Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition, sometimes referred to in Talossan as Tanáischteu, 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.
The current leader of the Opposition is Éovart Grischun MC, of the RUMP.
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.