The Scope Profile: Souro Foiritan
2004.12.16 | By Svarthol
The Person: In the three years since taking office, president Souro Foiritan has gone from one controversy to another. But he has an uncanny ability to turn adversity into triumph, emerging stronger every time. The Federation is distinctly multi-cultural and Foiritan has been extremely careful never to pick sides or show too much favoritism to one side over another. Thus, he can draw his support from all elements of Federation society; from the Minmatar immigrants to his fellow Intakis to the thoroughbred Gallenteans.
Foiritan is the master of skillfully navigating the treacherous edge between affability and buffoonery. Being very much a man of the people has allowed him to get away with many things other politicians would never even dream of, but while his colorful exploits endear him to the people, they also gnaw away at his credibility. Foiritan may be favorite as a leader while everything is going well, but the big question is whether the public will trust him when the push really comes to shove.
All the same, president Foiritan has been remarkably skilful in maintaining his popularity through thick and thin, suggesting that these presidential elections will just be the latest hurdle for him to traverse with ease.
The Past: Foiritan graduated with honors from Center of Advanced Studies (CAS) before being hired as a research graduate for Chemal Tech. While still in school he was cajoled by his (then) girlfriend into taking part in student politics, eventually becoming student body president. Having thus gotten an early sniff of politics at grass root level, Foiritan soon became restless in his job at Chemal Tech and eventually quit to pursuit a full time career as a politician.
While some hint at some nefarious acts on his behalf in promoting himself, there is no doubt that his sudden and dramatic rise to power can mostly be attributed to his empathetic charisma and clear purpose in life. Though Foiritan has promoted his image as a lenient and benevolent leader, there are many cases in his past that suggest that he can, in fact, be quite ruthless and self-serving when the need arises, leading to the conclusion that he regards politics more as a platform for self-aggrandizement rather than for any visionary reasons.
The Policy: During his time as president of the Federation, Souro Foiritan has aimed to lessen governmental influences on the domestic front, effectively giving the various states and planets previously unheard of autonomy. He has admirably maintained internal stability, while fostering the growth of the hi-tech industry that is starting to rival that of the Caldari in scope if not in sophistication.
On the foreign front, Foiritan has been the fiercest supporter of CONCORD amongst the member states, even to the point where it has started to infringe upon the sovereignty of the Federation. He has also sought to improve the relations with the Amarr Empire and the Caldari State, something he has been criticized for by some. But to most federal citizens these are minor issues that they are hardly aware of. However, his handling of the UDI terrorist threat, making it into a personal issue, has cast him in some negative light in many quarters.
If re-elected, it is likely that Foiritan will continue the current policy of limiting governmental intrusion in the day-to-day running of the Federation, with the corresponding result of favoring further independence of the pilot community, amongst other things. The UDI affair may still turn into a fiasco that may very well sour relations with the Amarr Empire and the Caldari State, but baring that, one can expect that relations will continue to improve. Foiritan himself has stated, following the failure of the Crielere project, that he would very much like to see something similar happening again. The independence of CONCORD will increase, perhaps to the point where it can finally start to live up to its promise of offering protection to space farers outside empire space.
