MapDude

Joris Jansen (born Dec. 19th 1987), commonly known as MapDude, is a Dogger politician, activist and media personality, currently serving as the leader of the Libertarian Party. Jansen rose to prominence in the early 2000s as a sharp critic of the Reform Alliance government, and has since become a prominent figure in Doggerland’s Libertarian movement, leading the movement in a very centrist direction. He is technically the most successful libertarian in world history.

Early Life
Jansen was born in 1987 to father Wate Jansen, a Drabenfjord city councillor and mother Maria Van Weiren, a seamstress, in Drabenfjord City Hospital. Joris’ childhood was relatively uneventful, but he lived comfortably and was well-liked by his peers. However, while attending public high school, Jansen became more politically active and proved himself a competent debater. Wate Jansen, an ardent Catholic and firm social conservative, greatly influenced his son’s political positions.

Joris would pursue a political science degree in the United States, and while studying abroad, he became fascinated with the Libertarian movement that had been slowly developing over time. He began to become involved in party meetings, and slowly came to the realization that he could no longer support the interventionist policies of his father, who had made the Independent Democracy Party his political vehicle. At this time, the Libertarian Party of Doggerland had risen to greater prominence, particularly among ethnic Doggish.

Media Career
Joris returned to Doggerland and took a job at the office of Premier Elias Mast, the highest-ranking Libertarian at the time, and the premier of the Vikingland Islands that Joris called home. Mast and Jansen became close friends, and many viewed Joris as his natural successor. However, Joris was uninterested in pursuing public office, and instead appeared on national television and radio, voicing support not just for the Libertarian Party, but for the ideas that it promoted. He made it clear that he was a self described "small l libertarian", and would support any party that made personal freedom its top priority.

Jansen would launch his own talk radio program, the Liberty Report with Joris Jansen. This program would serve as the vehicle from which Jansen would hurl numerous attacks at the long-serving Reform Alliance government, arguing they had lost their way and had stopped fighting for the freedoms of the Doggish people. He claimed there was little difference between them and the Labour Worker’s Party, and encouraged people to vote the coalition out of power by any means. He had become a starkly controversial figure on the right, because the government was broadly popular among mainline conservatives and liberals in the country.

Political Career
In the midst of the Doggerland political crisis of January 2021, Jansen announced he would seek the leadership election for the Libertarian Party, and campaigned on a platform firmly opposed to extremism, and firmly in support of the civil rights movement. Upon winning the leadership election, he set his sights upon the United Left People's Party, the likely winners of the January election, and relentlessly attacked the party as inherently extremist, and sought to bring close ties to the Civic Union and the Liberal Party. Jansen was unable to bring considerable attention to his campaign until the leadership debates, where Jansen was widely considered to have won. His performance was praised by attendees from the left and the right. However, this did not translate into electoral performance, winning a mere 7.2% of the vote and 11 seats in the National Assembly.

The Socialist Reform Bill, the first major piece of legislation proposed by the Forward! government, was immediately targeted by Jansen’s Libertarians as a clear example that the ULPP were a bridge too far, and that the Communist Party had more influence in Confidence and Supply than Labour did in the official coalition. Jansen gave several impassioned speeches on the assembly floor, and ultimately got one amendment passed, but was unable to prevent the bill from passing.

Working closely with the Liberal Party and the Civic Union, Joris is a charter member of the Centrist Leadership Caucus, an organization that seeks to return Doggerland to common sense, transparent government.

Political Positions
Jansen is a self-described classical liberal, but also holds many positions that are deemed socially conservative. He is personally opposed to same-sex marriage, but believes that the government has no place to determine who can marry who. On the subject he says “It doesn’t matter what I think is right or wrong. If two people love each other, why should I stand in the way?” This statement can be broadly applied to Jansen’s position on most consensual acts. He believes that the law should not make a distinction between heterosexual couples and homosexual couples.

The most explicitly socially conservative position Joris holds is his position on abortion. On that issue, Jansen states “It’s really the only issue I can’t see the other side of. It’s despicable, really.” He is ardently pro-life, making exceptions only when the mother’s life is at risk. Because of this, he is an opponent of any pro-choice legislation and any government funding being directed towards abortion services.

Unlike many libertarians, Jansen supports taxation to a degree, as he believes that some government intervention is necessary to keep the nation stable. However, the extent of this must be minimal. He is opposed to any new taxes, and supports reduction in taxes in combination with reductions in spending, with an emphasis on deficit reduction before any further cuts.

On foreign policy, Jansen opposes foreign intervention of any description, and is especially opposed to having Dogger boots on the ground. He supports a military but believes it should be first and foremost focused on defense and counteracting domestic terrorism. The military should be small, but well-prepared. To this end, he strongly opposes the Peace Act and supported an amended version of the Defense of the Realm Act. Like many in his party, Jansen is a eurosceptic, and would be open to a Dogexit if the conditions were right. Ideally, he seeks to reform the lEuropean Union. to allow individual nations to have greater self-determination.