Chapter 16 : Pre-hospital interview
"Your Highness!"
"Long live His Highness!"
Amidst the cheers, Arthur calmly stepped down from the carriage and made his way to the state house, escorted by several guards.
After entering the state house, Arthur saw Governor Evan instructing his subordinates to count the candidates.
As the most populous state in Australia, the elections in New South Wales are also the most intense.
Although it holds the largest number of seats in the House of Commons among the six states of Australia, the election is extremely challenging, and describing its difficulty as one in a million would be an understatement.
As the governors of the six current states of Australia and members of the interim cabinet, Arthur granted several governors direct access to the House of Commons.
Of course, this is only for this time. If the six governors fail to win the upcoming gubernatorial elections and lose the subsequent lower house elections, they will have to temporarily bid farewell to Australian politics.
"Your Highness!" The sharp-eyed Governor Evan noticed Arthur approaching and quickly set aside what he was doing to greet him.
"Your Highness!"
The entire state capitol followed suit.
"Well, Governor Evan, how are the elections going? Are they proceeding smoothly?" Arthur nodded, glancing at the stack of information nearly half a person tall beside Governor Evan, and asked.
"Of course, Your Highness. So far, everything is proceeding in an orderly manner. We haven't encountered any fraud yet. It's good news worth celebrating," Governor Evan replied with a smile.
Governor Evan had accepted his fate ever since Arthur confirmed his reign at the last meeting.
Rather than struggling for power with Arthur without knowing his own limitations, it would be better for him to use his own abilities to earn Arthur's favor, or at least become a significant figure in Australia.
"Really? That's good. How many new candidates are there today?" Arthur asked as he left the state capitol and headed toward the candidate registration area.
"The number of candidates registering today has significantly decreased compared to the previous six days. Perhaps they realized they had lost their advantage by registering on the last day, so these are the only candidates today," Governor Evan said, pointing to the people in line.
Arthur looked around and, although there were many people nearby, not many had registered to run in the elections. It seemed there were fewer than fifty people.
This was a significant reduction compared to the electoral fervor of the previous days. After all, it was the last day of elections. Even if you registered today, you wouldn't be able to garner many votes.
Arthur smiled and walked forward, his eyes fixed on a man who seemed particularly enthusiastic, and asked, "Sir, what is your name?"
"Conlet, Your Highness." Seeing Arthur approach him and even speak to him, the man became so excited that he began to stutter.
"Conlet, huh? Don't be nervous; this is just a normal conversation. Are you here to run in the elections?" Arthur asked with a smile, unfazed by the man's nervousness and awkwardness.
"Yes, Your Highness. If we weren't so far from Sydney, I wouldn't have rushed here today," the man named Conlet managed to say after some difficulty, though he still didn't dare to look Arthur in the eye. He could only stare down at his toes.
"Come on, sir." Arthur also noticed Conlet's embarrassment, smiled, and patted him on the shoulder before turning his attention to others.
"Are you also here to run as a candidate?" Arthur scanned the crowd and noticed two middle-aged men who seemed out of the ordinary.
When the others met Arthur's gaze, they showed excitement and enthusiasm, as well as nervousness and unease.
It was a normal reaction from civilians. After all, they were facing Arthur, the supreme ruler of the country.
Although these two men were a bit nervous, they were much calmer and more composed compared to those around them.
Confirming that Arthur was speaking to them, the two immediately responded enthusiastically, "Yes, Your Highness."
"Can you introduce yourselves briefly?" Arthur asked with a smile.
"Of course, Your Highness." Henry was about to continue speaking when Martin, standing beside him, took the initiative.
"My name is Martin, and I am an official in the Sydney city government," Martin said respectfully.
Seeing that his friend had spoken first, Henry didn't get upset. He waited for Martin to finish before continuing, "Your Highness, my name is Henry, and I am also an official in the Sydney city government."
"Good. Can you tell me the purpose of your candidacy? Or what you plan to do after becoming members of parliament?" The calmness and composure of Henry and Martin piqued Arthur's interest, so he asked a few more questions.
"Of course, it is to develop the country and work hard to improve the standard of living for all Australians," Martin replied.
Although most Australians are descended from Western immigrants, their standard of living actually lags far behind that of more developed powers like Britain, Germany, France, and the United States.
Therefore, after Arthur asked the question, Martin's first thought was to improve the economic income and standard of living for all Australians.
"Very good. And you?" Arthur turned to Henry and continued his questioning.
Of the two, Arthur was more interested in Henry and looked forward to his response to this question.
"Your Highness, in the decades since I became an official in the city government, I have seen too many cases of deaths due to the inability to afford medical treatment and too many families ruined in their attempts to save their loved ones. I know it's not possible to completely solve this problem in a short time, but I am willing to fight for it." Henry looked at Arthur's face and noticed that Arthur was very interested in what he was saying, so he continued, "Of course, I know that all of this depends on the premise of national development. All Australians should not be obsessed with immediate interests but should prioritize the development of our country and make it a prosperous and developed nation. Only then can the government have sufficient funds to help the poor and improve the standard of living for everyone. The people trust the country, and the country protects the people. In this way, why shouldn't Australia become a strong nation, and why shouldn't Australians improve their lives?"
Clap! Clap!
Clap! Clap!
Clap! Clap!
Arthur was the first to applaud, and with a smile, he said to Henry, "Well said, Henry. As long as the people have full confidence in the country and work together to develop our homeland, when our country prospers and develops and has sufficient economic strength, we will give back to our people what we have received. The people and the country complement each other, and national rejuvenation and the prosperity of the people are our ultimate goals."