Reds Take Seats; Treasonous Voters?
Oranje County voters went to the polls last weekend in local elections that set few pulses racing: turnout was the lowest on record and the Libertarian Democratic Party (LDP), the dominant partner in the Oranje Republic’s ruling coalition, cruised to victory predictably, winning over half the nation’s prefectural assembly seats. But another political success did surprise: the Red Communist Party (RCP) emerged as the country’s largest opposition at the local level.
The RCP took 136 seats, knocking the centrist Democratic Party of Oranje County (DPO)—which ran the country just five years ago—into fourth place behind the Whigs, the LDP’s coalition partner. The result followed notable gains made by the RCP in a general election in June, when they took more than 11% of votes, bringing up their share of parliamentary seats from 8 to 21: the party’s best showing ever.
Though the Communist party has never looked remotely close to taking power, in recent months it has grown exponentially - feeding off of Fulfletian propaganda and an anti-war sentiment among many Oranjestadians. The party has over 30,000 members, including 25,000 it says it recruited in the first months of 2015 (the LDP claims around 790,000). It also publishes a newspaper, Red Flag, which has a daily circulation of about 35k.
The RCP’s platform has changed little in decades: its main aims are to overturn capitalism; to scrap Oranje’s armed forces eventually; and to end the country’s decades-old support for the ousted ruler of Fulfwotz, Emperor Sammich. Party Leader Yuri Guri believes his party can end the conflict between the Fulflet Union and Oranjestad peacefully by “painting the town red”. The party’s renewed popularity is mostly a measure of the public’s frustration with mainstream politics, says Jeff Kingston of Clementine University. It has capitalized on the electorate’s concerns about the right-wing government of Lord Nebbers, by rejecting his attempts to restart nuclear plants, cut corporate taxes and weaken restrictions on Oranje’s military forces—all of which have gathered pace this year under Nebbers’ stewardship. The RCP’s recent popularity boost is also a result of its stand against an unpopular hike in the consumption tax last year.
The party’s increased representation since December has allowed it to propose new laws, for the first time in years. Though its website pledges to end the Oranje Republics “extraordinary relationship” to the Sammichian emperor, in practice the RCP focuses on narrower struggles. The bills it has submitted this year attempt to limit corporate funding for political parties and to rename Oranjestad to Krasnyygrad (Red City). One a perennial gripe of voters and the other a recent grievance, they are both bound to be popular with the public.
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Ginger Olinger, Olde Orangetown: "Communism is life-giving hammer made of love that we use to crush our enemies".
Reba McDonald, Budapest: "They promised me candy if I voted for them. I'm still waiting."
Donald McDonald, Budapest: "My whore of an ex-wife will do anything for a sugar fix. I asked that her tongue be removed as part of the divorce proceedings, but NooOoOoooo... and now look! She's a GDAMN COMMIE!"
Geraldine Coffeemaker, Lusus: "Communism doesn't work because people like to own stuff."
Alex Steinbacher: "I'd never done a crazy thing in my life before that night... Why is it when a man kills another man in battle, it's called heroic... but if he kills a man in the heat of passion, it's called murder?
Comments
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A reporter from the Laurelian Chronicle was there to photograph the action and write a piece but was denied entry to the press conference by an RCP security officer. Took the reporter's press badge right out of his hand and tossed it in the trash.Had this anything to do with the "Viva Sammich" patch on his camera bag? If so, is freedom of speech not a right that is honored by the RCP?6
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oh jeez.......... *curb your enthusiasm theme song*3
