[1678] Presidential Campaign Thread

[Recks]

Campaign Launch of
Camille Belmont for President
(Aldurian National Alliance)

Atanasio Paredes (ANA)
Introducing Camille Belmont
Narbonne, Asuara

Good morning, Narbonne! It is an honor to be here with you all today, an honor to stand before you as one of the voices of the Aldurian people in Parliament. You see, that is important to me as a public servant: to recognize the public that I serve is you, the everyday Aldurian citizen!

Indeed, there are those in government today, globalists and internationalists, who would deny the importance of a common Aldurian identity. They preach international cooperation, but what they deliver is economic inequality and the harm of Aldurian interests. These globalists come from many stripes, from many parties. Indeed, they can claim to be on the right or on the left: but what I have to say to those globalists, those internationalists is simple - the new arrangement is not right versus left, it’s Alduria First versus Alduria last!

See, one of the best parts of serving in Parliament is the ability to speak the truth, to tell it as it is. And nobody serving alongside me in my caucus has done a better job of telling the truth, of being honest and square with the Aldurian people as my friend who I am privileged to introduce here today.

Of course, I am talking about my close friend, Camille Belmont! A fixture of local politics here in Narbonne and across Asuara, Camille isn’t your typical candidate: she isn’t from Punta Santiago, after all. She’s from the heartland of Alduria, where everyday people live and strive and dream and hope.

Camille’s goal, I can firmly say, is for those in the outskirts of this nation. She wants everyone to have a life worth living. She wants everyone’s efforts to bring about prosperity: not just for the few, but for the many. And she wants your hopes and dreams to be realized through the combined power of our national identity.

Ladies and gentlemen of Alduria, it gives me great pleasure to introduce to you a great friend - a woman who many of you already know, but many more will come to know in the coming campaign - I give you, Camille Belmont!

Belmont comes on stage, waving boldly to the audience. She embraces Paredes, who makes his way off the stage. From behind Belmont come a number of young, attractive supporters draped in Aldurian flags and waving banners and signs.

 

Camille Belmont (ANA)
Presidential Campaign Launch
Narbonne, Asuara

Well: hello there! Good afternoon, Narbonne! It is an honor to be here, surrounded by so many of my colleagues and friends! Coming out here today, I would like to begin by thanking my friend, Atanasio, for that powerful speech. It is true, what he said, and perhaps Atansio will pardon me for being a bit more forcefully blunt: Alduria today is heading in the wrong direction.

Half of Aldurians don’t support Prime Minister Velez and his defeatist attitude towards government. Only 45% of Aldurians are satisfied with the direction our country is heading. And let me tell you this: the libertine government, godless and without any real moral rooting, is running scared! Yes, you and me have put fear in their shoes, we have challenged the very underpinning of their system.

Friends and countrymen, it is time for a change: a real, bold agenda for the common people of all parts of Alduria. We don’t need super-rich businessmen from Punta Santiago and their small-government cronies in power to tell us what we need to do, how we can do our part. No, it is our turn to govern: our turn to tell them what they must do, how they must contribute back to this nation.

The elites, they are afraid of common people like you and me. And, yes, a former member of my old party is not without blame. Alejandro Campos is as much the target of this campaign as Alfonso Velez: they are both symptoms of the same godless, rudderless philosophies of laissez-faire both without a backbone. The people of Alduria know that government has lost its touch with the common man and common woman.

That is why my campaign is not only about big, bold ideas that you will hear a lot about on the campaign trail, but even more than that, my campaign - our campaign - is about Strengthening the Spirit of Alduria. Our beloved nation, young though it may be, is lacking in core uniting principles. And the tactics of this past government have only exacerbated our crisis of identity.

As President, I will place Alduria first in any and all cases. I’m not in politics to make friends with big business interests, with the shipping companies that exploit our workers, with the wealthy industrialists who get by without paying their fair share of tax. No, unlike the mainstream politicians of the center-right and center-left, the internationalists and globalists of yesteryear, I am here for you!

My commitment to Alduria begins and ends with a commitment to our shared destiny and our shared protection. The steps undertaken by this past government to fund our military are a half-effort, nothing more - and they know that. They know that their sons - busy drinking champagne at prestigious universities and guaranteed plush, cozy banking roles - aren’t the ones fighting the West Baatharz terrorists. That responsibility falls to our sons, our boys! And we need to give them the adequate tools to fight our inhumane enemies.

Our settlements are getting by, but under my Presidency, I will fight to ensure that they prosper. The private company model is just one way that the bankers and capitalist elites in Punta Santiago profit off the blood, sweat, tears, and toil of our hardworking brethren across the frontiers of Eura. We need to provide them with real resources, and my government will do that - no more dawdling or delays, we need an attitude of action!

Finally, I will speak today on the topic of immigration and trade. I’m an immigrant to Alduria; I’m not afraid of the talent that new arrivals can bring to Alduria. But when these arrivals bring disease, when they come unchecked and when they pose a threat to our wage workers that are already here in Alduria: I have a simple message for those undesirable new arrivals - you aren’t welcome here!

These immigrants are paid by the multinationals, by the rich shipping interests and the banking class, with one interest in mind - to undercut your wages! I support bringing high-skilled, well-educated, culturally-assimilated Aldurians to our shores. Indeed, we need more bright and talented citizens, but they cannot come here to prosper off the backs of those who are already here.

Trade is a similar story - the interests of the wealthy and few against the needs of the poor and many. In Punta Santiago, they are all about trade. But across the rest of Alduria, we are all about making stuff with our own two hands. We aren’t interested in their narrow economic gains, and as President I will support a tariff regime that protects Aldurian jobs and Aldurian interests first! Not the corporatist interests, but the people’s interests!

We must strengthen Alduria’s economy. Together, we can do that!
We must strengthen Alduria’s culture. Together, we can do that!
We must strengthen Alduria’s military. Together, we can do that!
And we must strengthen Alduria’s spirit! I will not rest until together, you and I do that!