Derigo Disease Debate

Location
•  **Frank Wassenberg**•  Kairos Hemlock •  Fachnan Opus•  Wilhelm De Croo•  Wopke Hoekstra•  Johannes de KlerkAnti-abolition bloc leaders

The **Derigo Disease Debate** was a momentous debate in the National Assembly of Morra which lasted from June 16 until June 17, 2037 as part of the aftermath of then-Speaker Marianne Thieme's January 2037 disclosure of state involvement in manufacturing and spreading the artificial Derigo disease. The official title of the debate, as held in the National Assembly digital records, was **Conduct of the Government on Public Health**, but the name "Derigo disease debate" has since gained popularity in both formal and informal circles since. Scheduled in advance by Party of the Labourers (PvdA) leader Wilhelm De Croo, the debate quickly brought to a head opposition to the administration of President Sunil Bakshi and Speaker Frank Wassenberg, and nearly toppled the government as partisan attacks made the debate one of the most serious challenges to the governing People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) during it's reign.

During the debate, the Worker's Political Alliance (APA) and New Party (NP) became increasingly frustrated with the leadership of VVD general secretary Frank Wassenberg, with APA leader Attje Kuiken notably turning on the record of Wassenberg's administration and accusing the Speaker of "weakness". Similarly, Vice President Eris Assecla became one of the most staunch opponents of the Public Health Regulations Bill, breaking with government policy to lead the campaign against the bill's passing.

Ultimately opposition leaders were able to spearhead the passing of the Public Health Regulations Act, taking advantage of internal divisions within the governing coalition to form a bipartisan push for the bill. As a result of the act's passing, Vice President Eris Assecla was impeached for her role after her political position became untenable, whilst APA leader Attje Kuiken was forced to resign her positions too. Divisions between the VVD and APA resulted in the APA withdrawing from government in September 2037, resulting in the removal of Speaker Frank Wassenberg and the appointment of Peter Koonz as speaker.

## Background

In October 2031, the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) dominated National Assembly of Morra passed the Healthcare Regulations Act, which, unbeknownst to the general population, granted the government the ability to begin distributing what would become known as the Derigo disease into Morranian water supplies in order to sell regular Derigo vaccines to the public. The existence of the Derigo disease was kept a closely guarded secret until the beginning of a mass outbreak in September 2032, which killed hundreds of civilians across the country. In the aftermath of the initial outbreak, a large public health campaign was started to encourage citizens to purchase vaccination to the disease through the privatised healthcare system, allowing the government to gain vast levels of income from the sales.

Following the resignation of Speaker Peter Illich and the appointment of Frank Wassenberg as speaker of the National Assembly in autumn 2036, the government motioned for early legislative elections in an attempt to take advantage of an anticipated boost in support for the VVD during Wassenberg's political "honeymoon" period. In the ensuing election, a coalition of opposition parties succeeded in gaining a majority in the National Assembly and appointed Party of the Labourers' leader Marianne Thieme as speaker. Despite an intimidation campaign being led against the legislative administration at the orders of President Sunil Bakshi, the Thieme administration were able to successfully disclose the previous VVD-led administration's role in manufacturing and distributing the Derigo disease to the general public. In direct response to Speaker Thieme's announcement, President Bakshi formally dissolved the National Assembly and new elections were held on February 12, 2037. During the election campaign, Marianne Thieme was assassinated upon the orders of the government by unknown assailants, effectively shattering the unity of the opposition parties in the process. On February 20, 2037, former speaker Frank Wassenberg was re-elected to office as Speaker of the National Assembly as the leader of a new VVD-led coalition.

Despite the return of the VVD-led coalition to office in February 2037, intense public anger remained over the nature of the Derigo disease, and opposition parties repeatedly attempted to get a bill passed which would ban the production and distribution of the manufactured disease. On May 16, 2037, Speaker Frank Wassenberg announced that a debate would be held on the issue of the Derigo disease if the executive branch declassified all documents surrounding the disease; in response, President Sunil Bakshi held a press conference on June 1, 2037 announcing that the vote would take place on June 16th, and would be a debate on whether to implement or reject the government's Public Health Regulations Bill, as opposed to an opposition motion on the subject. By framing the debate as an evaluation of a government backed bill, President Bakshi sought to maintain dominance over the legislative programme and ensure that any outcome taken by the National Assembly would be inherently favourable to the government. However, the inclusion of a provision for the prosecution of those proven to be involved in the manufacture and distribution of the virus proved to be divisive, largely thanks to the vested interests of several government members in attempting to prevent their own prosecutions.

Within the governing VVD, there were two main political factions; the pro-abolition faction, led by Speaker Frank Wassenberg, and the anti-abolition faction headed by Vice President Eris Assecla, both of which commanded roughly equal support within their party. With the opposition parties largely united in their active pro-abolition stance, the outcome of the debate largely hinged upon unifying the VVD and it's coalition government behind one particular stance. In a bid to distance himself from the partisan debate, President Sunil Bakshi declared himself to be neutral on the matter and to merely be asking the National Assembly for advice, in the form of support or rejection of the Public Health Regulations Bill.

## June 16: Day one of the debate

### Formal opening of the debate

At 10:25 in the morning of Tuesday June 16, 2037, Speaker Frank Wassenberg opened the day's business with a series of private member bills and announcements to the chamber. As part of the preparations for the debate over the Public Health Regulations Bill, Wassenberg passed a series of directives in his capacity as presiding officer in order to allow President Sunil Bakshi and Vice President Eris Assecla to take part in the debate should they choose to. At 14:12, Speaker Wassenberg formally began the debate by introducing the Public Health Regulations Bill before the National Assembly and outlining the binary choice before members; to either accept or reject the bill. Wassenberg also set out a system by which the debate could be expanded across multiple days, by issuing a directive setting the maximum time for debate as being the end of the parliamentary session at 18:00 in the evening of Wednesday June 17, 2037. President Sunil Bakshi then made a speech to the chamber by video, urging members of the National Congress to unify behind a specific policy decision. Following Bakshi's address, Wassenberg opened the floor to opening remarks from the leaders of the major factions, with business secretary Peter Koonz taking up the role of presiding officer to allow Wassenberg to partake in the debate.

### Opening remarks

Wassenberg began his opening remarks with a speech reminding the opposition of the societal response on the release of the Derigo disease. He argued removing the disease will not only remove the public strain but could also mean “a new start on the already strained relation between Government and people”. He then went on to present a picture of the situation at hand and to “consider the moral argument” and to “look at this through a new lens”. He stated that the “implantation and distribution” of the Derigo disease created a shock to the nation and has created unnecessary tension in the political fabric of the country, before comparing the release of this disease to “selective survival”.

Continuing, Wassenberg proceeded to argue that the Republic of Morra had returned to it's state before the Battle of Dunsteen in 2023, but "demonstrably worse thanks to a war on our own people”. This caused heated murmurs in the National Assembly chamber, with several members derisively shouting the nationalist slogan “Our country! Our rules!”; in response Wassenberg sarcastically retorted “and look where that’s gotten us”. His speech has been criticized by hardliners within the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) for it's perceived weakness in giving in to opposition demands. The then-vice president Eris Assecla later stated her opposition of being anonymously blamed for the tear between people and government by members of Wassenberg's office, arguing that Speaker Wassenberg was a "disgrace to his party". In spite of this, the speech has also been praised by pro-abolition members of the Assembly, with VVD member Fachnan Opus arguing that it struck the correct tone in addressing the debate, believing that "no more sugar-coating was needed from [the] government" in response to the Derigo crisis.

As the head of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), Speaker Frank Wassenberg's attacks on previous VVD-led governments marked a distinct shift in the political instincts of the dominant party, as it began to accept that anarcho-capitalist economic and social policies were ultimately turning the general population against the party. As the debate progressed further, Wassenberg announced his willingness to form a new coalition government with members of the opposition to cooperate further on important matters of state, highlighting the VVD's lack of defining ideology other than power maximisation. President Bakshi hit back against these moves in private, reportedly even considering firing Wassenberg and replacing him with a more loyal member of the VVD, although Wassenberg ultimately remained as leader of the party during the debate

### Attje Kuikan's response to Wassenberg

With the absence of Vice President Eris Assecla, the anti-abolition coalition selected Finance Minister Attje Kuikan, leader of the Worker's Political Alliance (APA) , to give the opposition opening statements. She started by accusing Speaker Wassenberg of betraying the nation and the elected government, which the APA was the second largest coalition member of, by accepting and acquiescing to the demands of opposition parties. As part of a scathing attack on Wassenberg's leadership of the VVD, Kuikan likened the proposed Public Health Regulations Bill to a "bill of failure", and arguing that Wassenberg's tenure in office had coincided with immense political turmoil as a direct result of his personal decisions. She then went on to address Wassenberg's points on a nation divide:

The controversial nature of Kuikan's speech caused a stir in the National Assembly, forcing an intervention by acting Speaker Koonz to demand silence in the chamber. Upon resuming her speech, Kuikan went on to talk about the dire state of government finances, arguing that the cost of providing services through private companies had "skyrocketed" as a result of the political instability caused by the actions of Speaker Frank Wassenberg. To highlight her point, Attje Kuikan presented a graphical display of government finances prior to and after the spread of the Derigo disease (although prior to Speaker Marianne Thieme's disclosure of government involvement in its distribution), showing that between 2032 and 2037, levels of net income had risen significantly in response to the manufactured demand for Derigo vaccines.

Kuikan's scathing attack on Frank Wassenberg and the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy was a virtually unprecedented event in Morranian politics, with coalition dissent practically unheard of prior to to the Derigo disease debate. In response to Kuikan's outburst in the National Assembly, President Sunil Bakshi dismissed Kuikan from her position as finance minister in the morning of June 17, instead appointing the prominent VVD assembly member Fachnan Opus as acting finance minister in her place. Whilst the immediate reaction to Attje Kuikan's outburst had the effect of destabilising the Wassenberg administration even further, it marked the beginning of the end of total VVD dominance of government and the legislature, as President Bakshi's personal political status began to take damage from the lack of decisive government action.

### Eris Assecla: "History is on our side"

At 16:47, Vice President Eris Assecla arrived in the main chamber of the National Assembly, having previously been engaged in meetings with senior parliamentary figures across the political spectrum. Upon her arrival, Assecla began motioning to acting Speaker Koonz to be granted speaking time on the floor of the chamber, and at 17:01, Assecla was called to the assembly podium to give her highly anticipated remarks on the debate. As a previously loyal member of President Sunil Bakshi's administration, there was considerable speculation as to the tone that she would take, especially considering the fiery outburst of Attje Kuikan, previously the highest ranked member of the anti-abolition campaign to speak during the debate, though ultimately Assecla would take a more moderated approach to the debate than her predecessor.

In her opening remarks, Assecla argued that the government was "disintegrating" over the issue of the Derigo disease, with the public nature of the debate only adding to intense scrutiny of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy; Assecla proceeded to motion for a division to hold the remainder of the parliamentary debate in a closed session, arguing that "in airing our dirty laundry in public, we only serve to further shatter the already frayed bonds of unity within our administration". Subsequently, acting Speaker Koonz announced that the debating session would be temporarily halted to allow for the holding of a vote over Assecla's proposal. Despite the VVD-led government having a 161 seat majority in the National Assembly, the member parties of the coalition remained deeply divided over the Public Health Regulations Bill and the impact of the Derigo disease; subsequently, members of the New Party and independent government members abstained in the vote, whilst Speaker Frank Wassenberg led a delegation of 30 members of the VVD who either abstained (20) or voted against Vice President Assecla's proposal (10). Subsequently, acting Speaker Koonz announced at 17:50 that the motion for a private session of the assembly had failed by a margin of 149-112, with 39 abstentions. Following the failed motion, Assecla was once again given the floor to continue her speech, reassuming her position as the assembly podium against the background of heckles and chanting from the National Assembly, with members of the opposition repeatedly shouting "failure" at the vice president, before being admonished by Koonz for interrupting the parliamentary session.

Vice President Eris Assecla proceeded to claim that the Derigo disease was initially made to stop over-population within the Republic of Morra, before providing to also be helpful with stabilising funds, control, and dominance through the sale of vaccines. Unlike Attje Kuikan before her, Assecla's speech attempted to be more consolatory in it's approach, with Vice President Assecla claiming that the spread of the Derigo disease had brought stability to the nation; however, midway through her speech, the backbench VVD assembly member Fachnan Opus interrupted by shouting “but at what cost?”, causing an eruption of disquiet within the National Assembly as pro and anti-abolition groupings brandished chants and insults at each other. In response, acting Speaker Koonz temporarily suspended the parliamentary sitting for an hour to "tame high passions" within the chamber. Upon the reopening of the debate at 19:10, Assecla began a new speech:

### Later speeches

Following the conclusion of Vice President Eris Assecla's speech, acting Speaker Peter Koonz opened the floor of the National Assembly for speeches from backbench representatives, with Liberal party leader Marine Le Pen taking the floor to give a speech about the ethics of the debate, which would later be described by former PvdA leader Federico Pinedo as being "as inspiring as a post-it note, and as effective as one too". Further speeches continued until 23:00 on Tuesday 16th, when acting Speaker Peter Koonz dissolved the National Assembly for the evening, with a further session of debate scheduled for 16:00 the following day.

## June 17: Day two of the debate

### Prelude and negotiations

Proceedings on Wednesday June 17th were reopened at 16:04 following a session of questions to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Amma Asante. Following the conclusion of questions to the foreign secretary, Speaker Frank Wassenberg passed a directive enabling business secretary Peter Koonz to take over as acting speaker for the duration of the evening's debate sessions. Whilst the debate was highly anticipated by members of the assembly, many high ranking politicians from major parties were not present at the start of the debate; instead, many were partaking in negotiations led by education secretary Kairos Hemlock in an attempt to find a compromise or agreement between the parties, with a particular focus being placed upon the 66 members of the assembly who had opted to remain undecided on the case. With the pro-abolition bloc 26 votes short of a majority, Hemlock sought to create an agreement with the 24 undeclared representatives of DENK, as well as gaining support either from independent representatives or the 20 undecided VVD representatives.

### Wassenberg: "Our moral duty is to ban the proliferation of Derigo"

At 16:07, Frank Wassenberg took to the floor to begin the proceedings of the second day of debate. Almost immediately, he began to refute each point made by opposition speakers the previous day, denouncing both Vice President Eris Assecla and APA leader Attje Kuiken for their "irresponsible breaches of collective responsibility" and arguing that their attacks on the government had been "for their own personal gain" rather than the greater good of the state. Wassenberg's comments about the greater good caused a stir within the chamber, with PPM backbencher Hubertus Heil shouting "where was that sentiment when you voted for it" above the murmurs, leading to retaliatory shouting from VVD backbenches until acting speaker Peter Koonz demanded order in the chamber. Continuing, Wassenberg attempted to frame the debate as a moral issue, with those opposed to the passing of the Public Health Regulations Bill "seeking to absolve themselves of their guilt by circumventing justice", referencing the provision of the bill allowing for the prosecution and trial of anyone involved in the manufacture and distribution of the disease.

Following an impassioned speech about the moral aspects of the new Public Health Regulations Bill, Frank Wassenberg indicated his willingness to resign as speaker as part of the conditions for getting cross-party support for the passing of the bill. Indeed, at the same time as speeches in the National Assembly chamber, education secretary Kairos Hemlock was leading negotiations between DENK party leader Johannes de Klerk and leading undeclared VVD member Lammert van Raan.

### Kairos Hemlock's negotiations breakthrough and speech

A breakthrough in negotiations between the supporters of the Public Health Regulations Bill and undeclared members of the Assembly occurred at approximately 17:00 in the afternoon of June 17th, moments prior to opposition leaders' scheduled speaking times. However, in light of the negotiated breakthrough, acting speaker Peter Koonz granted education secretary Kairos Hemlock the right to speak at the podium before the chamber, with Hemlock taking the floor at 17:09.

As part of the negotiated agreement arranged by Minister Hemlock, DENK gained a policy victory by getting the government to implement reduced taxation and a decrease in public spending, whilst defence secretary Lammert van Raan would become deputy leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy and his supporters would be guaranteed preference for government offices. At the same time, Speaker Frank Wassenberg gained a policy victory with the passing of the Public Health Regulations Bill. Subsequently, following her speech, Kairos Hemlock motioned to end the session of the National Assembly and hold an early vote, which was agreed to by an oral vote.

## Voting

At 17:36, acting speaker Peter Koonz adjourned the National Assembly to vote on the passing of the Public Health Regulations Bill, with the wording of the voting motion being "*that this chamber passes the Public Health Regulations Bill of 2037, and all its recommended provisions, into the statutory law of the Republic of Morra*". Ultimately the bill passed by a vote of 169-112, with acting speaker Koonz confirming the results to the National Assembly. The bill secured the backing of a coalition of the Party of the Labourers, Progressive Party, DENK, and the Liberal Party, as well as 30 members of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). The remainder of the VVD disobeyed the party whip to vote against the bill, and were joined by the Worker's Political Alliance in doing so. The New Party and all independent members of the assembly opted to abstain from the voting procedures. On June 18, 2037, President Sunil Bakshi signed the Public Health Regulations Act into law.

## Aftermath

### Political turmoil

The debate over the Public Health Regulations Act severely weakened the political credibility of Speaker Frank Wassenberg, who was criticised for his partisan involvement in the debate, as well as his total reversal of government policy over the Derigo disease. As the leader of the second largest coalition party, Attje Kuiken's attacks against the government were unprecedented and left her position in government untenable; on June 17th, Kuiken was sacked as secretary of state for finance, whilst on June 19th she was also forced to resign as leader of the Worker's Political Alliance (APA) by senior party figures, and was replaced on a temporary basis by deputy leader Joris Thijssen. However, Thijssen continued his predecessor's hostility to Wassenberg's government, and withdrew the APA from the governing coalition on September 6, 2037 to become a leading opposition party, whilst Attje Kuiken was re-elected as party leader mere weeks later. With the APA's withdrawal from government, senior figures within the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy forced Frank Wassenberg to resign as party leader on September 16, 2037, with secretary of state for business Peter Koonz being installed as party leader the following day without competition. Following Frank Wassenberg's resignation as VVD leader and the reduction of the VVD-NP coalition to minority status after the APA's withdrawal, President Sunil Bakshi announced the dismissal of Wassenberg's administration, and granted Koonz the mandate to form a new coalition government as the leader of the largest party in the National Assembly.

With Koonz as formateur, negotiations between the VVD and other major political parties began on September 18, 2037 and continued until November 2, 2037, when Koonz presented a VVD-DENK-NP-LPM-Ind. coalition agreement to President Bakshi. Despite only controlling 148 out of the 151 seats required for a majority government, the new agreement was the largest possible arrangement as the liberal opposition only held 139 seats in the National Assembly, whilst the Worker's Political Alliance refused to enter into government with either of the two main blocs. On November 3, 2037, Peter Koonz was elected speaker after managing to persuade two members of the APA to defy their party line and vote for the new government arrangement.

### Impeachment of Eris Assecla

 Main article: Impeachment of Eris Assecla
After the betrayal of Kairos Hemlock on Assecla's side, Fachnan Opus, a smaller known member of the pro-abolition bloc leaders, approached Kairos with the followings she has gained in this debate. He informed her that they would support her in leadership, and even if she ran for vice president. Given Hemlock's background, and experienced knowledge being Eris' right hand for a year, she was applicable for taking part in the National Assembly which would be called once the debate was over. Eris' controversial speeches she put forward in the debate caused her downfall of popularity and the rumour for a new vote had spiralled since.

## See Also

* National Assembly of Morra
* 2037 Morranian National Assembly Election
* People's Party for Freedom and Democracy