In view of all the discussion of the Euro, I have a question.
@Blackstar How exactly is Kosygin's Euro supposed to work? It's a fully fiat currency, not the current gold-backed trade currency/fiat internal currency we have now right? Is there a central bank? And are there transfer payments to stop wealth pooling in the most wealthy states? Or is the Kosygin Euro system basically a vampire that will suck dry our poorer CMEA allies?
owing both Semyonov and Romanov one favor is not great
I am very nervous about owing favours to both. We can do without any single one of the options we're choosing from, we can't do without political stability.
Voting for any plan that supports my based boy Sem. It is time to remove the last remaining reactionaries, which is our faction
Romanov seems a good bit more liberal than Klimenko so far. So while I like the intent here, I really wonder if Klimenko can help Semyonov. He needs to hold off Romanov from pushing further into the center, while needing to push left against Podgorny. The last being most important since Podgorny seems to have caught a wave that doesn't seem likely to stop this dacade at least.
As such, I'm not sure that Klimenko aligning with Semyonov would help him, instead shackling to our old-before-his-time minister. Moving right might help Semyonov more, as by undermining Romanov on the right, we could put Romanov in a squeeze between Semyonov and Klimenko... We've been told that Romanov is being too liberal for many of his faction already and he's told Klimenko he intends to push for further liberalization, meaning there's a chance Klimenko could fatally weaken Romanov by playing to what the conservatives in the SupSov want to hear.
The problem with trying to help Semyonov that way is that it may work too well, and Klimenko destroys Romanov, Semyonov gets basically no defectors from the more moderate members of the conservative faction, and is crushed between Klimenko and Podgorny, leading to a more polarised situation once the dust settles.
Still not sure backing Balakirev is ideal though. Wasn't the point of the post-Voznesensky restructurings that the ministry is no longer a hereditary monarchy, meaning there's no guarantee he'll actually be the successor. Plus I worry about the precedent of our character taking time away from his actual job (hence the loss of two bureaucracy dice) to spend time teaching his underling about politics. Perhaps I'm being paranoid, but that sounds like encouraging patronage networks.
I mean, the patronage network is so deeply entrenched, that I don't think we'll ever fully get rid of it. It's like a weed that we need to trim back occasionally so it doesn't take over the system, Voz-style. But like a weed, when it doesn't overflow its niche it can play a valuable role too.
The existence of informal connections circulating resources around the system is kind of like a gray market, it can help undesirable activities take place, but it isn't itself undesirable.
And making provision for a stable succession is not an irresponsible approach. Plus, helping Mr. Chemical industries learn the ministry under a minister with such an interest in the social sphere may serve to blunt the sharp engineer edges we worried about choosing Balakirev.
And if he doesn't become minister, having a well trained deputy to babysit the new guy, or go on to do something else in Soviet politics with a good understanding of how the ministry works, could be rather valuable.
Regards,
fasquardon
