AnteriaBoard

L.R: Good evening everyone and welcome to the first debate as part of the extraordinary presidential elections.

D.P: Channel 1 together with CLTV 1 has received a license to organize from the Federal Election Commission.

L.R: With that, we want to greet our guests and the presidential candidates, please give us a round of applause

D.P: I suggest we start with the only lady in the studio, which is Thalia Hines. Mrs. Hines, you said at the campaign opening that if you win, you will dissolve the parliament. From your statement, it can be concluded that the political situation in the country is not good, can you explain to us why?

Thalia Hines (Liberal - Civic candidate): First of all, I would like to greet everyone present in the hall, you presenters, viewers and then my opponents. Unfortunately, the situation is not good and it started thanks to the conservatives, that is, the right-wingers who have been in power for 24 long years. It all started with the impeachment of Mrs. Hall and culminated in the murder of Ron Darell, the local leader of the Christian Democrats in Planton City, more precisely their man there whom they could not protect. All this has been happening since the Mr on my right.....

L.R: Do you mean Mr. Kanaev, who is acting as president?

(Kanaev looks at the presenter and then at Hines, refraining from laughing)

T.H: We know who I'm talking about, ten days after he took office, a murder happened, even though there were warnings before that there could be a threat to security, and apparently they didn't take it seriously. This led Mr. Lindmar to resign from the position of Minister of Security. and that was done by the head of the State security service of Clarkstan.They did the right thing, to some extent they preserved the image of the People's Republican Party as an Anti-crime hero that they have been bragging about for a long time.

D.P: Ms. Hines, you are now talking about the crisis in Planton city, I agree that it is not a good situation, but it is of a local character and not a national one.

T.H: Yes, but the information we received on Friday is that the future prime minister does not rule out introducing the Right Alternative Party into the government. Because you really think that it will pass without a reaction. And that could very well spread to the whole country. This is exactly why I plan to dissolve the parliament in case of victory and thus call for extraordinary parliamentary elections in order to relax the situation in the country.

L.R: Mr. Kanaev, it can be seen from you that you really have something to say and probably something more about this today's topic as a man who is currently acting as the president of the republic.

Vyaceslav Kanaev (Acting president, Right-wing candidate): Well, I have to congratulate all Orthodox believers on Easter, among which I also belong. As well as to congratulate St. George, the protector of our fatherland. It was a pleasure to listen to Mrs. Hines trying to offer herself as a lifeline for Clarkstan. But let's be serious now, we all know why Ms. Hall was impeached, I won't repeat myself.Mrs. Hines is a typical example of the liberal-citizen opposition that has lost its sense of reality a long time ago, and this is shown by the general elections two years ago, as well as these elections that we had in the previous two months. They were defeated in all three and will be again next year in regional. This address, "Mr. on my right", tells how much they hate us and that in a pathological form.

D.P: Mr. Kanaev, we know your relationship with them, but can you tell us about everything that happened in the last two months?

V.K: With Elizabeth Hall everything started ok, she supported some of our initiatives as a government and we supported some of hers. I say this by ignoring the fact that from the moment she assumed the office of president she said that Clarkstan should start thinking about legalizing prostitution. The attitude of the government and the majority of citizens is well known.But then she first brought it to the parliament for a discussion where we could all say what we have and that's how it should be. After that we would adopt the proposal of the speaker of the Federal House to hold a referendum where we won. That was all democratic and no matter what whatever the outcome was, we have no objection because it was the people's decision. However, the law on affirmative action was passed arbitrarily and we could not allow it, and we sent her an ultimatum, she ignored it and was eventually recalled.

L.R: Do you think that her impeachment is the main trigger of the crisis in Planton city? Because you probably know that as soon as you were appointed as the presidential candidate, demonstrations broke out down there.

V.K: Her impeachment was the last straw, there are already a lot of accumulated problems that I talked about in the party elections in 2021 and the presidential elections in 2022.Not to repeat myself, but I must emphasize that it is a crisis of a local character because many liberals call it the "Spring Crisis" so that it turns out that the whole country is in trouble, which is not true. Unfortunately, due to an almost identical situation, the South Coast is in the same danger. Mr. Vorobev probably knows that. The murder of Mr. Ron Darell was, and I agree, a failure of the police and the intelligence service, and I had to introduce a state of emergency in order to catch the perpetrators more easily, if we hadn't done that, they would have been chased all over the world. The dissolution of the assembly by the president is impossible if the majority in the parliament does not agree, and this is confirmed by the signature of the heads of parliamentary groups. We are adult people, are we really so naive to think that Elizabeth Hall would not have done it if she could. So much for that and from me.

D.P: Thank you, Mr. Weber, you are a resident of Planton City, do you think that it is a crisis of a regional character or a national one? And in addition, do you think that Clarkstan is in crisis?

Thomas Weber (Independent candidate): It is a crisis of a local nature that I hope will not grow into a spiral of endless elections. I remember all the speeches on this issue by the acting president Mr. Kanaev who told the truth in 2021 and 2022, of course the dissatisfaction is there good use by Mrs. Hall who won in the end. I supported her then as she supports me now. What is happening down there is a political process that can harm the economy of the country but cannot cause a crisis on a large scale. Clarkstan is not in crisis there is one heated point but it will not expand.

L.R: What do you see as a solution? Should the Democrats and the People's movement for Planton city be more realistic in the negotiations? The possibility of a minority government is even mentioned.

T.W: I am not familiar with the negotiations down there, but I can say that it is obvious that both sides are not realistic, but I do not mean Mr. Vorobev and Mrs. Hall, but the local leaders down there. But today's People's movement for Planton city did not support the Democratic Party 2022, while the right was united. For almost two years, it is not clear why this happened, although I believe, and this is nothing new, that the opposition here is not united in the slightest, which is a problem. government expires next month, and then we can expect new elections in September.

L.R: Mr. Vorobev, we also reached out to you, I'm sure you have a comment on Mr. Weber's position. Are you of the same opinion as the entire opposition that the ruling party is responsible for this crisis by impeaching Elizabeth Hall or not?

Anton Vorobev (Left-wing candidate): Well, you heard Mr. Weber, the opposition is divided. Both parties are to blame for this situation, first the government and then the Democrats. Last year, the government in Planton City was formed a few days before the deadline, which led to that the Federal House had to hold an emergency extraordinary session in January in order to adopt the budget.It was the first time since the formation of the Federal Republic of Clarkstan that the federal government had to adopt the budget for the district.
We did not support the Democratic Party in 2022 for reasons that we will talk about in the next debates. That was November and we know what was discussed in the parliament. For this reason, we could not support them even though we supported Mrs. Hall then in the general elections.

D.P: In the last month, there has been a lot of mention of a potential coalition with the Christian Democrats and the People's and Justice party, now it is also current that there is a possibility of the Right Alternative Party entering the government, this was emphasized by the future Prime Minister Vladimir Kolganov on Friday. Some believe that the People's Republican Party wants RaP support the government with you in Planton city and maybe even in the South Bank and in return they get a seat in the government. I believe you will agree that this is a very interesting development.

A.V: I said a month ago that we do not rule out the option of cooperation with the Christian Democrats, but we see a problem in RaP. I agree that this is an interesting development, now the preservation of power in Planton City District and offering a solution to the crisis probably plays a role. We haven't talked yet, so we have to see. But I emphasize that we are ready for that option to end the crisis down there as soon as possible because, as Mr. Weber says, the economy of Clarkstan could suffer.

L.R: We obviously won't have a reply in this debate, so can we conclude today's show?

D.P: Dear viewers, like everyone present here, this is the end of today's debate. The next debate is on CLTV1 on Thursday, May 9, and it is related to social problems. And we will see you next week in this studio. See you.

C.L: Good evening everyone and welcome to the second presidential debate, this time on CLTV1.

J.M.: Our topic today will concern social policy.

C.L: Mr. Vorobev, we start today with you, how do you view the country's social policy?

Anton Vorobev (Left-wing candidate): Social policy in our program is fundamental and we believe that without it society...the nation cannot function anyway. Because people do not see the point of contributing to this country if they do not get some security from it .Clarkstan is a country that guarantees social security to all layers of society, the only problem is that some groups are too antagonized by the government. 4 years ago, for example, the government introduced a law prohibiting begging in public. Homeless people exist everywhere, no matter what country you are, the fight with that problem is long-term. But in these four years, the only thing this law has led to is their arrest. Also, four years ago, the former president introduced Abortion Awareness day, which led to riots on the streets in October 2020, we all remember that.

J.M: Mr. Vorobev, you criticize everything, right?

A.V: These two problems that I emphasized are solved by strengthening the welfare state. Not by force and prohibition. And among other things, you can see how it ended. Elizabeth Hall did not solve it in these two years, and instead dealt with the legalization of prostitution, which the majority of citizens are against. Prostitutes are also a problem in this country, of course their jobs are illegal, but there is one thing about them. If the police catches her in the act, the prostitute herself is punished instead of the client. Totally the opposite, I'm not in favor of legalization, but the wrong method is being used.

C.L: Mr. Weber, in Planton city last Friday and this one, there will be a protest by organizations that are for the legalization of prostitution. They are also calling for a boycott of the elections, how do you see that?

Thomas Weber (Independent candidate): A situation has arisen around them, either you are for or against, 2 years ago we had a referendum. The majority of the people said they were against, we should respect that. Now I saw that it is the same down in Planton city, there were people who were divided. Compromise in such a situation is difficult to find, but not impossible.Namely, I would try to push the story of legalization, but without brothels, that means there must be regulation. The call for a boycott will not pass, because it is not an important issue for the majority of citizens. Now I hear that more of them will appear tomorrow and that they will come out with masks, and that is illegal. I mean to go out with masks over my face in protest only if it is not an epidemic, and then protests should be prohibited.
Abortion is a woman's right, and I don't agree that it should be forbidden to them, but I also don't agree that it should be done with state money, but with private clinics. Of course, it's a difficult topic, but it's necessary for discussion.

J.M: What is your opinion on same-sex marriages, their adoption of children and the legalization of marijuana?

T.W: Homosexuals should be even more protected from discrimination regarding employment and enjoyment of social rights by the state. But I am exclusively against the legalization of marriages and adoption of children. As for marijuana, it should be legalized for medical use but not for personal pleasure.

J.M.: Mrs. Hines, I think your opinion on these issues is clear. But we want to hear from you personally what you have to say.

Thalia Hines (Liberal-civic candidate): Thank you for your question, although I would prefer to speak at the end after hearing all my competitors, but ok. Homosexuals deserve the full support of the state and society, as well as permission to marry and adopt children You didn't ask Mr. Vorobev that, and especially after me, you have to ask that question to the gentleman on my left. He and the party to which he belongs are kept on a leash by the church, they have been doing everything since coming to power on the orders of the church leadership. This is also related to abortion both for marijuana and for the legalization of prostitution. So all of this, if legalized, will lead to an increase in human rights and a decrease in the gray economy in the country.

C.L: You gave a very clear answer, but as you comment that in the case of LGBT marriages and the legalization of prostitution, there is no support from the majority.

T.H: No one here is talking about imposition, but simply explaining to our citizens that it is a fundamental human thing and right. I am aware that it will not happen overnight, but it is extremely important for the image of our country.

C.L: Mr. Kanaev, this time you were able to listen to all your opponents. I will ask you a question to comment and give your judgment on all this?

Vyaceslav Kanaev (Right-wing candidate): I absolutely agree with you that this may be a great advantage and unique. I will listen to all the candidates to the end and give my opinion on it. Everyone knows that the LGBTQ population was far more endangered during the time when the liberals were in power in the 90s. Now someone will say that you are going back into history that is almost 30 years old.But this is important to emphasize, we may not allow marriages and adoption of children, but we also do not allow physical and any violence against them. The statistics show that attacks on them have decreased since 2000. We are not under the control of the church, but we have a very good cooperation because religion is part of the identity of our people.Prostitution is unacceptable and of course it should be fought more through social policy, that's where Mr. Vorobev's thinking is most acceptable to me. As for the legalization of marijuana in the government, there is a discussion on whether it should be legalized for medical purposes, maybe we will bring it to the parliament in the next few months. And as for abortion, that's murder and the end.

J.M.: We heard from Mr. Weber that the protests in Planton City organized by the lobbyist for the legalization of prostitution Katya Warner will not have a big impact in terms of the boycott. Is that your opinion as well?

V.K: The boycott of the elections in Planton City will not succeed, that's for sure, there are even people who are in favor of legalization and will vote on May 18, and those voters will probably hesitate between Mrs. Hines and Mr. Weber that's a half of votes there because according to the results of the District Elections, the other half is against it. If maybe the day before the elections we thought that the situation down there was monolithic on that issue, the day after the elections we saw that it was not so. We need to wait for the elections to pass and then we will see.

J.M.: Mr. Vorobev, do you have anything to add?

A.V: I want to answer Mrs. Hines, she forgot that 24 years ago we together with the Christian Democrats participated in the government and that it was we who insisted on improving the position of sexual minorities. Without recognizing marriages and adoption of children. I have to be honest and say that we succeeded in that.

C.L: We don't have any more replicas, how things are.

J.M: With that we can conclude today's debate, the next one is scheduled on Channel 1 on Monday and the topic will be economy and finance, and we will see each other in this studio in 7 days. Goodbye.