Realpolitik of the Smoky Skies - The Reboot

The "Mossback Party" has been registered with the Pulian Electoral Commission. The party's stated intention is to stop the rolling stone of societal change in Pulias. The party founder, wealthy economist Mr. Dot Eitus says he created the traditionalist party in an attempt to "balance the political culture". He described the existing political landscape as consisting of "a very powerful party to the left, one moderate party, and one strictly militarist party on the right" which in his view has "left out a sizeable portion of the population underrepresented." He argued that "Instead of creating a class of people entirely dependent on the government, let's hark back to an age where a man earned his keep through his own hard work, where the rich are not published for their position, but looked up to for their ingenuity and talent."

Reaction to these developments has been cautiously received across the political spectrum, with Mr. Percy Huggins, an outspoken citizen of Pulias City stating that he had no particular view on the new party other than "to welcome and encourage all politically minded individuals to express their heartfelt views." And presumably speaking from experience, he stated that "Taking a public stand on important issues is a courageous step that opens one to possible ostracism and rebuke but will improve the quality of debate and ultimately result in more enlightened policies."

The Acting Prime Minister and President of the Pulias People's Party, Senator the Honourable William Melda offered similar in-principle support, commenting that "I will always encourage people to stand up for what they believe it, and believe that diversity in the political sphere is good for a healthy democracy," but tempered it with his personal "concern" to see what he termed as "any attempt to interfere with the progress of our great modern nation, either technologically or socially."

Senator the Honourable Augustus Absoluti, Leader of the Opposition and Imperator of the Pulian Imperial Party, the incumbent traditionalist party in the Senate made clear that while he was "not averse to seeing an increase in diversity in the political spectrum in Pulias" he did say "I am worried about what one man can accomplish without binding to a larger political entity." To clarify he explained, "So far as I can tell this will remain a one-man party for a substantial amount of time, at the moment few new politicians have joined [the political sphere] so I am interested to see how the new party deals with this."

Will the rolling stone of Pulias gather Mossbacks? Only time will tell.

All Senators were contacted for comment.

An interview with Mr. Eitus is included on page 2.

After corresponding with the newest political player in town, I was quick to secure an interview at the earliest opportunity with Mr. Dot Eitus, the bold founder of the new traditionalist party, the Mossback Party. The Eitus name is well known in certain elite circles, and as I met Mr. Eitus for tea in his townhouse in an upmarket Pulias City neighbourhood well beyond my price range it was very clear to me that I was meeting a descendant of the pre-Dawn Pulian nobility, a true member of the old guard Establishment. He had dark, piercing eyes and dark hair which was well manicured. He was a very well groomed individual. It was obvious when he spoke that he was a very learned figure, and incredibly well read. The new political leader was every bit the model of politeness and cordiality associated with the gallant stereotype of a gentleman, an ideal which has admittedly taken a reputational toll in the years since the Fall.

We began:

H. Godwin: Thank you very much for agreeing to meet with me today, Mister Eitus.

D. Eitus: Thank you for coming Mister Godwin. I'm glad to have my story told.

H.G.: Glad to hear it. Mister Eitus, you would have to concede that traditionalist parties have not had the best track record of electoral success in modern Pulian history. Why do you think that is?

D.E.: I think perhaps they haven't been truly representative of those who would support a traditionalist agenda. In what I have read, it seems they have always built themselves around the idea that the opposite of the PPP is a policy of militant expansion. This of course is not the case. Being a traditionalist I can still seek peace in foreign affairs just as a member of the PPP can. It is my opinion that foreign policy comes secondary to domestic policy, so to craft your platform around foreign policy is just illogical. The people of Pulias care about their day-to-day, not what is happening thousands of kilometers away. It is the job of government to ensure they're protected from foreign threats so that they may go about their daily life without thought to what is happening in the outside world. They need to know that someone else is taking care of that.

H.G.: Traditionalist parties only picked up a third of all votes cast at the last general election. What makes you think you and your party will have greater appeal than those who've come before you?

D.E.: As I have previously alluded to, previous traditionalist parties missed the mark on what their target constituency cares about. My party, the Mossbacks, will take heed to this message and act on it.

H.G.: Why did you choose to form your own party, instead of joining a like-minded party such as the Pulian Imperial Party?

D.E.: The PIP has made a critical error in forming around the idea that militarism and conquest of others is central to making Pulias strong. I have indicated that I would support a strong military, but I have also indicated that I support an isolationist policy. Imperialism, in any fashion, is against our philosophy of cultural distinction. We seek to preserve what has made Pulias great, and it would be hypocritical of us to do this by tearing down the culture of another.

H.G.: Your party manifesto says that you would seek to take an isolationist stance in international affairs while maintaining a large standing army? Are these two objectives not contradictions?

D.E.: No, not necessarily. While we would like to turn the focus of national policy inward, it cannot be ignored that other people do exist. We simply believe it is best to keep interactions with these foreigners to a minimum. In doing this, we must keep a strong defensive force to protect ourselves against aggressors.

H.G.: Given your anti-interventionist military stance, what is your view of the Anti-Luddite Task Force headed by the Prime Minister, Senator the Honourable Heerlo and the Leader of the Opposition, Senator the Honourable Augustus Absoluti?

D.E.: I am in support of it. The Luddites have grown to be a threat to national security and should be addressed promptly.

H.G.: Are you concerned that your party contesting cities where the Pulian Imperial Party are also fielding candidates could split the traditionalist vote and allow more progressive or radical candidates to win?

D.E.: That is a good question, and I am sure many are asking the same thing. I think it is critical that you and others understand that first and foremost the Mossback Party is here to represent the underrepresented. I personally would not be able to sleep at night if I went even another day without bringing to the table their needs and their issues. If this seems inconvenient to any because of some out of touch political maneuverings then good. I am not here to play games, I am here to represent real people with real problems.

H.G.: You mentioned in at your party launch that you saw yourself as a defender against so-called "upstarts" who you say aim to degrade tradition, vilify the elite and ennobled. Would you care to elaborate more on who you consider these upstarts to be?

D.E.: I suppose up until this point all the other parties. Don't get me wrong, not every action they have taken has degraded tradition, but the general political outcomes of this and previous governments have done just that.

H.G.: What particular traditional Pulian values does your party claim to defend?

D.E.: We claim to defend the culture and tradition of Pulias of course! The hard work this nation was built on. The social and economic codes of conduct that have made us who we are.

H.G.: Was there something in particular that pushed you to enter the political arena at this time?

D.E.: Yes, as previously mentioned, I simply could not go another day leaving such a critical segment of our population underrepresented as it is.

H.G.: Looking at the party representation in the current Senate, should you have electoral success at the next election do you foresee any potential of working with any of the parties?

D.E.: I do see potential. Though political outcomes have been unsatisfactory thus far, I hope to work with whoever I can.

H.G.: As the next general election is not scheduled for another ten years, what are your plans until then?

D.E.: Lay the groundwork. There is much that goes into a political campaign and I want to be ready when the time comes.


We then turned to other matters (refer to New Party Pledges to Stop Rolling Stone on page 1 for more information about the formation of the Mossback Party). Before meeting Mr. Eitus I had been aware of his reputation for pompousness. However I must admit I was impressed with the eloquence of his speech, which was smooth and charming, and it was very obvious to me that I was in the presence of an extremely well educated fellow.

Whether his charms and personal charisma translate to political victory is anyone's guess, but it is clear that there is a new political player in town, and his name is Eitus.

Greetings, fellow citizens of Pulias!

I merely wished to address today the rumor that there were human rights violations in our nation's recent war with the Luddites. As I'm sure you all know, I, along with the late Senator Augustus Absoluti, oversaw this operation. What we went there to do was to eliminate a threat to the citizens of Pulias, mostly to the citizens of Coventry. And that we have done. And while I was aware that the families of these violent men resided in their base of operations, I gave our men direct orders to do their best not to harm anyone who was non-violent. I deeply regret the loss of any innocent lives that might have been lost, nonetheless.

And now there are, indeed, refugees from the Luddite base, and I will do whatever I can to aid these unfortunate survivors. But it must be remembered that our nation was not at fault in doing what we did. The Luddites have proven time and time again that they do not want peace. They want to destroy all modern societies and stop the progression of economies and technology.

Now it is not that they could have actually destroyed our nation, but they very well could have killed or kidnapped any of our innocent citizens along the frontier. And that, the honorable Augustus and I would not allow. I am saddened by the unfortunate circumstances these refugees now find themselves in, but we must remember: It was brought on by the violent nature of their husbands and fathers, and we are in no way responsible for their plight.

That said, I fully support the Luddite Conversion Society's attempts at helping these refugees. But they must remember, that not all Luddites are refugees. Whenever we encounter Luddites who refuse to negotiate and will only fight us, what choice do we have but to fight back? At the end of the day, we must focus most of all on defending our own citizens, while doing our best not to harm any innocent foreign individuals in the process. I thank you for your time today.

God bless our country, and God bless all the unfortunate victims of war.