Opening Speech of the 582 PRNC

The 582 Popular Republican National Conference convened in the second of many closed-door meetings occurring in the top-floor suites of Tenpenny Tower today. This time, a speech was made to the information-hungry press outside the tower once the conference adjourned for the day.
Allistair Tenpenny himself delivered the opening speech. Tenpenny, who will not remain in parliament after the current term ends, was far more frail than the energetic man that his local political supporters recalled from the 575 election, the equivalent of nearly two whole peacetime parliamentary terms ago. Now at an advanced age and declining health, this conference would be Tenpenny's last footprint in Falleen politics. He had the following to say:
"Welcome, welcome, everyone. Before I start I'd like to say that anyone in the press who would care to rent a room on the second floor from the top can pay an extra fee to get access to a listening device so that you can spy on us and have exclusive raw recordings of everything we say. (some laughter from the crowd) Perhaps legally I should make clear that no, I'm not being serious."
"But if you did so happen to spy on us - first of all shame on you - and second of all, this is what you would have found out: we have talked at great length and debated amongst ourselves the Popular Republican approach to the post-war empire and world. We aren't ready to reveal the platform yet, here's what we can say: Falleentium faces hard times ahead. We're about to run out of money in the treasury; we're about to get a wave of veterans who will need to return to civilian life, get new jobs, and receive our support; we're going to be looked to by the whole world to prevent a breakdown in the fragile order of the world in the many nations which have seen a structural overhaul as a result of the war; and we will be expected by the world to provide leadership now that it has become a commonplace belief that an international organization is needed to provide for global diplomacy and peace. Each of these challenges individually would be enough to challenge a skilled administration. We better than that. We need an all-star administration that is ready to do exactly what needs to be done to face off these pressing matters."
"The time has come to steady the ship. We cannot afford risky behavior and speculative ideas. And if you want an example of what I mean, take for example the philosopher kings at the central bank who tell us that were about to run out of money, and that the solution is to cut taxes. I don't want to hear about the triangulation they've done that says 'maybe if we cut taxes for businesses, then ten or fifteen years down the line supposedly the economy will have grown enough that we actually start seeing more revenue'. We haven't got fifteen years, have we? We have no time at all to save the treasury! There is one cure, and one cure only: maintain revenue and cut costs. We're not going to join the philosophy club talking about tax reforms to maybe fix the problem with fifteen years latency."
"Now, more than ever, Falleentium needs a level-headed, no-nonsense, and common sense administration that will do the job right. Elect a philosopher king, and we may live to regret it. That is why the Popular Republican Movement is rolling out its new slogan - The New Falleen Centre - because that is what responsibility we've been charged with as a major Falleen party. We are the sober centre who will do what works, and do what needs to be done. Thank you, thank you all, and there will be more for you soon."
Category:The Imperial Constitution