The Chair gives the floor to Miestrâ Schivâ.
This speech will probably occur tomorrow (January 4).Grült méirçi, cxhn. Fosteglh. Estimadâs és estimats Zefençadéirs del repúblicanismeu talossán, citaxhiêns dàl grült provinçù Benito (eða qëtevri isch a nôminâ dîn aceastâ seifetziuâ), amici peculiaristàes dîn la galeríâ, és oðreux Talossáes presînts...
*ahem* Friends, unaccustomed as I am to public speaking... yes, yes, pause for laughter for obvious joke, I'd like to begin with a quotation from a former leader of the United Kingdom opposition, our ZRT Leader's Cymric compatriot, Mr Neil Kinnock...
WE'RE ALL RIGHT! WE'RE ALL RIGHT!
... yes. So as any of you know who follow British politics, Kinnock embarrassingly lost the upcoming election to a waste of space called John Major - last heard calling for a permanent Tory/LibDem alliance, so you know it's a bad idea, Carlüs. Ha ha.
But seriously, folks, British politics injokes apart, the ZRT really
is all right.
Look at us. We were just a vague idea in the heads of myself and Carlüs last year. We came out of one idea and one idea alone - that while the Talossan Republic of 2004-2012 would come to an end, its political ideals and gains would never die.
Reunision, for us, was never going to be a German-style reunification, where the "losing side" of history would be sneered at, be told that its institutions, its principles, its history, its symbols all counted for diddly-squat, that it would be pretended that it never really existed.
To quote Captain Malcolm Reynolds: the Republic was on the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.
The founders of the ZRT were sure that the fight for Talossan republican principles against the monarchist millstone would cease to be an internecine and mutually corrosive Zuëriâ Fred, but instead become a political battle among friends and wholehearted compatriots.
Today, I think we can say we have achieved that. And I mean
we. Not just Carlüs and myself. Not just the reviênsadéirs. In fact, the majority of the people who've put their hearts into building this Convention were never citizens of the Republic-that-was.
Most interestingly, the party most dominated by former Republicans are the Peculiarists up there in the balcony. You can see the light glinting off their tinfoil hats and wizard robes.
I consider it a huge historical irony that such a reviênsadéir dominated party have ended up waffling on the subject of monarchism. (This is of course a friendly dig among comrades, not a VICIOUS PERSONAL ATTACK FROM 'N GARÇÂ MALPADERT as our friends in the ruling party would probably have it.)
But all this
proves, zefençadéirs! It proves that while the Republic-that-was is gone, the Republic lives on! Many Kingdom analysts and commentators assumed that the agenda of Talossan republicanism would only have appeal to die-hard Qator Itrìns-waving old rebels, and that Fiôvâ would become some kind of ghetto, or perhaps historical re-enactment society.
You stand here today to prove them wrong. Every single one of you who has decided that Talossa needs a future decided by its people and its people alone, that Talossa must freely choose its own leaders and cultural guardians, has done something that has not been dared before in this Kingdom - at least, not since Danihél Lauriér gave up on republicanism back in the late '80s.
We zefençadéirs practice what we preach! We oppose monarchy, and all other forms of permanent leadership. Which is why we assemble here today to choose a new leader, to replace yours truly.
I did what I had to do to get this party started. But I think my time as a front-rank leader in Talossan politics is at an end. I want to help a new generation take over from the old guard. And I personally want more time to think about ár glheþ naziunál... perhaps, even, to start up a newspaper again.
Note that I
do intend to stand for a seat on our Central Committee, and to continue active work in policy formation and legislative drafting. You don't get rid of me that easily. Carlüs Xheráltsëfiglheu has of course done a great job as Interim Leader, and I certainly do hope we elect him to that role on a permanent basis.
But look at this Convention! This great Convention, unprecedented in Talossan history!
The ZRT is not "Miestrâ written on a rainbow". Or "Carlüs" for that matter. It is not a traditional Talossan political party, where an unaccountable cabal of mates runs everything behind the scenes.
We are
democratic and transparent as no Kingdom party has ever been before. Our Constitution, Platform and Manifesto will be debated and voted on openly. Then the leadership will be selected to push for those principles. There is no "secret team" lined up to run things.
Hopefully other Talossan political forces will follow our example. I do hear that the Moderate Radical party has some plans. Kudos to them.
I - and other zefençadéirs - of course have our own agendas. But we will have to win them in fair contest of ideas before the whole party, the whole province of Benito, the whole of Talossa, and of all those others (in the micronational world and elsewhere) who look to Talossa with fascination, warmth and a feeling of inspiration.
But remember this, friends and colleagues! We can't do it alone.
The ZRT is the official Opposition in the Kingdom of Talossa. Not bad for a brand new party founded by the losers of a cold civil war. But we are pretty far from a majority, either for our party or for the Noble Cause of Talossan republicanism.
Our first goal must be to replace the RUMP - the eight-term party of permanent government. There's a funny commonality between conservative parties in Western-style democracies, "dominant parties" like the ANC in South Africa and the PAP in Singapore (or the RUMP here), and the "Communist" dictatorships who rule China and North Korea and used to rule much of Eastern Europe.
This is that a one-party state is really a no-party state. A permanent ruling party is not held together by ideology. It is held together by power. It is where the elite meet to share out the treats. And thus its ideology withers away. Note how "communist" the Communist Party of China is these days. The real ideology of such a party is "staying in power". Nothing more.
You find out what a party really stands for when it's kicked out of power and has to find a reason for citizens to vote it, apart from "we're going to win anyway". The former single-party of the German "Democratic" Republic, the SED, rebirthed itself as "the Left" and is now a small but real party of socialist principle, influential in united German politics.
I wonder what would happen to the RUMP if it was kicked out of power. Would it dissolve, or would it rediscover its principles?
Estimadâs és estimats cüncitaxhiêns, there's surely only one way to find out!
But we can't do that on our own, as I was saying. Our Peculiarist friends will have to help us - as will the Moderate Radicals, the Common-Sense Progressives, and all the other forces for change in this Kingdom.
I am currently working with Senator da Dhi of the MRPT to bring about a bill which will mandate pre-formed lists of candidates for all parties in Cosâ elections, to bring an end to the RUMP's "Borg" tactics of assimilating everyone who wants to be parachuted into power, at the price of becoming part of the self-perpetuating tacit aristocracy. I look forward to many other legislative co-operative events with the ModRads and the other parties of change, in this Cosâ and the next.
Only an Alliance for Change - including but not necessarily led by the ZRT - can put an end to the RUMP Aristocracy. For that reason, I extend the hand of friendship to all parties, no matter what their ideology, who are agreed with us that Talossa needs a government under new leadership. Hopefully, once we've agreed on our platform and manifesto, that will provide room for discussion and compromise with other parties.
Friends and colleagues! We've got a truckload of work to do this coming nine days, and going right up to the next elections for the Ziu! I suggest we get to it.
I'd just like to close with a few words addressed to our political opponents... and to the monarchy itself. Gentlemen and ladies of the RUMP... your Majesty, and the rest of the Royal Family. The Defenders of Talossan Republicanism have this message for you today.
Your mission is over. We thank you for your loyal and patriotic services. Your carriage awaits outside.¡Så vivadra Talossa! ¡Så vivadra Talossa repúblicán!
