Reforming Europeia
by Bowzin
If you've even looked at Europeia recently, you are bound to have seen this word somewhere. If you're even remotely politically involved in the region, you know what it means, and you've probably given your opinion somewhere in the debates. If you haven't heard about the reforms, or maybe you've heard but don't know too much about it, I definitely recommend you keep reading.
The reform debate has been the center of political discussion in the region ever since the most recent elections in September, and has been in talks since before then. Why has reform blown up so much recently? If you look at the elections, it's easy to see. From the Senate, six chairs were chosen, currently filled by Aexnidaral, Kari, Prim, HEM, GraV, and JayDee. Of these seats, Prim, Kari, and HEM are very staunch supporters of reform. The other three senators, Aex, GraV, and JayDee consider themselves moderate reformers, however still supporting the efforts. Likewise, the President, Sopo, also is a supporter of the reform movement. With both the upper legislative and the executive consisting of reformers, it is clear to see how the issue has become so large.
The reform debate has shifted though. Since Writinglegend has setup the Constitutional Convention, and now with HEM leading it, the debate is no longer about whether or not reform will happen, but rather what the reforms will be. Reform has been deemed absolutely necessary by many significant members of the community. Senator Aexnidaral commented on it saying, "I support Reform. I've been in and active in Europeia for long enough to know that the path we're on isn't sustainable." The timeline for the Constitutional Convention is set (although not set in stone), and specific debates are underway. Now, instead, the debate focuses on changes to both the executive branch and the legislative branch particularly.
Starting with the executive, the main proposal on the ground is to split the executive into two offices, one that would handle foreign matters, and one that would handle domestic matters. According to Sen. Aexnidaral, the splitting of the executive branch is of high importance, which is an opinion shared by many of the senators. When talking with Aexnidaral about the executive, he claimed the executive to be "the biggest catalyst for this whole thing." The senator believes that "the devoted necessary timesink to being President is immense" and that this "... is simply unsustainable." By splitting the executive, the President would be relieved of some of their stress and would be able to better complete their tasks without sacrificing real life responsibilities. Just like reform itself is no longer a debate, the executive is following a similar trend, however many citizens still oppose the splitting of these powers, saying it weakens the title of President, among other arguments. However, it is very clear that splitting the executive is receiving a lot of support.
The second part of the reform debates is the legislature. While many of the senators consider this to be of lower importance, it is a much more debated topic, as multiple proposals are receiving support. The main debate is between a unicameral legislature or a bicameral legislature. But within these options, there is further debate. Many people favor abolishing the Senate and leaving just a Citizen's Assembly left, of which any citizen may join, that votes on all legislature. Others do not trust this power being entrusted to the population. Senator HEM brought up a proposal of his own, involving a "self-electing" senate. In his proposal, he claims the senate is inactive with little to do. His proposition to change this is by allowing the senate to elect its new members instead of the people. Some people prefer to keep the legislature the same, bicameral with a Senate and a Citizen's Assembly. Other topics have made it into discussion, such as Senator Kari and Senator Prim's proposal, which was originally proposed in the Senate and moved to the Constitutional Convention in order to allow more discussion on the topic, has little to do with the structure of the legislature, but rather would create two new positions called "Junior Senators" which would be able to speak in the Senate but not vote, allowing more people to get involved and leading more citizens into the legislative process.
Regardless of your opinion on any of the reform matters, it is clear to see that reform as a whole is very important to the region, and the results of the debate are equally important to those involved. With so much at stake, it is natural for those partaking the debate to become very passionate. Such is the case in our great Republic, with Senators, Ministers, and citizens alike all getting in on the action, tensions have grown increasingly high. Sen. Aexnidaral spoke on this matter saying, "there's been a lot of acrimony recently around the reforms", continuing on by saying "People need to put their dicks back in their pants, stop thinking about their ambitions and their political futures, and do what's right to ensure we'll be able to be on a long lasting path to prosperity." Sen. Aexnidaral has a very good point here, and without naming anybody to avoid further conflict, I think it is important for all Europeians, whether you hold a position in government or not, to get along and focus on the betterment of the region. Of course, you don't need to agree on every point, in fact that would be counter productive, but personal attacks and blatant disrespect are equally counter productive. At the end of the day, a decision will be made, and a better Europeia will result because of it.
To end this off, I'd like to say a few things. First off, by no means did I cover all the intricate aspects of the reform debates. This article is nothing but a general overview of the issues, and if you plan on getting involved in the debates, I recommend you check out the Constitutional Convention board and reading through all the different proposals. As a final author's note, this is my first piece for the EBC since joining the Ministry of Communication. Feel free to criticize, ridicule, or compliment anything I have written. After all, self improvement can only come from the minds of others. With that said, I thoroughly enjoyed researching, interviewing, and writing this article and I do intend on writing more. I may be new to the region but I plan on leaving my mark and making a name for myself.
Until next time, Europeia
-Zunden, a Nation of Bowzin
