New ZRT Secretary-Convenor

The Zefençadéirs del Repúblicanismeu Talossán has chosen Dr. Txec dal Nordselvă as the new Secretary-Convenor of the caucus. As secretary-convener, Dr. dal Nordselvă is responsible for maintaining a roll of members, presenting updates to the constitution for a vote, and overseeing general meetings of the membership.

The Republicans have our own forum...

... as part of the Free Democrats forum.

Talossa's first republican speaks!

"I think it would be great if Talossa could finally become a true Republic. It would confirm Talossa's reality as an evolving political entity, as something more ambitious than a role-playing game. Well, that's not entirely fair: Talossa is more than that already. But I think becoming a Republic would somehow prove the robustness of Talossa, would show it's adaptability, it's futurity. (Or something like that.)"

- Count Danihél Lauriér, Talossan Citizen #2, former Seneschál, 29/10/XXXVI-2015

CONSTITUTION of the Defenders of Talossan Republicanism

LA CONSTITUZIUN dels Zefençadéirs del Repúblicanismeu Talossán

as adopted by the 4rd Convention of the refounded ZRT, Maricopa Province, Setemvár XXXVI/2015

1. Els Zefençadéirs del Repúblicanismeu Talossán (ZRT), or in English, "the Defenders of Talossan Republicanism", is a group of citizens of the Kingdom of Talossa who support an eventual Republican form of government for Talossa, with an elected head of state. As transitional steps towards this goal, the ZRT supports political and cultural reforms for greater democracy in Talossa and the reduction of the King's influence. The ZRT promotes discussion and activity towards these goals.

2. A Member of the ZRT is anyone who agrees with section 1 of the Constitution above, registers as such with the Secretary-Convenor and agrees to abide by the Constitution of the ZRT. The Secretary-Convenor may suspend Members until the next Convention, on presentation of evidence of their no longer fulfilling the above requirements.

3. Nothing in this Constitution shall abridge the right of all Members to publicly and privately organise and agitate for changes to the Constitution, policies or leadership of the ZRT, given that such organisation does not otherwise violate the Constitution.

4. The ZRT supports the Free Democrats of Talossa political party, and encourages all Members to join, become active for and vote for that political party. However, all Talossans who fulfil the provisions of section 2 of this Constitution are eligible to be Members, regardless of their political affiliation.

5. The ruling body of the ZRT is the General Meeting. The general meeting shall be called together at least once in every calendar year. It may be called by the Secretary-Convenor or by a petition of at least one-third of group members. The General Meeting shall be composed of all ZRT members and any non-voting guests as the Secretary-Convenor chooses to invite, and shall be chaired by the outgoing Secretary-Convenor.

6. The General Meeting may amend this Constitution by simple majority vote. It may expel members from the ZRT on a 2/3 majority on presentation of evidence of violation of their obligations under this Constitution, or of their ceasing to qualify as Members under the provisions of section 1 of this Constitution, effective as of the end of the Convention.

7. The Convention shall elect a Secretary-Convenor by preferential vote, choosing a non-candidate in the election to administer this vote.

8. The job of the Secretary-Convenor shall be as follows:

1. a) S/he shall be in charge of organisation of the ZRT. S/he shall keep a roll of current members and administer the group's publications and discussion forums.
2. b) S/he shall organise discussions within the ZRT, including on changes to this Constitution or other documents adopted by the group.
3. c) If necessary, s/he shall present reports for debate, amendment and ratification by the membership to the General Meeting.

ZRT joins FREE DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE with Liberal Congress

The Constitution of the Free Democratic Alliance

1. The designated name of the electoral alliance between the Liberal
Congress and the ZRT shall be the Free Democratic Alliance.

2. The purpose of the Alliance shall be to advance common goals between
the parties, especially an emphasis on issues of liberty and democracy.

3. The logo of the Free Democrats shall be as follows:

4. The constituent parties are still entitled to write and design on policy
affecting their own political party, however policy pertaining to the Alliance
must be agreed on by a committee of two members from each constituent
party.

5. This committee shall be known as the Executive Committee, and shall be
composed of the leaders of both parties in addition to one member selected
from each party.

6. The running of the election campaign for the 48 th Cosa shall be delegated
to the Executive Committee of this Alliance on the basis of an agreed
manifesto. The Executive will also have the final say on which policies
submitted by each party are to be adopted as Alliance policy.

7. Within three months of the General Election, the Executive Committee
will be tasked with submitting to both parties a proposal of merger or
dissolution. The outcome of which will determine whether the Alliance
shall dissolve and both parties formally merge, or go back to being two
parties unconstrained by an electoral Alliance to the 49 th Cosa. A formal
split will not take effect until the dissolution of the 48 th Cosa.

MANIFESTO OF THE FREE DEMOCRATS

Competence:

The FREE DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE formed by the Liberal Congress and the ZRT will strive to optimise governmental competence. All representatives of the Alliance in the government will perform their administrative duties in a
timely and efficient manner. They will be granted positions based on dignity and merit, and will be held accountable for their words and actions (in merit or scrutiny).

Constitutional Reform:

We aim to reorganize and rewrite the Organic Law. It should be simplified only to reflect the outline of our government's duties. Any other law passed not in complete accordance with the basic outline of our government's functions shall be classified under the country's Statutes.

Free Democrats will fight for the adoption of a privacy law for information used on private and public sites relating to Talossa.

Our judicial system is also far too complicated to be truly accessible. As such, we support a reformed judicial system for simple disputes.

 

The Monarchy and the Royal Household:

The Free Democrats strictly adhere to the principle of constitutional agnosticism on the issue of the monarchy, and therefore take no official position on it. However, the Alliance aims to remove the ties between the Head of State and the private ownership of Talossa's governmental infrastructure.

The Free Democrats push for the offices of the Royal Household to be limited to the Royal College of Arms, the National Archives, and the Civil Service. The University of Talossa will be regionalized and regulated under the discretion of each provincial government as part of a liberal commitment to decentralised government.

The Ziu:

The Free Democratic Alliance aims to reduce the number of seats in the Cosâ so that it serves its purpose as a chamber of representative, not direct, democracy – where we can begin to build an electoral system which looks to encourage competition of ideas in our political marketplace.
The Alliance will also agitate to balance the representation of provinces by reform of the Senate chamber.
Free Democratic Members of the Cosa will also push for a truly secret option when casting your vote, so that you can cast it without four citizens (one of whom could be a party leader) knowing how you voted.
 

Cabinet:

Ministry of Stuff:

The Alliance aims to improve Talossa’s web presence. We will establish policies that will promote the kingdom more effectively to the world population.
The Alliance is in support of authorised "ambassadors” to various social media sites, forums, and the likes. They will act as conduits of the kingdom's interests and will be ready to answer, in an official capacity, any questions about Talossa, its history, the citizenship process, and so on.

Ministry of Culture:

The Alliance will encourage the Ministry of Culture to continue working with the Ladîntsch Naziunál to create a strategy to teach every Talossan the basics of the national language, or at least “aliquand mocts” (a few words) they can use in daily life.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

The Alliance supports the repeal of the Semi-Permeable Wall Act and will take a ‘Live and Let Live’ attitude to other micronations and Talossa-like entities. We will engage in courteous dialogue with representatives of other micronations and Talossa-like entities (as opposed to isolationism) on a case by case basis.

 

Federalism:

Free Democrats will aim to revitalise the provincial governments of Talossa.
Provincial representatives of the Alliance will strive to resuscitate and increase provincial activity, and national representatives of the Alliance will strive to pass relevant legislation that will complement the Free Democratic goal of increasing provincial activity.

Börnatfiglheu verdict: a triumph for justice

The ZRT welcomes the verdict of the Magistrate's Court in the case of People v. Eiríc S. Börnatfiglheu as a victory - nay, a quantum leap - for justice in Talossa.

Erik - for so I still think of him - was a trustworthy citizen of the Talossan Republic, twice Seneschál, and - at one time - an active leader in both the ZRT and the Peculiarist movement in the reunited Kingdom. However, I was aware of his ongoing health problems throughout this time, which occasionally led him to erratic and bizarre behaviour. For this reason, when it came to light that he had in fact forged 18 sock-puppet citizens and artificially inflated the ZRT vote in the 45th Cosâ elections thereby, I was shocked, angry, ashamed... but not really surprised, if you get what I mean.

The victory for justice in the Magistrate's Cort ruling is two-fold. Firstly, the penalty against Erik for truly epic levels of immigration and electoral fraud - more than 15 years civil disability, a fine in cold hard capitalist dollars, and 500 hours community work, with banishment suspended pending successful completion of the above. We may quibble about precise numbers, but let us be clear - we now have a precedent in Talossa that there are ways of punishing wrongdoers other than expulsion.

To do otherwise - to simply declare that a "bad guy" just gets his citizenship withdrawn - is what a voluntary society, like the Rotary Club, would do. It is an impermissible breach of the wall between executive and judicial action. It is what King Robert I used to do - run his political enemies out of Talossa, occasionally by trumped-up Cort charges. It is what a political leadership which acts like a boy's club, and which thinks of Talossa as a boy's club, would do. But it is not appropriate for a nation among the nations of the world.

The second victory is the Cort's injunction against the initial recognition of Eiríc's renunciation of citizenship, on the crucial grounds that this was not made publically by the citizen himself. Hopefully this will stand up on any appeal that will be made. The real issue here is not whether Eiríc was or was not "under duress" from our Head of State at the time he communicated his wish to renounce. (I personally am sure that Erik did intend to renounce at the time he told the King so.) It is that Erik did not make the public statement himself, as required by law.

It is also that the Head of State - as is confirmed by the "Talossaleaks" materials - acted as he did with the express intention of avoiding an ugly, drawn-out Cort case. Our King, in this case, used his concurrent powers as Wittenberg admin to take a "short cut" - to get Eiríc to renounce his citizenship to save us all a lot of bother - in what he saw as the immediate interests of the country. This was the same sort of short cut which Count Hooligan - according, again, to the "Talossaleaks" material - took to enable Timoþi Asmorescu to get out of recusing himself from judgement in a case where he was the investigator. We hope to see that trial go to court very soon, so that another mighty blow for Talossan justice can be made.

The political point to be gained by this is that it is dangerous for those in authority to take "legal short cuts" in order to "save" the country, or "save" us from legal technicalities. It reminds me of the scene in LA Confidential where Dudley Smith challenges Ed Exley to forge evidence to convict a known criminal. You can't do that without shooting large holes through the fabric of the rule of law.

The question of whether the Head of State should have "emergency powers" is a much wider political one. But the ZRT's political point here is that in the investigation of the ESB, the King and the governing party of the time took impermissible short-cuts; firstly, because of the dangerous double role of Head of State and Wittenberg Admin; second, because of a culture of legal impunity. Richard Nixon told David Frost that "it's not illegal if the President does it". We fear there is an ideology among many long-term leaders of Talossa that it's not illegal if the King, or the sworn defenders of the King, do it.

We stand for power in Talossa to be held only by democratically accountable authorities, either elected or responsible to elected officials. We stand for the separation of Witt Admin and political leadership. We stand for a judiciary which does its job, as Magistrate Nordselvâ has done here. And we hope to see our old friend Eiríc Börnatfiglheu resume his (non-political) life as a citizen, pay his debt to society, and earn the right to be trusted by his fellow citizens again.

Miestrâ Schivâ
ZRT co-founder and leader

ZRT Manifesto for 47th Cosâ Election

MANIFESTO OF THE ZRT
(Defenders of Talossan Republicanism)

for the 47th Cosâ Elections

FOREWORD

After just over six months of government, election season has come to Talossa... a mite early.

The ZRT was overjoyed to be asked to help form the first non-RUMP government in something like seven years in Talossa. It was a sign (we thought) that the old Kingdom vs Republic binary had broken down, and Talossans were now making political decisions based on the merits of the parties. We happily took a secondary role behind our monarchist allies, the Moderate Radicals, and set out to prove ourselves as fair administrators and level-headed political leaders, rather than the hot-headed barricade-stormers of our opponents' fevered imaginings.

Now we come before you, the voters, to give us a chance to take the next step – the step to lead a government, by becoming the largest party in the Cosâ, or at least the largest in a governing coalition. We are not deciding in advance whom we will ally with. We exclude none of the other parties running in this election.

But only on two conditions. Firstly, we need the right policies. The Defenders of Talossan Republicanism have proved we can compromise, and have patience, but we will not sell out on our basic principles of democratisation, the pre-eminence of the elected government, and of a cultural renewal of Talossa. And the second is, we need the right administration. If there is an area in which the previous Coalition Government can be rightfully criticised, it is of a certain lack of leadership and a few balls dropped in administrative areas. The ZRT campaigns first and foremost this time on making sure that does not happen again – that the next Seneschál will be present, active, and show leadership.

The recent drama with leaked documents only shows why Talossa needs the ZRT in government. These documents will soon be tested in Cort. Nevertheless, they seem to show an intense suspicion of and bias against the citizens who joined this Kingdom through Reunision; non-elected Government officials who consider themselves “above the law” (and definitely above Government oversight); and a Monarchy which nods its head at this. The ZRT believes that the elected government must definitely assert authority over the bureaucracy. More controversially, we also believe that the Monarchy must be “cut down to size”. At least, it should be separated from Wittenberg administration.

The ZRT therefore pledges itself to democracy in action. We wager that Talossa is not ready to return to the slow, slothful and stultifying days of RUMP majority government. And we wager that a vast majority know that the defenders of Talossan republicanism and democracy are an essential and welcome part of our nation's politics. Give us a go behind the steering wheelof State. Love us or hate us, you know we get things done.

Miestrâ A. Istefaneascâ Schivâ

ZRT Leader

 

0. FIFTY-WORD STATEMENT

We've had a term in government; now we want to lead it. The ZRT promises an active Seneschál who gets things done; our national websites, including Wittenberg, under democratic control; more use of el glheþ; and working for Constitutional reform with other democratic parties. Vote ZRT for Democracy in Action!

1. ACTION

A ZRT-led government will be an activist government. All administrative duties of the Seneschál and Ministers will be enacted in a timely and efficient manner. All Ministers will be regularly available for questioning both in the Ziu and by members of the public. All Ministers will actively pursue their oversight function over the Civil Service and the Royal Household.

2. DEMOCRACY

A ZRT-led government shall enact the following democratic reforms:

• The Ministry of Stuff will take effective control of all Talossa's official websites, including the Wiki, and appoint administrators who will be responsible to the Government. We will investigate nationalising Wittenberg (that is, making it part of the official Kingdom websites), or else creating a new “official” Kingdom of Talossa webforum.
• a programme of "slimming down" the OrgLaw, leaving it with only the basics of government - for example, moving electoral law into statute law. We will push with the other democratic parties for a broadly-agreed Constitutional reform, or even a Constitutional Convention, rather than trying to push a ZRT vision of the future.
• judicial reform; the current system is opaque, accessible only to specialists, and delays and therefore denies justice.
• support for a smaller Cosâ, to make elections mean something;
• a compulsory secret ballot and mandatory candidate lists for Cosâ elections;
• a financial report from the government at the end of each Cosa term, to provide a starting point for the next term's budget;

3. DEMONARCHISATION

The ZRT will shift power from the Royal Household to the elected Government and Ziu, including the following reforms:

• The Head of State should not also be the admin of our national forum. This is an impermissible confusion of roles which has enmeshed the Monarchy in political and judicial controversies.
• We aim to eliminate everything but the College of Arms from the Royal Household into the Civil Service. For example, the Chancery will become an independent branch of the State; the Scribery and Archives will come under the elected Government with their own Minister; and the University of Talossa will be devolved to a provincial government.
• We shall enact a popular initiative option to remove an incompetent monarch as well as the current Ziu-based one. We also wish to explore the concept of elective rather than hereditary monarchy, which has been Talossan tradition until recently (cf. Kings Robert II and Florence I.)

4. CULTURE

A ZRT-led government shall take the following cultural initiatives

• The Ministry of Culture will work with the Ladîntsch Naziunál on a strategy to teach every Talossan the basics of the national language, or at least “aliquand mocts” (a few words) they can use in daily life.
• State suppport for a Talossan-language news service.
• Review and discuss revision of the large number of current public holidays / days of observance. Are all of these relevant to modern Talossa? Should we have more?
• The production of attractive plaques which may be awarded to valued institutions and businesses in Talossan history. The last Ziu allocated the budget for it – let's spend it.
• To promote Talossa online, the sponsorship of legislation providing for the appointment of authorised “ambassadors” to various social media sites, forums, and the like who are ready to answer, in an official capacity, any questions about Talossa, its history, the citizenship process, and so on.

5. FOREIGN AFFAIRS

A ZRT-led government will:

• support the "Live and Let Live" attitude to other micronations and Talossa-like entities.
• establish a neutral and informative presence on micronational forums, and encourage the Head of State to do a Reddit AMA.
• set up a new subforum on Wittenberg open to friendly micronationalists to discuss things with Talossans.
• offer Talossa's invincible moral support to all movements for new and unrecognised nations seeking their freedom from currently established United Nations states.
  
  
  

6. FEDERALISM

A ZRT-led government will revitalise the provincial governments of Talossa.

At a federal level, we shall:

• legislate to allow the Ziu to step in to fill provincial offices, according to provincial law, when it is clear that the stipulations of that province's constitution have been neglected.
• legislate that that a single person cannot simultaneously be the head of a provincial government and the Cunstavál of a province.
• amend the Organic Law so that the currently unelected position of Cunstavál is replaced with an elected position of the same nature, who will be appointed by the King following their successful election.

ZRT members of provincial legislatures will:

• support their provinces to shift to a framework of direct democracy.
• agitate to rename provinces with the names of foreign politicians, replacing them with Talossan names instead.
  
  
  

CANDIDATE LIST

Senator from Benito

• Luc da Schir (MRPT candidate)

Senator from Fiôvâ (by-election)

• Miestrâ Schivâ

Senator from Maritiimi-Maxhèstic

• Magniloqeu da Lhiùn (MRPT candidate)

Senator from Vuode

• Eðo Grischün (Progressive candidate)

Members of the Cosa

1. Moritz Fernaodescu
2. Gödafrïeu Válcadác'h
3. Óïn Ursüm
4. Mximo Carbonél
5. D. N. Vercáriâ