WS 4 PM: A competent, dependable, proven leader



Do you ever feel like a misfit?
Everything inside you is dark and twisted
Oh, but it's okay to be different
'Cause baby, so am I

A couple of months ago, if you had told me I was going to run for Prime Minister in June, I would have told you you’re crazy. My RL is too weird, there’s too much unknown, not gonna happen. PM is way over my head. I still think this is way over my head, but in hindsight that might just be exactly why I jumped in.

I now know more things. And I pretty much have you all to thank (as usual) for the decision to try something new and possibly insane. Chats in legislators-lounge and in DMs have led me to conclude that yes, this is in fact less insane than I thought it might be. So I, Witchcraft and Sorcery, am here today to ask for your vote to be the next Prime Minister of the Coalition of the South Pacific.

If you don’t know much about my history, the sparknotes version is that I’ve been playing since early 2013 and spent all my time until March 2017 in 10000 Islands, where I served three terms as a Senator, about two years as University Dean, and a year as TITO Tactical Officer. I resigned from TITO in 2017 and went to the Grey Wardens, where I was a Constable, and joined the Coalition in May or June of that year. Aside from a couple longer periods of leave, I’ve been an active member of TSP since then. I was MoMA in the summer of 2019 before having to step down for medical and personal reasons, and I’ve had the pleasure of serving a full term as Minister of Defense since February. I’m also a member of the Legislator Committee.

I’m running for Prime Minister not because I have a novel idea that I think is going to shake up the government or Coalition for the better, but because I am a highly competent, multi-skilled, accessible, and friendly person with a proven record of leadership. Though I’m not at the top of NS or even TSP in any one area, I’m involved in and knowledgeable about many. In my mind, that makes me an excellent fit for the role of Prime Minister. HumanSanity said it quite well (quote used with his permission):

From my perspective, you're very active in the community on-the-ground (i.e. you're actually in the chat a good amount), which is important in assessing strengths/weaknesses of each area and also how it all works together, and makes you uniquely suited to Cabinet-wide agenda setting and coordination. You're good at being adaptable to the needs of others while also keeping them on track, which is well suited to helping others achieve their goals.

The Prime Minister is often referred to as the glue that holds the rest of the Cabinet together. I’m the type of leader who prefers to be the boots on the ground, putting my head down and getting the job done rather than talking a big game and doing little. Anyone who has worked with me in military gameplay can confirm this. I care little for drama or needless beating around the bush - instead, my goal as PM is to meet the rest of the Cabinet and Assembly where they are, ask what they need from me to ensure that their jobs get done, and have something to show for it at the end of the day. That model has worked well with the SPSF: under my leadership, we’ve gone from sleepy to regaining our status as one of the most active, reliable, and highly-trained defender organizations today. We’ve trained some of the brightest new talent in the business as well as recruited several of the best “free agent” defenders to our ranks in my four months as Minister.

As Prime Minister my goal is to bring that same energy, dependability, and accountability to the leadership of the Executive and in representing our interests at home and abroad. I’m going to divide up the remainder of this campaign, which will largely focus on my policy agenda, into two sections - internal and external. I fully intend on keeping PM Glen’s model with the Regional Affairs and Foreign Affairs Councils. This was an effective way to compartmentalize tasks from an internal cabinet perspective and I think it will work well going forward.

Internal Affairs
My priorities for internal affairs have a lot to do with consistent, achievable goals and production. Glen started to work on this in his term, but I really want to take a crack at it and help set a sturdy foundation that future administrations can build on. Consistent activity and updates will go a long way.

• Starting with the Cabinet itself, we need more public Cabinet meetings. This was perhaps the greatest success on the Cabinet level from last term. The public meeting went extremely well, the Assembly and general public seemed to love it, and it was a great way for ministers to stay accountable to the people. As PM I will make every effort to ensure at least one of these happens every month, and we will announce/schedule these well in advance.
  
• On a related note, I’m going to encourage active use of Cabinet Twitter for shorter-form updates. I did this quite a lot as Minister of Defense - weekly updates ended up not happening due to a general slowdown in defender activity as a whole, but whenever there was a big operation it was an excellent outlet for ministry news.
  For the home ministries, ministers will have wide autonomy to run their own projects and develop their ministries as they see fit. One of the great benefits of the MoRA split is this autonomy; it also makes it easier to isolate and tackle problems in individual areas without other places getting bogged down. This type of problem solving is one of my great strengths.
  
• As far as forum/discord/gameside relations go, I’ll be boosting my gameside presence dramatically over the next few weeks. This is an area I have been good at in the past, but recently have admittedly fallen off on. I’m an ardent supporter of gameside autonomy and the Local Council, but I believe the regional government has at least some responsibility to be visible and accessible on the RMB and elsewhere.
  
• I know Glen was working on an endotarting tool; I want to see this come to fruition. I’ve seen beta versions of it and it’s excellent. I’m no software developer but whatever I can do to encourage the development and release of such a tool will be excellent.
  

There are a few specific, concrete things I’d like to see from the home ministries:

• In the Ministry of Culture, I’m going to work with the incoming Minister on developing a consistent, reliable culture calendar. This is something that was coming along very well in the last term but slipped quite a bit toward the end of the term.
  
• The Ministry of Media, in my opinion, should focus on setting achievable deadlines for itself. From my perspective, there seems to be a lot of ad-hoc, spontaneous content. That’s okay, but at times it’s hard to tell what publications are actually under the purview of the MoM, what they do, and when/what sort of content to expect from them. It’s good content, but I never really seem to have an idea what’s coming or when.
  
• The Ministry of Engagement has a lot of promising projects that are nearing completion, but it will be up to the new minister to get them out of the gate. Outgoing Minister USoVietnam has indicated his intent to guide the new minister through that process, and I welcome that. In particular, I’d like to see the card program pick up steam again. I will personally dedicate the majority of my personal card farming operation to ensure this gets done now that I have the necessary bank to complete my Season 1 Legendary collection.
  
• Additionally, now that the SPSF Tidal Force is up and running, I want to work with the new Ministers of Defense and Engagement to set up a more robust gameside platform for civilians and non-discord defenders. Recruitment and dispatch modernization as well as working on a way to get info out there about the SPSF Tsunami and Tidal Force.
  

External/Foreign Affairs

• I have excellent working relationships with nearly all of our allies, especially in defender circles. As Commander of the SPSF and MoD I’ve been active in military gameplay and taken a leading role in most of the major operations that have gone on since my return last September. I led the charge in closing hundreds if not thousands of raider embassies over the course of a few months at the end of last year and into the new year.
  
• As Prime Minister I’ll bring this same attitude toward our external affairs. My vast experience in military gameplay will be an asset as we continue to advance the defender cause on the world stage. I’m a fervent supporter of the Partnership for Sovereignty and my administration will aggressively push for the deepening of these ties. Be it cultural, military, WA, or otherwise, the plan was initially to have the PfS as a step in a wider network of defender platforms. I know that some of these things are in the works and once I’ve been briefed on where things stand my administration will push for a more unified and connected defender sphere.
  
• On the military side of things, the new MoD and General Corps will have wide autonomy to conduct and run operations according to the Military Code. In my pursuit of drama-free defending (or at least drama-minimal), I see little need or desire for the Executive to dictate the day-to-day of the SPSF, except where there is obvious need to do so. I trust the incoming Minister and General Corps to do their job with integrity.
  
• On that note, many of you may have questions about the lingering issue with TNP. Obviously my commitment remains to my original position: I made the decision to go forward with defending against quorum raids and my position remains as it has been - I am completely against the practice and believe it has no place in the World Assembly. It amounts to a subversion of the goals and spirit of the WA and while I of course value our relationship with TNP, but my and the Coalition’s position on the issue is quite clear and resolute.
  
• My understanding of the ins and outs of the World Assembly and OWL is admittedly a weak point; still, public support for OWL remains consistently high and I don’t want to mess with a broken system. Anjo has done a fabulous job leading the office and its content is consistently high-quality.
  

This has been way longer than I intended. I hope that I’ve explained everything clearly and I am of course open to any and all questions. While I’m not running to shake things up dramatically, my administration will bring accountability, dependability, and transparency to the Executive and I’ll be a leader who meets people where they are.

I’m looking forward to a competitive election season and I hope I’ll earn your vote for Prime Minister!

Viva TSP!
WS

COI DECLARATION (READ CAREFULLY PLEASE)
I am currently Minister of Defense, Commander of the SPSF, and Member of the Legislator Committee in TSP. Outside of TSP I am a citizen of the Rejected Realms (as Misery Business ) and Founderless (as Velvet Elvis ). I also have a long history of involvement with 10000 Islands; though I currently do not hold citizenship I do have access to some TITO areas as an allied military commander.

I am also a forum and discord administrator in Founderless, and while I have held the CoI-eligible position of Executive Director for the last four months, I announced my resignation from that position effective yesterday, June 4th. Founderless is undergoing a restructuring and has essentially put its government on pause to focus on its social community. At no point will I hold any position that constitutes a conflict of interest with the role of Prime Minister. My first priority is, was, and will continue to be the Coalition of the South Pacific.

I currently maintain in the ballpark of eight hundred active nations: a full list can be provided to the CRS on request. Most are for card farming purposes though a few cannot be disclosed publicly for security purposes.

 
Witchcraft and Sorcery

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Former Prime Minister and Minister of Defense. Formerly many things in other regions. Defender. Ideologue. he/they.

(This post was last modified: 06-05-2021, 04:46 AM by Witchcraft and Sorcery.)

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As suggested in your post and by my nomination, I am very excited to see you run! I've played with you off and on for years and it's exciting to see you get to do this.

I am very happy to see you talk about bringing back the Cabinet public meeting, that was a great event and I think we would've benefitted from more regular (bi-weekly or monthly) meetings like that. I'm also glad to see you recognize that while the LC has autonomy, it's important for Cabinet officials to be present in diverse venues.

Given the PM has some role in FA, I want to ask you the same question I already asked Qaz and Jay. If TNP does not clarify/retract/apologize/etc. their statement that the SPSF's actions aided in supporting the cause of fascism, what would be your thoughts on the next steps for our relationship? If the MoFA takes a different perspective, how would you reconcile this?

Lastly, I wanted to ask a question about this:

I’m a fervent supporter of the Partnership for Sovereignty and my administration will aggressively push for the deepening of these ties. Be it cultural, military, WA, or otherwise, the plan was initially to have the PfS as a step in a wider network of defender platforms.

Without commenting on sensitive plans that may already be in the work, can you elaborate? You say "wider network of defender platforms", so I'm curious and wanted to hear more. It makes sense to me to, say, run PfS centered cultural events with PfS partners. How would that reflect itself in a more durable "platform"?

Minister of Foreign Affairs
General of the South Pacific Special Forces
Ambassador to Balder
Former Prime Minister and Minister of Defense

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Hi HS - thanks for the questions.

With regard to your question about TNP, I’ve been deliberately staying out of it thus far because I was extremely upset in the moment. For those who don’t know, I’m the one that started this by initiating defenses of TNP quorum raids. I value our relationship with TNP but our regions’ goals and values have increasingly drifted apart. If we can’t reach an agreement, then it’s a sign that we may need to look at updating the treaty in order to account for situations like this. It already may need that. I certainly am not in favor of scrapping the Aurora Alliance, but we need to take a hard look at the treaty and figure out if it accurately represents our relationship and the way it’s evolved over the last few years.

To answer your second question, “platform” may have been a bit of sloppy word choice on my behalf. What I envision in the long term is a deepening of the ties between the PFS member regions that goes beyond just the WA. We are a cohort of regions with shared commitments to sovereignty and self-determination. By and large we all approach defending in similar ways. It shouldn’t just be a WA or military thing - it should have its place in all our ministries, if that makes sense. I want to look at ways for the Partnership to expand and diversify its reach in the communities of its member regions. I know that might sound a bit nebulous but that’s because I’m not up to speed on the Partnership atm and I’m not briefed on what plans are right now, because I’m not a member of the delegation.

A bit of word vomit because I wasn’t sure I explained things correctly, but I hope that answers your questions HS. Thanks as always ^_^

 
Witchcraft and Sorcery

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Former Prime Minister and Minister of Defense. Formerly many things in other regions. Defender. Ideologue. he/they.

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Do you plan to do a Sunshine Act release?

I have been things

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Yes. We’re way behind on those. Probably one of the first things my administration will have to tackle.

 
Witchcraft and Sorcery

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Former Prime Minister and Minister of Defense. Formerly many things in other regions. Defender. Ideologue. he/they.

Reply

As a candidate in the PM election, will you commit to abstaining in the PM election?

4× Cabinet minister /// 1× OWL director /// CRS member /// SPSF

My History

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I would only commit to such a thing if my opponent/s also did. We had this discussion in legislators-lounge - I tend to agree with those who think it's important for a candidate to advocate for themselves. Casting a vote for oneself in public is a small act in that direction but it's a matter of principle - a candidate should be confident and vocal.

 
Witchcraft and Sorcery

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Former Prime Minister and Minister of Defense. Formerly many things in other regions. Defender. Ideologue. he/they.

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In the spirit of memery, good cheer, and deliberately twisted compliance with Jay’s request Islas and I have agreed to vote for each other in the PM election.

Neither of us believe in abstention but we have a great deal of respect for each other and camaraderie, so we decided we’d have a little fun with the idea. The result will be the same in a two-candidate race.

I absolutely believe in my platform. None of this is to say I don’t - it’s just a 4fun way of producing the same result that also shows respect for our opponent. I will continue to fight to earn your vote, and I expect my opponent to do the same, but we’re also in this for fun. Best of luck to Islas.

 
Witchcraft and Sorcery

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Former Prime Minister and Minister of Defense. Formerly many things in other regions. Defender. Ideologue. he/they.

(This post was last modified: 06-07-2021, 03:55 AM by Witchcraft and Sorcery.)

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Fellow South Pacificans,

I’m overwhelmed. Honored and humbled cannot begin to describe my emotions right now. The faith you have placed in me and the mandate you have given me is inspiring. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Thanks as well to my opponent, Islas, for an outstanding campaign. Your passion and creativity are fantastic and I know you will continue to fight every day for a better TSP. Even when we have our differences, you are always a pleasure to work with and I look forward to what you do in the future.

To Moonfungus, Jay, Luca, HumanSanity, and Tin, my warmest congratulations. This is a cabinet of tremendous talent and motivation and the next four months are going to be very exciting. I’ll reach out to all of you in the coming days about initial agenda-setting and preparation for the inauguration.

We’ve got work to do. Let’s get started.

Witchcraft and Sorcery
Prime Minister-Elect

 
Witchcraft and Sorcery

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Former Prime Minister and Minister of Defense. Formerly many things in other regions. Defender. Ideologue. he/they.

(This post was last modified: 06-14-2021, 10:41 PM by Witchcraft and Sorcery.)

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