Gladwyn Merrick
Member
”We shall fight and crush these Ukrainian separatists. The Soviet Union must endure.”
General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, 2022
General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, 2022
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Alternate Wikibox Thread
- Thread starter gentleman biaggi
- Start date
Blackentheborg
Dennis Skinner's molotov
- Location
- Grand Hotel Abyss
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Finally got around to this
- Location
- Toronto, ON, CA
Choose Your Canada
The global financial crisis of 2008 gave Paul Martin renewed purpose and allowed him to put off his retirement. Canada, with its sound public finances and heavily-regulated banks, was in a far better position than most of the West, proving once again the dividend of Martin's economic stewardship. While pushing through a strong stimulus package at home he assembled the leaders G20 abroad (the body being in part his creation) to a summit in Montreal to marshal a global response to the crisis.
But by 2010, the Liberals were polling consistently behind Jim Flaherty’s Conservatives. Canada was exhausted with the Liberal Party, which in turn was exhausted with their leader, who was in turn just exhausted. With the global situation stabilising and several ambitious candidates all but threatening to move against him just as he had moved against Chretien, Paul Martin announced in November 2009 that had accepted an offer to lead the International Monetary Fund with President Clinton's backing. A new Liberal leader – and prime minister – would be selected by delegates at a convention held in Ottawa on the March 16th 2010.
---
Foreign Minister Michael Ignatieff had been spoken of as the likely successor to Paul Martin from the day he became an MP; he had been asked to return to Canada and run for the Liberal Party for exactly that reason. Since he was appointed to the cabinet in 2007 he had almost immediately become an internationally-recognised statesman, instrumental in the marshalling of the G20, the release of Aung Sung Suu Kyi and the “great reset” of Western-Russian relations. He was seen by his supporters as a second coming of Pierre Trudeau; a powerful intellectual mind who could replenish and rejuvenate Canadian liberalism for the new decade. But he also had many detractors. He had spent thirty years living outside of Canada, teaching in America and the UK and amassing a long list of controversial statements – many Ukrainian-Canadian organisations opposed his candidacy for his remarks on Ukrainian nationhood. Meanwhile his long time away from Canada had left his stances and rhetoric on many issues wooden and theoretical. Nevertheless, through 2009 he polled far ahead of any theoretical opponent on the Liberal benches and decently ahead of Jim Flaherty on the other side of the house. His candidacy was backed and staffed by party insiders, while many senior Liberal MPs flocked to support the next leader of the Liberals. But it would not be a coronation
There were also the Social Liberals. Denis Coderre and Glen Murray, a Chretien ally and a Martin star candidate, both ran as representatives of the left of the party; after six years of Paul Martin, the prospect of another Business Liberal cruising to the top of the party was an unappealing prospect. And with scars still lingering over Martin’s hostile takeover of the party, there were some who still carried a candle for his predecessor and simply wanted to settle scores.
Then there were the next generation. Scott Brison and Navdeep Bains were clearly running to make their mark, to get into the cabinet and make a point about innovation and generational change. With the advanced age of the outgoing prime minister and a sixtysomething frontrunner, their message seemed rather salient.
And then there was Christy Clark. The Minister of Natural Resources had been no less controversial in federal office than she had been in provincial office. Making a name for defending the Martin government's emerging policies of pipeline expansion and carbon pricing, she had by 2010 become one of the Martin government’s most prominent and passionate spokespeople. Her supporters and campaigners were an idiosyncratic group – Business Liberals who liked her pro-development views, party insiders like her ex-husband and even some younger supporters like Justin Trudeau or Melanie Joly who saw her as more effectual than Ignatieff would ever be. She quickly amassed a strong organisation and energetic base of activist supporters; the Ignatieff campaign soon realised that electing convention delegates at local Liberal associations was not as easy as everyone assumed.
Ignatieff did not help himself either. When fellow candidates announced they too would be running, he complained that a lack of a coronation would delay him from “getting on with the job” for several months. For a man who had been headhunted into Canadian politics for his great intellect, his campaign was remarkably short on policy, with Ignatieff’s campaign largely consisting of broad-based speeches about Canadian Liberalism. It was a typical frontrunner’s campaign, trying to say and do as little as possible to avoid risking their own advantage as everyone else sought to attack him. He seemed flustered and inhibited in debates, as his opponents, especially Clark and Coderre, went through his long record of controversial statements and cynical homecoming.
But going into the convention, he still appeared the frontrunner. “Can anyone stop this man?” Thundered the front cover of Maclean’s above Michael Ignatieff’s assured smile.
--
But by the second round, many Liberals started to wonder if someone could. Ignatieff underperformed in the first ballot and was clearly struggling to be everyone else’s second preference. His speech to the convention floor was wooden, speaking broadly about his agenda as prime minister, one which felt more like an acceptance speech than a campaign pitch. As his delegate numbers slouched upwards, his aura of inevitability crumbled. He had been the frontrunner simply because all the polls said he would; by the time of the convention his poll ratings had crumbled, and during the convention the aura fell apart.
What ultimately doomed Ignatieff was Christy Clark. Hers was the easily the strongest speech to the convention, speaking of the transformative policies of previous Liberal leaders in far more tangible terms than the academic Ignatieff had ever spoken of. Her unexpected second place, and surprise endorsements from also-rans, propelled her in front of Coderre and Murray as the anti-Ignatieff candidate. And the message of generational change propelled by many of the also-rans gave Clark purpose beyond that. Behind Michael Ignatieff was an aura of destiny and inevitability. Behind Christy Clark was the Liberals’ tradition of elevating outsiders over defective frontrunners in order to keep on winning.
Choose Your Canada
2006 Canadian Federal Election
2007 Quebec General Election
2007 Conservative Leadership Election and Vancouver Quadra By-election
The global financial crisis of 2008 gave Paul Martin renewed purpose and allowed him to put off his retirement. Canada, with its sound public finances and heavily-regulated banks, was in a far better position than most of the West, proving once again the dividend of Martin's economic stewardship. While pushing through a strong stimulus package at home he assembled the leaders G20 abroad (the body being in part his creation) to a summit in Montreal to marshal a global response to the crisis.
But by 2010, the Liberals were polling consistently behind Jim Flaherty’s Conservatives. Canada was exhausted with the Liberal Party, which in turn was exhausted with their leader, who was in turn just exhausted. With the global situation stabilising and several ambitious candidates all but threatening to move against him just as he had moved against Chretien, Paul Martin announced in November 2009 that had accepted an offer to lead the International Monetary Fund with President Clinton's backing. A new Liberal leader – and prime minister – would be selected by delegates at a convention held in Ottawa on the March 16th 2010.
---
Foreign Minister Michael Ignatieff had been spoken of as the likely successor to Paul Martin from the day he became an MP; he had been asked to return to Canada and run for the Liberal Party for exactly that reason. Since he was appointed to the cabinet in 2007 he had almost immediately become an internationally-recognised statesman, instrumental in the marshalling of the G20, the release of Aung Sung Suu Kyi and the “great reset” of Western-Russian relations. He was seen by his supporters as a second coming of Pierre Trudeau; a powerful intellectual mind who could replenish and rejuvenate Canadian liberalism for the new decade. But he also had many detractors. He had spent thirty years living outside of Canada, teaching in America and the UK and amassing a long list of controversial statements – many Ukrainian-Canadian organisations opposed his candidacy for his remarks on Ukrainian nationhood. Meanwhile his long time away from Canada had left his stances and rhetoric on many issues wooden and theoretical. Nevertheless, through 2009 he polled far ahead of any theoretical opponent on the Liberal benches and decently ahead of Jim Flaherty on the other side of the house. His candidacy was backed and staffed by party insiders, while many senior Liberal MPs flocked to support the next leader of the Liberals. But it would not be a coronation
There were also the Social Liberals. Denis Coderre and Glen Murray, a Chretien ally and a Martin star candidate, both ran as representatives of the left of the party; after six years of Paul Martin, the prospect of another Business Liberal cruising to the top of the party was an unappealing prospect. And with scars still lingering over Martin’s hostile takeover of the party, there were some who still carried a candle for his predecessor and simply wanted to settle scores.
Then there were the next generation. Scott Brison and Navdeep Bains were clearly running to make their mark, to get into the cabinet and make a point about innovation and generational change. With the advanced age of the outgoing prime minister and a sixtysomething frontrunner, their message seemed rather salient.
And then there was Christy Clark. The Minister of Natural Resources had been no less controversial in federal office than she had been in provincial office. Making a name for defending the Martin government's emerging policies of pipeline expansion and carbon pricing, she had by 2010 become one of the Martin government’s most prominent and passionate spokespeople. Her supporters and campaigners were an idiosyncratic group – Business Liberals who liked her pro-development views, party insiders like her ex-husband and even some younger supporters like Justin Trudeau or Melanie Joly who saw her as more effectual than Ignatieff would ever be. She quickly amassed a strong organisation and energetic base of activist supporters; the Ignatieff campaign soon realised that electing convention delegates at local Liberal associations was not as easy as everyone assumed.
Ignatieff did not help himself either. When fellow candidates announced they too would be running, he complained that a lack of a coronation would delay him from “getting on with the job” for several months. For a man who had been headhunted into Canadian politics for his great intellect, his campaign was remarkably short on policy, with Ignatieff’s campaign largely consisting of broad-based speeches about Canadian Liberalism. It was a typical frontrunner’s campaign, trying to say and do as little as possible to avoid risking their own advantage as everyone else sought to attack him. He seemed flustered and inhibited in debates, as his opponents, especially Clark and Coderre, went through his long record of controversial statements and cynical homecoming.
But going into the convention, he still appeared the frontrunner. “Can anyone stop this man?” Thundered the front cover of Maclean’s above Michael Ignatieff’s assured smile.
--
But by the second round, many Liberals started to wonder if someone could. Ignatieff underperformed in the first ballot and was clearly struggling to be everyone else’s second preference. His speech to the convention floor was wooden, speaking broadly about his agenda as prime minister, one which felt more like an acceptance speech than a campaign pitch. As his delegate numbers slouched upwards, his aura of inevitability crumbled. He had been the frontrunner simply because all the polls said he would; by the time of the convention his poll ratings had crumbled, and during the convention the aura fell apart.
What ultimately doomed Ignatieff was Christy Clark. Hers was the easily the strongest speech to the convention, speaking of the transformative policies of previous Liberal leaders in far more tangible terms than the academic Ignatieff had ever spoken of. Her unexpected second place, and surprise endorsements from also-rans, propelled her in front of Coderre and Murray as the anti-Ignatieff candidate. And the message of generational change propelled by many of the also-rans gave Clark purpose beyond that. Behind Michael Ignatieff was an aura of destiny and inevitability. Behind Christy Clark was the Liberals’ tradition of elevating outsiders over defective frontrunners in order to keep on winning.
Choose Your Canada
2006 Canadian Federal Election
2007 Quebec General Election
2007 Conservative Leadership Election and Vancouver Quadra By-election
- Location
- Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region
- Pronouns
- she/they
Flaherty v. Clark is such a dull election christ
Blackentheborg
Dennis Skinner's molotov
- Location
- Grand Hotel Abyss
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Last edited:
Blackentheborg
Dennis Skinner's molotov
- Location
- Grand Hotel Abyss
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Last edited:
- Location
- Toronto, ON, CA
Choose Your Canada
Once the shock of Dumont's victory wore off, Canada's political establishment still barely knew what to make of the new Quebec government. It was filled with novices and led by a non-ideological populist, one who seemed to be as self-interested in his own province as the many PQ premiers who had been thorns in the side of Ottawa. The Martin government didn't know what to make of it, but was relieved that they had seen off another sovereigntist PQ government, even if the new ADQ government was far less interested in "handouts" from the federal government.
After a few months of gaffes and missteps from the novice government, a budget was barely passed after painstaking negotiations with the Liberal Paryt to maintain the state of Quebec's welfare state, forced to delay the grand and controversial public service reforms promised the ADQ's manifesto. That the two opposition parties spent the first 18 months of the Dumont government embroiled in dramatic and divisive battles over their own leaders gave Dumont a reprieve, and a cabinet reshuffle one year allowed for a successful reboot of the government.
The first tests for the new leaders of Liberals and Parti Quebecois was the ADQ's electoral reform bill. Though largely expected to be delayed or shelved, self-interest motivated it's passing: the ADQ were languishing in third place in the polls, and a fairer electoral system offered the chance to soften the blow. A compromise was reached for a referendum to be held in the Autumn of 2008 - a referendum that unexpectedly passed. It was clear that even as Dumont's popularity sagged, there was little love lost for his more established opponents.
And that became the holding pattern for the remaining eighteen months of the Dumont Ministry. A constant stalemate between the three main parties, effectively deadlocked in the polls and afraid of biting the bullet, even as little legislation was passed and the global economic crisis started to mount. Eventually, the Liberals chose to pull the plug in Spring 2010, and Dumont called an election.
Few knew what the outcome would be in this new, unfamiliar electoral system, but it seemed unlikely to yield a decisive result. While Dumont was unpopular, Tom Mulcair had won the leadership narrowly and had not distinguished himself as leader of the opposition while Gilles Duceppe's coronation as leader of the parti Quebecois had strongly divided the sovereigntist movement. But the campaign itself dislodged the stalemate. Mulcair ran a vigorous, aggressive campaign, accusing Dumont and Duceppe as bringers of chaos in an economic crisis (Dumont through incompetence, Duceppe through his commitment to a third independence referendum) while strongly defending the Charest Ministry that he was part of. The decisive event was the one televised debate, where Mulcair was aggressive, Dumont was defensive and Duceppe was marginalised. The PQ campaign was based very heavily around Duceppe's popularity and when his popularity began to slip, his whole party went down with him.
By election day, some newspapers outside of Quebec were talking hyperbolically of "Mulcair-mania." While not quite reaching the adoration and glamour Pierre Trudeau once had, his personal ratings surged in the final fortnight of the campaign and by election day, it was clear to all that he was the next premier of Quebec. The only question was what winning under this new electoral system would look like.
Ultimately, all four major parties benefitted in some way from the new electoral system. The system, not too proportional, allowed for the Liberals to win a decisive plurality, barely losing out on winning a majority of seats. The ADQ managed to hold onto second place and bring about a true realignment. And the parti Quebecois avoided a total wipeout even as the redistribution of ridings dissolved their regional bases of support. It was a small mercy amid a terrible result for the sovereigntist movement.
Choose Your Canada
2006 Canadian Federal Election
2007 Quebec General Election
2007 Conservative Leadership Election and Vancouver Quadra By-election
2010 Liberal Leadership Election
Once the shock of Dumont's victory wore off, Canada's political establishment still barely knew what to make of the new Quebec government. It was filled with novices and led by a non-ideological populist, one who seemed to be as self-interested in his own province as the many PQ premiers who had been thorns in the side of Ottawa. The Martin government didn't know what to make of it, but was relieved that they had seen off another sovereigntist PQ government, even if the new ADQ government was far less interested in "handouts" from the federal government.
After a few months of gaffes and missteps from the novice government, a budget was barely passed after painstaking negotiations with the Liberal Paryt to maintain the state of Quebec's welfare state, forced to delay the grand and controversial public service reforms promised the ADQ's manifesto. That the two opposition parties spent the first 18 months of the Dumont government embroiled in dramatic and divisive battles over their own leaders gave Dumont a reprieve, and a cabinet reshuffle one year allowed for a successful reboot of the government.
The first tests for the new leaders of Liberals and Parti Quebecois was the ADQ's electoral reform bill. Though largely expected to be delayed or shelved, self-interest motivated it's passing: the ADQ were languishing in third place in the polls, and a fairer electoral system offered the chance to soften the blow. A compromise was reached for a referendum to be held in the Autumn of 2008 - a referendum that unexpectedly passed. It was clear that even as Dumont's popularity sagged, there was little love lost for his more established opponents.
And that became the holding pattern for the remaining eighteen months of the Dumont Ministry. A constant stalemate between the three main parties, effectively deadlocked in the polls and afraid of biting the bullet, even as little legislation was passed and the global economic crisis started to mount. Eventually, the Liberals chose to pull the plug in Spring 2010, and Dumont called an election.
Few knew what the outcome would be in this new, unfamiliar electoral system, but it seemed unlikely to yield a decisive result. While Dumont was unpopular, Tom Mulcair had won the leadership narrowly and had not distinguished himself as leader of the opposition while Gilles Duceppe's coronation as leader of the parti Quebecois had strongly divided the sovereigntist movement. But the campaign itself dislodged the stalemate. Mulcair ran a vigorous, aggressive campaign, accusing Dumont and Duceppe as bringers of chaos in an economic crisis (Dumont through incompetence, Duceppe through his commitment to a third independence referendum) while strongly defending the Charest Ministry that he was part of. The decisive event was the one televised debate, where Mulcair was aggressive, Dumont was defensive and Duceppe was marginalised. The PQ campaign was based very heavily around Duceppe's popularity and when his popularity began to slip, his whole party went down with him.
By election day, some newspapers outside of Quebec were talking hyperbolically of "Mulcair-mania." While not quite reaching the adoration and glamour Pierre Trudeau once had, his personal ratings surged in the final fortnight of the campaign and by election day, it was clear to all that he was the next premier of Quebec. The only question was what winning under this new electoral system would look like.
Choose Your Canada
2006 Canadian Federal Election
2007 Quebec General Election
2007 Conservative Leadership Election and Vancouver Quadra By-election
2010 Liberal Leadership Election
Blackentheborg
Dennis Skinner's molotov
- Location
- Grand Hotel Abyss
- Pronouns
- He/Him
allthepresidentsmen
Oh fuck I might just be gay 🏳️🌈
- Pronouns
- he/him
Here's something from a future TL I had in mind but probably won't make
For those keeping score at home:
- This is the first time Democrats have held a Senate majority since January 3, 2031
- Senator Reiman is the first Democratic nominee to win the states of Alaska and Utah since 1964, Texas since 1976, Iowa since 2012, Wisconsin since 2020, and Nevada since 2024, as well as the first to win a presidential election while losing the state of Michigan since Harry Truman in 1948 and New Hampshire since 1976
- On the flip side, Jackson Hinkle is the first major-party nominee to lose the home states of both himself and his running mate since Mitt Romney in 2012
- Senator Reiman is the first unmarried person to be elected president since 1884, as well as the first-ever openly-gay person to be elected president
- This is the first election where both major-party candidates have won the largest popular vote total for their respective parties since 2040, the first where a third party has won a statewide (ironic) contest since 1968, and the first where voter turnout has exceeded 65% since 2020
- This is the first election where any candidate has won more than 51% of the popular vote since 2020
- This is the first election where no home state of a major party presidential ticket is one from the former Confederacy since 2020
- This is the fifth-consecutive election where Democrats have carried Georgia and Nebraska's 2nd congressional district, as well as the sixth-consecutive election where Republicans have carried Florida, Maine's 2nd congressional district, and Ohio
- If defined to also include all intermittent fighting between the St. Petersburg Trials and the Burning of Novosibirsk, the casualty count of the Russian Civil Conflict now lies midway between the Second Congo War and the War in Afghanistan, making it anywhere from the 4th deadliest to most deadly conflict of the 21st century
- The People's Republic of China has seen its population fall further to 850 million, marking its 14th consecutive year of population decline. Currently, the Chinese population has the fastest rate of population decline in the world at around 43.3% from 2020-2040.
- Some cultural updates: just one month into its release, Justice League: Apokolips Now is projected to gross over two billion dollars, the first and last film released this decade expected to do so
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Blackentheborg
Dennis Skinner's molotov
- Location
- Grand Hotel Abyss
- Pronouns
- He/Him
The 2036 United States presidential election was the 63rd quadrennial presidential election, sponsored by Smiley Enterprises. In an unexpected turn of events, Democratic nominee Senator Tom Downey and Republican nominee Governor Gary Farmer were defeated by Beth Ross, a 19 year old food service worker known as the viral meme "Corndog Girl"; hacker collective Anonymous exploited the resounding apathy for both candidates by running a protest campaign, resulting in Ross winning the state of Ohio and deadlocking the electoral college. The subsequent contingent election saw either repeated ties or lacking of majority, as state delegates held out for more lucrative kickback from party leaders. Despite this, Ross eventually gained a majority of 26 delegate votes and thus the presidency, choosing former congressman Preston Rickard as her Vice President. Aside from her age and lack of political affiliation, her election was controversial for countering the lucrative contract deals made by congressmen as part of the Corporate Personhood Amendment, which, ironically, removed the age stipulation that would have bared her from taking office in the first place.
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allthepresidentsmen
Oh fuck I might just be gay 🏳️🌈
- Pronouns
- he/him
Comrade Izaac
Secretary General of the Alt-Historians Union
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Kobach/Scott is probably the least swagged out ticket the Republicans could possibly field. it's almost impressive at a certain point
allthepresidentsmen
Oh fuck I might just be gay 🏳️🌈
- Pronouns
- he/him
I feel like the ticket of Cruz/Whoever Willingly Paired Up With Cruz Expecting to win beats Kobach/Scott in the unswag category.
Comrade Izaac
Secretary General of the Alt-Historians Union
- Pronouns
- They/Them
allthepresidentsmen
Oh fuck I might just be gay 🏳️🌈
- Pronouns
- he/him
...fuck you're rightclearly not, they had enough swag to win the white house in ur timeline
Blackentheborg
Dennis Skinner's molotov
- Location
- Grand Hotel Abyss
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Tupac Amaru Shakur (born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996) was an American activist and U.S. Representative for California's 9th district until his death in 1996. An Independent who caucused with the Democratic Party, he was widely considered a rising star in the political landscape, as Shakur's age and fiery rhetoric strongly appealed to disenfranchised poor and young voters.
Shakur was born in New York City to parents who were both political activists and Black Panther Party members. Raised by his mother, Afeni Shakur, he relocated to Baltimore in 1984 and to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1988. Upon connecting with the Baltimore Young Communist League USA, Shakur dated the daughter of the director of the local chapter of the Communist Party USA - despite distancing himself from both organisations, his economic views would often be attributed to this. In 1988, Shakur moved to Marin City, California, an impoverished community in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he became involved in local politics as a community organiser. He made national headlines in 1991 when, while a State Senator, he was stopped and assaulted by police officers Alexander Boyovich and Kevin Rodgers on false charges of jaywalking. The resulting media coverage of the civil suit against the Oakland police department helped propel him into congress, following the retirement of Representative Ron Dellums. While running and winning as a Democrat, he would later become a congressional independent after his election.
Shakur quickly became known as a firebrand on the House floor, becoming a somewhat controversial figure in punditry for his provocative anti-capitalist rhetoric, as well as a villain figure for the Republican party. During his tenure, Shakur was a vocal advocate for contemporary social issues that plagued inner cities, as well as being against U.S. intervention in the Middle East and Somalia. Shortly before his reelection, however, he would be assassinated by white supremacist Timothy McVeigh in 1996, ostensibly for his high-profile status as an African-American politician and socialist ideology.
...
Marion "Suge" Knight (April 19, 1965) was an American gridiron football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for several seasons. His nickname Suge (pronounced Shuug) derives from "Sugar Bear", a childhood nickname. A highly touted prospect in the sport, Knight's professional career was marred and eventually cut short by legal troubles.
Born in Compton, California, Knight attended Lynwood High School, where he was a football and track star, graduating in 1983. In 1985, after attending and playing football at El Camino College, he transferred to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and played football there for two years. Knight was picked for the Los Angeles Rams in the 1987 NFL Draft, but, due to conflicts surrounding a restraining order filed by his girlfriend at the time, he acted only as a replacement player during the 1987 NFL Players Strike. Later that year Knight was arrested after reportedly shooting a man in the leg and wrist in an accused carjacking, despite not having a firearm on him at the time. While ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, Knight's reputation as UNLV athlete remained intact, leading to his stint with the Las Vegas Raiders. He was abruptly let go from the team in 1989, when Knight reportedly assaulted a man at Los Angeles International Airport.
During his successful stint with the San Diego Chargers, Knight became involved in a number of illegal schemes, including multiple racketeering operations, for which he was eventually arrested for during his brief time with the New England Patriots. Charged with multiple counts of bribery, federal fraud, racketeering and later witness intimidation, Knight was sentenced to 30 years incarceration in the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility.
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- Location
- Toronto, ON, CA
I really like this - the GG's list especially feels inspired - but I'm not sure that's what Tasha Kheiriddin looks like...
A minor royal, perhaps?
To @aaa, is the idea that Gladstone is still PM of the UK and then gets the peerage and NA GG gig as a retirement role?
oh my god.
This is what I get for deciding to do a wikibox at 4am. Appreciate you pointing it out!
As for Gladstone--I haven't had the broader background completely worked out, but the rough idea is that he becomes a senior cabinet secretary--something like Colonial Secretary or Foreign Secretary--then leaves parliament after being appointed to a series of colonial/dominion governorships. He does an exceptional job of it, to the point that he's made an earl and eventually a marquess, before being appointed to represent the Crown in the United Provinces, the most prestigious job in the broader Empire, perhaps barring the Viceroy of India.