Interview: MikeHawk, Leader of the Social Democratic Party

INTERVIEWER (George Mercury): Thank you for agreeing to this interview, Mr. Hawk. Pleasure to have you here.

MIKEHAWK: My pleasure too, it's good to be here.

INTERVIEWER: I would like to ask you, what made you decide to run for the leadership of the Social Democratic Party? Why do you believe you would be most capable to lead the party and possibly the country into the next term?

MIKEHAWK: I had the idea of bringing up new possibilities to Demarcia, including representing the many sides of the Social Democratic Party, both individual and collective. I believe I am capable in the way that I am mostly neutral in my dealings. Quiet - and peaceful. Not implying that I will not be there to hold back progress, but that I will also take an active part of it.

INTERVIEWER: A lot of questions have arisen about your ideology. You have been described as socially conservative, economically very left-wing. How left-wing are you? And how willing are you to work with those factions of the party who are more moderate compared to you ideologically, both in the social and economic spheres?

MIKEHAWK: I will not allow individuality to get in the way of progress. While I hope that most will agree that societal progression is something that is a must, I am also a believer of conserving rights of individuals, including customs, culture and heritage. As for cooperation with more moderate factions within the party, I am willing to make ends meet as long as they are morally justified and abide by the statute.

INTERVIEWER: Let's get down to the issues and to the problems plaguing present-day Demarcia. Recently, as usual at this point, chaos has broken out in the Social Democratic Party.

Penstubal, JeskiaWeathers and Examed have founded their own organization to contest the upcoming elections in protest at the primary that resulted in your and Vincent_Wolff's victories. How do you respond to this? How will you convince them that they can, in fact, trust you, and are you ready to make some compromises to bring them back to your fold?

MIKEHAWK: I find it to be rather disturbing that an event like that would happen. While I can sympathize with some of the members, and agree that JeskiaWeathers might have had her presidency jeopardized, I will still hold a distance by stating that the proceedings were legal and justified, and that the law must be respected.

A move like this breaks balance and only ignites further chaos. I have an understanding that these are desperate measures, but I will not choose to jump inside factions during a cloud of unending misinformation, most of which is fueled by Bodwin's media.

INTERVIEWER: While they haven't publicly stated it, at least as of yet, there are indications, privately expressed, that the members of the Electoral Action are open to compromise and potentially backing your candidacy after all, if certain conditions are agreed to.

The Demarcian Inquirer learns that [the conditions] may pertain to nuclear weapons, the behaviour of MikeBodwin, the procedure of starting wars, the functioning of the SDP in Parliament and other things. Are you open to talking to them and working to bring them back to your fold?

MIKEHAWK: Nuclear weapons tend to be overkill as Demarcia never is and never will be under any threat to require deterrence. It is a waste of budget, and only tends to satisfy irrational dialogue concerning national safety.

MikeBodwin's behavior can be considered by some to be unacceptable, however, I have a reason to believe that his motivations aren't personal, but, orchestrated by external sources meant to destabilize dialogue and promote a divide inside the SDP - between the righteous and the just.

Demarcia must strictly be a defensive nation - aggression is an undemocratic act that betrays the confidence and trust in the people. To talk with the members of the Electoral Action, of course, there are many underlying issues, and they can only be solved through proper dialogue, but I would not restrict that and make it exclusive to only the members of my opposition, as this must include all Demarcians.

INTERVIEWER: You said that nuclear weapons are an "overkill" and that Demarcia isn't "under any threat to require deterrence". Do you therefore support the repeal of the Demarcian Nuclear Deterrent Act, proposed and passed by MikeBodwin through a referendum last fall? MikeBodwin and Vincent_Wolff strongly support it, but Penstubal and Vercetti strongly oppose it. Or do you believe some other solution should be found?

MIKEHAWK: I believe that there can be a counter-balance to satisfy both parties, but I do think that a country like Demarcia does not require nuclear deterrence - as it isn't considered a major world power, nor does it have any actual mortal enemies to be afraid of. If there are concerns of safety within the country, affirmative action will be applied and we will uphold safety of both the country's assets, but also people.

INTERVIEWER: What are your plans for the future of the country? Not necessarily specific promises, but general ideas are possible too. How will you be different from the many previous recent leaders who have failed to meaningfully transform the country?

MIKEHAWK: Likely to strive towards an Agrarian reform to both secure the livelihood of not only Demarcians, but Demarcian partners and to make Demarcia a leading player in international humanitarian aid.

INTERVIEWER: Finally, name one particularly good quality of yours and name one vice.

MIKEHAWK: I'm autistic, for both.

Joking aside, I have a very creative side to myself, but I tend to have a very erratic behavior which may lead others to misunderstand me or have a negative, untruthful opinion of me.

INTERVIEWER: Mr. Hawk, thank you for this interview. It was my pleasure to have you here.

MIKEHAWK: Pleasure to be on-board.