The Most Blessed State of Inquista votes as follows:

1. Andreas EKKA
2. Clarisse Renaldi BOURGEON
3. Robert RINDER
4. Benjamin STEYN
5. Christopher VAJDA

EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE ELECTIONS

VOTING

It's time to elect the next European Court of Justice. Each player has one vote; please rank as many or as few candidates as you wish for the office of Chief Justice. The candidate with the most votes will be named the Chief Justice.

The candidates are as follows:

• Clarisse Renaldi BOURGEON (Montenbourg)
• Andreas EKKA (Fremet)
• Robert RINDER (Icholasen)
• Benjamin STEYN (Inimicus)
• Christopher VAJDA (Reitzmag)

Voting starts at NOW and ends at 23:59 GMT on June 25th, 2021.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION ELECTIONS
VOTING

It is time to vote for the next European Commission. Each office will be elected separately, and each player has one vote for each office. Please rank as many or as few candidates as you wish for each office.

(In accordance with Article III, Section III, §IV-V of the EU Constitution, for each Office, voters vote by ranking in order of preference as many candidates as they wish. Each Commissioner shall be elected under the Alternative Vote system. Ties shall be broken by determining the proportion of each candidate’s votes that are first preferences, with the candidate with the highest proportion winning the tie. If that is tied, the process shall be repeated for the next-highest preference. If the candidates are tied for all preferences, then the tie shall be broken by a coin toss.)

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The candidates are as follows:

For the Office of Premier Commissioner

• Sofie ČIKAROVÁ (Czech Slavia)
• Jean Claude JUNCKER (Spain)
• Iskris KOLINE (Istkalen*)

For the Office of Internal Affairs Commissioner

• Josephine AREAI (Istkalen*)
• Joe BIDEN (Reitzmag)
• Piane DAGGOTT (Czech Slavia*)
• Emma GRANGER (Montenbourg)
• Peter LEESON (United Duchies)

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Voting starts at NOW and ends at 23:59 GMT on June 25th, 2021.

EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE ELECTIONS

NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES

It is time for elections to the next European Court of Justice. All five seats on the Court will be up for election for a four-month term.

Due to terms limits, candidates from Leagio cannot nominate themselves to the ECoJ.

Interested candidates should fill out all information below:

[Candidate photograph or image]
Candidate Name:
Home Nation:
Incumbent? (Y/N):
Biography:

Nominations are open NOW and will close at 23:59 GMT on June 16th, 2021.

Behind the Headlines: Get to Know the Real Piane Daggot

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Piane Daggot, thank you so much for joining us via hologram today. Your connection looks great in 4K! How is the hologram campaign going? Are you using one of those 5G networks that Juncker loves to talk about?

Hey squirrel friend! I’m serving hologram realness yas. I would to be, however I’m just borrowing the wifi at a Starbucks in Europolis.

Ah, that explains why at least 20 voices can be heard coming from your end. Could you tell us what your go-to Starbucks order is?

I always get a strawberry frappe with extra strawberry syrup so it’s red - like the people’s flag.

Sounds delicious! Running for Commissioner for Internal Affairs is pretty demanding, so I imagine you need all the caffeine you can get. Let's get to it. You’re running on a platform of peaceful coexistence, especially in terms of the UNSR. However, if you could make peace between any feuding politicians or celebrities, as Internal Affairs Commissioner, who would they be?

I think Juncker and Winston need to hug it out. Imagine all the Junckers, living life in peace. I feel sorry for the kids, I mean the trains, caught in the middle of it. They'll probably need to choo choo over to therapy after their bitter arguments. Sad!

It would be great if that feud could finally get settled in 2021. You’ve proven yourself a tactical mastermind, as you helped plan Operation Parva Coles during the civil war in Reitzmag. What RTS games helped you prepare for that battle?

Yes, as a veteran I find it therapeutic to play games like that. I particularly enjoy the Red Alert series. It reminds me of my time on the battlefield, fighting for what I believe is right. I am, however, now glad that we have peace in all the conflicts I have served in, and all my battles are now in front of an LED clad gaming computer.

Red Alert is a great game. We also heard that you are quite good at Among Us. Describe your Among Us playstyle. What’s your strategy like? Also, what’s your take on the latest map ‘the Airship’?

As someone who has fought on a front line, I know how to kill. Therefore, yes, I humbly admit I am good at the hit game, "Among Us". I normally kill off any capitalist globalists first. You can tell by their usernames. Anyone who uses words such as "I" or "me" is definitely a globalist. I then skilfully work my way through the crewmates. I enjoy the map, but I think it might be a little too big. I hope the neoliberal market didn't have anything to do with that.

Earlier today, you released a campaign playlist of your favourite songs. We’ll include a link to that playlist here. Can you tell us about your favourite bops on that playlist, and how those songs have personally impacted you?

I chose these hits because they are all such danceable bops. It’s time to celebrate! They are such great bops. Savage by Megan Thee Stallion really speaks to me, as well as Feeling Myself by Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé. These are both empowering tunes, and the playlist tries to include songs that make you feel like THAT bitch. I Am What I Am is also great, we can all be who we want to be. I included Kings and Queens by Ava Max as those are the people I would like to remove from their positions, as a socialist. Ava has a great song, but it doesn’t matter the gender of the monarch, it is still a poor system of government! I also included some Eurovoice bops. I am a HUGE fan of the contest. Skorápy Orechu is one of my favourite songs of all time, and I heard it for the first time at Eurovoice in Cesae Vauvra in 1985. I also chose You Don’t Own Me by Lesley Gore, I like to imagine that the means of production are singing this song to the bourgeoisie. You don’t own me! These are some great songs and I’m sure your readers will get a kick out of them too.

Tell Me Ma? Skořápky Ořechů? Savage? Good taste. On a similar note, could you give us any TV recommendations? What series are you currently binging on Netflix?

I am currently binging "Border Patrol: Icholasen." It's kind of an old series, but it still holds up. It's from around 2014 and follows a group of border patrol agents as they try to keep Icholasen free of dairy produce, and other illicit and harmful substances. It really is amazing to what lengths people will go to to smuggle dairy into Icholasen - that in itself makes it very enjoyable, but sometimes scary. It's great for binging as it is always new. There are no two episodes alike. As a Minister in the Interior department in Security, I met members of this newly modernised patrol. It is still interesting though to see how it operated under the old regime.

As you know, June is LGBTQ Pride Month. Who are some of your favourite drag queens?

In Inquista, it HAS to be Madame Marco, but I have many favourites from all across the continent. When I'm in Prague, I love to visit a bar called DefenestrateHER, a mainly lesbian bar that serves drinks in window-shaped glasses with the handle being some poor protestant being pushed out. There is a drag queen there called Dominika Dvořáková who does the best impression of Marie Rottrová I've ever seen in my life. She does all the songs. Also, the late great Nicoleizienne, Divine, is one of my favourites. She often performed in London in the 1980s where I worked as a Communist Party Official. It was great to blow off steam after work with a drink and a show.

Sounds like you know how to enjoy a good Friday night. Let's turn this into a scenario. Two countries are negotiating for peace after a conflict, and you have to mediate between two foreign ministers. The two ministers want to talk over some food and drinks. What sort of restaurant are you taking them to, and what will your drink of choice be?

I would take them to a tapas bar in Ibiza because it encourages cooperation. Tit for tat. You can have some jamón if I can have some calamari. They will soon get the idea to translate that into their problems. As for drinks, of course I love Mojitos. I was famously photographed and SHAMED on social media for having one on public transport. But now I’m head of the Nicova so who’s laughing now?

You're an avid user of public transport, and your Commission campaign is being run in a carbon-neutral way. Protecting the environment is clearly very important to you. Do you have any pets, and what animal do you think is very underrated?

I don’t have any pets right now, unfortunately. Animals need a lot of care, and since I’m so busy I know I couldn’t give them the love and attention they need. If I could choose, though, I would get some terrapins. They are so small and cute, definitely underrated. I’m not sure what kind of care they need, but they are freshwater tropical so it could be relatively intense! But one day I will have some terrapins.

Aww, those are very cute. Now, onto a very short round of some word association. I'll give you a word, and you tell me what word first comes to your mind. Ready? Marx.

Prescient.

Oppression.

Capitalism.

Trains.

8G.

Ice cream.

Dangerous.

Freedom.

Marie Rottrová.

Ok, I now have 4 words for you, and you have to pick one to describe yourself: hotter, sweeter, cooler, butter. Which ones resonates with you?

Butter.

Thank you so much for joining us from Europolis, Piane. It was a pleasure to have you.

No, thank YOU!

Cryptic Firoux Tweet Likely to All but End Leeson's Chances in Inquista

Op-ed written by Lex Burnley

A cryptic tweet made by Chief Bishop Secretary Edward Firoux is widely being regarded as a snub of Peter Leeson's campaign to become the Internal Affairs Commissioner of the European Union. The snub will spell good news for Commission candidates Emma Granger, Piane Daggott and Joe Biden, who are expected to gain at his expense, and consume what remains of his political support in Inquista.

Leeson has launched his campaign for Internal Affairs by admonishing the equal marriage rights clause of the European Union's Declaration of Human Rights, which Leeson has stated that he would like to see removed. Bishop Secretary Firoux wrote and championed the equal marriage rights clause, among other significant contributions he made to the UDoHR, including clauses on torture and capital punishment, and other measures to expand and strengthen the EU's primary human rights declaration. Thus, the Chief Bishop Secretary's tweet is publicly being interpreted as a swipe against the Leeson campaign.

In order to win in Inquista, Leeson - who describes himself as a centrist and moderate candidate - would need to rely on the support of Inquista's centre-left and centre-right. Firoux is broadly considered to be the popular avatar of Inquista's centre-left, and he is also coincidentally held in especially high regard by Inquistan environmentalists and ecologists, who appear to be another demographic that the Leeson campaign are targeting. Firoux's social media snub likely means Leeson will lose signficant support in Inquista's centre-left and environmentalist circles, leaving Leeson only with Inquista's centre-right, who are in turn likely to take issue with the vast majority of Leeson's other policies (such as his proposed Europe-wide referendums), and who appear to be coalescing around Joe Biden's #NoMalarkey campaign anyway - leaving Leeson with no discernible demographic of support in the country.

Firoux's cryptic tweet is considered to be quite significant because the Bishop Secretary has not publicly commented on European politics since stepping down as the EPA Chairperson in December of 2020. Firoux did not participate or comment in the last Commission elections, meaning he did not endorse Leeson's previous premiership candidacy, which ultimately resulted in Leeson failing to win the premiership and thus becoming the first EPA premiership candidate to lose an election in more than three years. Firoux is expected to once again not endorse any Commission candidate, and hasn't shown too much enthusiasm to wade into European politics again, besides to show support to the LGBTQ community and those who seek to limit the UDoHR.

Nation Name (flag image link attached): Inquista
Artist: Sufjan Stevens
Song (video link attached): Mystery of Love
Vote deliverer (image linked attached): Madame Marco

EUROPEAN COMMISSION ELECTIONS

NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES

It is time to elect the next European Commission. In these elections, the offices of the Premier Commissioner and the Commissioner for Internal Affairs will be up for election.

The offices of Premier Commissioner and Internal Affairs are subject to a four-month term.

As is traditional, I shall quote the words of our Returning Officer back in January 2011, who opened these nominations thus:

"These elections are supposed to give our member-states fair representation in this region - if candidates cannot take it upon themselves to be active, then I in particular, question their ability and willingness to take part in a body who must be active, accountable and able. I do not wish to threaten nor scare, but I want, for once, our European Commission to consist of Commissioners who are active and who play a part in the region both on and off this forum."

Interested candidates should fill out all information below:

[Candidate photograph or image]
Candidate Name:
Home Nation:
Office(s) sought:
Incumbent? (Y/N):
Eurogroup Affiliation:
Biography:

Nominations are NOW open and will close at 23:59 GMT on June 7th, 2021.