Federation City, Greater Acadia – The electoral race continues apace. Acadians across the country are tuning in to watch their candidates campaign. Recently, we talked to Christine Belle of the Social Democratic party. Today, we sat down with Allain Saint-Pierre of the Federalist Party, which is currently the second-largest party in the Acadian government. The following is a transcript of the interview conducted by Maxwell Gaunt:
Gaunt: “Mr. Saint-Pierre, good morning. Thank you for being here.”
Saint-Pierre: “Good morning Mr. Gaunt. I’m happy to sit down with you today.”
Gaunt: “Excellent. Let’s start off with our first question. You’ve been an outspoken critic of the SDPs handling of the Kerlian Crisis. Would you care to elaborate?”
Saint-Pierre: “Certainly. The problem with how the Kerlian Crisis was handled is that a number of missteps were made from the outset. Now some could be the result of the sudden nature of the issue. My biggest concern is that not enough was done to contain Xiomera’s influence in the country, and additionally, we essentially gave Kerlile what they wanted. Trade deals and a weakening of sanctions on their state.”
Gaunt: “So you believe that the crisis was poorly handled?”
Saint-Pierre: “Yes, I do believe so.”
Gaunt: “So should the Federalist-led Greater Unity Coalition win the election, would take a tougher stance on Kerlile?”
Saint-Pierre: “And on Xiomera, yes.”
Gaunt: “How so?”
Saint-Pierre: “On the subject of Kerlile or Xiomera?”
Gaunt: “Both, if you wish.”
Saint-Pierre: “Alright, let’s start with Kerlile. Our coalition would reimplement the sanctions we had on Kerlile, and increase our military presence in frontline areas. Kerlile is also a major contributor to instability in neighboring countries. Our intelligence services would be directed to countering Kerlian influence, as well as that of Xiomera. And on that subject, we would build closer military ties with the UCS, including sending volunteer units to train the Huenyan. Military assistance would be increased to these nations, allowing them greater capability to resist Xiomeran aggression. We would also institute a number of measures and tariffs on XIomeran goods coming into our country. The goal is to weaken Xiomera’s ability to assault both us and our partners abroad.”
Gaunt: “And as for Xiomeran influence at home?”
Saint-Pierre: “Ah yes. I will admit that the SDP has laid some of the groundwork. But, as usual, they fall short of taking the full step needed. We need to be more aggressive in prosecuting illegal police stations harassing Xiomeran and Huenyan immigrants fleeing their respective countries due to conflict. Our goal would be to increase funding to law-enforcement, as well as integrating their operations with our intelligence services to tackle this issue more proactively, rather than simply responding to them as they pop up.”
Gaunt: “Naturally, all this would require more funding to the military as well?”
Saint-Pierre: “Yes, we’d need to increase funding, especially towards recruitment just to meet the demands we’d need.”
Gaunt: “Would this include reinstituting conscription?”
Saint-Pierre: “Not as of yet, no.”
Gaunt: “But would you be open to that option?”
Saint-Pierre: “If the need arises, yes.”
Gaunt: “I see. Now onto other domestic issues. Housing seems to be a fairly big topic. Many are worried that the government is not doing enough. What would you say to that?”
Saint-Pierre: “Quite frankly, I think this is a short-term issue. Even prior to the SDPs bill to inrease housing funding, firms across the country were already rising to meet demand. To be entirely honest, I think the SDP and others like them are making mountains out of molehills.”
Gaunt: “So you would not increase funding for housing?”
Saint-Pierre: “No I would not.”
Gaunt: “Would you cut housing funding?”
Saint-Pierre: “No. To do that now would cause greater harm than good now that it’s done.”
Gaunt: “Right. And how would you respond to those who say that the Economy is struggling?”
Saint-Pierre: “I would say that I disagree. I feel the economy is in a good place. However, it could be better. I cannot go into detail as the specifics are still being worked out, our coalition is hammering out a number of measures to boost our economy even further by restructuring how we provide funding to various sectors of the economy, as well as measure to streamline cross-industry integration.”
Gaunt: “I see. Well, thank you for your time, Mr. Saint-Pierre.”
Saint-Pierre: “You’re very welcome Mr. Gaunt. Thank you for your time, as well.”
