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Issue 20,
Volume 7, 9 October 300 AP The Story behind the news. |
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Economics
And now the real work begins... Election 300 Election results The Wisdom of Solomon Politics Governor Hope returns?! International Death of Morania's President Sport Utania's Vexgames bid Football: Is Luka Central unbeatable? |
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What IS a Zeitgeist?
Jerman for "Spirit of the Age". In this case it is to mean the "spirit" of the Utanian people, the magazine reporting the people's thoughts behind the press-releases and reported news. |
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The Wisdom of Solomon
He will lead a fractured nation of forty million people soon enough, a country desperate for determined leadership, in need of the Wisdom of Solomon to solve the problems dividing the people. Yet does anyone know the man who will lead, the challenges he faces, and the problems this country has? Thirty two years ago, a young Democrat MP in the Horn of Olives provincial Parliament stated laid the rules of what an "Utani leader" should be: "WE are the leaders of the province, let us lead by example in this way!" He was killed some seventeen years later by forces loyal to the Guwimithian regime in what is now Lasanne, but his legacy, the Peoples Party continues. He was Abraham Okarvits. This week, that legacy became the leading party in the parliament of a united Utania, the first democratic Parliament in the peoples history, and that man's son is about to be elected as the first President of Utania. Great challenges await And just as Abraham Okarvits was a paragon, a forthright leader who sowed the seeds of Utanian independence more than any other, his son will need that quality as he is to face some of the greatest challenges any leader could face. And the consequences if he is not a good enough leader: the future stability of the country. Utania may appear to be a normal "western" capitalist democracy, but years of nepotism, corruption and mismanagement have rendered the economy heavily imbalanced. The Utanian government has inherited every Tsarist possession, and any of those of his court, making it the single largest element in the economy, making up almost two-thirds of it. And if that isn't enough, "sweetheart" deals have put 70-90% of the non-government economy in the hands of the few, people who had Tsarists as their co-owners. Those who resisted the regime were refused participation in the economy. Only the past thirty years of limited self-rule has done anything to prevent that. Now that they have their freedom, they expect the country they built but were refused participation in will be turned over to them. Alas, to do so fairly requires the wisdom of Solomon. For example, the monolithic Belson Corporation, formerly co-owned by the Guwimith Tsar himself, the company dominates agriculture in Utania. It effectively buys a third to a half (no one knows the exact figure, because no one knows the size of the economy) of all agricultural produce, paying the farmers poor amounts for their crops, then sells the produce at greatly inflated prices. Wages for manufacturing workers are amongst the lowest in the world. Good for businesses, once owned by the Tsar and his cronies, who made enormous profits off the backs of the labour. So, does President Okarvits have the wisdom of Solomon? Does he have the necessary backing to do what the Utani people demand without resorting to totalitarian devices to achieve it? If the election were held two weeks ago... Unfortunately, he may not have much of a chance to implement such reforms. Professor Kapur, the nation's eminent political analyst has worked through the results of the election and determined that "President Hope" is still a possibility in a year's time. "Assuming that all Socialist, Yannist, Republican, Liberal, Utani-Saedaj and Peoples Party voters would have voted for Okarvits, while the 'right-wing six' plus the nationalists would have voted for Hope in a run-off election, in the election two weeks ago", explains Professor Kapur, "then it seems almost certain that we would now have a President Hope, not Okarvits." Utania's Presidential election system is first a vote for all presidential candidates, followed by a run-off between the two most favoured candidates. And winning is not by popular votes, but the number of seats they win, as in Parliamentary seats from each of the electorates. Obviously, Hope would have won at least 24 seats in the first vote. Such an election is due in September 301, and four years exactly thereafter, but most politicians are keen to see Presidential elections had in January of 302, 306, 310, etc... "Hope would have won the run-off vote 74 to 66, and by a popular vote of 13,134,328 votes to Okarvits' 10,375,400 votes", says Professor Kapur. "This should be a sobering thought for President Okarvits - he has twelve months to win over some two million voters." |
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Previous issues:
So what, the President likes golf? |
Stock Exchange:
 Stocks continue to stagnate - when will the Govt. release cash controls? |
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©Zeitgeist Magazine, 300 AP.
<TECH> ©Mike Ham, 2000. All rights reserved. No reproduction without, at least, tacit approval. ;-) |