Federation City, Greater Acadia – After the retiring of former Prime Minister Timothy Gargant due to health reasons, Christine Belle, former Director of Foreign Affairs has lead the Social Democratic Party and the country as Acting Prime Minister. However, with the General Election season fast approaching, there are those within the Social Democrats who are seeking to shake up the party’s leadership. With Christine Belle being a relative unknown to the general public prior to her appointment to the position, many view her as a weak candidate in the general. This has been compounded by her controversial – yet successful – diffusion of tensions with the Matriarchy of Kerlile.
The Social Democratic Party, while being relatively united in Parliament, have begun the process of a leadership change. Christine Belle has already announced her candidacy, eager to maintain her current lead of the party. Other candidates include Peter Stenson, current Director of Finance, Jaina Lauren, a rising star within the House of Commons, and Steven Barq, current Senator of the Province of New Halland.
The leadership vote is expected to be held sometime in May. Most political commentators, despite the rather stiff opposition, still predict a comfortable victory for Christine Belle. Both due to her incumbent status and due to her slow but steadily growing popularity with the general public. This is mainly due to her more hardline stance against the Empire of Xiomera, which has proven popular among the electorate, particularly among the Caxananan immigrant communities and the 18-30 demographic. Nonetheless, there will still be difficult battle ahead for the leadership of the SDP.
