State of the Federation, 110.06.11
The citizens, soldiers, and leaders of the Federation are reeling from yesterday's Caldari assault on Luminaire, trying to come to terms with the invasion and to understand exactly how this makes them feel. There's a lot of confusion and anger bubbling to the surface, along with the determination that this cannot be allowed to happen a second time.
Citizens
The dominant emotion among the citizens of the Federation is confusion. There are a lot of questions to which they want answers — from their leaders, from their military, and from themselves. How did this happen? Why did we not see it coming? How is it that we couldn't stop it? Are we really that soft and weak and defenseless? Who can we trust? What should we do? What should we feel?
Some blame Foiritan personally and some blame the political leadership as a whole, though few truly understand what happened or why. Others lay the responsibility at the feet of the military, trying to ignore their own complicity in the shortage of resources and personnel. Some blame their fellow citizens — particularly those of other races, occupations, or walks of life — often due just as much to older and deeper misgivings than to the current situation. There are a very few who blame themselves.
But all of them curse the Caldari — them and their barbaric leader Heth.
Military
Rumors of Admiral Eturrer's defection and subsequent disappearance have begun to trickle down the ranks. The consensus among those in the know is that he is the vilest of traitors, and solely to blame for yesterday's debacle. Many of the Navy's top personnel have spent years fighting for increased funding and additional recruitment, and the prevailing opinion is that the Federal Navy could have made a credible stand in Luminaire had they not been betrayed. With the horrific actions of Admiral Noir still fresh in memory, there are many who have lost faith in the command leadership entirely.
As a result most are angry and frustrated, itching for a chance to strike back. They recognize the wisdom in Foiritan's surrender but they fume at his weakness. The situation in the Luminaire system has everyone on edge. The military establishment knows full well that the Federation is about three hours and a twitch away from having every planet in its home system rendered permanently uninhabitable. They are also aware of their resulting helplessness against the Titan looming over Caldari Prime, and the feeling greatly intensifies their desire to strike back somewhere else.
Leadership
There's great turmoil in the Federal government. Most of its personnel, much like the general citizenry, have been left in the dark. Only those at the highest levels appreciate the full scope of yesterday's events, and they're frantically trying to predict even the most immediate consequences. The one thing already showing with crystal clarity is that the Federation is extremely scared, and that moreover this fear is likely to change soon, into extraordinary — and very dangerous — anger.
The President, the Senate, and the leaders of the various Federal institutions can see very clearly that they need to be ready for this seismic shift when it happens, and right now that's what everyone's spending every waking hour — and no one's getting any sleep — trying to anticipate. There's very little time for recrimination or finger-pointing, nor for any but the most basic politics; that will come later, and it will likely be a long and bitter struggle.
Voter Blocs
The habit of dividing the population up into broad blocs of voters is an old one in Gallente political circles, and five groups in particular have risen to distinction.
Hawks
Most prevalent among the Jin-Mei and Mannar populations (though naturally well represented among military personnel across the Federation), this is the ever-present fraction of those who advocate a militaristic stance. Maintaining this position requires an uncommon mindset — the largest group among the hawks are the pureblooded patriots who believe passionately in the greatness of the Federation (and the need to spread its influence as far and wide as possible).
This political leaning often brings together retired generals and entertainment moguls, since the spread of cultural influence is clearly a valuable weapon. In light of yesterday's attacks, the hawks are calling for measured consideration of the situation, with an eye to the subsequent deployment of as much military force as is necessary to push the Caldari back and, following that, undertake a sustainable counter-attack.
Foiritan has never been a friend to the hawks — they tend to find much more in common with Blaque — but as serious professionals, the party leaders are willing to give him a chance to explain himself… before they call for his head.
Doves
Comprised mostly of Intaki and common among artists of all stripes, this group opposes military action in all but the most clearly defensive cases, although they're less averse to spreading Gallente beliefs through "cultural warfare." The recent history of the Gallente has made protesting against military action something of a challenge (there having been very little to protest), but the dove mindset has shown remarkable resilience over the years and still represents a relevant percentage of the population.
This group's popularity may in part be attributed to the considerable effort expended over many years by the movement's proponents to define a consistent and coherent position without lapsing into irrelevant extremism. They are, of course, appalled by the unprovoked Caldari assault, but are equally appalled by calls among their fellow Gallente for unrestrained retaliation. Most acknowledge the need to reclaim Luminaire, although with the caveat that any action should be managed as peacefully as possible. At the same time, fringe members of this group actually sympathize with the Caldari position rather more than is politically fashionable at the moment.
The doves have always accorded well with Foiritan although they've never fully trusted him, and while they're ready to forgive him for the losses sustained, they want to hear what he has to say first.
Vultures
One of the more predictable blocs, made up of military contractors and financial despots; Jin-Mei and ethnic Gallenteans; and others from all walks of life, right down to individual shop workers. This group will pounce on any opportunity to turn current events to their own advantage, usually without considering the true ramifications or the cost to others. If there's money to be made or power to be gained through a particular course of action, they'll lean hard on anyone they can pressure until they get their way. Unsurprisingly, they're by far the most effective lobbying community in the Federation.
For most of the vultures, the prospect of a full-blown war is the most exciting thing that's happened in the last fifty years, and they're already figuring out exactly what needs to be done to extract maximum returns from the situation. This is the group that is pushing hardest for the most extreme options; indeed, some are advocating simply piling the entire Navy into Luminaire and damn the consequences. They'll support whoever looks to be most useful to them at any particular moment in time — if Foiritan comes through and grows some backbone they're fine with that, but they'll get behind Blaque in a heartbeat if he looks more likely to accommodate their demands.
Magpies
The magpies are easily the largest and most fickle group in Gallente politics. Though comprised of people from just about every profession and walk of life in the Federation, they are united by their short attention spans, a superficial understanding of politics, and the ability to become suffused with theatrical outrage at the drop of a hat. Typically they form a huge mass of fragmented interest groups, dissolving and reforming in a seemingly random manner as old causes become stale and boring and new ones sprout. The strongest force in Gallente politics occurs when a critical mass of these sybarites unite behind a particular cause, at which point support rapidly snowballs and they become nigh-unstoppable. This, thankfully, is a rare occurrence.
This group are still collecting themselves after yesterday's shocks, but the smart money says they'll throw their support behind some kind of counter-attack. The exact form this effort might take is open to speculation, but the retributive mood swing seems inevitable. The political and military leadership knows that these opinions will likely not endure once casualties start to mount — but they also know that this group cares not one jot about which leader gets them what they want, so long as they get it.
Ostriches
These are likely the second largest bloc, encompassing a disproportionate number of ethnic Gallente, low-paid workers, and high-flying success stories. They have no real interest in politics or events on the federal stage. They're either happy enough with their lot or too busy to care, but the end result is the same. As many a politician has found out to her considerable cost, however, they cannot simply be ignored — a fair number of them vote, if only because they feel they ought to, although typically they just vote for whomever they've actually heard of (or failing that, the one with the most interesting name). Woe betide any would-be leader who actually manages to get their attention by interfering with their lives; a number of aspiring statesmen have destroyed a rival merely by insinuating to the right people that the rival is planning to reduce worker protections, clamp down on wild parties, or just interfere unnecessarily with peoples' lives.
This group's interest in the war extends only to muttering over headlines or having expansively irrelevant arguments about it, and most individuals in this group couldn't even tell you the current President's name — which is likely seen as a good thing by all concerned.
