News Media of Istkalen

[Istkalen]

Republic: Polling 26/8 - 30/8
Kaitmulen, 1.512 respondents

Party Preference (+/- from 25/7-5/8 poll)
Note that political parties remain banned in Istkalen

Communist Party (left-wing to far-left, anti-government): 47,1% (+4,8)
Agrarian Union (syncretic, anti-government): 14,9% (-4,0)
Social Democrats (center-left to left-wing, anti-government): 14,9% (-0,8)
Union/Progress (right-wing to far-right, neutral): 9,9% (-1,2)
Christian Democrats (right-wing to far-right, anti-government): 5,7% (+0,6)
Liberation (center, neutral): 5,6% (-0,5)
National Republicans (right-wing to far-right, anti-government): 2,0% (+1,1)

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Preferred Prime Minister

Elizabeth Íkrat (Communist Party, left-wing): 61,3% (+6,1)
Kaisa Malk (non-partisan, right-wing): 25,0% (+4,9)
Kalju Ilves (Social Democrats, left-wing): 7,1% (-3,4)
Milrakas Ikoszer (incumbent, non-partisan, far-right): 1,5% (new)
other: 5,1% (-9,1)

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Government Approval

• approve: 3,1% (-2,1)
• disapprove: 94,0% (+2,2)
• no opinion: 2,9% (-0,1)

[Istkalen]

Republic: "Young officers" protest appointment of Ikoszer and Virkonas, implementation of new constitution

In a shocking move, five members of Istkalen's 15-member National Salvation Council, known as the "young officers," have released a statement criticizing the conservative approach the body has taken to governance, the new constitution that it has promulgated, as well as the Head of State and Prime MInister, Itani Virkonas and Milrakas Ikoszer, to lead the country forwards.

"It is disgraceful," it began, "that a clique of ten can force a country back into the Middle Ages. Once on its way to become a shining example of modest prosperity and social order in a Europe held victim by a culture of greed and excessive liberalism, Istkalen now stands, because of the decisions of this miniscule grouping of small-minded, petty tyrants, to become a weak, divided, and backwards feudal realm, the laughingstock of Europe moreso than it has ever been before."

The statement went on to attack many of the most controversial decisions made by the NSC, from its efforts to suppress queerness in Istkalen to its program of mass censorship against "modernity" and "foreign culture," arguing that they served only to further degrade the already poor image of the country abroad and turn the people against reform.

"There is no real purpose that the vast majority measures advocated for by this clique accomplish," it read. "They have nothing to do with the social issues of the time. They contribute nothing to the fight against the most dangerous threats the country faces today, from disunity to corruption. Virtually none of them are even enforceable! All that they do is worsen the standing of the government both with the Istkalenic people and among foreign governments - and thus send the country on a path towards final and complete destruction."

This bold assertion was directly followed by a call for a radical change in course in governance, involving the abandonment of the "feudal" constitution proposed by the NSC and the removal of the newly appointed "war criminals" Itani Virkonas and Milrakas Ikoszer in favor of unnamed "national-progressives."

"We must not allow these ten to tear apart our country and feed it to the snakes and the crows. If we want to live, we must change our current course, by any and all means possible. We must say no to the feudal state, of a country carved up into military fiefdoms ruled over by a man who will be king in all but name, these people want to force on us. We must say no to the repression that they fetishize. We must say no to all their retrograde plans for the country we share, lest we condemn ourselves to certain and final death. So, then, down with their 15th-century constitution, down with the war criminals they have appointed to carry out their agenda, down with all the ridiculousness they propose and have proposed, down with everything and everyone that seeks to force our country back into the past. Let us turn forwards, again, to face the future; let us sweep away reaction and move ahead, led by strong and patriotic national-progressives in the tradition of Melitek and Tiraki, into the dawn that lies before us."

The majority within the NSC has not yet commented on the statement; Head of State Itani Virkonas, however, widely seen as the body's spokeswoman, sharply condemned it at a press conference held earlier today, calling its writers "traitors."

"As the nation prepares for renewal," she said, "the traitors in our midst, the agents of the Eigth Consulate and MI6 and the compradors aligned with them, have come out of the woodwork to call for insurrection, to call for revolution, to call for the overthrow of our patriotic people's government in favor of what is no less than a foreign protectorate, beholden completely to Nylund and Bridges. It is our responsibility, our holy responsibility, to purge these cockroaches from our midst. They are disease, they are an infestation; they do nothing but sicken our country so that it becomes weak enough to be easily killed and ripped apart by the snakes and crows that surround us. We have and must rid ourselves of them for our common health. We have done it, we are doing it, and we will continue to do it, coldly and mercilessly."

Several members of the opposition, however, have praised the "young officers'" statement.

"It is heartening to hear," said Grete Reiner, who has become the unofficial leader of the National Republican Party, "that there remain genuinely patriotic forces within the NSC and the government of Istkalen. The cause of national revolution grows ever stronger; we have ever more faith that it will soon come to success."

"Here," said Inge Meier, the leader of the socialists within the Social Democratic Party, "lies the first real chance for democratization. As external and internal pressures on the NSC grow, I - and the rest of the socialist movement - am confident that a democratic space will slowly open in Istkalenic politics, and at last give way to a return to full civilian government."

No member of Istkalen's cabinet has yet responded; how the government will respond to the statement remains unknown.

[Istkalen]

Northern Radio: Resist the resurrected J-TAI

You are listening, dear citizens, to the Northern Radio.

Until now, we have held our silence about the new government. We did not know, you see, of its true character, whether it was of the nation, as it claimed, or of the snakes and the crows, of Bridges and Nylund.

But we will hold it no longer.

The situation is intolerable. The Istkalenic people have been stripped of their representation, of self-government; we have been placed under the rule of a junta that has not the slightest respect for our values, our desires, our aspirations, that has as its sole objective the crushing of dignity and the enslavement of all the nation, that has bombed and shot at us, abused us, in service of this most terrible of goals.

Who does this remind of us? Who do we remember that has terrorized us in such a way?

In the entirety of our storied history, there is only one clique that has been so morally bankrupt, so hungry for power, as to even be able to do such things. It does not have to be named; we are all eminently familiar with it. The autocracy we are faced with now is but a continuation - a second incarnation - of that confederacy of demonic forces; no other force in our country has or ever will be willing to torture us in such an extreme way.

Yes, indeed, it is possible that military rule has created these injustices organically. But the new Istkalenic military was developed with Reitzmic aid; its leadership is filled with compradors who have much to gain from a second subjugation and enslavement of our country. Though its leaders have Istkalenic bodies, they have Reitzmic souls; their interests and their motivations are exactly the same as those of the southern snakes. And, again, we must reiterate - no other movement, no other clique, no other force, in all of Istkalen's history has even entertained the idea of carrying out such atrocities. What is more likely - that there has been a sudden and random break from a thousand years of precedent, or that, influenced by their education and material interests, those at the top of the Istkalenic military have aligned themselves with the cause of Reitzmag and Vayinaod?

The truth is clear to us; it is clear to everyone.

But how to move forwards? We know that we have come under a second occupation - but what are we to do about it?

Here is our answer. Resist. We must resist the new J-TAI as we did the old one. We will face hardship, we will face death, but still, we must - and will - resist. Let us protest as we did, let us strike as we did; we will refuse all cooperation, and we will work, arduously, with all our strength. for the fall and death of these tyrants. There is no other way out; to do anything else is to surrender and thus risk the final destruction of our nation, that death the animals around us have sought to bring about for so long.

We are forming a movement of our own, its power derived from the people, that will lead the way to national resurrection. We ask for the loyalty of the workers' associations, of the reconstituted people's committees, of those soldiers who remain truly loyal to the land that gave birth to and raised them; of the nation together as a corporate whole, united for its progress and against its enemies within and outside.

We will hold the line; we will, as we did two years ago, free our country once more.

[Istkalen]

Nation: Polling 7/9 - 8/9
conducted by Isdenek, 901 respondents

Party Preference

Communist Party (far-left, anti-government): 34,6%
National Resurrection Movement (far-right, anti-government): 30,4%
Social Democratic Party (center-left, anti-government): 16,0%
Union/Progress (right-wing, neutral): 7,1%
Christian Democrats (far-right, anti-government): 5,0%
Liberation (center, neutral): 3,9%
Agrarian Union (syncretic, anti-government): 2,0%
National Republican Party (right-wing, anti-government): 1,0%

Government Approval

• approve: 1,0%
• disapprove: 97,2%
• no opinion: 1,8%

[Istkalen]

Nation: What's in the new constitution, really?

In the week that its text has been known to the public, Istkalen's new constitution has generated significant controversy. Reformist "young officers" within the military have made veiled calls for revolution in an attempt to force it to be rescinded, major trade unions, hitherto quiet in the face of repression, have again begun to threaten strikes against it, and, perhaps most importantly of all, the influential "Northern Radio" has begun a campaign to foment rebellion against it and its implementers, founding a new "National Resurrection Movement" to organize the resistance and opposition it seeks to encourage. It has been accused of being backwards and feudal, and even of being a creation of Reitzmic and Vardic forces who desire to return to Istkalen; it has been painted in the darkest possible light, as a rigid and authoritarian document of the 10th century, as the final blow to an already weak and dying nation.

But what, exactly, are its provisions? What does it propose that is so radical, so terrible, that seemingly the whole of our civil society has come to oppose it? What has damned it to such extensive and extraordinary rejection?

A presidential system. The Constitution proposes a presidential system - one weaker than the status-quo, for the President will not have the power to legislate - and for this is excoriated by our country's intellectuals and so-called political leaders. Simply for ending the nonsensical separation between the leadership of the state and of the government, it is labeled reactionary, it is labeled feudal, it is labeled disasterous and destructive. Over this most innocuous of provisions, the country has seen an attempted coup and threats of violent revolution. Perhaps this should be expected from a country so fragmented and so beholden to the dictates of foreign elites, but it is nevertheless ridiculous and silly.

Of course, some people may point to some other minor provisions - one which implies that the Istkalenic military will have guaranteed influence over the country's politics by giving the leaders of the National Salvation Council the right to appoint a certain proportion of members of the national and local legislatures, as well as to a percentage of the wealth of the country, or another that requires that the state preserve the public morality and prevent deviance - but these are obscure and minor and have no apparent connection to the arguments made by the constitution's opponents.

There are, of course, a few, minor semi-legitimate concerns - some have argued that provisions proclaiming the Republic of Istkalen to have the right to rule over all the world and requiring it to treat foreign nations as vassals would complicate the country's foreign and European policy - but these are not particularly important, are only made by the weak-minded, are only issues in the mind of a small percentage of elites in Liresile, and in any case would have hardly any effect on the administration of the country.

It is clear that the objections to the Constitution are petty, small-minded, and in general comical, detached entirely from reality and entirely unconcerned with the genuine wellbeing of the Istkalenic people - that most central of issues for constitutions and their opponents. They should never have gained any ground within the country, and ought, now that they have been clearly exposed, to be thrown aside in favor of genuine and fullthroated support for this new order that will deliver us from disorder and death.

But we must make one, final comment. We ought to be very concerned that so many people have been convinced of the evil of the Constitution and the NSC, in spite of the complete lack of evidence to prove that either is in any way opposed to the genuine interests of the Istkalenic people. We ought to be very concerned that even within the ranks of the military, and the NSC itself, has this nonsensical opposition arisen. In our midst, clearly, are infiltrators who seek to undermine our country by sowing the seeds of false division, by opposing what is good and supporting what is bad, by slandering true patriots and promoting compradors and spies. Sons, daughters, cousins, friends - any one of them could be a wrongdoer, and we must be careful not to be mislead into treason by their deceit and manipulation.

There is no one we can trust. We must be on guard for the snakes and the crows among us, no matter how close they may be to us; we must be willing to report and to strike them down in our midst, no matter our feelings or misgivings. They have led us already to near death; we must not let them finish us off completely.

For the life of the country, for the integrity of the nation, let us support the Constitution, and fight against the foreign agents in our midst who oppose it. Let us banish all opposition from the country, and be at last united in the cause of our eternal Istkalen.

[Istkalen]

Die Neue Zeitung: Jezebel leads the faithful into hellfire

For the past two years, God's Church has found itself under attack by Satan. The new Jezebel has usurped the Papacy, and has used it to substitute His doctrine for that of evil. That body that once brought people to salvation now leads the saved astray, telling them to believe in multiple Gods, denying the true and full divinity of our Father, and minimizing, if not negating, the importance of the sacrifice of His begotten Son.

Though many of the faithful protested the initial attempts of Satan and his earthly agents to seize the Church, refusing its poisonous words and orders, they have been led to submit to it and accept even the most ridiculous of its proclamations - that God Himself was crucified, that our consumption of the flesh and blood of His Son in Communion is but a meaningless symbol, that moral rectitude is possible by will alone - because of so-called visions that have come upon Jezebel, her inner circle, and those poor, misled men and women who they were able to delude.

These visions have tricked many of the faithful - even those who were once willing to undergo severe torture in resistance against their dictates - into complete devotion to the Jezebel clique and its Satanic heresies, but let us be clear, they did not happen. God does not give the gift of vision to those who live in sin. Perhaps he tells them that they must change their ways, that they must repent, but never, never does he give them the true gift of foresight, of vision.

And these people do indeed live in sin. They say they are holy, they project a public image of holiness, but they are all among the worst of sinners. Jezebel is said to eat the crackers and grape juice she uses for Communion as, at other times, as snacks; her Ahab, Mr. Peralkal, is known to believe that God is incarnate in him. And the list goes on and on. Ms. Tilisek was once seen throwing scalding-hot water on a group of the poor who had gathered outside her home - a gilded mansion filed with diamonds and all manner of riches - simply to ask her for work. Ms. Maksile, when she was sent to work in Europolis, publically renounced Christianity before recanting that renunciation upon her return. I went to Kirelesile but two weeks ago, and there found one of Jezebel's priests, within her innermost circle and well-known as one of her most fervent supporters, propositioning me outside of what I later discovered was a hole dedicated to the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Such people cannot be God's appointed prophets. Such people cannot be at the head of God's Church, of His Body, on Earth. They live entirely outside of Him, spend every minute of their existence attempting to defy Him, and attempt, furthermore, to corrupt and mislead other people into sin and hellfire near-constantly..They are not ordained by Him; if he has given them a mission, it is and must be only repentance for their most grievous of sins. They work not for Him, but instead for the Devil, who possesses them and influences them to further propagate evil within the Church.

Their words are clearly false. Their visions are clearly tricks. All their work and all their minsitry is clearly demonic in nature. If the Church does not excise these most evil of influences who have taken it over, it will condemn itself to death, cutting off our link to God above and leaving all those who believed to the ravages of Hell.

I appeal to everyone who maintains even the slightest bit of faith - reject what has been told to you for the past two years, and return to the doctrine of your childhood. Return to the doctrine of God - of the Bible, of the Apostles, of the Church Fathers. Remove from your mind all that that was told you by Jezebel and her cronies, in league with Satan; purify and rectify yourself, repent for what you have done and reconcile yourself with God, so that you may once again be whole in Him and receive the living water that surely grants eternal life.

The authority of Jezebel is null. Reject it, and all those other authorities which claim power from her, in favor of the power of God and his true Church; work, always, against the spreading evil among us to purge the Church of the Satanic influence that has spread through it and return it to its former, pure glory.

We will work for the resurrection of the Church, for our own purification and rectification, for our further alignment with God and His ordained plan for all mankind, for the intensification of our faith, for the healing of the disease that has from birth tainted us, for the restoration of our wholeness through God and the sacrifice of His begotten Son, for the rebirth of this broken Earth, for the resurrection and the eternal and holy life beyond.

I pray for all our people - for those led astray by Jezebel, for Jezebel and those around her, for those who live in ignorance beyond, for those who have rejected the truth - so that they may return to the fold of God.

The Lord be with you.

[Istkalen]

Republic: Polling 10/9 - 17/9
conducted by Kalitmulen, 2.156 respondents

Party Preference

National Resurrection Movement (far-right, anti-government): 40,2%
Communist Party (left-wing, anti-government): 29,8%
Social Democratic Party (center-left, anti-government): 15,1%
Union/Progress (right-wing, anti-government): 5,8%
National Republican Party (right-wing, anti-government): 5,1%
Christian Democrats (far-right, anti-government): 2,0%
Agrarian Union (syncretic, anti-government): 1,2%
Liberation (center, neutral): 0,8%

Government Approval

• approve: 0,2%
• disapprove: 99,1%
• no opinion: 0,7%

[Istkalen]

Republic: Virkonas insists that the Tabithist occupation is necessary for the implementation of the Constitution and the "renewal of the nation," provoking condemnation

Head of State Itani Virkonas has declared the Tabithist occupation of Istkalen's south "an extraordinarily positive development," calling for a full capitulation of the Istkalenic military to its demands in order to "further the goals of the National Revolution."

"We stand at the cusp of a new dawn for our country," she stated before a crowd of hundreds who had gathered for an unrelated speech to do with housing policy. "A revolutionary force is racing through our nation, it is purifying it of the Western, the Reitzmic and the Vardic, impurities that have poisoned it and held it down for all these years. They are already ridding our capital of decadence and deviancy, already restoring half our country to its original glory. Let us be brave - let us have faith in these brave trend-setters, who have marched forth for the sake of our renaissance! Let us give our lives to them! Let us put our country into their hands! Let them purify all of us, let them light scouring fire over all!"

This was met by immediate booing; several members of the crowd, since identified as refugees who had fled Kirelesile prior to its fall to the Tabithists, attempted to throw their shoes at Virkonas. Nevertheless, she persisted.

"Our project - of our Constitution and so much more - the project of all our nation led by the National Salvation Council - was about to fail. The Reitzmics and Vards in our midst were rising up to sow the seeds of counterrrevolution, and already the false discontent they were creating was rising like the tide, inexorable and unstoppable. The patriots of our country had found themselves powerless, trembling before the force of foreign invaders who seemed sure to overpower and to kill them. But these - these patriots, dedicated to a holy mission, they delivered us from colonization, from exploitation by the contemptible snakes and crows! They came over the country and washed away the traitors and the corruption in our midst. They saved our Constitution, they saved our project, they saved our National Revolution, they saved us - us, us, us, remember that always - they saved us from certain death."

At this juncture, several of those in the audience reported hearing a gunshot; Virkonas, they say, continued to speak, even as her guards attempted to force her away from her lectern into a nearby building.

"I will speak, I must speak!" she screamed. "They have saved us! We were in the abyss, and they brought us out! Do you not see the goodness in this? Do you not see how this is an extraordinarily positive development for our country? Do you not see what we must do? We will die, we will die, our renaissance will not happen, if we do not give ourselves to these heroes! We cannot govern ourselves, we must let ourselves be ruled by these brave warriors of the nation, of God! They have saved the National Revolution, they will further its goals, they will complete it and preserve our nation dear! Hear me! Hear me! You deaf fools, hear me! You will die if you do not hand yourselves to them! They are your salvation!"

Virkonas was forced to cut off here, overpowered by her security, which then proceeded to drag her out of sight.

This extraordinary statement has been met with approval from the ruling majority on the National Salvation Council, which has pointed out broad similarities between Tabithism and their Constitution, including a committment to traditional governance, devolution to trustworthy delegates, and an unshaking faith in the necessity of social conservatism. Several have implied that the provocation of a rebellion from Tabitha was their intention from the beginning, as, in their view, it was only her who had the will or the ability to implement their political project. The Council as a whole has indicated that it will be releasing an official statement on the issue later today; a full capitulation to Tabithist demands is widely expected.

Opposition, however, has been far more common, with almost all sectors of Istkalenic society expressing concerns about the intentions of the state in regards to the Tabithists.

For example, the Prime Minister, Milrakas Ikoszer, outright called Virkonas a "loony" who "still [believes] that we are ruled by the old social democrats according to some feudal arrangement," before accusing her of "trying to sell the country to a deranged cult because the voices in [her] head told her to do so." He expressed his intention to "resist" any attempts to concede to the Tabithists, and insisted upon a "political solution," involving the entirety of the Istkalenic political spectrum, to issues with the country's integrity "in th eplace of these beyond-insane attempts to return to the Middle Ages."

The "young officers" within the NSC and the Istkalenic military also expressed strong reservations about Virkonas's statement. Their unofficial leader, Col. Kuldar Loime, who sits on the NSC itself, claimed that Virkonas "is an agent of the snakes and crows .... everyone knows that the Arian Church is an arm of the continuing J-TAI, and now the spies who have embedded themselves within our ranks say that they want a capitulation to them, that they admire their aims and wanted to accomplish them themselves. They are plainly and openly admitting their treason. When we win, the rope will be their reward for their betrayal."

Two "conservatives" on the NSC, previously "Mindrestekists," also complained, arguing that the National Revolution argued for by Virkonas, as well as her and the NSC's attempts to capitulate to the Tabithists to accomplish it were "blatant abuses of power" that were in opposition to their original goals - to re-establish "a conservative and authentically national government" in Istkalen, to be styled after, they claimed, the reigns of Makketis Melitek and Ayros Tiraki, central figures in the mythos of Istkalenic nationalism.

Virtually every single major party in Istkalen, with the exception of the Tabithist-controlled Christian Democrats, condemned both Virkonas's statements and the NSC's plans, all calling for resistance to the occupation of the South and any attempt to expand it. Several people's committees, as well as all 16 workers' associations, have declared their intent to oppose further capitulations to the Tabithists by "any means possible."

[Istkalen]

Republic: Loime to lead illegal intervention to support Communist-reformist rebellion against Tabithist occupation

In opposition to the majority on the National Salvation Council and in the government, Colonel Kuldar Loime, the leader of the "young officers" within the Istkalenic military, has declared his intention to lead an illegal expedition into Istkalen's south to support Communist and Arian-reformist led rebels against Tabithist rule.

"Our government," he said at a press conference earlier today, "is composed of traitors. It is illegitimate in every conceivable way. It is, then, up to those few patriots who remain to act in the interest of the nation with whatever power is at their disposal. Here are our darkest days, the South of our country overrun by a criminal and foreign cult, and no one is willing to do anything at all. It is thus my, the highest of the loyal within the Istkalenic state, responsibility to drive them out."

The Istkalenic military being organized along territorial lines, Loime has asked territorial leaders to mass at the border of the Tabithist occupation in order to prepare for the intervention. Several have already responded, and are currently moving their forces, with little resistance from other leaders.

The rebellion Loime intends to support has been ongoing for the past five days, organized by the Federation of Women's Committees, local branches of the Communist Party, regional and local "People's Committees," and various Arian leaders opposed to "Pope Tabitha," and has seized control over large parts of the occupied territory, perhaps most notably the entirety of the city of Kirelesile, once Istkalen's largest city and still its de-facto capital, establishing a new, temporary "regional" government over the liberated regions and conducting certain economic and social reforms, redistributing property, arresting "corrupt" officials, and moving for the "repeal" of censorship and of anti-LGBT laws. Though opposed to many of his more nationalist aims, Loime insists, nevertheless, that it is the beginning of the greater “renaissance’ he speaks to spark.

[Istkalen]

Republic: Polling 10/10 - 17/10
conducted by Kaitmulen, 2.099 respondents

Party Preference (+/- from 10/9-17/9 poll)
note: the Christian Democrats have been banned by order of the Ministry of the Interior for "opposition to republican order," and were therefore not polled. The names of parties involved in ongoing government formation are italicized.

Communist Party (left-wing to far-left): 30,0% (+0,2)
Social Democratic Party (center-left): 15,1% (-)
National Resurrection Movement (far-right): 12,2% (-28,0)
National Unity (syncretic): 10,8% (NEW)
National Republican Party (right-wing): 10,6% (+4,5)
Union/Progress (center-right): 10,5% (+4,2)
Greens/Democratic Movement (center-right): 10,0% (NEW)
Agrarian Union (syncretic): 0.8% (-0,4)
Liberation (center, neutral): 0% (-0,8)

Government Approval

• approve: 50,4% (+50,2)
• disapprove: 40,1% (-59,0)
• no opinion: 9,5% (+8,8)

[Istkalen]

Republic: Íkrat refuses cooperation with far-right

Elizabeth Íkrat, leader of Istkalen's Communist Party and the current formateur, has announced that she will not be cooperating with the "extremist right" in forming a government, specifically ruling out the National Resurrection Movement of Andrus Liiv and the National Union of Colonel Kuldar Loime as participants in any future government led by her.

"It does not matter," she said at a press conference held earlier today, "that these forces command the support of 20% of the Istkalenic population. It would not matter if they commanded 90%. They are anti-democratic and praetorian; they cannot be trusted with a gram of power. We have seen what their type have turned this country into in the span of but a few months; we know what terrors and atrocities they will unleash if given a single inch. I have been tasked with the creation of a new government - it is my sacred duty to do so, and to ensure that what government I give the country will govern it well. To allow these monsters and freaks into the cabinet, to allow them anywhere near it, would be for me to betray it and thus surely doom the country to chaos and death."

Her primary focus, she says, will be to work within the parliament - public opinion not withstanding - to construct a broad coalition, reaching from left to right, able and willing to enact the reforms that she believes the country needs to stabilize itself and transition to civilian and democratic rule. That the people support one force or another, she insists, is of no matter; the tides of opinion and societal preferences are, to her, completely ephemeral. Whether a majority supports the parties in her coalition is, thus, to her, completely irrelevant - it is something that can change like the direction of the wind, and thus something that is little more than a triviality. It is more important, in her eyes, to secure the support of "genuine" and more permanent civil society - she points to trade unions, civil servants, and other long-entrenched interest groups, as represented by the "establishment" parties - for it is these, she believes, that define the course and development of the Istkalenic polity in the long term.

Íkrat's statement has received a wide array of reactions.

"It is heartening to know," said Inge Meier, interim leader of Istkalen's Social Democratic Party, "that we will not have a government of the insane and the power-hungry. That alone is a great advance for our country. However, this should not be the standard we hold our governments - especially this government, which will have the task of completely rebuilding the country's institutions in the aftermath of the NSC disaster - to. It ought to be higher, much higher. We should have assurances not merely that the government will be sane and civilian, but that it will be committed - firmly - to democratic values. And these, unfortunately, we do not have. For all her words about rejecting extremism and authoritarianism, Ms. Íkrat is completely willing - she even seems to prefer - to work with the most autocratic forces in Istkalen, so long as they are in the National Assembly. She is talking with the leaders of Union/Progress, a party whose raison d'etre is the abolition of democracy; she is talking with the leaders of the National Republican Party, who share the preferences of the NSC on every conceivable issue but the question of who is to rule; she is talking with the leaders of the Greens and the Democratic Movement, who have and will continue to combine all the worst tendencies of the Istkalenic right, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, bigotry, into one, demonic force. Yes, we will have a government of the qualified, of the stable, of civilians - but it seems unlikely that we will have a democratic government, and this is a tragedy."

"I suspected from the beginning," said Andrus Liiv, leader of the National Resurrection Movement, "that this woman was a Vard. And now she reveals it plainly before the Istkalenic people. Everyone can see, now, how deep the infiltration of the crows and the snakes is. Everyone can see how rotten our so-called government is. To arms, I tell you, to arms; there is no other option. We are still under occupation, we are still under the yoke of the northern hordes and the southern snakes; we must resist with all our power if we are not to perish under their unrelenting pressure."

"The nation," said Colonel Kuldar Loime, "is in need of healing. It is in need of rejuvenation, in need of reconstruction. And yet the politicians of this country, for the sake of their own power and their own petty struggles, refuse the compromises and the broad-based cooperation that would give birth to these things, they refuse that which would allow the nation to recuperate from its ordeal. For the sake of their egos, for the sake of their greed, they condemn the nation to death. I will repeat what I said when I first announced its creation. The National Union is and always will be open to work with anyone who is committed to our country; it is sad that I cannot say the same of this country's political class."

The acting President, Ilmaras Kalessed, is expected to give a statement on the issue tomorrow; most predict, considering her own ties to Íkrat and her traditionally left-wing stance in Istkalenic politics, that, though she called originally for a "broad-based" government, she will lend her continued support for Íkrat.

The sitting Prime Minister, Elspeth Oskon, however, has not commented at all, nor indicated that she will ever comment

[Istkalen]

The Messenger: Recap

You are listening to the Messenger. Here's our nightly recap of the day's news:

Oskon, Jezebel-Swift announce concordat

Prime Minister Elspeth Oskon and Reszelport Jezebel-Swift have announced that they have mutually agreed to a new "concordat" to define and regulate the relationship between the Republic and the Arian Church, replacing the fairly liberal 2005 Framework Agreement with a far more restrictive system that strips the Church of its power over the German Territories and severely limits its ability to proselytize and provide religious education.

The concordat is a major departure from past precedent. Since the conclusion of the Arian-Istkalenic conflict in 1973, the Arian Church has, but for a handful of short, "extraordinary" periods, possessed an unusual degree of autonomy, especially in comparison with other churches and religious institutions in Istkalen. Now, however, it is to be subject to perhaps the most state oversight of all those recognized by the Istkalenic state. Nevertheless, the Church appears to be united in support for the agreement; none of its major leaders, nor any of its most prominent adherents, have raised a single note of protest.

Isteresskemar, Reiner raise concerns about Íkrat's "anti-Czech" proclivities

Írenet Isteresskemar, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the de facto leader of the newly founded "Greens/Democratic Movement" in parliament, and Grete Reiner, co-leader of the National Republican Party, have raised concerns about the opinions of formateur Elizabeth Íkrat in regards to Istkalen's relations with the Democratic Republic of Czech Slavia, a central European country that Istkalen has enjoyed warm ties with since the end of the occupation. Though both have reiterated that they are in support of the government formation process and do not wish to challenge the leading role of the Communist Party in it, they insist that Íkrat's views on Czech Slavia are dangerous - enough so that, although she is formateur, another Communist figure ought to take the role of Prime MInister in her place when the new government is formalized.

"I have the greatest respect for Ms. Íkrat," said Istersskemar earlier today. "She led the charge against the NSC; she is one of our greatest patriots, an invaluable and irreplaceable force who has dedicated her life to the defense of our Republic and our democracy. Nevertheless, I cannot help but be perturbed by her unusual and irrational hatred - there is no other word for it - for the Czech state, one of our most steadfast allies. Though there is no one else in our country with her stature and strength, I fear that for her to become Prime Minister, as she is expected to be, would endanger our relationship with the Czechs - and thus weaken our international position. For these reasons, I believe that we ought to begin to consider other candidates for the position."

Reiner was more blunt. "We simply cannot have someone who is so virulently and irrationally anti-Czech in this office," she said. "Czech Slavia is our closest ally; it is, to me and to the vast majority of Istkaleners, a model state, one whose path we ought to emulate. Ms. Íkrat is dedicated to this country, I do not deny that, she is perhaps more dedicated to it than anyone else in politics, but these opinions of hers make her, unfortunately, unacceptable to me and to almost everyone else involved in government negotiations."

[Istkalen]

Republic: Greens/Democratic Movement to be officially known as the Farmer-Green Alliance

Irenet Isteresskemar has announced that her political alliance, formed of the Greens, her own political party, and the Democratic Movement, a group of ex-Liberation deputies in the National Assembly, will be named the Farmer-Green Alliance.

"Our movement does not," she said at a press conference earlier today, "have a name for itself. Our deputies in parliament refer to themselves simply by the name of the party or group of which they are members, as Greens or as partisans of the Democratic Movement; the media, on the other hand, calls us the ‘Greens/Democratic Movement.’ I feel - our leadership feels - and I am sure you all feel as well - that this is ridiculous. We are, firstly, one movement - two parties, yes, but one movement - and ought to present ourselves as such. And secondly, well, ‘Greens/Democratic Movement’ is an ugly name; it’s inelegant, unmemorable, both bad things for any political movement.”

“Our leadership, then,” she continued, “has decided to put an end to this miserable state of affairs. The central boards of both the Greens and the Democratic Movement have resolved to name our joint alliance the ‘Farmer-Green Alliance.’ It is a good name, a strong name, one that’s clear and snappy. It makes what we are and what we stand for clear—that we are the environmentalists and farmers of this country allied to defend our interests when they—and so often—intersect. The decision, I have to tell you, has already gone into effect; nevertheless, I promise you all that it will go for a vote, that you all, our members, those without whom our movement would not exist, will have the final say over whether the name is ultimately adopted. It is you who know best, after all, far better than we do - and you, I am sure, who will make the correct decision.”

The move has been widely interpreted as an attempt to place the alliance as a definitive successor to the Agrarian Union, which, while maintaining a significant parliamentary presence has collapsed in opinion polling—it gives the alliance the same identity, as an agrarian-environmentalist political grouping, while preparing its two member parties, the Greens and the Democratic Movement, to take the places of the two of the Agrarian Union, the Ecologists and the New Agrarians.

It is also seen as a confirmation of Isteresskemar’s intention to separate completely from the Agrarian Union. It has long been rumored that her relations with the rest of the party leadership were less than cordial, with her ardently nationalist and quasi-libertarian viewpoints clashing strongly with the progressive and often socialist inclinations of the Union establishment. Nevertheless, many believed that her decision to leave it and establish a new alliance with liberal politicians in the National Assembly was but a gambit meant to force her enemies within the Union to accommodate her. This “rebranding,” however, suggests that there was and is something more serious at play - of a deeper rift and of a genuine desire to establish an independent political movement.

Most expect the name change to be confirmed by the membership of both parties; few complaints, if any, have been made about it, and, in any case, they have become so centered around the figure of Isteresskemar that it is difficult to imagine them rejecting her directions and decisions, even if they are quietly opposed to them.

Reactions from the rest of the political spectrum have been sparing, if existent at all.

[Istkalen]

Nation: Polling 4/11 - 5/11
conducted by Isdenek, 781 respondents

Party Preference

Communist Party (far-left, in gov't formation): 35,1%
National Republican Party (center-right, in gov't formation): 15,3%
Social Democratic Party (left-wing): 11,8%
National Unity (center-right): 10,3%
Farmer-Green Alliance (center-right, in gov't formation): 10,1%
Union/Progress (center-right, in gov't formation): 8,9%
National Resurrection Movement (right-wing): 8,3%
Agrarian Union (left-wing): 0,2%
Liberation (center): 0%

Government Approval

• approve: 53,9%
• disapprove: 38,7%
• no opinion: 7,4%

[Istkalen]

Republic

Oskon dismissed by Censorate; replaced by Orlich

Citing the general dysfunctionality of her cabinet, as well as her recent decision to dismiss en masse a number of popular ministers, the Censorate of Istkalen has dismissed Elspeth Oskon as Prime Minister of Istkalen, replacing her with Ursula Orlich, who served as the country's provisional head of state for two months earlier this year.

"The chaos in government," read a statement the Censorate released on the issue, "is unacceptable. The decisions of the cabinet are not being implemented, ministers make decisions and issue orders without any degree of coordination between each other, and all the Prime Minister does is flail about and whine, before removing the competent from their positions. Her ineptitude is extraordinary; it has led and will continue to lead this country into a quagmire even deeper than the one it has just extricated itself from. This cannot continue. We are therefore dismissing Ms. Orlich from her position, and replacing her, with immediate effect, with Ms. Ursula Orlich, who we hope and trust will be up to the task of pacifying and stabilizing our beloved country."

Despite having both called the Istkalenic people "ungovernable" and handed control over the country to the NSC, Orlich has come to be widely respected as a strong and cool-headed stateswoman; though deeply unpopular during her short term as "State Protector" for her repressive actions against the opposition, many have re-evaluated her in light of the disorder that has prevailed in the time since her resignation, hailing her as one of the few sane and competent members of the political class, and even as the country's last hope. Her appointment has been met with acceptance and with the hope that she will at last bring a semblance of normalcy to Istkalenic governance.

Orlich is expected to, as first action, reinstate many, if not all, the ministers dismissed by Oskon. She has not, however, yet clearly outlined her intentions, and is not expected to until she is formally sworn in.

---

Uklertal and Laakonen announce exit from Social Democrats

Kondres Uklertal and Lauri Laakonen, as well as 66 of their supporters in the National Assembly, have announced their departure from the Social Democratic Party in favor of an organization of their own, tentatively named the Statebuilding Party, citing anti-democratic measures taken by Inge Meier, the SDP chairwoman.

"We agree, broadly," the two wrote in a statement published two days ago, "with the message of social democracy in Istkalen. We believe, just as strongly as Ms. Meier claims to, in the defense of liberal democracy, in the defense of civil and political rights, in the defense of social justice. Our departure is not motivated, then, by her decision to reorient the party away from its authoritarian past, as she may claim - not at all."

"We have made the decision," they continued, "to leave the Social Democratic Party simply because we believe that Ms. Meier has made it impossible to promote the social democratic ideology within its bounds. She has stifled interparty debate and democracy; she proclaims that it is her way or the highway, that she is to lead and we to obey. This is completely inappropriate, and is the beginning of a corruption that we feel - strongly - will lead to the discrediting of our movement and the end of any hope for liberalization and democratization in our country."

Their move is widely seen as the climax of a long interparty struggle for control between the environmentalist and nationalist factions of which they are leaders and the socialist faction of Meier. Though the party has, since its decision to abandon its prewar ideology, been united by a belief in liberal democracy and social progressivism, it has seen increasing division and discord over economic and cultural policies in particular, especially since the ascendance of the often combative Meier to her position.

The Statebuilding Party, though it has not yet elaborated upon its positions beyond its "transversality," is expected to take a position slightly to the right, in accordance with Uklertal and Laakonen's views, of the Social Democrats, adopting the anti-business-incorporation and laicitic stances associated with the nationalist right while maintaining a left-wing commitment to social progressivism and green policy.

Meier, nor any other high-ranking functionaries of the Social Democratic Party, has not yet reacted.

---

Íkrat suggests a government led by Arkalis

Amid an impasse in government negotiations over the issue of relations with the Democratic Republic of Czech Slavia, Elizabeth Íkrat, the current formateur, has suggested that Antras Arkalis, the Communist Party's rapporteur for finance and economics, become Prime Minister in her own place in order to mollify concerns over a rupture in relations.

"I cannot say that I am in favor of relations with Czech Slavia," said Íkrat, "especially considering the recent rumors of cult infiltration in their government, but I understand that many of those in our establishment and in government negotiations view them as vitally important and irreplaceable. I am not one to put my own personal beliefs and ideology over the health of the country, and so I will, in this case, concede. I am open to someone else from our party becoming Prime Minister - perhaps Mr. Arkalis, who I understand is well-liked and know has a long history in government."

The leaders of the National Republican Party, Grete Reiner and Kaisa Malk, and of the Farmer/Green Alliance, Írenet Isteresskemar and Liris Vesek, have responded to this proposal positively; nevertheless, all have continued to insist that they must have strong assurances that the new government will not change relations with Czech Slavia except to strengthen them.

"Mr. Arkalis," said Reiner, "is, to me, to all of us in negotiations, infinitely preferable to Ms. Íkrat, especially in regards to the Czech Slavia question. Nevertheless, Ms. Íkrat's opposition to the Czechs is so strong that I worry that it may still affect government policy. That she is not Prime Minister is to me, to many of us, not enough, even if it is a significant and good step forwards - we must have an assurance that there will be no change to our policy in regards to Czech Slavia, no antagonization made, that our government, as have all past governments, will be committed to furthering and deepening our relations with them."

[Istkalen]

Nation: Polling 12/11 - 13/11
conducted by Isdenek, 699 respondents

Party Preference
note that the banned National Union and National Resurrection Movement are no longer polled

Communist Party (far-left, in gov't formation): 34,7% (-0,4)
National Republican Party (center-right, in gov't formation): 15,1% (-0,2)
Social Democratic Party (left-wing): 13,9% (+2,1)
Statebuilding Party (center-left): 12,1% (new)
Farmer-Green Alliance (center-right, in gov't formation): 10,1% (-)
Union/Progress (center-right, in gov't formation): 9,0% (+0,1)
Agrarian Union (left-wing): 4,2% (+4,0)

with inclusion of major banned parties

Communist Party (far-left, in gov't formation): 30,0%
National Republican Party (center-right, in gov't formation): 15,0%
Social Democratic Party (left-wing): 13,7%
Union/Progress (center-right, in gov't formation): 8,7%
National Union (syncretic, banned): 8,1%
Farmer-Green Alliance (center-right, in gov't formation): 7,9%
Statebuilding Party (center-left): 6,1% (new)
National Resurrection Movement (far-right, banned): 5,3%
Christian Democrats (far-right, banned): 4,0%
Agrarian Union (left-wing): 1,2%

Scenario Polling

reintegration of the Farmer-Green Alliance into the Agrarian Union*

Communist Party: 28,7%
Agrarian Union: 25,1%
National Republican Party: 14,1%
Social Democratic Party: 13,8%
Union/Progress: 9,1%
Statebuilding Party: 9,0%

reintegration of Statebuilding into the Social Democrats

Communist Party: 34,1%
National Republican Party: 19,5%
Farmer-Green Alliance; 15,3%
Social Democratic Party: 15,1%
Union/Progress: 9,2%
Agrarian Union: 6,3%

Ayros Tiraki founds a party

Party of Ayros Tiraki: 74,1%
Social Democratic Party: 13,3%
Communist Party: 11,4%
Farmer-Green Alliance: 0,3%
Agrarian Union: 0,2%
Statebuilding Party: 0,2%
Union/Progress: 0,1%
National Republican Party: 0,1%

Government Approval

• approve: 72,3%
• disapprove: 10,2%
• no opinion: 17,5%

Preferred Prime Minister

Kaisa Malk (National Republican Party, right-wing): 25,1%
Antras Arkalis (Communist Party, left-wing): 20,1%
Elizabeth Íkrat (Communist Party, left-wing): 18,2%
Ursula Orlich (incumbent, non-partisan, center-right): 15,1%
Liris Vesek (Farmer-Green Alliance, center-right): 10,8%
other: 10,7%

[Istkalen]

Republic: Orlich announces restoration of National Duty, Public Distribution Service

Prime Minister Orlich has announced that her government, in order to respond to the "social and economic crisis" she says has developed in Istkalen, will be restoring National Duty, as well as the Public Distribution Service (PDS).

"Poverty and degradation," she said at a press conference held yesterday, "now rule in this country. The old mutualities have collapsed; the majority can no longer meet their basic needs. Assistance has dried up completely, and what little there is comes, now, in the form of cash - useless in so much of Istkalen. For us, this is an absolutely unacceptable state of affairs. We must abandon our present course; we must return to the systems that once served us so well, that ensured every child, every working citizen, every retiree a decent and basic standard of living."

National Duty, a form of corvee, and the PDS, a bureaucracy meant to redistribute the products of National Duty among the Istkalenic people as compensation, were previously abolished by the administration of Vistek Rikkalek and gradually replaced with income tax and a series of "living allowances." This decision was meant to bring Istkalen in line with international law and standards; however, the country has since seen profound economic and social instability, as a direct result of these changes, which replaced the direct provision of goods and services with cash transfers and thus left many of the most vulnerable unable to access the essentials that had once simply been given them by the state. Many experts have, then, long been calling for a restoration - and now, at last, the government seems to be acting.

Implementation will be slow by Istkalenic standards. Unlike previous welfare reforms, says Orlich, which made quick and immediate changes to systems of distribution and redistribution, the one she is embarking on will be "methodical and measured."

"We will not rush," she said, "the process. We will not run heedlessly ahead and break everything, as so many other past administrations have. We will work, instead, with the mutualities and workers' associations to see what is possible; we will discuss, negotiate, and come to a good, smart, methodical, and measured solution."

Nevertheless, she stressed the necessity of ensuring the fastest possible relief for the poorest communities in Istkalen.

"But we are, yes, in a crisis - and a crisis demands immediate action. We are not ignoring this when we speak of methodicality. We have already prepared a number of stopgap measures that establish a system of basic public distribution, through the Ministry of Public Distribution and with the assistance of the military and national police, for rural and degraded urban areas to ensure that the worst-off are relieved in these hardest of times. But we insist - a more permanent solution cannot be created, announced, and implemented in a day."

The decision has received harsh criticism from large swathes of the Istkalenic political spectrum.

"We are returning to the past," said Inge Meier, leader of the Social Democratic Party. "We are abandoning modernity in favor of an outdated, inhumane, and authoritarian model of forced labor. Is our aim not modernization? Is our highest aspiration not, as the Prime Minister herself has repeatedly insisted, equality with the rest of Europe? If they are as such, then why are we taking ourselves off the path to both with such a bizarre and disgusting measure?"

"That the abolition of National Duty and the PDS," said Kaisa Malk, co-leader of the National Republican Party, "was a tragedy is something no one denies. We are therefore in support of this measure. We are, however, not in support of its timing, nor its implementors. The Prime Minister ought to remember that hers is a transitional government - that she is not in her position to make ideological decisions, but simply to re-establish order and ensure a smooth return to normalcy and democracy."

"Ursula," said Andrus Liiv, the leading presenter for the Northern Radio and the leader of the far-right National Resurrection Movement, "reveals herself to be a Reitzmo-Vardic agent. Her proposal is an attempt to appeal to and pervert our traditional sentiments and beliefs to enslave us to the hordes in the North and the snakes of the South. Don't be fooled - the continuing J-TAI is making but another attempt to place us under its yoke!"

"Istkalen," said Colonel Kuldar Loime, the leader of the banned "National Union," "is not in need of slow and 'methodical' measures. We are a country on our deathbed; what we need is a shock to bring us back to life, not this diluted solution dripped at snail's pace into our mouths. Now, more than ever, we need immediate and decisive action - and this is absolutely not that. The National Union stands not for tepid prodding but for the immediate restoration of National Duty and the PDS."

Nevertheless, Orlich's decision enjoys broad popularity among the Istkalenic people, and is unlikely to be rejected when it comes to a vote in the National Assembly.

[Istkalen]

Republic: Polling 10/11 - 17/11
conducted by Kaitmulen, 2.144 respondents

Party Preference (+/- from 10/10 - 17/10 poll)

Communist Party (left-wing to far-left): 35,3% (+5,3)
Social Democratic Party (center-left to left-wing): 17,2% (+2,1)
Statebuilding Party (center-left): 14,3% (new)
Union/Progress (center-right): 11,5% (+1,0)
National Republican Party (right-wing): 9,1% (-1,5)
Farmer-Green Alliance (center-right): 6,3% (-3,7)
Agrarian Union (syncretic): 6,1% (+5,3)
other: 0,2%

Government Approval

• approve: 90,5% (+40,1)
• disapprove: 5,0% (-35,1)
• no opinion: 4,5% (-4,0)

[Istkalen]

Republic: Issue polling 10/11 - 17/11
conducted by Kaitmulen, 2.144 respondents

1. Was the country better off under the prewar government?

• YES: 81,3%
• NO: 15,2%
• other: 3,5%

2. Was the revolution of the 18th of April (fall of the prewar government and the beginning of the capitulation to Reitzmag and Vayinaod) positive or negative for the country?

• POSITIVE: 27,5%
• NEGATIVE: 68,0%
• other: 4,5%

3. Are you in favor of the restoration of National Duty (corvee) and the Public Distribution System (state distribution of basic goods in the place of Western-style welfare)?

• YES: 97,1%
• NO: 1,9%
• other; 1,0%

4. Are you in favor of the continued control of the labor exchanges (formerly elected institutions that connect the underemployed to work and provides retraining opportunities) by the Ministry of Public Distribution?

• YES: 59,3%
• NO: 39,7%
• other: 2,0%

5. Are you in favor of the continued appointment of local and regional people's committees (local governments) by the Ministry of the Interior?

• YES: 29,8%
• NO: 60,3%
• other: 9,9%

6. Do you believe that the mutualities (mutual-aid/social welfare organizations organized by local people's committees) should continue to exist?

• YES: 97,0%
• NO: 2,0%
• other: 1,0%

7. Do you believe that the workers' societies (local, vocation-specific organizations that organized social welfare, access to equipment and work, for members, now integrated into the broader, sectoral workers' associations) should be restored?

• YES: 9,5%
• NO: 89,5%
• other: 1,0%

8. Do you believe that prewar public clothing and appearance regulations (modesty laws, ban on gender non-conformity) should be restored?

• YES: 60,5%
• NO: 38,5%
• other: 1,0%

9. Do you believe that sex segregation should be reinstated?

• YES: 61,1%
• NO: 38,0%
• other: 0,9%

10. Do you believe that censorship on moral grounds, as was practiced in the prewar period, should be restored?

• YES: 60,9%
• NO: 38,2%
• other: 0,9%

11. Did you support the NSC?

• YES: 0,1%
• NO: 99,5%
• other: 0,4%

12. Did you support the J-TAI?

• YES: 0,9%
• NO: 98,1%
• other: 1,0%

13. Are you in favor of the new arrangements between the state and religious organizations, as defined bv the Concordat with the Arian Church and the 15 December Decrees regulating religious activity?

• YES: 60,3%
• NO: 38,7%
• other: 1,0%

14. Were you in favor of Indras Uskeled's economic reform (replacing all welfare with non-means-tested cash allowances, abolishing pensions, increasing the role of state planning, allowing the state to forcibly move workers between sectors), of 6 January 2023?

• YES: 5,1%
• NO: 93,9%
• other: 1,0%

15. Do you agree with the decision of the government to order the second imprisonment and dissolution of the House of Kareskenet (imprisonment of, forced name changes for, all the members of the former royal house of Istkalen)?

• YES: 95,5%
• NO: 3,5%
• other: 1,0%

16. Do you believe that the government should create a framework for the incorporation of economic enterprises?

• YES: 5,3%
• NO: 94,0%
• other: 0,7%

17. Do you believe that unskilled workers should legally be allowed to participate in non-government sponsored or organized economic activity?

• YES: 37,9%
• NO: 60,1%
• other: 2,0%

[Istkalen]

Republic: Farmer-Greens withdraw from government negotiations

The Farmer-Green Alliance has withdrawn from government negotiations, citing irreconcilable differences with the other involved parties on the issues of industrial development and economic management.

"We stand, firmly, for our own national tradition in all spheres - and above all on the question of the economy," said party leader Irenet Isteresskemar at a press conference earlier today. "We do not believe that, simply for the sake of convenience and so-called national prosperity, we ought to abandon our own methods for those of the West, for we would be selling our souls to the foreigners by doing so. So it is a no to their factories, a no to their plans for the parasitical unskilled, a no to all of it. Our Istkalen comes first, always."

The disagreement stems from an issue that has long been central to Istkalenic politics - the essential contradiction between the country's cultural commitment to smallholding and the preservation of the crafts and the need to remain competitive in an increasingly efficient and more industrialized world. While much of the political spectrum has accepted the need for compromise in strategic sectors, particularly mining, energy, and heavy industry, almost all which are socialized and run according to national economic plans developed by their corresponding workers' associations in concert with the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Public Distribution, significant parts of it - the Farmer-Green Alliance foremost among this sector - have rejected it, insisting that competitiveness is possible in a system that completely preserves the traditional economy, and that whatever lags or losses that may be caused by this choice are a necessary sacrifice.

Governments before have been formed between forces on opposite sides of the issue, but they generally have been led by and conceded completely to the anti-modernizers. The current situation is without precedent in Istkalenic history.

The formateur, Elizabeth Ikrat, has condemned the Alliance's decision as "irrational," "unpatriotic," "detached from reality," and "an unnecessary barrier to the formation of a democratic barrier" and reached out, in place of offering concessions to Isteresskemar, to the pro-industrial Statebuilding Party in order to create a parliamentary majority. Acting head of state Ilmaras Kalessed has made no objection to this; she has expressed, in fact, her continued desire to further extend Ikrat's mandate until she is able to form a government.

None of the other partners, Union/Progress and the National Republican Party, in negotiation have yet commented; both, however, are strongly pro-industrial, and are not likely to push for reconciliation.