Chapter 165: The Election Begins
On June 10, 1903, after three years, the election for the Australian Cabinet government began once again.
Compared to the last election, this time the Cabinet election was much more formal.
Since political parties had gradually become more organized and attracted a portion of House of Commons members and ordinary citizens, this election also allowed each political party to recommend one candidate to join the Cabinet election.
This provided an opportunity for political parties without any House of Commons representation to participate in this election. Although only one spot was available, it was still a significant opportunity.
Because of this policy, the election saw a total of over 198 members of the House of Commons, seven candidates recommended by the political parties, and the current eleven Cabinet members alongside Arthur participating.
Except for Arthur, who was only a supervisor and witness in the election and did not participate in voting, everyone else was a participant in the election.
This meant that the difficulty of this election was considerably higher. Apart from the advantage of experience held by previous Cabinet members, some candidates with political party backgrounds also had a chance to become new Cabinet members.
In the large conference room of the government building, the originally huge room was now filled with members coming for the government meeting. More than two hundred people filled the large room, and the atmosphere had become quite hot and crowded.
Due to the House of Commons elections taking place every two years, there were many unfamiliar faces in the room. The two hundred or more people instinctively grouped themselves into various factions, each group engaging in conversations and occasionally eyeing the activities of others.
Among them, there were not many large factions. Apart from the original Cabinet members and the four parties with House of Commons representatives, most of the smaller factions were formed from personal relationships between members, and the size of these groups was small, typically consisting of two to three people.
When the chatter in the room reached a fever pitch, Arthur, accompanied by Butler Hunter, arrived at the scene.
Upon seeing Arthur's arrival, everyone in the room immediately fell silent, and the previously noisy room quickly became quiet.
"Your Highness!"
Everyone stood up and bowed.
Arthur smiled and nodded, signaling everyone to sit down, before walking up to the central podium of the conference room with Butler Hunter.
"Ladies and gentlemen, you are all elected representatives of the people of Australia or representatives of Australia's local political parties. I am very pleased to see all of you here today on such an important day for the Australian people and the Australian government." Arthur began with a smile.
"The last Cabinet election was held three years ago today. It was through that election that we selected eleven of the most outstanding Cabinet members for our Australian government. Their achievements speak for themselves, and their contributions to Australia are indelible."
"Today, we have come to another important day, where we will elect the second Cabinet government of Australia. I hope that whoever steps into that honorable position will do so with loyalty to the country, respect for the monarchy, and love for the people, pushing our beloved Australia to prosperity and greatness!"
As soon as Arthur finished speaking, the large conference room erupted in applause that had withstood the test of time.
After several minutes, the applause gradually quieted down at Arthur's signal.
Arthur continued, "I believe that all of you must have already decided whether to participate in the election before arriving in the conference room. The rules for this election are different from the previous one. Each candidate may choose up to two positions that they feel capable of handling and officially enter the election for those positions. However, the position of Prime Minister is an exception; any candidate running for Prime Minister cannot participate in other elections."
"Alright, I won't waste any more time. The second Australian Cabinet election officially begins now." Arthur smiled as he gestured for Butler Hunter to take the stage and oversee the proceedings.
Currently, within the Australian government and monarchy, apart from Arthur, only Prime Minister Evan and Butler Hunter had enough status to host the meeting.
However, as Prime Minister Evan was a candidate in this election, his role was not suitable for hosting the meeting, leaving Butler Hunter as the only appropriate person to oversee the session.
Butler Hunter, as the royal steward, also represented the royal family, and having him oversee the meeting was not out of place, as the royal family remained a neutral party in this election.
Butler Hunter nodded solemnly, and after Arthur returned to his seat, he took the stage.
"Ladies and gentlemen, following His Highness the Duke's orders, the second Australian Cabinet election has officially begun. Guards will now distribute a form for each of you to fill out with the positions you wish to run for. As His Highness the Duke mentioned, you can choose up to two ministerial positions, but if you are running for Prime Minister, you cannot participate in other elections," Butler Hunter explained the rules.
"If there are no questions about the rules, we can begin the election process," he said, scanning the room. Seeing no objections, he nodded, signaling the guards to distribute the forms.
The form was quite simple, only requiring the full name, address, age, political party (if applicable), and the two positions the candidate wished to run for.
But it was precisely this form that caused many members of the room to hesitate for a long time, unable to decide which two positions to choose.
Those who filled out the form promptly were mostly the previous Cabinet members and some politicians who had already agreed on their candidacies within their respective parties.
They had clear goals for the positions they wanted to run for, and changing them would only risk losing their advantage.
Filling out the forms took almost an hour, and most people hurriedly completed and submitted them under Butler Hunter's urging.
These individuals were clearly unprepared and were mostly the weaker members, lacking a strong political base, making them less competitive in this election.
Almost half of the members did not fill out the form, which meant they had given up on the opportunity to run.
Many of these individuals had no party affiliation or experience, and they were well aware that even if they ran, they were unlikely to succeed, so they wisely gave up their chances.
(End of Chapter)
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