In a shocking statement, President Brooke Weasley stated her support for this Saturday’s Kaijanese status referendum. At her weekly press conference, when asked about the upcoming, Weasley who had previously deflected the question entirely for months, finally responded stating that she would “respect the results” and “make sure everyone in my cabinet understands that”
This sentiment is extremely surprising considering, during her first two terms from 1995 to 2001 she was strongly opposed to Kaijanese independence even going as far in 1998 to call the movement “ridiculous”. She additionally has publicly questioned how Kaijan could politically and economically, including an infamous moment in the 2000 Election where she stated to a supporter at a rally “Those idiots don’t know how to govern themselves, Kaijan needs Slokais”. The candid moment went viral and was used by Sean Khan to gain crucial second and third-round votes in Kaijan that led to his victory. Besides historical precedent suggesting otherwise, the Conservative Party has widely been anti-independence, and this anti-independence stance has helped shift the Kaijanese religious right to solidly Muslim Union.
The question is what spurred this change in heart? New Right leader, Micheal Spencer tweeted the ridiculous claim “The fake Conservative President officially has dementia, this recent press conference proves that. I have inside sources that back this up, don’t cancel me, liberals!”. More realistically, Weasley may see the writing on the wall so to speak, having Kaijan leave Slokais would end the almost 3-year-long insurgency in Kaijan. Weasley’s failure to end the war and prevent violence has remained the greatest stain on her term so far, and by ending it perseving her political future. Then again, Weasley is 74 years old and is reported to have legitimate health issues from her reported drinking habits from her first stint in office, so her future politically is limited. Hard-line conservatives have already called for an election to be called at the earliest opportunity (January 18th) and for Weasley to be replaced. In related news, the Kaijan Referendum saw record turnout across some townships although remains lower than average in others.
