Fantasia • World News (First Era)

[Julian]

Political Earthquake in Lanovina
Green & Left Party agree on a coalition


Helga Stoll-Escherpes and Eva Carølen

• What does this mean ? •

For the first time since the Lanovian independence in 1920, neither the conservative CCU nor the social-democratic SDL are included in the government. It's also the first time, that two women are Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor. The Greens and the TSL have had talks for not less than averagely 14 hours per day since the election night and have now quickly come to a coalition agreement, which was probably managed so quickly due to the ongoing problems in the world. The talks were hosted by 2 members of each party: while Green Party leader and former chancellor Uschi Kerkeling as well as chancellor-elect Helga Stoll-Escherpes were the green representatives, the TSL selected their party leader Eva Carølen and Harald Relmow, who's the prime minister of Kystland since the regional elections in Spring.

• What did the coalition agree on ? •

Of course the whole program cannot be posted, but here's a small overview of the most important aspects:

• slightly higher taxes for rich people from 44% to 48%
• introducing sanctions for environment-unfriendly companies, subventions for small environmental-friendly ones
• closing the coal industry until 2030, increased usage of renewable energies, research on how to use snow(storms) as renewable energy
• environmental-unfriendly cars will be forbidden in major cities, such as Cöhln, Sarindon, Eastmont or La Leïla, higher tax on those cars
• decreasing loans of MPs
• reforms in the working market, such as a higher minimum wage
• increased support for Achroa, neutrality towards Flirskmasto and Jarea
• Lanovian school system to be reformed
• increased spendings on educational and social affairs, decreased spendings on defence, financial support for new countries as well as financial support for political parties
• recognition of the Choli Islands as autonomous region
• opening up to more relations with non-NU countries, including trade deals

Generally, the program focuses a lot on environmental & social issues.

• The Government •

The 1st Stoll-Escherpes Cabinet will include the following ministers:

Chancellor
Helga Stoll-Escherpes
The Greens

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Vice Chancellor | Minister of Labour & Social Affairs
Eva Carølen
The Social Left

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Minister of the Interior
David Erickson
The Social Left

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Minister of Foreign & NU affairs
Vanessa Bluming
The Greens

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Minister of Defence
Wilhelm Dirm
The Social Left

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Minister of Economy
Michael Arnsen
The Social Left

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Minister of Finance
Heike Glemstedt
The Greens
Incumbent since 2012

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Minister of Justice & Consumer Protection
Lars Taunå
The Social Left

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Minister of Environment & Energy
Susanne Forien
The Greens
Incumbent since 2012

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Minister of Food & Agriculture
Torben Anderson
The Greens
Incumbent since 2014

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Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens & Women
Hannah Sebbert
The Social Left

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Minister of Health
Martin Baling
The Greens

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Minister of Transport & Digital Infrastructure
Jürgen Pernel
The Greens
Incumbent since 2012

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Minister of Education & Research
Laura von Mellberg
The Social Left

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Minister of Integration & Minorities
Sarah Aurée
The Greens

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Minister of Culture, Sports & Youth
Sebastian Reckschwart
The Greens

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The government will therefore include 8 Green ministers (excluding the chancellor) and 7 TSL ministers.

Helga Stoll-Escherpes is expected to be elected as Chancellor during the first meeting of the new parliament on 14th August. She already announced, that one of her first plans is to meet the winner of the upcoming Fordian presidential elections. After that, she will meet other NU head of states.

[Matilda]

Mass Panic in Nakopek

Mass Panic during public viewing of the FANA WC Final +++ Military reports 8 dead, several injured +++ Assumed reason is a misfired firework

Yesterday night, a tragic event happened at the main square of the capital Nakopek. During the public viewing of the FANA World Cup final, which almost 1 million people attended, a mass panic started after a firework, which was placed behind the screen, misfired at the 60th minute. The result of this were 8 confirmed deaths and several injured people, police figures vary between 30 and 200 injured people. The police cites the tense situation among the public after the latest Valvet activities, which led to increased security measurements, as a reason for the mass panic. 
An official statement by the transitional government wasn't released yet. The national football association already released a statement, in which they state their sympathy with the relatives of the victims, the same did also players from the national team and the Eldanca national team in post match interviews.

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Non governmental sources speak of much higher figures concerning the victims. Up to 50 people dead are the figures and there are even rumors about up to 500 people injured. On social media platforms pictures of this catastrophe are being spread, and first voices blaming the transitional government for this tragedy are already on the rise. However the by this transitional government controlled national media doesn't say a single word about these voices.

[kev]

"FBC LIVE ELECTIONS" STARTED BROADCASTING

This evening FBC I started broadcasting it's special broadcast for the Fordian elections. The presidential election programme started this evening with all candidates of the "Big 4 parties" discussing current issues.


 
Frances Drosel (Free Party Fordia)

- stated she'd change the structure of her party
- doesn't say "no to the FA(P)"
- wants to stop the military increase, but it's not her main aim
- wants more troops in other countries instead
- equal education system for every Fordian state
- more thoughness in the UNFSC, to find a Valvet solution


Manuela Dusen (Social Democrats Fordia)

- wants a tax-free christmas + 13th monthly salary
- higher taxes for rich people
- equal education in every Fordian state
- administration reform in Fordia
- wants to increase military and air units (police) for more safety
- free water and food at work and school
- higher minimum wage


Daniel Bahr (Liberal Party Fordia)

- against the Nordo
- against the rise of minimum wage
- better relations with Flirskmasto and Amelia (including new trade deals)
- harder immigration conditions
- against a free-tax christmas


Gasen Wiström (Greens Fordia)

- wants more NU members
- hard conditions for vehicles on the Bruder Bridge and no further support for it
- no tax-free christmas, but a 13th monthly salary
- more independence for all Fordian states (f.ex: no common education system)
- more troop support outside Fordia

Summary



Current polls show that Frances Drosel convinced the most, though the poll results are close.

2016 results - January 2017 - March 2017 - June 2017 - Now

System


Each Fordian state (it's populations) will elect electors, which will elect the president, who forms the government by choosing 12 permament ministers and 3 individual ministers. The government and (directly) elected delegates from each state will move into the Fordian parliament.

It was announced that the results will be presented by a more exciting way as the states will close their polls independently.

[Matilda]

Wave of protest in Lidonia arises after mass panic

A wave of protest is currently shaking the freezed political situation in Lidonia. The public is dissatisfied with the transitional government and shows that by an huge amount of demonstrations which started mostly yesterday. The spark for this public movement was the mass panic at the public viewing of the FANA World Cup final in the capital Nakopek and the poor way with which the transitional government handled the situation. But the actual problem lays deeper, as a main critique of the protesters is the censorship by the transitional government, which shows itself in the reserved way at how the mass panic was reported and the fact that this wave of demonstrations is not existing according to the national broadcaster or the newspapers. As a result of the protests, the transitional government saw themselves forced to correct the amount of victims of he mass panic to now 48 deaths and more than 200 injured. But the opposition is not satisfied with the outcome, their goal is an end of the military reign and the execution of the long awaited national elections. The current crisis also shows when looking at approval rates of the transitional government, which went down from 80% to less than 40 in such a short time, and also pro-military parties lose massively in the latest surveys.

[Dylan]

Dýria sends their deepest condolences to all victims of recent unset in Lidonia

Ingibjörg Egilsdóttir, president of Dýria, has sent out her sincere condolences to all affected by recent panic in the streets of the capital, which took the lives of at least 8.

She has also stated that she hopes a solution will be found to the current political uncertainty in Lidonia and that the country can finally operate with a fully functional government.



Over 1 million people are expected to gather in Dýrian cities to watch the grand final results of Fantasia Contest #08

The 8th edition finally comes to an end. Tonight the grand final results will be revealed and DRTV estimates that there will be a larger than usual audience watching the show. On top of that, over 1 million people are expected to gather in Dýrian cities to watch the results live - where they will be rooting for VÉRITÉ, hoping she can bring us another good result.
On behalf of the Dýrian delegation, we wish best of luck to all finalists and of course our own participant VÉRITÉ!



Recent polling on the Fordian election

A poll was conducted among a sample of Dýrians with regards to the Fordian election.
The poll concluded that at 60% their favourite to win was Manuela Dusen, however at 56.9% the next favourite candidate to win was Gasen Wiström. Their success perhaps comes out of similar ideology and beliefs among the general population.
Daniel Bahr was the least popular candidate only getting 4%.
President Egilsdóttir has announced however that she is ready to meet whoever wins the election and discuss relations between Dýria and Fordia.

[nick]

Evämaa: National Elections to be Held 13 August

MIDIMERI - An official statement from the Department of Social Affairs and Communication, the branch of the Evämaian government responsible for announcing elections, has stated that national elections will be held on 13 August, meaning that the day has been decreed a national holiday. Government offices will be closed, aside from polling places, and private businesses are urged to close for at least enough time for their employees to vote. For the third election in a row, citizens will be able to vote online using their national ID cards’ biometric chips at certain polling places. Estimates from the Election Organizing Group (EOG) say that almost 45% of all polling places in Evämaa will be eVote-ready for the election.

The polls will open for the 87 seats of the Maidentalo and the first round of the Presidential election; once the new representatives are sworn in, which must be within two weeks of election, per the Evämaian Constitution, the new legislature will vote in the second round of the Presidential election. Incumbent President Topi Niinisalo is ineligible for re-election, as the Evämaian Constitution only allows two non-consecutive four-year terms for any president. His party, Vasakollektiivit (Vk), has polled well throughout his term, however, in the last Maidentalo elections in 2015, they lost their coalition with Evämaen Edistymis (EE) and Avata ja Vapaa (AjV), a left-leaning party and antiestablishment party, respectively. The current breakdown of the Maidentalo is shown below:


The best performing parties in the last election were Vasakollektiivit, the centrist party Paasi (P), and the right-leaning ’98 Avrotit (98A), and pollsters in Evämaa predict the rightward swing experienced by the country to continue, leading to the end of the left’s unchallenged 12-year rule over the country.

In addition to the Maidentalo and Presidential elections, a referendum will be held on joining the Northern Union’s common currency area and adopting the Nordos in favor of the Kulden. Every state to have a referendum so far has ratified a currency change, but the President of the Central Bank of Evämaa, Pekka Saari, has come out against the change, saying that the Kulden is a stable currency that’s enables Evämaa to remain strong against fluctuations in other markets while also controlling trade with its regional partners more closely. Skeptics believe that President Saari was hinting at Evämaa’s high level of trade with Flírskmasto, but that’s just speculation.

Below are some opinion polls from the Evämaian public.




For more information on how Evämaian elections work, go here. For information on the eight main Evämaian political parties, go here.

[Kyron]

WESTMONT UNION TO HIT OVER 200 MILLION INHABITANTS

This month the population of the Westmont Union has reached more than 210 million inhabitants due to the recent accession of the Ruyjin Republic. At the moment, 10 full member countries make up the union, occupying an area of 2.37 million km² across Westmont.

Expectations for the future are high, hoping that more countries will decide to join the union and promote economic, social and territorial cohesion, and solidarity among Westmontian nations.

[alex(a)bg]

NU membership referendum held in Ruyjin Rep.

    Recently, Ruyjin Republic joined the Westmont Union and since then a lot of Ruyjinese citizens and politicians have shown interest in joining the Northern Union and establishing relations with new countries. Today, a referendum regarding this was finally held. The referendum will decide whether or not Ruyjin Republic will apply to join the Northern Union


94% of the voters voted in favour of joining and the remaining 6% were against.


Therefore, the majority of the Ruyjinese citizens have voted in favour of joining the NU. The Ruyjinese government will soon send an application for a membership.

[nick]

Polls Open in Evämaa!

MIDIMERI - Across the country, polls have opened to elect the representatives who will make up the 64th Maidentalo! Polls will be open from 8:00 to 20:00, regardless of local time zone.

The final polls, released last night just before midnight at the close of the campaign period, showed Paasi pulling ahead of its competition with 22% of the likely vote, which would give them 18 seats and the most control. Evämaen Edistymis finished second with a projected 16 seats, level with 98 Arvotit but a percentage point ahead (17% to 16%). Meanwhile, the ruling Vasakollektiivit showed a final drop to 15%, but experts have said that they could underperform today. Each of the leaders of the main four parties have released their final statements to voters, and short quotes have been reproduced below:

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Speaker of the House, Otto Kurkelä (Vk)

It seems unbecoming of a leftist party, but as the dominant political force in Evämaa for so long, we’ve excelled at not being stagnant and adapting to the needs of the people. A vote for Vasakollektiivit will see more growth for the country we all love while making sure that no one gets left behind.

Freya Laakkonen (EE)

Our world is changing, and it’s time that Evämaians shift the balances of power in the country. Evämaen Edistymis will make the tough choices that will keep Evämaa on the path to prosperity by strengthening our connections to the rest of Fantasia.

Aatto Seppänen (P)

I truly believe that the time has come that the centrists will see their day in power. Paasi has been the main voice of dissent in the Maidentalo during the long period of leftism, and in an unstable world, we are the best choice to lead Evämaa through whatever may come.

Riku Nurmi (98A)

In simple terms, Evämaa is in danger. The numerous terrorist attacks across the world have yet to affect our peaceful realm thanks to the hard work of 98 Arvotit legislators to make our military one of the strongest in Easton. It’s time for us to strengthen the rest of the country to make it better for all true Evämaians.

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As for the other parties that might hold bargaining power in creating a government, Puolustajianen’s far-right slant has them on track to win 11 seats, their highest total ever, while Avata ja Vapaa is predicted to keep its 9 seats. The big question is whether or not Siirtolainitääni will be affected by the increasing immigration rates that Evämaa has experienced. Polls show them holding their 5 seats but they could come out of today with far more sway in the Maidentalo. Finally, the authoritarian party Rautakilpi is predicted to lose one of its seats, bringing it to one representative from the far north in Hyväylä.

Whatever the exact result turns out to be, today very well could be the final day that the left holds the reins of power in Evämaa after 60 years. You can find a short summary of the parties’ positions on 12 important issues facing Evämaa and Fantasia here. Hyvää äänestyspei!

[Dylan]

Dýria welcomes the result of the Ruyjinese referendum on NU membership

The president, Ingibjörg Egilsdóttir has congratulated voters on making the decision to join the NU. She hopes that Ruyjinese membership can increase relations between Dýria and Ruyjin Republic, as both countries are also already members of the Westmont Union too.



Dýrian president discusses relations with Flírsk president

Another headline today is that of President Egilsdóttir making the decision to discuss relations between Dýria and Flírskmasto after recent relations became sour. She stated that:

Dýria wants to normalize relations with Flírskmasto and pave the way for more stability in the region. Flírskmasto has disliked the union since it's creation, but I am not going to cut ties from the country. Instead I encourage peace between the NU and Flírskmasto, hoping that one day in the future we can cooperate together without any conflict.

When asked about Dýria's position in the NU, she replied that:

Dýria will definitely stay in the union as our people want it and we find it highly beneficial, and there is absolutely no reason to withdraw from it.


She stated the main reason for the discussion is because the Dýrian government is concerned with the events happening right now between the NU and anti-NU opponents. Dýrians are in favour of the union after a recent poll suggested that 65% approve of membership.
The Flírsk community in Dýria praised the move to normalize relations and others have called it a step in the right direction and hope of normalized relations between the NU and others in the future.