by Nigel Merrick Jones
The end of political certainties always comes following a major upheaval, whether it is during a war, in the rhetoric and power of reform, or in the flames of revolution. For Ferveo, it came with the downfall of probably the most controversial figure in the country's recent history, as well as easily its most dynamic leader – indeed, four months into Richard Claxton's four-year term as Prime Minister, there are murmurs that perhaps the Liberal Party should not have let her go so easily.
The political career of the prodigy Jennifer Saxon perhaps owes less to her intense public persona and colossal popularity than to the actions of the Fervean Values Force and the Exordium Crisis in 2008. Birthed and baptised in fire with the horrific June 2nd attacks and the poisoning of Foreign Secretary Timothy Bishop, the youthful Saxon was thrown up to the dizzying heights of the Presidency after surviving her own assassination attempt.
By all accounts, she handled her new brief like no other democratic leader of the generation. Declaring a state of emergency and rallying the army, Saxon personally oversaw the climactic attack on the FVF fortress, where rumours of a massive nuclear device still hang over those days like a dark cloud. Saxon used her influence with the police force in the weeks and months of unrest following the attacks to drive out, try and imprison the remaining FVF commanders, tighten law and order, and bring the country back to an even footing.
Fears that she would use her post to consolidate her power and perhaps even fashion a dictatorship proved to be unfounded when she personally selected a new Cabinet (albeit with reduced powers until the next election) and reinstated the civil rights that had been briefly suspended. After that, she spearheaded referenda to introduce proportional representation and split the powers of the Presidency, again to be implemented following an election.
Here, however, is where the tale becomes a sad one. Saxon became embroiled in a series of severe arguments with her Cabinet, her famously fiery temper apparently accentuated by the massive responsibility she now held. Claxton, her erstwhile ally, found uniting the Liberal Party under her to be a rather difficult task. Indeed, they began to be referred to as “Saxton”, their close relationship compared in some corners of the media as tantamount to a diarchy.
Yet, when Saxon finally called the promised “grand election” in 2010, perhaps more damaging than the Liberal Party's show of disunity was the emergence of an affair she had had with a handsome 22-year-old intern. In the media circus following, Saxon resigned leadership of the Liberal Party and announced that she would not run for President, as many had speculated she would. However, her sexual indiscretions did not seem to damage her personally – she was actually re-elected with the largest (proportionally speaking) majority in the country, as her pleasant, conversational style was greatly appreciated by her constituents. On the other hand, the Liberal brand was tainted, and damaged by the splitting in the vote due to the new proportional system. Her exit from front-line politics was an inglorious one, and she has refused to speak in public about her past career. Indeed, when The Dragon asked for comment following the election and coalition agreement, she calmly drew a picture of a stick figure making an obscene gesture and asked for it to be printed on page 12. The newspaper complied. She has so far refused to apologise – in this reporter's opinion, rightly so – and she remains as divisive out of government as she was in it. The difference is, now she is divisive among political historians, and there do not seem to be any memoirs forthcoming.
The 2010 grand election was the end of political certainties. The Liberal Party's massive 64.9% vote share (often attributed to the influence of the late Gabriel Seismos and the genuinely optimistic mood at the first elections) was cut by a third to 43.1%, and there was a notable spike in support for the political extremes, with the Communist Party and the Nationalists polling a combined total of 11.3%. The Liberal-Green coalition seems to be doing well, but the reception of Prime Minister Richard Claxton has been little more than lukewarm. Unnamed Liberal MPs have made private calls for the return of Ms Saxon to the Cabinet fold, perhaps even to the premiership should Claxton fall.
But so far, she has made no inroads to a return to the corridors of power. Once a leader like nothing the country had ever seen, she now serves as a popular MP, and has recently begun seeing one of her campaign staff. She seems to be relishing her new role as standard representative, but shortly after the Exordium Crisis there were pundits predicting a long and exciting political career for Saxon. Those same people are now joined by voices wondering if she is really living up to her potential, even questioning if she is acting in the national interest.
Much depends on the next years of the coalition. It is, for the most part, stable, as the two parties have fairly similar manifestos (though not so much that prospects of a merger are any more that a deranged fantasy at this point). Her problems with party unity aside, could Saxon make a better leader of this country than the current Delaney-Claxton paradigm? Possibly. But in the end, it is up to her how to continue. That is how she has always done things – her own way, the Saxon way. Perhaps that was what finally destroyed her, or what may yet bring her back to life.
