did little to supress the controversy. Instead, he took meetings throughout the days following the takeover of the congress meeting with institutionalist leaders.
"But when it came time to meet with our side," said Kelsey Mitchel, who identifies with the Internationalist caucus in the Party, "He would say he had this or that meeting and couldn't find the time right away. Two weeks have gone by, but nothing. This is intolerable. Michael Ananto is not acting like a President. He is acting like a king!"
The controversial nomination and election of the Heir to the House of Ananto, who was elected in a special election in 5406, has shattered what was once seen as the Party of eternal internal peace. Since the refounding of the Republic, the Institutionalist faction has been a part of the Socialist Party, but the Internationalists have always held sway, relegating the Nationalists to the back bench, and drawing leadership from their own ranks. The collapse of the Conservative Party and the short lived Arsonist Apotheosis Party which held the majority in the National Assembly for all of 5 days before dissolving, created considerable interest in the sort of political stability that the Empire once offered. "We support the Nation," said Jones, "and we support Ananto. We aren't saying make him the Emperor, but sometimes regularity and predictability are what are necessary to chill the churn in the Kalistani Polity."
The issue came to a head late last week, when a draft document of the Institutionalists' manifesto was released. It included automatic re-election of the President of the Republic, pending a vote of no confidence, re-recognition and institutionalization of the House of Ananto, the moving of the capital to Eveari, and a curb in what has been seen as "socialist excesses" under the Internationalist wing of the Party. What those excesses are can only be guessed at, but many members of the Institutionalist wing have long expressed a continued anger at the urban renewal programs of the last century which led to the displacement of millions of Kalistanis on the Mainland as whole sectors of Kalistan's towns and cities were demolished and never rebuilt. "Kalistan did not deserve that treatment," said Jones in a 5406 speech. "Under our leadershi, we will ensure that the Socialist Party can never undertake a program like that again."
Institutionalists also blame the current Government for failure to retrieve the 2nd and 3rd Fleets from Lourenne. "A state visit was planned, but these Ministers are sitting on their hands," said Jones. "Its beginning to look like negligence. Why is our navy STILL in Lourenne, and not in Kalistan, on the Southern Limit, where it belongs?"
There is no telling what direction this inter Party strife will take, but for now, Socialists involved with the Internationalist wing have taken to the streets and have vowed to shut Kalistan's major cities down, if they have to. "We will not be pushed around by these monarchists," said Brian Harris of Kaliburg at a Protest. "No kings, No Cops, no Capitalists is our motto. And we will not stop until that Pretender is removed from power." The International Socialists said they are planning major actions around the Republic in the coming weeks, and some might even involve direct civil disobedience. "Any means necessary," said Harris.