Aśxa, winter 2012

Geopoeia

severe winter hits farmers hard

(March 1) - Khusqaikama is experiencing an exceptionally severe winter this year. The amount of snow is more than double the yearly average, and it is also much colder than usual. Spring does not seem to be starting soon, and will, moreover, not end the problems immediately. Rather, meteorologists and farmers are worried that melting snow will lead to flooding, especially in Cekentyryŋ, the main agricultural region. Flooding will further delay the planting season and shorten the growing season. It is even possible that the growing season will be too short for some kinds of crops.

Many farmers are already struggling to make a living, and economists fear that this winter and its effects may push many over the edge of bankruptcy. In response to the problems, the Prosperity Party and to a lesser extent also the Communist Party (CPKR) made financial support to small farmers one of their main campaigning issues, leading to growing public support in Cekentyryŋ and other agricultural areas.

Yàn Bīn Dōng dies in factory accident

(February 8) - Yàn Bīn Dōng (雁斌東), the last living descendent of king Ŭeikaa died yesterday in a factory accident in the factory where he worked in Harbin, China. Next in hypothetical line of succession is Qĭaŋ Raƥaqaĭ (鴈 飛烏), a descendant of king Cĭesaraq. Raƥaqaĭ was recently hospitalized with lung cancer, however, and this has lead to a debate among Khusqaian royalists (already before Bīn Dōng's death). According to traditionalists, if Raƥaqaĭ dies, the 'crown' will pass to the next male in line of succession, which will be an elderly cousin of Raƥaqaĭ. After that, next in line of succession would be Qĭaŋ Ĭitĭanaŋ (鴈 漪巧), a descendant of king Ŋecesaraq and student in Ammuusĭaama. The other faction in the debate pointed out that male succession may have been the practice, but was never officially established as a rule, and is moreover outdated. This would mean that the hypothetical crown would pass to Raƥaqaĭ's oldest daughter Kipriasĭit (媚妮), a student in Qĭancĭeŋ.

Although Khusqaikama has been a republic for more than a century, there is a sizable minority in favor of re-establishing the monarchy, and gossip magazines have always shown an interest in some Qĭaŋ descendants. One of them suggested that a marriage between Ĭitĭanaŋ and Kipriasĭit would be a nice solution to the succession 'problem'. In a recent interview, politician Qĭaŋ Iitaŋkama has urged the press to leave Kipriasĭit alone while her father is ill. When asked his opinion on the succession issue, he remarked that he sees no reason why a woman could not inherit the throne if it still existed, but that the whole issue is nonsense since Khusqaikama is a republic and will not return to the monarchy.

DSP and Särkaĭ focus attention on organized crime at campaign start

(February 4) - Every year in the first weekend of February most political parties have their yearly congress, which marks the start of the election campaign season. The election this year (as always on the first Sunday in April) is for half the Upper House, which elects the government, aside from occasional other duties. Consequently, the campaign tends to focus on the execution of policy more than on the creation of laws and policies, which is the responsibility of the Lower House. This in turn means, that much of the campaigning consists of accusations of executive incompetence. Aside from those, most parties have their typical campaigning issues. The New Liberal Party (NLP) always argues for a smaller government, for more privatization, and for more efficiency, for example.

Several parties had their congress today, and a few more will have their congress tomorrow. The ruling Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) and Särkaĭ, as usual, argued for more efficiency in the execution of welfare policy. More surprising was that both seem to be making a major issue of the suppression of Sĭoŋsĭö (the biggest organized crime syndicate). In her speech, Amma Siŋkeanaq of Särkaĭ argued that Sĭoŋsĭö should be forced to give up its illegal activities by "destroying their profitability in any legal way possible". (Which raises the question whether that could work given that experts say that some of the illegal activities, such as the extortion of protection money, are part of the identity of the organization and will never be given up.) As expected, the Wealth and Happiness Party made much use of the Eminga interview in support of their usual plea for the legalization of gambling and prostitution. To some extent, the New Liberal Party seems to have joined them in that quest, especially with regards to the legalization of gambling. (Of course, these are not executive issues, so all of this is a bit besides the issue in this election, but that does not necessarily matter for election results.) The smallest coalition party, the Prosperity Party, plead for government offices in every town with more than 1000 inhabitants, and for an immediate terminate of Khusqaikama's membership of Forum for International Cooperation and Trade (FICT). It is expected that the Middle Path Party (MPP) and Communist Party (CPKR) (the fourth, and second smallest, coalition party), which have their congresses tomorrow, will also argue against FICT. (The Alliance Party and People's party (KPP) that had their congress today are also anti-FICT, but both are very small.) Nevertheless, experts think that it is unlikely that FICT will become an important campaign issue because of the general lack of interest for international cooperation among the public.

Recent polls suggest a further polarization of the Khusqaian political landscape. Särkaĭ and the NLP are expected to win, while the DSP and MPP will probably lose seats. An increasing number of voters that are unhappy with current politics say that they will probably vote for one of the smaller parties. Most often mentioned are CPKR, Prosperity Party, Prudent Path Party (PPP), and the regional parties. Aside from the PPP these smaller parties belong to the political extremes in one or more respects, and are expected to grow only where they are strong already. The PPP, on the other hand, seems to be the only moderate / centrist party that can expect growth. The party is mainly attracting voters that are tired of polarization, scandals, and other (semi-) political upheaval.

To what kind of government coalition this will lead seems more difficult to predict than it actually is. Of the current coalition, DSP and Särkaĭ want to continue together, but not with the CPKR and Prosperity Party. There are insufficient other small parties for a large enough coalition, so they can realistically only turn to the MPP. The MPP can form a coalition either on the left (with DSP and Särkaĭ) or on the right with the NLP and one or more other parties. However, if the MPP indeed loses, a coalition on the right will almost certainly be impossible because the NLP (and other small parties on the right) are not likely to grow sufficiently to have a majority together with the MPP. That leaves only one option: the aforementioned coalition of DSP, Särkaĭ, and MPP. The DSP will probably become the largest party, and are thus likely to provide both prime minister and president, but it is also possible that the presidency will remain in the hands of the MPP as part of the coalition negotiations.

"Eminga outrage hypocritical" says Ŭeixiitär

(January 18) - In a long letter to Aśxa, Siimeŋ Ŭeixiitär, one of Khusqaikama's best known and most respected economists, called the shock and outrage over the comments made by Kronenburgian economist Henk Eminga "hypocritical". Ŭeixiitär wrote that:

"It is common knowledge that our country's main growth sectors such as the internet and ICT industries are spin-offs of the sex industry. We have accepted that development, even embraced it and enjoyed its fruits, but always kept our eyes shut for its roots. Of course, it took a foreigner to force our eyes open, but what we saw, we really already knew, and pretending that we didn't is hypocrisy and lies. We all knew that Ammuusĭaama's sex industry was the motor behind the growing internet and ICT industry, and behind the entertainment industry, which in turn fosters an arts and music scene that is slowly gathering international fame."

And:

"We should be thankful to Eminga for forcing us to admit reality, and start a discussion about where we want our country to go. And, considering the 'shock and outrage' over Eminga's advice, we should seriously talk about what we want to do about Sĭoŋsĭö and its legal and semi-legal offshoots. Forcing them back into full illegality does not seem a wise course of action, but does not seem to fit in with the teachings of Caxamiśra that form the foundation of our country either. Perhaps, we should start enforcing the laws we already have, and push Sĭoŋsĭö to give up its illegal activities. Given that reports suggest that those are becoming increasingly marginal in the organization's activities and financial interests anyway, only a small push might be needed. That, of course, wouldn't mean getting rid of the sex industry, which is apparently despised by many, but it would enable us to force an improvement of working conditions, for example, and thus take care of its worst excesses."

One thorny issue that Ŭeixiitär ignored, and that is relevant to this latter quote, is that prostitution actually is illegal in Khusqaikama, and that it is unlikely that there will be a majority in the Lower House in favor of legalizing it, or at least not without strict regulation. And it seems equally unlikely that Sĭoŋsĭö is willing to give up its lucrative prostitution business, even though it is hardly one of its core businesses. On the other hand, strict and effective law enforcement in this respect would lead to an end of prostitution, and thus of sex tourism, which may very well be what Ŭeixiitär hopes to achieve.

Professor Ŭeixiitär ended his letter with the following:

"Of course, few Khusqaians are willing to take Eminga's advice, but we have already profited from the sex industry, and probably will profit from it some more. Now we have to discuss how we are going to use these profits, and what industries we do want to foster to make sure that our children and children's children can be prosperous and proud of their country."

Kronenburgian economist shocks Khusqaian society

(January 14) - An interview with Kronenburgian economist Henk Eminga, published in Khusqaian edition of Aśxa a week ago, has lead to shocked and outraged reactions in Khusqaikama. Eminga is an economic historian specializing in the history of the economic development of Kronenburg. He was interviewed by this newspaper about differences and similarities between the Kronenburgian and Khusqaian economic situations, and about what Khusqaikama can learn from the Kroneburgian experience. Obvious similarities are that both countries are relatively small and unknown, and overshadowed by much larger and economically and politically more powerful neighbors, but there may be other similarities, and of course, there are important differences as well.

Professor Eminga explained that Kronenburg has few natural resources and has instead focused on providing a product that its biggest neighbor, the USA, could or would not offer: gambling. Because of that, a large part of the Kronenburgian economy depends on gambling and gambling-related tourism, which resulted in the country becoming known as 'the Monaco of North-America'. To our question what can be learned from this, Eminga answered:

"If there is anything another country in a somewhat similar situation could learn from this, it is to find whatever good or service is high in demand in your bigger neighbor countries, but that for some reason is not supplied in those countries themselves, and jump on that opportunity. If it is something that a neighbor cannot supply for legal or whatever other reasons, even better: then you've found a gold mine."

Kronenburgian entrepreneurs saw the opportunity offered to them by the American desire for gambling, and thanks to those perceptive entrepreneurs the Kronenburgian economy grew, and that growth provided the necessary economic setting for further developments. "Growth creates growth," argued Eminga, "you have to find the right opportunity to get the economic engine started, exploit it fully, and then let things develop by themselves."

Khusqaikama has many similarities with Kronenburg, according to the professor: both countries have few natural resources, and therefore needed or need to find other opportunities. For many decades, Khusqaikama's most important neighbor has been Russia, and that country and its people may be of key importance for the Khusqaian economy. "You have to look for what the Russians want, but cannot make or do themselves, and then sell that to them," said Eminga, which seems sound economic advice. "Actually," he continued, "you can already see what the Russians want from Khusqaikama that they cannot provide themselves: sex; sex with Asian women. Sex tourism and the export of porn are vital to the economy of your biggest city, but that market is potentially much bigger. If Khusqaikama wants to develop its economy on a similar path as Kronenburg did, then it should focus on its sex industry." When asked whether the professor saw any other opportunities for Khusqaikama, he replied: "not really."

Since the interview was published, Aśxa has received hundreds of letters from shocked and/or outraged citizens, and Eminga's suggestion has been the most important issue in talk shows on TV. "Porn and the sex industry should be repressed, not supported," say many letters, and the political reaction has mostly been similar. Main exception is, of course, Iśmi Megimiaśta of the Wealth and Happiness Party (WHP) who said on the TV news that he is happy that there finally is some scientific support for what his party has been arguing for for two decades.

Asked for a reaction, former porn actress and party leader of Särkaĭ, Amma Siŋkeanaq, said that the sex industry in Ammuusĭaama exploits women and is associated with organized crime, "which are not things we would want to have at the basis of our country's economic growth". However, further questions by reporters revealed that, were the exploitation of women and organized crime influence be resolved, "my party has no objection in principle against any industry."

There have been few reactions from scientists. Two economists of the Ammuusĭaama University of Industry who want to remain anonymous have written in a letter to Aśxa that from a purely economic point of view, "Henk Eminga is surely right," but from a social point of view, that is from the point of view of what is in the interest of the people living in Khusqaikama, he is very wrong: "economic development should not be achieved by means that disgrace our country for decades." An also anonymous prostitute from Ammuusĭaama responded to this: "disgrace is better than poverty."

Like the Siŋkeanaq scandal, this new scandal further contributes to the polarization of Khusqaian society. More liberal and more conservative parts of society are drifting further and further apart, and that may have important effects on the elections coming April. It is unlikely, however, that the sex industry will become an election theme: even the more liberal parties do not want to be associated therewith. The only exception, of course, is the WHP, and they will undoubtedly fully exploit the Eminga interview in their campaign.