I hosted a live text-format debate on Discord between @ProfessorHenn and @EmC for the office of Prime Minister. Their campaign threads can be found below:
Due to time constraints, the debate lasted only 30 minutes and was “rapid fire”, meaning responses were strictly timed for efficiency so we could cover enough ground. A transcript can be found below.
Going into this debate, the opinion poll I ran showed incumbent ProfessorHenn with a sizable lead. At the bottom of this post is a timed about 1 day poll asking who you think won the debate and if it swayed your vote in this election. Read the transcript and vote in the poll so we can get an updated picture of how the debate went 
Plus, feel free to comment in the thread 
HS (moderator): Welcome to the very very impromptu PM debate. This happened to be when all 3 of us were free, so we’re going to make it happen. Thanks to both of you for joining us
I think the way we do this is going to be relatively straight forward. I’m going to start by giving you both a prompt and you’ll have only 2 minutes to respond, then I’ll ask you each some follow-up questions with quick response times, and then I’ll give you each a chance to ask each other questions. Sounds good?
Henn: 
Em: indeed
HS: Okay, my opening question for both of you (which you should type an answer for simultaneously to save time) is:
What are the biggest differences between you and your opponent and why should Legislators vote for you?
Henn: My focus is on integration. We gotta rework these processes to streamline the onboarding for new players, convince them TSP is a good place to stick around and play NS in. Plenty of stuff to do here, let’s get the word out for that, and where there isn’t a lot of stuff for new players to join in, I’ll get some stuff in to help fill that void. Let’s build up our community involvement in the Assembly, the executive, and make it so it’s not the same people running for office every time.
Em: I suppose it is how we handle FA, Henn and I have our own views on how things have shaped out in the past term. I didn’t agree with the direction of our region on this front and that is why I’m here. I’m here to offer our region a new direction on FA.
HS: Thanks to you both. Now another round of questions, building on those answers, again for 2 minutes.
@ProfessorHenn: How do you respond to your opponent’s criticism that you were too soft on TNP in the past term when you apologized (twice) for things that your opponent argues we didn’t do wrong?
@Em: Your opponent is prioritizing internal activity and an integration revamp. How will you match their chops in this area, or is it not that important in your opinion?
Em: Internal activity and integration are both important aspects of regional governance, I won’t deny that. However, I will be the first to admit that most of my interest is and has almost always been on FA. I’ve mentioned in my campaign a few times about user retention and engagement, and I do believe that these issues are relevant and give them the attention they deserve.
Henn: My goal was to maintain our alliance, not see it dissolved. I didn’t come in with a mandate to fuck shit up or enact vengeance on those who have slighted us. Our alliance was built off of years of work and trust, and while it is sad to see it dissolved under these circumstances, I did what I thought was best for our region.
HS: Okay, now you each get 60 seconds to formulate a question for one another, which your opponent will get 2 minutes to answer. After that, we return to my grilling 
Henn: Why does Aegis take such a high priority for you, especially in the light of a recent incident with Europeia and the Rejected Realms?
Em: Why is (was) our alliance with TNP so necessary to preserve when time and again, they stabbed us in the back?
Henn: I’ll reiterate: I didn’t come in to see the alliance destroyed. I’ll admit that things were handled poorly, but actively antagonizing them was not going to make any friends with anyone else in the independent sphere, and definitely sour relations at a minimum with our friends in the defender sphere. I wasn’t there for their past actions, I had my own knowledge of what TNP does and is capable of, and that was worth trying to preserve the alliance.
Em: The Aegis is my baby. I invented the name. I wanted that alliance for a long time because I saw the utility of a multiregional defender alliance. We have seen that play out with region after region joining the Aegis. The Euro-TRR incident was a hiccup, but I don’t believe that should undercut the usefulness of the Aegis.
HS: Now, my next question:
For both candidates: regardless of how much you prioritize Aegis, it’s clear the alliance has had a rough patch. How will you rebuild trust within Aegis?
2 minutes.
Henn: We gotta do more joint events. Cultural, military, reaching out to have citizens talking with citizens. Rebuild the relationships between members of government, and work to figure out where possible hiccups might pop up in, solve them multilaterally, and reassure those who don’t think it’s worth it that we’re better together then we are separate.
Em: Tough, but necessary conversations are to be had amongst us on things that went wrong in the past few months, an autopsy if you will. A simple event or update won’t offer a cure-all solution. We need to talk it out like adults.
HS: Now, separate questions for each of you.
@Em: Your previous answer about integration didn’t really name what you plan to do. What’s your integration and culture plan?
@ProfessorHenn: You have a big internal platform. You were just PM for 5 months and didn’t get it done. Why and why should we trust you this time?
90 seconds this time.
Henn: A lot of the plan has been started, and my emphasis on community involvement in the process means it’ll be slow to play out. I’m offering a renewed commitment to that process here, with a clearer idea of what I see going into it, and I hope to see more people buy into the process as well.
Em: The Ministry of Culture under an Em premiership will invite newcomers to participate in all that we have to offer, whether that’s the Assembly or roleplay. Our dispatches and TGs will also be useful for that.
HS: Another question for both of you, again 90 seconds, and this one from Delegate candidate @Griffindor:
With a new delegate coming to office around the same time as either of you, what sort of direction do you intend to provide them for the WA?
Em: I want to get the OWL back up and running asap. By democratically using our vote in the WA, our delegate should be pretty prepared to give their vote a certain way or another.
Henn: I mentioned this in my campaign already, but barring a good candidate for OWL Director (luv u slab 
), the direction would be to vote per the region’s wishes, and otherwise approve proposals and vote on others as directed from the Cabinet.
HS: Another question for both of you, I think this one is important so we’ll go for 2 minutes.
What are you looking for in a Cabinet? How do you intend to pick your ministers and what qualities are you looking for?
Henn: The best Cabinet, for me, is one that buys in with the agenda I’ve proposed, has enough ideas to fill in the gaps that exist, and can help execute the plan even if I’m not present for a spell. I don’t think I’ll be going on any LoAs during this term, but building enough agency and power into the Cabinet to execute this agenda is absolutely a goal of mine, and I’m hoping to see some interested Legislators reach out to me to discuss ideas and plans they want to execute as a Minister.
Em: I want us to turn back the clock a little bit to a time when our Cabinet appointments weren’t dictated by the whims of a foreign power. Luckily, we have HS still in office, but if I want to name HS to MoFA, I will. Anyways, I want our Cabinet ministers to be uniquely qualified for their respective roles and know what they’re doing.
HS: Okay, we’re going to do another round of ask and then answer your opponent’s question. 60 seconds to formulate a question for your opponent, then 2 minutes to answer their question.
Henn: Should we expect a similar level of intensity in NSGP with your tenure as PM as you were during the TNP incident / TRR-Euro incident?
Em: Henn, your last question seemed to signify that the Aegis shouldn’t take high priority. Should it not?
Henn: Aegis is our largest alliance. Most of our bilateral alliances are with Aegis members. That doesn’t mean it has to be our only priority. We can still form relations with independent regions, with non-Aegis defender regions, with smaller regions that might not have as large of a blip. Our network can, and I think should, be more than just who’s in the Accords, and I’m hoping to see the start of some strong friendships with regions who aren’t in Aegis.
Em: Oh yeah. I thrive in FA. I live for it. I wouldn’t be running right now if I didn’t think I had the time or interest to do so. I want our region to bring other defenders back together and fight the good fight, but that hasn’t been going so well lately. I want that to change.
HS: 60 seconds: In your first term, Henn, you brought back the Ministry of Regional Affairs. Now, neither of you list it as likely to continue. Why? (Saying I did a bad job is a perfectly acceptable answer 
)
Henn: I think it’s partly that, and partly the necessity to specialize a bit more heavily for the agenda I want to execute this term. Having all that be done by a single person is. . . intense, as I’m sure you can attest.
Em: This isn’t a knock to you, HS. As a former MoRA myself, I’ve seen firsthand where that institution went, and I hate it with a passion. Fuck MoRA.
HS: 60 seconds: This will be the first full term where the PM has domain over the RMB. The Local Council received a lot of criticism for how it managed the RMB’s activity and programs. How will you do it better (keeping in mind moderation isn’t your portfolio)?
Henn: I’ve received some feelers about wanting us to do more RMB activities, and those people are a great fit to run more events with the PM’s backing or support, depending on how planning goes. We can send out regional telegrams, we can set up polls, we can do Discord pings. We can support, if you get us the plan.
Em: Well, the LC is gone now. Yay! But I see the Ministry of Culture playing a critical role on the RMB moving forward.
HS: Lightning round. 30 seconds total.
What are TSP’s values?
What have you learned from your prior term as PM?
Cake or pie?
Em: Pie
fucking pie
HS: All 3 questions
Brief extension
Em: (1) Democracy and defenderism. (2) You can’t do this all alone.
Henn: Democracy, chill vibes, and llamas.
Oh, wait, that’s just for my first answer.
-
It takes a strong team.
-
Pie, begrudgingly.
HS: Got it. Now I’m going to give 2 minutes for closing statements from each of you.
[in response to Henn going over time] I hate you.
Em: Brevity. If you want another direction for TSP, vote for me. I love you all either way. uwu.
Henn: Pedro Pascal said it best: “Life is good, but it can be better.”
Frontiers has changed the calculus of how we operate as a region, and our priority, as a community, should be to rectify what we need to change, how we operate, with our values, and I’m hoping to help push the region towards those hard discussions so we can be better off in the end.
Swagalicous! :alexllama:
HS: Thank you both for agreeing to this very impromptu debate and to everyone who watched live! The rapid fire format was…different, but given our time constraints was good, I hope everyone’s adrenaline got going.
I’ll post a transcript after. Feel free to follow up in your campaign thread with anything you think needs elaboration and I hope members of the public will also follow up with further questions. And, of course, votes.
- ProfessorHenn
- Em
0 voters
- Yes
- No
0 voters
- It was trash, I wanted them to talk more
- I like it, to the point
- Meh, there’s a time and place for everything
0 voters