CAMPAIGNS BEGIN - CANDIDATES NOMINATED

With great events in different cities all over the country, Saidercray's parties have inaugurated their campaigns for the election on August 4. The PPJ, the SPS, the VCA and the LUSC have also nominated their candidates for presidency.
As it had been expected, Ian Woshkal has been nominated by the Party for Peace and Justice and will try to become President for a third - and last - time. He confirmed the PPJ's intention to pursue the co-operation with the SPS in a coalition with or without a third party. The PPJ could imagine the Green Democratic Party and also the Multinational Party for Immigrants as a third partner, but prefers a mere PPJ-SPS-coalition. A coalition with the VCA was excluded.
The Socialist Party of Saidercray has not nominated Angela Fintosthane, its topical chairwoman, but Harry Old, the Minister of Defense. If the SPS wins the election as the strongest party, Old will become Saidercray's first black President. The SPS committed itself to the PPJ and the GDP as the only possible partners.
The Virtuous Conservative Alliance has nominated its leader, Charles Ellows. Ellows showed up open for coalition with the PPJ aswell as with the LUSC. As the SPS and the small parties don't come into question for the role of a third member of a VCA-lead coalition, the VCA and its partner would have to gain more than 50% of the votes. The VCA wants to present a definite partner for a likely coalition within the next days. Experts assume that the Liberal Union of Saidercrayan Capitalists is to become this partner.
This assumption is supported by the announcement of the LUSC's candidate, Sandra Oxglad. She named the VCA as her party's favourite partner, whereas co-operation with the PPJ or the SPS can be seen as impossible. If a LUSC-VCA-coalition wouldn't achieve the aim of 50% or more, a co-operation with the MPI could also be taken into consideration.
Amongst the smaller parties, the GDP and the MPI declared that they could imagine any government without VCA and LUSC together. The Saidercrayan Women's Feminist Party and the National Electoral Offensive prepare for another year in opposition.

First polls foresee the following result (in brackets: change compared to 2005's election):
- PPJ: 27 (-3)
- VCA: 24 (+2)
- SPS: 24 (+3)
- LUSC: 13 (-3)
- GDP: 7 (+2)
- MPI: 4 (+1)
- SWFP: 0 (-1)
- NEO: 1 (-1)
Thus, the idea of a conservative-capitalist coalition can be burried and PPJ and SPS would have 51% like they had a year ago, but the dominance of the PPJ would be much slighter. A move towards socialism would be the logical consequence, also because the capitalists would have lost votes whereas the socialists could celebrate three percent more than in 2005. It is questionable whether the GDP which has grown stronger would once more join a coalition of two parties who have already more than 50 percent of the seats in parliament. If so, the government would be stronger after this election than it is now. if not, the government is a very weak one with only one percent more than 50 - unless the MPI would participate in a government for the first time, which had then 55 percent of the seats.
Saidercray Today will invite the four candidates for presidency and interview them. The interview will be published within this week.

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