Senators Jockey For Leadership Positions

Members from both parties vying for leadership while control of Senate still uncertain

MAVOCKE--Several senators from both parties are jockeying for leadership positions within the chamber.

Since it's unclear still which party will hold either an outright majority or a coalition majority, members from both sides are quietly seeking support from their peers for the majority leader and assistant majority leader posts.

On the Conservative side, Sen. Jared Lanman of Remmington, the former assistant majority leader under now-retired George Landers of Ceona, is considered the front runner for majority leader should the CNS win control. Other Conservatives seeking that position include John BiGadi of Lial, Nancy Lindselli of East Deschire, Jay Burns of Deschire and Dick Trau of POG.

An interesting twist: Trau is married to Lanman's older sister, POG Lieutenant Governor Beth Lanman-Trau.

Supporters of Lanman and Burns say the two young senators would bring youth and vigor to the position. Backers of Lindselli and Trau believe they would bring experience to a job--majority leader--that is notoriously difficult to carry out successfully, especially in times of divided government, as the Senate currently finds itself in.

John BiGadi supporters say the Lial senator's background in the finance sector would be valuable in times of economic crisis.

On the Nationalist side, current Minority Leader Shay Robertson of Damoign is considered a front runner, as are Lial Senator John Morandi and Wellington Senator Paul Leitcher. Fellow Damoign Senator Jean Chaveau has thrown her hat into the ring, as have Kalnier's Paul LeBouse and POG's John Yannes.

Typically, the minority leader assumes the majority post when his or her party wins a majority. But Robertson, along with Nationalist Senate Campaign Committee (NSCC) chairman Steve Kolotano of Biereland, has faced criticism from many of his NAT peers for running a less-than-impressive campaign, in which Nationalists gained no seats in the 2010 elections.

"Shay Robertson should have been able to pick up at least five seats in this election, and instead the Conservatives stole several away from us," one NAT senator, who did not want to be named, told the Mavocke Capitol newspaper.

Morandi and Leitcher are likely to be the top two choices, as both have years of leadership experience and a record of bipartisanship.

But control of the Senate is still uncertain, as incumbent Sen. Jhinny Addelson of Deschire faces a special election against Conservative Congressman Clay Aioki.

Currently, the Conservative Party holds 44 seats, the Nationalists 45, the Democratic-Reformists 3, and, with yesterday's election of George Reedsworth in Trinton, there are now two Independent senators in the chamber as well.

If Aioki wins the special election, that will result in both the NAT and the CNS having 45 seats each. Senate tradition holds that the party of the sitting Vice President shall have the first opportunity to form government, in the event of a tie, which would give the Nationalists an opportunity to form a coalition with the minor party members. If that fails, the Conservatives will then have a chance to form government.

The current power struggle in the Senate is strangely similar to that following the 2008 elections, in which both parties had an equal number of seats. It wasn't until Senator Isaak Slooter of New Portsmouth switched his party affiliation from Traditionalist to Conservative that the CNS was able to claim an outright majority by one seat.