Zeitgeist Magazine, 27 May 301 AP

Zeitgeist Magazine's Utania This Week
May 27th, 301 AP

Election looms

Utania's political parties are holding their collective breath as Prime Minister Barth is rumoured to announce fresh and fair elections after the Utanian Electoral Commission redrew the electoral boundaries in response to the January census. The Prime Minister will take the unusual step of calling for an informal vote from the Parliament to test whether the majority of MPs want the Parliament dissolved. A key decision that won over the majority of MPs was that the President would remain in his position even if the opposition wins the election, providing the essential stability of government for Utania. The previous election was held in late September last year.

To that end, the Democrats attacked the government's lack of education policy, after the second Census report was released suggesting that the school population will increase by 200,000 next year, or 2%. The Democrats scored points when the Minister for Education admitted that she did not have a strategy or plan in place.

It was let-slip by an aide of Trade Minister Reagan that the Minister may have agreed a thirty billion pund deal with the Lendosan Confederation, about 38% of Utania's total agricultural trade, making the Confederation a very important trade partner to Utania.

The second Census report was released providing details about the age structure of Utania, and other population details. Utania's population is growing at 3% p.a. with 37 births per 1,000 people. One-third of the almost 47 million people in Utania are below the age of fifteen, raising the prospect of a population explosion in Utania, with over 86 million people in twenty-five years, of which 71.6 million would be Utani.

The Census report also reported that the number of Uta-Decashi was higher than many Utani expected, that the Guwimithian censuses may have been right. Eleven million non-Utani live in Utania, despite a mass exodus of Guwimithians in 300 AP, made up primarily of ethnic-Ingallish, Ulano-Gronkians, and Liliani, with Westrians, Pentians, Zartanians and others making up the remainder. Most are descendants of the colonists the Guwimithians brought in to manage their farms and factories. This census shows that Utani have, for the first time since the 210s, made up more than 75% of the population.

No more Draft

President Okarvits announced on Friday that the system of national conscription would be abolished on July 1st this year. With pay for a common soldier almost four times that of an Utani farm labourer, filling the ranks of 100,000 conscipts would not be difficult. But, this raised the ire of Utani nationalists who said that the "poor would now defend the country of the rich".

A diplomatic "disturbance" has been experienced after President Okarvits attempted to shift Ambassador John Crawley from Christianshaven to Colchisia, the Lendosan Confederation with whom Utania is rumoured to have a massive trade deal. Ambassador Crawley is said to have applied to emigrate to Christiana.

Armair purchases 177 aircraft for an estimated value of C27 billion, and a maximum passenger capacity of 47,430 passengers. It is believed to be the largest sale of commercial aircraft in Vexillium history.

Utanian officials received two bids for the satellite television license, and have begun evaluating the bids. The Minister for Telecommunications and Post, Samual N'banj MP, said he expected that Utanians should have satellite TV within six months based on the bids shown to date.

Chairman of the Zeitgeist Corporation, Miguel van der Ham, said that the delay was unfortunate for his company's Zeitgeist News television station that was "only slightly behind schedule" for broadcasting in July. He said the company would look to alternative solutions in the interim, including time-sharing with a commercial VHF television station.