Chair of the Assembly Candidate Interview
Term Progress | Legal Reform | Other Objectives

Welcome to the July 2015 Chair of the Assembly Candidate Interview, organised by the Southern Journal. We are fortunate enough to have incumbent Chair Farengeto, who will share with us his thoughts on the current term and his hopes for the next one.

Farengeto: Hello everybody, glad to be here and for being appointed as your permanent Chair...I mean be democratically elected.

Farengeto, it is a pleasure to have you here tonight. Would you like to start by giving a brief opening statement?

Farengeto: There's not much to be said really. We often like to overpoliticize the Chair, and often forget it's largely an administrative job. With my campaign I've simplified things, focusing on my suitability for the role rather than political moves.

Back in March your main promises were to reform the High Court and the Assembly, to achieve a system that was fair and corrected certain loopholes and badly written clauses. Yet, we have seen little in terms of such reforms. Was there any particular reason why that happened?

Farengeto: Mainly it was due to RL constraints. April was exam season and then as summer began I found myself working full time. I just never got the opportunity to work on it this term.

One of the highlights in your term was the mandatory discussion on the performance of the Special Forces. Some important suggestions were raised, but sometimes the discussion became an argument between Sandaoguo and Wolf; while the report itself was voted on two months later. What have you learned from that experience?

Farengeto: Quite frankly that whole process was a complete mess and a reminder on how not to conduct these. There was no moderation leading to the arguments you mentioned, and then it was decided to leave the entire job of writing the report on a vacant position, forcing a rushed report by ourselves and Henn that ultimately became forgotten and buried. There was a complete lack of any understanding or procedure to it and that led to this situation.

You have said in your campaign that activity is not as important as the quality of that activity. How do you see the dwindling Assembly activity this term, and what are your hopes for the next term?

Farengeto: There was an indisputable decline in Assembly activity over the term, though this trend affected much of NS as discussed before and my own busyness limited my ability to contribute. However I expect activity will return come September, and with the return of my free time I hope to be able to kickstart it with new discussions.

You have expressed an interest in reviving the long-promised revision of the Charter and the Code of Laws, hinting at the possibility of another Great Council. What kind of changes would you want to propose should one be convened?

Farengeto: As I mentioned last elections Judicial reform was a big one. Having worked with our new election system for a few months I'd like to take a look at our satisfaction with it. I'd also like to take another look at the local council and its role, as well re-examining all aspects of our governmental positions. There's lots we can look at and I hope we can do a successful discussion on these topics and more.

Could you elaborate on what kind of changes would you want for the Local Council and the High Court?

Farengeto: For the High Court I'd like to work with the new Justices and the Assembly to expand the tools of Court and give them what they need to be truly effective, similar to the controversial Charter of the High Court proposal.

For the Local Council there has been an apparent lack of activity and dissatisfaction with the role. I'd like to reopen the bicameral talks and see if we can create a more effective body.

Based on your previous experience as Chief Justice, what tools does the High Court need?

Farengeto: An expanded criminal and penal code 8, expanded procedures for criminal cases, that sort of thing.

Your nation is a prominent member of the Southern Cooperation Organisation, the largest alliance in our roleplaying community. Is there anything that you would want to import to the Assembly from the SCO or vice versa?

Farengeto: Nothing jumps to mind right now, though it is a great body and there's a good reason I chose my counterpart in it as my deputy.

What can you comment on the performance of Awe as Deputy Chair?

Farengeto: Awe has been a great help so far. While he hasn't served for long he's been an invaluable aid in moving things along quickly in the Assembly whenever I might be busy.

Is there any one change, be it legal reform, themed holidays or anything in between, that you would definitely like to accomplish, if elected?

Farengeto: I'd like to see the entirety of our major laws reviewed by the time I'm done as Chair. Even if we just ended up reaffirming everything as is I'd like to see it done.

What would you say is the greatest strength and greatest weakness in the Assembly nowadays?

Farengeto: I'd probably have to say our Assembly's passion for both. On a heated topic it can easily stretch up to 20 pages but at the same time it's often volatile and can end with nothing done.

Even if you are running unchallenged, voters could still opt to vote to Re-Open Nominations. What do you bring to the Assembly that a hypothetical opponent would not?

Farengeto: I bring my knowledge and experience with TSP's laws, my long time commitment to the region and my ties to many of the groups in TSP that help reinforce objectivity in managing discussions.

I appreciate you taking the time and wish you the best in this election and the term ahead. Thanks!

Farengeto: Glad I could do this, thanks for having me!

Disclaimer: This transcript has been edited for orthography and clarity in the flow of the conversation. While some words have slightly different spelling and some interventions have been placed in different order, the core content of the conversation has not been altered. A raw copy of the transcript may be provided upon request.