Region Content for now - Mid-Term Poll Results
By Punchwood

The Southern Journal carried out an approval rating and Constitutional matters survey from the 13th of August till the 16th of August. There were a total of 14 respondents.

Prime Minister



Roavin has done well here with a mean of 7.6. He could choose to run for re-election, likely with a head start, with these fairly high approval ratings. It would not be impossible, however, for a challenger with a strong campaign to break that head start and cause a tight election. So while Roavin can take comfort knowing he has fairly high approval ratings, he is not in a position to put his feet up. He will have to continue to please voters if he wants to be returned as Prime Minister come October.  

Comments:

He's done more than DM in give little speeches now and then, but really what does the PM position actually do?
Glad he stands up for TSP against foreigners who try and dictate our behaviour.


Minister of Foreign Affairs.



Escade is not doing as well as Roavin here with a mean of 6.8.  She is, however,  still doing well enough to be able to mount a credible re-election campaign should she so choose. Any challenger, however, may be emboldened by these ratings and if Escade chooses to run for re-election it will still be a tough fight for a challenger but potentially a winnable one. Escade will likely have to make herself and her achievements more visible to improve her ratings, and in turn, electability.  

Comments:

Good job with Lazarus, but why did we break up with The West Pacific?
I don't know what she's done.
Haven't really heard much from the FA Department. The actual FA releases seem to have come mostly from the Office of the Prime Minister, whilst practically anything one sees from Escade concerns itself more with SPSF.
What are you doing in office?
Seems a bit scatter brained, but very active, and very good at her job.


Minister of Military Affairs



Yuno, like Roavin, has done well with a mean of 7.6. She would, if she chooses to run for re-election, likely begin with a head start. Any challenger would have to put up a very strong campaign to defeat her. Just like with Roavin; however, it would not be impossible. Yuno will need to make sure the SPSF continues with its activity to keep those ratings up.

Comments:

We are seeing much greater activity from the SPSF, so well done Yuno!
Excellent term so far, SPSF is really doing well. Very pleased with this one.
Spams me with telegrams, no means no!
I don't see her around very much lately, but she was good when I did.


Minister of Regional Affairs.



Spenty can be happy at being the most popular Cabinet member but only just. He has a mean of 7.7 putting him just ahead of Roavin and Yuno. Just with Yuno and Roavin, any challenger would need to put up a tough fight to defeat Spenty should he choose to run for re-election, yet once again the fight is not impossible. Spenty will need to keep regional activity up with media activity such as The Southern Journal and Resident Spotlight, while also making sure that despite one festival ending he can keep cultural events big and small going.  

Comments:

He's done a much better job than the past few Ministers but it is still much lower activity compared to what we should expect.
Very good. Activity seems to be picking up a bit more around now, with DM's festival, Punchwood's interviews, and more festivals to come.
Who????
Decent amount of well done cultural activities, wish I could see a tad more though.


Whole Cabinet



As a whole the Cabinet has fairly high approvals with a mean of 7.5. It will likely have been one of the more popular recent Cabinets, with it seeing stronger activity than most recent Cabinet’s have and it overseeing a period of stability. The region is content with this Cabinet however it would not take too much to see approvals fall. The Cabinet will also want to make sure that activity remains strong but does ultimately improve to make sure that no voter starts to see the region as stagnating. 

Comments:

Nothing at all impressive really. They haven't allowed the region to fall to inactivity which is something I guess.
For reals, what have you guys done in office? I have no idea because I don't have a forum account.
Pretty good stuff overall.
I did not give any comments about the other cabinets but as a whole I like the cabinet. They improve our region.

Means

Spenty - 7.7
Roavin & Yuno - 7.6
Whole Cabinet - 7.5
Escade - 6.8


Local Council Support




The Local Council as an institution is overwhelmingly supported by the region, with just one person saying they did not support the Local Council.  


Comments

I'm on it
They are a unique way to get the gameside involved in regional matters.
It does nothing, it's just some silly little thing we made up to "give democracy to the people."
I'm on it :p Generally good thing to have, seems to be working quite well.
There are some things I dont like about the LC. Mainly people who use the position as a means to an end (delegacy) and therein don't take their role in the LC seriously. Second, when people get elected and then don't do anything for 3 months (which may be because of point 1).
The RMB having representation is one of the best things about TSP.
Yes, I support. [I did not include why because I have an explanation]


Position of Prime Minister Support



There is no imminent threat to the position of Prime Minister, as even if all “Don’t Knows” moved to the “No” camp, “Yes” still has a very healthy majority. If “Don’t Knows” were removed “Yes” would have 82% support while “No” would have 18% support.

Comments:

It serves no purpose whatsoever. If the PM appointed a Cabinet then it would make sense, but seeing as everyone agrees the PM should not set any Ministerial policy it serves no purpose.
Frankly, this position has always seemed a bit out of place to me. The whole of the head of state/government, in my opinion, should all fall to the delegate, creating a far more streamlined office.
What is he doing for TSP??
Somebody needs to wrangle the cabinet.
I am not sure with the decision of the Prime Minister position.


Support for Splitting Regional Affairs



The region is unsure if it wants to split Region Affairs into two separate Ministries. Both “Yes” and “No” would have to do a lot of campaigning to win over “Don’t Knows” to their side. When “Don’t Knows” are removed “Yes” has 70% support while “No” has 30% support. This could very easily become one of the issues in the next Cabinet election, and it may not be long until the Assembly is debating once more the pros and cons of splitting the Ministry.

Comments

The other one has tended to stagnate over many terms because there is too much to do.
Culture and Integration are two equally demanding jobs and I feel it'd reduce workload and improve performance.
Regional Affairs is far too large for just one Minister. Splitting it would result in much more activity.
Despite the vast size of the Ministry, it seems to be working quite well as it is. I find that this split could be quite confusing for those interested in staffing it, and has more than enough overlap to stay where it is.
Doesn't seem like "regional affairs" is very regional when it only concerns the 12 people on the forums.
Seems to me that the cabinet and the LC are already communicating with us a lot.
On my opinion, if we separate the two it will cost more money and more problems, as the prime minister of my country, I prefer that everything related will be on just ONE position.

Direction of Region




TSP is very optimistic here with not even a quarter believing the region is headed in the wrong direction. The region has a general view that activity is picking up again, the government is stable and that TSP is a good place to be right now. This is a question which will have to be tracked to see how opinions change over time in light of events and goings on in the region.  

Comments

The region's standards have dropped so low. We now think that not screwing up is worthily of re-election and of a good term.
Nobody knows the future.
Just do.
I am not sure sometimes they do not make the right decisions but anyways if we are gaining and improving that means we are heading in the right direction.

Other Comments

No "who???" option in this poll.

Update on Lazarus
By Rikuchar

It is week 3 in the fight for power in Lazarus, and who the winner might be is no clearer than it was last week or the week before. For those who are unaware: at minor update on August 24th, Funkadelia and two newly-elected government officials (Prelate Lamb and Guardian Killer Kitty), declared a “state of emergency” and proceeded to ban most government officers from the region, including Celestial Being Aumelodia and Guardian Harmoneia. Since then, the battle has been bitter between the banished belligerents and the beleaguered bureaucracy, with vicious words and heinous accusations being thrown on the regional message board of Lazarus and on the RMBs of other GCRs like The South Pacific and The Rejected Realms.

On the side of the Loyalists, it is business as usual for the Undead Dominion. The trials continue for those accused of treason, and the courtroom is filled with words of the courts being illegitimate and accusations of being retroactive. Additionally, the endorsement count for Funkadelia has plateaued at around 205, making the gap between the Loyalists and the Resistance around 75-80. Depending on who you ask, this could be a good or a bad thing, as the fight is becoming closer by the day.

On the side of the Resistance, it is usual business as well. The terms of various government officers such as the Sovereign and the Covenor are ending, a term known as the “renewal of the Celestial Cycle”, and as such elections have started for those positions with well-known candidates like Katie, Aumelodia, and Amerion, as well as some relatively new faces like The13th and Andrew. Talks about strategies and tactics to win the fight against Funkadelia’s government continue through the nights as coffee supplies dwindle and graying hair begins to cover the floors. 

Say Hello to Dr Pen!
By Penguin

Good Morning Folks!
 
Alright Folks of TSP*! Welcome to Dr. Pen!  Your all-around advice help is here! With knowledge covering a wide variety of topics, most questions** can be answered Right Quick! And if you're feeling shy don't hesitate to PM me here or on Discord!

*Dr. Pen is open to any and all in NS. 

**There will be questions that will not be answered if their content is deemed offensive in nature or deemed to need Professional help. Dr. Pen is here to help but will redirect anything she sees fit to an Actual Professional.


Coffee & NS
By Spenty

DM’s Tropical Party was held last week, as he was elected to the delegacy. The theme was obviously, tropical, and tropical drinks were present as residents and tourists alike went to the luau. 

There were several huts where there were a lot of challenges. First up is DM's Ask Me Anything corner where he answered questions by TSP’s citizens. There is also a hut where people played the game Monkey Go Happy, where they try to please the monkey. Two players bagged first and second place: Gordon Freeman and Pencil Sharpeners 2 with 38479 points and 34300 points respectively. 

On the other hand, Dragonfruit won in the Tropical Fruits Battle with 2 votes. Well, everyone was just posting a new fruit, LOL. Anyways, people also had a blast with creating a story, as it revolved around a guy named Esteban. You could view the story here: http://tspforums.xyz/thread-5396.html. At the end of the festival, a plaque was presented to Drugged Monkeys to commemorate the new term.

To be honest, this was my first festival. Despite all the hectic planning, I really had fun. Please do expect more festivals in the future.