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Zachary Hudson Becomes the New President of the Federation

The results are in and Zachary Hudson is the overwhelming choice for the new President of the Federation.

A record number of attendees appeared in Congress on Mars to take part in yesterday's Vote of No Confidence against the Liberal Administration, with almost every member of Congress appearing in person to cast their vote.

In the end, a shocking 66% of Congress voted to remove the Liberal Administration from office, a clear indicator that the collected Federal worlds feel a change in leadership style is necessary. Surprisingly, a large number of known Liberal supporters voted to remove their own leadership from power. Most commentators agree that this is a reflection on Halsey’s actions and the current unpopularity of Federal government among frontier systems. Winters needs to build her own supporter base before she can bring power back to the Liberals.

President Hudson will be officially sworn into office later today, after which he is expected to spend the remainder of the week finalising his administration. Most of the previous Shadow Cabinet are expected to be included, although as always some change is inevitable.

The Federal Republican Association has gained a massive swell of support over the last year. Now that President Hudson is officially in office, we can expect a much more aggressive stance on decision-making coming from Mars once the new administration is fully established.

Federal Congress Prepares for Vote

Members of Congress from across the Federation have made their way to Mars today, in response to Shadow President Hudson's call for a Vote of No Confidence Against the current administration.

For months now, the Shadow President has been involved in an intense lobbying campaign against President Halsey and her administration. The Shadow President has pointed to the loss of dozens of member states to the Alliance, a rampant increase in crime rates, and a defanged Federal Navy as some of the more devastating effects of Jasmina's time in office.

However, now that President Halsey no longer appears to be a concern, Congress could decide to allow Acting President Winters to assume the office of President in Jasmina's stead. Felicia Winters has always been very popular amongst Congress, even before her ascension to the office of Secretary of State. Now that she's assumed the role of Acting President, it's could be possible that her peers will elect to see what kind of leader Felicia will be.

Members of Congress will be permitted to cast their vote at any time in the next 12 hours. Last-minute lobbying efforts from both sides are expected to be extremely intense, although pundits believe that Shadow President Zachary Hudson will almost certainly carry the day.

A Vote of Congressional Confidence

There is blood in the water and the politicians have begun hunting their prey.

Yesterday, Shadow President Hudson placed a motion before Congress asking that they issue a Vote of No Confidence against President Halsey’s administration. The motion was accepted, and the vote has been scheduled to take place on Monday afternoon.

According to historic procedure, if a Vote of No Confidence in the encumbent President succeeds, then the Shadow President gets the chance to form an administration, which in turn is then put to a vote. If this fails, then a full congressional election is triggered.

The Shadow President succeeding in these circumstances is not unheard of, but pretty rare. The last occasion was when the increasingly unpopular Eugene Cooper was ousted by the charismatic Antonia Madison in 3264 following a mid-term Vote of No Confidence.

Winters Willingly Agrees to Vote

Following Shadow President Zachary Hudson’s call to have Congress issue a Vote of No Confidence against President Jasmina Halsey, Acting President Felicia Winters held a press conference outside Congress to address the Shadow President’s concerns about the future.

“Let me start by saying how truly saddened I am by the loss of my long time friend, Jasmina. I know that were she here instead of me, she would be deeply disappointed with the fear-mongering being bandied about by members of the opposition. Nevertheless we have to bow to process.”

“In order to allow a right and proper number of representatives from the frontier worlds to attend, Congress will meet on Monday to formally vote on the future of the Federation. Should I be chosen to continue to serve, I promise that you will get the kind of president that you deserve.”

Hudson Calls for Vote of No Confidence

Shadow President Zachary Hudson has continued his criticism of Halsey’s administration, finally moving to the feared vote of no confidence. In his address to Congress, Shadow President Hudson has made it clear the situation needs a resolution.

“These are uncertain times and, with no disrespect to Jasmina’s memory, we need to put an end to this weak administration and bring our beloved Federation back on track. We cannot allow ourselves the luxury of wallowing in this state of horrendous disarray for even a moment longer.”

“Had Jasmina returned, it would have made no difference. She was away trying to raise support from the frontier as she knew this vote of no confidence was coming. I call for it now. Let’s get it out of the way and move on, here on Mars and throughout the Federation.”

“We are not some Imperial dynasty. We do not allow the whims of our dead to dictate terms to the living.”

“As such, in her absence, and without any ill intent towards Secretary Winters, I am issuing a call for a vote of no confidence against the current administration.”

Emergency Session of Congress

Shadow President Hudson today called an Emergency Session of Congress to address concerns surrounding Starship One’s disappearance.

During the meeting, the Shadow President openly mocked the idea that Starship One’s disappearance could have been caused by simple engine failure.

“Jasmina and I weren’t close – heck, we hated each other, and that’s the truth of it. But the idea, the very notion, that our best and brightest out there on Starship One would have let that bird fly with a busted engine... No way. Those guys are military. We need to be looking for who did it. We need to nail them NOW. The assassin is busy covering their tracks while we speak. This dithering inaction and woolly thinking is typical of this administration. Let’s face it Halsey had enough enemies like those onionhead guys, numerous frontier systems she has annoyed, and the elephant in the room – the Empire.”

Acting President Winters took a more levelled approach.

“I appreciate the sheer gamut of emotions my esteemed colleague must be feeling, but at times like these, level heads must prevail. We have found no evidence of foul play as yet. Our engineers are sifting through copious amounts of data and so far it does look like a very unusual catastrophic failure rather than sabotage.”

President Halsey Refuses Shadow President’s Request

The office of President Jasmina Halsey has today issued a statement refusing Shadow President Hudson’s demand to meet him for a live presidential debate on ‘Face the People’.

James Speakes, the President’s Press Secretary, had this to say on the matter:

“The President is of course happy to debate the Shadow President on policy. President Halsey welcomes any opportunity to talk about the many wonderful programmes she’s instigated since taking office. Sadly in this instance, prior engagements keep her from being able to attend such a debate.”

“As President of the Federation, Jasmina Halsey’s schedule is booked months in advance. Clearing her entire schedule for the next two weeks simply to take part in a debate against the Shadow President is not something that the President felt that she could do. If Shadow President Hudson still wishes to debate President Halsey when she returns from her trip, then the President will be more than happy to oblige him.”

Hudson Demands Debate

It looks like the President may not be taking her planned tour after all, following news that Shadow President Hudson has publicly challenged President Halsey to a live policy debate on the popular Federal political stream show ‘Face the People’.

So far, the President’s office has declined to offer an official response to Shadow President Hudson’s request.

The President is now in the unenviable position of having to turn down the Shadow President’s request, which risks making the President appear weak at a time when she needs to appear strong in order to turn public opinion around. The alternative is being forced to cancel her trip, which could potentially lose her whatever support she’s managed to muster among her frontier followers.

As always, stay tuned to GalNet for more information as it becomes available.