Rat Coalition Approval Rating Rises to 78% Following Decision to Stop Measuring Economic Progress by Economic Growth
Gnu's rodent government posts record income equality figures for third consecutive quarter; human administration declines comment
By Margaret Huang
Sunday, June 7, 2026
The Rat Coalition, which has governed the underground precincts of Gnu since formally constituting itself as a parliamentary body in 2021, reported a 78% constituent approval rating this week alongside record-low income inequality indices and what the Coalition's Office of Civic Advancement described as "meaningful technological progress" — a metric it defines as advancement that solves a problem residents actually have, rather than one that increases the Coalition's gross output figures. The Coalition does not track gross output figures. It has not since its second term.
The Coalition's methodology, which it calls the Sufficiency Standard, weights housing stability, nutritional security, and what the quarterly report terms "freedom from predation" above GDP-equivalent measures. This quarter's report noted a 14% increase in access to insulated nesting infrastructure, a 22% reduction in resource-hoarding concentration among the top 0.1% of earners, and the successful deployment of a new grain-storage technology developed cooperatively by a working group in the Underbrick District. The technology was not patented. It was distributed to all precincts simultaneously.
CONTRAST WITH HUMAN GOVERNANCE
The Rat Coalition's approval rating has not fallen below 61% since its founding. For reference, Mayor Clifton Reeves — who, as The News reported, did not attend last month's public forum on holiday naming but posted on social media during it, receiving 3,200 likes and a community note for disinformation — currently holds a 39% approval rating among human residents of Gnu, a figure his office described in a statement as "strong given the headwinds." The Rat Coalition does not have a mayor. Governance is distributed across a 22-member rotating council, none of whom have social media accounts.
A RESIDENT'S OBSERVATION
Linda Park, the retired schoolteacher who suggested at last month's forum that the commonwealth's October holiday simply be called "Thursday" — a proposal not taken up by any of the four recognized stakeholder factions — said she had recently attended a Rat Coalition public budget session out of curiosity.
"They explained every line item," she said. "Took about forty minutes. There was no shouting."
She did not elaborate further and was not asked to.
