Based on his debate performance, it’s easy to see that Delegate Damien Vendorme, Laeralian People’s Party candidate for President, was once a star attorney. He has the voice and cadence of a preacher, rising to emphasize a crucial point or his righteous anger. Indeed, Delegate Vendorme credits his rhetorical style to his education at a private Catholic high school in Therese province. As a young law student at the University of Laeralsford, Vendorme became a star debater, leading the University to first place at the Laeralian Debating Championships. As a lawyer for the Therese-based firm Wu & Qiu, where he worked for almost a decade, he rose to prominence as a prosecution attorney in a case alleging that the city of Jinyu was guilty of nepotism in awarding government contracts. Following his victory in the case, he was named Chief Prosecutor for the municipality of Jinyu, and later the province of Therese. As Chief Prosecutor for Therese province, he argued before the Federal High Court in the 1995 case Fontaine v. Therese, in which he argued that federal law should not override a provincial law allowing businesses to refuse to hire homosexual workers. This case, which he won, gave him prominence on the nationwide stage. After being replaced by the new First Minister in 1997, Vendorme ran for Mayor of Jinyu, which he was elected to the following year.
As mayor, he oversaw a period of economic growth in the city, as well as adopting a harsh anti-crime policy which his supporters credit with reducing violent crime rates by 18% in two years. After two terms as Mayor, he was given a position on the Laeralian People’s Party (LPP) list for the Assembly of Commons, which he was elected to in 2004. Representative Vendorme’s confrontational style, which included forcing roll call votes on procedural matters and bringing the wife of a slain police officer with him during an Assembly of Commons debate over a crime bill made him popular among the conservative base, but he often butted heads with LPP leaders, who denied him a place in the cabinet during the period of LPP governance from 2006 to 2010. In 2010, Vendorme announced his intention to run for the General Assembly as a delegate from Therese province. Vendorme won handily and became the senior delegate from that province, and was reelected in 2016. In 2018, he was selected as the Laeralian People’s Party candidate for president following a bruising primary fight with party moderates.
Delegate Vendorme, let’s start out by discussing your approach to campaigning, which many have observed is radically different from that of previous LPP candidates in it’s tone and focus. Why is that?
“Well, I think that what’s leading a lot of Laeralites to really listen to and understand what we in the People’s Party are saying is that we’re focused on ordinary Laeralites. Not ivory-towered elites or the people in the Riverlands cities, but everyone. I firmly believe that we are the only group of people that see the problems that the forgotten Laeralites- those people that most politicians are perfectly willing to ignore- that those people face, and the only party that is dedicating itself to destroying those problems. And that’s really striking a chord with voters, and that’s what’s causing this incredible awakening of ordinary Laeralites.”
Some politicians have said that your proposed religious policies are contrary to Laeralian values of secularism, especially your proposal to allow provinces to allocate school funding to religious schools. How do you respond to that?
“First of all, let me just say that I’m as committed as anyone else to Article 4* of the Constitution. But what I feel is that in some cases, the government goes too far the other way, in promoting policies that actually penalize people of faith. Think of the burqa ban we saw proposed in some municipalities last year, or how churches, temples, mosques, all the places of worship are taxed and in many cases treated as just another source of revenue for politicians to dip into whenever their coffers run low. All that I’m trying to do is reassure people of faith that a People’s Party government will understand them, and protect the rights of people of faith.”
What specific policies would you put in place to achieve that goal?
“As I’ve said, I would like to put more protections in place for our places of worship and our religious organizations so that they don’t receive undue burdens from the taxman, and so they can continue their charitable works unhindered. What’s more, I believe that many of the limitations placed on religious groups, such as the laws prohibiting school uniforms even at religious schools, anti-proselytization laws, all of those place an undue and possible illegal burden on people of faith, and may even violate their freedom of expression. At the end of the day, there just needs to be a level playing field for people of faith and unbelievers alike.”
*The article of the Laeralian constitution that defines Laeral as a “secular state”
Delegate Vendorme, you broke with some members of your party in supporting entering the war in Lauchenoiria. What can you tell us about your decision to do so, and how does this relate to your overall foreign policy?
“That decision was, first of all, very difficult for me to make, because I knew that it would put our brave men and women in harm’s way. But as Laeralites, it is our duty to protect democracy where we can, while bearing in mind the terrible cost of defending it. I believe that this crisis demonstrates how much Laeral needs a stronger military, and also the great lengths rogue states such as Kerlile and Gonhog will go to in order to threaten Laeralian freedom and democracy.
As for my overall views on foreign policy- what is there to say? I believe in a strong Laeral, respected throughout East Hespia. As a nation, we can no longer let ourselves be held in the neo-colonialist position held in the palm of Sanctaria and humiliated by Separatist Peoples.”
If you were in President Brennan’s shoes, would you have signed the Haven Peace Accords ending the Second Lauchenoirian Civil War?
“I’m a reasonable man. And much like President Brennan, I understand that we can’t do anything against Sanctaria yet. They hold far too much of our debt, courtesy of previous spendthrift governments. I understand that Laeral had little choice but to sign the Accords. But unlike Brennan, I don’t need to like it. The People’s Party believes that Laeral is best served by forging our own path in the world, free of anyone’s influence. And so as President, I pledge to you that I will free us from the neo-imperialism of Sanctaria and the World Assembly, and together, we will make a stronger Laeral."
Therese province, located along the Beuvron River, was considered a Conservative stronghold for decades. With a majority Arrivée*, largely rural population, Therese province’s governorship and bicameral parliament consistently stayed in Conservative hands, with occasional periods of coalition with the Progressives or the now-defunct Moderate Party. Since the 1990s, however, technology and service jobs began to flood into the capital city of Jinyu, which became the second-fastest growing city in the country in 1997. With the addition of charismatic leaders on the provincial level such as Damien Vendorme, the Laeralian People’s Party began to compete with the Conservatives for right-wing voters. Therese province’s Governor David is from the LPP. Therese’s provincial legislature is bicameral, which is unusual among Laeralian provincial governments. The legislature consists of the 20-member Provincial Council and the 40-member Provincial Assembly. The former is elected indirectly by the Departmental Council of the province’s four départments and the Municipal Council of Jinyu Municipality. Due to People’s Party control of the majority of local governments in the province, the Provincial Council is currently governed by the LPP with a near-unsurmountable four-seat majority. The Provincial Assembly, meanwhile, is elected using multi-member constituencies which correspond to the departmental and municipality borders. At present, the LPP and the Progressives are in a ‘grand coalition’ to govern the province.
In 2018, Theresian voters are expected to turn out in droves for the LPP’s Damien Vendorme, who remains popular in the province as a long-time Delegate. With no provincial offices up for election, most major parties have generally ignored the province, choosing to concentrate their efforts on other provinces.
*White Laeralians
The first round of the Presidential election, as well as elections for the General Assembly and many local offices, is now only one week away.
Latest Polling, fromLe Laeralien
Delegate Damien Vendorme: 28% (+0)
Governor Liu Mei-han: 19% (-1)
Prime Minister Tanvi Misra: 16% (-1)
Delegate Bernard Errante: 11% (+1)
Representative Jean-Pierre Nury: 9% (-2)
Representative Hsieh Pai-han: 8% (+1)
Undecided/Other: 8%
Campaign News Update
Le Laeralien: Vendorme: ‘33 Provinces’ Cut Out My Best Remarks
La Sentinelle: ‘How Did We Get Here?’: Socialists Shocked at Nury’s Poor Poll Numbers
Le Pays: Brennan Holds Off On Campaigning for Misra
Les Couloirs: New LPP Messaging Bashes Misra As “Dishonest”, Liu As “Naive”
Del. Damien Vendorme (@damien_vendorme_english)
Just now from Jinyu, Therese
I see that the “33 Provinces In 33 Days” crew gave me less time to talk, and edited my remarks more heavily, than those of @MisraCampaignFrançais. It’s almost as if they’re afraid of letting my entire message be heard. Their slanted questions are just a symptom of how virtually all of the media has a pro-establishment bias, to say nothing of how the media has treated their darling, @LiuMei-han. I wonder how much of a puff piece they’ll give her in her interview…
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