Category Archives: ZRT

FreeDem merger approved: Schivâ candidate for Secretary

With the conclusion of the ZRT and LibCon conventions, the Kingdom’s newest political party, Free Democrats of Talossa has been formally established. The FreeDem convention was welcomed once again to Maricopa by Premier Txec dal Nordselvă, who is himself a member of the new party, and who stated that he looks “forward to what we will accomplish in the future”.

The ZRT convention approved the merger proposal by a margin of five votes to zero. With this vote the ZRT ceased to be a political party, becoming instead a “republican think-tank and social movement”, as described by Senator Miestrâ Schivâ. The LibCon convention, despite the disturbance caused by the resignation of Senator Txosuè Éiric Rôibeardescù in protest at the merger, approved the proposal by five votes to one, with the Senator being the only dissenter.

The first actions of the new party will be to consider who shall serve as its Secretary. At the time of writing, Senator Schivâ is the only declared candidate for the post, and has already been endorsed by outgoing LibCon party secretary Françal Ian Lux MC and by Dr. dal Nordselvă . The Senator has also proposed amendments to the party constitution including a new logo.

Under the terms of the proposal, the renamed LibCon party has extended an invitation to any interested ZRT members to become members of the new FreeDem party. Party members can however form separate caucuses under the FreeDem umbrella, and Senator Schivâ has also petitioned the convention to allow for the creation of a “Republican Caucus of the Free Democrats”.

LibCon Controversy: FDA reaction

Speaking in response to the Senators accusations of haste and lack of consultation, LibCon party secretary Françal Ian Lux claimed that the Senator’s allegations were “unfounded”. S:reu Lux further stated that, contrary to the Senator’s assertions, internal communcation was thorough and “if you read the emails we’ve all shared, you should know everything you needed to”. S:reu Lux also rejected the accusation that LibCon did not have internal democracy, stating that “the people who voted aren’t Yes-men, they fully understand what we’re staking here”.

No immediate comment had been made by the Seneschal and LibCon party leader C. Carlüs Xheraltescù.

ZRT leader Senator Miestrà Schivâ called on Senator Rôibeardescù to “resign your seat, and stand in the resulting by-election if you think you can win it”, claiming that “if you want to be taken seriously in Talossan politics again (by those who believe in political ethics, that is), that is a must.”

criticised what she claimed was the apparent haste with which members of other parties, including the MRPT and the RUMP, sought to recruit the now-independent Senator Rôibeardescù. Calling on Distain Lüc da Schir to condemn any move to recruit the Senator into his party, she stated that “(it) doesn’t surprise me to see the completely amoral RUMP down in the gutter, but you guys are generally better.”

Senator Schivâ also claimed that the Seneschal had been “weaker” on the issue of expelling Senator Rôibeardescù than she had been, and accused the latter of being a “bribe-monger”. She however stated that in her opinion as a layperson a criminal prosecution could not be sustained against Senator Rôibeardescù for his role in the BEER Affair, and that she felt it was unlikely that an official prosecution would be brought.

LibCon Controvery: Rôibeardescù quits

Yesterday evening, Senator Txosuè Éiric Rôibeardescù announced he was quitting the LibCon party, claiming that the party is “loosing its individuality, its sense of purpose” and that it was “no longer the party I helped create over a year ago”. The Senator, who was a founding member of the Liberal Congress, further stated that he was open to talks with both RUMP and TSP on joining their organisations. The Senator also insisted that he would not resign his Senate seat, and would resist any attempts to remove him from office by legal means, a reference to the still unresolved question of his criminal liability in the BEER Affair.

The controversial Senator, already expelled from the FDA for his role in the BEER Affair, sparked a lively controversy at the LibCon merger convention. As reported by ETT yesterday, the Senator objected to what he claimed was the hasty and one-sided nature of the debates, and complained that he had not been kept adequately informed by party leaders of the course of negotiations.

His intervention provoked harsh criticism of his stance by party secretary Françal Ian Lux, who questioned the Senator’s delay in bringing his concerns forward and rejected his accusation that the merger had not been discussed in an adequate way.

It appears that Senator Rôibeardescù’s decision to resign from the party was at least partly in response to S:reu Lux’s counter-attack, since the Senator stated in reply that he considered himself “insulted” by the comments and that “this party is descending into the darkness and I refuse to be dragged down with it”.

Approached by ETT for comment before his resignation, the Senator stated that in his opinion there had not been adequate information given to party members of the content of the merger talks, and that internal discussion within the party has withered, compared to the outset of the party’s existence.

“Now CCX (ETT: Seneschal C. Carlüs Xheraltescù) just says ‘I really think we should do this’, and it sails through without question”.

He also claimed that an influx of more militant ex-ZRT members would “go too far” in pushing the new party away from the centrist roots of the LibCon project. The Senator however disavowed any malice towards the ZRT, stating that:

I would like to say that I hold no grudges against the ZRT at all. I would even praise them for there organization and proper structuring of their convention and voting on the matter, as compared to the “LibCon-Con” incompetence

The merger proposal, which actually calls for the opening of membership of a renamed LibCon party to ZRT members, would leave the ZRT as a non-party think tank advocating republicanism.

Tensions at LibCon convention: Rôibeardescù opposed to merger

As voting continues on the proposed merger of the Liberal Congress and ZRT parties, dissensions have emerged within LibCon. Senator Txosuè Éiric Rôibeardescù of Cezembre has denounced the proposal on the floor of the convention, claiming that his concerns about the character of the new party were not adequately addressed by the party’s leadership.

The Senator was expelled from the FreeDem alliance as a result of the controversy over the BEER Affair, but remains a member of the LIberal Congress party. Claiming that the party would “be flooded anti-monarchy, republican sympathisers” as a result of the merger and that the party was “not the one we founded less than a year ago”, the Senator further stated that he would under those circumstances abandon his membership. He urged fellow party members to halt the merger vote “instead of rushing into things we could actually make sure what we are doing is in the interest of the party”.

Seneschal C. Carlüs Xheraltescù responded to the Senator’s allegations by stating that it was too late under party rules to change votes on a motion once they had been cast. The Seneschal also accused Senator Rôibeardescù, who had claimed that his ability to challenge the proposal was reued by the party constitution of “pointlessly whin[ing] about something you could have changed if you cared enough about it”.

The Senator’s motion to halt the open vote on the convention floor and proceed to a secret ballot did not receive a second, and was thus not taken up by the convention. At the time of writing 5 votes have been cast in favour of the merger, with only Senator Rôibeardescù voting against.

Party conventions vote on FDA merger

The Liberal Congress and ZRT party conventions were welcomed to Maricopa by Premier Txec dal Nordselvă on 10th September.The two constituent parties of the Free Democratic Alliance are discussing the transformation of the alliance into a single political party. The alliance is currently the second largest political force in the 48th Cosa, and is the leading component of the coalition government.

LibCon party secretary Françal Ian Lux MC opened the discussion at the LibCon convention by proposing that the party would be renamed the “Free Democrats of Talossa”, and that it would invite ZRT members to join the new organisation.

Senator Miestrâ Schivâ opened the ZRT convention by proposing that the ZRT would cease to be a political party, and would instead become a republican think tank and campaigning group independent of party politics. Its members would be encouraged, but not required, to join the new FreeDem party, and its membership would be open to any citizen who subscribed to its principles.

At the time of writing, members of both parties have voted overwhelmingly in favour of the proposals. The precise details of the constitution and principles of the new party are not yet available, but will likely be similar to the political position of the FDA.

Minister for Culture: Miestrâ Schivâ

Dame Miestrâ has been a citizen of the Kingdom since Reunison in 2009. She initially became involved with Talossa in 1997 when she attempted to become a citizen, but was blocked by the then monarch. She was subsequently one of the founders of the Free Commonwealth of Penguinea, which a number of dissident Talossans also joined.

After becoming a citizen of the Republic, she served as a Deputy, a Minister and Seneschal, as well as Secretary of State and President of the Republic, and led the Republican delegation to the reunification negotiations. She was made a Dame of the Order of the Nation (UrN) in recognition of this achievement.

Dame Miestrâ has been a member of the Ziu since the 45th Cosa, when she was a Member of the Cosa representing the ZRT. She was subsequently elected as Senator of Fiovâ in the 46th Cosa, and briefly served as Capitan (governor) of that province. She has also served as Minister of Culture and Distain of the Kingdom.

Profile: Seneschal C. Carlüs Xheraltescù

C. Carlüs Xheraltescù has been a citizen of the Kingdom since Reunison in 2009. As a citizen of the Republic he served as a Deputy, Minister and Seneschal. On joining the Kingdom he became a citizen of the province of Fiova, where he has served as Capitan (governor).

He was a Member of the 45th and 46th Cosas for the ZRT, before forming the Liberal Congress party during the 46th Cosa. He was a Member of the 47th Cosa for that party.

He also served as Tuischac’h of the 45th Cosa, and as Distain of the Kingdom during the 47th Cosa. He was appointed Seneschal of the Kingdom following the 48th Cosa general election, when he led the FreeDem alliance.

Xheraltescù is a self-described liberal, and is founder and proprietor of El Tamlalt Talossan

To Everything There is a Season

Some time back during the 45th Cosa, I started to become dissatisfied with my beginning views on Talossa, her politics, and her political structures. I’ve never been one to hold blind or even myopic allegiance to an idea or a philosophy. I’ve always made up my own mind on what is important to me and how I am going to make whats important a reality.

When I left the RUMP party, that was a tough decision because I genuinely like many of the people in that party. The comraderie and the silliness the party exhibits can be fun to be part of. That same comraderie and silliness can also get exhausting. When I served as Seneschal, I found that many are willing but few are going to follow through. At the end of my term, despite the heavy criticism leveled at me both within and without the party, I had already decided change needed to come – for me personally. It took me some time but I finally left and joined the small monarchist party that I felt best represented my thoughts and views.

However, my transition was not complete. I was still dissatisfied with where I sat on the political spectrum. I’ve become dissatisfied with status quo politics and “this is the way its done” thinking. You see, in my non-Talossan life I am much more liberal and it was never a great fit for me personally sitting on the conservative end of politics. With this in mind, I began having serious conversations with others in Talossa, privately, to explore my idealogy and my views on Talossa. I’ve been a citizen for long enough to understand the dynamics and know the history. I’ve personally had dinner with the King (found him to be quite charming). I’m not the same wide-eyed and filled with nervous excitement guy I was when I first came to the shores of the Milwaukee River.

To put things more succinctly, last night I accepted the invitation of Dame Miestrâ Schivâ to join Zefençadéirs del Repúblicanismeu Talossán. Let me be clear, this is not in response to election outcomes as I fully expect to lose any seats in the 48th Cosa as a result of my change. This is about idealogy. This is about what I believe is best for Talossa and for me personally. Talossa needs a change. Talossa needs the ZRT.