Fwurg

Mercury · **Mercury** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 7:33 pm

The upcoming elections are now "fully open". This means there are several options available to all players. First off, you could each individually decide to support one of the NPC candidates for the election. This gives you maximum freedom of whom to support and with your vote you have some bargaining power to trade your vote for direct financial benefits. Simply contact one of the candidates to discuss the interests of your world to see what sort of "arrangement" you can make. Alternatively, you can work together with the other players to support one candidate which you collectively support. Each of the candidates has already made an offer of position - not all players can benefit from this, but I am sure you can mutually agree upon a fair solution for that.

Finally, there is the option of running for Chancellor yourself. Candidacy costs 1000 (:tax)

to be able to stand a chance (see Union Electoral Process) but additional investment will be required to secure votes. You'll also need at least two seconds for your candidacy and a good story. I will advise you that elections will be tough and being elected is in no way guaranteed.

Becoming Chancellor or Minister entails certain responsibilities, both IC and OOC but also comes with certain privileges. Should you be elected to a position, I have several story-lines to run during the 20 week stay in office. While I won't say exactly what they entail, here is some idea of what everything entails IC and OOC. Naturally these are just indications - we can always talk about alternatives if you feel intimidated by certain options for example.

Minister of Justice
IC/OOC: Adjudicate in conflicts between states / players
IC: Handle internal incidents such as disaster relief
IC: Discuss the fine print of international treaties (but not making those treaties)
OOC: Write out idea's players or NPC's have into proper laws
OOC: Help flesh out the history of NPC worlds

Besides regular expenses, the Minister of Justice has a budget of 750 (:tax)

per turn to spend on projects involving the promotion of positive internal relationships and cooperation, conflict resolution and disaster aid, to spend at their leisure.

Minister of Foreign Affairs
IC: Interact with ambassadors of other Superpowers and broker deals with them
IC: Establish and maintain foreign trade lanes, which may be traded with worlds directly, or influence the prices on the open market
IC: Handle Espionage storylines
OOC: Help flesh out the sectors and foreign powers
OOC: Run a Jedi adventure involving the goals of the Ministry

Besides regular expenses, the Minister of Foreign Affairs has a budget of 750 (:tax)

per turn to spend on establishing foreign trade lanes, giving diplomatic gifts to various foreign power and supporting foreign trade agreements with subsidies, to spend at their leisure.

Minister of Defence
IC: Deal with fleet positioning and military outposts
IC: Be directly involved with strategic decisions and armed conflicts
OOC: Help write up fleet and army rules
OOC: Run a Jedi adventure involving the goals of the Ministry

Besides regular expenses, the Minister of Defence has a budget of 750 (:tax)

per turn to spend on promoting military goals, raising fleets and armies and subsidising players who establish military units and develop military technology.

Chancellor
IC: Select a team of Ministers, including the three positions above.
IC: Work with PC's and NPC's alike to develop new laws in accordance with the election goals
IC/OOC: Take up ceremonial duties such as welcoming new worlds / players and attempting to find common ground
OOC: Help flesh out the financial business side of the Union with proper budgeting
OOC: Help manage the economy of the Union to keep it balanced behind the screens

Besides regular expenses, the Chancellor has a budget of 1500 (:tax)

per turn to spend on promoting whatever goals they see fit. The Chancellor is additionally involved in all things the ministers do.

Brend · **Brend** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 8:01 pm

Is there any information on the current Union budget? I think this might be relevant to any further discussion, as budget seems to be a central theme this election.

And where are the ministries of Commerce and Finance?

Mercury · **Mercury** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 11:35 pm

The Ministry of Finance is traditionally taken by the Chancellor (though this is not mandatory should you be elected as such). Like the Ministry of Commerce, it concerns the internal financial infrastructure of the Union. I do not have detailed data available and I don't have a fully functional Union budget beyond what is listed. However, some of the posts should give you an indication of the options.

If you choose to just vote for someone in exchange for a favour, or if you support an existing NPC candidate, you needn't worry about this since you'll either not be an inner world or you'll have a listed ministry. If you should be elected Chancellor, we can work on the budget options together.

Regardless, the activities of the Chancellor in the past months, as well as the various election promises and the available financial amounts for Ministers / Chancellors should give you an indication of the available budget and the possibilities you have with this.