Nyland Daily News

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Nyland Daily News

President Tilda Morgen endorsed as NCL presidential candidate
By Marina Tromsengard
Published: Septem 1580


President Tilda Morgen, during a roundtable in the Tynning College this weekend.


Tynning, Nyland - Tilda Morgen was confirmed as New Centrist List candidate for the 1580 presidential elections by the NCL Citizens' Assembly, the highest organ of the party after the Federal Committee.

The proposal of Morgen to repeat as NCL candidate obtained 90.8% of the vote, while only 3.9% of Citizen's Assembly members rejected openly the proposal, the highest for a NCL candidate since the creation of the party in 1567. The rejection of the proposal would have not imply the rejection of Morgen as candidate, though, but instead open a process of a two-month primaries, which Morgen was expected to win anyway, as every NCL member in the federal administration, and most of the NCL MPs already endorsed her as candidate. The center-left political party is confident that Morgen will be reelected as President late this year.

Morgen has already been endorsed by the Green Party, which hopes to extend their coalition in the federal government for another four years. It is not clear if the other minor members of the federal government, the FLIB and the Social Democrats (the latter already merger into the NPA coalition) will do so.

The NCL Citizens' Assembly also approved, with several ammendments, the NCL 1581-1585 Platform written by Albrekt Hildegardt and Fredrika Skarsgard. The Platform does not offer a radical shift from the previous one, and it continues the social liberal and progressive agenda focused on economic growth, investment in education and employment, strengthening equal opportunities and gender equality, and a moderate internationalist and pro-democratization orientation on foreign policy.

Although members described the debates as "engaging" and "constructive", much of this weekend Citizens' Assembly was lived as a joyful celebration of three years of action of government under a NCL federal government. Marion Rybak, Head of the Commission for Financial Policy, received the second largest applause of the day when she announced that the federal government firmly pushing for a $12-hour Federal Minimum Wage for the 1581. The NCL 1581-1585 Platform has promised to study an increase the Federal Minimum Wage to $14 before 1584, in cooperation with the Low Pay Commission, if economic growth continues as predicted by the Department of Treasury.

The Citizens' Assembly also confirmed the replacement of much of the leadership of the New Centrist List. While Eyvind Beskow will continue as First Secretary of the party, Albrekt Hildegardt will be replaced by MP Angelica Parker-Olson as NCL Spokesperson, and a young MP, Yasmin Malimey, was appointed as Deputy General Secretary. Malimey, 44 and daughter of Eastern Skathian parents, will also head the NCL Committee for Electoral Strategy, which will be in charge of the electoral campaign for the legislative and presidential elections late this year.

It is expected that President Morgen will announce his running Vice President as incumbent Vice President Gunnar Bjeppesen, 67, is not expected to run again. Although there were rumours that the Vice President could be Green Party leader Ingmar Moodyson, in order to strengthen the alliance between both political parties, it is unclear if it will be so. Other names that Morgen may be considering as running mate could Secretary of State Helga Myhre, Jan Strodegaard -one of the most veteran NCL MPs, Speaker of the Nylander Assembly Lenna Schenkenberg or Eyvind Beskow.






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