Political Controversy in the New Decade

Because everyone who taps in to World News needs to know that nothing has changed from the old decade to the new, we have for you the first political scandal of the new decade. The vice-minister of the Russian Federation has been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, again. In a vice-ministership already tainted by scandal, the world at large was convinced that nothing Vice-minister Borgyron could do might top his antics at the latest 2109 meeting of the L5. But Vice-minister Borgyron has outdone himself lately. But after a long line of scandals ranging from kickbacks to alleged conduct inappropriate for a public official with women (not Mrs. Borgyron), going corporate was probably the Vice-minister's most logical next step. Gazprom, the native Russian energy giant was just yesterday alleged to have been making deals with Borgyron to increase government contracting for Gazprom whose overreaching goal was a nationally supported monopoly of the enormous energy industry. Beside the fact that this kind of monopoly became illegal international after the 2074 Conference and Treaty of Stuttgart, this conduct runs contrary to what Borgyron has said should be the Federation's economic policy. Public outcry against both Gazprom and Borgyron has reached a fevered pitch within the Federation, with international bodies of law and justice unwilling to become entangled in a confrontation as controversial as this showdown is bound to be. As a result, international observers believe, Borgyron has finally lost his golden ticket to re-election and will probably fail to be re-elected next year for the first time in 25 years. The Prime Minister stands by his long-time number two man but is already distancing himself from the whole affair. Borgyron claims that the allegations are false and that he will seek re-election again next year. But whether or not he regains his office will now be up to the electorate in 2111. Gazprom, the energy giant that began in Russia over a century ago as primarily a gas and petroleum producer; but who now produces a majority of the Russian Federation and the Eastern EU's energy seems as though it will take little in the way of a setback publicly due to the crisis. Stock shares dipped slightly after the announcement as fears of public backlash stifled trading in the giant's stock but rebounded when it was clear that additional publicity would help Gazprom more than an alleged scandal would. For it's part, Gazprom denies any official wrongdoing and is investigating to see if any corporate officials were involved in under the table negotiations.