The Provisional Government of New Orleans announced today that it will hold elections in Midsummer to form a permanent Government for the Republic.
At a colorful Ceremony outside Old King's House at Spanish Town, the Capital of Jamaica,including Dragoons, mounted Johdpur Lancers, and finely dressed elements of the New Orleans Army and artillery, Sir Eccles Markham, representative of the Indian Governor-General, officially ceded control of the Island of Jamaica on behalf of the Empire of Great Britain and India, to the Federal Republic of New Orleans, represented by Provisional President Ambrose Hall.
The political significance is vast.
While early 18th century Jamaica is dwarfed by pre-invasion New Orleans, the Provisional Government once again controls a territory, granting it the same level of legtimacy, if not resources, as Cuba, or Curacao. Spanish Town and Kingston have already nearly doubled in size, with Kingston having about six hundred buildings.
The announcement of Elections was no surprise, but is sure to spark further rivalry between factions of the growing Jamaican Territory. An act of the Provisional government officially annexed the territory of Jamaica, making it, for voting purposes, a District of the New Orleans Federal Republic. The territory of "Upriver," formerly the U.S. States of Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas. The Federal Republic of New Orleans was formed by the former Government of the State of Louisiana after the Event.
Political Parties
Up until now, there have been two fairly quiet political factions in the New Orleans exile community. The Revanchist faction supported strong community ties and sticking together, and focusing on retaking NOLA. The other faction was labeled and largely adopted the "Diasporist" title, and believes in making the best of the situation and moving on. There are moderates who cross lines. The leader of the Revanchists is largely seen as being the Provisional President, Ambrose Hall.
The leader of the Diasporists is generally seen as being the former Undersecretary of State, Gaston T. Babineaux, who resigned from the Provisional Government following the resignation of the Secretary, Nigel Thorne over the Baumfield Farm memorandum. Babineaux is actually a moderate and has continued to work financially with the Provisional Government and urge Diasporists to support "sober and reasonable" military plans to retake NOLA through the recruiting of strong allies.
Babineaux is now the editor in chief of the "Jamaica Picayune" which is the leading Diasporist paper, and also the newspaper of record for the Jamaica Colony. His stated position is that "whatever eventually ensues with the retaking of New Orleans, the resettlement of refugees into Jamaica and other colonies, maintaining the spirit and national character of the New Orleans Republic is paramount. The next generation must not be penalized with poverty for the stubbornness of their parents in refusing to acknowledge realities beyond their control."
Babineaux has also said "Revanchists are Diasporists waiting to happen who have not yet had an offer of lucrative work elsewhere."
It should also be noted that there are factional lines between "Realists" and "Deniers" about the current state of affairs in New Orleans. Realists favor the highly realistic appraisals of the political situation in NOLA as published or leaked from agents who have been inside the city. Deniers (who tend to call themselves "Truthfuls") tend to identify all atrocities as being committed by members of the opposite race, typically (since literate Deniers tend to be white) accusing African-American citizens described as "negroes run amok" as being responsible for all the atrocities in the city. One anonymous editorial has said that "following the defeat of Apophis the swift and speedy execution of the savage Negro Buck who has reverted to his feral state in our fair City must be the first priority if we are to light the lamp of civilization."
In general African-Americans are "Realists" largely because the organized African-American community is smaller (most refugees were suburban) and the leaders of that community are "Realists." There are African-American "Deniers" who blame all atrocities on the KKK.
The Ransom and Census Offer
The result of the announcement of the offer by the Apophis government to allow a census and ransoms has created a huge rift within the NOLA exile community. The offer has also to some extent split party lines, and increased bitterness to the point in some cases of threatened violence.
On one side, the "Salted Fields" faction (named for an editorial by Jean-Baptiste Gautreaux, in the "Revanchist Picayune," which featured that term), and contained the iconic statement of policy:
"never dealing with Apophis, directly or through intermediaries. We shall not bend, we shall not stumble, and no thought of pain or loss or sacrifice will make us pause or allow us to falter in driving this hellish scourge from the face of the earth. Those who die under Apophis tread are martyrs, and to rescue them by giving cash to Apophis would be to save a life from Satan at the expense of blood money that would surely end all who touched it in Hell. Cleaner by far is the silver paid by Annas to Judas than the coin paid by those who saw the fall of New Orleans to Apophis."
On the other side the "Araby" or "Pragmatist" faction takes its name from an editorial by Alphonse Comeaux in the "Jamaica Picayune"
"For centuries untold French and English of the faith paid gold and silver to the infidels of Araby for the release of their kinsfolk captured at sea. Only with the advent of the United States did this evil stop. Those collections were taken by monks and Priests and delivered by agents of the Crown for the relief of Christian souls. The salvation of one son or daughter, the reunion of one pair of lovers was more valuable than gold. We must acknowledge that the battle is lost. In no war in history has the payment of ransom for the captured been an admission of defeat. There is no gain in stubborn pride. Who would have their son or daughter suffer the indignities we have read of, when they could be freed to know again the bosom of a mother and to breathe free of fear."
The Provisional Government is going to be pressed to make declarations soon, and it is in a difficult position.
Currently the Revanchist faction is fully behind the Provisional Government, and the Pragmatist faction does not oppose it heavily.
If the Provisional Government supports the Census and the payment of Ransoms, it will split the Revanchist faction down the middle, but pick up stronger support from the Pragmatist faction. This could be advantageous because generally and predictably Pragmatists are wealthier than Revanchists.
If the Provisional Government refuses to support the Census and the payment of Ransoms, it will probably spark a split with the Pragmatists, including either a call to dissolve the Provisional Government in new elections or open fighting between the factions.
There have already been threats, rock throwing, and burnings-in-effigy largely focused on the Newspapers in the Jamaica District. There have been fights at the Penn State refugee camp but they have not been as severe, as the Camp is beginning to shrink since the Port of Manhattan has been re-opened.
Polarization
The agreement by the Provisional Government to the Census has already fairly strongly solidified the "Salted Fields" faction of the Revanchists under Jean-Baptiste Gautreaux. In the coming weeks, Hall must issue a statement on the legality of paying Ransoms which is certain to prove incendiary.
The "Salted Fields" faction has picked up some steam and credibility with the defeats in Texas that show that organized powers can defeat Apophis' forces in the field.
President Hall
Provisional President Ambrose Hall has stood carefully between the parties, and seems certain to stand for election in the Summer. Generally Hall is seen as the likely victor if he is able to keep the pragmatists in line, and pleases the "araby" faction of the Revanchists.
Hall's strongest rival is Treasury Secretary Gaston Babineaux. Babineaux is an ambitious man widely seen as engineering the Resignation of Cabinet Minister Nigel Thorne, and many observers feel Babineux wants to be President.
Inside sources suggest that Babineaux has offered Hall an alliance, agreeing that he will not seek the Presidency if Hall names him as Vice-President on his ticket.
That would mean that Hall would gain the support of the wealthiest party, and Babineaux is generally seen as a solid politican who will stick to his deals.
Problematic for Hall is the fact that Babineaux may alienate all the Revanchists. He's largely against their programs and priorities. The move may also anger foreign supporters. Other powers with a grudge against Apophis see New Orleans as a "cause celebre" and might see the Refugees settling down to form a new state and life as a betrayal of an international Crusade against Apophis that has, until very recently, been more talk than action.
Hall stands to be deviled by success. An alliance with Babineaux seems certain to bring him to the Presidency, unless there is a sudden strategic advance against Apophis which saps energy from the Pragmatists.
Hall's strongest hand of cards will be if the Revanchists split their ticket between factions while he allies with Babineaux. In a three or four way race it is quite possible that Babineaux' popularity might pull him ahead with a 30% or so majority, and the New Orleans Constitution, based on City politics, allows for an electoral win on a Plurality.
The next few months will prove critical, as the factions vie for control of territory that makes them, once again, a legitimate political entity. The support of the relatively small native Jamaican population may also be important especially in a race defined by margins of Plurality. The New Orleans GOvernment is generally popular, having abolished slavery, meaning that a significant element of the former population which would vote in an election consists of Freedmen. The Government, which is seen as bringing law and order, is not tremendously unpopular among landholders, and most Jamaicans can be assumed to support the Pragmatists, except for a shrill but politically insignificant faction that call for the New Orleans refugees to go home and abandon Jamaica.
