New Britannic Cricketers Come to Alexandria

The Conseil d'Amélioration pour la Culture (CAC), or Council for Cultural Amelioration, has announced the first major sporting event to be hosted in Valenciennes.

It has been agreed with both the Emperor of Alexandria and the King of New Britannia, that there is to be a series of three 40-over One-Day International cricket matches and a Twenty20 cricket match contested between Valenciennes Province and the Britannic Sandwich Islands.

The schedule for the matches is as follows: 

• Weds 18th June - 1st One Day International (ODI) @ Edgardia, Valenciennes.
  
• Friday 20th June - 2nd ODI @ Vranscia, Valenciennes.
  
• Sunday 22nd June - 3rd ODI @ Franciscania, Valenciennes.
  
• Monday 23rd June - Twenty20 International @ Edgardia, Valenciennes.

There is a hope that the event will be well supported, not just within the Province, but also across the Empire and in New Britannia too. We hope that this will be the start of a much warmer relationship, again, not just between our Province and the Britannic Sandwich Islands, but also both Empires.

In the meantime, Valenciennes are constructing a list of names for the teamsheet. Anyone interested in having their name added to list, should visit the thread at http://www.valenciennes.tk.

If you need to know more about cricket, visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket.

Visit Valenciennes

Dis-organising Resolution

The "Organizing Resolution", a relatively simple piece of legal documentation that allows the Imperial Parliament to start work. It requires the Speaker to declare who the leader of the majority is, who the leader of the minority is and also who the speaker for the next session is to be.

Despite the relative simplicity this process, the parliament is currently making a rather large meal out of the process. Instead of pro-activity, typical ACP-AAP niggling has taken over. At a time when the Empire really needs the Parliament to step up to the plate and be active in the real Parliamentary sense of the word, that is getting things done, they choose to stall over who should be the speaker.

Pete James (AAP) has but himself forward, a refreshing change perhaps following what seems like the interminable stewardship of Matthieu Poiters (ACP)? Apparently not. James has been accused of being a dictator by Jose Frias (ACP):

in the times that he has been speaker, he has treated the speakership as a dictatorship, threatening to throw out bills left and right, especially targeted were conservative bills.

James responded by declaring that he had always been fair and impartial. Adding to this he stated that:

The Speakership of Mssr. Poitiers has proved to be inefficient and lead to inactivity, and emergency elections.

In a certain ironic twist, John Carmichael (AAP), was quick to point out that the version of the Organising Resolution that the current Speaker, Poiters, has posted contained errors. He remarked: n discussing this resolution,

I would like to state firstly that my name is spelt wrong. Secondly, my party ceased to exist under the name of the Alexandrian Anti-Party for a number of Parliaments now.

I think that a lot of what this situation comes down to is that Poiters fears the loss of his position - perhaps the loss of the speakership will expose his weaknesses as a Parliamentarian? Equally, the AAP suffers from a substantial amount of jealousy over the amount of power the ACP effortlessly manage to retain from Parliament to Parliament - so are they trying to gain a more solid foothold in a Parliament that seems unwilling to grant them such a luxury?

One thing is for sure, they need to stop the backbiting and stop dredging up insignificant facts from the past and get this resolution passed once and for all.

Political Parties

Our Empire yet again finds herself heading headlong into another set of elections. This set of elections will, as ever, be decided by default in many territories, not solely as a result of the electoral system, but as a result of the fractious nature of our political parties.

It is of course well within the right of any Alexandrian to organize a political party, and what a glorious right it is. The problem lies at the juncture between Alexandrian Conservatism and all other political ideologies. The Conservative movement, however unfashionable its logo may be, has got a lot going for it: clear policies, clear ideological standpoint and a large committed member base.

For as long as this is the case, the other parties, the Alexandrian Amelioration Party, The Federalist Party, and lately the Liberal Alternative, will have no real chance of putting into action their programs of reform. They will forever be minnows in the opposition, under whatever electoral system.

My recommendation? Well, surely it will not be a exceptionally popular suggestion, but I have seen it work elsewhere - Baracao and Talamthom are two that come to mind. I feel that the three smaller parties need to start to:

1. find similarities in their manifestos and develop policies along the lines of these similarities;
2. unite under one banner, thus acting as one party, for example the 'Popular Front', but still keeping their individual identities within this larger umbrella;
3. decide on a system of rolling presidency for the party so that all of the component parties get a chance of having their leader as the leader of the umbrella organization.

This 'Popular Front' would maybe be able to find, through negotiation, a solid common ground ideologically and would pool the resources of three small parties' worth of members in order to create a genuine challenge to the Conservatives.

If these parties are listening, then maybe now is the time to start talking amongst yourselves. I hasten to add, this article is not intended as a slight on the merits of the Conservatives, but is instead aimed at creating a stronger party-political arena within our Empire.

Valenciennes Provincial Parliament Round-Up

Over the last two months the Valenciennes Provincial Parliament has been busy working on a few different issues. Firstly the Parliament has been working towards securing the legality of the Provincial Parliament by dealing with constitutional agreements. This has resulted in Geneva's Imperial Parliament and the Emperor clarifying Parliament's right to operate and exist. Furthermore, Parliament has moved to clear up any irregularities between the Imperial and Provincial Constitutions. This was done by passing the Housekeeping Amendment [2007] Act.

Furthermore an amendment to the Provincial Constitution, the Valenciennes Constitutional Amendment [Sept 2007] Act, saw full executive authority vested in the First Minister of the Province. This allows for the First Minister to select and manage a Provincial Executive if they so wish.

This month, I will be looking to finally receive an official budget from the Imperial Finance Ministry so that some real progress can begin to be made in our Province. Valenciennes citizens, your commitment is much appreciated.

Action Plan for Potent Government

It is obviously every Alexandrian citizen's wish for the Governance of the Empire to be strong and active, but I personally feel that there should be more to it than that. I feel that the Imperial Parliament breeds inactivity as a result of the manner in which is constructed. The fact that we are having Parliamentary seats being won by dafault should in itself show that there is some work to be done.

I have spent a little time conducting research into what I call "The Alexandrian Question" - that is, How can we make our parliament stonger? - and have a draft proposal prepared for the Emperor, Prime Minister, Members of Parliament, citizens and other interested parties detailing my suggested changes. This report will be published by my office tomorrow.

Some details of the report:

• It is 3 pages and around 900 words in length;
• It will be made available in a Document Imaging format (.tif);
  
• It highlights problems and suggests logical remedies;
• It proposes reform whilst not undermining current levels of representation;
• It will demonstrate in a clear manner the way in which Parliament should have the flexibility to respond to both larger and smaller populations;
• It will challenge complacency in political parties and will make them really start fighting once more for the votes of citizens that are not involved in elections as prospective MPs.

I hope that all readers will embrace the proposals, or, at least, the sentiment of loyalty to this Empire that underpins them. I look forward to presenting the report to you all tomorrow.

Interview With Josue Torres

Intrigued by the prospect of a party openly selling itself as Federalist, I chose to ask a few direct questions to Josue Torres in a café in Loredo, Rio Grande.

-Alexandria has demonstrated a great commitment to the Federalist agenda in the past, not least in Valenciennes, what difference can your party make?

I feel that Alexandria has entered a new era in its history, that is the "Era of the Federated Awakening;" you’re right, the Valenciennes did demonstrate a sense of commitment by defending their provincial rights, hence becoming the pioneers of Alexandrian federalism. Such commitment was placed aside for some time and thanks to the many of its residents like yourself Mr. Leclerc, the province has regained its provincial prestige. The Federalist Party has emerged at a time where Alexandria needs a new political organization dedicated to spearhead its new era, this could have been nearly impossible following the traditional agendas of the two major Alexandrian political parties. The Federalist agenda is solely to defend and promote the growth of our new national era and cultivate our province’s heritage, the very essence of Alexandrian federalism.

-At the moment your party is small, what plans do you have to try and create a bigger place for yourself in the Imperial Parliament?

I’m trying to get the word out as much as possible regarding the Federalist’s platform, either at public forums or throughout media coverage. I’m optimistic about even this small interview, since I’m sure that it will capture the attention of many throughout Alexandria and possibly the micronational world. I hope that every Alexandrian comes to understand that the Federalist stands for the progress and advancement of their own respective province, whichever that may be.

-Are you planning a national convention or to tour the Provinces to promote the Federalist agenda?

Yes, I’m planning to tour each province in the near future.

-Valenciennes has hit the headlines recently after being attacked by Chief Justice Carmichael for its "autonomy" making a "mockery" of the Imperial Parliament. Where do you stand on this and do you think that he has overstepped the mark with his comments?

Valenciennes people have every right, and indeed constitutional protection, to exercise their autonomy, even the Emperor has recognized this provincial right. The Chief Justice has gone too far by condemning the hard work that the residents of the Valenciennes have accomplished and may only hope is the HIM the Emperor deals with him accordingly. His words have affected his national image and has lost much reputation. I feel that the Imperial Parliament needs to implement immediate reforms in order to continue working effectively.

Since conducting this interview the Chief Justice has resigned his post.