Chapter
There’s a clear difference between an elected president and one who wasn’t. An elected president can legitimately form his own cabinet, rather than continuing with the previous administration’s team.
The sudden resignation of the last president had already been a major surprise. For the sake of national stability, it hadn’t been possible to immediately reshuffle key government positions. It was also a sensitive time—most cabinet members were from the Conservative Party.
Of course, to cooperate with the new president, those ministers did their best to stay out of his way.
But the president couldn’t do much about them. For example, he wanted to assign Mr. Truman to an important position to help with certain issues, but as an unelected president, he didn’t have that authority.
Up until yesterday, the State Department was just for show. The foreign minister rarely showed up, and all diplomatic matters were handled by the deputy minister or Mr. Truman—who had no official title.
But now, after winning the election, the president had the power to act.
As he stood at 9:30 a.m. in the sunlight outside the presidential residence, holding the Federal Code in his hands, and in front of the statue of the first president where the constitution was inscribed, he shouted:
“I will defend the people’s rights with my life.”
Meanwhile, a group of people was walking out of the presidential residence, carrying boxes filled with personal belongings. Security guards helped them move out—guards who used to smile at them were now expressionless, as if they’d forgotten their eight years together.