Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition, sometimes referred to in Talossan as Tanáischteu (from the Irish Tánaiste, which means "Deputy") or more rarely as Omnicanerie ("the sort of person who makes white noise"), is the nominal leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition - the collective grouping of the political parties in the Cosa that are opposed to the sitting Government. The position has often shifted from being a statutory one to being informally picked by the largest non-Government party. Often, the largest non-Government party's leader effectively functioned as a Westminster-style Leader of the Opposition, without formally assuming the role. Unlike in the Westminster system, though, there is no requirement or convention that either the Prime Minister or the Leader of the Opposition sit in the lower house (the Cosa, in Talossa's case).
The current leader of the Opposition is Miestră Schivă MC, of the Free Democrats of Talossa.
History
The office of Leader of the Opposition has traditionally been an informal one; various politicians held it without it being an official statutory office, and in early history it was cited in certain bills (such as 14RZ9) despite not being exactly defined. It was finally first estabilished in 1995 by 20RZ20 (The Leader of the Opposition Act), which gave the King the prerogative of appointing it. The method of appointment was modified by the Opposition Leader Appointment Act of 1998, but this didn't meaningfully alter its status.
This version of the leader of the Opposition had certain privileges, such as being able to be consulted by the Government in some instances (such as immigration); however, said privileges were seldom exercised and the position was often vacant, and the post was abolished in 2005. Despite its abolition, references to the Leader of the Opposition were retained in law, in sections regarding the Living Cosa.
The post was reestabilished in 2019 by the Free Democratic government of Miestrâ Schivâ.
Current status
Under 53RZ10, the Loyal Opposition is defined as being formed by all MCs who have voted (or intend to vote) against Confidence; the Leader of the Opposition is by default the leader of the party with the most Opposition MCs, but this can be overridden by majority vote of the Opposition.
List of Leaders of the Opposition
The list includes self-styled and de facto opposition leaders. Statutory leaders are shown in bold.
Pre Reunision
Post Reunision
| Leader of the Opposition | Party | Tenure | Opposing | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miestrâ Schivâ | ZRT | 1 May 2012/XXXIII - 24 Nov 2012/XXXIII | Ma la Mha (RUMP) | Self-appointed as ZRT leader. | ||
| Carlüs Xheraltescù | ZRT | 24 Nov 2012/XXXIII - 24 Jan 2014/XXXV | Ma la Mha (RUMP) Cesli da Chilseu (RUMP) Txec dal Nordselva (RUMP) |
Self-appointed as ZRT leader in the Xheraltescu Shadow Cabinet. Ceased upon taking office in the Da Dhi Cabinet. | ||
| Vacant during the Centre-left coalition. T. dal Nordselva and A. Davinescu were RUMP leaders during the three terms. | ||||||
| Miestrâ Schivâ | FreeDem | 28 Mar 2016/XXXVII - 31 Jan 2017/XXXVIII | Cresti Siervicül (RUMP) | Self-appointed as leader of the Schivâ Shadow Cabinet. Ceased upon taking office in the Second Da Schir Cabinet. | ||
| Vacant during the 2017-2019 MRPT governments - post officially restored in 2019 | ||||||
| Sir Alexandreu Davinescu | RUMP | 1 Jul 2019/XL - 26 Jul 2019/XL | Miestrâ Schivâ (FreeDem) | First Opposition Leader under 53RZ10. Resigned. | ||
| Éovart Grischun | RUMP | 26 Jul 2019/XL - 22 Aug 2019/XL | Resigned from the Cosa and the party. | |||
| Béneditsch Ardpresteir | RUMP | 25 Sep 2019/XL - 25 Oct 2019/XL | Acting, not publicly announced as party leader. Terminated with dissolution. | |||
| Eiric Börnatfiglheu | NPW | 1 Jan 2020/XLI - 30 Jul 2020/XLI | ||||
| Ian Plätschisch | LCC | 1 Sep 2020/XLI - 30 Apr 2021/XLII | ||||
| Sir Xhorxh Pol Brigă | Balançeu | 22 Jul 2021/XLII - 27 Feb 2022/XLIII | Txoteu Davinescu (FreeDem) | |||
| Breneir Tzaracomprada | TNC | 22 May 2022/XLIII - 25 Feb 2023/XLIV | Ian Plätschisch (FreeDem) | First Leader of the Opposition to transition directly to Seneschal | ||
| Antaglha Xhenerös Somelieir | FreeDem | 25 Feb 2023/XLIV - 28 Mar 2023/XLIV | Breneir Tzaracomprada (TNC) | |||
| Üc R. Tärfă | 28 Mar - 9 Sep 2023/XLIV | Elected at the March 2023 Free Democrat party conference | ||||
| Miestră Schivă | 9 Sep - 31 Oct 2023/XLIV | Elected at the September 2023 FreeDem Extraordinary Convention | ||||
| 31 Oct 2023/XLIV - 6 Jan 2024/XLV | Bråneu Excelsio (TNC) | |||||
| 6 Jan 2024/XLV - present | þerxh Sant-Enogat (TNC) | Enogat became Seneschal following Excelsio's resignation | ||||