24 Jun 2020, 02:53

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SDV: The gap is tightening, but does this mean that Carole Baskin's cessation was too soon, or that she saw the the end before anyone else? We are talking to Harriet LeRauk.

HLR: Hi Stephanie.

SDV: What do you make of the education services figure - weren't you expecting that to be a lot closer?

HLR: Yes we were. We're sure that we will recover the lost ground there, but it certainly isn't ideal. It isn't a huge number of seats though.

SDV: Is that a hint of worrying I see?

HLR: No. I just think caution is necessary. These were rather small constituencies anyway.

SDV: Thanks Harriet. Always a pleasure. We have on now Misty Foxx.

MF: Hey Stephanie.

SDV: Hi Misty. What do you make of these latest results?

MF: I think they are very encouraging. We are shocked that we beat the TANKIES in education services by such a large percentage - 20% is really an achievement in that sector.

SDV: Do you think that the election is turning out in your favour?

MF: Absolutely. I think and hope that we will see AÉN control of all branches of government.

SDV: Thanks Misty!

MF: Peace out.

(Misty throws a peace sign and blows a kiss)

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SDV: Health and social care was very very close, which highlights another piece of bad news for the TANKIES. They hoped that their policy of increasing funding more than the AÉN would win over most hospital workers, and it certainly worked for some, but not for others. The size of this constituency of workers means that the smallest changes can mean a seat is stole from the other side. If the AÉN had gotten a vote share of 0.6% higher, they would've clinched another seat. And same for the TANKIES but just 0.8%. This is much closer than they were hoping, our forecast predicted they'd get 55% of the vote in health and social care, and they haven't.

Leisure and hospitality is another area where the TANKIES were expected to win for their support for terrasses chauffées, but that didn't necessarily translate into votes. This is also at odds with our projection. We believed that the issue of terrasses chauffées would come up a lot more, with 60% of restaurant workers believing that it is a fundamental part of how their business operates. However, a lot of people must've believed the AÉN's other policies outweighed this factor.

With me is political analyst George Foucault.

George Foucault: Thanks for having me.

SDV: What do you think these results mean for the TANKIES?

GF: It's terrible news for them, Stephanie. They were expecting to win in both of these sectors of the economy - and these are big constituencies with big consequences for screwing up. And they screwed up. This puts my prediction for the Auswirr down to the wire. It will be incredibly close and it won't be until we get the very last results that this election will be decided.

SDV: What do you think the impact of the TANKIES' failure to gain ground in health will do?

GF: It will either cost them the election or strength in controlling the chamber. Without the hearty majority that we projected before, it will be difficult to out-vote rebellious factions within the party. Though this also extends to the AÉN. If they do win, they will be at the mercy of their factions -- which are much more disruptive than those of the TANKIES. I think we can definitely see dairy prohibition come back to Icholasen very very soon as both the TANKIES and the anarcho-primitivists are in favour of scaling back dairy consumption.

SDV: And what about the role of Speaker of the Auswirr - a very prized position.

GF: I think that the anarcho-primitivists won't vote in a TANKIE Speaker of the Auswirr, but the second highest position is the leader of the party in the Auswirr which could fall to the anarcho-primitivists, rather than the establishment AÉN that Baskin leads. This could lead to feuds about any number of things, and a confused system of whipping.

SDV: Thanks for that Monsieur Foucault.