As I've admitted over the last few days, I know the game has a steep learning curve right now, and the tutorial doesn't do a great job of explaining the underlying mechanics (I am actively working on fixing this!)
If you are having a hard time figuring out how things work, I highly recommend checking out this new gameplay video by Noon
A quick tip for watching: I especially recommend paying attention to his second run, which starts right around the 1: 02: 15 mark. He actually loses his first run as he figures things out, but he learns from those mistakes. Because of that, the run starting at 1: 02: 15 serves as a practically perfect tutorial!
Watching his playthrough is a fantastic way to understand how the politics flow, how to manage different interest groups, and how your decisions actually impact the world.
A huge thank you to him for putting out this incredibly valuable gameplay footage...