Minister of Imperial Expansion - Campaign Thread

[Jonny]

Here's the thread were the candidates for the Office of Imperial Expansion can campaign, and people can ask the candidates questions.

Current Candidates Are:
Meshelic (Hawk)
Jonny (Independent)

Good luck to all candidates.

[Jonny]

Many of you are probably asking why I should get your vote for IE minister. Here's why:

I am experienced in the IE ministry as well as in the Democracy Game itself. There have been 6 elections for IE minister. I have run in every one of those. I have won the election once. I have also served as deputy IE minister twice. Also, I have been involved in the Democracy Game from its beginning. Clearly, I have the experience that not everyone has.

I promise to listen to the citizens of the Democracy Game and to their opinions. I value the opinions of the people. I promise that I will listen to everyone's opinion. Usually, I will not do something without polling the people on it first.

I have 3 main goals as IE minister this term. The first goal is to expand Apolytonia's power and to maintain Apolyton as the #1 civ. That may be accomplished by building new cities on newly found lands, or could be accomplished by taking over other lands.
The second goal is to acquire as many resources and luxuries as possible. These are very important for Apolytonia's well being. Once again, this could be accomplished by building new cities or taking over existing cities.
The third goal is to find the "Lost Civs". By finding the 4 missing civs first, Apolyton would benefit through the selling and trading of contacts and world maps, among other things. We may also find new land to settle.

Remember, vote for Jonny for IE minister!

[Meshelic]

Originally posted by Jonny
Many of you are probably asking why I should get your vote for IE minister. Here's why:

I am experienced in the IE ministry as well as in the Democracy Game itself. There have been 6 elections for IE minister. I have run in every one of those. I have won the election once. I have also served as deputy IE minister twice. Also, I have been involved in the Democracy Game from its beginning. Clearly, I have the experience that not everyone has.

Thank you citizens for allowing me to speak on behalf of my campaign for Imperial Expansion minister and to present my own agenda to you. While I may not have the experience that my opponent has, I can say I bring a fresh and new perspective to the table.

As you know, our nation is made up of all types of people. Those who have participated in this game have welcomed newcomers to the game and I applaud them for accepting us into the nation that they have so carefully expanded and nurtured. As a relative newcomer myself I have come to understand how we work together under the pretense of "democracy", and it has been a rewarding experience.

Originally posted by Jonny
I promise to listen to the citizens of the Democracy Game and to their opinions. I value the opinions of the people. I promise that I will listen to everyone's opinion. Usually, I will not do something without polling the people on it first.

I too in this respect promise to value the opinions of the people, and to listen carefully and closely on any suggestions or comments regarding this office. Without the input of the citizens, there is little democracy to be had.

My goals for this office are as such:

1.) To expand and settle new towns and cities for our empire in locations that are both beneficial to the needs of the nation as well as offering protection from aggression of other would-be conquerors.
2.) To gain further access to happiness, trade, and strategic resources through expansion, which will as such bring in more wealth and opportunity for citizens in our nation, as well as to our armed forces abroad.
3.) To represent the great office of Imperial Expansion as one of the great cornerstones in our nation, and in the best light and truth.
4.) To settle those lands ravaged by war, famine and drought, to nurture that land and bring more glory to our empire.

Thank you all for your support, and may the best of luck go to you who are also running for office as well as to the citizens of great Apolyton, who are a proud and industrious nation, to whom the world owes great respect. Thank you.

[Kloreep]

Question for both of you:

Frankly, I see the IE Ministry as fast becoming an outdated office. How would you respond?

[Meshelic]

Originally posted by Kloreep
Question for both of you:

Frankly, I see the IE Ministry as fast becoming an outdated office. How would you respond?

I agree that the IE Ministry is becoming obsolete as our nation progresses into new eras, since it's fairly obvious that there is less land to settle and expand on. But on that note, the office is still strong and will continue to be an important facet of the nation. However, I believe there will be new responsibilities for the office in the future, for instance:

During a time of war, our commanders are given the chance to completely level the city, thus leaving that land ready for settlement. In that aspect, the IE becomes almost more of a Cultural Expansion than an Imperial Expansion, thus the goals are the same but done in a different frame of reference. By expanding and creating cities in lands that have been abandoned (or destroyed) in a time of war, we would thus be expanding more for the culture benefits rather than to expand the empire itself. The spreading of culture is very important, and I feel that many of the duties that fall on the office now will be basically the same, but in a different light and will thus have a different set of priorities.

[Meshelic]

The audience remains baffled...or are they?

[Kloreep]

Originally posted by Meshelic
The audience remains baffled...or are they?

It was a good response. I'm not baffled; I just don't have anything else to say.

[Meshelic]

Muwahahaha

[Kloreep]

Originally posted by Meshelic
Muwahahaha

Wrong thread?

[Meshelic]

No inside joke sorry

[Jonny]

Originally posted by Kloreep
Question for both of you:

Frankly, I see the IE Ministry as fast becoming an outdated office. How would you respond?

The Ministry of Imperial Expansion is quickly becoming less powerful, as there are less places to settle. However, I think that the IE office may continue to live on, by taking on other roles that currently don't seem to be assigned to other government offices. These include:

Culture (Overseeing and Expanding Apolytonia's Culture)- Culture is just as important as city building when it comes to territorial expansion. Expanding culture expands our border. Increasing culture makes it less likely for our cities to culture-flip to other civs, and increasing culture makes it more likely for other civ's cities to culture-flip to us. And, in the unlikely event that one of our cities gets captured, high culture increases the probability that the conquered city will culture-flip back to us. Perhaps the IE office will become known as the Cultural Ministry.

Exploration (and Finding the Lost Civs)- Exploration is also important for expansion. By finding the other civs, we can probably make a nice profit and/or gain knowledge and/or power. Exploration is also important for expansion because our ships may stumble upon an unknown island that we could build cities on.

Long Term Planning- Where do we want Apolytonia to be in 50 turns? 100 turns? At the end of the game? Knowing our long term goals is very important. Knowing this could help us find answers to questions such as: Who should be our friends? Who should be our enemies? Who should we attack next? What type of government do we want? Such long-term planning is important for our future success.

These three things could become future roles for the IE ministry, allowing it to live on and remain powerful.