Imperator Azenquor

[b][u]VNN News: Parliament wades into abortion controversy, Sakha Agreement reaches milestone[/b][/u] [i]“The Vaulian Parliament today started a three day debate on the topic of abortion at the request of Prime Minister Pavel Rokossovsky. The Prime Minister initiated the debate after he informed Parliament that the governing coalition would shortly introduce legislation amending the ban on abortions in the Serene Republic. To howls of outrage from some of his own Vaule Revolutionary Vanguard (VRV) MPs the Prime Minister announced that the amendments would permit medical staff to perform the controversial procedure only in cases where the life of the mother was determined to be in significant danger. The Prime Minister stressed that the amendments would not be used to legalize or encourage the procedure in any other circumstances. In an unusual display of cross-party support, Opposition leader and Party for Social Justice MP Bryon Svatek endorsed the proposed amendment to the abortion ban and pledged the support of his party’s MPs to ensure the passage of the law. On the government side, the junior coalition partner, Union of Patriotic Right Forces (PRF) MP Dr. Rinald Kanic harshly denounced the measure as ‘an act against God and all of Orthodox Christendom’ and vowed to vote against the amendments in order to ‘protect the most beautiful and most sacred of God’s gifts to humanity’. The amendments, Dr. Kanic argued, would ‘open the floodgates of social degradation and moral decay’ and would ‘undermine the standing of the noble Serene Republic within the Greater Russian Empire’. In other news, the first cross-community government of the East Ingushetia Autonomous Community (EIAC) has now been in place for two years. The government was created under the terms of the Sakha Agreement in order to form a government that included both the Ingush and the Vaulian communities in the decision making processes in the province. In an address to the Regional Parliament, Governor M.A. Rashid of the Ingush Liberal Party (ILP) urged the citizens of the province to ‘celebrate the historic achievements made under the Sakha Agreement’ and to be assured that the government would do its utmost to ensure that neither party would deviate from the core tenets of the agreement. Deputy Regional Governor General Artim Bakiyev, of the Vaule National Movement- Patriotic Front (VNM-PF) also issued a statement praising the agreement which he called ‘the foundation-stone upon which the future of East Ingushetia is built’ and urging citizens to celebrate the ‘end of separatism’ in the province. While both political parties have praised the agreement and pledged to abide by it, there have continued to be some tensions between the Vaulian and Ingush communities. Some accuse the Ingush Liberal Party (ILP) of unfairly distributing resources in the province to benefit their community while neglecting much needed development in other areas. Despite the tensions, however, the agreement remains in force and does not appear to be in any immediate danger. In a move aimed at maintaining the stability in the province, the government of the Serene Republic has pledged to continue disbursing NRR$1.3 Billion in development assistance to the Regional Government for the next four years. The original development assistance program was scheduled to end this year.[/i]

[b][u]ZCNA News: No confidence vote fails, Justice Minister resigns[/b][/u] [i]“The no confidence motion in the Genadiev government was defeated in the National Assembly today. Despite a heated and impassioned debate, the governing Socialist Party (SP) prevailed but not without damage. The leader of the Justice & Development Party (JDP) Iskra Grigorova led her party’s broadside against the Genadiev administration, while the Prime Minister made a lackluster attempt at defending the conduct of the government. In his speech, the Prime Minister accused the opposition of seeking ‘any excuse to attempt to oust the government’ and suggested that the scandal was blown out of proportion by the media. When the debate concluded, it appeared that the government’s 259 MPs in the 500 member Assembly would easily defeat the no confidence motion. But prior to voting on the motion, Justice Minister Miroslav Markov stood to address the assembly. In his address, the Justice Minister revealed that the government’s decision to request a Justice Ministry-led investigation into the scandal was solely in the hope that the Justice Ministry could help to distract from the seriousness of the scandal and potentially clear the former Finance Minister of wrongdoing in the case. Citing the conflict between his loyalty to his party and his oath to uphold professional ethics standards, the Justice Minister revealed that he has opted to resign from the government and to vote for the motion of no confidence. The Justice Minister invited his other Socialist Party (SP) colleagues to do the same, stating that ‘sooner or later’ the members of the National Assembly will have to give an account for their votes and whether or not they voted to ‘shield a criminal from justice’. When the vote took place, 8 members of the Socialist Party (SP) including Mr. Markov, broke ranks and voted for the motion. The entirety of the Justice & Development Party (JDP) and the Republican People’s Party (RPP) also backed the motion, while the remaining SP members voted against. When the votes were tallied, there were 249 votes in favor, 250 against and one abstention. The sole abstention was from former Minister of Defense Sevastian Markov, brother of the former Justice Minister. The vote means that the Genadiev led administration can carry on in office, but the defections from the party and the fallout from the razor thin margin of victory has undoubtedly crippled the Socialist Party (SP). Rumors are already swirling that as many as 15 Socialist Party MPs are prepared to jump ship as the scandal deepens.”[/i]

[b][u]ZCNA News: Finance Minister resigns, will remain in the National Assembly[/b][/u] [i]“Finance Minister Vitaly Todorov has resigned from the Cabinet, but will remain as a Member of the National Assembly according to a statement released by the governing Socialist Party (SP) this morning. In the statement, Mr. Todorov reiterated the claim that the recording of him urging a member of the National Budget Office (NBO) to commit a potentially criminal act was a ‘forgery’ and that no such conversation took place. The statement suggests that the Finance Minister has resigned due to the fact that ‘remaining in office as Finance Minister would prevent (him) from focusing a sufficient amount of his energies on fighting the allegations’. Prime Minister Genadiev has accepted the resignation ‘in the interests of national unity’ and has pledged to push ahead with the government’s economic reform program. According to the Prime Minister, the allegations made against the former Finance Minister are ‘of a serious nature’ and should be proven before anyone seeks to draw conclusions. To facilitate this, the Prime Minister announced that the Justice Ministry will launch an investigation into the incident to determine whether or not criminal actions took place and to determine whether or not the recording presented is genuine. The investigation will be led by Justice Minister Miroslav Markov. In the interim, Prime Minister Genadiev will serve as Finance Minister until a new appointment can be made. In other news, the Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG) has announced that its investigation into the scandal is being ‘deliberately frustrated’ after several Finance Ministry officials refused or ignored summons to report to the OPG to give statements regarding the scandal. The refusals, according to the OPG, appear to be a ‘coordinated effort on the part of certain state institutions to prevent a full and transparent investigation from taking place’ and will not be tolerated. The OPG has, however already conducted several interviews with personnel at the NBO including officials who serve as liaisons between the NBO and the Finance Ministry. In the National Assembly, the Opposition Justice & Development Party (JDP) has introduced a motion of no confidence in the Genadiev-led administration in light of the scandal. The motion charges that the administration has ‘willfully or by ignorance of reality led the country towards economic ruin’ and that the scandal represents the ‘most significant evidence of misuse of taxpayer funds by government’. The motion concludes that allowing the Genadiev administration to remain in office would be ‘detrimental to the functioning of the institutions of state’ and would lead to a ‘further deterioration in transparency and the rule of law’.”[/i]

[b][u]VNN News: Coalition gov’t drafts National Education Policy, Imperator reopens National History Archive[/b][/u] [i]“The coalition government has reached its first stumbling block over proposed reforms to the National Education Policy. The Vaule Revolutionary Vanguard (VRV) party has endorsed a proposal to introduce a mandatory national core curriculum for all schools in the Serene Republic and to re-establish nationwide standardized tests for all students in the country. Under the new curriculum, all students will be required to take three nationwide standardized tests before graduation and will be required to attain advanced proficiency in a non-national language. The proposal has faced significant opposition from Dr. Rinald Kanic, the leader of the Union of Patriotic Right Forces (PRF) who holds the balance of power in the Parliament. According to Dr. Kanic, the PRF cannot support an initiative that would require students to study ‘any language other than Vaulian or Russian’ and expressed concern that the initiative would ‘damage national identity by promoting the Buryat and Altai languages at the expense of Vaulian’. The Opposition Party for Social Justice (PSJ) has so far avoided revealing whether or not it would support the government’s proposed education policy reforms if it is brought to Parliament for a vote. The loss of such a crucial policy vote less than two months into the new Parliament could spell trouble for the coalition government. In other news, His Most Orthodox Royal Highness the Imperator attended a ceremony marking the reopening of the newly restored Vaulian National History Archive and Museum. The archives were damaged in a fire three years ago and restored at a cost of more than NRR$ 3.1 Million. The restoration of the facility was undertaken by the National History Institute (NHI) which worked painstakingly to repair the structural damage and to salvage historic documents which were damaged in the fire. As a key part of the restoration project, all historic documents stored in the National History Archive have been digitized to ensure the preservation of the documents from any future disaster."[/i] -R. Porter

ZCNA News: Finance Minister caught on tape asking officials to ‘fudge’ the numbers “An explosive leak from the Ministry of Finance which was revealed this morning has severely damaged the already battered Socialist Party government. According to our source, the leaked tape was a recording of the weekly meeting between Finance Ministry officials and the National Budget Office (NBO). At the meeting, Finance Minister Vitaly Todorov is heard on tape demanding that the NBO ‘fudge the numbers’ in order to hide the widening budget deficit and the collapse of the stimulus program. The Finance Minister is heard stating that the government has been forced to cancel some of the projects that stimulus funding was already announced for, but that the government had not announced this. When an NBO official asks the Finance Minister what was done with the additional stimulus funds, the Mr. Todorov replies that the funds were used to pad the tax collection numbers in order to show that the budget deficit remained ‘mostly on track’ for the second year of the program. The NBO official then voices concerns about the ethics of presenting misleading statistics and suggests that the integrity of the NBO as an organization would be called into question. The Finance Minister responds by suggesting that the NBO official would be fired from his post if he did not comply with the Finance Ministry’s request. The NBO official then left the meeting and the Finance Minister then contacted Prime Minister Genadiev. In response to the shocking leak, the Finance Minister has sought to denounce the tape as a ‘crudely made forgery’ and has insisted that no conversation took place with the NBO regarding reporting incorrect or inaccurate figures to the National Assembly or to the public. The National Budget Office has declined to comment on the tape in detail, but has suggested that an investigation will be launched into the alleged incident. Prime Minister Genadiev did not address the controversy directly, but said in a short statement that he ‘continues to have faith in Finance Minister Todorov and his ability to discharge his duties in an effective and transparent manner’. The Opposition Justice and Development Party (JDP) has expressed outrage at the developments and has demanded a full audit of the Finance Ministry by an independent authority without delay. The JDP has also insisted that a criminal investigation be launched into the actions of the Finance Minister to determine if any illegal actions took place. The JDP has also insisted that the actions of the Finance Minister ‘render his position untenable’ and that he must resign immediately. The Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG) is expected to begin an investigation into the incident shortly."

[b][u]VNN News: Coalition formed, Max Reaver unveils new mega-project[/b][/u] [i]“The Opposition Vaule Revolutionary Vanguard (VRV) party leader Dr. Pavel Rokossovsky has announced that it has formally signed a coalition agreement with the Union of Patriotic Right Forces (PRF) leader Rinald Kanic. According to the announcement, the VRV has identified ‘areas of mutual cooperation’ with the PRF which will be acted upon during the current Parliamnetary term. The VRV acknowledges, however, that significant differences remain between the party and the PRF regarding the national budget, but has stated that the VRV is confident that it will be able to pass a budget even if the PRF objects. Under the terms of the coalition agreement, Dr. Rokossovsky will become Prime Minister and lead a cabinet almost entirely made up of VRV officials while Mr. Kanic (who is the PRF’s sole representative in Parliament) will be named Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister. The VRV also pledges to brief Mr. Kanic on all National Security matters by appointing him to the National Defense Council (NDC). The PRF also released a statement in which it acknowledged the ‘important opportunity’ that the coalition agreement presents and pledged to aid in ‘responsible governance’ and to ‘bolster national sentiment’ across the Serene Republic. With the coalition agreement in force, Dr. Rokossovsky easily won a confidence vote in Parliament with 326 MPs voting in favor with 325 voting against. Outgoing Prime Minister Bryon Svatek of the Party for Social Justice (PSJ) acknowledged defeat in a tersely worded statement, but pledged to do everything possible to hold the new government to account. The PSJ leader also expressed some concern that the government of the Serene Republic would be required to rely on the support of a ‘right-wing nationalist’ party in order to govern the country and suggested that the coalition agreement would not last for the full Parliamentary term. In other news, billionaire VaulTech CEO Dr. Maximillian Reaver has announced a proposal to construct a massive new city on the Severnaya Zemlya island chain. The proposed city, which will be named ‘Mir’ is projected to cost NRR $13.2 Billion to construct and will take several years to complete. According to Dr. Reaver, the city will be constructed on the three main islands of the Severnaya Zemyla chain and will be linked by underwater tunnels to each other and to the mainland. This project, which will be fully funded by the company and by Dr. Reaver, is expected to begin once the Land Division of the Interior Ministry completes a detailed feasibility study and decides whether or not to grant the necessary permits for the project to go ahead. Environmentalists have expressed concern that any construction on the island chain would negatively impact the existing habitats in the region.”[/i] – R. Porter

VNN News: Shock election result, PRF fizzles “The Vaulian Electoral Council (VEC) has certified the results of the legislative election in record time due to the overall low voter turnout. According to the official results, voter turnout was 40.6% of eligible voters, a new record low. Initial exit poll results predicted that the Vaule Revolutionary Vanguard (VRV) party would win 311 seats and that the governing Party for Social Justice (PSJ) would win 290 seats leaving the right wing Union of Patriotic Right Forces (PRF) in the position of kingmaker with the remaining 50 seats. However the official results show that the VRV and the PSJ each won 325 seats and are each one seat short of a majority in Parliament. The remaining seat was won by Rinald Kanic, leader of the PRF. -Parliamentary election results (Red-PSJ, Yellow-VRV, Purple-PRF) After the results were announced, Prime Minister Bryon Svatek (Party for Social Justice (PSJ)) stated that he remains Prime Minister and that he is prepared to lead a minority government if the VRV and PRF are unable to agree to a formal coalition. The Prime Minister has also requested that the VEC conduct a full recount of all ballots cast in four seats where the VRV candidate won by less than 50 votes. On the other side of the political spectrum, Opposition Leader Dr. Pavel Rokossovsky (Vaule Revolutionary Vanguard (VRV)) has announced that he has begun talks with Mr. Kanic (Union of Patriotic Right Forces (PRF)) aimed at forming a coalition government. In Dr. Rokossovsky’s announcement he also stated that, if such a coalition could not be formed, that the VRV would be prepared to form a minority government. Both party leaders also vehemently denied a report claiming that a contingency plan, in which the VRV and PSJ would form a broad unity government that would be led by a non-partisan technocrat, was also being discussed. The Office of the Imperator has not yet issued a formal response to the election results. We understand that the VEC has sent the official notification of the results to the Palace, but that no public statement has been issued since then. According to an Imperial Spokesperson, the Imperator has already contacted both Mr. Svatek and Dr. Rokossovsky and discussed the formation of the next government, however no further details were forthcoming.”-R. Porter

[b][u]ZCNA News: Leaked Finance Ministry document shows gov’t missed deficit target[/b][/u] [i]“A leaked document from the Ministry of Finance has shown that the government has missed it’s year one deficit target by a significant margin. According to previous Finance Ministry statements, the Z$194.2 billion stimulus plan envisioned a fiscal deficit of Z$60 billion in the first year and Z$ 30 billion in the second year. The Finance Ministry has so far claimed that the program is ‘mostly on track’ and announced that the various benchmark targets were ‘within acceptable parameters given the national fiscal space’. However, according to an official document leaked to ZCNA news, the fiscal deficit for year one of the stimulus program was Z$92.6 billion and is predicted to rise to Z$102.1 billion in year two. The document expresses the concern of certain Finance Ministry officials that the financial crisis will only worsen unless the government manages to restrain the ballooning deficit. The document also reveals that of the Z$194.2 billion allocated for the stimulus program, Z$172.8 billion has been spent. The Finance Ministry officials have recommended that the remaining funds not be spent and instead be shifted to reduce the year one deficit. In response to the claims made in the document, the Finance Ministry has alleged that the document is a forgery and should not be taken seriously. In a statement, Minister of Finance Vitaly Todorov urged the public not to fall for ‘forgeries designed to undermine the fiscal program of the Socialist Party government’. The Finance Minister also criticized the media for publishing the document and discussing it’s content without first verifying the document’s authenticity. Despite this, our own checks with current and former finance ministry officials indicated that the document is genuine and did originate from the Ministry of Finance. In other news, the Zapadnayan Lira declined further in currency trading today. The Lira fell from 6.94 ISU per Lira to a new record low of 8.72 ISU per Lira at the end of currency trading today. It is now widely believed among financial analysts that the Lira will cross the 10.00 ISU per Lira mark in the next three days. The Zapadnayan Stock Exchange (ZSE) fared little better. By the end of trading the ZSE had declined by 12.4% on news of the government’s missed deficit targets and a further slowdown in the shipbuilding industry.”[/i]

[b][u]VNN News: Polls close amid very low turnout[/b][/u] [i] “The polls have closed in the Serene Republic as voters have finished electing representatives to serve in the Parliament of the Serene Republic. According to statistics released by the VEC, this election had significantly low turnout across most of the country. Overall turnout was approximately 41.2% of eligible voters. The highest voter turnouts were in the Vancouver Territory which had 99.8% of eligible voters turn out to the polls, and the East Ingushetia Autonomous Community which had 98.62% of eligible voters go to the polls. On the other end of the spectrum, the lowest voter turnouts were in the North Sakhalin Autonomous Community (SAC) which had only 3% of eligible voters go to the polls and in the Severnaya Zemlya region which had less than 1% of eligible voters go to the polls. With the polls now closed, the Electoral Council has begun the task of tabulating the results of the vote and determining which political party, if any, has won a majority in the 651 member Parliament. Given the low voter turnout, the final vote count is likely to be completed in a few hours and should be certified rapidly. In the interim, an independently commissioned exit poll appears to predict that the Opposition Vaule Revolutionary Vanguard (VRV) Party of Dr. Pavel Rokossovsky may be on course to be the largest party in Parliament but will be 15 seats short of an absolute majority. The Party for Social Justice (PSJ) is predicted to be 36 seats short of a majority, while the Union of Patriotic Right Forces (PRF) will likely be in the position of kingmaker.”[/i] – R. Porter

[b][u]ZCNA News: Prime Minister to unveil Z$ 194.2 Billion stimulus plan[/b][/u] [i]“Socialist Party leader and Prime Minister Genadiev has announced that the government will shortly unveil a Z$194.2 billion stimulus plan to rescue the national economy. The proposed stimulus plan would involve significant cash injections into infrastructure development, industry and the private sector in order to ‘lay the foundations for economic expansion and growth’ in the near future. According to the Prime Minister, the government has an ambitious plan to return the country to economic growth in the next two years as well as to reduce the budget deficit. Under the proposed two year stimulus program, the government will make significant cash investments into various economic sectors in the first year which will allow those sectors to undertake expansion projects and to hire additional workers. The government will then reduce spending in other areas in order to reduce the budget deficit in year one to Z$60 Billion and Z$30 Billion in year two. According to government projections, the growth and expansion of the private sector as a result of the cash injections, will enable the sector to begin repayment of the stimulus funds in year two of the program. The private sector will be given a five year period to repay the funds with no interest applied. The government has also pledged that some of the stimulus funds will be used to expand worker re-training programs and additional education initiatives to ‘better equip the Zapadnayan workforce for the new economic realities’. These training programs will be coordinated with the Ministry of Education and a number of private companies and organizations. The Opposition Justice and Development Party (JDP) has welcomed additional investment in infrastructure development and worker re-training, but has criticized the government for having failed to identify where it will source the majority of the stimulus funds from. The JDP has expressed concern that the allocation of such a large amount of money, without clear indications of how the funds will be sourced suggests poor planning on the part of the government and may mean that the government will either have to increase taxes significantly or add to the mounting national debt in order to pay for the stimulus program. The JDP has suggested that the government could adopt a more ‘fiscally sound’ approach by making cuts to certain government expenditures in order to find the funds for the stimulus program.”[/i]

VNN News: Voting begins in Parliamentary elections “With little fanfare, citizens of the Serene Republic began voting in Parliamentary elections this morning. Today marks the end of an unusually harsh political campaign that pitted Prime Minister Bryon Svatek’s Party for Social Justice (PSJ) against Dr. Pavel Rokossovsky’s Vaule Revolutionary Vanguard (VRV) Party, with the Slavic Unity Party (SUP) and the Union of Patriotic Right Forces (PRF) reduced to mere spectators. The VRV mounted a campaign that focused on the economic failings of the PSJ led government and often referred to the ‘economic and social stability’ which marked the four years that the VRV formed the Vaulian government. Keen to avoid being tied to the floundering national economy, the governing PSJ mounted a campaign focused on the party’s successes at increasing the social safety net and reforming some of the heavily bureaucratic institutions of government. The Vaule Electoral Commission (VEC) has confirmed that voting has been going smoothly at all locations in the Serene Republic including the Vancouver Territory. According to the VEC, voting began on time and there have been ‘no serious incidents’ that have affected the process thus far. The Commission also noted that voter turnout during the first four hours of the current election appears to be ‘significantly lower’ than in previous polls. In other news, billionaire Dr. Maximillian Reaver officially opened the headquarters of Reaver Space Industries (RSI) with a ribbon cutting ceremony in the Baikal Autonomous Community today. Dr. Reaver praised the speed with which the headquarters was completed and urged the construction team to focus their energies on completing the launch facilities and the proposed RSI research station which are due to be completed later this year. Dr. Reaver also stated that RSI’s acquisition of factories is proceeding on schedule and will be completed in the next five months. RSI is also planning to construct a massive residential complex to house RSI staff. The residential complex has been tentatively named ‘Grand Reaverville 1A’. The building plans for ‘Grand Reaverville’ also include plans for a 70 ft statue of Dr. Reaver riding a polar bear on top of a 10 ft marble column.”

[b][u]ZCNA News: It’s official: Economy in crisis, inflation now at 18%[/b][/u] [i]“After much speculation and ardent government denials, new economic data proves beyond a doubt that the country is now in an economic crisis situation. According to data from the independent National Economic Office (NEO), inflation for this fiscal year is now at 18.4% with unemployment rising to 24.1%. The NEO also estimates that the Zapadnayan economy contracted by 5.3% last quarter and is expected to undergo a further 5% contraction this quarter. The NEO has also revealed that confidence in the economy is also declining with only 28% of Zapadnayans believing that the economy is on the right track. A record 63% of Zapadnayans believe that the economy is on the wrong track, while the remaining 9% were unsure. When asked if they believed the economic situation would improve in the medium term, only 13% of those polled believed that the situation will improve while 80% believed that the economic situation will not improve in the medium to long term. In its annual report, the NEO has expressed concern that the combined factors of declining confidence in the economy, coupled with increasing unemployment and the absence of economic growth may contribute to industrial instability over the short term and may also significantly impact government finances as social programs may come under additional strain as the number of unemployed Zapadnayans increases. The NEO also stated that Zapadnaya’s debt to GDP ratio is now approaching 40%, and that this would undoubtedly have a negative effect on the country’s creditworthiness as well as the nation’s ability to procure new financial agreements.[/i]

[b][u]VNN News: Building collapse in East Ingushetia; Max Reaver launches new company[/b][/u] [i]“A building collapse in Itzukograd, East Ingushetia has left 10 people dead and more than 80 injured. According to reports from our local news affiliates, the six story building collapsed at 9:02 am this morning. The building reportedly housed an insurance company and a local newspaper. Emergency crews on the scene reported that most of the employees had not yet arrived for work and that a number of those injured in the collapse were hurt by falling debris. Neither the newspaper nor the insurance company were available for comment on the incident. It is unclear at this time what circumstances led to the collapse of the building, but emergency services have theorized that structural damage may have played a crucial role. According to the file at the National Infrastructure Bureau office in the East Ingushetia regional capital, the building had received ‘moderate structural damage’ in an earthquake three years ago which prompted the agency to demand that the owners undertake repairs to the structure of the building. It is unclear whether or not these repairs were completed. In other news, billionaire industrialist Dr. Maximillian Reaver has announced the formation of a new company focused entirely on space exploration and scientific research. At a hastily arranged press conference at his mansion in Ulan-Ude, Dr. Reaver announced the formation of Reaver Space Industries (RSI). According to Dr. Reaver, the company aims to put a space station in orbit in the next three years, and to begin preparations for colonizing other planets within a decade. The company is also expected to offer private space travel services to and from the space station when it is completed. Reaver Space Industries is expected to acquire and construct a number of factories across the Serene Republic in order to produce equipment in order to carry out its space projects. These factories, once in operation, are expected to provide more than 2,500 permanent jobs for skilled engineers, researchers and technicians.”[/i]

[b][u]ZCNA News: Stock market plunge as Nationalization law passes Parliament, President to veto[/b][/u] [i]“The controversial Nationalization law drafted by the governing Socialist Party (SP) has been approved by the National Assembly during a special session held this morning. The bill was approved by the 259 Socialist Party members of the National Assembly, while the 241 members from the opposition Justice and Development Party (JDP) and the Republican People’s Party (RPP) voted against the bill. The Nationalization law is expected to be approved by the Senate in the next few days as the Socialist Party (SP) commands a supermajority of 60 Senators in that legislative chamber. According to a statement from H.E. President Paskal Dragomirov, the President will veto the Nationalization bill if it is approved by the Senate as the proposed law is ‘a drastic departure from the economic norms of Zapadnaya’ and may be the tool which could be used to ‘usher in a new era of the expansion of the role of the state in managing huge areas of the national economy’. The Presidency also announced that an emergency summit of key business and industry stakeholders will be held at the Presidential residence tomorrow in order to discuss the events. With very little fanfare, the Zapadnayan Stock Exchange (ZSE) plunged sharply on news that the Nationalization law was approved by the Parliament. By the close of trading today, the ZSE had lost almost 14.2% of its value to close at a record 7 year low. The Zapadnayan Lira also fell in currency trading today to a new low of 6.94 ICUs per Lira, with all indications suggesting that the exchange rate will cross the 7.00 ICU mark as early as tomorrow morning. The trend of ever increasing demand for ICUs will likely continue given the economic situation and the potential for future instability.”[/i]

[b][u]VNN News: Election campaign begins, rumors of VRV-PRF agreement[/b][/u] [i]“The election campaign got underway today as the government and opposition launched a barrage of campaign ads criticizing each other’s policies. The Opposition Vaule Revolutionary Vanguard (VRV) party has focused its criticism on the failure of the government’s economic policy and its pledges of significant institutional reform. The governing Party for Social Justice (PSJ) has sought to rebuff criticisms of its tenure by pointing to the government’s record of maintaining social spending despite the economic worries facing the country. The PSJ is also claiming that the VRV economic plan would involve imposing significant austerity and higher taxes on the country. Opposition leader Dr. Pavel Rokossovsky has reportedly scheduled a series of campaign stops all over the country as he seeks to bolster support for the VRV in what is likely to be a tough election. The VRV is also rumored to be in the process of negotiating an coalition with the nationalist Union of Patriotic Right Forces (PRF) party in an attempt to block a possible PSJ parliamentary majority. The rumors were denied by representatives of both parties, but were notably not denied by the party leaders themselves. In other news, the economy of the Serene Republic grew by a lackluster 1.2% this quarter. This is significantly below the government’s ambitious growth target of 2.6%. The primary drivers of this economic growth were increases in agricultural production and manufacturing.”[/i]-R. Porter