[2302.AP] Vacancy in the Ministry of Defence

Webs resigned as Minister of Defence on 22 December 2022, yet in the 23 days since then the Cabinet has not appointed anyone to fill that vacancy. This means, among other things, that:
  • There has been no elected civilian leader of the Special Forces for nearly a month.

  • There is no one to certify which soldiers may cast absentee votes in the January 2023 Delegate Election.

Could the Prime Minister please account for this failure to appoint a replacement, and explain what level of civilian oversight and control has been exercised over the Special Forces in the 23 days since the Minister of Defence resigned?

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In fact, I was about to ask the same question.

However, speaking as someone who has the role masking privilege of seeing the SPSF channels, I can say that HumanSanity has been doing a pretty solid job acting as a de facto leader (with their post as General). They’ve been welcoming and introducing new members, helping soldiers, and providing updates. Therefore I’d recommend the Cabinet to appoint HumanSanity as the Minister of Defense for the remainder of the term.

I know that the Prime Minister is kind of on a LOA as of right now and that might be something to take note of as the vacancy situation goes on.

When Webs resigned, the Cabinet had a discussion amongst ourselves and decided that there wasn’t any meaningful reason to appoint a MoD. The obvious candidates, me, Pronoun, and HumanSanity, are already involved in Cabinet, so an appointment would do nothing.

Even when Webs was MoD, the reality is that the leadership in the organization was mostly done by Commanders and Officers anyway, with Webs’ only work really being masking new applicants with the appropriate roles. In absence of a MoD, the SPSF continues to be one of the most active bodies under TSP government, which is evidence enough that a MoD isn’t necessary.

Regarding absentee votes, it’s worth noting that they are only allowed when SPSF members “are on deployment at the conclusion of the regional poll”. This is a rare occurrence, as a siege must be happening while the poll is ending. A quick search of Libcord reports shows that since January 1, 2022, only 6% of updates were spent sieging.
The vast majority of updates only have on-update activities such as chasing and detagging, which would not qualify members to cast an absentee ballot.

In terms of civilian oversight, I continue to monitor the SPSF as the Prime Minister. I generally have no need to act in a civilian capacity since HumanSanity as General and Pronoun as Commander have been doing an excellent job leading the SPSF.

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Would the Assembly even have been informed of this decision, had I not asked now?

Is there a recommendation for the next minister from any member of the Assembly?

There is.

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The Assembly knew Webs resigned and knew no successor has been appointed. If legislators believe a successor is necessary, they can voice that opinion — which is presumably what’s happening right now. If legislators believe a successor is unnecessary, they can also voice that opinion. It’s groundbreaking news that a Cabinet that is not appointing a new Minister of Defense may not be interested in appointing a new Minister of Defense.

That’s not a recommendation that would change anything, given that HS is already involved in the Cabinet. Presumably if they wanted the role, we already would’ve appointed them! They’re welcome to say otherwise, of course.

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Good to know that the Cabinet doesn’t feel obligated to communicate its decisions to the Assembly.

I’d also like to point out that Sulenia resigned as Director of the Office of World Assembly Legislation (OWL) ten days ago and a successor is yet to be appointed. Will OWL have a leader by the end of this Cabinet term?

Are you volunteering?

I’m a little confused by your question however I’m just asking about the situation in OWL. I’d gladly take on the job acting as some sort of interim Director if needed but that wasn’t the intention of my post.

If you can’t think of anybody to fill these roles, then there’s a good chance the Cabinet can’t either.

From the GC Defense Act thread:
“I would like to have the MInister of Defense lead the SPSF/must be an SPSF general, to make the Minister of Defense position actually matter. It would also consolidate the structure of our SPSF leadership.”

HumanSanity would fill these roles, so I recommend HumanSanity to fill in as the Minister of Defense for the remainder of this term.

Glen gets it pretty much right.

I’d also add that the point of a Minister of Defense is to provide civilian oversight to the Ministry. Appointing the sole military General of the SPSF to be its Minister of Defense feels counterintuitive. And with the exception of potentially appointing a new General, there’s no powers unique to the Minister of Defense that I can’t exercise as a General, so I don’t see much point of appointing me as Minister of Defense.

If the Cabinet really wants to, then they can, I won’t say “no”, since I’m also not going to be doing more (or particularly different) work if I’m appointed Minister of Defense. But also, why would they appoint me? Does a trustworthy civilian want to exercise both leadership (as in, yes, if you take this job you are expected to perform job responsibilities) and oversight as Minister of Defense? If so, speak up, you may be a good Minister of Defense. Otherwise, it may just be a sign the position of Minister of Defense is a tad bit silly

It’s a matter of civilian oversight over the SPSF.

Quite frankly, the Cabinet is awfully combative and dismissive of what is a valid point to make. Given the amount of time that the position has been vacant, it stands to reason that the Cabinet could’ve come to the Assembly and said, “Hey, we didn’t find anyone in our intra-Cabinet discussion to appoint as a MoD. Would anyone like to put their name forward?” However, the Cabinet did not do that. Instead, the ultimate decision was to do nothing. Now, I get it, hindsight is 20/20, but it seems clear as day that the Cabinet dropped the ball here.

I don’t think the Cabinet is being defensive. I just don’t care and don’t think this is important at all. The important thing is that we basically have only a single player we can think to fill multiple roles in the region.

I just love chaotic political vacancies. Anyone got some popcorn?

Remove the Minister of Defense position entirely, then.

I volunteer as tribute.

I possess no military experience, but I will totally provide oversight to the General Corps.

“Y’all doing good…? Yes…? Good, keep up the good work! Also, would you mind couping the region for me, pls…?” :wink: