II. Tōhoku general elections

[Evangeline Anovilis]

With the fall of the first cabinet under Omura, new elections are to be held, due to a lack of overall consensus between the different parties. The strong Democratic Party expects losses, but aims to preserve its leading position, the Conservative Party, up to now with a junior role in the coalition has stated to aim for the prime minister, with their candidate being current minister of foreign affairs Nakamichi Minoru. The Liberals under Yannasagi declared the existing system bancrupt and want to profit from a clean reputation after the disastrous last few months. The Progressive Party is a bit of an oddball, where noone yet knows what to expect. They seem more statist and have strains of nationalism, but proclaim themselves third-way and state clear support to democratic values.

 

Democratic Party | Minshutō

 

Leader: Chiba Goemon

Position: Center-left politics; encouraging individual freedom; improving the opportunities of hard-working people and increasing subsidies for the less fortunate.

 

Conservative Party | Hoshutō

 

Leader: Nakamichi Minoru

Position: Center-right politics; encouraging solidarity; prevent "social erosion"; support for small and medium business.

 

Liberal Party | Jiyūtō

 

Leader: Yannasagi Makoto

Position: Social and Economic Liberalism, strengthening Tōhoku by improving the competitiveness of the region, cutting taxes for business and consumers to encourage production and consumption.

 

Progressive Party | Shimpotō

 

Leader: Matsushiro Ken

Position: In favour of more state intervention to protect businesses. Wants more to be done to prevent a demographic crisis in the country and a greater degree of intervention in social matters.

 

Questions once again can be made and will most likely get answered.

 

OOC: 48 hours. Only people with CNRP nations get a valid vote. I reserve for myself the right to change outcomes for realism's sake and to prevent ties.

[Evangeline Anovilis]

Conservatives secure majority - Nationalism on the rise?
 
As the elections close, noone can cast doubt anymore on Nakamichi Minoru being the clear winner. Leadng his party from the Shimpotō disaster to holding an absolute majoriy in the diet has made Nakamichi the Saviour of the Hoshutō. Nakamichi, who has represented Dai-Tōhoku to the outside world already in the last cabinet has especially been promoted as the young man of action that the country needed. as it seems a trick that worked.
 

Nakamichi Minoru, Second Prime Minister of the Dai-Tōhoku Renpō

 

But while in polls many claimed Nakamichi to be the most charismatic of the four party leaders (tightly followed by Yannasagi), the main reason that people ticked the conservative box on the ballot was for most the party program. In the last few weeks, Nakamichi increasingly distanced himself from the Minshutō, at times openly criticising their government course (heavily influenced by their coalition with Nakamichi's predecessor Date) and the recent diplomatic issues, which he blamed on Democratic (Party) incompetence. Instead, the Minister of Foreign Affairs promised tax reform, less unecessary expenditures and a strengthening of the market, in order to pay off the massive sovereign debt, and to be more assertive in foreign politics. Surely trying to appeal to a rising national sentiment, Nakamichi showed he would not beat around the bush. In one of the speeches before the election, but also today in his victory speech, Nakamichi declared as the objective of his foreign policy to "solve the issues between Japan and the world, in order to resolve the issues between Japan and Japan." and "without denying the Emperor what is his, [we] need to strive for what is Japan's."
 
In the matter of Bolivia, early polls indicated this a major weakness of the conservatives. Yannasagi Makoto, head of the liberal Jiyūtō accused Nakamichi of being hawkish and wanting to waste the nations ressources on a different continent, far off of Dai-Tōhoku's actual problems. He even created a minor debate within political circles, when he openly quoted Nakamichi demanding of his coalition partner in the parliamentary debate on reinforcing the occupation forces to "Just annex it!" However, unexpectedly the conservative party soon adopted the phrase as official party policy, accusing others of wanting to take lightly the Japanese honour. "If we cannot hold onto Bolivia after being entrusted with it, why should the Emperor ever entrust us with greater responsibilities closer to the Imperial heart? Instead we ought to show in Bolivia that even in our lands, the Imperial values and rule bring people peace and happiness."

 

Election results in detail

 

Minshutō 25.53%

 

Hoshutō 57.14%

 

Jiyūtō 5.07%

 

Shimpotō 12.26%