Zaras wrote:Iris laughed. "You're so generous, your highness!", she said, masking sarcasm with innocence. "I'll have to decline though, seeing as how I'm already in government again."
Queralt, never the biggest fan of the Democratic Socialists, suppressed her urge to blurt out Does minister without portfolio really count as being "in government"?. Hannes took up the slack instead by saying, "Sir, I don't know who'd accept a demotion from cabinet member to Jhernan Erzed1, and I'm pretty sure we'd get roasted if it sounds like we're trying to throw Iris under a bus."
"Mum's more or less like a third rail of Zaras politics.", Sarah deadpanned. Iris chuckled in response, but on a level she did enjoy the ego-stroking.
"Regardless, we're debating a united legislature here, not Iris' political status.", Muhammad said, rushing to move the conversation along. "Say we have 500 constituencies. That means we'll need 250 of those seats to use a much smaller math, say, one representative for every 1.000 people or less, to account for Montogranda's population, whereas with us it'd be more like 1 representative per 5.000, or higher. I couldn't help but think though, maybe it'd be fairer if we let Montogranda have single member, first past the post constituencies, and we'll use the STV multiple-member ones, to get around the population issue?"
1. Zaran equivalent of Walter Cronkite.
"Yeah, lets go with your solution," Jozef II said. "It is just here, in Montogranda, in five years, she would be retired, and that would mean you will need to have a leadership convention to function. She might get a pension in pacos, but it would be so unpopular we'd give her a position as Grand Duchess of Antauen (Antaŭen) with a role as Chair of Elections Montogranda. But, back to the subject: the merger, I think we should adopt the lira, but allow regional specific sides, meaning Montograndese coins can display the Prince on the national side, per se, and something else on the common side."