The Europolis Post

Inquista

Catching up with Councillor Sofie Čikarová

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Lex Burnley, in partnership between Inquista Today and the Europolis Post, sat down with with Councillor Sofie Čikarová to briefly discuss the European Commission, the European Council, and all of the latest in European politics.

LB: Councillor Čikarová, it’s good to talk to you! How are you? How has the adjustment from European Premier to European Councillor been?

SC: Thank you for having me, Lex! Well you know, it is certainly a different type of job, but there are similarities. In both occupations you are occupied with drafting legislation proposals. But it is true that you have to represent different types of interests. As a Commissioner, it is the interest of the Union itself, while as a Councillor I have to represent the interests of the Democratic Republic.

But to be honest, this wasn’t too difficult of a transition. You have to remember that one of the core tenets of Reiserová Thought is to always put the people at the centre. And that was my approach as the Premier Commissioner, and is still my approach now as a European Councillor. Nothing has changed in this regard and it never will change. And if you are consistent in your approach, any adjustments can be done swiftly and easily.

LB: I’m sure you are fully focused on your duties as Councillor, but is there a potential future where we see you put forward your name for Premier Commissioner again?

SC: Hm, that is a good question. You know, I’ve previously said that I don’t intend on ever running again. But now I must admit that this was perhaps a premature statement. I was hoping that there would be another generation of candidates inspired by our common victories. But now I must publicly admit that I was wrong. For some reason, and we could speculate what that reason is for hours, no new fighters have arisen to decide the direction of the Union. Instead, we have returned to the old ways with the Commissioners of the EPA. In my country, such a mistake couldn’t happen. No authority is forcing the people to cut their natural bond with the Great Leader, the people themselves have abolished all term limits, and the Great Leader, with great humbleness, heeded the demands of the people and accepted them. And from now on, I promise to act in a similar manner.

That is not to say that I will run again, but I will not make any statements regarding this. It all depends on the people. If people will want me to run again, I will. No matter what the people decide, I shall listen to further the cause of justice and equality.

LB: I'm sure there are some hoping to see you rejoin Commission politics sooner rather than later, especially now. What do you make of the current European Commission races? Many Europeans don’t seem keen on any of the current candidates.

SC: Horrible. A year and a half ago, I actually warned about something similar. I said that another success of EPA candidates could lead to a dangerous Commissioner being elected in the following elections, and now people can only vote for dangerous candidates! Of course, as we have seen, the majority of the people are voting for the incumbent despite him not running. But what will happen in the next election, after the incumbent won’t be allowed to serve for another term? It seems that unless we do something, a catastrophe is inevitable, and we know too well Mr. Juncker won’t do anything about it. It is upon us to act and save the Union.

And here I would also like to thank all the people that have voted for me despite the fact that I am neither running, nor in the office. It means a lot to me.

LB: From your experience, what does it take to be an effective European Commissioner?

SC: Willingness to listen, respect all opinions, and seek genuine improvements to your proposals. But always stand behind your programme. Never turn away from the people and defend their interests against the agents of the business in the Council. And a cup of coffee in the morning helps too.

LB: The European Council has not been a particularly busy body for a while now. What do you think of the current state of the European Council, and is there anything you would recommend to address this?

SC: Resignation.

LB: Nice. Bold. I like it. Your predecessor used to be chairperson of the European Left. It seems that eurogroups don’t really act as concerted bodies anymore, and they don’t seem to matter anymore at all, really. Do you think this is a symptom of broader European Council inactivity, or do you think this has actually caused Council inactivity?

SC: You know my predecessor actually left the Soocialist Republican Party after stepping down and lost paid posts within the Party. But I would be optimistic, Lex. The factual non-existence of the groups perhaps shows greater willingness of different Councillors to work together to improve the lives of the citizens of the member states of the Union. And that is good, we need to co-operate, not be driven by animosity and fanaticism.

LB: Absolutely. Is there any common ground, in your opinion, where Europe and the European Council come together to achieve something in a particular policy area?

SC: I’ll be honest, nothing comes to mind as of recently, since I have left the Premier Commissioner office. Hopefully the budget will be such a story.

LB: Has Councillor Tusk actually properly apologised to you about Nobel Parts Gate yet, and do you think he’s a misogynist?

SC: No, and nobody from his group offered an apology on his behalf, but that is in the past now. It is far more important to me that we are capable of working together on legislation, and I hope Councillor Tusk sees this the same way.

LB: Inquistan elections are coming up next year, which means your colleague, Councillor Lallana, will be facing election both as a bishop and as Inquista’s Councillor. Current polls suggest Bishop Lallana will not be re-elected to the European Council, and that someone more EPA-aligned or oriented is likely to win. Since Bishop Lallana has openly admired and supported you, and has jointly worked with you on numerous initiatives, would you ever endorse her for re-election? How would you assess her work as Inquista’s Councillor?

SC: Neither I, nor the Democratic Republic, will intervene in the elections in Inquista in any way and we will work with any representative of the Inquistan people or government.

But I will say that Karinn has been a great Councillor that has always tirelessly fought for her people in the Council. She is not one of those that would be fully in the pocket of the European monopolists and oligarchs. And this sadly can’t be said about all of my colleagues.

LB: Thank you for your time, Councillor. Hope to speak to you again soon.

Spain

Juncker, our Last Hope

Juncker, recently elected as Commissioner, is the last hope for Europeans

"Help us, Lord Juncker, you are our only hope". Imagine for a moment that was the sentence recorded by Princess Leia Organa on R2D2's memory, on Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, and that Obi-Wan Kenobi had been substituted by Jean-Claude Juncker. Now, think about the current reality of the European Union, in what seems to be a state of decline. Makes sense, right? With write-in votes saving us from what would have meant a complete disaster for this Union and its rule of law, Juncker has a chance to redeem himself and prove he can be the saviour this region needs, a figure we have long been searching for.

The Commission we elected four months ago is once again back in action, with the Foreign Affairs Commissioner seat being exempt from an election this time due to its term not being over yet. Kevin Cotilla from Leagio has been re-elected as Internal Affairs Commissioner, and while he brought a proposal to the European Council, his attempt to redeem the European Leaders Meeting failed, with him no longer being seen afterwards. Juncker, on his side, managed to get the European Council's approval on his European Agricultural Fund proposal, and proposed the budget for the next fiscal year; but his activity goes no further beyond than that.

Both Juncker and Cotilla, as we said before, have a chance to redeem themselves. However, it is Juncker in whom many people around the European Union have their hope on, and who they believe will lead the European Union to the place it should have never left. Will Juncker attend Princess Organa's call, or will our hope vanish as the term goes on? Only time will tell.

BrumBrum

Democracy Protests in Svarna Surya
Following the the lack of sanctions and end of operations in Svarna Surya by Duchies and Reitzmag protests broke out on the streets of Svarna Surya. The Svarna National Congress,Communist Party and SJP today announced for the first time ever they would cooperate under a single political umbrella Svarnans For Change to compete in any election coming up. They also plan to organise protests on the streets with activists from around the country.

Also joining protests for democracy are Maatr Bhoomi , Manipur and Goan activists as well as anti-caste system activists. The crowds have swelled to 10's of thousands in the major cities. So far the military have not reacted or come out and the situation has been calm, however with the spotlight on Svarna Surya and its military it remains to be seen how they will handle the situation. If their is violence against currently peaceful protesters then it could increase pressure on Svarna Surya and provoke more actions and sanctions against the country.

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Mass democracy protests grow
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The mass protests in Svarna Surya have today grown as Rahul has recovered from the assassination attempt on him. The protest movement in what is now known as Saffron movement has held mass protests with camps developing in all major cities in the country with an estimated over 3 million currently protesting in various protests. The protest movement has unified to support each other with provisions with many upper castes protesting with the Log gandagee (People of the Dirt). The protests are now being organised by a unified Lokatantr Ke Lie Svarna Parishad or " Svarnan Council for Democracy" in English. The movement has vowed not to stand down until 5 demands are met:
1:Neha Bhatavadekar stands down as president
2:The government stands down and the Military have no party in the election process
3.All direct military control of government ceases
4. A new democracy system without military appointed seats is put into effect
5.Media freedom and freedom of speech laws are put in place
6. An end to torture and killing of those who oppose the government including "dissapearing" government critics

The movement was emboldened and provoked into action by the dissemination of the leaked documents by critics of the government including Rahul. Rahul is being seen as a hero figure among the movement. The military have took some positions but are believed to be powerless due to the numbers involved in the protests.

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Svarna Government cave after mass protests grow
Today the Svarnan government have caved in to the demands of pro-democracy protesters and Rahul who recently woke up and spoke out against the government and its lack of democracy. The government announced there will be new elections under a new system within 6 months with a new presidential election at the same time with all parties allowed to participate including the Communist Party. The new system will eliminate the military appointed seats consisting replacing it with a new system of 600 list seats with each state having list seats assigned to them based on population in the last census and 200 winners bonus seats for whichever party wins the most votes in an election. Expat voters will vote on on an expat vote constituency which shall be run as a seperate election under a d'hont list system.Alliances for elections shall be allowed.

The Presidential elections will be run at the same time and run on an instant run off voting system. All parties will be afforded the right to campaign freely though donations will be unlimited and parties will have to pay for advertising on media as is current practise. Media outlets will be free to back candidates or parties they wish to back.

Neha Bhatavadekar has also announced the dissolvement of the military controlled Party for Prosperity,Democracy and Security saying the party will no longer exist. She announced she would also be retiring from frontline politics. Manaara Devi-Bhatavadekar announced she would form the new party National Action Party which will run on a pro-business conservative platform that will combine this with a programme for social housing and workers rights reforms while still opposing unions. The announcment was announced with other prominent members of the PPSD and the up and coming politicians by her side such as Amar Masra-Singh, Mishri Sarkar and Jannat Singh-Bhatavadekar. Critics including Rahul have described this process as a sham to ensure the military and business elites remain in power and described the new party as the PPSD with just a new name and a changing of the guard at the top.The government is believed to be starting the process of dismantling its secret police system. The government will get 50 billion Euros of the United Duchies over 5 years including 20 billion Euros already given to a Svarna Development fund with transactions managed by account managers from The State of Elthize, The Federal Republic of Yosai and The Archrepublic of Vayinaod..

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A week in the life of Roscoes.
What does life look like for the most well known billionaire of the United Duchies and our European Councillor James Mizrachi-Roscoe and family. We spend time in his life, his job and family to find out who the man and his family are. You may hear more about the man usually than the family but we intend to do a deep dive in on family life. It might not be what you expect of such a man.

A typical Day

We wake up on a typical day in the household that is not what you’d envision for a Billionaire nor is the house and cars what you’d envisage. Sure the cars are nicer than average a Jaguar electric vehicle and X-On with a mini bus for trips out but nothing as fancy as say a Mclaren, Rolls Royce or Lamborghini you may expect. I asked James why he chose such relatively austere cars and he said “We as a family are comfortable, we like our cars, they offer comfort , the space we need and the range. They are a means to get to the place we are going , why do we need more? What would spending 100,00 Dux Libra more get me , I could do it but surely that money would be better deployed elsewhere.” The kids wake up. Mathias speaks to Arya on the phone having been visiting his family for the week while making wedding preparations, Danya, Jakob and Amaziah wake up, have their breakfast Weetabix and milk with sugar before munching down on a cookie before going to school by e-bike joining their friends who also live local , Sara goes to college after waking up and having breakfast. They phone James and Yohanna to say they have arrived.Apparently Jakob played a prank on Amaziah this morning much to the amusement of all in the family. James goes to his office and does his phone calls and meetings for the day while Yohanna cooks lunch and prepares for dinner as its her day off , however she does work three days a week on a flexible bases. The children come back from school and they walk the three very cute sassy Chihuahuas together, the dogs are not just family dogs but sensory dogs for Amaziah. I am still yet to find a massive difference beyond the bank account balance.

I stay until the weekend they have a trip out to Hopkins Alton Towers for the day with the wider family including Amaziahs Uncles and Aunts Marcel,Rachel and Adana, cousins Hosea who is deaf ,Aviv, Noah,, Finn and Levi. They skip the line due to Amaziahs issues with sensory and physical issues with standing. Most of the time you wouldn't realise there is an Autistic son and daughter in the family but its moments like this that remind you of the constant challenges of a hidden disabled person. I feel sad a little for him at the looks he gets when he requests the seats on the bus because he cannot stand or when he gets help getting to the front of the queues to avoid discomfort. The tuts and looks and sometimes blatant comments , you can see the pain it causes but when I ask him about it "It's life I guess, I know I'm different and will never really be accepted truly" , what a sad indictment of our society, we need to do better. I see some of the public mock his stims upsetting him , so I put them in their place. James thanks me . Later in the week he comes back upset apparently the bullies have "pranked" him in the break by intentionally making him have a sensory overload. James is naturally furious about it and says it's not the first time bullying issues have been faced saying it happens much more than it should even though the school are great in helping out and helping his son.

On the Sunday after Church Amaziah , Danya and and Mathias go for a meal with their friends Gavin, Walker,Ryker, Deacon and Dylan, Austin and Amaziahs Girlfriend Aerial(who attends the same church). I join them before they go home for the evening where at 18:00 they have big family roast dinner.

I talk to James about it and he says "Honestly the challenges of raising Amaziah apart from managing his trauma is the looks people give, the comments how society treats him. He is an amazing kid , kind hearted and wants people to just accept him that's all , he just wants no judgement , and society still fails that simple basic test. Most are great but it's just a small minority and they piss me off , like he isn't hurting you so leave him alone.

One of the things I try to instill is his Autism is awesome it's society that sucks. Society needs to get that."Seeing the challenges over time really makes it hit home how easy I have it. They sometimes dwell on the loss of Emmanuel but not in a negative way , weekly they watch family videos . James explains "It's a way for us to keep his memories alive , the terrorists may have took his body but they can't take the memory of him away. We'd much rather celebrate his life constantly than wallow I'm pity.There was a time Amaziah blamed himself but we've worked on that people don't see that side of trauma unless one lives close with the victim." I am amazed at the strength of this family and kid to continue on with such a positive mindset. I ask Amaziah what he wants and he replies " I want people to accept and acknowledge me like anyone else, to treat me equally and to just respect me. Normal things , I am different yes, I've gone through trials yes , but I don't want your pity or judgement. All we want is acceptance. I want to live a normal life and help others and learn every day. It's simple really" and all I can respond to that is yes it is , may society get that and change. From what I've seen we have come a long way but have a long way to go

A normal house and food
Likewise the house is a simple historic old cottage style house, it's nice sure but nothing fancy there is no bathroom per bedroom, every child having his own room, walk in closets but it is in the heart of the area with the walk to transit and the local shopping green being less than 15 minutes.

The house is what you may expect an upper working class family to own , which as James explains it is where they came from when the house was brought by ancestors. He says on this “Our house is comfortable, the kids share a little and I can see one or two staying with us with the rest being brought a modest house , which honestly is a great luxury for them. How many have their parents buy them a house and have that start in life . We have lived in this house for generations as Roscoes my sisters and brothers were brought up here, its home simply put. I don’t see the need to move out or for posh decor , I just get what I like from local artists, this house is not about showing off, it's about being a comfortable place to live , a place where we can create simple memories like the time one sung terrible karaoke or played a nice game of cards etc …. We like to appreciate the simple things in life. I have billions I could afford a lot more houses and a lot fancier but I don’t need that to be happy. We are happy here, this house does what we need and I have good memories here of my first wife who died young and my present wife Yohanna who I love and stays at home and looks after the kids, a luxury we are lucky to be able to afford. We don’t have servants or butlers, we do have a cleaner come in every day, a luxury we are lucky to afford at our income to take the strain off the wife and myself. We enjoy our dinner parties and bbq’s in the garden. In fact having a second home in Europolis and buying the third in Goudadam for when we need to spend time there for business frequently was a big step for us. We'd always felt that would be greedy but we needed to in order to have a family life , otherwise I'd just always be away from the kids .

Another aspect that's fascinating is all the food is Roscoes, all the clothes are Roscoes I ask why , surely he can afford more unique clothes and food but he answers with the typical Roscoes answer “Why would I? If I use all Roscoes products which are good quality anyway the money comes back in and its affordable . I buy Roscoes because I put my money where my mouth is. I promote Roscoes as good quality and value for all , so why wouldn’t I shop at what I believe to be the best value and quality shop. If I shopped elsewhere constantly it would show lack of faith in the product. I do still buy from local bakeries , our favourite is the Bournville Bread Basket andwe go to the butchers next door regularly too but it's not my default, if there is Roscoes I’d rather buy from our own stores. It's just basic economic sense to buy from the store you own. “
Technology and Luxuries
The life of the adults seems simple, the usual amount of streaming and cable services nothing obviously billionaire or even millionaire spending. The travel is by e-bike, cargo trike with each having an e-bike , some drives for longer distances but also often train and budget airlines if necessary although traveling by Aerodux is opted for if they need to take a large amount of bags. James doesn’t even have a massively expensive phone, his phone cost him 700 Euros and a tablet cost 150 Euros which he got because in his words “they do what I need”. His wife has a similar set up and don’t think the kids get spoiled , they have to work or volunteer 8 hours a week for an allowance of 9,000 Euros per year out of which they have to buy any clothes, gadgets , entertainment, and trips and nights out and even bikes if they want them. If they want more they have to go and get a job. Spoilt kids these are not, but they seem happy enough. James explains “I want them to value money and see it takes work to earn it , they get a few presents for birthday and christmas but only 3 presents no more than that so they have to tell me what they want up to 200 Eurosand included in family trips of course, I pay for the Europe wide Hopkins pass but if they want more they have to earn it after all they already get more than the average middle class and working class person. I tell them how blessed they are and want them to see it, thats why I have them volunteer in real world places and want them to mix with middle class and working class, they have many friends in those classes, of course they have some very rich and notable ones like the Kligenburgs and notably for Amaziah His Imperial Highness Nikolai III who is a great family friend now. He really went out of his way to help us and has supported Amaziah through his hardest times. Honestly he has just been amazing for all of us, he is such an awesome person. I don’t know anyone who says a bad thing about him although he can be cantankerous with people who take the piss with him but he’s blunt and direct but a lovely guy overall.You know where you stand with him.”

Everywhere you look they seem to not spend on luxuries, the cups , dishes and plates are over 30 years old , Denbywith the odd newer one. A Lot of the furniture and clothes are either cheap but good quality or vintage and handed down. The newest thing is the consoles, the computers are 6 years old but the highest end when they bought them. Nothing would indicate them as super rich, certainly not billionaires. There's no private education; they go to Count Edwards School in Selly Oak, just a typical Grammar public school with 30% intake from lower income backgrounds, so nothing fancy there.

One thing I notice is the importance of their faith. There are regular prayer and bible sessions and the kids are always involved and torah sessions for Yohanna and her kids. They go to youth clubs regularly at their church and go every Sunday to a Church they even go on holiday I am told while Yohanna and her kids attend the local synagogue, a reformed one . Again regular Christian stuff. I speak to the pastor to find out more about the family , the pastor says “They don’t act or live anything massively different from others here. They are a lovely family. The kids are amazingly kind and humble as is James. They are respected in church. I know over 80% of their money goes to charity mainly because he doesn’t believe in excess living and he wants money to help others, naturally he doesn’t boast about this, that's just James for you. If you walked into church on a Sunday I think you would struggle to identify them as rich in any way. They are just regular joes who happen to be rich, a privilege they recognise and are cognizant of “

I speak with James about being a billionaire father and what that entails he says to me “I don’t think it's massively different. All fathers face trials , their kids have hard times and need support. Our family has been through a lot , I honestly think my kids being autistic has more of an impact. Amaziah needs a lot more support especially with what's happened to him. To go through a bomb attack and almost be murdered being left to die alone after a horrific and brutal shooting, stabbing and beating in a park for being just autistic is enough for an adult to cope with , never mind a 13 year old child. We are still working through the PTSD and I don’t think it will ever go away , but we are managing now with help and he seems to be on a happier footing now. Honestly that's having far more of an impact than any money I have coming in. I think people think us billionaires live in an entirely different world with no stress, issues etc but reality is we often face the same pressures as any average family.

We have to support the kids , get the right school , and make sure our children are safe and well. We go to DHS and public funded services for that, we try to avoid private ones if possible mainly because well the working class don’t have the private option.But a lot of the challenges are the same. I’m not going to say it's not slightly easier as we have the ability to afford private, which is more than many can say but that money doesn't buy you an easy life. No one's life is easy. In many ways ours is more challenging in getting the family -work life balance right. Being a politician there's always someone demanding your time or wanting a meeting or sessions to go to, but luckily my family understand so what we do is spend 50% of our time as a family in Europolis so I actually get to see them , we have a second nice home there which I insisted I pay for, but it's not fancy again. After all the taxpayer should not be paying a billionaire like myself a wage or expenses, I refuse to claim any expenses for that reason , I can afford to pay my PA and office staff and office expenses, the taxpayer should not have to , any money I do have to take in legally in wages I just donate to charities to help people.” It’s interesting to hear his perspective. He seems literally like an ordinary guy you’d meet down the pub. It just so happens he is a billionaire. I speak to Rachel and other Roscoes about their lives, Rachel appears to be one of the high spenders in the family with Edwin also spending more than James but even they seem relatively down to earth and frugal in comparison to their income. There are no super yachts , daily or weekly parties and frivolous expenses that way. Rachel's most extravagant expenses I’m told are 5 star hotels, again no private jets though she travels business class as do Edwim. Notably though Adana is very much like James, very frugal and humble, maybe it has something to do with the ICS faith they share.

Spain

Europolis Airport renamed to Europolis - Jean-Claude Juncker International Airport

Europolis - Jean-Claude Juncker International Airport Terminal

The departure of current Premier Commissioner Jean-Claude Juncker from European politics has started to bring us the first news on his tribute before he retires after the Commission elections, which are taking place during the entire month of June and in which Europe will choose the successor of the Spaniard, who cannot run again due to term limits and that recently announced his retirement from European politics, but has not discarded to re-enter Spanish politics in the short term; and that will either kick out or keep Wirt Harland as Internal Affairs Commissioner.

The Government of Europolis approved yesterday in its weekly meeting to rename the International Airport to "Europolis - Jean-Claude Juncker International Airport", with the aim of "paying tribute to the great effort and work Mr. Juncker has done in the European Union". The renaming has supporters, but also people against it on the streets, where a woman asked us why her Government had taken this decision: "Even if he did a good job, he is not from Europolis, he has only lived here while he worked for the Commission. Why should Europolis now pay tribute to him this way and rename the airport? They are just making the name longer?", she asked kindly.

In Parliament, things look really different, with all parties with representation supporting the name change. So remember, people from all corners of the European Union: the next time you fly to Europolis, you will be landing in Europolis - Jean-Claude Juncker International Airport.

OOC: This post and its content were authorised by an admin

BrumBrum

Enough with this idolisation of politicians

I wake up today to see the news that Jean Claude Juncker in another vanity moment has had the Airport named after him something so rare as Airports are normally named after great dead leaders not living ones who just departed from their jobs who can't even be judged from a historic standpoint yet. This is bad and dangerous for Europe and I'll explain why here. In politics our leaders are here to lead humbly and down to earthly and effectively. Juncker has constantly defied this convention , he is not a God or a legend he is a man one man. He done his job at the end of the day , why should he get medals things named after him for this, he has not changed the world. He is part of a trend of idolising politicians and creating a cult of personality. People are more looking at one person than institutions and issues, it becomes more about the name than the issue in voting and in campaigning. That is not right , the first thing should be the people.

If you go into politics to be known you are in the wrong job and it feels like Juncker is this type of politician a demagogue. If he had joined politics in the United Duchies he'd have been seen through and kicked out at the next election as we don't do demagoguery and cult of personality and flashy politics like that and rightly so as it only leads to the trivialisation of politics and the issues of the people. It leads to a focus on the person. Perhaps we should have less of cult of personality and idolisation of politicians but instead a focus on the position and issues of the actual Europeans , the heroes who make Europe work everyday the average working class and middle class European.