[Clausewitz]

"...and we cannot wither in a winter of discontent, nor shall our resolve flag in our hour of victory. For soon, we shall have a Parliament in which the SLDs - the one party in this country which stands for true freedom and equality - shall hold the reins of government, and bring to the People the justice they deserve."

The scruffy SLD presenter - the esteemed Oxvard sociologist I.M.A. Strawman - looked up from his notes scattered across the podium at the audience, smiled, and received his round of applause. He smacked his lips, ran his hand over his balding head and collected his notes before nodding at the PUC presenter across the stage, with a respectful smile upon his lips, and returned to his seat at the table at left of the stage.

The PUC presenter - a young but undisputedly dashing Yalebridge law professor, clean-shaven, dressed in a pressed, black pinstripe three-piece suit and French cuffs - smiled to the SLD presenter in a way more saccharine and diplomatic than friendly and cordial. He was Michael von Clausewitz - the framer of the provisional PoFo Constitution, newly christened chairman of the PUC-L, a center-left grouping in parliament. Bourgeois out of the bourgeois; arrogant dandy par excellence, he collected his own notes, brushed his nails against his lapel, straightened the kerchief in his suit pocket, and approached the podium. He presented the same reptilian smile to the audience he had given to Dr. Strawman.

"I have one topic for this evening," Clausewitz said, leaning against the podium and turning to address the SLD presenter himself.

"What is the position of the Social Liberal Democrats on a coalition with the SN party?"

"What is the position of the Social Liberal Democrats on the terms offered by the SN party? Namely - that the SN demands that the SLDs adopt 2/3rds of a policy document which includes..." Clausewitz paused for a moment, looking down at the copy of the SN document on the podium before him, "Oh, yes - abolishing lending, abandoning all gun control, and giving 'unlimited financial and material support to union council and 'cooperative' organizations.' What is the position of the Social Liberal Democrats on adopting such policies?"

"Do the rank and file of the Party support such policies? Do those who have voted for the SLDs know that high-ranking members of their party look favorably upon accepting so much as 4/5 of the policies of the SN? Because this - " the PUC presenter said, raising a document high above him from the table, the SLD platform, and raising his voice to a booming cry, "is the platform of a free party and of a free people and it does not concur with -this!-" as Clausewitz brandished the SN platform in the other hand.

"So to hell with it!" Clausewitz said, dramatically, tossing the SN platform to the ground beside him, holding the SLD document high. "We live in dark times, and the PUC and the SLDs are the light of civilization in a dark world poised against the forces of anarchy and tyranny. And I am proud to call myself a member of one of those two honourable parties. And I hope that I will stand beside this party in government!" Clausewitz shouted, waving the SLD platform above him.

"But we are bound by law. There will not be enough delegates for an SLD-PUC government alone. Members of the SLD must find parties to the right palatable, or else they will not govern, as the PUC refuses to accept the terms currently offered by the Communists. And I would regret that, because I have looked forward with pride upon the prospect of serving with the honourable men and women of the SLDs." the presenter said, placing the SLD document back on the table.

"So I raise my questions again:"

• Will the SLDs accept a coalition with the SNs under the terms offered by the SNs (acceptance of 2/3-3/4 of a radical platform, even though the SNs would hold the minority left wing of any coalition)
• Do the SLDs absolutely refuse a coalition with right-wing parties such as the CA? Can this be amenable, or will the PUC have to find suitors on the right?

[Zagadka]

# Will the SLDs accept a coalition with the SNs under the terms offered by the SNs (acceptance of 2/3-3/4 of a radical platform, even though the SNs would hold the minority left wing of any coalition)

Why should we accept the majority of a platform that is a weak minority? Are we going to surrender to France, too?

It would be against the entire ideology of SLDs to use such forceful means. If we wanted the majority of the SN platform, we'd be in that group.

There will not be enough delegates for an SLD-PUC government alone.

I should hope not.

Do the SLDs absolutely refuse a coalition with right-wing parties

It is not rational to absolutely refuse anything. I would be happy to work with a right-wing party, if our goals (oh, rightists - and goals and means) aligned.

[Attica]

Will the SLDs accept a coalition with the SNs under the terms offered by the SNs (acceptance of 2/3-3/4 of a radical platform, even though the SNs would hold the minority left wing of any coalition)

Do the SLDs absolutely refuse a coalition with right-wing parties such as the CA? Can this be amenable, or will the PUC have to find suitors on the right?

I am a very open kind of guy. I will happily debate issues and work towards solutions. However that is within reason. I refuse to accept the SNs terms and I also refuse to work with any Far-Right brigade such as the Conservative Alliance. Especially Dan.

I would have liked to govern in some kind of coalition with PUC but I fear I can not be a part of any deal with the CA or the SN. I have my own principles to hold.

[Vladimir]

Telegram from the SN to SLD

"We have been informed of the recent SLD-PUC hate-fest against the SN and the proletariat, and about the rightist outcries against SLD-SN negotiations. In light of this we must remark that we are willing to consider SLD's terms if the SLD doesn't accept ours. I think it would be wise if you do, considering that an SN-RF coalition is underway, as well as our leverage on your left wing. If you are not compromising enough, we may well outflank you, cause a split and pull the entire spectrum to the left, which would turn out to your own disadvantage. However we for the moment think that a coalition is acceptable in order to counterbalance the reactionaries. You must take our offers seriously, and keep in mind that our dealings with you are causing some concern among the proletarian organisations that we are representing, as you can see from the reports in Irish Worker Weekly: viewtopic.php?f=89&t=103913&p=1867058#p1867058.

[dilpill]

Will the SLDs accept a coalition with the SNs under the terms offered by the SNs (acceptance of 2/3-3/4 of a radical platform, even though the SNs would hold the minority left wing of any coalition)

I sure as hell wont.

Do the SLDs absolutely refuse a coalition with right-wing parties such as the CA? Can this be amenable, or will the PUC have to find suitors on the right?

I would actually prefer a big and boring grand coalition.

[Donna]

I would appeal to the SLD to retain some sense of calm medium by refusing any deals involving the uplift of extremist parties like the SN, RF, or CA. I really do hope to see the PUC-L/R and SLD work together against the anarchists and leninists. This will render the far-left as scattered as the far-right. The future of the SLD probably rests on this crucial decision regarding their own influence to make or break a parliament with a strong extremist element.

[dilpill]

^The only problem, Donald, is that the SLD and the PUC will not have enough seats to form a majority government. We'll have to ally with at least one other party. My top three choices would be CA, SN, and PNL. However, most members of my party wouldn't vote for a coalition with either the CA or the PNL, and it seems that most members of your party won't vote for a coalition including the SN or PNL.

It's quite a dilemma, you see.

[Korimyr the Rat]

C'mon, guys. Where's the love?

[Donna]

It's quite a dilemma, you see.

I'm actually talking to House right now about a prospective PUC-SLD-PNL coalition with the aim of countering SN-RF.

Now, I understand there's a large divide between SLD/PNL. I don't know what to say about this except that perhaps both parties can promise the SLD that the CA remains in a limited capacity by leaving them out of the swing, with the natural aim of rendering far-left forces the same.

SN-RF and their potential influence should be taken seriously by all parties. For SLD, it's gonna come down to how they want to manage the SN-RF question.

Who do you really want to work with???

[Demosthenes]

Telegram from the SN to SLD

"We have been informed of the recent SLD-PUC hate-fest against the SN and the proletariat, and about the rightist outcries against SLD-SN negotiations. In light of this we must remark that we are willing to consider SLD's terms if the SLD doesn't accept ours. I think it would be wise if you do, considering that an SN-RF coalition is underway, as well as our leverage on your left wing. If you are not compromising enough, we may well outflank you, cause a split and pull the entire spectrum to the left, which would turn out to your own disadvantage. However we for the moment think that a coalition is acceptable in order to counterbalance the reactionaries. You must take our offers seriously, and keep in mind that our dealings with you are causing some concern among the proletarian organisations that we are representing, as you can see from the reports in Irish Worker Weekly: viewtopic.php?f=89&t=103913&p=1867058#p1867058.

You guys should really take Vlad seriously...

[Vladimir]

Indeed. Also, by doing any dealings with the PUC (even PUC-L who appear to be a sham faction aimed at luring SLD to the right) the SLD is effectively commiting suicide, as it will be dragged into the rightist swamp and your already mild platform will be dissolved in it.

[dilpill]

Who do you really want to work with???

I guess the PNL. While I would probably find quite a few of their stances offensive, we will have to compromise to get ourselves into a governing coalition.

[Dan]

I am a very open kind of guy. I will happily debate issues and work towards solutions. However that is within reason. I refuse to accept the SNs terms and I also refuse to work with any Far-Right brigade such as the Conservative Alliance. Especially Dan.

I would appeal to the SLD to retain some sense of calm medium by refusing any deals involving the uplift of extremist parties like the SN, RF, or CA.

We are not far right. If you read our platform it is a moderate conservative document expousing centre-right ideals.

We are far from extremists. We are a voice of moderation and pragmatism.

[Cheesecake_Marmalade]

I guess the PNL. While I would probably find quite a few of their stances offensive, we will have to compromise to get ourselves into a governing coalition.

Fortunately we recognize that we are in the minority and that if we want to be able to affect public policy or at least shift the power away from the moderate to radical left we need to compromise or even give up on some of our platform. We've chosen to definitely drop eugenics from our platform. All of our social issues are 100% negotiable. Some of our economic policies are too, though once we get our platform posted you may be pleasantly surprised as to how much you agree with.

The only "far right" position I don't see us budging on is our anti-immigration stance, although I think we'd be open to a looser legal immigration stance (though I should hope that we continue a merit based one) if we crack down on illegal immigration.

[Paradigm]

I would actually be open to an alliance with the PNL. But I will respect whatever the majority of my party decides to go with.

[Clausewitz]

I'll make a counter-proposal to what the SN offered the SLDs. This counter-proposal has not been endorsed by the PUC leadership, membership, nor the SLD leadership or membership.

This is my analysis of the current SN platform:

Acceptable
5. Higher inheritance tax for capital inheritance (70%?)
1. Freedom of political activity within unions and workplaces
8. Free universal healthcare
9. Free education from kindergarten to doctorate

Conditional
1. Solidarity with workers of all countries *
2. Recognition of the right to self-determination for all oppressed nations *
4. Against all imperialist wars and wars of aggression *

Borderline unacceptable
1. Bank nationalization
2. Heavy progressive tax
3. Abolition of tax for low incomes, increases of tax on profits (50%?)
7. 100% separation of church and state.
10. Regulation of the entire education system by teachers' and students' councils
4. Price freezing or imposing of narrow price boundary (through buffer stock operation, which instead of being sold off can be used for charity) on staple items, namely those with a low price elasticity of demand

Unacceptable
6. Abolition of interest rates on small loans, individual debts, minimisation of rent rates (and possibly abolition in some cases, as well as expropriation in certain cases)
7. Democratization of trade unions, namely via a transfer to a delegate base from the current representative one
8. Legislation for all employment contract negotiating to go through trade unions with membership as a prerequisite
2. Universal and unabridged right to firearms
3. A power division contract between workers' councils and state; we promise to push through in the parliament any demands councils make
4. Abolition of police, standing army, and nuclear program. Establishment of a universal workers' militia in their place.
5. Reservation of at least half of the court jury seats for worker council delegates
6. Unlimited financial and material support to union, council and "cooperative" organisations as well as entrusting large local budgets to them
9. Guarantee of legalization of factory occupations as "cooperatives", as well as expropriation and handing over to its workers of any enterprise in risk of being plundered by its owner
3. Heavy taxes on the export of capital and outsourcing of jobs
5. Abolition of NATO, the World Bank, IMF, WTO, and all other imperialist cliques & agreements.
6. Withdrawal of all military personnel from all foreign countries
7. Make decision making in foreign policy open and transparent to the people; Open publication of all secret treaties and actions made by the previous government

So, my counterproposal (and I'd ask for centrist SLDs and PUC members to endorse this if they agree in principle) is that at a minimum in order for centrist parties to consider coalitions with SN, SN must for the purposes of governing:

• Renounce all Thirteen Unacceptables.
• Accept centrist interpretations of the Three Conditionals.
• Accept a Prime Minister selected from the membership of the Centrist Parties (SLDs, PUC)

While I make this counterproposal, I am currently far more optimistic about the possibilities of relationships with parties to PUC's right. Apparently some SN members are not even satisfied with demanding that the SLDs surrender to 2/3 of the SN platform, so I am extremely pessimistic that any compromise can be reached with SN that would be palatable to PUC.

SLDs should beware that if SN cannot accept this position, the SLDs will have to form a government with PUC and right-wing parties. If the SLD does not develop an official, united platform on this question, the SLDs will be probably be at a disadvantage in coalition discussions.

If the SLDs do not resolve to work with conservative parties, independent SLD members will be at a severe disadvantage in participating in governments led by center-right parties. I strongly encourage the SLDs to discuss coalitions with right-wing parties now, in advance of government formation, and to establish reasonable terms for cooperating with conservative parties.

There is a significant likelihood that the SLDs will be unable to join a centrist coalition under terms acceptable to PUC and right-wing parties, and a center-right government may have to be formed which will not include SLD. Independent SLD members interested in participating in the government should consider joining centrist parties that will almost certainly be part of the governing coalition and take a stand against SN extremism.

[Donna]

Indeed. Also, by doing any dealings with the PUC (even PUC-L who appear to be a sham faction aimed at luring SLD to the right) the SLD is effectively commiting suicide, as it will be dragged into the rightist swamp and your already mild platform will be dissolved in it.

Working with a democratic centrist party will be alot less harmful to the interests of SLD than working with leninists. SLD are democratic leftists, after all.

We all know that SN is a shadow dictatorship-in-waiting.

[FallenRaptor]

Clausewitz:

In short, you want SN to degrade itself to the level of common bourgeois-liberals.

I think I speak for everyone in my party when I say this: No dice.

Donald:

We are currently in favor of using parliamentary methods of achieving our goals. Your accusations are 100% baseless.

[Nets]

The PUC cannot in good conscience accept anymore of the SN program than what Clausewitz has laid out.

The PUC simply cannot accept the following, no negotiations can change this.

6. Abolition of interest rates on small loans, individual debts, minimisation of rent rates (and possibly abolition in some cases, as well as expropriation in certain cases)
8. Legislation for all employment contract negotiating to go through trade unions with membership as a prerequisite
2. Universal and unabridged right to firearms
3. A power division contract between workers' councils and state; we promise to push through in the parliament any demands councils make
4. Abolition of police, standing army, and nuclear program. Establishment of a universal workers' militia in their place.
5. Reservation of at least half of the court jury seats for worker council delegates
6. Unlimited financial and material support to union, council and "cooperative" organisations as well as entrusting large local budgets to them
9. Guarantee of legalization of factory occupations as "cooperatives", as well as expropriation and handing over to its workers of any enterprise in risk of being plundered by its owner
5. Abolition of NATO, the World Bank, IMF, WTO, and all other imperialist cliques & agreements.
6. Withdrawal of all military personnel from all foreign countries
7. Make decision making in foreign policy open and transparent to the people; Open publication of all secret treaties and actions made by the previous government

[Demosthenes]

We all know that SN is a shadow dictatorship-in-waiting.

ANd you are simply a group of oligarches who won't even bother to hide in the shadows. You'll bandy about terms like "Freedom" and continue to employ scare tactics about the "Red Menace" rather than enter into any meaningful dialogue. Puh-lease...

In short, you want SN to degrade itself to the level of common bourgeois-liberals.

I think I speak for everyone in my party when I say this: No dice.

And I concur, it would make absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Clauzwitz...you are still not compromising. YOU are dictating terms which is exactly what you accuse the SN of doing. I don't think I'd blame them at all if they simply ignored your proposal, which isn't a proposal at all...but more or less a threat to either meet you on your terms or STFU.

I'd STFU and go my own way personally, if it came to that.