My last thoughts as PM

As the election for the 48th Cosa is getting closer and closer, I find myself wondering whether the government that is living its last month in office actually brought something good to Talossa – if I look back at the last eight months, do I see a bland period of inactivity or a Government which actually accomplished what it promised to the Cosa and to the Talossan citizenry? To me, it does look like we did quite well, and I can say I’m quite satisfacted of what I and my fellow Ministers achieved while in power.

The accomplishments of this government are indeed quite remarkable when compared to those of the previous ones – and if I believe that the last government could be excused if it seemed shaky at times, as most of the ministers were first-timers in the Kingdom (including me, by the way), the previous RUMP-led ones’ activeness paled in comparison.

When I accepted to serve as Prime Minister, I knew we had a lot of points to sort out in so little time, including justicial unclogging. I started sorting it out myself when I dismissed the inactive Clerk of Courts within a few weeks from the Government’s formation, at the cost of having to fend off a load of criticism from his friends on the Opposition’s benches. Another achievement I am quite proud of is the elimination of sinecurae Ministries right from the beginning of the term.

I’m also proud that, compared to the last Government, our troop stayed mostly united from the beginning to the end. It’s true I had to replace (or if you prefer, “I had to sack”) a minister halfway through the Cosa due to his busy extra-Talossan life, but the transition was painless and I am very happy to have found a more than worthy replacement. We also had a bit of a disagreement with the Senator for Vuode, which I regret to say was completely unannounced as I never got to talk to him before his “last straw” post on Wittenberg and therefore I always assumed everyone in the coalition parties was okay with the Government’s policies.

Still, this Government – my Government – has without any doubts been the best government in years. We have shown the electors we are a party to be trusted when it comes to leading a government. We outlined a very detailed Action Plan before the Cosa and I’m very proud to say that at the end of the day most of it has been delivered.

I’m personally very positive about the upcoming General Election. As it always has, the MRPT once again presents itself as the only party with a very detailed Manifesto, clear principles and a single, united course of action to follow, the one of progressist yet reasonable reforms, constitutional monarchism, defense of individual freedom, support to Talossan companies and reform of provincial catchment areas. We are very clear on where we stand.

We’ll push for mandatory Cosa candidates lists for parties, so that you as a voter will always know who are you going to vote for, while allowing parties a degree of flexibility to deal with any (un)expected events regarding MCs. We’ll complete the Provincial Catchment Area Reform as a priority. We plan to set up limited, small-scale public funding of Talossan companies to stimulate the creation of more companies and the development of new services and offers by existing ones.

This compares to what our main challengers have to offer. The first one effectively decided to bring its opposition to the Government outside of the Ziu and inside the pencils of anonymous cartoonists – instead of challenging our policies as any decent opposition would do. Why would any voter want to be represented in this way? Why would any voter choose a party with no clear plans to get back into power?

The other party is composed of liberals and socialists; monarchists, republicans and neutrals; strong dirigist state and weak liberal state followers – it doesn’t matter whether they are running on a common manifesto: will the voters actually get what it’s written there or will a liberal-leaning voter get socialist bits, or a monarchist voter a set of laws which will bring Talossa closer to a republic? To me, as I said on Wittenberg, it looks increasingly like the umpteenth Talossan pot-pie-blob running on loose platforms.

That said, I’m sure the next one is going to be an exciting election. I do hope that the MRPT’s record as a successful party of government in the last eight months will be acknowledged by the voters – nevertheless, I’ll always remember these months at the helm of Talossa’s government as a happy period of proficuous collaboration with my fellow Ministers and of a number of invaluable contributions to the nation.