Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition, sometimes referred to in Talossan as Tanáischteu (from the Irish Tánaiste, which ) or in Talossan 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.
The current acting leader of the Opposition is Béneditsch Ardpresteir 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.
Pre Reunision
| Leader of the Opposition | Party | Tenure | Opposing | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Kuenn | Liberal Party (1994) | 18th Cosa | Gary Schwichtenberg (PC) | |||
| Albrec'ht Lupulardit | Zefençadéirs dal Päts Talossán | 23rd Cosa | Dale Morris and Dan Wardlow (PC) | |||
| Cheneþ Velméir | Zefençadéirs dal Päts Talossán | 24th Cosa | Tamorán dal Navâ (PC) | |||
| Cévaglh Scurznicol | Talossan Liberal Party | 25th Cosa | Tamorán dal Navâ (PC) | |||
| Davïu Foctéir | Rally of the Citizens of Talossa | 26th Cosa | Michael Pope (PC) | The leader of the biggest Opposition party was Danihél Roðgarüt (TLP) | ||
| Xheralt Conâ | Zefençadéirs dal Päts Talossán | 27th Cosa | Michael Pope (PC) | The leader of the biggest Opposition party was Danihél Roðgarüt (TLP) | ||
| Vacant | ||||||
| Xheralt Conâ | Zefençadéirs dal Päts Talossán | 30th Cosa | Michael Pope and Gödafrïeu Válcadác'h (PC) | de facto | ||
| Michael Pope | Progressive Conservatives | 31st Cosa | Mximo Carbonél (MN) | During the Halloween Crisis | ||
| Vacant - post abolished in 2005 | ||||||
| Owen Edwards | LRT | 29 Jan 2008/XXIX - 24 Nov 2012/XXXIII | Ma la Mha (RUMP) | Self-appointed as leader of the Edwards Shadow Cabinet. | ||
| No other self-appointments until Reunision. | ||||||
| Reunision | ||||||
| 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 - current | Acting, not publicly announced as party leader. | |||