Early yesterday morning, a courier from the Chancellor’s Manor delivered a pile of proposals to the Senate chamber. Among them were some of the most important bills that a legislative session faces in its early days: Cabinet appointments. The confirmation process of the members of the Council of Ministers can set the tone for an entire legislative session, be it successful… or otherwise. However, it is not the nominations that has people buzzing in Geminus (as a few of them have already been confirmed), but the recently-implemented committee assignments for the Senate as a whole.
The most interesting part about the new committee makeups is the distribution of membership on the so-called “Invisible Committee.” For those who are unaware about how Eirian legislative politics works, the Senate is divided into 19 major committees, each with 45 members. Every Senator has the technical right to serve on two committees. However, this division leaves 45 Senators who only sit on one major policy committee.
However, being on only one committee also has an upside. During major impeachment proceedings, national emergencies, large-scale investigations, and other matters, the Senators who are only assigned to one committee may be called to legislate or serve on a jury for a more specific matter. This means that if a major scandal were to happen, the “Invisible Committee” would have the power to vote on, for example, the Chancellor’s impeachment (although the questioning and investigation would be left to certain members of the Committee of Ethics and Government Oversight). While not many politicians would want to be limited in their policy overview, not having any members on the Invisible Committee is often seen as too big of a risk to take.
How is this relevant to current proceedings? Well, when the current committee assignments were announced, experts were quickly intrigued to find that no Coalition-Aligned Moderate Right Senators were on the Invisible Committee, and only one Centrist Senator was relegated to that position as well. Further inspection revealed that the Allied ModRights hold greater-than-average positions on the Committees of Defense, Budget, the Economy, and Natural Resources. This could indicate a new series of policy initiatives that the more center and center-right wings of the coalition will be undertaking in the coming weeks.
Despite these interesting distributions turning a few heads in Eirian political circles, the recent Cabinet nominations are fairly innocuous. The only real controversy was the appointment of Paulus Berke, an attorney and politician who was a stalwart Progressive until his defection to the Greens in 2017, to the post of Minister of Labor. However, a spokesperson for the Chancellor was quick to assuage these concerns, citing Berke’s experience as a labor lawyer and his legislative voting record.
Also notable are the absence of multiple long-standing Ministers from the Council. Alice Lanćaster has been reassigned as the Ministry of Diplomacy’s Director of Public Affairs, while former Chancellor William Lanćaster has reportedly begun doctoral studies at the prestigious New Riga Research Institute. Additionally, Dr. Inka Leru, who has served as the Minister of Health since 2016, accepted an associate professorship at Estvoil University in Merēta, ending her long-standing tenure on the Council. This would leave Čarles Maršal, the Minister of Construction and Physical Development, as the only remaining holdover from the Lanćaster administration.
The full list of nominees can be found below:
[b]Minister of Diplomacy(Ministrē dei Diplomaja): Čarles Danton (G)
Minister of Justice(Ministrē dei Jūstica): Denis Krievinš (L) [RA]
Minister of Defense(Ministrē dei Āsence): Dr. Alanja Severn (C)
Minister of the Economy(Ministrē deile Ēkonomē): Kaleb Zevē (R)
Minister of Labor(Ministrē dei Darbal): Paulus Berke (G)
Minister of Construction and Physical Development(Ministrē dei Konstrukcōn ut Developmōn Fisiskai): Čarles Maršal (G) [RA] {Confirmed}
Minister of Intelligence(Ministrē dei Inteligens): Sara Ainina (L)
Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources(Ministrē dei Lauksaceba ut Resursei Dabane): Juris Alvare (R)
Minister of Scientific Development(Ministrē dei Develabmōn Sīencifik): Dr. Emily Thōrne (L) [RA] {Confirmed}
Minister of Health(Ministre dei Veselt): Lilija Everta (C)
Minister of Culture (Ministre dei Kultura): Kristēna Duvar (C)
Minister of the Environment(Ministre deile Venirōde): Janis Abolinš (G) [RA] {Confirmed}
Minister of Transport(Ministre dei Transportašana): Anese Wilson (R) [RA]
Minister of Education(Ministre dei Izkācon): Dr. Daniel Ričardson (G) [RA]
Minister of the Caxcanan Union (Ministre deile Unija Kaškana): Renata Kalina (L)
