Svobodna Dnevnik

[Hadash]

Macharaviayaische Zeitung

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Mordvania: President Serebryak calls for unity before decisive election
By: Elena Manstein
Published: Tolven 18, 1587


Zvezdana Serebryak, President of the Republic of Mordvania, during her speech.

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The first congress of the left-wing Lavika Movement gathered last weekend in Seznica, Republic of Mordvania, to decide about the future of the coalition, two months before the 1588 election.

The Lavika Movement was formed in 1585 as a coalition formed by the United Progressive Socialist Party and other left-wing political parties, such as the Equality Party and the Mordvanian Communist Party. The Lavika Movement was the most voted political party in the Septem 1585 national election, after which a coalition government between the Lavika Movement, the left-republican Republican Social Radical Party and the Radical Democratic Party was formed. The government was led by Jakob Vurnik -the Republican Social Radical Party's candidate- until late Nueva 1587 when Vurnik was forced to resign regarding a corruption scandal during his time as mayor in Slawowo. Then, the Lavika Movement aimed to form a minority government but the rest of the term, but defections from the moderate faction of the Republican Social Radical Party avoided the government to be formed. President Zvezdana Serebryak appointed Vladislav Kozina -the General Secretary of the far-left United Progressive Socialist Party since 1583- and dissolved the parliament calling for snap elections, to be held in early 1588.

About 500 delegates from the constituent parties of the Lavika Movement gathered in the Miroslav Gavrek Building, in order to consolidate the coalition, to discuss the draft of the political platform for the 1588 election, and to elect a new leadership, but, more importantly, to give a boost to the coalition -currently between 2-5 points behind the center-right Mordvanian Republican Party in most polls- before the parliamentary elections.

Not without some tension and heated discussion, the Mordvanian media has described the atmosphere of the congress as "militant" and "spirited". Notwithstanding, the congress passed most of the resolutions passed by the leadership, including one approving the merger of the coalition into an united political party. As a result, the coalition will be renamed from Lavika Movement to Lavika Party, meaning "Left Party".

"We must regard as our goal the people's aspirations to live a better life", President Zvezdana Serebryak said in her speech, which closed the congress. Serebryak, who will face a serious political test in the coming elections, as if the opposition Mordvanian Republican Party is able to obtain a majority in the Mordvanian parliament, she will be forced to live the rest of her term -which ends in 1590, without chance of reelection- under cohabitation with a rival President of the Republican Council, likely reducing her influence in government policy. She called to defend all the reforms gained in the last two years in order to secure a "sweeping victory" against the status quo, and promising no tolerance toward corruption and inequality. President Zvezdana Serebryak is expected to play a more active role during the 1587 election.

The new party will be presided by Vladislav Kozina, who received the support of 87% of the delegates and who, although not officially confirmed, is expected to repeat as candidate in the coming elections. Stanislava Slokar was elected as Deputy Chairman of the party, considered a symbolical position. Slokar, 42, is the founder and leader of the Equality Party, a radical feminist political party established in 1583. She has been Chairman of the Assembly of Representatives (the Lower House of the Mordvanian parliament) since 1585, when she was elected to the parliament for first time as candidate of the Lavika Movement.

The congress did not dedicate much time to foreign policy, besides some general promises, as most proposal discussed were related to domestic affairs, as it is expected the coming electoral campaign will be focused as well. Aljaz Martelj, the leader of the center-right Mordvanian Republican Party, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1569-1573 and 1579-1585, has recently accused President Serebryak of "isolating the Republic of Mordvania with an improvised and incoherent foreign policy".

[Hadash]

Macharaviayaische Zeitung

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Mordvanian parliamentary election results in divided parliament
By: Elena Manstein
Published: Alvan 20, 1587


A Mordvanian citizen introduces his ballot in a small polling station in Seznica.

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Mordvanians were called to vote in order to end six chaotic months, in which the head of government was forced to resign after being allegedly involved in a corruption scandal, a new left-wing minority government came into to power, and President Zvezdana Serebryak called snap elections -the first one since the 1582 constitutional reform- once the government lost support in the parliament after a group of moderate Republican Social Radical Party MPs broke from the parliamentary group and formed an independent political group. Since then, the Mordvanian parliament was only able to pass a minor number of laws.

Although the polls predicted a clear winner, the center-right Liberal Republican Coalition, the election was at the same time contested and almost like a plebiscite. For first time, the two most voted political forces -the Liberal Republican Coalition and President Zvezdana Serebryak's left-wing Lavika Party- exceeded each the 30% of the vote. And for the first time as well, only four parties were able to enter into the national parliament.

The last days of the campaign were also marked by the murder of West Kaljurad's leader General Edvin Kirsipuu, although it is unclear if that has much influence in the final result, besides to mobilize more voters to vote for the larger political parties.

The Liberal Republican Coalition -integrated by the Mordvanian Republican Party and the Republican Liberal Party- obtained 35.6% of the vote and 232 MPs, an increase of ten points and more than ninety representatives. However, this may prove an infertile victory for the Liberal Republicans if the center-left Republican Social Radical Party decides to either join or support the Lavika Party's minority government. At best, they could hope for a hang parliament. Aljaz Martelj, the leader of the Mordvanian Republican Party, did not reject to offer their former left-wing rival Republican Social Radical Party a government agreement, but it seems likely that President Zvezdana Serebryak would ask first to the incumbent President of the Republican Council, Vladislav Kozina, to try to form a government.

The far-left Lavika Party was the second most voted party, obtaining 34.8% of the vote and 226 MPs in the Assembly of Representatives, which was described in a technical draw with the Liberal Republican Coalition. Even if an agreement with the Republican Social Radical Party is confirmed, it is unclear if it would be long-lasting, as with a 304 combined majority, the government may find itself with a small margin to govern the next three years.

The center-left Republican Social Radical Party, affected with an ongoing corruption investigation in the city of Slawowo, a contested leadership and internal divisions, obtained a poor result, obtaining 11.9% of the vote and 78 representatives, their worst result ever. Despite this, the Republican Social Radical Party candidate, Hedvika Novak, who was elected as a compromise candidate between the main factions inside the party, has denied the rumours that she is expected to resign and to start negotiations to form a new government as soon as possible. Novak rejected, however, to join the national government, suggesting that a "confidence and supply" agreement is a more realistic outcome to the 1587 election. Although there is fear in the party to assume a secondary role in the parliament, despite their poor electoral result, the Republican Social Radical Party may be able to have a strong position in any negotiation.

The Centre Democratic Party, established in 1584 as merger of most the formers of the Coalition of Constitutional Forces, obtained 9.7% of the vote and only 63 MPs, a result considerably worse that the polls predicted months ago. The rejection of the Bunesgan Democratic Party to join may one of the cause of their disappointing result, but also that Centre Democratic Party candidates seemed to position themselves during the electoral campaign as a minor partner in a Liberal Republican government, which may have motivated some voters to vote for the Liberal Republican Coalition instead. Alenka Levstik, the President of the Centre Democratic Party, has confirmed that she will not aim to be reelected as leader of the party in their second congress, to be held before the 1589 local election.

The Radical Democratic Party, which had a relatively influencial role during Jakob Vurnik and Vladislav Kozina's governments, was one of the big losers of the night, as they failed to enter in the parliament, obtaining only 1.8% of the vote. A rather chaotic electoral campaign, in which the party both defended their decision to support a minority government led by the left-wing Lavika Party at the same they seemed open to consider joining a government with the center-right Mordvanian Republican Party, was seen as a cause of their bad result, being left out of parliament only five years after they entered for first time. Agnieszka Szczepanska, the candidate of the Democratic Party and Vice-President of the Republican Council since 1585, announced her resignation as General Secretary only a few minutes after the official result was announced in Slovograd.

The other losers were the Bunesgan nationalists, which failed to enter in the national parliament for first time. If one excludes the Coalition of Constitutional Forces, they obtained a similar combined result than in 1585 (5.4% today against 5.8% then) but, divided in three political parties (the Bunesgan Democratic Party, the separatist Bunesgan People's Party, and the left-wing Bunesgan Republican Party), they failed to enter to the national parliament separately. The Bunesgan Democratic Party -which had been permanently in the national parliament since 1567 as member of the Coalition of Constitutional Forces coalition- ended close enough, however, with 2.8% of the vote, only a few thousands votes short to enter the parliament. Although they were the most voted political party in several western districts and towns -being second in Mazenskai, the seventh city of the country- the Bunesgan Democratic Party was unable to pass the 3% national threshold required to enter in the national parliament. Laurynas Avydar, the leader of the Bunesgan Democratic Party, denounced the electoral law as absurd and undemocratic, demanding an immediate change.

President Zvezdana Serebryak congratulated "all candidates elected to the Assembly of Representatives" and declaring her hope that a government agreement could be decided in the shortest time possible, which was understood as a hint that Vladislav Kozina will be appointed as President of the Republican Council, as soon an agreement with the Republican Social Radical Party is achieved.

[Hadash]

Macharaviayaische Zeitung

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Mordvania pledges to defend East Kaljurand
By: Elena Manstein
Published: Alvan 28, 1587


Minister Eha Grahek-Ternehetär.

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Eha Grahek-Ternehetär, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Mordvania, visited Iossilinn today, in the first Mordvanian visit to East Kaljurand since the recent parliamentary election in Mordvania.

Minister Eha Grahek-Ternehetär, who expected to continue as Minister of Foreign Affairs, met with East Kaljurand President Taavi Harsepii and several representatives of the Kaljuran Republic's national government. General Wieslaw Lubanowsky, Supreme Commander of the Mordvanian-Kaljuran Unified Armed Force in East Kaljurand also accompanied her in the Mordvanian delegation.

The visit came only barely two weeks after the murder of General Edvin Kirsipuu, West Kaljurand's leader, which many believe could threaten peace between West Kaljurand and East Kaljurand. Grahek-Ternehetär rejected such prediction, denying as well unconfirmed rumours that East Kaljurand or even Mordvanian intelligence could be behind Kirsipuu's murder, declaring such claims as "absurd" and "nonsensical". She declared that the death of Kirsipuu "does not modify the current situation", and that a solution to the division of Kaljurand can only come through "the channels established in the Denil Accords", through peaceful negotiations to the final end of an unification of the country under a democratic government.

Minister Grahek-Ternehetär, who also visited two military camps in East Kaljurand where Republican Guards and Mordvanian soldiers are deployed, declared that the Republic of Mordvania, while interested to find a peaceful and negotiable solution to the conflict, will stand against any act of aggression against East Kaljurand by "West Kaljuran forces or any hostile attacker". Grahek-Ternehetär declared that is Mordvanian policy that the conflict could only end once "an united and democratic Kaljurand" is established in all the country. It is rumoured, but still unconfirmed, that Mordvania could be deploy more military forces in the neighbor country in the coming weeks and months if tensions between East Kaljurand and West Kaljurand increase.

During the joint Kaljuran-Mordvanian press conference with East Kaljurand's foreign affairs minister, Grahek-Ternehetär also commented on new agreements on economic cooperation and cultural exchange between both countries, as main issues other than national security and defense.

Minister Eha Grahek-Ternehetär also visited an university in Keskula, where she answered both policy and personal questions asked by a group of local students.

[Hadash]

Macharaviayaische Zeitung

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Mordvania: Government nationalizes foreign company
By: Elena Manstein
Published: Marth 14, 1587


Workers and families protest nearby a Nordlig plant in a demonstration organized by Labour Association 65.

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In an unexpected announcement, the Mordvanian government announced the nationalization of Nordlig Corporation, a Lanlanian-owned chemical company based in Mordvania. The nationalization decree was immediate, and was signed by President Zvezdana Serebryak.

Nordlig Corporation belongs to Diehad Ashton Inc., a company based in Lanlania. Diehad Ashton opened it first plant in the northern Brigidnan country in 1575. After opening another plant in Wojek, it was established as a subsidiary company, based in Mestarka, Mordvania. Nordlig opened another three plants between 1581 and 1582. The company employed nearby 50,000 workers in Mordvania, soon displacing local industry, becoming the second largest chemical corporation in the country by 1584.

The company was not without controversies, though. For almost four years, Nordlig has experienced labour protests, as workers from two trade unions -Labour Association 65 and the Confederation of Trade Unions- demanded to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement, which Nordlig management refused. Two years ago, it was rumoured that a state-owned bank was in negotiations to acquire a small amount of Nordlig stocks, but the negotiation apparently failed.

While the Lavika Party vaguely promised to "increase state intervention on the economy...in cases where the national interests and the well-being of the citizens are endangered" in its last political platform, the announcement came as a surprise. Although the state still owns an important number of state-owned banks and national companies in sectors such energy, telecommunications, transport or mechanized industry, nationalizations are rare. Since Zvezdana Serebryak was elected president in 1584, no private company was nationalized and the economic policy seemed rather focused on increasing social spending and public investment, or introducing social reforms – similarly as it happened during the left-wing coalition from 1573 and 1579. The confirmation of Wladyslawa Kolodka, who is considered a moderate in Lavika Party, as Minister of Finance was seen initially as a confirmation of this policy.

If it is not clear if there is a new industrial policy behind the unexpected nationalization. There have been rumours for some time that the Mordvanian government may be considering to build and strengthen state-owned corporation in sectors such as high-technology industry and energy. However, it could be plainly political reasons as well, as the government could be trying to gain the favour of the workers unions in order to mobilize them for the 1590 presidential election.

Although the announcement had certainly support in some pages on the progressive and left-wing media, it was received in business circles with surprise and criticism.

Minister  Wladyslawa Kolodka has denied that the government is planning any large scale nationalization program. “It has been a concrete measure to solve a concrete problem, and there is no reason to believe otherwise”. She has also declared that the corporate tax is not likely to be raisen in the coming three years”, as it was recently reported in a Mordvanian newspaper. The income and corporate tax was already risen in 1585 and 1587. Kolodka rejected than an isolated decison could threaten to scare off foreign investment.

The measure has been harshly criticized by the opposition, including Aljaz Martelj, the leader of the Mordvanian Republican Party, who denounced it as an “idiotic move, which threatens Mordvanian national interests and economic growth as well”. Even the left-republican Republican Social Radical Party, which is often a supporter of Vladislav Kozina’s government in the Mordvanian parliament critized the decision, although  not in itself, but at least the approach used in taking over the company, without open negotiations, too jarring and chaotic. Although it is not likely that the left-republican party will actively oppose the decision, as if it is likely supported by many of their own voters, Hedvika Novak -who heads the Republican Social Radical Party parliamentary group in the Lower House- has declared their party is likely to oppose any nationalization general policy in the future.

[Hadash]

Macharaviayaische Zeitung

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Mordvania: President of the Constitutional Court dies
By: Polina Lamparska
Published: Marth 20, 1587


Kaluza becomes the first President of the Constitutional Court to die in office.

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The President of the Mordvanian Constitutional Court, Timoslav Kaluza, has died at the age of 67, a family spokesperson has confirmed this morning.

Kaluza died in Khibland, where he had travelled to attend and open a legal conference, invited by the National University of Südenberg. However, he reportedly started to feel unwell, and he required the assistance of an emergency unit. They couldn't help him, however, as he reportedly died before arriving the hospital. The cause of death has been described as a heart attack. His body is expected to be returned to Mordvania tomorrow.

There will not be autopsy performed, it was reported in the Mordvanian media. The decision for no autopsy was made both by the family and the public office of the Constitutional Court, a newspaper has published. Kaluza has a history of heart disease, a family spokesperson has confirmed.

Timoslav Kaluza had been a Constitutional Court judge since 1578, and President of the Constitutional Court since 1585. He was currently the most senior member of the Constitutional Court, the highest court in the Republic of Mordvania. The Mordvanian government has announced three days of mourning. In a statement, President Zvezdana Serebryak has said that she and the Republican Council were saddened to hear of Kaluza's passing.

The President of the Republican Council (head of government), Vladislav Kozina, has declared that Kaluza's death "is a great loss to the Republic of Mordvania, which he so loyally served. He was an excellent individual and jurist, and respected and admired by his colleagues, as they themselves personally told me...We extend our deepest condolences to his family".

Before starting his career as judge, Kaluza was elected to the Royal Assembly in 1565 and the 1567 Constituent Assembly as a republican candidate, retiring from politics in 1570. In 1574, he was appointed to the National Court of Justice. Kaluza was identified with the radical-republican school of jurisprudence. When Kaluza was appointed to the Constitutional Court in 1578, left-leaning judges were a minority. At the time, although the republican doctrine influenced most judges, the Constitutional Court was considered a moderate institution, with an interpretation of the constitution which some considered too rigid. Judge Kaluza, on the hand, was soon known by a more flexible and modern interpretation of the constitution and the law. Although the Constitutional Court moved toward a left-oriented majority in recent years, Kaluza was considered a moderate in some social issues -he was reportedly, according to Mordvanian media, a religious person- and he sometimes shifted his vote unexpectedly. His critics labelled him as a "left-wing paternalist", although he was widely respected in the court in particular and the judiciary system in general.

Although there is no written rule about how the President of the Constitutional Court is appointed, the tradition is that the most senior judge of the court is elected unanimously, unless that person declines (this happened precisely in 1585, when judge Zetko Prokovar, who was expected to retire the next year, declined to be President of the Constitutional Court, and Timoslav Kaluza became the 5th president of the Constitutional Court). Therefore Radana Kumerdek is expected to succeed Kaluza, becoming the first women president of the Constitutional Court.

It is expected that Kaluza's seat in the Constitutional Court to be filled as soon as possible. Constitutional Court judges are nominated by the President of the Republic with parliamentary approval. The judges are elected for a non-fixed term, but they must retire upon reaching the age of 70. According to the Mordvanian Constitution, the only requirement for a judge is to be at least 40 years old and being a well-trained jurist.

Kaluza's death may set up a political battle, as his replacement will be the sixth judge appointed since Zvezdana Serebryak was elected President four years ago. As most of those appointments were judges under 60-year-old, and Kaluza's was expected to retire after the 1590 presidential election, this new appointment could have a long-lasting influence, potentially securing a left-wing majority in the court for at least a decade or more.

For that reason, the situation has arisen comments about the coincidence of Kaluza's death, and questioning if the judge really died of natural causes. Matej Rozman, a local councillor from the Republican Liberal Party in Paviemes voyvodeship, echoed such message calling for "a serious and independent investigation on the causes on Kaluza's death" in a controversial online statement. Only a few hours later, Rozman was forced by his own political party to withdraw such comment and apologize publically. Blaz Stuchkek, a Mordvanian scholar and politician, and retired diplomat, whom was reportedly a Kaluza's close friend, has described such claims as "absurd...and nothing but ludicrous conspiracy theories".

[Hadash]

Svobodna Dnevnik

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Controversial candidate wins first round of Mordvania's presidential election
By:  Polina Lamparska
Published: Marth, 1596


Agnieszka Szczepanska, who finished second, will face ultra-nationalist candidate Drnovsek in the second round.

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A controversial right-wing candidate, Lojze Drnovsek, has won the first round of Mordvania's presidential election.

He will face the centrist Centre Democratic Party candidate, Agnieszka Szczepanska, in the second round in two weeks after Drnovsek failed to win the 50% of votes needed to be elected president without need of a second round. With almost all the votes counded, Drnovsek had 28.8% and Szczepanska 26.6%.

Although only one polling agency predicted Drnovsek as the top candidate, as most opinion polls conducted before he election predicted that the result between Drnovsek and the center-right candidate Milivoj Plesko would be tied, the surprised came late at night when it was confirmed that Plesko was unable to make it to the second right, after he finished third behind the centrist candidate.

Milivoj Plesko, President of the Republican Council (head of government) since 1595, was the candidate of the Mordvanian Republican Party, the same party of the incumbent President Aljaz Martelj. Although Martelj remained relatively popular and campaigned actively for Plesko in the late week, the result came as a shock to the Mordvanian Republican Party, which hoped to at least easily secure a place in the second round, despite the Centre Democratic Party candidate was coming closer in late opinion polls.

The election night was long and tense, as Plesko obtained 24.4% of the vote, barely 100,000 votes behind Szczepanska with 99.1% of the vote counted. Despite reports that the Mordvanian Republican Party would demand a complete recount of the vote to the Republican Electoral Council, Plesko finally accepted his defeat at 01:27 am in a gloomy and sad press conference, taking full responsability for the result. It was the worst result for the Mordvanian Republican Party in a presidential election, as it is the first time that either a Mordvanian Republican Party candidate or a candidate endorsed for the party won't be in the second round since the proclamation of the Republic of Mordvania.

Plesko, 62, was considered the most experienced candidate, with more than thirty years of political experience. He was voyvode of Seznica from 1579 to 1591, the same year he was appointed Minister of Communications under Daliborka Anzlovar's government until 1594, when he served as Minister of Republican Affairs to replace Anzlovar as President of the Republican Council following the poor result of the Mordvanian Republican Party in the 1595 local election, in which was the most voted political party but falling behind 20% of the vote for first time in history. Plesko defeated Minister of Defense Srecko Plotimek and his former boss, Daliborka Anzlovar in the Mordvanian Republican Party primaries in a close final vote. It is true that his was campaign was not specially inspiring or emotive, but he was still the favourite in most opinion polls, which also predicted that Plesko woud easily defeat both Drnovsek and Szczepanska in the second round.

If the mood in the Mordvanian Republican Party headquarters was certainly grey and gloomy, a more festive atmosphere could be felt in Bamsek Hotel, in which candidate Lojze Drnovsek was watching the results, with the hotel surrounded by thousands of supporters. Drnovsek was the only one of the main candidates to have run before as presidential candidate, as he run in 1590 as a candidate of the far-right Mordvanian People's Front, when he obtained only 3.9% of the vote. Nobody could have predicted that he had serious obtion to become the next president of the Republic of Mordvania then, but in the last six years Drnovsek was able to build a political movement that is seriously threatening Mordvanian establishment. Only a year later, the Mordvanian People's Front was able to enter in the parliament, becoming the first far-right political party to enter in the national parliament in almost thirty years. It was a bittersweet experience for Drnovsek, who would found a new political party, named the Mordvanian Democratic Republican Party only two years later. The new organization would have a quickly success, becoming the third most voted political party in the 1594 national election, and coming close to be the most voted political party in the local election -although Drnovsek's party was able to have one mayor elected in one of Mordvania's twenty main cities.

Despite efforts of moderation and modernization, many still consider the Mordvanian Democratic Republican Party a far-right political party, as many of the party candidates and top advisors were members of the Mordvanian People's Front - which collapsed in different factions already months before the 1594 election. Drnovsek claims to have evolved intelectually and politically, and the Mordvanian Democratic Republican Party seems to distance itself from the radicalism and ethno-nationalism of the Mordvanian People's Front, claiming to defend the Mordvanian constitution and being influenced by Mordvanian republicanism. Officially, Drnovsek and his party define themselves as "national-conservatives" and reject to support any racist or anti-democratic tendencies. Still, the party has an openly anti-immigration platform, and Drnovsek has promised that his government will deport thousands of illegal immigrants as soon as they come to power, and that no non-citizen will be able to cast a vote in an election if he's elected president of the republic.

Before that, Drnovsek will have to defeat an unexpected rival, the candidate of the Centre Democratic Party, Agnieszka Szczepanska. The young Mordvanian lawyer -as she is only 38, aiming to become the youngest head of state since 1545, when Bozidar Strnad became Chairman of the Council of Defense that replaced the monarchy- will try to stop her nationalist rival to reach the presidency as a new step in her short but meteoric political career. She was elected to the national parliament in 1591, serving as Minister of Public Education from 1591-1594, when the Centre Democratic Party joined a coalition government with the Mordvanian Republican Party. She surprisingly defeated Edgar Puusepp in the contested Centre Democratic Party primaries -Puusepp, an ethnic Kaljuran, had already been the presidential candidate in 1590, and he was General Secretary of the Centre Democratic Party since 1593. The Centre Democratic Party was officially formed in 1588 -before that, it was a multi-ethnic coalition of liberal and regionalist parties, named Coalition of Constitutional Forces, until they form an united political party- and with only a limited experience in government, it will have now the chance to reach the presidency -and some say, save the republic- if Szczepanska is able to defeat Drnovsek in the second round.

In her tonight speech -about thirty minutes before Mordvanian Republican Party's Plisko conceded that they were not able to advance to the second round, the Centre Democratic Party did not seem concerned about his nationalist rival in the second round, asking Mordvanian voters to support her in the second right "to move toward the future, hope, and prosperity". Szczepanska's presidential political platform contained s tances from both the center-right and the center-left, but it is unclear if the Centre Democratic Party will advance new promises to attract voters from either the left-wing parties or the center-right Mordvanian Republican Party.

Drnovsek, who has declared to be surprised "as everybody else" when it was officially announced that the Mordvanian Republican Party was not able to advance to the second round, has already dismissed his centrist rival in the second round as "more of the same", as both Szczepanska and the Mordvanian Republican Party's served as ministers from 1591 and 1594. The nationalist candidate has declared that only his candidacy has "something new and authentic to offer" after both the Mordvanian Republican Party and the Centre Democratic Party were "blind and deaf" to the concerns and interests of most Mordvanians. Drnovsek declared that only his victory will be a "vote for change", after twelve years of "left-wing and liberal decadence, incompetence, and corruption", refering to both left-wing Zvezdana Serebryak and Mordvanian Republican Party's Aljaz Martelj's presidencies. "Vote for her", Drnovsek's campaign manager declared in reference to Szczepanska, "and our country will be destroyed under rising division and resentment, ending up toward a dysfunctional path like Saratov". Drnovsek has declared that only his presidency "will be able to make Mordvania safer".

They will not have easy, although some political scientists predict that the second round result could be closer than expected - despite Drnovsek is not likely to face much support between other political forces. Mordvanian Republican Party candidate Milivoj Plesko himself, although he did not officially endorsed the Centre Democratic Party candidate, called directly to defeat Drnovsek in the second round at the end of his speech. Nevertheless, the coming electoral campaign is expected to be tense and difficult to predict. The future of the Republic of Mordvania, and likely the region as well, will vary greatly, depending on who eventually wins.

[Hadash]

Svobodna Dnevnik

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Former Republican politician Zdravka Magajna announced as President of the Republican Council
By: Polina Lamparska
Published: Zechyr, 1596


Zdravka Magajna, during a recent interview

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President Agnieszka Szczepanska announced that Zdravka Magajna will be the next President of the Republican Council (head of government) after almost two months of negotiations between the Centre Democratic Party and the Mordvanian Republican Party. Milivoj Plesko, President of the Republican Council since 1595 and Mordvanian Republican Party candidate in the 1596 Mordvanian presidencial election, had announced his resignation only two days ago.

There were increasing rumours that the Mordvanian Republican Party and President Agnieszka Szczepanska's Centre Democratic Party would form a strong coalition government (as the two largest political parties in the parliament) as they did from 1591 to 1594. However, a representative of the Mordvanian Republican Party confirmed today that the Mordvanian Republican Party will not join Magajna's government, probably in order to avoid  giving the leadership of the opposition to Lojze Drnovsek's National Democratic Republican Party, as the nationalist party is the third largest political party. The Centre Democratic Party is expected to govern in a minority government, with only 98 of 599 MPs in the Mordvanian parliament, becoming the weakest government in thirty years - at least until the next election, as President Szczepanska has confirmed there will be snap elections in six months.

Magajna, 52, was a surprising choice as head of government, as she is not a member of the Centre Democratic Party. A former co-founder and member of the defunct Republican Liberal Party (and before that, MP from the left-wing Republican Social Radical Party), she was Minister of Economic Development from 1579 to 1585 under a Mordvanian Republican Party-led government before ending her political career in 1588. Since then, she worked in the private sector, and although she recently declared to have voted for Agnieszka Szczepanska in both rounds of the last presidential election, she is not a member of the Centre Democratic Party.

Magajna has declared that her government will be likely formed by both independent ministers and Centre Democratic Party members, following negotiations with President Szczepanska and Edgar Puusepp, the General Secretary of the Centre Democratic Party, who is expected to join the government as well. It is expected that the government will likely include some of the Centre Democratic Party politicians who were already in the government during the 1591-1594 coalition (the only time the centrist party joined the national government) such as Kazys Gimbutiené, who was Minister of Economic Development from 1591 to 1594, and who is expected to be the next Minister of Finance.

Still, Magajna has declared that she will not lead a "[Centre Democratic Party's] government...but a Mordvanian government". It is understood that Magajna's government will not try to implement the Centre Democratic Party's political platform -as the party lacks such support in the parliament at least until next parliamentary election- and it will rather offer concessions to both the right and the left factions in the parliament in order to pass some of the reforms promised by President Szczepanska during her presidential campaign. Still, it is unclear what kind of political relation will be established between Magajna and President Szcepanska, or if the latter will have an active role or she will rather have a more secondary role similar as President Martelj did during most of his presidency.

While many of the members of the government will not be confirmed until tomorrow, Magajna already confirmed that she talked in the last hours with Maja Korozek (former Minister of Public Education from 1585 to 1588, when she was a member of the center-left Radical Democratic Party) who will be the Minister of Justice and Miroslav Stovdek, despite the latter was still a member of the Mordvanian Republican Party until recently. Stovdek, 67, is the oldest of all the ministers confirmed so far, and he was Minister of Energy of Communications from 1579 to 1585 (before, he was a one-term mayor of Mestarka from 1571 to 1575). In the last years, Stovdek was a member of the board of directors of a well-known Mordvanian energy company, as he retired from politics in 1588, when he left the Mordvanian parliament.

Although unconfirmed, a more suprising and unexpected choice could be, if rumours are confirmed, Eha Grahek-Ternehetär, who according to some reports, could be Minister of Foreign Affairs, after she was seen by journalists sharing a table with then President-elect Agnieszka Szczepanska in a famous restaurant in Mestarka. Grahek-Ternehetär, an ethnic Kaljuran, was already Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1585 to 1591. Grahek-Ternehetär is a former member of the far-left Left Party and became top diplomat precisely during Zvezdana Serebryak's presidency (former President Serebryak, currently mayor of Brezedina, recently declared to be surprised about such rumours). Grahek-Ternehetär, who started her political career in Serebryak's United Progressive Socialist Party, was General Secretary of the Left Party from 1593 to 1594, and despite not running as candidate of the 1594 parliamentary election, she was rumoured as a candidate for the Left Party in the last presidential election.

Another rumoured minister could be Stanislava Slokar, who was leader and co-founder of the Equality Party, a feminist political party, and was Chairman of the Assembly of Representatives -Mordvanian parliamentary Lower House- from 1585 and 1588 after being elected to the parliament as a candidate for the Left Party.

[Hadash]

Svobodna Dnevnik

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Centre Democratic Party wins legislative elections for first time
By: Polina Lamparska
Published: Treizen, 1596


Centre Democratic Party voters celebrate their result in Mestarka.

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The Centre Democratic Party won the legislative election, barely ten months after the Centre Democratic Party's candidate, Agnieszka Szczepanska became the President of Mordvania.

The Centre Democratic Party was the most voted political party, obtaining 37.1% of the vote and 227 of 599 MPs, their best result ever and more than they obtained in the 1594 legislative election. However, the Centre Democratic Party failed to obtain a majority, and the national government may be forced to continue under a minority government -although considerably strengthened- or try to negotiate a coalition.

The turnout was relatively lower than in the last presidential election, and only five political forces were able to enter in the Assembly of Representatives (the Mordvanian Lower House of the parliament), although most of the left-wing parties run together in an united coalition following their disappointing results in the last presidential election.

Lojze Drnovsek's populist National Democratic Republican Party was second, obtaining about 23% and 140. Drnovsek, who was the most voted candidate in the first round of the last presidential elections but lost clearly against Szczepanska in the second round, hoped to mobilize the 40% of voters that voted for him back them. The result may be disappointing, but good enough to surpass a demobilized Mordvanian Republican Party, which ended third. Drnovsek's former political party, the far-right Mordvanian People's Front, obtained only 1.1% of the vote and it was unable to enter the parliament. The Mordvanian People's Front obtained about 16% of the vote in 1594, but most of their voters seem to have fled with Drnovsek.

Miroslav Gregak, the candidate of the Mordvanian Republican Party, announced that he will not continue as President of the Mordvanian Republican Party after their next congress, although he is expected to head the parliamentary group of the Mordvanian Republican Party. The center-right Mordvanian Republican Party obtained 20% and 124 MPs, their worst result in a legislative election. For first time, the party was relegated to the third time in a parliamentary election, which may increase the crisis and division inside the party. It is unclear if the Mordvanian Republican Party may support or join the government. Gregak rejected to join a Centre Democratic Party-led government, although he declared that his party will be open to negotations.

The Social-Green-Left Coalition (a left-wing electoral coalition formed by the Republican Radical Social Party, the Left Party, and the Green Party) obtained 12% of the vote and 71 representatives - a better result compared to the last presidential election but the left-wing parties would have a very limited influence in the parliament as they fell from 199 to 71 MPs. Other left-wing parties, such as the Socialist Left (a recent split from the Left Party) or Jakob Vurnik's Mordvanian Social Democratic Party were unable to enter in the parliament.

The Bunesgan National Democratic Party, was the fifth and last political party to enter the parliament, with 6.2% and 37 MPs, a slightly improvement compared the 1594 legislative election. However, it is unclear that the Bunesgan nationalist party will have in the parliament, despite the Centre Democratic Party promoted federalism in the past.

It is unclear if Zdravka Magajna will continue as President of the Republican Council (head of government), or if she will be replaced now by any Centre Demoratic Party official. Former leader of the Centre Democratic Party Edgar Puusepp (currently Vice-President of the Republican Council) was rumoured to replace Magajna, although it is expected that President Szczepanska will have the last word on the appointment, and depending how negations with the Mordvanian Republican Party go. As a consequence, the government may be inclined to shift to the right, along other reforms announced by President Agnieszka Szczepanska such as liberalization of the economy, modernization and decentralization of the state, and a reform of the electoral law.

[Hadash]

Svobodna Dnevnik

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Mordvanian head of government resigns in unprecedented leak political scandal  
By: Polina Lamparska
Published: Zechyr, 1598


Konrad Novek rejected that his resignation tainted either his political career or the government's agenda.

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Konrad Novek becomes the fourth Mordvanian official to resign amid a row over leaked tapes.

Novek’s resignation comes barely four months after he was elected President of the Republican Council (head of government), becoming the shortest-serving head of government since the establishment of the Republic of Mordvania. Along President of the Republican Council, the ministers of Justice, Energy and Communications, and National Development.

Konrad Novek had replaced Zdravka Magajna, who had been the President of the Republican Council from 1596 to 1598. Magajna resigned to become Centre Democratic Party General Secretary in last month ruling party congress. Magajna, who was formerly a member of the Republican Liberal Party, only joined the centrist Centre Democratic Party recently, and she is expected to be a Centre Democratic Party candidate in the 1598 local elections.

The resignations come in a complicated moment for President Agnieszka Szczepanska, as her popularity was already waning after Mordvanian parliament passed a tax cut and an unpopular labour law, as part of a series of administrative and economic reforms. Despite the Centre Democratic Party obtained a comfortable majority in the 1596 legislative elections with a pro-business and reformist platform, President Szczepanska’s approval rating fell from 61% to 39% already on Marth.

Now, without being announced who will replace Novek as President of the Republican Council, President Szczepanska is facing her worst time since she was elected President of the Republic of Mordvania on early 1596, as Constitutional Court declared that the recently passed new electoral law was unconstitutional and suspended its application. Novek declared that he did not break the law, but he decided to quit for of the good of the government’s ambitious agenda of reforms.

The leaks have been published for 10 weeks by the Slovogradanski zvon, angering many Mordvanian officials. The leaks are unofficially known as “Handke Tapes”, as most of the tapes involve brothers Franz Handke and Milan Handke. The officials were secretly recorded in a Slovograd restaurant discussing private deals and government policy during several meetings between the years 1593 and 1595.

Franz Handke was Minister of Republican Affairs from 1567 to 1573, and then Minister of Justice from 1591 to 1596, while his brother Milan had been an elected representative in Slovograd local government for more than twenty years (Milan Handke resigned from his role in the local government three weeks ago, becoming the first Mordvanian official to resign in the political scandal). Both were long-time Mordvanian Republican Party officials, as were other officials recorded in those conversations, such as former ministers Rozalija Pengik, Miroslav Pengik, and Modestas Zubrus, Slovograd voyvode Stanislav Kovacek, Bronislav Dragek (who served as advisor of President Aljaz Martelj at the time) , 1596 Mordvanian Republican Party presidential candidate Milovoj Plesko, or Miroslav Stovdek, who is one of the three resigned ministers.

But other Mordvanian officials also appear  in the recordings, such as members of the Centre Democratic Party as Alenka Levstik and Edgar Puusepp, along several military officials and businessmen.

One of the recordings, for example, show a conversation between Milan Handke and Modestas Zubrus, in which both were using very derogatory terms to criticise former President Zvezdana Serebryak, who had recently announced her bid for the Brezedina local election, which she would eventually won.

In an earlier recording,  Bronislav Dragek called Nentsians “corrupt and illiterate dipshits” and “uncultured brutes...who ignore courage and act like savages naturally predisposed to be servants and slaves”. Dragek apologized about such words and declared that they were “out of context”, claiming that he was talking about “Nentsian officials from the Vynnychuk’s regime” and not Nentsian people.

In another recording, then Minister Rozalija Pengik appeared to ask the country’s central bank chairman Crtomir Znidarsek about who should replace Minister of Finance Czeslaw Godlowsky who was about to resign to be candidate in then coming local election. Under Mordvanian constitution, the Central Bank must remain independent of politics.
Although most of the recordings show Mordvanian Republican Party officials, currently in the opposition, the leaks are proving a huge embarrassment for President Szczepanska as at the time of some of the recordings, the Centre Democratic Party was in a coalition government with the Mordvanian Republican Party from 1591 and 1594.  Szczepanska herself was minister of education at the time, although she has no appeared recorded in any leaks so far.

Not every official tainted in the scandal has resigned, however, as Edgar Puusepp, former leader and presidential candidate of the Centre Democratic Party, then Minister of Republican Affairs and, since recently, Minister of Defense under Szczepanska’s government has kept his job, threatening with legal actions against several people, including a Mordvanian businessman who has been accused of being involved in the leaking -which he denied afterwards- and against Demeter Bradek, "Slovogradanski zvon" editor-in-chief.

Edgar Puuseep, who was at the time General Secretary of the Centre Democratic Party, declared in his last press conference that “in behalf of the Centre Democratic Party, which I helped to found, I extend my hearfelt apologies” to party supporters and all citizens “who listened to the tapes with disgust and irritation”. However, Puuseep declared that the leaks -if anything-, prove his innocence and honesty, and he would not resign while he retains President Agnieszka Szczepanska, which he seems to have. While Szczepanska defeated Puuseep in the Centre Democratic Party 1595 primaries, many consider Puuseep as Szczepanska’s political mentor.

In the coming hours, it is expected that either President Szczepanska or the Centre Democratic Party will announce who will replace Konrad Novek as President of the Republican Council. Janez Brankovek and Margarita Gudzineviciute, respectively voyvodes of Amsberg and Paviemes, but without any experience in national politics, are rumoured as possible choices to replace Novek.

Others are calling to Zdravka Magajna to be reappointed as President of the Republican Council, while others are calling President Szczepanska to propose a technocratic government and call snap elections as soon as possible, but the lately seems unlikely, as the Centre Democratic Party has presently a comfortable relative majority in the parliament, and they may force President Szczepanska to deal with a hostile parliament for most of the rest of her presidency.

Meanwhile, Slovogradanski zvon has confirmed that more leaks may be made public in the coming days.

[Hadash]

Svobodna Dnevnik

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Handke Tapes: Allegations of shady deals hit Mordvania and Harmajaa
By: Polina Lamparska
Published: Septem, 1598


Mordvanian Obzorja submarine.

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In another chapter of leaks already known as "Handke Tapes", which are being shocking Mordvanian political system and voters for weeks already, the Slovogradanski zvon has published new transcripts, this time involving the Harmajaan government as well.

The allegations involve the payment of massive commissions and kickbacks between the Republic of Mordvania and Harmajaa to acquire Obzorja 20A-class submarines.

In 1589, the Harmajaan government had started a negotiation with Mordvanian Ministry of Defense over the procurement of expensive and complex Obzorja 20A-class submarine designs, eventually signing the contract in 1592 for a sum equivalent to 900 million. Despite the improving relationships between the Mordvanian and Harmajaan governments in the last years of Zvezdana Serebryak's presidency (1584-1590), the agreement came as a surprise then. The Mordvanian submarines were still in the prototype phase when the negotiations started, and would have taken years to manufacture and deliver, and the Harmajaan government was reportedly in negotiations with other governments, including Taeunas, Florinthus, Kazemura or Severyane, the latter entering in the competition by offering five submarines which were being decommissioned from the military service. However, the Harmajaan government was decided by the Mordvanian offer in an unexpected decision.

It was believed at the time that the negotiations with Mordvania proved successful probably as consequence of financial problems and political turmoil experienced in Severyane during those years -which was believed to be close to an agreement with Harmajaa in early 1590 to renew Harmajaan navy-, and because the Harmajaan government decided to take advantage of the lucrative final credits offered by the Mordvanian government.

However, the recordings published by Slovogradanski zvon newspaper showed a different picture. Last week, the Mordvanian newspaper started to publish transcripts from a conversation that Slavoj Kradek -Deputy Minister of Defense-, Minister Miroslav Bitenc and Milan Handke had in 1594 and it was secretly recorded. In the conversation, Kradek explains how the contracts were actually secured during the negotiations, and the advantages and disadvantages of repeating a similar strategy with then ongoing negotiations with the Pythian government (according to Kradek, Srecko Plotimek -then recently appointed Minister of Defense- would be on board).

According to Kradek, General Slavko Potrk (Chief of the General Staff of the Mordvanian Republican Armed Forces from 1586 to 1592), Miroslav Stovdek and himself, with the assistance of a well-known Mordvanian law firm, and through a financial fund owned by businessman Rado Chesarek -considered close to the Mordvanian Republican Party- set up a scheme in which commissions of 7% of the contract, approximately 60 million were paid out to lobbying firms in Mordvania and Harmajaa. Another 30 million were allegedly paid to several senior Harmajaan military officers as well as Harmajaan politicians, which Kradek described as "sweeteners". Kradek also tells later that another 2 million were paid to a recently appointed admiral shortly before the contract was made public in early 1592. Kravek justified such payments as necessary to "convince" Harmajaan political leaders and military officials, despite such actions would be illegal in Mordvania according to most legal experts.

Mordvanian President Aljaz Martelj and Harmajaan government signed off the final deal was that initially budgeted at 600 million but the programme of techology transfer would cost at least 1 billion, for which Mordvania first provided loans that were to be paid in six to eight years. It is unclear if the leaks would affect the ongoing payments and the relations between both countries. There is no official statement from the Harmajaan government yet, while Mordvania's State Procurator declared that they will study closely the allegations to determine if there is proof of any illegal activity.

It is unclear if such move is likely to prosper, as the Slovograd newspaper itself admits, they have no further proof of such payments to Harmajaan officials, beside what it is described during the recorded conversation.

Slavoj Kradek, who is currently retired from politics and who was hired by a Mordvanian defense corporation, has denied any personal wrongdoing and he has threatened the Slovogradanski zvon with legal actions.

Although no member of President Agnieszka Szczepanska's government is directly involved this time with these late leaks, they are likely to increase pressure on Szczepanska's Centre Democratic Party, as Alenka Levstik -leader of the Centre Democratic Party from 1589 and 1593- was Minister of Defense at the time, and therefore Kradek's political boss. Levstik who remained a member of the Mordvanian parliament until 1597, is also currently retired from politics and she has not made any public statement so far.