UDN PRESENTS PARTY PROGRAMME
Cetatea Albă - Prior to the 4236 elections, the Uniunea Democrată Națională has presented its party programme at its headquarters in Cetatea Albă. The proposed legislation differs a lot from the current government policy and is judged by experts to be ''a swing to the left''. The most notable points are: the creation of public healthcare, spending cuts for defence and regulation of the economy. The presentation was expected to take place at the conference room of the headquarters, but due to much attendance by journalists the presentation was moved to the central hall of the building. At one o'clock the party programme finally became public and is, as expected, very different than the current government policies. However, the plans have been send to the Central Statistics Bureau which declared them executable. The catch is: a complete reform of the taxation system, which will herald a period of progressive taxation.
One of the main points is the creation of a public healthcare system. The UDN programme states that the current healthcare system is ''Exploiting the middle and lower class in order to serve the richest 10%. (...) A public healthcare system will ensure the lease fortunate of quality healthcare and exist along with private clinics''. The programme refers multiple times to other nations which have created a public healthcare system and the social and economic successes they have made with it. Whether the plan will be a succes for the Confederation is yet to be determined.
Another important point discussed in the programme is a small spending raise for all ministries, accept the Ministry of Defence. According to the UDN, the Army is already getting enough money, and the current funds can be cut if the Confederation commits itself to more millitary treaties ensuring ourselves with backup from other nations in case the Confederation is under attack. In that case, the government does not need to completely protect its borders herself. By establishing such alliances, the UDN expects to cut millitary spending with over 100 trillion NED.
Hercules Chanicoglcu, financial editor at the Kizenian Herald, discusses the other important point with us; regulation of the economy. ''The UDN states that the current economic system, the free market economy, is taking advantage of its right to determine salary and working conditions by itself. They say the workers of the Confederation deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. The UDN sees that the only way to achieve such an economy is through regulation. However, the UDN says they want to leave a big role for the private sector as well, because no nation can function with a complete plan economy, and that is not what they try to establish''.
To finance all these major changes, the UDN already has created a new tax system, which is more progressive than the current flat tax. The more income, the more tax. Nonetheless, these taxes run up to a maximum of 27%. Further tax adjustments involve a 5% raise in corporations- and luxury tax. The question is whether the UDN will be able to execute their programme entirely, since they will need an absolute majority in the United Assembly to pass it. This puts extra pressure on the upcoming election against the Partidul Libertarian, in which they are slowly coming close in the polls with their previous mentioned biggest competitor.
