Opening Address
May 12, 2018
Well howdy, it's me again. It's going to be a little surreal for me, taking on this role, because as many of you already know, this was the first position I ever held in TNP, and it was a few weeks after joining the region in September 2016. It's also going to be surreal because a lot has changed since then, and the ministry went from a newly awakened machine to a very well-put together, reliable juggernaut that has been a staple of TNP government ever since. I can't even pretend to take credit for that, because the staff I set up led to subsequent staffs, members of which are still here today doing a fantastic job. I fully expect that you will teach me just as much, if not more, then I could possibly teach you. With that in mind, I should note that the ministry is well-put together and if nothing else, we need to keep things going smoothly as they have been. I don't intend to make any significant changes in that department.
Where I hope I can bring something new to the table is my perspective from being a delegate and a Minister of Foreign Affairs. We saw a little bit of this last term, not just when I offered input from an FA perspective but also when the ministry engaged in some campaigning with our allies and neighbors. We don't need to do that every time, but it wouldn't hurt to get more information from outside our bubble. It has been a goal of ours for a long time to have more of a presence in the WA voting threads, so I'm going to aim for that being consistently done, so much so that TNP is always part of the conversation and people can take that for granted.
As for what I would like to do that some of you may think is new, but actually isn't (because I have done it before), I want to offer up the drafting of IFVs to interested parties, sometimes more than one, and through discussion and good old-fashioned competition of ideas, hit upon the position the ministry feels is the best one to advance. As always, we will take into consideration all arguments, even if only in passing, and this will include the input from the voting threads. I like the innovations I have observed both there and in the IFVs, and would like to emphasize that we will be continuing those. I will have to insist on being much pushier with challenging voters in the thread to state their opinions. It's hard to incorporate a diverse set of views if there isn't a diverse set of views to study. And, as it is a pet peeve of mine, we will have IFVs for every resolution, including the commendations/condemnations.
Before we continue, I would like to confirm Tlomz and Stoskavanya will be continuing as a deputy ministers. It is highly likely there will be one or two others.
-Pallaith
