ANALYSIS: The Man Who Would Traverse The Globe

Analysis by the D & T Editorial Board

Geraint Llewelyn hopes his foreign trips will assist his party's flagging fortunes. He plans on visiting numerous fellow IDU nations in under a month. On the list are Ceorana, the Schnauzerlands, Jonquiere-Tadoussac, Baranxtu and others.

It will doubtless prove a wonderful opportunity for the PM to show he's a leader who can govern effectively on the world stage. There will be photo-ops aplenty and press conferences where the other Heads of Government and State of the Region will praise him (and he them). And it will be widely seen by the press and analysts alike as being largely positive for the Holy and Serene Republic (and also positive for Geraint Llewelyn personally; a point not lost on the PM).

But if the Prime Minister thinks it will be a smooth ride as he makes his circuit of the IDU, he has another think coming. There are a number of areas with which his fellow heads of government are likely to take issue. Consider the range of social spending packages in which other governments invest and in which ours does not. Our welfare spending is among the lowest four in the Region. Our healthcare is unregulated and cited for wide disparities. Income inequality is amongst the worst. Our environment has been routinely gutted in favour of expanding economic liberalisation. The PM will likely find that explaining away these policy results to be quite uncomfortable.

And yet after saying all this, it may be religion that proves his undoing. Recently the International Democratic Union took a decision to make secularism a fundamental value of the Region. At the time the Foreign Office made a short statement to the effect that "Lloegr-Cymru's laws are in complete compliance with the fundamental values of the region." But this is not likely to be a point on which all agree. The bishops of the Catholic Church hold seats in the Upper House. And while they cannot block anything that was a manifesto pledge, their continued presence will be hard to justify. Indeed, Archbishop Rhys ap Llew even has a Cabinet-level post. Again, his position has little policy-making power, but he does enjoy a position of exclusivity and influence no other prelate of any other religion enjoys.

The Opposition already senses blood on this issue. The Christian Democrats' Shadow Spirituality Minister told the Bore da programme yesterday that "the Government will be only to keen to bow to IDU pressure. They'll remove the Church wholesale from our time-honoured and treasured institutions." It will likely prove nettlesome at either or both of the Prime Minister's Question Times on Tuesday and Thursday. The Opposition will be likely to press him strongly on what they perceive to be his most vulnerable weakness.

It would therefore be wise of the Prime Minister not to assume that boosts in the polls will necessarily follow these trips. Indeed, he may be exposing himself to more challenges than he realises.

IDUnews

PM to Make Foreign Visits

Aberystwyth - The Foreign Office has leaked the fact that the Prime Minister, Geraint Llewelyn is planning a series of foreign trips. The Opposition has quickly labeled them as "junkets."

The Prime Minister will make a series of high-level summit trips to various nations around the IDU. He intends to raise points of common concern, although what those are was not revealed. Although closer economic and diplomatic ties seem high on the agenda. Currently Ceorana, Jonquiere-Tadoussac, and Baranxtu are all planned stops for the PM. Domnonia has expressed interest. He also hopes to visit Groot Gouda, the Schnauzerlands, our long-time ally, Sober Thought, and any other interested nations.

The Opposition Christian Democrats blasted this move as a series of "junkets" designed to "distract the electorate at a time the Government is floundering." The CDP said the Government should focus more on domestic concerns, rather than "gallivanting" around the IDU.

IDUNews

Government Survives Welfare Vote

Aberystwyth - The Government of Geraint Llewelyn survived an important vote in the House of Commons today. Rebellious backbenchers had threatened to derail the plans to increase welfare and social work spending put forth by the Government only four months ago.

When the White Paper, "Welfare Spending in the Holy and Serene Republic," was published, the Interior Ministry (which has responsibility for social spending) and the Exchequer both indicated that welfare spending was too low. Indeed, Lloegr-Cymru ranks as amongst the countries in the IDU who spend the least on welfare programs. This has been identified by the Government has a perplexing anamoly for such a rich country. However, the paper stopped short at giving a specific timetable for legislative action.

Shortly after its publication, Iorweth Rhys-Jones MP for West Marches of Gwyneth indicated that other right-leaning members of the governing Third Way Party would block the measure. There are currently enough right-leaning members of the governing party to give the Government a bumpy ride. The Government made no further mention of the plans, and most analysts believed the plans had been shelved.

However, the Government was forced into acting after a spat of news reports of a crime wave. The Prime Minister was determined to take a strong stance on this issue. Therefore, much to the surprise of many MPs, he personally introduced an amendment to the supplemental spending bill currently working its way through parliament. Moreover, he made it a three-line whip, which compells members of the parliamentary party to go along with the Government.

The Opposition was quick to challenge the Government, particularly in light of the Prime Minister's personal intervention. Greg Michael Williams, the newly elected Leader of the opposition Christian Democrats, pounced on the Third Way during debate. He called the Government "adrift" for needing to rely on the Prime Minister's personal clout to pass its agenda. He questioned whether the Government should even be said to be "governing," when it seemed "to be responding to events, not leading."

The Prime Minister's only response in debate was to stress that the Government would not be defeated on this.

The amendment passed by three votes, well shy of the 70 seat majority the Government enjoys. There has been no word from the Whips' Office or the Prime Minister's Residence as to what, if any, punishment will be meted out against the right-leaning rebels.

IDUNews