Speech from the Throne, Independence Day, 2015/xxxvii

[Adm. T.M. Asmourescu, O. Ben.]

When the people keep the King in check we have democracy. When the King keeps the people in check we have tyranny.

We aren't simply talking overriding the will of the democratically elected Ziu. We are also talking about a bill that requires a referendum to pass. Giving the King a final say over all amendments and leaving the people no means of recourse to override those decisions is not a good thing. If the majority of Talossans choose to amend the Organic Law then to have their will overridden by a hereditary monarch neuters the Kingdom's populace. We can only do what the King is willing to let us do. And we have no choice in the matter at that point but to take direct action against the King.

[Dr. Txec dal Nordselvă]

Jan 1, 2016 16:45:38 GMT -6 Renalt da Fhamul said:

...but he [King John] still does his job... 

However, the king is not doing his job. He has not yet dissolved the 48th Cosa as he is required to do. He has not assented or vetoed the bills from the final clark. The king has only a few things to do and he quite often does not do them. If this were the United Kingdom and Elizabeth II didn't check her red boxes for a month, didn't open parliament or summon a new prime minister, the wheels of government would grind to a halt.

Our government has not ground to a halt because we have grown used to the king not doing his job. That needs to change. That needs to change now. Either the king changes and gets more involved in his kingdom, or the people will find a way to change instead.

EDIT: Looking back through Witt, I see the king has not assented to ANY Clark for a long time.

[Dr. Txec dal Nordselvă]

In fact, I'm not even sure that elections can even be called without the Cosa being dissolved.

Article XIII Section 1 of OrgLaw SPECIFICALLY states "During its last month the King shall issue a Writ of Dissolution ending its term. At the time the Cosâ is dissolved, all its members shall resign, but any Members holding positions in the Government may remain in those positions till the outcome of the election is resolved."

Since the VoC failed, the following applies: Article XIII Section 6"Vote of Confidence. The Clark must contain, in every edition, a Vote of Confidence. This reads as follows: "Do you wish the current Government to continue in its term of office?" Each MC must answer this question in his Clark ballot every month, either with a "yes" or a "no." If at the end of any month the "no" vote outnumbers the "yes" vote, the King shall dissolve the Cosâ and call new elections."

Article IV Section 3 of OrgLaw SPECIFICALLY states "Each time the Cosa shall be dissolved, there shall be an election for one-third of the total Senate seats (rounded to the nearest whole number)."

The king SHALL dissolve the Cosa and a senatorial election is called once the Cosa is dissolved. This has not happened yet. This is a major problem. King John, where is the Writ of Dissolution?

[C. Carlüs Xheraltescù]

I guess we'll just have to keep running the show until His Majesty ceases to *ABDICATE* his responsibilities. See what I did there?

But seriously, we can't have an election until this is done officially. It seems to me as though it's becoming increasingly obvious that activity from the crown is linked quite closely to political convenience of the crown itself. I don't blame King John, I think it's only natural, but I think this is one of the reasons why I don't think that having a bloke (no matter how lovely) on the throne is necessarily a good idea.

[Miestrâ Schivâ, UrN]

The real shitty thing is not that King John doesn't do his job. He does it only when it is politically convenient, for him or for his RUMP buddies.

Veto PDs? Check.
Pull a power out of his ciúl to override a harmless OrgLaw amendment as a "shot across the bows"? Check.
Make a real King's Speech, rather than a self-justifying sneer at democracy? Dissolve the Cosâ after a freakin' no-confidence vote, which his RUMP buddies were laughing in celebration over? Er...

A Head of State who selectively does his duties when it benefits him or one political party is worse than no King at all. I like the A-word more and more. Is Patrick up to it?

[Antaglha Xhenerös Somelieir]

Ok, I have been absent from Talossa for along time (and plan to be away for a while longer yet due to still getting used to uni etc) and it seems like the monarchy has taken the form of the chancellor in the star wars films, and this whole squabble between those for and against the monarchy (in loose terms) is awful, especially those who are in favour of the monarchs actions, as far as I can tell, is laughing at the concept of democracy, and the reactions of those who protect the monarch in his actions reminds me of a quote from star wars "This is how democracy dies, with thunderous applause" as that's what seems to be happening with the status quo, the king seems to be seeking to turn the country in on itself and increase his own sphere of influence, citing tradition as his reason. Tradition is some forms are useful and helpful yes, but not when tradition is used to defend the actions of a man who is going against the will of the people, and democracy he is supposed to be upholding, personally I do generally support the concept of a monarchy, however I strongly disagree with the concept that the monarch ANY political power, and should be completely apolitical. Which is not happening in Talossa so far. And I believe if the king is not performing his duties and defies the will of his people and his government then that is the time to rethink the role of the monarchy in Talossa. As if we continue to support a monarch who defies his people then the country is effectively supporting the loss of their rights and a dictatorship shall be born.

[Marti-Pair Furxheir S.H.]

Jan 1, 2016 18:21:44 GMT -6 Dr. Txec dal Nordselvă said:

Jan 1, 2016 16:45:38 GMT -6 Renalt da Fhamul said:

...but he [King John] still does his job... 

However, the king is not doing his job. He has not yet dissolved the 48th Cosa as he is required to do. He has not assented or vetoed the bills from the final clark. The king has only a few things to do and he quite often does not do them. If this were the United Kingdom and Elizabeth II didn't check her red boxes for a month, didn't open parliament or summon a new prime minister, the wheels of government would grind to a halt.

Our government has not ground to a halt because we have grown used to the king not doing his job. That needs to change. That needs to change now. Either the king changes and gets more involved in his kingdom, or the people will find a way to change instead.

EDIT: Looking back through Witt, I see the king has not assented to ANY Clark for a long time.

Two things:

1 ) I cannot run an election until the Cosa is Dissolved.

2 ) All elections to the Cosa are to be conducted during a period beginning from the fifteenth day of the calendar month following the dissolution of the prior Cosa until 7:30 p.m. on the first day of the subsequent month. The first day of this period (the fifteenth) is called the "Balloting Day" and the final day is called the "Election Deadline."

In theory, this means that if the King were to do his job TODAY, the election would start on the 15th of February.

This is a major problem.

In case you guys think this is just me over-reacting, here is the Writ of Dissolution for the previous Cosa (47th), done on April 28, in time for the May 15th Election.

talossa.proboards.com/threads/recent/10610


This is the writ of Dissolution for the 46th Cosa, made in July 22nd


talossa.proboards.com/threads/recent/9851

This is the writ of Dissolution for the 45th Cosa, made on November 30th:


talossa.proboards.com/thread/9079/writ-dissolution-45th-cosa

This is the writ of Dissolution for the 44th Cosa, made on February 28th:

talossa.proboards.com/thread/8128/writ-dissolution-44th-cosa


This is the writ of Dissolution, for the 43th Cosa, posted on June 1st, but it was signed on the 31st of May, posting the next day is forgivable. 

talossa.proboards.com/thread/6663/writ-dissolution-43rd-cosa

This is thr Writ of Dissolution for the 42nd Cosa, posted on August 24, 2011:

talossa.proboards.com/thread/5740/writ-dissolution-42nd-cosa

In fact, we have to go back to the 41st Cosa to see a Writ late (by only 13 hours) , as it was made on the 1st Day of December 2010, signed on the 1st Day of December:

talossa.proboards.com/thread/5297/writ-dissolution-41st-cosa

The 40th Cosa was on time however, on February 28th 2010:

talossa.proboards.com/thread/4915/writ-dissolution-40th-cosa

The 39th Cosa was on time, May 26th, 2009:

talossa.proboards.com/thread/4320/writ-dissolution-39th-cosa

The 38th Cosa was quite early! August 21st 2008:

talossa.proboards.com/thread/3598/writ-dissolution-38th-cosa

The 37th Cosa was dissolved even earlier: the 20th of November 2007, before the Clark was done.

talossa.proboards.com/thread/1693/writ-dissolution-37th-cos-acirc

And as far as I know, this was the first Cosa he served as King.

I contend that so far, only 1 Writ of Dissolution was written late (the 41st), by 13 hours and that this shouldn't have gone by.

I think that the conclusion is clear: the election will occur in February, as I do not have the Writ in my hands at this point, and I do not see a precedent to let me continue that long.

Further, I would like to add that while I do not have the documentation ready, in my first 3 years and a half a SoS, the Writ of Dissolution was also never late under King Robert I.

[Dr. Txec dal Nordselvă]

You are correct MPF. It is too late to call for an election in January as today is January 2, 2015 and that leaves only 13 days. OrgLaw leaves no legal mechanism to prevent this situation.

[Ian Plätschisch]

Jan 2, 2016 8:25:24 GMT -6 Dr. Txec dal Nordselvă said:

You are correct MPF. It is too late to call for an election in January as today is January 2, 2015 and that leaves only 13 days. OrgLaw leaves no legal mechanism to prevent this situation.

The law is clear, but this is disgusting

[Dr. Txec dal Nordselvă]

Under the law, the current government remains in office until a new Seneschal is appointed by the King. Of course, this can't happen now until sometime in March (depending on how long it takes to confirm the results of the election and how quickly the king can summon party leaders and make a decision.)

[Sir Alexandreu Davinescu]

This is disappointing, indeed.

[Dr. Txec dal Nordselvă]

Jan 2, 2016 8:59:27 GMT -6 Sir Alexandreu Davinescu said:

This is disappointing, indeed.

It is indeed disappointing that the king seems to be missing in action. It would have taken him something on the order of five minutes (or less) to issue the writ and I'm sure sometime in the past ten days or so, he could have found those precious five minutes. He did take time to veto a PD, though. 

[Sir Alexandreu Davinescu]

I assume he just forgot. I didn't remind him until after I saw it brought up here, and maybe no one did. Not that this is an excuse. Disappointing.

[Dr. Txec dal Nordselvă]

Jan 2, 2016 9:22:58 GMT -6 Sir Alexandreu Davinescu said:

I assume he just forgot. I didn't remind him until after I saw it brought up here, and maybe no one did. Not that this is an excuse. Disappointing.

I emailed him at the end of the clark and got no response. However, it shouldn't be anyone else's job to remind the king. I know life gets busy, but if you such an important role to play, with lots of "perks" no one else has, you should at least log in once a week to check up on your kingdom. The "recent threads" option is quite handy!

[Sir Alexandreu Davinescu]

I agree. There really isn't any excuse.