Live Blog: FedElec19 W3
Author: Anaren Political Editor Arden Karandi
Welcome to Anaren's weekly federal election blog, which sums up the week's political news for this week. Here's what happened this week, with the oldest posts at the top:
Indecision in Norlands
Between the past election and now, Norlandic politics has become a lot less clear. Following what is essentially the collapse of the APC, whom Norlanders broadly supportd, they now have the choice between the Indenats whose immigration and cultural policies don’t sit well with the electorate, a new and relatively unproven Ahnited party, the STP which has rarely gotten more than two seats in the election, or ACEGAD who have fielded a very popular figure in Norlands to be the country’s PM if they win. Regardless, many voters will likely have to adjust their voting behaviours following all the changes we have seen over the past two years.15 June 2019 1:42pm
The division around a mine
The division of Ashven in regional Dallama, similarly to Rathane’s Elwin, has a very core issue which the constituency attach significant weight to their vote on. Unemployment in rural Dallama is higher than in many other parts of the country and it could certainly be considered as one of the region’s most negatively impacted by the shift in the economy away from mining and agriculture. The Arenden mine remains a highly controversial issue in the nation yet there is very much clarity in the immediate locales of the mine of their overwhelming support. However, approval of this new coal mine could be disastorous for a party at a federal level, especially for ACEGAD or the STP whose voters tend to be active environmentalists. Kenzai’s ACEGAD has had the position of supporting it if it has ‘a strong economic and scientific case for it’ whilst the STP has not commented on the issue specifically. Ahnited is also undecided but the Indenats have announced their support for it.16 June 2019 2:32pm
ACEGAD taking risks in marginal Hale
Hale, centred on the city of Watarah, is held by APC candidate Jake Allaren by a margin of 1.3% making it one of the more marginal seats in Ainslie and the second most marginal in Burnett. Yet ACEGAD don’t seem to be fazed with the potential that the seat could swing away from them more, potentially towards the Ahnited party. They have parachuted in Olivia Hughes who moved from Southern Wesland about a year ago. She has been relentlessly campaigning since the elction was announced three weeks ago with polling typing the seat to be close, with bizarre preference deals in the division offsetting ACEGAD’s high primary vote.16 June 2019 4:16pm
Will religion influence this election?
With Ainslie being overwhelmingly Whindist, the assumption would be that many elections are won and lost on the basis of religion. The reality is that this election is likely to be the closest a religious party, or one with a sizeable religious faction, has been to being a real threat to secular parties in over half a century. Yet the elements of this party are not Whindist and that’s an important point to note - they are moreso Baptist and Catholic in nature. So that begs the question, Why isn’t Whindism represented? Well, whindism, whether you see it as such or not, is weaved into the cultural fabric of Ainslie - there’s no need to have a party when Whindist values are almost equivalent to Ahnslen values and vice versa. To that end, yes - religion will be an influence this election - just like it has every other election yet not in the conventional way we would see it. With Ahnited’s Christian Democrats noticeably quiet, this influence will likely remain somewhat covert in nature.18 June 2019 10:12am
On the ACEGAD campaign launch…
In the face of threats from bothsides of the political spectrum, the ruling centrist party had its campaign launch today. For the first time in ACEGAD’s history, the gathering was located in Norlands, away from the typical voter base for the party. Party faithful still turned out in droves and its leadership made very well known the achievements and stability the nation has had under ACEGAD rule, glossing over some of the extreme measures that the Government has taken. Former leaders were wheeled out for appearances and speeches, most notably Archer Conder, who has been referred to as the most talented economic leader in modern Ahnslen history, and Lachlan Stratten who holds a similar legacy. A notable absence was Eleanor Renten, the PM before Kenzai and a personal friend of his.
The optics looked good for ACEGAD - they, much like the other parties, have adjusted their branding this election and the launch event couldn’t be more obvious about that fact. They clearly want to rebrand themselves as the party that serves both Arborai and Arnton. However in order to do this, they will have to rewrite a lot of westerners’ memories for the change in rhetoric to have any electoral effect west of the tablelands.21 June 2019 12:31pm
Note: Did you know media such as Arendai are partially funded by the government? Although legislation prevents Arendai from being manipulated by the Government, there is still every possibility that this goodwill could change at short notice - without Ahnslens knowing. This is why independent media is so important. Here at Anaren we are committed to independent journalism, ensuring that Ahnslens get exactly what they expect - critical, intellectual analysis on issues that matter to them and on news that surrounds them. To support us, you can leave a donation - an act to support free and independent media such as Anaren.
Your support will go a long way.
With thanks,
- Brayden Anaren, Founder of Anaren Media.