News:Civil Initiative advances on Brazoria CAS membership
Friday, 11 January, 2019
A Civil Initiative vote will be held in the Diet of Brazoria pertaining to its membership in the Conference of American States following the official acknowledgement of a Civil Petition to the Diet, which achieved the necessary 4.45 million public supporters this morning. Speaker of the Diet Annalise Pflatz announced to a fully convened session of the Diet that the motion would be push forward to debate on Monday.
The Civil Initiative is a rarely-held vote in the Diet, which is mostly due to the fact that very few Civil Petitions every achieve the necessary one-tenth of the population in supporters. The Constitution puts Civil Initiatives at the first priority of the Diet, meaning that all scheduled votes will be delayed until the Civil Initiative has been voted on by the Diet. The move is seen by BMNB political analysts as a large blow to the momentum of Chancellor Whitmore's effort to bring Brazoria out of the CAS.
"The advancement of the Civil Initiative will mean that the Diet must stop its efforts over the current economic situation, and given the climate in the Capitol at the moment, there is actually a chance that some more moderate Dem. Soc.s may elect to jump the Chancellor's ship, following the current of public approval," says BMNB Senior Political Analyst Tom Watson. "It is probably obvious to the Chancellor that there is a very real possibility of a defeat, and he is likely chasing after every moderate he can sniff out in the halls of the Capitol right now."
Several anonymous sources from within the Capitol have told BMNB correspondents with confidence that there is serious pressure on the Speaker to call for emergency sessions on Saturday and Sunday. This would mean that Chancellor Whitmore's vision may be in the balance sooner than he is hoping for. The Chancellor is reportedly spending a great deal of time at the Capitol, and a lack of transparency has begun to develop among members of his government. Oppositor Dick Barleton of the National Party has called the response by the government to the current economic crisis "a demonstration in the weakness of Leftist unity" and "lacklustre."
Meanwhile, chaos continues to rule the streets of Downtown Austin, where on the grounds of the Capitol three different tent cities have begun to take hold. National Policemen attempted this afternoon to raid and force the demonstrators off the Capitol grounds, but the operation was called off and the Police retreated as demonstrators began to use violent tactics against them. "The intense political climate in Austin has meant that the government is watching its every move with extreme care, likely attempting to prevent making any more reasons to give people grief," says Tom Watson.
The Brazorian dollar has paused in its dramatic tumble to its lowest value in recorded history. The Brazorian Central Bank has announced that there will be a significant increase in interest rates in order to fight the dollar's verging path into hyperinflation. The possibility of a no-exit, though, has seemed to dampen the pace of sell-offs in markets outside Brazoria. A spokesman for the Commission for Securities Exchanges stated that "markets will open again on Monday as normal." The Civil Initiative has been met with significant praise and feelings of relief from many business owners throughout the country. The Brazorian Business Bund has called the possibility of a no-exit a "miracle."
(Brazorian Mutual Network Broadcasting, Austin)