With less than 24 hours to go until polls open, the candidates for Prime Minister — @ProfessorHenn, @Sir_Zanny/Trivalve, and @Of_the_Ages/the Age of Utopia — participated together in a live, text-based election debate. Didn’t catch the debate live? The full transcript (lightly edited for clarity) is included below.
At the end of the transcript are a few polling questions. Make sure to share your views of the debate before you go!
Pronoun (moderator)
Mic check, testing, 1, 2, 3. Is this thing on? taps mic
Can I get a mic check from our three candidates? 
The Age of Utopia
Yup! I’m here and my mic works
ProfessorHenn
Trivalve
Hello! inserts really loud ringing noise at the end
Pronoun
Welcome to the October 2023 Prime Minister election debate!
We’re coming to you live from the Conference Hall right here in Lampshade District at the heart of the South Pacific. I’m Pronoun, and I’ll be the moderator of today’s debate for the Prime Minister election. Today’s debate will consist of three sections: we’ll begin with questions for all three of the candidates, followed by questions for individual candidates, and finally we’ll open the floor up for candidates to ask questions of each other.
Now, without further ado, please join me in welcoming our candidates for Prime Minister: ProfessorHenn, Trivalve, and The Age of Utopia!
Candidates, to help maintain the flow of discussion, please clearly mark the end of your answers so that I know when to move on to the next candidate, and please try to answer questions within 3 minutes (unless otherwise indicated).
With that out of the way, let’s begin! I’d like to offer each of you the chance to offer some opening remarks, starting with…
!choose ProfessorHenn Trivalve “The Age of Utopia”
Err, stand by. I think we forgot Coco’s entry pass here onstage, so I’ll go chase them down over in #coconut-grove.
And our lucky winner is… Trivalve! [link to random selection in #coconut-grove]
The floor is yours for your opening statement, whenever you’re ready.
Trivalve
Hello everyone, I am glad to be here campaigning to be your Prime Minister. I have always had a desire to help this region where I can so to finally have a shot at this is amazing. I hope to work with all of you in this endeavour to bring this region to the best it can be. I have so many ideas to bring and I believe you will all enjoy them. I wish my fellow candidate luck and may the best candidate win! End of post 
Pronoun
Alright. The Age of Utopia, you’re up next. Take it away.
[link to random selection in #coconut-grove]
The Age of Utopia
Hello to those who are watching, I’m here campaigning for PM. I love this region, and all the wonderful parts of it’s community. I want to progress participation and activity within this region, and make it an even more enjoyable place. I hope this election goes well, and may Henn and Trivalve do great! (End)
Pronoun
And last but not least, that leaves ProfessorHenn. The mic is yours.
ProfessorHenn
Greetings to everyone! It’s good to be here again, massive thanks to Pronoun for hosting this again and corralling us 3 candidates together.
I’m seeking a third term as Big Cheese Prime Minister in order to keep up the momentum we’ve established last term, and the term before. We’ve had some awesome victories, we’ve cultivated a lot of talent that’s more politically interested and more engaged, and while we’re in an amazing position now, we can always keep it up. Good luck to Utopia and Trivalve, let’s have a good fight!
Pronoun
Alright, let’s move into the questions. I think it’s safe to say that the three of you cover the spectrum in terms of executive experience. What role do you think prior experience — either your own, or in general — plays or doesn’t play in serving as Prime Minister?
Let’s start with the Age of Utopia this time.
The Age of Utopia
I have been on NS for four years, one of which has been here in TSP. During my time here I haven’t done much beyond being active in A1-0 and recently the SPSF. During this time I’ve developed friendships with people, and connected more with those groups. I hope to use that to better get a feeling of the region’s opinions before doing things.
Before I was in TSP, I was the executive delegate of 3 medium regions, and was essentially the head of the regional governments there. That experience I will need to rely on as PM. (end)
Pronoun
Let’s go with ProfessorHenn next.
ProfessorHenn
Prior experience definitely ties in, at least at a relatively small baseline I think, but the areas where it really comes into play (and would work heavily for or against candidates) is what prior experience they’re drawing on for particular parts of their campaign. If I’m trying to push for a completely new foreign policy for the South Pacific, but I’ve never been Minister of Foreign Affairs or in the Foreign Affairs Council, then it would be reasonable to ask some hard questions.
I’ve been PM before (still am, but I was before too), and can continue to bring those relationships forward to promote the agenda I’ve outlined, so that’s what I rely on in this campaign.
Pronoun
And Trivalve?
Trivalve
With prior experience, the first thing that comes to mind that would support me would be my time as Local Councillor. Organising and running certain events along with making important decisions gave me some good experience in the executive parts. Recently though, I feel my role in the delegates advisory council play a good part as well. Coming up with and implementing solutions to the underlying issues of the gameside has been a great learning experience. Furthermore, this position has allowed me to work with our current MoOSE Legend on event side matters so that really helps as well. end
Pronoun
The Age of Utopia mentioned their experience in other regions, but all of you are involved with other regions to some extent, as noted in your conflict of interest disclosures. Where does TSP fall within your priorities in NationStates, and are you confident you’ll be able to balance your responsibilities as Prime Minister with those you may have in other regions?
Let’s start with ProfessorHenn this time.
ProfessorHenn
The Coalition holds my loyalty. I’m not adding any new regions to my roster, I’m not getting any more involved in my other region than I already (barely) am. The South Pacific is my home, come hell or high water. Probably high water, the way sea levels are going. /fin
Pronoun
Trivalve?
Trivalve
My only role now in Crimson Spire is Internal Security which only requires me to sign in every so often during update to make sure nothing is aloof. My allegiance is definitely aligned to TSP and I spend way more time here than I do in the other region so it should have no effect.
Pronoun
The Age of Utopia?
The Age of Utopia
TSP is the region I am the most active in, and it has my full loyalty. Every region I’m an RO in is dead or dying, so those don’t even matter much to me. TSP is my home and I wouldn’t hesitate to defend it.
Pronoun
Alright. My next question actually comes from ProfessorMacaroni in the audience.
Will you support an amendment to the charter abolishing the requirement of gameside participation in delegate elections? Take note that the Elections Act will not be amended so the current mechanism for electing delegates will still be in place which currently involves the gameside. Only the constitutional requirement itself will be removed.
Let’s start with Trivalve for this question.
Trivalve
No I don’t support this idea, what reason will certain gamesiders have to endorse the delegate if they can’t vote for the one they want. I just feel it will cause drama we don’t need
ProfessorHenn
To clarify, is Macaroni talking about:
(5) The date, time, and manner of electing the Delegate will be set by the Assembly in a law, but must include the participation of the gameside community.
Underline mine?
Pronoun
I quoted the question I received verbatim, but that’s what I assumed the question referred to, yeah.
Also, as a reminder to all candidates, please remember to mark the end of your responses so I know when to move on to the next candidate. Trivalve, were you finished with your response or did you have anything else to say/did that clarification change your response?
Trivalve
Yes sorry
It’s finished
pronoun
Alright. And no need to apologize, I know things got a little confusing there.
The Age of Utopia, I want to give you a chance to respond next.
The Age of Utopia
I would not. If gameside participation is no longer a requirement for electing the Delegacy, I feel that would very heavily enforce the feeling of a hegemony to those not on the regional forums. (end)
Pronoun
ProfessorHenn?
ProfessorHenn
I’m frankly unsure of why this question was asked for the debate for Prime Minister. I’ve mentioned before that I don’t see the job as leading the passage of legislation in the Assembly (doubly so now that you no longer need to be a legislator to be PM), outside of very specific circumstances, and this is not one of those times.
That said, as a Legislator, no, I would not support abolishing the requirement, as I’ve noted above. Part of a successful security apparatus is buy-in from the people you need to convince to support the legitimate government, and removing a requirement for gameside participation does the exact opposite of convincing them. /fin
Pronoun
I want to ask next about what is the job of the Prime Minister. Each of you covered (and didn’t cover) various policy areas in your campaigns. It can be easy to reassure voters that you care about their areas of particular interest, but it’s also easy for Prime Ministers to face many priorities at once with limited time and energy. If you had to identify a particular area of focus or a particular approach to prioritization for your term, what would it be?
The Age of Utopia?
The Age of Utopia
My area of prioritization would likely be the recruitment of new people to activities in TSP, particularly to the SPSF and rolplay communities. With the SPSF over RP. The RP communities have a better natural draw than defending, just because of how this game is, and the SPSF can always use more people. My major focus would be to encourage participation in defending.
(end)
Pronoun
ProfessorHenn?
ProfessorHenn
Top focus is “Continuation”, with a follow up of SPSF outreach/reforms, as appropriate. My personal focus is going to be FA/SPSF, but I’ll be around to answer questions on everything the PM is responsible for. /fin
Pronoun
And Trivalve?
Trivalve
My focus is on increasing activity. I want to get more new faces to into our voting positions such as legislators and Citizens. Get them to promote ideas so they can prove themselves capable of holding certain ministry positions. It’s mainly about bridging this sense of separation between the gameside and offsite that some people feel.
end
Pronoun
Alright. One last question for all of you — feel free to just answer whenever you’re ready — if you had to describe your campaign in a single word, what would it be?
ProfessorHenn
Continuation!
Trivalve
Community!
The Age of Utopia
Participation!
Pronoun
Heh, I think I stole that question from one of Europeia’s election debates and their commentators picked up on the punctuation. Looks like that’s the same here!
The next section of the debate will consist of questions to individual candidates. If either of the other candidates would like to request the floor to respond, please feel free to do so at any time after the question is asked.
Let’s start with ProfessorHenn. You stated in your campaign that this will be your last time running in any election for at least the next three cycles. Are you confident in your motivation to serve this term?
ProfessorHenn
100%. This is my last election for a while because of RL concerns next year that would pick up drastically and leave me with much, much less time for non-work activities, let alone NationStates. I’m confident in giving the South Pacific my all until passing the reigns in February.
Pronoun
Alright. Our next question for you comes from Griffindor in the audience (I think you can just about see him over there with the security detail and the cake). What is the greatest regret of your term?
ProfessorHenn
I wanna know how you can hear the cake from way over yonder.
Definitely succumbing to the September slump we found ourselves in. I’ve kinda brought it up in some chats before, but a lot of our August energy dissipated as soon as we hit 9/1 (
) or 1/9 (
), and we didn’t get as much done as I wanted to throughout that month. Luckily, it’s come back for October (spooky szn does the trick), across all fronts. /fin
Pronoun
I’d like to move on to Trivalve next, starting with a question that’s also from Griffindor. Will you be resigning from the Delegates Advisory Committee if elected?
Trivalve
No I will not be resigning from the delegates advisory council, I should be able to manage both task well and will give me good opportunities to correlate with the delegate as well.
end
Pronoun
I also want to ask you about your ideas for regional culture. In your campaign, you mentioned that you were excited about an upcoming idea that you’ve been working on with Minister of On-Site Events Legend, who was, of course, appointed by incumbent Prime Minister ProfessorHenn. How do you believe your ideas for regional culture or your approach to implementing them differ or expand upon those started under ProfessorHenn this term?
Trivalve
Well first off, I would expand the MoOSE position to allow for inter-regional events. This should allow for more ideas and variation to be allowed. I feel like he would be a huge help with my inter-regional song competition along with any other ideas that I or he may come up with along the road. End
Pronoun
And finally, I’d like to move on to the Age of Utopia.
Your campaign mentioned the SPSF and roleplay, but didn’t make much mention of foreign affairs. How would you describe your views on that area of affairs?
The Age of Utopia
FA under my administration would mostly be maintaining existing relationships. I know there has been talk in the RP community about an inter-regional event a while ago, which hasn’t led to much due to no viable regions. Existing events and relationships, again, I’d want to maintain, but I would mostly leave FA to my MoFA.
(end)
Pronoun
And we have another question from Griffindor (we apparently have a very inquisitive delegate!): A large part of increasing roleplay engagement is increasing integration onto the forums. Do you have a plan to increase forum usage and integration?
The Age of Utopia
I would do my best to be directing new players (and existing ones) to the forums in the RMB and in regional TGs, which is where I feel lacks forum recruitment the most.
(end)
Pronoun
That concludes the second section of the debate. We will now move into the third section of the debate, where candidates will have the opportunity to ask and respond to each other’s questions. Each candidate will be allotted two questions, one for each of their opponents.
Let’s start with Trivalve. Would you like to ask ProfessorHenn a question?
Trivalve
Henn, as a previous PM, if you had one piece of advice to give if Utopia or I made it in, what would it be?
ProfessorHenn
Talk to people, know where you stand, get your team, and never stop learning.
Pronoun
Next, Trivalve, do you have a question for the Age of Utopia?
Trivalve
Utopia, just more on your FA plans. You said you will be keeping relationships stable and maintained. How do you plan on doing this?
The Age of Utopia
I would want to continue existing events and maintain communications with their governments. I would be relying on a MoFA for advice heavily as FA is something I lack experience in.
Pronoun
Alright, I want to move on to ProfessorHenn next. What would you like to ask the Age of Utopia?
ProfessorHenn
This is to both:
What does your government look like, in terms of ministries?
The Age of Utopia
I would want a RP minister that’s involved in the Pacifica RP and also in A1-0, although that part is less important. On-site events and defense would also be ministries I would need. I would very much need a MoFA. I’m not sure what other ministries, but I don’t see adding any to what currently exist.
(end)
Trivalve
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Cultural Activities, Minister of Gameside Statistics, Minister of Defence, and Minister of Roleplay
end
Pronoun
And last but not least, I’ll move on to the Age of Utopia. Do you have a question for ProfessorHenn?
The Age of Utopia
Henn, how long would you keep running for PM theoretcially, if your IRL workload allowed?
Pronoun
ProfessorHenn?
ProfessorHenn
Apologies- One more term.
Pronoun
And finally, the Age of Utopia, what would you like to ask Trivalve?
The Age of Utopia
Trivalve, if you had to list one moment or event as the catalyst for getting you to run as PM, what event/moment would you list?
Trivalve
I believe it was my activity. It allowed me to be noticed by others as a potential Prime Minister. (Which is why I am pushing for new faces to get more involved)
end
Pronoun
That concludes the third and final section of the debate. As we wrap up, I—
holds finger to earpiece hol—hold on. Yes, yes, of course I do. Definitely. Oh. You want me to ask them? Okay, stand by. ahem
His Most Benevolent Cakeness, the Delegate of the South Pacific, has, err, requested that each of you swear eternal fealty should you win the election. How do you respond?
(Feel free to respond in any order.)
Trivalve
Errr… I swear eternal fealty?
ProfessorHenn
Fealty to what?
Pronoun
To His Most Benevolent Cakeness.
The Age of Utopia
My loyalty is to the region of TSP as a whole, and I would swear fealty to that. TSP is nationstates’ oldest democracy and I would not undermine that by swearing fealty to a single person. It is abhorrent that Trivalve would obey the will of a single man, and threaten our democratic principles so.
Trivalve
It was a question, not a statement
I haven’t sworn anything
The Age of Utopia
Oh sorry I read that as you hesitantly swearing fealty
My apologies
Trivalve
It is all good lol
Pronoun
Alright, I know we’re approaching the end of the time we have available (I knew I should’ve booked the Conference Hall for longer…). Thank you to all three of our Prime Minister candidates for participating in the debate today! Before we conclude, I’d like to give each of you a chance to offer some closing remarks.
Let’s go in reverse order to opening statements. ProfessorHenn?
ProfessorHenn
I look forward to seeing everyone turn out for the voting booth, and no matter who wins, we all win.
Cheers! /fin
Pronoun
I believe the Age of Utopia is up next.
The Age of Utopia
I am running against two amazing candidates, and regardless of who wins or loses, I know I’ve been having a great time, andI hope that at the end of this everyone else is too. Democracy prevails with participation so don’t forget to vote!
(end)
Pronoun
And finally, Trivalve?
Trivalve
Again I would like to wish my fellow candidate luck and that I believe them both to be fully capable of leading us well! End
Pronoun
By popular demand, it turns out I have one more question. Cake or pie? (Or, as one very indignant response to pre-election polling said, how DARE you not include ice cream!?)
Trivalve
Cake
The Age of Utopia
Cake is the morally superior option.
ProfessorHenn
Ice cream!!!
How DARE indeed!!!
Pronoun
Hey, I included it here!
ProfessorHenn
Pronoun
Thank you all once again for participating in this debate. Thank you also to our audience, both those who are here live and those reading the transcript afterwards! And make sure to look out for some more polls about the debate to be included with the transcript.
For more information about the election, please make sure to visit Election Central. See you at the polls!
- ProfessorHenn
- Sir Zanny
- The Age of Utopia
- Yes
- No
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- Slower is better, it allows for better thought-out answers
- Faster is better, it gets to the point more directly
- Meh, there’s a time and place for everything
- I don’t know, I didn’t watch/read the July debate