Ahead of November’s general election, the long-awaited party leader debate has arrived- and it did not disappoint. From economics to immigration to Xiomera, the leaders of Aredoa’s major political parties aimed to win over the studio audience and Aredoa as a whole with their policies. Join Political Correspondent Emily Carvalho as she analyses the main moments of the night.
Orantes impresses, from futurism to foreign policy
Since its formation, the Forward Party has been accused of lacking fundamental values in its bid to attract as many voters as possible. But tonight Ricardo Orantes laid out his economic vision for Aredoa, tapping into the ideology of futurism as he promised widescale scientific and industrial innovation.
When the topic of foreign policy arose, Orantes let his famously hawkish side show. He gained one of the loudest and longest standing ovations of the evening as he stated that the biggest threat to the modern world was “the scourge of Xiomeran imperialism and nationalism”, boldly proclaiming that the democratic world “has a duty to finish what the Coalition of Democratic Forces started by bringing Xiomera to its knees once and for all”.
De Campa defies expectations
It’s a running joke in the political scene that long-term Freedom Party leader Javier de Campa serves two purposes in party leader debates: to act as a punching bag for the other candidates to pile on, and to provide comedic relief for the audience- at his own expense. In 2019, he infamously demanded to see the birth certificate of foreign-born People’s Party leader Adelaida Sanzano to verify that she was not an Aurora, leading to widespread condemnation and a high-profile hate speech lawsuit.
But the Freedom Party’s anti-immigration stance has become much more popular since the last election, particularly as conflict rages in Kaijan and Mallacaland and asylum requests surge at Aredoa’s borders. As well as being mostly Islamic, refugees from these areas tend to have less education and place greater strain on the welfare system. De Campa clearly wishes to use this to bring his party in from the political cold, aiming to attract a broad tent of voters rather than just his usual far-right base.
Lopez the lighting rod
Throughout the debate, Chief Minister Alejandro Lopez was the target of all government criticism. And while many would flounder in such a position, Lopez- who is recognized as a great orator by even his opponents- flourished, with witty retorts and fast-firing counterattacks. In fact, many would believe that Lopez wanted nothing less than non-stop criticism as it allowed him to stay in the spotlight all night, often at the expense of his coalition partners who struggled to maintain a stage presence.
On an individual level, Lopez remains the most popular political leader by a wide margin, and he hopes to use his personal popularity to catapult the Workers’ Party to a third term in government.
