RMi News

Hurricane Peter has caused devastation across the Carribbean today, and is currently continuing on it's course back out into the Atlantic Ocean. Fears have now been raised that the hurricane may cause devastation in the Atlantic Federation and Galbadia, where storm warnings have been released and many residents have begun preparations to head inland in case the situation worsens. Storm surges and thunderstorms are also expected to hit the East Coast of Canada and America today, and hit the Mediterranean over the weekend.

This afternoon Hurricane Peter made landfall in the Atlantic Federation, and although no casualties have yet to be reported, RMI News understand that there has been major damage to some isolated communities along the coast, as well as minor damage to urban areas and ports around the west coast of Veratlantia. Due to the hurricane's powerful winds, a series of storms are currently en route to hit southern Europe, and the first signs of bad weather have now been spotted off the coast of Fairview. It's believed that thunderstorms are likely to hit Cattala throughout this week, and Lord Celestine's trip to Galbadia is also expected to be cancelled due to the weather.

---Royal Media International News Services---

Western states of the Atlantic Federation have suffered severe damage from Hurricane Peter, which is currently weakening as it moves north-east towards Europe. So far, 12 people have died in Veratlantia, with the most damage occuring in Port Jefferson. Cities and towns across the west coast have lots electricity and water, whilst some cities have managed to avoid the worst of the hurricane. Transport links have also been affected, including a highway near Port Jefferson.



Meanwhile, coastlines across southern and western Europe are bracing themselves for storm surges and coastal flooding, with Fairview and Llithustania expected to be hit hard today. Thunderstorms and heavy rainfall are predicted for much of southern Europe due to the hurricane moving across the Atlantic, but it is thought that it will become considerably weaker by the time it reaches Fairview. Already large waves and dark clouds have been spotted overnight around Fairview and Llithustania.

Today's Spotlight is on Jennai - the largest and most influential province in Cattala. With a whopping 36 seats up for grabs in the nation's largest city, any party that wants to take power needs a strong foothold in Jennai if they want to win. Let's take a look at the 2007 Election Result for Jennai province.



As you can clearly see, Cattolica Conservatori was dominate in Jennai at the last election - nearly 3 in 4 voters overall voted for Anthony Secolo's party here. That's because he appealed to the core audience in this urban province - he pledged support for universities and didn't talk constantly about religion, unlike his predecessors. With a largely youthful demographic, and the largest number of atheists as a percentage of the population, Secolo's 21st century attitude towards the Jennai contingent meant that for the first time in 40 years, Cattolica Conservatori won Jennai province as a whole.

The Democratic Party normally regards Jennai as a stronghold. Historically, Cattolica Conservatori is considered too old-fashioned and out-of-touch with the voters, and Il Popolo is too right-wing and protective of rural Cattala. But in 2007, the Democratic Party was shocked to see their provincial vote fall by 40%, which crippled them as a party and they lost 15 seats to the Conservatives - including the seat of their party leader, Lord Williams, who duly resigned. "They spent too much money campaigning in Amosseri and Roumeli, the provinces that they had some ground in but weren't dominant, and didn't look to appeal to the urban voters, which are typically disloyal. This meant that there was a massive swing to Secolo, something we've never seen before." said election analyst Michael Benedict.

Il Popolo has always struggled in Jennai, and only succeeded in the 1990s thanks to a vast election campaign aimed directly at the poorest workers in Jennai. It nearly bankrupted the party, but they achieved a record 20 seats - 56% of the provincial vote - and this helped propel them to election victory. Since then though, the party has returned to it's stagnant state in the cities across Cattala, only gaining seats in rural communities, their core audience.

RMi News Productions

[I'm considering doing a Spotlight of each province until the election day next Friday. Would you like to see more of these? Please post below.]

Today's Spotlight is on Amosseri - the third largest province in terms of population and political constituencies. A total of 13 seats are being voted on in this region on Friday, including the seat of Lord Anthony Secolo, the currently political leader of Cattala. Let's take a look at the 2007 Election Result for Amosseri.



Just like in Jennai, Cattolica Conservatori was dominate in this province 4 years ago. That has been the case for most of the elections of the past 20 years, despite the Tories trailing in third place nationally. Secolo and his recent predecessors have actively pursued the traditional voting core of Cattolica Conservatori, the wealthy and aristocratic, and revived their loyalty in his party through tax cuts for the rich and more accessibility to private healthcare and education. Amosseri may not be the most Catholic of the provinces, but it is deeply conservative and struggled to find a voice during the long years of Democratic rule.

However, that same party that nearly infuriated the super-rich as much as Il Popolo has found support in Amosseri before. The province isn't completely dominated by the wealthy - there are pockets of poorer communities and the typical Democratic voter, the lower middle classes, are easy to find outside of the wealth bubble that is Celeste. In 2007, the Partito Democratico lost 3 seats and 20% of it's vote, which compared to other provinces is not terribly bad.

Il Popolo however, has always done badly in the capital. It's members are often compared to Marxists by the wealthy and it has never garnered any more than 10% of support in Amosseri - even when it won consecutive elections in the 1990s.

RMi News Productions