Johnist Sordland Run

[spare lodge]

@jolly wave

@north linden

[plucky notch]

(Based.)

[spare lodge]

@warm escarp

[warm escarp]

Very well, let's continue.

[spare lodge]

(I hope I don't have to remind people anymore, but I'm a naive idealist. You can't say "this will strengthen the party" and expect me to accept it, come up with some elaborate explanation that in fact, it's good radical parties are sidelined instead of given funds)

I believe our next discussion is about the H-3 Highway vs L-1 Railway? Or whether to fund the project at all?

[rich eagle]

(I'm not trying to convince you)

[rich eagle]

The VP believes our most neglected regions deserve the chance of good infrastructure, however we must also hear the calls of businesses in these days of recession, perhaps we could help the backbone of our economy by cutting taxes or bailing them so the people don't lose their jobs

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: Mr President i think the L-1 should be priority. It will bring easier and faster transportation of goods to our market capital and will help a lot in a war on our west front if it ever happens

[warm escarp]

A mega infrastructure project would likely be very helpful for the economy, moreover, the H3 highway would directly connect us to the Agnolian capital in staalport and strengthen our ties with the Agnolian government, one of our oldest allies and renowned in the world stage for their democratic principles, I think if the minister of economy agrees to start a megaproject, we should do the H3 highway.

[spare lodge]

Since our esteemed Minister of Defense isn't here, I'm assuming he'd agree with the VP and the Foreign Affairs Minister. Presumably, if war with Rumburg were to happen, we'd need proper infrastructure in Agnland to cooperate better. Regardless, I'm merely guessing, what does @sacred pulsar have to say?

(I'll wait here for at least Catspaw and Jaher, is that all right?)

[warm escarp]

Yes, the minister of economy should give his input.

[spare lodge]

(I'm honestly more so waiting for Jaher, I feel like the push for funded military was obvious, but he didn't explain his plans for allies yet. Beyond being an Agno-Sord, anti-communist and anti-bludish)

[plucky notch]

Minister of Welfare: The government should, without a doubt, finance a megaproject. Improving the infrastructure of Sordland is crucial to providing the foundation for the economic and social wellbeing of our citizens. The question between the H-3 and L-1, however, is not so clear cut. On one hand, Agnland desperately needs infrastructural renewal, the current highway does not have the capacity to support the growing trade and population demands of the region and the population feels neglected by the central government. On the other hand, the L-1 establishes the basis for the development of clean and efficient rail transportation in Sordland and puts the nation on the technological forefront of public transportation while providing the infrastructure needed to support the rapidly growing cities of Holsord, Gelsord, and Lachaven.

[spare lodge]

I feel like your argument, Mr. Orange-kun, asks a vital question. Should we focus our investments in one place or spread them out relatively evenly? But that's a question for the minister of Economy primarily.

[plucky notch]

Minister of Welfare: That is ultimately dependent on the economic approach and strategy you wish to take, Mr. President. Both have their advantages and disadvantages as well as their logics, a more even approach will ensure to lift all citizens across the country but may be less effective and a more concentrated approach may trickle down benefits to the other regions to lift all boats but it may also exacerbate the inequality between regions.

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: The railway will make the traveling between Lachaven and Holsord much much easier snd smoother. And will transport goods even faster and more efficient. That would be very good for the small cities between Greater holsord and nargis. And the railway will help on our western front if war whit Rumburg happens.

[spare lodge]

Wouldn't the H-3 Highway be better for the war? Presumably, if Rumburg is our primary enemy, the fighting would take place in Nargis and Agnland, we need a proper infrastructure. Even if you bring up the logistics, the supply chain would end at Lachaven, how will it reach Estord, Lenkurg etc then?

I agree about helping smaller cities and villages along the L-1 Railway, but the same argument can be used for the H-3 Highway.

[vernal widget]

Yo can I join?

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: Our main producer of equipment is Holsord so... If we build the railway the equipment will reach Lachaven 10 times faster

[spare lodge]

I'm sorry, I've denied a person already and I'll have to deny you as well, I feel like 7 advisors + me is already a crowd, making it hard to coordinate already. See how Jaher didn't comment in two days by now and how we're stuck in turn I because Catspaw is busy. Maybe another version, if such comes to fruition?

[vernal widget]

Ok fair

[spare lodge]

Isn't that in Anrica (based on the raports when we expand the Military Industry)? But I get your point, hmm.

[spare lodge]

I did consider more people, beyond the cabinet, to have a Valken-like individual, to have Karl, to have someone LARP as a Leke... But logistics go only so far.

I think in practice it would look good, even if extremely chaotic, but the problem is how rare we all are online at the same time to actually do it.

[jolly wave]

So who are we waiting now?

[spare lodge]

Primarily @open escarp , as the minister of Economy, to present his view on the first megaproject, as well as @sacred pulsar to tell us more about his plans for the war with Rumburg. If it were to happen, he needs to tell us about his plans for that. Are we allying Agnolia and building the H-3 Highway? Or does the Agno-Sordish minister of Defense have a different plan as to who to ally?

As a summary of the other points, so far the ministers seem to focus on helping neglected regions + getting Agnolia's favour, and the discussion tips towards the H-3 Highway.

[sacred pulsar]

As Minister of Defense, I believe that while an alliance with Agnolia is an important step towards forging an anti-Rumburg coalition, it is debatable whether we should focus our infrastructure efforts on them. Agnolia’s military had a rather poor showing during the Rummish conquest of Dome, and their current entanglement with Valgsland would likely detract from their commitment towards a united front. Lespia, on the other hand, has arguable the strongest military in Eastern Merkopa with an incredible Air Force that would guarantee permanent air superiority in a potential invasion. If we are to our enter a war with Rumburg, I would much prefer to accelerate the deployment of Lespian troops and mechanized divisions via a high speed railway between the capital and Lachaven, rather than to cater to a militarily weak ally.

Of course, an alliance with Lespia may not necessarily be the easiest thing to accomplish given our choice to pursue a planned economy. Though I am not as well-versed in diplomacy as our esteemed foreign minister @warm escarp, I believe Agnolia is a guaranteed ally and member of our anti-Rummish coalition, and therefore we should play things safe and build the H3 to accommodate their military. I am, however, fine with the possibility of building the L1 on the condition we make sure to not antagonize Lespia in the future.

[spare lodge]

Esteemed General, while I am just as impressed by the Lespian armed forces, you seem to have omitted the Valgs as a potential allies. Is there a reason for that? Their navy is tenfold time more impressive than Lespian one, and by allying with Lespia and Agnolia, we put ourselves at odds with Valgsland. Despite the tense Agnolia-Valgsland situation, so far we're uninvolved outside of a friendly relationship with Agnolia.

Also, due to the extended abscence of the minister of Economy and the overwhelming support the ministers showed to the H-3 Highway, this is the path we shall choose. Our next meeting includes decisions about reacting to the Unrest, the Economic Relief Plan and who to choose for the H-3 Highway (but I feel like making those decisions without the minister of Economy is a bit weird. We can also begin duscussing non-economic decisions from the 2nd turn, that is the Funeral of Bernard Circas, the Rumburg closing the consulate, Tourism Act and the constitution reform template).

[sacred pulsar]

With all due respect, I am strongly opposed to any cooperation with the communists, especially those bastards that burned down Conriat all those decades ago. It is our moral imperative as a democratic nation to oppose the tyranny of Malenyevism and shield our brotherly nation in Agnolia from Valgish expansionism!

But, for the sake of argument, I will concede that an alliance with Valgsland would be the most convenient in terms of our economic plan. Chancellor Hegel has expressed a far higher level of trustworthiness than PM Alvarez, and our planned economy focus would endear us well to him. I still strongly oppose an alliance with Valgsland on the principle of not working with the godless communists that tore Sordland apart during the civil war.

[spare lodge]

General sir, your opposition is not unfounded. Without getting into my personal beliefs, I've read about the cost of all the Malenyevist revolutions in Rika and Xina, as well as the poor political freedoms the CSP countries showcase. And, as you've noted before, ATO could provide us with the presumably necessary Military Industry. We shall return to the topic of Heljiland at a later date though.

(I really need to know how much capitalist points are necessary for Lespia alliance. I think I will try to check that with save editing. And ask reddit, idk. 22 points are enough... 15 is not enough... 20 is enough... 19 is not enough. OKAY THE THRESHOLD FOR LESPIA ALLIANCE IS 20 CAPITALIST POINTS, @open escarp CAN WE GET THAT? If we nationalize, we can opt for minority or majority BS/HoS instead of full perhaps?)

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: The economic relief plan has a great potential. The businesses right now are struggling. But our people live under extreme poverty. We should think who needs the most. And if we bail out small business they will not expect or want big amounts of workers. As for the unrest it isn't pointed at the president I don't think reaction is needed.

[open escarp]

(the minister of the economy is alive and getting a coffee while catching up)

[warm escarp]

(We have no hope for a Lespia alliance, our commie cabinet promoting a planned economy will never reach so many capitalist points, we have a better chance of pulling off a Yugoslavia if I'm honest)

[warm escarp]

About Unrest, I think we should attend go directly to the most affected cities and listen personally to the leaders and worries of the population, a good display of empathy and human contact can let our citizens know we're on their side. Furthermore, I suggest we take ministers from those same cities, to better assess what this wave of unrest broke, and start to fix it.

About the economic relief plan, I can't say I understand much about the economic ramifications of it all, to me it seems more about who do you care about more. Are you another Zysco, trying to endear yourself to the wealthy oligarchs of Sordland, or give the people the money they need to keep their children from going hungry?

[jolly wave]

I think catspaw has been writing for 12 minutes

[spare lodge]

(yeah. I can't wait for that wall. I'm just kinda hoping he's not too focused on H-3 vs L-1, since that's a done deal)

[median shore]

3rd time looking at this commie cabinet

what did yall achieve

[jolly wave]

Practicly nothing.

[median shore]

average commie administration

[open escarp]

Minister of the Economy: Before us we have two infrastructure projects to stimulate the Sordish economy, but I must stress the importance of why these projects have been brought before you at all, Mr President.

The projects before you are not before you because they provide the answer to the troubles of the Sordish economy, with neither actually fully addressing the logistical issues the nation faces. The purpose of these projects is first and foremost to stimulate the Sordish economy and, as was proven during the tenure of the Member of Honor, large-scale civil engineering works of this ilk are a proven means of generating jobs for hard working labourers and skilled engineers - the backbone of our economy.

But, President, that's where the similarities end. We would remind that the disastrous tenure of Alphonso has fractured the integrated supply chain established by Soll in a way that risks jeopardising the outcomes these projects seek to achieve. This is particularly the case with the L-1 Railway, which will require the procurement of a significant volume of steel from Bergia Steel, our relationship with Agnland, or the broader international market. Such a project relies too heavily on private interests, private profits, and margins we are unable to control within the supply chain. Issues could be exacerbated even further depending on the principal contractor appointed.

On the other hand, the H-3 would depend far less on the private steel supply chain, with large volumes of soil, aggregates, asphalt and cementitious products coming largely from the mines and quarries of Sordland. Even should Nedam not be able to support this entirely, additional funds could be re-invested back into the operation to expand outputs and generate further profits for the state. Ultimately, Mr President, we have control over the supply chain, control over costs, and can ensure profits generated create jobs for the hard workers of Sordland without inflating project costs.

(Campaign Finance / Koronti is not of interest to the Minister personally - he's not socially opinionated enough)

Minister of the Economy: As for the proposals for dealing with the unrest, the ministry would argue not to panic in this instance. It is important for the state to stimulate the economy via industrial activity and, moreover, employment. Neither handouts nor bailouts serve these interests, with both proposals teaching citizens and businessmen entirely the wrong lessons about the role of the state in generating economic activity. We would strongly advise the president to dismiss these concerns and set aside the funding for predicted delays we are sure will come hand in hand with the H-3 or L-1 projects. Infrastructure projects of this scale are notorious for their delays.

[spare lodge]

To be fair for a lot of today I was abscent, an old acquintaince of mine invited me to play Peak, then Catspaw and Jaher were afk for a long while, which is why yeah, we're slowly advancing into turn II at least.

[open escarp]

(also peak is pretty peak)

[spare lodge]

What does the minister of Economy have to say in terms of our international trade?

In regards to General's wish to get closer to Agnolia and Lespia?

[spare lodge]

(fucking hillarious, like I laughed out loud many, many times. And we barely reached the 3rd map)

(I'm loading into the game as we speak)

[plucky notch]

Minister of Welfare: With the current state of the recession, citizens are struggling to make ends meet, to pay rent, and put food on the table. It is imperative that the government take action to provide stimulus checks both to uplift those suffering and to inject money into the economy and build consumer confidence and spending back up.

Additionally, any escalation against the protests will likely further inflame tensions and lead to a further social breakdown of society, I strongly urge the President to take the actions to de-escalate and calm the country.

[open escarp]

(Missed that, thanks)

Minister of the Economy: Regarding international trade, we would advise the President to approach negotiations with Agnolia very carefully, but broadly speaking we cannot deny that the damage Alphonso has done to our steel supply chain neccessitates access to their markets, and moreover our agricultural economy is in dire need of bolstered activity. Provided a fair deal is presented, I suspect there is... room for a partnership. The same would be said of Wehlen, should they be approached, though we expect far less demands of them.

Regarding proposed arrangements with major powers, we would ask to the president to heed the former advice shared on our international independence. Provided we are able to control the flow of money into and out of our economy, both Valgsland and Lespia could prove beneficial partners, especially in the case of Lespia where we are to believe there is a substantial demand for agricultural products we can expand over the course of our term. That said, they are the most likely to make unpleasant demands and should they do so, the ministry would strongly advise not conceding to them, as this would be a direct message to the establishment of sacrificing the interests of Sordland itself.

[open escarp]

Minister of the Economy: And we agree. But this should be made possible via the creation of jobs and regulations to ensure those jobs pay a fair, safe wage. The workers are the backbone of our economy and it is to them we must look to any form of regeneration.

[spare lodge]

As a summary of the first turn:

• We've chose to work with the PFJP.

• We promoted planned economy.

• We rejected the meeting with Koronti.

• We vetoed the Campaign Finance Bill.

• We invested into H-3 Highway.

• I also bought the Armadine stocks (Since non of you stepped up I'll make up a friend from high school that's into stocks).

[open escarp]

(added an important "not" on Lespia, lmao)

[spare lodge]

(Yeah I was about to say this doesn't make sense)

[plucky notch]

Minister of Welfare: Job creation? Job creation will take at least several months until the economy is picking up again. What are our citizens supposed to do in the meantime while their hands remain idle, their stomachs empty, and their hope crushed? The current crisis requires immediate action by the government to intervene and prevent disaster.

[open escarp]

Minister of the Economy: Nonsense, should the president do the right and proper thing to continue the heritage of Soll and appoint SSC to the scheme, we can purpose an immediate employment drive in excess of 75,000 jobs across the supply chain.

[spare lodge]

Esteemed Minister, were you not a supporter of funded military? While I agree with you in principle, we need to keep in mind bankrupting the state on temporary band aids will do us no good.

[open escarp]

(am I all caught up?)

[plucky notch]

Minister of Welfare: And what of now? Jobs are great and fundamental to the wellbeing of our citizens but their impact will take time. Our citizens are suffering now, starving now, struggling now. An immediate cash injection from this government would show the people the government is there to support them and provide a show of confidence and action from this government in the time of this crisis. At the very least, inaction is the wrong move here.

[open escarp]

(lmao yep. long story short, minister is trying to saying selling sordish petroleum would make him furious, but if it's a neutral deal then it's all good.)

[plucky notch]

Minister of Welfare: Mr. President, The military has long been well-fed during the Soll administration. The Alphonso administration took the correct course of action to cut down their bloated budget although, unfortunately, he failed to reallocated such funds to the areas of welfare that desperately needed it. I am sure you will not make the same mistake and will appropriately prioritise funding in the most critical ministries.

[spare lodge]

(Yes. As a small announcement, we are moving onto Turn II. The decisions in this turn are, chronogically:

• I will reject Tusk's bribe outright.

• We're discussing reaction to the unrest, I'm leaning towards the TV speech or visiting towns).

• We're discussing the Economic Relif Plan.

• Later on which company to pick for H-3.

• Funeral of Circas.

• Consulate stuff.

• Tourism Act.)

[open escarp]

Minister of the Economy: Those seeking handouts, whether they be businesses or individuals, neither need nor deserve clarification that the state is there to do its job, and that is one to serve their best interests. What use is a few Sordish Ren today compared to the creation of a permanent wealth in our labour base?

(will have strong views on tourism, none on circas, consulate, nor handling unrest - they're important but he's busy thinking about numbers and not social issues)

[spare lodge]

For context this is what I say to Tusk:

[plucky notch]

Minister of Welfare: If not to be of service to the people, what else is the purpose of the state? A job is fundamental to long-term wellbeing but we are dealing with a crisis now that needs to be addressed. These are not mutually exclusive, job expansion will provide a long-term solution but stimulus checks will provide a short-term fix to the current crisis while the effects of job creation take root.

[spare lodge]

For this, unless someone present has new, convincing argument, I'm defaulting to calling restraint on national television

Although I am very close to going iwth visiting towns

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: "Well fed"? Less than a half of our forces have a gun! Alphonso took the wrong turn by defunding the most important ministry!

[plucky notch]

Minister of Welfare: The decision is ultimately yours, Mr. President. The only commentary I can provide is that visting towns may send a stronger message with the President being physically present and entering the fray but there are potential security risks to yourself.

[spare lodge]

I am not afraid of my own people. I shall visit towns.

(we're now discussing both Economic Relif Plan and the company for H-3 Highway. I can do both at the very moment)

[plucky notch]

Minister of Welfare: That is a problem for the Ministry of Defence, it sounds like an efficiency issue to me, perhaps Sordland doesn't require such a large standing army to be draining critical state resources. In the meantime, our citizens struggle to put food on the table in the midst of this economic crisis. We cannot feed our citizens with guns and ammunition.

[spare lodge]

Either this or this Gentlemen.

[plucky notch]

Minister of Welfare: My recommendation remains that the government must provide stimulus checks and that inaction would be devastating to the population.

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: The H-3 should be handed to the SSC. That fits whit our economic plan, i think other options should not be considered.

[spare lodge]

I shall entrust the minister of Economy that he has a plan we don't know yet, and don't enact the Economic Relief Plan.

[quasi iris]

I wanna do one of these tooo... AHHHH

[median shore]

meanwhile minister of economy doodling on their clipboard

[plucky notch]

Minister of Welfare: Bad move.

[median shore]

[plucky notch]

[jolly wave]

[spare lodge]

Oh, uh. B-but. Think about it, dear Minister. That 2 GB is equal to how much funding the ministry of healthcare needs, no? Think of the opportunities the minister of Economy has prepared, that would synergise into his grand plan of a state-run economy.

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: You're right Mr. President 2GB is ⅔ of the funding that the military needs!

[plucky notch]

Minister of Welfare: There is no reason we could not do both. Instead our people struggle while waiting for our "grand plan".

[warm escarp]

If I knew about this meeting, I would have said to do the opposite of whatever he wants, a man like tusk makes for a very accurate reverse moral compass.

[spare lodge]

if you knew. I don't see a reason to talk about it, since I have no evidence of it.

[neat loom]

Presidential Car Driver: President knows whats the best! : D

[spare lodge]

I wish I had the money to give to your daughter's education but alas.

H-3 Highway boys.

[neat loom]

She died with my wife

[spare lodge]

You know how the meeting goes.

Underhall for 2 GB
SSC for 1 GB, but expects a delay
Taurus for 0 GB, doesnt' expect a delay

[spare lodge]

Oh. Um. Elaborate? Weren't you serge?

[warm escarp]

For the economic relief, I already stated my preference for Stimulus Checks, but seeing the minister of economy being so worried about the state of our treasury, maybe we need to bite the bullet and let this opportunity go away, as long as we don't provide bailouts to the businesses, I'm hopeful our citizens will understand.

For the H3 highway, I'm opposed to letting Underhall construction work on it, they have exploitative business practices and an army of lawyers and bureaucrats looking for ways to outlaw bathroom breaks.

[jolly wave]

(tourus whitout delay is 2GB. 1 for WRA and 1 for the strike and 2 for to pass the vetoed WRA)

[neat loom]

Did the say i was fully like the canon Serge?

[spare lodge]

(we don't know that yet. LARP)

[spare lodge]

Tbh you didn't say much yet. Elaborate then.

[neat loom]

I am changing my role a bit here, my family died and now i am bit of a Batman

Except

Middle class

So basically just man

[spare lodge]

To be fair that basically means you can comment on anything you see fit, since you drive me everywhere and I probably talk during these rides and ask what do you think.

[spare lodge]

Don't feel oblgied of course.

[spare lodge]

https://tenor.com/view/joker-laugh-officer-balls-jonkler-gif-1879670291507813849

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff : We should stick to our economic plan. We can't abandon our election promises

[spare lodge]

Unless the @open escarp has a convincign argument to use Taurus or Underhall, I'm also leaning towards SSC>

[neat loom]

They aren't loyal enough to the president

[warm escarp]

I have a slight preference for Taurus holding, they have a good record of workers rights and unions, even if we're promoting a planned economy, we're not trying to destroy all business ownership like United Contana is, only promote fairer working conditions and take over those that exploit our citizens. We should throw Taurus a bone.

[spare lodge]

Since we've discussed the need for austerity and skipped the Economic Relief Plan, SSC's predicted failure to finish the project with the allocated budget raises some eyebrows indeed.

[neat loom]

-# (do we have save file editing Powers?)

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: If we abandon our election promise for planned economy we will lose some reputation.

[spare lodge]

Besides, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs mentioned, Taurus is known for their overwhelming labour union membership.

(due to meta reasons I'm leaning towards Taurus, but if we cause the trade war, so be it I guess)

[warm escarp]

(Oh we're a cabinet of mainly idealistic commies promoting a planned economy, we are so heading towards a trade war. Pray Catspaw makes good enough arguments to keep us from spending all our money)

[sacred pulsar]

(I will be arguing very heavily for funding the military)

[warm escarp]

(I will support funding the military and the ministry of education)

[open escarp]

Minister of the Economy: The ministry firmly supports the proposal. Maintaining an integrated supply chain is essential to serving the nation with services at cost, while ensuring employment of workers from our own country.

[neat loom]

(i will try my hardest to make the president stand by his choices)

(imma be his špíně)

[spare lodge]

We shall continue with the SSC Then.

Funeral of Bernard Circas. I'm going to arbitrarily choose to atend and choose neutral options, I'm a former RY member not into revolutions, more pacifist-inclined.

Next is the consulate situation and the tourism act.

[open escarp]

Minister of the Economy: May I query why the Minister for Welfare considers money into the pockets of the poor of high value, but money into the pockets of poor patriots somehow an issue of efficiency? These people are the backbone of our country, have proven time and time again to be loyal, spend on Sordish products, and in some cases support policing in the rural areas as you are all too aware. While the ministry for the economy does advocate sensibility in military funding, funding this important ministry could only prove to stimulate sordland while protecting her from foreign threats.

[open escarp]

(economy doesn't care on this, considering he was pro emergency it wouldn't make sense to care what rumburg thinks)

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: Close the damn consulate mr president!!!

[spare lodge]

Wouldn't that be leading to war? I don't want to risk hundreds of thousands of dead.

I like how one of the ministers put it

speak softly, but carry a big stick

[sacred pulsar]

Minister of Defense: We need to take a hard line stance against Rumburg and prevent them from thinking they can push us around and escalate the situation without consequences! We must be aggressive and show that Sordland will not bow to tyrants! It’s a matter of national pride, Mr. President.

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: War‽ That easily? The only thing we are doing is to show them that we can respond to aggression! That is not escalation that is a matter of national pride!

[neat loom]

Being diplomatic could prove benefitial and could help attract international help against Rumburg in worse cases

[spare lodge]

National pride will not bring back all the dead sons, husbands, fathers, friends... We need to think about the wellbeing of our people.

[spare lodge]

Same for you.

[open escarp]

Minister of the Economy: In the instance of the tourism act, we would strongly advocate against signing the bill itself as the ministry firmly believes it to be a plot to divert economic output towards private interests, such as those of the former minister, Gus Manger. As previously stated, it is essential for the state to play a role in stimulating, and not stifling, economic output - safeguards and protections on heritage sites outside of those deeply invested in our Sollist republic is a collosal misdirection of funding towards limiting the accessibility of developmental land and industrial activity. While on paper we believe many would see it as an opportunity, the ministry warns it may tie our hands and restrict further important industrial activity.

[warm escarp]

Now, normally, I'd advise against taking confrontational actions such as closing a consulate. But, we may be able to afford an exception thanks to our northern neighbors terrible international reputation.

Being honest with you, Mr. President, I don't like Rumburg, not one bit. But closing the consulate in Dome, a city that the Rummish took from Agnolia would show them we will not bow down to an absolutist warmongering monarch, and while the international community won't be so happy about it, I am sure it's an action they'll understand. The queen hasn't made any friends outside their outdated monarchies.

[spare lodge]

Is that so? I definitely need the minister of foreign affairs to comment on that as well.

[plucky notch]

Minister of Welfare: Tourism would provide greater softer power and prestige for Sordland internationally and undoubtedly benefit the region of Gruni. It is only fair that we preserve our cultural sites and show the world Sordland's natural environmental beauty. However, I am cognizant of the impact tourism can have on local communities and environments, my hometown of Borin struggles with these problems with tourists flocking to see its beautiful cliffsides.

[warm escarp]

I have to disagree, minister Catspaw, tourism is one of the best factors for a nation's soft power, and sacrificing our heritage sites for the sake of factories would create an oppressive atmosphere that would ultimately stifle growth. We should show the world the beauty of Sordland, not to mention the cultural exchanges coming between tourists and our citizens, it could create greater ties with the world at large with time.

[spare lodge]

I lean towards the advice of the Ministers of Welfare and Foreign Affairs. While I understand Mr. Catspaw probably has another plans for the Government Budget, our of pure patriotism I feel like it's necessary to take proper care of Sordish heritage.

As well as the soft power, we need to show the international community Sordland is worth protecting.

[plucky notch]

Minister of Welfare: Poor patriots? Backbone? The People of Sordland are its backbone, not the General Staff. Far from poor, Soll ensured his military buddies were well provided while more and more resources were drawn away from the welfare of citizens. Those "poor" are your fellow man and to consider them undeserving of help is disappointing. Furthermore, the single most effective way to address crime is ensuring the wellbeing of our citizens, eliminating motivations and situations of desperation will clamp down on crime.

[spare lodge]

I would like to ask Mr. Minister of Foreign Affairs one more question. Does he believe a war is brewing? I understand Orange-kun's approach, the military is the most expensive ministry to fund for very little economic gain for now. While hearing out both sides of this discussion I started wondering about a possible compromise, where we reform the army with maintained budget, or even just scare away Rumburg with raw numbers. Say, Agnolian 400k + Sordish 400k (no changes + maintained conscription) against 1 million Rums, well, as far as I'm aware you need 3:1 ratio to wage war. What does the minister think?

[open escarp]

Minister of the Economy: We would like the room to witness first hand the minister of welfare declaring that the general staff are not the people of Sordland. No, those willing to lay down their lives are lesser than, it would seem. We would remind the president that in the instance of an invasion, these are the people we would depend on for our very survival. There is no truer Sord than they.

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: Not only poverty is the factor for crime. When a person knows he isn't going to be caught he does a crime. But that isn't my job. The military was well fed during Soll's time that's right but Alphonso maybe saved a ren back then, but now there is Rumburg on our doorstep and we need to react at some point.

[rich eagle]

The VP considers harsh actions against rumburg can face diplomatic pressure and economic troubles for our trade passing Port Grimm. I understand the words of the foreign affairs minister but I advice caution in future matters. In the opinion of this VP the military doesn't need more funding

[spare lodge]

(the general discussion changed from "Close consulate vs diplomatic response" to our general approach to the military + Rumburg, but I'm fine with that)

(it also is 00:10 AM for me, but I don't have other plans, I cna stay up 20-50 minutes more I suppose)

[sacred pulsar]

Minister of Defense: I sympathize with your push for greater welfare and care for the poor of Sordland, but remember that the military exists for a very important reason: defense against Rumburg. To not fund the military while Rumburg is displaying such aggressive posturing would be severely risking the security of the country. Before we can look after the welfare of our citizens, we must look towards defending them from foreign encroachment.

[rich eagle]

For our infrastructure plan I support choosing Taurus for the work, they bring so much needed innovation and competition

[spare lodge]

(already chose SSC)

[rich eagle]

Bad decision making mr President, we already know about the problems the SSC has

[spare lodge]

I would like to request a summary of the state of the military as of now. From what my raports indicate, it doesn't look good, all we have is manpower and experienced generals, but we cannot possibly expect to stand up to Rumburg with raw numbers.

My point is, what good will funding do if we can't even equip our conscripts properly? Wouldn't a reduction in size do the military some good?

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: No Mr President even if our military is well equipped we must at least maintain our current numbers.

[sacred pulsar]

Minister of Defense: Your assessment is correct Mr. President. In the event of an invasion, our manpower reserves and experienced leadership would not be enough to stand up to the sheer size of Rumburg’s 1 million strong conscript army. Rather than playing to Rumburg’s major strength, which is numbers, I believe a smaller and more modernized force would do well. A doctrine focused on maneuverability and encirclement would allow us to take advantage of our more experienced leadership to conduct complex operations to defeat Rumburg despite numerical inferiority.

[warm escarp]

Yes. The closure of the consulate indicates to me that the Queen is planning to invade Sordland, likely to take our gas rich cities like she did to Agnolia, and we must be preparing for that eventuality like she is. While we could probably bring economic sanctions to Rumburg to make the queen hopefully desist of her plans, the reality is it would take a completely unexpected and horrible secret to come out to unite the superpowers and neutralize Rumburg's economy to the point they can't start a war. We can't take that chance, we need to the Sordish Military to be ready.

[spare lodge]

(I need a reminder. The army, as it stands, is 400k. Modernisation with maintained funds reduces the numbers down to 200k. What about no conscription? And what about modernisation while sacking half of the military but maintained conscription?)

The President has decided. As it stands, we will not be bullied around and we shall close the consulate in Dome.

[sacred pulsar]

(Army size works like this:
Start = 400k
Remove conscription, defund military, or maintain military and modernization program = halves the army
Expansion program = adds 200k)

[spare lodge]

(so maintain + modernise + maintain conscription is 200k, maintain + modenrise + abolish conscription is 200k? Ugh)

We shall also sign the Tourism Bill.

[sacred pulsar]

(Maintain + modernize + remove conscription is 100k)

(Army is halved twice)

[warm escarp]

Rightly so, I'll be doing my best to spin this into standing up against absolutism and defending democracies like Agnolia and all who oppose the monarchy. I won't let it affect us.

[spare lodge]

My trust in you is absolute.

We are moving onto turn III then.

We shall discuss the Gasom situation, the GREEN bill, the protests in Narbel and the stability order next.

(after that I'm off to sleep, I'm sleepy)

(for context I cannot pay serge, I have 0 PW)

(Afterwards the full disussion about the reforms and then the budget awaits, but that'll be too long for now)

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: Gasom and its workers are the heart of our republic and they deserve the best. I suggest to Mr President to fully invest. That will help us in every scenario. And you must demand that the workers should have better wages. And i think that maybe will help for the protests.

[rich eagle]

I believe the GREEN bill is unnecessary in this context of economyc recession, we should encourage the grow of our enterprises not punished and fill them with regulations.
As for Gasom workers I believe I can talk with former president Alphonso and achieve a good agreement for the blue collar guys

[warm escarp]

The GREEN bill would likely synergize with the tourism bill and our goal of stimulating growth in a healthy way that answers to the needs of our citizens. This is another investment that would protect our position in the international community, as pioneers of Environmental protection and growth.

[open escarp]

Minister of the Economy: Although at first glance the GREEN bill would present as a measure oppressive on businesses, the ministry would ask the president to think closely on the benefits that such a bill could create. Not only would we inform the president that many of our most reputable industries (Gasom amongst them) are already keen advocates of environmental best practices, but in passing the bill we may yet stimulate economic growth via the expansion of the waste management industry itself.

[spare lodge]

(Go chronologically if you can, because as of now I'm stuck here)

[open escarp]

(minister has no take on narbel protests itself, nor on stability order - so long as order is maintained, he does not particularly care how)

[warm escarp]

For Gasom, there is only one option that makes sense, we need to fully invest in Gasom and pressure Alphonso into providing the citizens of Narbel with greater access to education, healthcare and higher wages. Now, I recognize that a full state investment would be strainful to our economy, but the close relationship between Rizia and Rumburg means that allowing them direct access to our gas industry is a great security risk that we should do our very best to minimize.

[open escarp]

Minister of Economy: It is the belief of the ministry that the state of Sordland must own a significiant share of its energy industry to secure national needs and protect the economy from foreign intervention. Yes, the opportunity may well also generate profits for the state, but we would stress the importance of control over critical national infrastructure, which can be best achieved by securing a large stake ourselves. We are not inherently opposed to foreign investment at a later date, as this could generate further growth and profits for the state, but for now we would advise securing the largest stake possible.

(kept it a bit brief because honestly most of the arguments here would be more about EPA than investment)

[plucky notch]

Minister of Welfare: The state of welfare in Narbel is a travesty and Gasom continues to extract from it citizens while giving little back in return. It is imperative that the President extracts concessions from Mr. Alphonso for the people of Narbel how ever it is necessary to gain leverage or good grace with him. Failure is not an option, the Labour Union of Sordland's demands should be met.

Minister of Welfare: I have worked closely with the union and Katarina Horten in the past, they will not take kindly if you have nothing to deliver and the strike will persist.

[spare lodge]

Very well. We shall invest fully, as a step towards potential Gasom nationalization in the future and to ensure Alphonso concedes to the workers.

[open escarp]

Minister of the Economy: Very good, a wise choice.

[spare lodge]

We shall face the crowd and talk about our achievements.

[jolly wave]

chief of staff: I approve

[spare lodge]

(this is probably the last decision for today, I'm so damn tired already)

[warm escarp]

It might make for a rowdy crowd, but it's worth it to see the faces of our citizens when we deliver good news.

[rich eagle]

The VP consider both groups to be dangerous for our democracy

[warm escarp]

As much as I oppose the young sords racist attacks, we shouldn't ban any organisation, it will reflect badly on the international stage and present us as an oppressive state that violates freedom of speech, association and likely radicalize them against us.

[spare lodge]

00:50 AM. I'm off to sleep. You may begin discussing the Stability Order, the (democratic) constitutional reform template, the GREEN Act, the EPA and the Budget Allocation.

[plucky notch]

(I will just say that I am taking a trip tomorrow so I won't be available like after 2 PM EST but otherwise can still participate in the morning.)

[neat loom]

Banning them might make them hate and endanger the president : (

[spare lodge]

2 PM EST. So in... 3,5 hours. Very well. I think you'll be very insightful throughout turn IV, I mean, we get to sign/veto WRA, allocate budget of law & justice (Community Police, anyone?) do RI, increase or decrease SME taxes, reform the education or not. And before that, we still have the budget allocation, GREEN Act and constitutional template at the very least. I ask you, do you want to sit out the next few decisions or should we await you?

[spare lodge]

The president would like to remind all you he's a former Red Youth member and sympathizes with their noble cause of improving the conditions of living for the poorest citizens, despite some of the members being more militant. But I also understand that as it stands, they're a counterbalance to each other and knows that tipping that balance could lead to unforeseen consequences.

[median shore]

anything for deivid

[spare lodge]

You left the USP as well? What the hell?!

[median shore]

i realised the future lies in the east

[spare lodge]

(Wait, wait, wait. So funded military, modernised, conscription abolished makes the army have only 200k people? What the fuck, half of the army are conscripts? How long is conscription in Sordland, it doesn't make any fucking sense.)

[neat loom]

How dare you betray the president
pulls out lightsaber

[median shore]

the democratic movement of the east is superior

[spare lodge]

Democratic?

[neat loom]

kills

[median shore]

by the people for the people

[spare lodge]

You do realise the level of censorship UC uses, yes?

the repression of their religious minorities?

The help they provide to WehleN?

[median shore]

wiktor smolak is a true patriot to his country who defends his country trust

[spare lodge]

To be fair he offers the best trade deal there is.

[median shore]

yes

[north linden]

(I dont recall the other "democratic" movement is any better)

[spare lodge]

(my point is, in the LARP I was not a fan of Circas' plans for a revolution/civil war in Sordland. You can say my character is moderately traumatised by the little girl being run over by a tank. I also read about the costs of such revolutions in the continents of Xina and Rika, even more reasons to not want to repeat that. Which is why, while my character silently hopes for closer relations with Valgsland and is a fan of Stahler's manifesto, he's opposed to joining CSP itself, mainly due to the authoritarian tendencies they showcase)

[median shore]

closet communist

[spare lodge]

(I hope my LARP is going well. Like, I'm trying my best to get swayed by you all, while maintaining the personality of a naive idealist)

[warm escarp]

(I'd say things are going well but I am very worried that we're going to crash the economy due to a debt crisis. But I'm sure it will all work out in the end. Hopefully)

[spare lodge]

(I have a LARP solution, if you all fail to come up with such. But I'm also fine with ending the game in a deficit, or even crashing the economy. I said a little too much on the republic-of-Sordland-chat and there was a guy that wanted to LARP as the Aladeen from Dictator. Just as I succeeded Zysco due to his own inaction, Mythical_Soulz will succeed me due to my incompetence and take a more populist and frugal stance. Or someone else, nothing is set in stone if either of you want to succeed me, as long as you can guarantee you'll push the game forward)

[plucky notch]

Hey, sorry it took so long to get back to you. Unfortunately the wifi isn't working on my train so I won't be able to participate. Feel free to move ahead if you all would like to.

[spare lodge]

Nah, it's fine. You're invested into this LARP and a couple of decisions require your input, so I would feel rather bad with continuing without you.

Unless of course I get outvoted. To be fair, we did kind of ignore Jaher for the first two turns, Catsland also seemed busy, so idk.

[spare lodge]

While the minister of Welfare did not comment on the Stability Order yet, the President understands the need to lower tensions and arresting people for up to 2 years for connections to the Young Sords would not help with that problem, instead making the nationalists even more bitter.

Regardless, the President is considering banning the Young Sords to have them face the consequence of killing an elected Member of the Parliament and to lower their influence. Additionally, the President sympathises with the minorities of Sordland, such as Agno-Sords, and condemns the Young Sords for attacks on them. Unless convinced otherwise, the president leans towards banning Young Sords.

As for the Minister of Foreign Affair's comment about how badly it will reflect on the international stage, the President suggests that condemning ethnonationalist would, in fact, improve Sordsih international opinion as seen by the state acting against racism and xenophobia.

[hollow lintel]

rolewicz has been warned

Reason: Duplicated text

[spare lodge]

(are you fucking kidding me bot?)

[neat loom]

MR. PRESIDENT, GET DOWN!

Tackles Daria bot

[spare lodge]

Next we shall discuss the reform template. Any suggestions before I give mine?

[rich eagle]

The VP supports term limits and a confidence vote for ministers, the GNA should have a voice. For future elections 8% seems like an appropiate threshold

[spare lodge]

("Term limits 8%" Guh?)

So the VP leans towards strengthening the Assembly. Any other comment?

As a reminder, we're discussing:

Veto: Limit vetoes (3/5 majority can override) or remove.
SC Vote: Remove (mandatory).
Presidential Impeachment: Do not change, The Assembly and the Supreme Court may impeach with majority in both, the president may not be impeached.
Appointment of Ministers: No change, Confidence Vote is Required, Assembly chooses ministers.
Electoral Threshold: Decrease threshold to 8%, to 3% or maintain at 10%.
Decrees: Do not change, weaken or remove.
Term limits: Introduce a limit of 2 terms or not.
Justice Impeachment: Justices may be impeached by the Assembly or not at all.
Member of Honor: Do not change, take away immunity, abolish, every president MoH.

(going off my memory and I rarely do democratic playthroughs as of late, but I think these are the options)

[neat loom]

If i have something to say then fuck the Old Guard justices

[rich eagle]

We should mantain justice immunity for a proper balance of power, I stand with the minister of justice in this topic. As a matter of fact I believe we should abolish MoH as it's a tarnished article from Soll authoritarian times

[spare lodge]

Don't you feel like abolishing MoH, to not have people stand above the law, but then maintaining justice immunity, while people like Hawker exist, kind of contradicts one another? Besides, we cannot deny Soll's achievements, why abolish it as a whole, why not just remove the immunity?

[rich eagle]

No, we as the executive hold too much power thanks to Soll authoritarianism, the power the judiciary has can be controled by removing their vote. But if this is too much for our USP base and cabinet we can compromise and just remove MoH immunity

[spare lodge]

If we unite the USP and ensure PFJP's support, the reforms are guaranteed to pass with a large safety net. I understand your point of view and agree with it overall. All that's left is to ensure Gloria Tory's support, which I'm not sure how to do yet. I feel like attacking Member of Honor and lowering the threshold is a little excessive if we want her support.

But, since we're supporting Sollonomics, I suspect we might have more wiggle room.

How about this:

We limit vetoes, not outright remove them, since with the current state of Sordish politics and the strength of the conservative and the nationalist parties, a lot of objectively bad bills could be pushed through for what's left of our term when the constitution passes.

We remove SC's vote over the constitutional changes, since it's another mandatory point of the reformists.

Presidential Impeachment - I have no opinion as of now.

Assembly chooses ministers, since even when choosing you, fine Gentlemen, I ended up choosing from among the party members. If that's the custom already, why not write it down in the constitution?

Decrease threshold to 8%, as to not alienate the USP conservatives and moderates.

Maintain decrees, since as the Minister of Economy mentioned previously, we can do a lot of good with them.

Introduce a limit of 2 terms, since power corrupts, just like it corrupted Soll, which is why we need to limit how long can someone wield so much power.

We maintain Justice Immunity. Hawker, while he is a problem, will eventually retire (or die), and after him it's down to just good practice of the President and the Assembly to appoint competent people.

Member of Honor - Maintain as it is. Gentleman, while I understand many have greviances towards Soll, I also do not believe attacking him right now, with his cult of personality being as strong as it is, is feasible. We need the USP to unite.

[neat loom]

You want to risk Kibener and Holstron bribing their way into goverment?

[spare lodge]

Serge, my friend, what do you mean?

[neat loom]

Let me remind yoi that the GNA is a very corrupt place

[spare lodge]

I'm ashamed to admit it is.

[neat loom]

And loyality can be sinked down the drain easily

[spare lodge]

What are you trying to say Serge? Would that constitution not be an acceptable first step towards the democratization of Sordland?

[neat loom]

Giving too much power to GNA can screw you over, they manage to pass both PFJP bills and NFP bills

[spare lodge]

That is a fair point to make, but think about the next election. WIth 8% threshold, the WPB and the CPS, which barely missed the threshold, could now pass it. With that, the dominance of the USP and the overrepresentation of the NFP would be severely reducedd.

[neat loom]

If no party ends up with a majority you can be completely screwed because it would be a deadlock and nobody would agree on passing any ministers

[spare lodge]

Given our approach so far, I'd be open to cooperation with the PFJP, the CPS and the WPB. Also, a coalition government would prevent bills like the Campaign Finance Bill from even reaching the president's desk, no?

[neat loom]

Also it seems like a bit too unmoderate of a reform and bit radical

[spare lodge]

As much as I disagree with Ricter economically, he's our main ally in the reforms, I'm sure he'd support further reforms later down the line.

[spare lodge]

You think the USP won't accept 8% threshold? That's a fair point to make, but I feel like it's just 2%, we're not lowering it down to 5%, or God forbid, 3%. And besides, we touch no other major redline for the conservatives, such as the Member of Honor title.

I'm simply afraid if we don't lower the threshold, the dominance of the USP will never die down.

[neat loom]

Whatever, some of these decisions will come bite you in the ass later on

[spare lodge]

While I did get elected the Chairman, I cannot see into the future.

...Then I'm hoping I can count on you if things go south.

Hmmm.

Perhaps the Young Sords ban would go too far...?

What good can I do if I get shot tomorrow?

[warm escarp]

That is more likely if we ban any youth groups Mr President, they'll likely declare open war against the state and bring a higher death toll to Sordland. Besides, if we were to ban just the young sords and leave the red youth be, it could seem as if we're strengthening Malenyevist ideals and preparing Sordland for a revolution, it is just not worth it.

[warm escarp]

I agree on limiting our veto power, the NFP may hold only 40 seats but I heard Kibener is quite a persuasive devil, and his bills must not be allowed to pass.

Of course, this will make passing new changes much easier.

For presidential impeachment, I don't see any reason not to add the assembly to the impeachment process, it would likely endear you to them while making it harder for you to be impeached.

And another action to make sure the assembly passes this constitution with flying colours, no comment on that.

An 8% threshold might encounter some resistance from Gloria Tory, but it is such a small decrease, surely she can let it pass.

Maintained decrees worry me slightly, although I trust your decision making, a man like Kibener could do a lot of damage with such a power, as the assembly would have to take the time to pass legislation with a 3/5 majority to override his decrees, it could take months or even a year for his actions to be undone, if you insist on not putting any limit to your decrees, then I must insist for us to make an alliance with the PFJP, and ensure Kibener doesn't get the presidency.

A 2 term limit seems reasonable to me, a great man can make a lot of longstanding changes in Sordland in 8 years, and furthermore it forces people to find new candidates, rather than entrench themselves with cult leaders like Soll.

I don't agree with maintaining justice immunity. Hawker isn't just Sordland's chief justice, he's a Sollist Fanatic, his rulings don't come from the facts of a case, he decides his ruling first and then twists his logic around the facts to make it seem fair, every day we allow him to sit on the chief justice chair is another opportunity for him to deny real justice to the people of Sordland, and we have to act against him.

Finally, Member of Honor, I know, the easiest thing, is to do nothing. Nobody even expects us to do anything, Soll is just an old man who will likely die in the next decade. And yet...

I believe we should completely eliminate the Member of Honor laws from the constitution. Soll created them to keep influencing Sordland even after his resignation, to avoid prosecution for the victims of Izzam and have his followers parade him as a hero long after he dies. I believe, that the only way for us to achieve justice, to have our future generations look back at this period, and see through the Sollist indoctrination that proclaims the man as a god, is to take away his title, present him to the court, and let justice be made. Soll isn't a hero, he's an authoritarian dictator, and no one should be above the law.

Of course, I suggest we don't make such a plan public until after the constitution is passed. We will need the USP to get to that point.

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: Sorry Mr President i won't be available in the next meetings, because of the rising tensions whit Rumish border (I won't be here that night. Good night everyone)

[spare lodge]

Before commenting further, I shall hear out the advice of other ministers.

[spare lodge]

(don't worry, due to Orange-kun's abscence I'm not making any moves, just talking about those. I like that you used a LARP reason tho)

[north linden]

(Not rll, Stahler mainly hates militarism, defund mili to build schools type. And not to CSP, just UC)

[spare lodge]

(While I understand, my entire cabinet assures me a war is coming and we need to be ready. As for Stahler disliking UC mostly, they are the most important country of the CSP, the backbone of this entire alliance, and we have another authoritarian hellhole leaning towards them, that is Wehlen. Sure, one could say Valgsland and Morella make up for that and the ratio is 50/50 whether socialist countries are good and functional or authoritarian hellholes, but that's still just sad).

[spare lodge]

So. I suppose, due to the arguments of the minister of foreign affairs, the president opts to not ban either Youth Group. Now we await the comments of:

The Chief of Staff, @jolly wave . While I understand you prefer to leave the constitution as it is, we've also chose to do a democratic reforms. What would you say should we focus on?

[median shore]

how is this leftist government doing

[spare lodge]

(We are now discussing the reformed constitution template. Middle of turn III)

The minister of Welfare, @plucky notch.

The minister of Law & Justice, @north linden.

I suspect the minister of Economy and the minister of Defense have no strong opinions on the constitutional template.

[north linden]

Minister of Law: Besides the MoH, theres not much to change the Constitution besides Presidential impeachment for the reformists point of view.

The reformist wants to be the one to start impeachment process before handling it to the court, which will make impeachment even harder for a sitting President. Though there isnt any precedent for this in Sordland, Lespia similar system has led to a situation where the SC wants to impeach a Prime Minister but his party, who holds the majority in the Lespian GNA, blocked such measures.

Our Constitution legal framework holds great resemblance to Lespia's due to President Wisci, i suspect the same will also happen if there were any impeachment case under this reform.

Basically, this will grant the sitting Presidential de-facto immunity as long as they keep the party in lỉne

[spare lodge]

(as said before I will refrain from commenting further before all the relevant minitsers explain their point of view)

[north linden]

annoyed sigh after finishing explanation

[spare lodge]

Is there something the matter, esteemed minister?

[north linden]

Minister of law: Personally, i find this reform demand quite bad, mr. President. The impeachment is the process to which we put the President to face the law just as any citizen would do, and now the "Reformist" wants to make the process a political weapon for the GNA against the President

The so-called "Reformist" are blindly strengthening the GNA without considering the consequences

[spare lodge]

(Since Mr. Orange is afk and I expect his reasoning to be similar to Zargos', I shall start commenting on what I see so far)

So. As a side note we've decided to not ban any youth group.

No one has any qualms about limiting the veto, compared to outright removing it. So we'll just limit it.

Due to the convincing arguments of the Minister of Law, we shall keep the impeachment process of the president as it is, that is Supreme Court alone impeaches.

The Assembly shall nominate the ministers, as that is what's happening on a regular basis anyway. Unless the @north linden has any problems with that clause as well?

We shall decrease the threshold to 8%, as to not antagonise Gloria Tory and the USP too much.

We shall maintain decrees, as the only person that I worry about having them is mr. Kibener. I do not expect men like Ricter, Stahler or Leke to abuse that power, if we were to lose the next elections. Not that I'm planning to do that, but we need to stay realistic. I'm also fine with the plan of the Minister of Foreign Affairs to ally the PFJP. I do have to ask, if an alliance with the CPS/WPB, if they were to pass the lowered threshold, is also acceptable to you, dear @warm escarp?

We shall introduce a limit of 2 terms to avoid populism.

We will not touch Justice Immunity, because of how controversial of a move it'd be. While I understand Foreign Affairs minister's argument, I also lean towards Mr. Catsland's advice to not strengthen the Assembly too heavily in such a short span of time. While yes, the impeachment process would be hard to pull off, it's also too strong of a political tool.

While I understand Mr. Zargos' argument about the Member of Honor, I believe prosecuting an old man, that's been isolated on Duru Island doing nothing for the last 4 years, is too much of a risk compared to simply passing a constitution that would limit the power of the president and weaken the Supreme Court, allowing for easier constitutional amendments in the future.

Next up is the GREEN Act, but I've seen our esteemed ministers comment on it before, let me find that...

[spare lodge]

.

[spare lodge]

.

[spare lodge]

.

We have 2 supporters, including the esteemed minister of Economy, and 1 opponent.

[rich eagle]

Very well Mr President, shall I start negotiations with the reformists and both wings of our party?

[warm escarp]

I would discourage an alliance with the CPS actually, as many of their members have been involved with the revolutionary wings of the red youth, and they are heavily influenced by the ideals of United Contana, if we wish to maintain our current democratic system of government, it would be better for us that CSP remain a small party, relying on PFJP and our Liberal wing to pass moderate social legislation.

[spare lodge]

I started thinking about the minister nomination. I know of a country from a very, very distant land (Poland) where the process of choosing the ministers looks like this. First, the president chooses (the prime minister, which then chooses the ministers) and presents the list to the Assembly, which needs an absolute majority of votes (more supportive than against and not voting). If the Assembly doesn't agree, then they nominate (the prime minister, which then chooses ministers) and vote on it (same deal as previously). Then, if that fails again, the president nominates (the prime minister, which then chooses ministers) and the Assembly votes on it, this time requiring a standard majority (more for than against). How about that, Gentlemen?

[warm escarp]

WPB is cool though, there are some rumours about its leader, Fetih Ejall, but I'd bet my personal tea set they're just conspiracies spread by ethnonationalists.

[spare lodge]

Have you read Mr. Stahler's manifesto titled "Sordish Socialism"? I'd say the system they promote is much closer to the Valgish one than Contanan. While I understand wanting to distance ourselves from the radicals, you have to keep in mind we have the likes of Curtan Leste in our party as well.

[spare lodge]

I've not met the man personally, but from what Mr. Leke told me about him, he's distancing himself from the separatists, but does wish for true equality between Sords and Bluds, which he feels is not the case yet. I'm curious as to what kind of bills they will come up with.

[north linden]

Minister of Law: I have met mr.Leke briefly during University, its seem he still hold on to his beliefs

[spare lodge]

(I will note that Leke studied in Holsord, got kicked out, then studied history in Deyr, so I will LARP as we've seen each other on the corridors of the Deyr University of Culture and have somewhat of a cordinal relationship. We're not childhood friends, we were not classmates, but we do know each other and while my character's view on the BFF is much harsher than Leke's, I sympathize with Leke a lot)

[north linden]

Minister of Law: I heard that he got kicked out of HSU after plunging at a group of students for just talking with him, though i never put much thought to it

[warm escarp]

Hmm, I see, I still have my qualms about forming an alliance with any party associated so closely with a paramilitary youth group, but, if Stahler truly acts as a moderating force, then, maybe it could present some worthwhile legislation with our party's support. I'll stay neutral from any vote regarding an alliance with the CPS.

[spare lodge]

We've never touched that topic unfortunately, as in, I felt like it was too sensitive and we weren't close enough. From what I've heard he works hard for what he believes in.

[north linden]

Minister of Law: our party also had an youth group once

[spare lodge]

(since assembly nomination is mostly LARP, and I agree with Catsland's sentiment about not strengthening the Assembly too much, I chose to go with confidence vote. The LARP is to maintain a presidential republic, not transform into a parliamentary one) Gentlemen. This is the reform template we shall continue with. Now it's time for the GREEN Act, but with the arguments from the minister of foreign affairs and the minister of economy, I'm leaning towards signing it.

[rich eagle]

I also met mr. Leke during my times as student in Deyr, I share part of his concerns regarding the bludish people and its suffering but advise against further cooperation with the WPB as its current leader is very radical

[spare lodge]

I'm sure we can agree with them on the matters of helping minorities and the poorest, I still believe cooperation is possible.

[north linden]

Minister of law: Looks like the changes are finalized, i will take these documents to the Commission for further work. Good evening, mr.President

[warm escarp]

I heard that the minister of Welfare is actually the one who wrote the GREEN bill.

(He's THE GREEN enthusiast, he's supporting it)

[spare lodge]

After careful consideration, and the argument from Mr. Zargos I just read (idk how I forgor how much of a fan he is), I'm assuming the minister of Welfare would be supportive of the GREEN Act. With 3 votes, including the minister of Economy, we shall sign it.

Next up is EPA. Then Budget Meeting.

Mr. Zargos, I have two major questions for you. First of all, how well is Sordland positioned to benefit from foreign investment, if we were to say, repeal EPA? And another, since you're completely neutral in the affairs of ministeries' budget, do you have any comment? Other than the military, which will surely be funded, do you want to throw in your two cents?

I understand you might not want to speak up when the ministers are here, but we're all alone here for now.

[rich eagle]

I totally support funding the health and education ministers, as they are critical for our citizens and the betterment of our country, I highly disagree with the military funding decision, they could do the same job with the current budget and Rumburg should be a diplomatic issue. Regarding the EPA repealing it would bring so much needed foreign investment and aid, if the minister of Economy is in disagreement for Sollist reasons I still believe a 49% change can be beneficial for Sordland overall

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: Diplomatic issue is when we are either the same ideology or have the same army strength. The other ministry's are important sure. But whitout military we won't be a nation. If we enlarge our forces we'll have much better chances at defending anything. Whit army we can hold iternal stability.

[north linden]

Minister of Law: I will be straight to the point, mr.President, my ministry is in shambles. The Police is overstretched and rampant with corruption and waste, the courts are overburdened with backlog cases while criminals run amok. We desperately need more resources to fix atleast some of these issues.

[spare lodge]

Given funds, what would be your priority?

Mr. @sacred pulsar , given funds, what would you do with our military?

[north linden]

Ministry of Law: With the current state of police, funding for more policing would just be a money sink, the Lespian and Valgslandian has a Anti-corruption system that seems to be quite effective which i would want to implement. Along that, more resources can be used to fix court backlog and increase enforcment against fraud like tax evasion, which can boost the treasury.

[rich eagle]

Mr President I have to advise you against excessive spending, I don't believe the word of our chief of staff and minister of defense regarding funding the military. It's a huge amount of money to a minister that has already proven capable of operating within it's actual budget, if we want to truly improve the living conditions of our citizens, men in green shouldn't be a priority

[spare lodge]

I'm sure the second half would make @open escarp rejoice.

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: We can enlarge our forces we can increase our weapons stockpiles. And we'll be 100% ready for war or internal chaos. And other thing guaranteed is the increase of salaries. The soldiers experience many more difficulties and challenges during their career. I've received a report 3 young soldiers died in trainig before 3 weeks. They risk for all of Sordland. And they risk daily for all of us. And they die... Just for their low salary...

[north linden]

Ministry of law: With the recent chaos between the assasination of mp Circas and the clashes between RY and YS, i believe it would send the right message to fund law enforcement in the country

[spare lodge]

So far from what I understand:

Ministry of Welfare requires a lot of resources to fix the inaccessible and poor quality rural healthcare and education. The President fully agrees with these points, while the urban infrastructure is great, the rural is extremely lacking, and the only other way than straight up funding is staining our welfare system with the greed of privatization.

Ministry of Law & Justice bluntly admits that the ministry is in shambles and promises returns on investments, if allowed to form proper anti-corruption istitutions that would cut down on tax evasion. The president, while worried about budget, sees these bodies as a long-term investment that will eventually pay off.

Ministry of Defense has not yet explained his strategy, but the president agrees with the Chief of Staff that a large military will deter Rumburg from attacking. According to the President's knowledge, to wage an offensive war and guarantee victory, around 3 to 1 ratio of soldiers is required. If we enlarge our armed forces and bring in Agnolia, combined we'd have 600k Sordish troops, 400k Agnolian troops and another milion of mobilized Sordish troops. If we add Lespia, we'd have numerical advantage, which will definitely stop Rumburg from attacking (tbh the fact we can't deter Rumburg from attacking through sheer numbers and a military parade to show it off is a bit weird, isn't it? But I will adopt this LARP, deterring Rumburg with raw numbers).

[warm escarp]

A full repeal of the EPA would certainly be profitable, but it could allow Rumburg to take control of our energy market, and that would have disastrous consequences considering the war we're preparing for. However, we need to increase foreign investment and boost the treasury, so, although it is still a risky option to take, I believe setting the EPA to 49% would maintain a measure of security from foreign influences while allowing the state to profit in a way that will be absolutely necessary, especially if you follow my advice regarding to the ministries.

Fund all of them.

Defense doesn't need much explanation, we've already presented our arguments as to funding it and made it a campaign promise, and with Rumburg's escalation, it would be a mistake to do anything else.

[open escarp]

Minister of the Economy: As it stands we must approach use of the budget with incredible caution and focus only on those areas that will actively stimulate economic activity. Corruption and crime are issues, but the ministry already has sufficient support to tackle these threats and has already voted against the use of the emergency to tackle them - this would have been the most cost effective measure to tackle these issues. Bluntly put, increasing funding into law and order at this stage will not help to recover the economy nor stimulate economic activity. The opportunity to tackle these issues in a cost-effective manner has unfortunately passed by. I would instead propose that the police and judiciary improve operational efficiencies and not look for a bailout from the situation they themselves have put them in.

I should not need to reiterate that we do support the idea of increased investment for the military, as this would substantially improve employment, particularly within groups of individuals who are fully committed to the republic. Such a suggestion is, however, contingent on ensuring we focus on maintaining a large military, rather than smaller one, as fuelling investment into arms that are not locally produced would not achieve the desired goals.

Despite what many in the USP (including many close colleagues) think, I can and would offer my support for education funding as the system has proven incapable of supporting the sollonomic policies we should be promoting. To grow an internal talent base sufficient for supporting home grown industries, we need better education men and... perhaps even better educated women to grow those industries organically. Without funding for the ministry, I doubt this would be possible at all.

We would admit to being more conflicted on the issue of increasing healthcare funding and would insist on clarification from the welfare minister on how and where funds would be allocated.

[warm escarp]

Education and Healthcare are key ministries for both the wellbeing of our citizens and the economic development of our nation, as well educated and healthy citizens can pursue higher levels of employment and improve our reputation on the international stage, bringing in foreign investment. Not to mention, there are reports that the current education system is outdated and ineffective, the ministry would require more funding to address such issues.

[open escarp]

Minister of the Economy: As it stands, and as the president is aware, the intention to promote a planned economy directly contradicts repealing the EPA and exposes Sordland to significant foreign manipulations and risks jeopardising our ability to fuel industrial growth or even protect our nation should the Rummish situation continue. That said, I do not bear the same views of much of the conservative base when it comes to the EPA. Alphonso made many mistakes in his tenure, but setting a 10% EPA limit demonstrably strangled Gasom and the wider energy sector, which is a critical industry upon which our nation thrives.

The ministry would propose maintaining the EPA at 20% but can see scope for formulating economic plans around a small increase, perhaps to 49%, where we can maintain control over the energy sector locally but allow Gasom to thrive. Do remember that Gasom is a key negotiating tool for Sordland on the international stage and it is essential for us to maintain a strong Gasom that can influence those negotiations. Coupling a large state-owned share of the organisation with increasing investment from abroad will only further enhance diplomatic opportunities and fuel economic growth without losing our independence.

Both of these paths have merits, but a reduction to 10% or a repealing of the act entirely would cripple Sordland.

[warm escarp]

Finally, I believe we should fund the ministry of Law, I agree with the minister's arguments that an anti-corruption system would bring an effective end to one of our nation's biggest problems and economic improvements due to the rampant tax evasion, and I'd like to add that the current court backlog represents a threat to our democracy itself, as the courts delay cases over and over, I've been told by some of my old colleagues from Holsord State University that they've had to wait almost 10 months for an Habeas Corpus petition, our citizens are being arrested, based on flimsy "evidence" and particularly racial profiling, and they had no recourse to fight this incarceration for almost 10 months due to the current state of the courts.

[open escarp]

(tl;dr minister of economy supports maintain or defund law, increase military, increase education, awaiting info re: healthcare, and is strongly opposed to 10% or repeal EPA)

[spare lodge]

(there's no fucking tl;dr, I read it all, multiple times)

[open escarp]

(I JUST FELT THE NEED TO ABBREVIATE FOR SKIMMERS)

[spare lodge]

(Uh... Fair. Fair.)

[warm escarp]

(Fund everything, fuck it)

[spare lodge]

I understand the skepticism of EPA repeal, but if foreign countries were to abuse the influence they have in our energy market, wouldn't that be a justification for a forceful nationalziation, without compensation? I'm sure the international community would understand we cannot allow a hostile country to have our citizens suffer, no? Also, remember we hold a significant 30% share in Gasom as of now, the largest minority share as far as I'm aware.

[warm escarp]

If we are in a situation where the international community wouldn't condemn and sanction us into an economic crisis for the forceful nationalization of Gasom, then the foreign entities would have already caused a destructive energy crisis that skyrocketed all energy prices and probably ruined any hopes of economic development and ending the recession we'd have, I'm sorry, but no matter what, I can't support a full repeal.

[spare lodge]

I do not agree with the argument that the opportunity to tackle the issues has passed. Sure, the emergency act would strengthen the police force and allow it to deal with crimes that ruin western Sordland, but that would not address the court backlog, and in fact, make this problem even worse, given dozens of thousands of people would be arrested and await a fair trail (I'm kinda overstepping into Catsland's job, so I'll try to limit it, he's just afk for now and I want to advance it a little).

I agree with the military. While ideally, it should not be a welfare institution that people join just to avoid being jobless, our unemployment is at 16%. My rough estimates suggest that's... 1,5 million people? Maybe up to 2 million? Giving them a job in the army, that not only deters Rumburg and protects our Republic, they can also do some work beyond that, helping with infrastructure especially (tl;dr I'm thinking of the soldiers helping civilian populations, something like what Gendarmerie is doing now with supporting the police in rural regions, do firefighter's job and clean up fallen trees that block roads and all that).

I also agree about education. We need foreign workers, mostly due to our education system being insufficient in raising prominient engineers, doctors and so on. We did not experience the current education system ourselves, but from what my children tell me, the system promotes blind acceptance and nationalism rather than intelectual freedom.

[spare lodge]

I agree with the minister. A phrased approach would be ideal, but as it stands, and with our current plan to fund most if not all ministeries, we need the funds. I also urge the Minister to not worry about foreign control too much, since we still own a largest minority share. Let's just hope we're not forced to sell it later.

[spare lodge]

I should note, according to one of your subordinates, Gus I think, Rizia is very interested in Gasom. Sure, their blood ties to Rumburg are worrying, but the fact is, we already have a buyer, why not give them an option to buy and improve our energy section with it? Mr. Zysco, as much as I dislike him personally, vouches for Gus' words.

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: Rizia contributes to GRACE which means that if energy is in Rizia so it is in Rumburg. We cannot let anyone close to GRACE to invest in Gasom.

[warm escarp]

Mr President, I am worried you seem too eager to repeal the EPA, even when we all advise against it.

[spare lodge]

(idk, trying to LARP something less than optimal, but I guess I'll stop)

[open escarp]

As it stands, allocating further funding to a ministry which seems disinterested in tackling national social and issues of unrest would be unwise and risks chronic overspending for little yields. The president is free to act with impunity, but having assessed our current budget situation and with future forecasts in mind, we would warn that the opportunity to tackle this issue without risking the economy has firmly passed. We do not have the tools, invested power in the presidency, nor budget to further increase spending.

[warm escarp]

(Don't worry, we'll make enough bad decisions to compensate. We already signed GREEN)

[spare lodge]

Mr. Catspaw, what's on our schedule in terms of spendings? While I'm against it in principle, we always have the Gasom shares we could sell back, or enact further taxes with my maintained decrees.

I am also not a fan, but perhaps, some of the welfare issues we have could be made up for by privatizing, either education or healthcare? As I said before, our urban welfare is quite good, if we sell some of those institutions, we could enact policies to help where the situation is the most dire. Keep in mind, our minister of Defense would like to ally with Lespia, we could try to appeal a little more capitalist for them this way.

[spare lodge]

(I already have one plan that's just dumb. It will give us -1 GB, unless you convince me otherwise)

[warm escarp]

(Man, I don't even know what our budget is, I'm fucking praying out here)

[spare lodge]

(I have a plan to pass the trade war threshold, I hope the minister of Economy sees it as wel, but I'm also fine with starting a Trade War and using it as a LARP justification for austerity for the rest of the term)

(these are our spendigns:

7 GB - Start.
6 GB - H-3 Highway.
5 GB - Tourism Act.
4 GB - Choose SSC.
2 GB - Gasom Solo Investment.
1 GB - GREEN.)

[open escarp]

Am I to undestand that the President would endorse increased spending to tackle corruption with one hand, while with the other hand rewarding the corruption of the private market by opening up vital social services to it?

[spare lodge]

I'm merely brainstorming, esteemed minister.

(also trying to find a good outfit for a date, fuck me sideways)

[warm escarp]

(Good luck Mr President, we won't tell Monica where you are).

[spare lodge]

(my female friend calls wearing a shirt exceessive and that I should just wear the nicest T-shirt I have. Ugh, I hate women. No, not that much brother, just prefer tomboys rather than tradwives)

[warm escarp]

(It's okay Mr President, we accept you.)

[open escarp]

(what you need is a good sollist woman, like lileas)

[jolly wave]

Chef of staff: I think Mr. President that you need a personal butler.

[spare lodge]

(I never played Rizia actually, is Azmal really that gay?)

[jolly wave]

(you can kiss him before leaving derdia)

[spare lodge]

(like on his hot mouth? How does he react?)

(and is he like in a homosexual relationship or just overly intimate with men?)

[jolly wave]

(his religion glorifies men to men relationship)

[spare lodge]

You know what we should, in fact, sign RHB.

(as a summary, for EPA it's 49%, unless someone gives a very convincing argument otherwise.

For budget, it's either fund all / fund healthcare, education and miltary, maintain law / I propose fund military, law and either healthcare or education. Probably healthcare, and privatize education)

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: Mr President I can't be more grateful! You're showing real care for Sordland! The people will remember you will when you will lead one of the biggest armies in Merkopa! (idk about that one.) And of course you've managed to do that with increasing healthcare and education (yes i know it isn't decided on that one). You'll made a Sordland for everyone, Sordland that cares about everyone that is called a sord.

[spare lodge]

(Yknow what, fuck if, since it seems Orange-kun is busy lately and Catsland didn't argue for funding his ministry more, we shall take the next few steps with my arbitrary decisions)

After careful consideration and hearing our the ministers of Foreign Affairs and Economy, the President has decided to increase EPA to 49%, in order to bring investments into our energy sector and stabilize Gasom, ensuring stable energy prices.

After pressure from practically all ministers except for the Minister of Economy, the President has decided to fund all the ministeries. How we spend that budget shall be discussed on a later date. Don't forget we're a team and I don't intend for anyone to feel neglected.

(by the way I find Symon's comment extremely funny. We have a good surplus left? HUH?)

Our next few decisions include:

Worker's Rights Act - I would like to hear out @open escarp and@plucky notch primarily.

Budget Allocation of Law & Enforcement - I assume it's mostly down to @north linden . Perhaps @plucky notch (if you want to argue for Community Police I suppose?).

An evening walk with Monica - I will let her do the speech.

Regional Investment decision - @open escarp and @plucky notch

of course the VP, @rich eagle and the Chief of Staff, @jolly wave are always welcome to comment on any matter they see fit.

[north linden]

Minister of Law: My apologies, the HSU fire took out a larger portion of legal works than expected, my ministry had to work overtime to help the HSU restore the library

Did anything important come up in my absent?

[spare lodge]

Do not fret, due to a few abscencies, we merely got through the EPA changes, altering it to 49%, and budget funding, that is we ended up funding all ministeries (you weren't here to argue against Catspaw, but I arbitrarily decided you used emotional blackmail saying how you'd feel neglected if everyone got funds but you, so there we are. And long story short, Catspaw said we didn't enact the emergency decree, strengthening the police, so our opportunity to solve the issues in a cost-efficient manner has passed).

(this is basically what I'd imagine you'd say if you weren't afk back then:

I do not agree with the argument that the opportunity to tackle the issues has passed. Sure, the emergency act would strengthen the police force and allow it to deal with crimes that ruin western Sordland, but that would not address the court backlog, and in fact, make this problem even worse, given dozens of thousands of people would be arrested and await a fair trail (I'm kinda overstepping into Catsland's job, so I'll try to limit it, he's just afk for now and I want to advance it a little).)

[north linden]

Minister of Law: On the topic of potential allocation of resources for my ministry, we have had several plans to present to you at our next meeting, Vice Minister Lileas Graf will also join in this meeting.

[spare lodge]

(I pinged everyone to their relevant discussion, feel free to start your argument)

[north linden]

(Vice Minister Lileas Graf will propose the SSP behind my back)

(So all three options are available)

[spare lodge]

(for the LARP I will pretend she just gave me the proposal of a special, very elite police force, tasked with defending the president from any threats. Think like, praetorian guard, but in current day, which is why they're with me during the potential nationalization talks and can arrest the Oligarchs if they dare throw threats against me)

[open escarp]

Although my reasons for supporting the WRA are vastly different to those of the reformists or malenyevists, the ministry would support signing the WRA as a means of protecting workers from the economic impacts we predict in the near future. With the depowering of the presidency and the overinflation of budgetary spending, the ministry is very concerned that we will face an economic crisis that businesses will seek to offset onto the working class. Protecting the working class ahead of these issues would be advisable to avoid a repeat of Alphonso.

Concerning the regional investment opportunities, the budget is already at highly concerning levels and we predict significant inflationary elements in the coming months. Although there are a number of proposals on the table for regional investment opportunities, we cannot rightly afford to invest into them. Already, the ministry is aware of concerns abroad as to the volatility of Sordland's economic situation, with both UC and Arcasia becoming far more aggressive in their international interests.

[spare lodge]

Esteemed Minister, I feel like you've not addressed my old discussion point. Are we aiming to spread out our investments or boost regions one by one? If the latter, wouldn't Agnland investment help with that?

[open escarp]

President, due to the continued avoidance of budgetary advice, we cannot afford to fulfil the promises and strategies initially laid out. We are on the brink of an economic disaster.

[spare lodge]

Mr. Catspaw, do you think Agnland needs more investment? Or is that alone to make the region flourish, provided the rest of Sordland recovers?

[plucky notch]

Minister of Welfare: The ministries under my purview will be pleased with the budgetary increases and will put the new funding to good use in revitalizing and strengthening Sordland's social safety net and social services our citizens rely on.

Minister of Welfare: I would strongly recommend signing the Worker's Rights Act, it is crucial to enhancing labour rights and resiliency while also ensuring workers are well paid and well treated in their workplaces. In light of the recent Morbel disaster, vetoing it will seem callous to the public.

[open escarp]

Agnland will have to do without further investment, whether it would benefit from it or otherwise. Mr President, we cannot bankrupt the nation immediately upon entering office. Already, members of the party are discussing you through the lens of Alphonso and are very quickly pointing out your inconsistency on adopting a centralised approach to economic planning.

At this stage, the best we can do is protect the people of Sordland from the hard times to come.

[rich eagle]

Mr President, I would like to comment on the burden funding the military are, we are now in a great deficit and I should advice we do not expend more on bills or investments, unless you are prepare to increase taxes for all

The VP would've like to discuss cutting taxes on our businesses but thanks to the reckless spending you have decided we now have to scrap that and prepare plans for increasing them, for now I am in agreement with our minister of economy

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: Other thing that is worrying that if we don't have a good economy our capabilities to defend ourselves will be significantly worse. But other thing that the military can do is lowering the unemployment rate. But that is for another meeting.

[rich eagle]

The chief of staff advocated heavily for giving money to the generals and now is surprised by our economy status, the money allocated for them is almost the cost of both ministers of healthcare and education, please be more careful next time when listening to the men in green Mr President, the backbone of our economy, our hard working business owners will thank you

I would also comment on the benefits privatization can give us thanks to our current budget, we need money wherever we can catch it

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: Whatever is our economy, our soldiers will be forever grateful Mr. President. But i must remind to all of the ministers that our soldiers are the backbone of the Sordish flag they take many more risks than any other profession. They job is to die.

[spare lodge]

(giemme a sec)

[rich eagle]

Wrong channel @spare lodge

[warm escarp]

(It's okay Mr President, you'll have better luck next time)

[jolly wave]

I think @spare lodge needs #ministry-of-game-help.

[warm escarp]

Also, I make small votes in favour of WRA and funding the ministry of law, the WRA could attract foreign workers with its expanded protections, and I've already explained the dangers of delaying cases in a Democratic state.

[spare lodge]

I guess I overshare, sorry.

(I like my life tho, I'm proud of my unwavering ambition)

[spare lodge]

That's fair. We still need more highly educated workers while we work on the education system.

So far, it seems WRA will be signed, RI will be ignored and we did not touch the budget allocation of law & enforcement yet.

[north linden]

Minister of Law: I believe theres no need to argue on the merits of funding anti-corruption units, the public has been demanding change to the perceived deep state and rampant corruption. Such problems has contribute to the collapse of two administrations, it is with most importance that a third wont be this term.

People are dying on the streets while our police are overburdened, we need the money into the men on the ground, whos doing the actual work of keeping the streets safe.

[spare lodge]

(no no, your ministry is funded, now the question is whether to fund interior, law or both)

[north linden]

(Retcon done)

[spare lodge]

I would like to hear out other ministers before saying my thoughts.

[sacred pulsar]

Minister of Defense: So long as internal stability is maintained I am neutral in the matter.

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: Me too

[north linden]

Minister of law: Vice Minister, we talked about this, it will be useless to arrest the criminals if we cant even prosecute their crimes and put them behind bars

A nation cant function probably without a working justice system, we need to fix our backlog problem and we needed it yesterday

[north linden]

: With all due respect minister, have you actually went out the field? Seeing the slums and the gangs? We have a crime problem, and we need more police to handle such problem.

Our police force, bless their souls, are already working on 12hour shifts due to lack of manpower and materials

[spare lodge]

(This is hillarious, go on)

[north linden]

And now with the up-coming WRA bill, we have to pay even more for our shortcoming as overtime, we need the money, our men in blue need more resources to keep the streets safe

[north linden]

Minister of Law: So you want to fund more police for even more arrests, and then what? Let the 48hr detention without due process runs out and let people go free?

: You know full well it is not so easy, and i find the lack of distrust for our own police force disturbing, coming from the minister herself no less

[spare lodge]

I will note that the President is very interested in finding new revenues. There was a talk about cutting down tax evasion, but I also understand that crime families and black market they create are a massive problem.

[north linden]

Just look at the statistics, violent crimes have shoot up nationwide, how its funding some paper pushers fix anything

[rich eagle]

Mr President are we considering tax increases for all right? If that's the case I put myself against the WRA, we are in need of economic balance

[spare lodge]

I am indeed worried that the WRA will put too much pressure on small business, but I also can't overlook the Morbel mine disaster.

[north linden]

Mimister of law: I believe if we can tackle some waste and management issues, (glances at Lileas Graf), our police force will be more effective at handling organized crime, we have evidence so suggest some in the department has connections with the syndicates

But the choice is yours, mr.President

[spare lodge]

What if I choose to fund both ministeries?

[rich eagle]

The Morbel mine disaster proves national companies cannot be trusted to take care of their workers, if anything this shows the lack of efficiency a hard planned ecomomy has. We are in debt Mr President, harsh measures must be taken

[north linden]

: That would be unwise mr.President

Minister of Law: I concur, we dont have the luxury of splitting our focus, it wont solve anything if we do

[spare lodge]

(Okay I will make a fool out of myself but @open escarp is there any synergy to Community Police? It doesn't even solve organised crime like ACP on Oligarch does, right?)

[open escarp]

(I can neither confirm nor deny, as the president would not have such knowledge)

[rich eagle]

I support the minister of Law again, we need a strong justice system for tackle the worse things that came out of Soll and Alphonso administrations, that is corruption

[spare lodge]

I feel like both crime in western Sordland and the backlog in the courts needs to be addressed. Does any other minister have an opinion on the matter? Jacso, perhaps? Since Jaher and Vladko abstained

[spare lodge]

(no seriously, that's off the record, I never form that formation)

[rich eagle]

Yes Mr. President under different circumstances I may have preferred an equal allocation of funds, but we need taxpayers money

[spare lodge]

Can the minister of law assure us that funding the ministry of Law will result in any revenues?

[north linden]

Minister of Law: Current numbers suggest most of our tax incomes loses comes from tax evasion and other undocumented activities from the large corporations, if we wish to close the loopholes, we need to somehow expand our law enforcement reach more.

Our anti-trust department was gutted by the previous administration, so there will be in need of a new one if we want to close these loopholes

[spare lodge]

Hm. The President leans towards:

Signing WRA.

Allocating budget to Law.

Ignoring RI.

Unless any new comments are made on the matter, we shall continue with those. (I'm basically waiting for Orange and sort of hoping he makes a good case for Community Police, but if he doesn't show up we will continue as stated above. I'll go do some stuff in the meantime).

[north linden]

(Lorewise the President shouldnt know about CPO or SSP, those two were brought up last minute after the funding was done by Lileas, only ACP was pitched extensively before funding)

[spare lodge]

(Fair. So we're assuming a LARP of:

• Fund Interior to deal with actual crime, helping the people against organised crime. Regardless of prison overcrowding, lack of proper trail etc.
• Fund both for no benefit at all as presented by both minister Catsland and viceminister Graf.
• Fund Law to deal with the court backlog and establish anti-corruption mechanisms, generating revenues otherwise lost to tax evasion.

With that in mind, the only way forward I see is Law + ACP tbh, I don't see a strong case for the other two options)

[neat loom]

(or you can fund 6 GB into it so they both get 3 GB)

[jolly wave]

(Is that all for this night?)

[warm escarp]

(Organized Crime stays red with the community police, it's, that bad)

[spare lodge]

(seems so. Sry, two personal matters occupied a lot of my evening, couldn't push through much. But I'm also giving people a few hours to speak up, if not, as I said, we continue with the choices presented above, then tomorrow afternoon I propose the next few topics to discuss)

[jolly wave]

(I wish good night to everyone. And @spare lodge will need one)

Bye

[plucky notch]

(Oop, was commuting home at the time. Oh well.)

[spare lodge]

(No decisions have been made yet, I've been busy and now are working on the socialist Sordish Authoritarian Democracy, so if you have a comment, go on)

[plucky notch]

Minister of Welfare: Mr. President, I am concerned by the options proposed by either the Minister of Law and Vice Minister of Law. Having experienced first-hand the brutality and oppression of the police, it is difficult to justify funding and rewarding an institution that is notorious for human rights violations and distrusted by the populace without any structural reforms to follow. And while I share in the deep conviction of fighting corruption having lead the charge on the issue against both previous administrations, crime remains a serious threat and danger to the population, in particular the prevalence of organized crime, that hampers our ability to ensure safe communities for our citizens.

I propose, instead, to ensure that we address all the fundamental and critical issues in law enforcement while also ensuring prudence and balance in approach that the funding be equally distributed to both ministries. It may not be the most efficient but it would ensure neither ministry is overcompensated and neither ministry is left without any funds to make improvements, preventing either from concentrating more authority than the other.

[spare lodge]

The President has decided:

We shall sign WRA, due to the support shown to it to the Minister of Economy and Minister of Welfare. The President sympathises with the workers and seeks to improve their standard of living.

We shall fund the ministry of Justice due to the promise to cut down on tax evasion and generate new revenues that way as well as address the deep state within the government. Not only that, the President also agrees with minister of Welfare that the police, as it stands, is known for their brutalityl and oppression and does not wish to address the unrest by strengthening the police to crush the protests, but by addressing the issues people are protesting over.

The President, as an enthusiastic supporter of his wife, also chose to gave her the Benfi Speech.

The President opts to skip the Regional Investment due to the cabinet's advice to cut down on spending for the moment.

Next up:

• How to address the SSC construction issue. I would like to hear out @open escarp primarily.

• Tax changes - @open escarp primarily.

• Education reform and privatization - @plucky notch primarily.

• Gruni Plan - @open escarp primarily.

(I think batches of 3-5 decisions are a good balance to have a discussion about every evening? Not too much, not too little, a few arguments for each and move on. Afterwards we'll discuss whether to concede to Albin or not (I will not be corrupt, at all), RHB, arcasian/csp aid and who to use the ACP on. I'll of course keep immigration relaxed and the rest of the decisions are personal).

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: "Mr President i will hate to say it but... privatisation maybe is necessary because of our economic situation. Of course we can pray for other opportunities for income but i think we should not miss this one. Plus we increased the budget so... We'll be able to construct new schools for the people who are less fortunate.

[spare lodge]

(I forgor to mention VP and Chief of Staff are always welcome to comment on anythign they see fit)

@rich eagle

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: For the construction issue i advise Mr. President to not spend money of our budget. For the tax changes... It doesn't consern me so im neutral. Gruni... I would advice Mr president to not spend too much money.

[open escarp]

Concerning the delays the project, as much as it pains me to say it, we cannot afford to delay the planned completion date. A number of celebrities, including General 22 from Qinal has scheduled an early ride following the opening; and despite his reprehensible views on many issues, it would be a great boon to your public image to be seen together as a sign of unity. I would strongly urge the president to provide the necessary funding to complete the project on schedule. Furthermore, we would strongly support the use of taxation to fund this increased cost and I have both planned for and forecast the impact of increased taxes across the economic spectrum. From the ministry's research, we would expect some downsizing amongst larger corporations with a tax increase, but we advise a degree of skepticism as many of the large conglomerates are full of hot air, so to speak, and individuals such as Koronti and Tusk profit too much off Sordland to downsize their operations too much - many will be able to swallow the tax increase and this will allow us to redistribute those projected profits into further public spending. While controversial I would advise a similar approach on taxation for smaller businesses, pending a full department review of SME status later into our term - many businesses you might consider larger operations are in fact still considered "SME"s and before we even discuss tax cuts for these businesses we must amend that criteria - this process would take many months, however, and thus will not help us with our present decision making. While we would expect many more smaller businesses to close from a tax increase, we would preface that many one man bands or small family organisations operate on healthy margins and are far less likely to close their businesses down from tax increases - instead, it is those very businesses we advise you to be wary of that may face closure instead.

[spare lodge]

(I like the LARP of "we invited generals". I'm surprised to see Qinal, not Agnolia, but go on)

[open escarp]

Although we have not been directly asked, we would state that privatisation of the education system would be a complete and utter betrayal of Sollist values and of the Repbulic itself. To continue Alphonso's tyrannical approach to dismantling the education system as seen with the SEC would be disastrous and, following previous decisions, will lose the state's support from sollists and true, legitimate USP members.

For the Gruni plan mechanisation is, in our opinion, the only sensible approach. Not only can we mechanise farms at a far more controlled expense to the state, but doing so will sync with any reforms to the education system by enabling technology and automation within our agricultural fields. Yes this will require a more skilled worker base, but in the long-term will create industrial growth across productivities and operational efficiencies - provided the minister for welfare does indeed prioritise educational reform.

[open escarp]

(I just want you to meet 22 in person)

[spare lodge]

(wait, it's "General 22". Not twenty-two generals. Excuse me? is this some kind of an important persona for the LARP you want to introduce? Fine be me, go on)

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: I will say to the general that the ride is cancelled/delayed. But strange is that i or the minister of defence wasn't contacted for such visit.

[warm escarp]

(TAX THE RICH TAX THE RICH)

[open escarp]

(General 22. We can assume he's just like 22 on the server.)

[rich eagle]

It pains me to say we need all the revenue we can get, so an increase on all taxes is fully supported, our decisions regarding funding all the ministries have left us little to no choice. As for privatization I don't believe is a "betrayal" of sordish values but an opportunity to generate necessary funds and address the main problems within our education system

[spare lodge]

(quite an active user, now that I checked him out. Might as well meet him, not srue how to LARP him staying here tho for the long run, if he's even interested. For context, I sent 12 454 messages so far, Catspaw sent 18 348, 22 sent 17 321 Nvm I now know the context)

[spare lodge]

It seems like:

Swayed, mostly by the esteemed Minister of Economy (I'm larping as trusting you a ton due to you being an absolute genius in terms of ED maxxxing, so in-game being an old and well respected professor that I had lectures with. I hope you're fine with being seventy something), we shall:

Address the SSC issues by giving them money - Not only is it necessary to not embarass ourselves internally for failing to complete the project on time, it's also a failure internationally by having to call off the opening where we meet General 22 and are about to visit Agnolia for a trade deal. Therefore, the project must be completed on time. The corruption issues within SSC will be addressed by Mr. Catsland's anti-corruption bodies.

Tax changes - While it hurts my heart to tax SME, I yet again trust the minister of Economy that it is necessary to avoid an economic crash (unless you really want to convince me to cause a trade war).

Education - As to maintain the Renan Welfare Principles and not alienate the Sollists within the USP, we shall continue with our plan to promote planned economy and not allow private institutions to buy our educational institutions. As for reforms, due to the arguments about the need for more qualified workers, we shall reform the education system to raise a new generations while ensuring they reach their fullest potential.

Gruni - We shall invest into mechanization, as per Minister's of Economy's words.

Next up is:

Talks with Gloria Tory - I will convince her. But importantly, she's against SSC privatization and healthcare privatization.

Chess Match with Lucian - I will spend time with my family instead.

Clavin - This is a problem I need the advice of the VP (idk who to ask, but I want to LARP as having only one person with me at most). @rich eagle I need your help. Mr. Clavin refuses to support our constitution unless we weaken decrees. How do you think I should proceed? Do you think USP Conservatives and presumably the PFJP is enough or no?

[rich eagle]

Mr President, we can convince Mr Clavin with something he wants desperately. Recognition and power, I know you don't like corruption deals, so money it's out of the question but perhaps I can sacrifice my future as VP for our reforms to succeed

[spare lodge]

W-Would you do that? Are you sure? What will you do then?

[rich eagle]

I would still work for you Mr. President, this offer is for the next elections, so we have 3 more years to improve the state of the country ourselves

[spare lodge]

Hm. So be it.

(I don't really get why that's corruption, I've heard of deals where people from minor parties are promised ministeries or viceministeries over and over for their support, but let's say I intend to fulfill it without thinking of it as corruption, just not wanting to part ways with Jacso)

(I mean Soll literally offers us the nomination to the Foreign Affairs/Economy/Law minister for our support in the prologue so yknow)

Next up is:

As always @jolly wave and @rich eagle are always welcome to comment on anything they see fit.

Religious Harmony Bill - I assume @plucky notch , @north linden and... Perhaps @warm escarp .

Foreign Aid - @open escarp, @warm escarp primarily.

Immigration will be decided based on the previous discussion, that is we will maintain it relaxed.

[plucky notch]

(It's corruption because it's a quid pro quo, you're only making him VP because he is getting you votes.)

[spare lodge]

Who to target with ACP - @north linden primarily, who do you think is our biggest threat?

[rich eagle]

(Did we pass trade war check?)

[spare lodge]

(We did. Let me show you the economic plan for now:)

[rich eagle]

(Thank god)

[spare lodge]

(7 GB - Start.
6 GB - H-3 Highway.
5 GB - Tourism Act.
4 GB - Choose SSC.
2 GB - Gasom Solo Investment.
1 GB - GREEN.
EPA at 49%.
-11 GB - Budget Meeting (Fund All).
-12 GB - WRA.
-13 GB - L-1 Construction Issues.
-8 GB Taxes - Increase Taxes.
TRADE WAR CHECK Passed
-9 GB - Mechanize Gruni)

(skipped Economic Relief Plan, skipped Regional Investment, didn't privatize education)

[rich eagle]

I stand firmly agains this so called religious harmony bill, I have lived many years with our bludish citizens, they are as respectable as any other sordish citizens, killing their culture will only bring further division specially in the Bergia region

[plucky notch]

Minister of Welfare: As usual, those bigots in the NFP have produced another bigoted bill that they got passed with the support of USP conservatives and moderates. This bill is a travesty and racist, Mr. President, by specifically targeting our Bludish citizens and their faith. You must use your veto to stop it in its tracks.

[spare lodge]

Military funding - Finally something for @sacred pulsar . The military is funded, do we modernise or expand it? Explain your general strategy.

Agnolia trade talks - @open escarp , @warm escarp , @sacred pulsar primarily.

Wehlen Trade talks - @open escarp , @warm escarp and @sacred pulsar primarily.

(I suppose it's a lot of topics, so I will be back much later to read, see what you think)

[warm escarp]

To quote the "Religious Harmony Bill" 'Section III of the R.H.B. sets forth new regulations for priests seeking state-sanctioned positions. It requires that all applicants must have Sordish lineage to be eligible for their salaries and pensions. This criterion ensures a deeper connection with Sordland's cultural heritage among the religious leaders of the country.'
...veto.

[warm escarp]

If Minister Catspaw agrees that we need the funds that badly, then I suggest we take Arcasian Aid, it would align us closer to ATO, however, considering future plans to form an alliance with Agnolia, I believe allowing Contanan Ships to dock in Conriat would not only be an insult to our general staff, but present a real security risk due to Agnolia and Valgsland's dispute over the Heljiland Island.

[spare lodge]

The President notes he'd rather stay neutral in the Heljiland dispute. The alliance with Agnolia, ideally, would be anti-Rumburg only, not anti-Valgsland.

(keep in mind i'm a former RY member and shit, while I care for Sordland the most, I also don't care for Agnolia much and sympathize with Valgsland)

[sacred pulsar]

Minister of Defense: I am a strong proponent of pursuing a program of modernization over expansion, for the simple fact that warfare has evolved beyond the need for numerical parity and brute force assaults to defeat a superior enemy. Even in the best case scenario, Rumburg’s 1 million strong standing army would dwarf an expanded 600k army: short of imminent collapse in the Rummish economy we would need allies to match Rumburg in quantity regardless. In my estimation, a smaller and more professional army would allow us to execute more complex maneuvers allowing us to potentially encircle and destroy the enemy forces in a form of Bewungskrieg. We would of course need allies to fill in the gaps in our front line, but to achieve a quick and minimally damaging victory we need to commit to a modernized professional force capable of exploiting the rather lackluster Rummish officer corps and equipment status.

[warm escarp]

While I understand the sentiment, and I myself am conflicted on the issue of Heljiland, we built the H3 Highway specifically planning for an alliance with Agnolia, and we can't take such an action without alienating Valgsland. Taking a half-measure now would be a self-sabotage, the deal we've managed to make would strain our budget even further, the only way minister Van Hoorten agreed to maintain the currently cheap prices on Agnolian Steel, which will likely be crucial in future infrastructure projects, is recognizing Heljiland as Agnolian and allying Agnolia, it is simply the option that makes the most sense taking into consideration our history, economic needs and the international reputation of Agnolia.

[open escarp]

@spare lodge (I think I already gave my views on these. Minister supported both trades provided we were not forced to make compromises - key is that we're dictating things)

[north linden]

(Uhh, technically the ACP is headed by Greiser)

(So you have to decide yourself, just like in the game)

[spare lodge]

(I'm asking for advice since you convinced me to fund Law and form ACP, no?)

[north linden]

Minister Of Law: As the current aim of the government is to fight corruption and deepstate allegations, i believe our 1st target should be the Old guards

[spare lodge]

(Just as Catspaw is Economy + Agriculture, and Orange is Education + Healthcare, you are kinda everything law related. Or at least that was my idea)

[warm escarp]

On the deal with Wehlen, the only reason I've even approved of the negotiation, is because, the deal is, great. The best trade deal I've seen. However, associating ourselves with the dictator Smolak, on any level, will hurt our international image. As much as I want to reject it outright, I don't think we are in a position to do so, but, I believe he's even more desperate for our support, so, if he tries to involve Sordland directly in his war crimes, try to negotiate, make a deal where we can have plausible deniability. As much as it hurts me what the Wehzeks may go through under Wiktor Smolak, our duty is first and foremost to our own citizens, and so, if you can manage to negotiate a deal that mantains Sordland's reputation, I think you should take it.

[north linden]

Ministry of Law: With the Old Guards now holding most of their power within the Supreme Court, it can be used as leverage for the Constitutional vote if we have an investigation done to put pressure on them, two birds with one stone essentially.

[open escarp]

The ministry is concerned about our budget, but stresses that we would risk exposing the country to foreign manipulation and violating the autarky our nation has historically thrived off if we do both accept aid and seek to establish trading relationships with any member of ATO or CSP. It's a choice we must take very seriously. Violation of self-sufficiency may lose us the support of the hardline sollist base and Old Guard sympathisers.

[rich eagle]

I align with the minister of foreign affairs regarding agnolia, our H-3 project could have an acceptable leverage power for a great deal with PM Van Hoorten, Wehlen on the other hand is a big no for me, we shouldn't let ourselves involved in Smolak genocide against the bludish people, even if the deal is great Mr President should carefully consider Sordland role in his operation

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: We need more numbers to our army. If we make our expansion programme we will full Coverage of our border. And Mr. President i won't be presented here today because Welhen has invited me to attend to the opening of their new museum in Wraclavits. (I don't know if it's wrong typed) I've heard that is some kind of military museum.

[spare lodge]

Does the Minister of Defense have any comment regarding ATO/CSP Aid and Agnolia/Wehlen alliance?

[warm escarp]

Even so, I believe it is in our best interest to take the offer of aid from ATO. Our alliance with Agnolia will likely turn Valgsland against us and we won't be able to pursue a trade deal of any kind, and while Lespia could be a more willing partner, their deals are often exploitative in nature and it could be crippling to Sordland's Autarky on its own.

[open escarp]

So long as we are in agreement to limit trade with either member of their respective blocks, the ministry can get behind this proposal as a means of both balancing the budget and maintaining our independence. Funding into the military industry would also be highly beneficial to support the military funding increase we have already supported. At long last we may be able to market Sordish arms to the international market.

[spare lodge]

There seem to be forming two major factions within the cabinet. We might have to vote on it, unless Mr. Jaher brings up some convincing arguments.

[spare lodge]

Importantly for the decisions already made:

• It seems like the majority of the cabinet, president included, are against the RHB. Mainly due to the last clause.

• The cabinet is torn on foreign Aid. There are arguments for both rejecting it as well as accepting ATO Aid, no one seems enthusiastic about CSP Aid? I think Mr. @sacred pulsar needs to comment on that especially.

• We will modernise the armed forces. As to what exactly, we shall decide later.

• As for Agnolia trade talks, the minister of Economy and minister of Foreign Affairs seem to favor maintaining the current trade deal for our commitment to the Heljiland situation on Agnolian side.

• The Wehlen trade talks seem complicated. I have to admit I am repulsed by the dictatorship Mr. Smolak implemented and don't want to help Wiktor stabilize his regime. Do we know exactly what will Mr. Smolak demand for the best trade deal in the region?

@warm escarp , the last question is primarily for you. I'm against helping Smolak in principle, but if it brings prosperity to both Sords and Wehzeks, I will consider that.

(Okay i need to reiterate since im kind of lost. The entire cabinet is basically against Valgsland? I was considering nudging you all a little by taking CSP aid, doing partial OBT, or some shit to block Lespia as a good trade partner, but if nobody is arguing for that, i will instead focus on Agnolia + Wehlen + ATO aid or Agnolia + Lespia).

[open escarp]

(altered my vote since it's sort of required to get a no-compromise trade, despite trade and ally only being better if it were possible)

(economy is against taking aid and a major trade partner, so if we take aid, he would riot over valgsland or lespia)

(if we did not take aid, he would not care about valgs/lespia trade, provided we don't cave to any demands)

[rich eagle]

The VP stands for taking Arcasian aid, it will help us stabilize our budget and lean us towards more democratic countries

[warm escarp]

Well, he wasn't exactly straightforward with the details, and this is because his goal was to involve Sordland and its military in a war against the BFF within the Wehzek borders. Of course, because this is Smolak, such a direct involvement would surely bring horrifying amounts of Collateral Damage that would ruin Sordland's reputation forever, which is why I suggest we use a more, humane alternative. By feeding Smolak's delusions on the strength of the Wehzek military, I've convinced him that his operation would be successful without our direct involvement, as long as the BFF operatives are unable to enter Sordland. Essentially, you'll have to temporarily shut down the border between Wehlen and Sordland, and hopefully save our reputation to the international community.

[median shore]

commie cabinet leaning west

[spare lodge]

In your negotiations, have you specified how will Mr. Smolak ensure our border is closed? My point is, can we keep up appearances, while in reality being rather lanient on the refugees?

[median shore]

what is this

[warm escarp]

We love self reliant economy more.

[rich eagle]

I think we have to consult the minister of defense for this topic, ensure us that refugees are treated well and only proved terrorists are detained

(We are doing neo-sollism here)

[spare lodge]

(tbh technically my character has strong socialist leanings, but he will not go against the entire cabinet and the USP as a party, so I kinda keep to myself a lot of stuff like my will to ally Valgsland instead of Agnolia and just go with the flow. Especially with an Agno-Sordish minister of Defense)

[warm escarp]

Only that the Sordish Armed Forces are in control of the border, we can try to have some measure of leniency, but, I doubt it'd be successful not only by Smolak's pressure, but also due to our own General Staff's views on immigration and refugees.

[spare lodge]

We're aiming to get closer to Lespia, as per Mr. Jaher's words, can you predict how will the negotiations with Mr. Smolak impact the negotiations with Mr. Alvarez?

[warm escarp]

Mr President if you manage to ally Lespia while promoting a planned economy I will declare you a god and make a religion based around you.

[spare lodge]

Mr. @sacred pulsar , do you think Agnolian and Sordish armies combined could hold the line? Since it seems like Lespia alliance is off the table.

[open escarp]

(Where's the full OBT option?)

[open escarp]

Then I must urgently ask what the President's plans are around international aid. I cannot lend my support should we be completely abandoning sollonomics and exposing Sordland to the foreign powers.

[spare lodge]

(The Minister of Foreign Affairs was pretty clear that it's helping in genocide. My naive idealist is already bending the rules a little by claiming we will order the military to patrol the border extensively, looking for armed militants, but still allow civilians to pass after a border check, instead of fully closing the border)

[open escarp]

(it wouldn't make sense for the larp to exclude an option before a vote though)

[spare lodge]

Do not fret Esteemed Minister, I do not intend to drag Sordland into ATO and the cold war, I merely believe +2 GB, in a situation where we're in -9 GB debt, is too good of an offer to pass up on. We'll wonder about Lespia when we get to negotiating with them.

[open escarp]

I must insist on clarity for this issue, as the president has declared an interest in both aligning with Lespia and accepting ATO aid. There is no reality in which we can preserve economic independence in such a situation. The ministry must be made aware of the president's intentions at this point if we are to avoid oblivion.

[spare lodge]

(I'm still a character, not a total pushover, and I just can't combine naive idealist + full OBT. Maybe, if I was just dumb and didn't know Smolak is a genoicidal dictator, but it's a well-known fact. The Minister of Foreign Affairs advices partial OBT at most, The minister of Defense is yet to comment, so for now we're leaning towards partial OBT and LARPing it as being as lanient as possible)

[spare lodge]

My interest in Lespia lies purely in forming an anti-Rumburg coalition. As a side note, I believe our values are too different, all they care for is GDP and not whether your average worker can put food on the table. Initially I believed an alliance would be possible, but from what Minister of Foreign Affairs claims, our focus on planned economy makes Mr. Alvarez skeptical of forming any sort of closer bond between Lespia and Sordland.

[open escarp]

Then can the ministry expect there to be no trading relations with Lespia in the future?

[spare lodge]

That is up to the @warm escarp, but I believe Lespia considers us their ideological enemy as it stands.

[spare lodge]

(I'm basically considering Agnolia alliance + Wehlen Trade + ATO Aid, Agnolia Trade + Wehlen Trade + Valgsland alliance or Agnolia alliance + Lespia trade. But it seems the cabinet is leaning towards the first plan, second is completely off the table and third is under consideration I guess?)

[open escarp]

We would also advise counsel from @sacred pulsar on the issue of the Rummish invasion. As it stands, we are on a course to distance ourselves politically from Valgsland. If we are also to distance ourselves from Lespia, what can the minister suggest to protect Sordland from the Rummish threat?

[spare lodge]

I am curious about Mr. @plucky notch approach, since you, dear Minister, seem to go against the mainstream. Is there anything you'd like to bring up?

[warm escarp]

Well, I don't want to confirm anything before it's time, but, it seems like our best trade partners will just be Agnolia and Wehlen, and we'll almost surely ignore Lespia and Valgsland, maintaining neutrality.

[open escarp]

We are relieved to hear this, and such news would inspire and endorse a positive torrent of support from the hardline Sollist base within the USP. Despite many deviations from a true Sollonomic approach, achieving a self-sufficient, centralised economy would be a major step in the right direction.

[plucky notch]

(Which are we discussing, OBT with Wehlen or foreign aid from the superpowers?)

[spare lodge]

(first of all, you're the only person voting to reject foreign aid, while 4 people want to take ATO aid. And you're the only person that wants to only trade with agnolia, while 3 people vote to maintain the old deal for island recognition + ally)

[plucky notch]

(Okay, so it's on the subject of foreign aid and Agnolia, gotcha.)

Minister of Welfare: Mr. President, the vast majority of my purview is domestic, however, on an international front, our citizens are best served by stability on the international and Eastern Merkopan stages to allow for domestic policies to be pursued with little disruption. Maintaining stability means not overly upsetting the balance of power in the region, building soft power within the Alliance of Nations, and safeguaring our soverignty. While the aid from both superpowers are very generous, they come with unacceptable strings of allowing foreign military forces to operate in Sordland and drastically shift the balance of power.

[spare lodge]

I do not appreciate interfering in our voting system by interlopers @median shore

[open escarp]

A full investigation should immediately be undertaken by the ministry for law. Any corruption in the voting system is a threat to our republic, especially if the interloper plays to the tune of the foreign superpowers.

[spare lodge]

https://tenor.com/view/mods-push-back-his-hairline-gif-11241907652566626707

[median shore]

[spare lodge]

It's merely 2:3 votes. I'm still awaiting @rich eagle, perhaps @sacred pulsar too.

[spare lodge]

This still awaits @rich eagle , perhaps @north linden or @sacred pulsar

[warm escarp]

( @open escarp hey are we on track for a consistent planned economy or has the EPA condemned us to mixed already?)

[warm escarp]

Jacso expressed support before for trade, recognition and alliance, taking that vote into consideration that plan would have an absolute majority, regardless of what Jaher wants.

[warm escarp]

Unfortunately for me, he also expressed quite an opposition to Wehlen and that you should think the trade deal very well, so we might have a tie on that front.

[warm escarp]

Jacso's statements.

[spare lodge]

The President, for now, in fear of alienating the Sollists within the USP, is afraid of losing self-sufficiency and leans towards whatever would make Sordland the most prosperous while maintaining self-reliance. Perhaps it's the question for @open escarp, what is our plan for the industry expansion? (tl;dr I don't feel like our investments so far synergise with of the megaprojects or industrial expansions).

[warm escarp]

(Yeah, we don't, at all, consequences of doing H3 due to idealism and skipping RI. At least we reformed education, so electronics is always a good option)

[spare lodge]

(I'm mostly worried if we're going to war. If Jaher makes a convincing argument, we need MIC, so ATO Aid + Wehlen is better. If we're not going to war, I'd go with no foreign aid + Lespia, but of course the choice is yours)

[open escarp]

(it's too far ahead to even know that decision is in the pipeline and proposals would depend on the megaproject decision)

[spare lodge]

(Are you not a strong supporter of planned economy and have your four-year plan ready? At least that's the impression I had)

[open escarp]

(four year plans only work because there's a centralised planned, rather than a chaotic cabinet)

[spare lodge]

(ah fair. Idk then, as I said, I'll do what the cabinet decides. How about you introduce you veto idea by the way?)

[warm escarp]

(Well, I'm certainly not as against war as Wisci is. There are merits to the plan)

[rich eagle]

(Tbh we could've done agnland RI but the miliary are a burden 🥀 )

[spare lodge]

(Imo, if we don't join a bloc we need a strong army, like realistically/LARP speaking. Neutrality comes at a cost, and that is that we can defend ourselves without relying on superpowers)

[warm escarp]

(We literally promised to fund the military at the start of our term, we kinda had to.)

[spare lodge]

(I’m really surprised nobody is arguing for CSP aid. It’s be +4 GB in total + Agricultural aid, we could then expand MIC by ourselves, but you do you)

[warm escarp]

(Oh, I know, and it'd block us from trading with any regional powers which I find hilarious, but as I said before, if you don't ally Agnolia, the CSP ships assist Valgsland in the invasion, and I'd rather not have forces hostile to our allies in our own docks.)

[median shore]

i shall vote on every thing

[warm escarp]

@sacred pulsar, buddy, you're the tiebreak vote.

(@spare lodge WE GOT IT! FUCK THEM BLUDS WE'RE DOING PARTIAL OBT)

[rich eagle]

(Zargos maxxing)

[warm escarp]

(What would that mean exactly?)

[bold scarab]

Commie

[rich eagle]

(Fund all ministries, tax all, ignore regional powers, self sufficiency thanks to Catspaw RP as sollist)

[warm escarp]

(...ok yeah this is a great run)

[median shore]

its 3:6

[warm escarp]

Neither your vote nor Teodafik's really count.

[median shore]

fake democracy

[spare lodge]

(Honestly more optimal than I thought it’d be.)

[spare lodge]

(Serge kinda matters, but more I “we have a one on one talk when driving between places of interest”. If @neat loom doesn’t talk to me directly to sway my character one way or another, his vote doesn’t matter)

[rich eagle]

(Agnland RI 🥀 )

[spare lodge]

(I shall comment soonish, sorry, I just came back from a meeting)

(I do need Jaher to finally comment on something tho, there’s been a few questions for him already).

(I want the votings to be a result of factions forming within the cabinet from the discussions we have, and not just vote without major discussions)

(In fact we (as in Catspaw but he’s shy I guess?) were thinking of a veto system that I will elaborate on when I’m at home)

[open escarp]

(Not shy. I explicitly said it wouldn't make sense to introduce into an ongoing run)

[spare lodge]

(Eh, I disagree, which is why I'd prefer to bring it up right now and have the people decide if that system makes sense)

So, to summarize, despite not having Jaher's comments for the most part. I assume the Minister is busy with rigorous drills of our army and the massive modernisation programme.

• We shall veto RHB.

• We will take ATO Aid.

• We will maintain relaxed immigration.

• (Btw I did not get Gus' investments of course, but I have 2 PW now).

• (I told Curtan my wife is right, but we will take up her points on another opportunity. I promised to work closer together).

• We focused ACP on the Old Guard.

• We will modernise the armed forces.

• We will maintain the old Agnolia deal for island recognition and ally Agnolia.

• We will do partial OBT, where I will later order the generals to be lanient.

[warm escarp]

I am very satisfied with our current approach to foreign policy.

[spare lodge]

Next up:

Opening of H-3 Highway - No comments I suppose.

Requested Meeting of Mr. @sacred pulsar.

2nd megaproject - @open escarp, @warm escarp primarily.

CBRA - @open escarp and... that's it I think?

Budget Allocation of Healthcare - @plucky notch.

And talks with Mr. Ricter. That's enough for now. And of course @jolly wave and @rich eagle are always welcome to comment.

Actually since it's a short and easy decision, I will arbitrarily decide the SSC will do the 2nd megaproject too.

[warm escarp]

No reason not to, we signed WRA.

[rich eagle]

Mr. President I believe our second megaproject should be either the Benfi Airport or the Sarna Agricultural project. Since we aren't probably trading with Lespia or Valgsland we should focus on our capabilites as a country. The Conriat Project is also interesting but I shall wait for the minister of economy for further comments

Also, we should sign the CBRA as we are still in deficit so we need all the stability an independent central bank can provide

[warm escarp]

Anyways, I believe both the Morna Port and Benfi Airport are worthwhile megaprojects, either to increase our tourism stimulus with the first, or our exports to the international market with the second, and both would fully fix the infrastructure difficulties we're still facing.

[spare lodge]

(Since last time we chose SSC despite knowing it's inefficient, now, when we have no signs it will run into a delay and is the cheapest option, that's not even a discussion really, hard to LARP any other way. Maybe if we vetoed WRA and considered saving budget, but as it stands, idk)

[warm escarp]

(Basically I like Green Infrastructure and I don't see any disadvantages either of them could have)

[spare lodge]

(then I expect you to argue which region needs more investments or what is more worthwhile longterm)

[neat loom]

Equipment in rural areas suck, thst is why most of my family died

[spare lodge]

Do no ministers except Foreign Affairs and VP have any comments?

[warm escarp]

Oh shit I forgot about this.

[spare lodge]

(Idk I even pinged people and yet non commented, guess everyone's busy. And by the way, tomorrow at 19:30 CEST, I'm going to start working night shifts, for a week. I might not be available at all, or maybe I'll just sit around, browse my phone, watch movies, comment here, we'll see)

[plucky notch]

(Sorry, will put something later.)

(But, honestly, you should probably consider addressing each item one by one. Doing some many at once overwhelms us and causes us to talk over each other about different things.)

[spare lodge]

(You think so? I'm open to feedback at all times btw, but in this situation, does seriously anyone except Jaher have a comment about conscription and which branch to modernise? Does seriously anyone except Catspaw care about CBRA?

I guess I'll try smaller batches, instead of 3-5 let's go down to 2-3 decisions at once? Especially if they're unrelated to each other, say, CBRA + Budget Allocation of Healthcare)

[plucky notch]

(It makes it harder for us to focus but it does move things along if that is your goal. I would imagine though, choosing to focus one at a time would allow for more discussion and debate between ministers but that would take up more time. It's up to you in the end since this is your run.)

[spare lodge]

(Fair point. Hmmm. Well let's try your method, not as either of us was in a hurry)

(but of course finish that batch I suppose)

[open escarp]

As it currently stands we have had to focus somewhat on the centre to to preserve jobs and support Sordish GDP amidst some of the questionable decisions made. As of today, however, we can no longer afford to ignore the regions and we must stimulate the regional industries if we are ever to bring new jobs to new regions. We believe that Sarna may be a very wise choice to achieve this goal, as it would stimulate agricultural growth that forms the backbone of many of our trading relations with the likes of Agnolia and Wehlen. Doing so could support an increase in agricultural efficiencies and drive exports by as much as up to 20%, all while fuelling regeneration in Bergia and lowering local prices.

Ms Agnoc has been very vocal on the issue of CBRA, believing it would help to stabilise the national debt and improve controls over our own currency value by accumulating foreign exchange reserves. It's a sound strategy, in theory, but leans far more-so on relationships with international economies than it does shift us to a more self-sufficient system, and could in fact risk inflating government spending. The ministry is of the belief it may be wise to pass up this opportunity and focus on maintaining a tighter budget.

[north linden]

(This thing only actives during 1am-5am, very annoying timezone for law)

[spare lodge]

Mr. @sacred pulsar. I'm beginning to think disciplinary actions may be necessary (no seriously, you start typing regularly, never finish and actually send your messages, all good man? Something the matter or...?).

As for the 2nd megaproject, the cabinet leans towards Sarna Agricultural Zone. Very well.

CBRA... The Minister of Economy is against it, weirdly enough? I see no other comments regarding that.

Budget Allocation of Healthcare. I'm guessing Orange-kun would support keeping it in state's hands, so does Minister of Economy, it's also necessary for Gloria's support. As for what to improve, I'm assuming the quality of rural healthcare.

And from now on, we'll do decisions one by one I suppose.

[spare lodge]

(What's your timezone? I usually talk between my 7 PM-11 PM. But that's why I try to give every decision a day before making it. I also see the merit of one decision per day, so again, this is what we'll continue with)

(tbh we need you Jaher. I'm stuck here anyway)

[rich eagle]

I thought we were doing modernization?

[spare lodge]

I mean, I can assume that Jaher wants to go to war and win, which would require modernising the Air Force and abolishing conscription, but I also don't want to play instead of him.

[jolly wave]

Expansion programme could help our economy by decreasing our unemployment rate but who will want to die in the military anyway... I don't think many people will respond to the programme. So im choosing modernisation. I think we need more equipment right now. (Personally I've never beaten the war whit Agnolia, so don't take my advice pretty seriously)

[spare lodge]

(we've chose to modernise already, now we're discussing which Branch to modernise and what to do with conscription)

[jolly wave]

(I can't be very good advicer because I've never won whit Agnolia)

[spare lodge]

(tl;dr, we need to modernise the Air Force, abolish conscription, keep Gendarmerie under military and do MIC. Then Pincer into march on Thornbourgh. That'd be the way to victory)

(for LARP I think modernising the navy to stand up to Valgish harassment is a better option. Also it makes Agnolia send their entire 400k army to help us, but they suck, so eh. No reason to modernise the army, ever)

[jolly wave]

(Maybe we will just sanction Rumburg if we don't think we will win)

[median shore]

the votes must be influenced

[spare lodge]

I mean unless Jaher starts talking I will just do two polls about it and see

[jolly wave]

So Mr. President The expansion of navy will be helpful against Valgsland but... But we can assist them whit our air force. I mean not the current but the increased one.

[spare lodge]

(I do expect a discussion about the options, not just a vote, but since Jaher is silent, well...)

[jolly wave]

(I think we will crash the economy so i will LARP for current conscription)

Mr President abolishing conscription is a stupid move that will make our forces useless! If we abolish conscription we will have less than 100k solders! (Im exaggerating i know)

And what is the plus if we have 100k solders against a milion?

[spare lodge]

(You aren't actually, we will go from 400k to 200k if I remember correctly)

[jolly wave]

(i was exaggerating)

[spare lodge]

Does the Minister of Economy have a comment?

(no seriously, idk what's happening to Jaher, but we can't just stay stuck here for days)

[rich eagle]

Mr. President if we are spending so much in modernization, might be good to put it on the future, that's why I support an Air Force modernization to improve our current offensive capabilities, or the navy if we are going to protect our current trade routes with the rest of Merkopa. This can help us against Lespian or Valgish influence given that we won't trade with them

@sacred pulsar (Bless the raynes down in anrica)

[north linden]

(UTC+7)

[spare lodge]

(Jaher did not speak up. Votings did not have a quorum, merely 2/7 advosirs voted. I have to ping @sacred pulsar again, or if that fails, I'll just re-do the voting and ping more people)

[spare lodge]

All right. We did end up having a quorum. We modernise the Air Force, as for conscription, I'll have to think about it some more. Perhaps @neat loom wants to try to sway me one way or another? The voting is 2/2 and I won't reveal my preferences.

[neat loom]

forcing people into army won't help

[spare lodge]

Next up is... the 2nd megaproject. We had a discussion and so far I feel like the strongest arguments are for Sarna Agricultural Zone, but I shall do a vote regardless.

[neat loom]

btw i will give President my Lucky Charm since there is no family i can give it to

[spare lodge]

(Since I started poor and refused Tusks bribe I did not have the money to give to you, I don’t have any anti-assassination protection besides you existing)

(Serge protects us with his body if we don’t have any other method, right? The others being Serge’s watch, Kibener’s lighter or SSP existing).

[warm escarp]

(Nah, you just die)

[neat loom]

(serge gives you the charm because you pay for his family, since i have no family lore wise there is no one that would get the watch after i die, so i am sure a familyless Serge would just give it to Antont for free)

[spare lodge]

I will redo the vote until one option reaches 4 votes while eliminating the least popular,

[warm escarp]

I believe we should invest in the Morna Port. The Benfi Airport would be mainly beneficial to the Gruni region and funnel the tourism scene there, however, without the new airport, this would likely mean that the benefits of our new tourism bill would be more spread out amongst the entire nation.
Furthermore, I think the Morna Port might be a good opportunity now following us recognizing Heljiland as Agnolian. There are reports that Chancellor Hegel is planning to harass our ships away from the strait, and so, charting new trade routes for our exports to the world could be crucial to maintain our presence in the international markets. Not to mention, up to this point we have completely ignored the Lorren Region, and I don't think we'll have many opportunities to develop it after this.

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: Im only voting skip because of our debt.

[warm escarp]

Honestly fair.

[spare lodge]

Money not spend is just a piece of paper, as I’m sure Mr. Catspaw would agree. But we shall see, as I said, I will be eliminating options until a majority is reached. Might as well ping more members.

@plucky notch

@north linden

[north linden]

(Wait, i have to vote too?)

Ministry of Law: We dont have any expertise on economics or construction, we will abstain from the vote

[spare lodge]

(I mean yeah as you can see we’re in a deadlock, we need to establish a majority one way or another. So I’m thinking you and orange have to vote as well, unless I just start making arbitrary decisions)

[spare lodge]

(Also skip is don’t build the megaproject at all, not abstaining from voting)

[spare lodge]

(Plz vote for something so the next poll is down to 2 realistic options)

[north linden]

(Im coming up with lore reasons)

Ministry of Law: Though im not an expert, a port in Morna would help the books and document imports backlog we have in restoring HSU legal faculty and help the ministry's own initiative to increase access to legal papers.

[spare lodge]

( 😗 )

[spare lodge]

While I do find the argument of the minister of economy for Sarna Agricultural Zone (and I’m totally not biased despite being from Bergia myself (I am)) really compelling, the plurality of ministers seems to prefer Morna Port. What does the minister of economy think about that?

[open escarp]

As it stands we have already taken a somewhat antagonistic stance to Valgsland. While we are not expected to be drawn into the conflict between Agnolia and Valgsland itself, we would look very skeptically at investing into further trade infrastructure within what could become an active war-zone. Furthermore, while we do embrace the expansion of transport infrastructure to ease logistics activities, we have already looked to prioritise trade between our closest partners via road and rail. We should be enhancing those trading routes primarily, which Morna would simply not support.

Already, the H-3 Highway into Agnolia is enhancing the trade opportunities (particularly agricultural goods) between our two nations, and so enhancing agricultural outputs is a priority. Furthermore, given the proximity to the Wehlen border, Sarna may help to bolster trade to the south while also making clear of your intentions to regenerate Bergia and offer much-needed employment opportunities in the regions.

[spare lodge]

With all due respect to all the ministers Mr. Catspaw provides very, very, very convincing arguments. @plucky notch Could you comment on that? I won't hide my bias anymore, I'm very interested in investing into Western Sordland and our most neglected regions rather than Lorren, but I also do not wish to ignore the will of the cabinet.

[plucky notch]

Minister of Welfare: Both the Port of Torp and Sarna Agricultural Zone would be good projects, Mr. President, I would have chose both if I had two choices. The port would provide much needed expansion to trade capacity and allowing another major port on top of Lachaven to receive trade which may be particularly useful for goods coming from Lorren and Gruni regions. Additionally, in considering the chilled relations with Vaglsand, a major port located in the east near the Antacean Sea would shorten trade routes and avoid having to pass through the Markian Sea where trade can be blocked and attacked more easily.

The agricultural zone, on the other hand, would greatly support the agricultural-based economies of Bergia and, probably by extension, Gruni. Considering the higher rates of poverty and social deterioration in these regions, a dedicated agricultural zone could bolster and enhance the local economies and allow for ample agricultural goods for export. It would have a particular targeted effect on the Bludish community due to their predominance in the rural areas of the region and in the agricultural sector.

[warm escarp]

(Think of the Green Modifiers. Green modifiers!)

[spare lodge]

(A good argument, but i am trying to avoid thinking about that. As in, i try to consider dialogue primarily, mostly due to how arbitrary some situations are. Simon will note how the infrastructure is not fixed yet, but frankly, Catspaw has the most convincing arguments so far about this)

[warm escarp]

(Yeah, and he's definitely not wrong about the warzone part. I'm not as peaceful as Wisci, after all.)

[north linden]

(I dont feel like the Agriculture part of H-3 is lore accurate, the reports and game mechanic emphasize on the fish rather than any widespread agiculture effects)

(Then again, Agri expand gives subsidies to fishers in Bergia, not Agnland tho, they dont deserve it)

(Theres also the counter argument that a minister of Law 100% would never think of, that is maybe not having 80% of your export in 1 port and have trade routes to cross contested Helji water by diverting trade routes as per in-game report would be easier if you have another port on the other side of the country)

[north linden]

(*200k, Agnolia has two armies, each is 100k)

[spare lodge]

(Sorry for the general delay, as I said before I’m working night shifts).

I believe the cabinet made their preference for Morna Port clear enough. Very well then. It does raise a question whether Air Force modernization is our choice, when a port would work better with a navy, presumably, but let’s continue.

Next up is CBRA. The minister of economy explained his opposition to it, what about the rest of the ministers?

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: I think that's our only hope to prevent debt crisis. And if we don't manage to exit in debt in SR the crisis can be resolved by pulling out our foreign reserves.

[warm escarp]

(Ironically, only the Conriat Production Zone benefits from having a navy, and the navy doesn't even have any influence over helping us with Valgsland Harassments, and Agnolia's army can't win us the war even with full support. Basically, the navy is entirely useless to us despite the fact we should have a lot of good reasons to do it)

[warm escarp]

Providing the text of the CBRA bill before presenting my opinion:
"The Central Bank Reinforcement Act led by Edith Agnoc and the GNA intends to bolster the strength and stability of Sordland's national currency and bolster the overall economy. The Grand National Assembly advocates for the following measures: Section I mandates the accumulation of foreign exchange reserves. By buying foreign currencies, especially those of Sordland's main trading partners, the Central Bank can exert more control over the value of our currency. Section II outlines the adoption of a prudent fiscal policy. By reducing the national debt and limiting budget deficits, the country can present itself as a more stable economic entity, attracting foreign investment and improving our credit rating, which in turn would enable us to borrow at lower interest rates, if necessary. Section III proposes increased legal and informational support for industries with high export potential, such as our emerging electronics sector in Gelsord, wine production in Borin, and pharmaceutical manufacturing in Lachaven. By increasing exports, the demand for our currency on the international market will rise, thus strengthening its value."

Hmm, while my economic knowledge isn't as great as minister Catspaw, I do realize his arguments are based more on slightly isolationist tendencies rather than economic growth. In truth, I believe that accumulating the foreign currency of our allies and promoting the growth of our exports can only be beneficial for our goal of increasing Sordland's influence on the world stage. Not to mention, our rather, generous, spending, to put it lightly.

Yes, I believe we should sign this bill, I don't think it will be so damaging to our self reliance. I'd dare say setting the EPA to 49% was more damaging to that than this will be.

[rich eagle]

Mr President, given the excessive spending you have done, I believe we should sign it unless you guarantee no more investments

[spare lodge]

(I’m ignoring the mechanical effects at the moment, by pure LARP port = merchant navy = Valgish harassment. It we diversify where we start our trade routes, it should help. I think€

[warm escarp]

As the man who suggested funding every single ministry, I believe the only way out is through.

[warm escarp]

(It should, it really fucking should...)
Mr President, our allies in Agnolia are targeted by Valgsland's superior navy, however, their naval capabilities are only inferior to Valgsland's. If we strengthen the Sordish navy, this should help ensure our control over the markian sea and further reduce the risks that our naval exports face.

[tight coyote]

inv me g

[warm escarp]

Mr President, I must heavily discourage you from allowing a Darth Vader NFP member into our cabinet, his mere presence will destroy our image as a peaceful nation that strives to increase human rights.

[spare lodge]

(First of all, we will continue with the current cabinet til the end, I've rejected two people already, it wouldn't be fair to accept a third one. Besides, with all due respect, I've interacted a lot with most of the current cabinet members and could vouch they'd try their best and have the necessary knowledge to back up their claims.

As a side note, I am considering on cutting down on the amount of cabinet members to make it a little more feasible to get us all gathered to make decisions. As it stands, 8 people seems a bit too much, unless you all think otherwise.

As for continuation, we will of course, but again, I was working, yesterday was... turbulent, so is today tbh, which is why I'll return here tomorrow to continue.

As it stands, we will:

• Abolish conscription.
• Modernise the Air Force.
• Build the Morna Port.
• Sign CBRA - While we don't have a majority, I expect myself to not be fiscally responsible enough to avoid a debt crisis.
• Maintain healthcare in state's hands and improve rural treatment.
• Choose the SSC for the megaproject.)

Actually, scratch that, we're going decision by decision from now on instead of grouping them. Cabinet members! Next up, we shall discuss the upgrades of our education system + the current curriculum. Any comments?

[median shore]

evolution is the way forward

[spare lodge]

I'm tired of repeating myself. Only the votes of the cabinet members matter.

[warm escarp]

We should aim to separate religion from our government, and evolution is the latest scientific theory on our existence, we should embrace the new ideas rather than let ourselves be stuck in the past.

[warm escarp]

(Also thank you for ignoring us all and modernizing airforce anyways. We can now bomb Tzarsborough)

[north linden]

Ministry of Law: We have the separation of church and state for reason, mr.President. Teaching creationism, not only create massive consistency as each school get to choose which religion or even which religious sect. version of creationism as we also allow freedom of religion in our school, but also a potential violation of Sordish Constitution.

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: Mr President, evolution is great i know and I agree that religion should not play such a huge role in education. But we must think, think Mr president think! If we absolutely abolish creationism we will lost all of our conservative voters and some teacher may lose their jobs. But we must change the system we can't stay to creationism forever! I think we should approach that issue slowly.

[spare lodge]

(The vote was 3 in favor of Air Force, 1 in favor of Navy and no one in favor of Army. I did not take the arguments into consideration much, since I assumed Jaher would advocate for a setup that allows us to win the war, unfortunately he’s been AWOL for a long time)

[warm escarp]

(Don't worry, I'll push you to war myself.)

[spare lodge]

(Anyone has a clue what’s happening to Jaher? He’s ignored my pings, he’s ignored my private messages, I don’t know what else to do)

[warm escarp]

(Maybe he's doing the real life military service to get in character)

[plucky notch]

Minister of Welfare: If people want to learn about creationism, they can go to church.

[rich eagle]

Mr President, For once I have to agree with the chief of staff, we don't have to alienate the majority of our Sordish citizens, we must teach evolution as it's the way of science, but still allow creationism because teaching history of religions and art are still important

[spare lodge]

3/3? Weird. Jaher doesn’t respond, so we’re at a tie. @neat loom would you like to state your case for supporting a ban on creationism? I personally lean towards the arguments of the VP and Chief of Staff as alienating towards the conservatives, whose support we need.

[neat loom]

if we ban creationism then the conservatives will weaken even more in future and there would be more left-leaning people which means more votes for the party if it goes more socialist direction later on

[spare lodge]

I did not expect you to have such a strong political position. I usually ask for your counsel to see what an average man sees and thinks. Hm.

[neat loom]

i am not just an average man

https://tenor.com/view/man-yeah-i'm-man-meme-the-flash-batman-arkam-gif-12016075606724428920

[north linden]

I dont believe we gave schools funding so they can turn teachers into preachers, mr.President.

[spare lodge]

Very well. While I’m still personally not a fan, I shall listen to the cabinet (and Serge). Next up is… Gasom state shares. We can sell 1/3, 2/3 or keep them.

(By the way, I started thinking. Since I’d rather focus on discussions over polls, how about this: We do a vote for the current decision AND start discussing the next one. So the day after, all sides already explained their reasoning and all that’s left is a vote and begin discussing the next one. In this case, we will discuss Gasom shares, although frankly it will be a short discussion I assume. Then do a vote about shares tomorrow and start discussing lobbying. Two days from now, we will vote on lobbying and start discussing victory day. And so on. Do you catch my drift?)

[open escarp]

I am of the belief that is essential we maintain a stake in Gasom, especially given early indications that the company is growing quite nicely due to the EPA change. While I would love to suggest maintaining the large stake we currently have, unwise decisions have left us with a deficit that the Mrs Agnoc herself has warned to be quite... troublesome. As such, I think it would be best to sell a small portion of our shares to at least recoup the initial investments made and still have a little "skin in the game" so to speak, when it comes to a critical industry.

Although I am by no means close to Ewald, all reports I have seen suggest that planned deposits have already been accessed and the company is now firmly in safe waters, requiring no urgent injection of funding - it is now time to ensure the same remains true of our government.

[warm escarp]

(What unwise decisions are you talking about? This run is perfect!)

[north linden]

The ministry of Law has no stance on this topic, but personally, i would note that having a seat in Gasom would help keep an eye on their treatment of workers.

Gasom has a record of violating workers law

Which the previous administration has seemlingly swept it under the rug

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: I don't understand much of economics or gas, but I see this as the only opportunity to earn money before is too late.

[warm escarp]

(I second the vote for selling 1/3, sorry, I've been very busy lately)

[spare lodge]

(Voting starts tomorrow. And so does the discussion about victory day. We vote on victory day and start discussing whether to and in what degree are we privatizing or nationalizing in 2 days. I think this system makes sense and puts more emphasis on discussions.)

[rich eagle]

Mr President we need al the budget we can get to move out from the deficit we created. I believe we should sell 2/3 state shares

[warm escarp]

Alright, while it would be my preference for maintaining our 30% share of Gasom, I can appreciate the great need for further funding our Liberal spending strategy has caused. While a 20% stake won't allow us to have as much influence, it could be enough to obtain a consistent revenue from Gasom's profits to its shareholders. While I believe maintaining our 30% stake would be better in the long term, we might need to sacrifice it at least partially if we mean to pay off our debt.

[spare lodge]

(Sorry for the delay. Busy day yesterday)

And while we're voting, I'd like to start discussing the topic of tomorrow's vote, that is the PFJP statement that articles 6&7 are racist, the NFP statement that Bluds are Sords, or staying out of this case.

For lobbying, since I'm a patriot and deeply care for democratizing this country, I will use all my personal wealth to lobby (that is 2 PW, since all I have is poor start, doubled by Armadine).

[spare lodge]

Gentlemen. Some screenshots to catch us up to the current situation.

• I don't think we discussed Bergia's status, but I'll default to centralization.

• CBRA Signed. By the way, after signing it our economy went to Danger. Healthcare kept in state's hands, improved rural treatment.

• We convinced Ricter.

• Contract about Morna Port awarded to SSC.

• Built new schools.

• Creationsm banned.

Now we're here:

[warm escarp]

(I believe in us)

[spare lodge]

(Unless you convince me to start trolling I think this game will be a success. Economy recovered despite a debt crisis + War won so reelection guaranteed. No need ot get cocky now tho)

[warm escarp]

(Well, my character IS pro Blud, and you spent all your money on Lobbying, so you have no way of bribing Garaci...)

[spare lodge]

(Tbh mine is too, remember it's a Bergian Rayne, and lobbying is the next decision, so you could convince me to hold back, since we have USP + PFJP on our side. The problem is, I refuse to be corrupt, what other ways of getting the last justice we have? ACP on OG should give us one guy, right?)

[warm escarp]

(No, I'm 95% sure you need to get Garaci in order to get the last few old guard justices, and with justice immunity, that requires 1GB to get. Maybe Koronti will save us? I'm pretty sure he gives you support even if all you do is fully nationalize Bergia Steel and leave HoS alone, and I have a good opinion of HoS due to their good record of Worker's Rights)

[spare lodge]

(I've heard people claim the Oligarchs lobby a reformist justice, but again, I basically never do what we did here, so I can't say. I could do a test run and reload a save later, but that'd take out the fun out of it. Do we risk it all or do we stay humble?

That would require me to make a deal with Koronti tho. I am willing to say "I'll think about it" to not antagonize him at least, that could get us his support indeed).

[warm escarp]

(I don't quite remember. We also have the problem that you promised centralization, and now if we wanna keep that and change articles 6 and 7, you need to reduce EPA to 10%, and we sold only 1/3 of Gasom shares because we believed we'd be getting the investment returns. And if we maintain the special zone, because we can't get rid of Hawker then Bron will keep inflating tensions with the Bludish community. And also, we're committed to this mess, we're gonna risk it all)

(On the theme of Koronti, I'm 90% sure just telling him you won't nationalize HoS and fully nationalize Bergia Steel is enough for his support)

[spare lodge]

(Keep in mind we're larping. We don't yet know they'll demand EPA back to 10%. We make the choice with the knowledge we have, and the situation we're presented. Is my idealism that Bluds and Sords are equal applicable, or are we staying realistic and going with Kibener's plan to get rid of Bron?)

(I should start pinging you, idk why I think it's rude. Damn you Catsland.)

[warm escarp]

(It's okay, I have this particular chat set to give me all notifications)

[spare lodge]

(Besides, if we're talking meta, EPA at 49% to 10% doesn't bankrupt gasom, just makes it weak. So we still have a 20% share in a weak Gasom, so presumably we can get another good deal with GB for a lot of shares. Maybe even a majority share)

[spare lodge]

(How do I do that)

[warm escarp]

(Yeah but, the big consequence of a Weaker gasom is yellow energy prices, and that will make economic recovery much more difficult)

[spare lodge]

write sometghing

[warm escarp]

(Human Rights are overrated)

[spare lodge]

Set it to "all messages". didn't get pinged or anything. Hmmm. Let me try some more

again

[warm escarp]

(Democracy is inherently flawed)

[spare lodge]

Broken shit

whatever

I check here on a regular basis anyway

[spare lodge]

(Sordland where all are equal is worth every price)

[warm escarp]

(...We're gonna tank the economy for Bludish Rights, and unless you give Garaci his 1 PW I'm 90% sure we're not even gonna get Bludish Rights)

[spare lodge]

(No balls)

[warm escarp]

(Fucking Bluds this is why I start emergencies)

[warm escarp]

Mr. President, I believe the only option that makes sense is to support the PFJP statement, that articles 6 and 7 are inherently racist, and maybe take the opportunity to add amendments to these articles in our new constitutional package. As long as those articles exist, they give the Ethnonationalists within our nation enough legitimacy to oppress and persecute our Bludish citizens and even at the slightest damage it invisibilizes their existence and importance within our nation. Sordland is a multicultural nation, we can't deny that anymore, laws like these only serve to inflate conflict within our own borders and pit our citizens against each other. I've stated before that I wished you'd pursue a More radically democratic constitution, but, since you instead made a reform package moderate enough to gather the full support of our party and the PFJP, I believe changing articles 6 and 7 is a real possibility, and one we need to take now for the sake of our democracy.

(Why am I doing this? Things were going so well before...)

[spare lodge]

Well, we do have a majority. Unfortuantely, the discussion about Victory Day statement did not kick off.

@plucky notch

@north linden

@jolly wave

@rich eagle

Any comments regarding the victory day statement?

[north linden]

Mr.President, i think the NFP case makes the most amount of sense

The Supreme Court cant win that argunent without doing a major U-turn

[rich eagle]

Mr. President I strongly believe we shouldn't let ourselves drag into this conflict, yes Sordland is a multicultural nation but with our reforms so close for voting I wouldn't like to see a disruption in our own party for the sake of some articles that while I belive are racist, these aren't the times to changing them. I advise you to not join any statement at all

[jolly wave]

Chief of staff: Mr president we are facing many issues right now. I've got to say NFP's statement will spark very negative reaction. But PFJP's statement is... Just stupid. I think the best for us is to stay out of that

[spare lodge]

Wouldn’t staying silent make the Bludish community even more mad? Getting rid of Bron should be a positive, yes?

[spare lodge]

I admit, I’m an idealist, since I grew up in Bergia my preference would be to achieve equality among Sords and Bluds. Is the cabinet sure saying the articles are racist too radical currently? If so, we shall get to the next decision this evening (7-9 hours I guess).

[spare lodge]

This is a pretty convincing argument tho.

[spare lodge]

Next up is lobbying. The more I think about it, the more I feel like it’s not necessary with entire USP + PFJP + probably some independents due to lowered threshold. I think I’ll save it for safety, but again, my principles forbid me from corruption.

Nothing important. 😛

Next up is privatization/nationalization, and to what degree. Opinions?

@north linden

@rich eagle

@jolly wave

@open escarp

@warm escarp

@plucky notch

@sacred pulsar

[spare lodge]

For context this is the latest screenshot. Add +3 GB since we decided to sell 1/3 shares, we’re at -6 GB.

[north linden]

Thats an interesting thing to tell the Minister of "Law"

[median shore]

the law is on the president's side

[open escarp]

Quite obviously, Mr President, any attempt to privatise SSC or Nedam, or even to keep the inequitable status quo in place would be a complete betrayal of Sordland and all those who have supported you thus far. We would strongly urge efforts to nationalise HoS and BS, or at the very least Bergia Steel and a meaningful share of HoS due to the critical resources HoS also owns.

[warm escarp]

We should at the very least fully nationalize Bergia Steel, it is a very strategic industry for future megaproject and industrial developments, as well as ensuring higher safety standards for it's workers, which Walter Tusk is notable for avoiding as much as he can for the sake of his own pockets.

[north linden]

As far as legal complaints goes, LUS did fired unsucessful lawsuits against Bergia Steel for its treatment of its workers, which are non-unionized

Bergia Steel has prove their compliant with pass and current labour laws, tho barely

Local reports in Bergia says Bergia Steel has significantly improved working standards, especially in their main operations in Ribel, but the local LUS reps said theyre "faking the numbers"

Again, no concrete evidence

Though one note is that Bergia Steel hasnt fired a defamation lawsuit agaisnt LUS like they usually does under the previous administration

My colleges use to make bets on how hard LUS would lose their lawsuits against the rather impressive BS legal team, tho granted its hard to win a case when half you legal team is in the Rock for pro-communist sentiments and the other half is holding protest signs in Antel for their release

[warm escarp]

Sounds like signing a decree ordering the release of the Soll Era political prisoners would do wonders to advance the worker's rights of Sordland.

[spare lodge]

Seems like we have no supporters for privatization? I might do the vote earlier then. Let’s wait for 1 more opinion, if it’s also pro nationalization, I shall start a vote to what degree to nationalize companies.

[warm escarp]

(I mean, we are a commie cabinet. The only one who might be in favour is Jaher, but he's been AWOL for a while now, right?)

[spare lodge]

(I had the idea of minority privatizing one or both companies since we’re starved for funds, but since no one is advocating for it, well, we shall move on)

[warm escarp]

(HA! STARVED FOR FUNDS?! YOU'RE GONNA BE STARVED FOR FUNDS AFTER CATSPAW CONVINCES US TO NATIONALIZE EVERYTHING)

[spare lodge]

(I should have phrased that differently) Gentlemen. I’ll admit something to you. Mr. Koronti assured me that if we were to nationalize Bergia Steel alone, he would do everything in his power to prevent Mr Tusk from retaliating. I think that’s something to keep in mind when making this decision.

[north linden]

Uh huh

Mr.President, i have full confidence that you are upholding your oath to protect and follow the Constitution and the law.

I sincerely hope this "relationship" you have with mr.Koronti does not effect your decision

[spare lodge]

I am a man of my principles, I can assure you. It’s more so that I’m aware of Mr tusks and Mr Koronti’s rivalry, and know we can use it to not have the oligarchs obstruct our administration (ingame upholding this deal is not corruption, so that’s why I’m telling you).

[open escarp]

I concur with the Minister for Law. It seems that the President is being manipulated by a senior figure within the Oligarchs. I stress the importance of nationalising both Bergia Steel and at least a majroty of HoS. Any less would put the President under a very suspect light.

[warm escarp]

I wouldn't be so sure of that, we have a number of good reasons to take Koronti's advise and stick to fully nationalizing Bergia Steel only. First of all, our nationalization focus should be to improve our economic prospects and the wellbeing of our citizens, nationalizing of Heart of Sordland would do little for both of those goals, as it has one of the most impressive records of worker's rights, even better than some of the national corporations had, like Nedam, and secondly, it is mainly a media conglomerate, it won't be as beneficial to our economic development as Bergia Steel, not to mention maintaining the state from interfering in the media would help show our transparency and commitment to democratic values.

And, as much as I hate to say it, but, the amount of wealth the oligarchs control in Sordland, if they were to pull out due to an extensive nationalization plan, it could be disastrous. Letting Koronti maintain his company could be necessary to pacify them and stop a worse outcome.

[spare lodge]

While I see a lot of merit of Mr Catspaw’s and Mr Catsland’s words, I am frankly afraid of confronting the oligarchs. We’ve already made an enemy of the Old Guard and the nationalists, why not postpone facing the oligarchs as well?

[median shore]

-# millions yearn to be nationalised

[spare lodge]

(The LARP is I’m an idealist, but I don’t want to die in a coup/assassination like Wisci)

[north linden]

If caution is so warranted, then a symbolic approach would suffice

A minor nationalization wouldnt cause much of a stur

[rich eagle]

I agree with the last statement from our minister of Law and Order, if we are going to purse nationalization it has to be a mild one, and I am from the opinion that a major BS nationalization will bring further suspicions about the President ambitions. I myself am against all types of nationalization and would in fact suggest a minor privatization of both companies but for the sake of compromise I can agree to a minor one

[spare lodge]

(I know it’s early but I’m yet again busy with personal stuff, I can’t promise you I’ll be here this evening)

Very well. All who wanted to contribute already did so. I’ll make it so everyone can vote for multiple options, as I expect people that want full BS nationalization would be just as fine with majority BS nationalization. I also think you should be able to change your vote if you see it didn’t get any traction.

Since nobody was advocating for just nationalizing HoS (and I ran out of options to use) I’ll reduce the foot by to these choices.

(Also keep in mind to roleplay, we don’t know if the oligarchs will retaliate and when will they do it, we just expect a confrontation).

[spare lodge]

I would like the ministers to discuss it among themselves and try to convince one another. Especially the ones that admit they know little about the matter and would prefer to follow expert’s lead.

[warm escarp]

Gentlemen, I must reiterate my commitment to nationalizing Bergia Steel only. We must consider that every business owner is afraid to some extent of nationalization, if they believe that the state could take the work of their lives out from under them in the flourish of a pen with nothing they can do about it, they're all gonna flee and leave tens of thousands of people unemployed and desperate in their wake. But, Marcel Koronti has a great influence not only inside Sordland but on the international markets as a whole. Of we take this opportunity to fully nationalize Bergia Steel and maintain HoS in private control, he could gain enough influence not only to prevent the current oligarch heads from fleeing Sordland, but also to attract new international investments, and promote higher working standards, as one of the main reasons we didn't nationalize HoS. That is how we'll make the most of our nationalization decision.

[open escarp]

Having spoken to my contacts and colleagues within both the ministry and beyond, I am of the view that both nationalisation of Bergia Steel and at least a portion of Heart of Sordland is imperative, and any less would betray Sollist principles. No true Sollist would form a bankroom deal to fuel the wealth of the rich and corrupt. Furthermore, Bergia Steel is an essential component of vertical integration, as are the non-media enterprises within HoS, which we simply must resume control of to stabilise procurement and drive state stimulation.

[north linden]

'Sollist' and 'principles' doesnt exactly stand well together

So-called Sollist like mr. only cares about lining their pockets, and do i have to remind all of you of Soll's 4th and 5th term?

[spare lodge]

The results are rather indecisive now. The majority of the cabinet members lean towards not touching HoS though. I also think Mr Zargos’ argument about not alienating the business too hard, at least for now when we still hope to keep a friendly relationship with Arcasia, makes a lot of sense. Which is why I’ll reduce this voting to the following options:

(I actually don’t know what happens if we do the last option. I think it’s a good roleplay though, I spare Koronti as much as I can while still promoting planned economy. Not sure how he’ll react though, but we shall find out).

(Keep in mind we’re role playing, we don’t know how good or bad of a person he is or how he will react, we can just guess).

[warm escarp]

(That's exactly why I'm defending him so much, without knowing of the media deal he offered nor his crime connections, he just seems like the last honest oligarch, trying to save his corporation while giving high competitive salaries and benefits)

[spare lodge]

(Yeah that plus the larpy argument we have to keep him around to keep the international investments coming is just lovely. Especially since we changed EPA to 49%. And indeed, I only told you about the phone call just now, nobody brought up the mafia connections so I’m ignoring them as baseless rumors and the previous phone talk was cut short, I merely learned about his rivalry with Tusk, I refused to meet privately, so I don’t even know about the media deal myself)

[open escarp]

(why is fully both not an option, both fully was the second most supported option)

[spare lodge]

(The votes of non-cabinet members don’t matter. 4 members were in favor of any degree of BS nationalization, only you voted for touching HoS)

(I’m starting to hate these fucking interlopers man, only teodafik gets a pass for being Serge and breaking up ties)

(I am glad we reached what, turn 7 already? Good, good. Sorry for no screenshots but I’m not at home, and will be yet again busy til next Sunday)

[spare lodge]

(Okay honestly. I need you to fully and convincingly address the issue Zargos brought up, plus offer more arguments on your own. I want to bring the focus back to discussions, not just votings. Me being suspicious is irrelevant, I don’t have any deal where I get Koronti’s support, he merely said he wouldn’t retaliate. And you’re the only sollist in this cabinet, bringing up sollist principles won’t convince anyone. If you state your case and convince more people, we can discuss it, but as it stands, some degree of BS nationalization it is)

(Also just for context if I won’t find the time to yap tomorrow, my personal preference would be to destroy the oligarchy once and for all by nationalizing both fully, but I also know I won’t do any good if I die right here because we didn’t take necessary precautions to prevent the oligarchs from biting back. Like say majority + majority but well, you see how the situation looks like)

[rich eagle]

Mr. President please I advice you to reconsider your final decision, we barely have enough budget for future projects, the members of the central bank have expressed their concerns about unnecessary spending. We are headed towards a crisis if we can't carefully managed our limited surplus. Either a minority of BS or HoS is okay for our chests, maybe a minority of both if you want to appeal for socialist votes.

[spare lodge]

(We’re at -7 GB. I mistakenly said -6 GB, but we won’t get 3 GB from Gasom shares since we didn’t do Lorren RI. Our current economic plan is something like this:

7 GB - Start.
6 GB - H-3 Highway.
5 GB - Tourism Act.
4 GB - Choose SSC.
2 GB - Gasom Solo Investment.
1 GB - GREEN.
EPA at 49%.
-11 GB - Budget Meeting (Fund All).
-12 GB - WRA.
-13 GB - L-1 Construction Issues.
-8 GB Taxes - Increase Taxes.
TRADE WAR CHECK Passed.
-9 GB - Mechanize Gruni.
-7 GB - ATO Aid.
Agnolia Alliance.
-5 GB - Wehlen Trade.
-7 GB - Morna Port.
-8 GB - CBRA.
-9 GB - Choose SSC.
-7 GB - Gasom Shares.

Nationalize?)

[warm escarp]

And what will we do when that wealth outright leaves due to Sordland being a "Hostile Business Environment"?
Besides the 49% EPA, all we've done, our entire term, is impose higher taxes and further regulations on all businesses, WRA, GREEN, we tax almost half their income already. What we need, is an influential figure like Koronti to say the opposite, that growth is possible, that fair and just corporations such as Heart of Sordland have a place within Sordland, and for that, we need to completely remove Tusk from the board. We want the international community to see our potential, we just need a good mouthpiece to appeal to the business side of it.

[solar swift]

We can upload our own images to the government maker??

That's gonna be so helpful for my wiki

[warm escarp]

(I just realized, we didn't even get Gus Investment opportunities, right? Businesses must absolutely hate us.)

[solar swift]

This is interesting Imma spectate

[spare lodge]

(I don’t think we did a single pro-business thing. Tourism act, maybe? Cheap steel from Agnolia? Other than that the Ekonomist must be fuming)

[solar swift]

Uh don't wanna annoy but does anyone know this

[spare lodge]

I had hoped Catspaw would answer. But. It’s just done in paint.

[solar swift]

Oooh

Thanks!

[neat loom]

you can be some other role like: Franc

[warm escarp]

We're not trying to humiliate the new guy.

[neat loom]

then he can be: dunno, some minor side role

[solar swift]

I can be Karl if there's none yet

[spare lodge]

I’ve denied 4 people already, you’ll be the 5th. I already don’t think 7 cabinet members + a president is sustainable, even the latest vote has only 4/7 cabinet members voting, adding more people isn’t going to help but make it even harder to get a quorum and a majority to make decisions.

[neat loom]

Then replace one of those inactive fucks

[spare lodge]

Besides you remind me of a major problem we will face soon enough. We’re in the what, middle of turn 8? We’re closer to the end than to the beginning. A new president will have to appoint a new cabinet (if enough people are willing to continue this in version 2.0) and see how it will go.

I’m not asking now, but think for yourselves, if anyone can see it continued with a new crew, who would be the president, who would be what minister and most importantly what improvements do you want to make.

There was this guy that wanted to roleplay Aladeen from the Dictator, but if he isn’t invested into and reading our game, i don’t really see the point, this is a weird elaborate project requiring a lot of attention and creativity.

[spare lodge]

The only truly inactive person is Jaher. The rest comments regularly, even if not daily. And I don’t have the heart to straight up replace Jaher until he willingly quits, but as it stands, he’s just AWOL. Often starting to comment, just to never send it.

[neat loom]

Send karl after his ass

[spare lodge]

I’ve pinged him repeatedly, reached out to him on private messages, but nothing worked.

[warm escarp]

Of course, we're gonna send Karl after the minister of defense.

Don't worry, I'm pro war enough to compensate.

Or rather, I'm anti Rumburg.

Fuck the queen.

[spare lodge]

I’m also trying to LARP what Jaher would do, idk how effectively

[neat loom]

They are fine aslong the got their money

[warm escarp]

Literally promised to fund the military.

[neat loom]

So you are basically doing Jaher's job?

[warm escarp]

And we did.

[warm escarp]

He's the president, he's doing every job.

[neat loom]

Even prostitute?

[warm escarp]

He knows how to keep up morale.

[neat loom]

@spare lodge is this true?

[spare lodge]

Listen, I know I probably sound arrogant af, but I’m the main engine keeping this game going. I don’t think what I’m doing is perfect, but I want to finish it, then think and talk about it and introduce some improvements in the new version. Like the ministerial veto, later on that. As it stands, I do not believe exchanging cabinet members mid game would work, especially until we get a confirmation from Jaher what’s up, even more so since he basically had a handful of comments to make, international policy and like 3 decisions so far what to do with the military.

[spare lodge]

I will never pay for sex. I can get it for free.

Wait no you’re paying me

I’m too proud to sell my body.

I do it coz we’re friends

[neat loom]

Fym

[spare lodge]

I kiss my homies goodnight

[spare lodge]

Don’t get into the topic of sex with me because believe me you ain’t ready for what I’ve seen

A perverted man is not even remotely close to a perverted woman in terms of how degenerate their most extreme fetish is

[warm escarp]

And now you've made us curious, but it's probably not a conversation to be had in the middle of this very serious roleplay.

[median shore]

go on.

[spare lodge]

I dont have a problem with discussing my experiences, but yes, another channel would be preferable. Let me just quickly summarize that I’m a very bold man and older women (like 30+, my record is 32 y/o back when I was 20) are especially not subtle about what they want.

[spare lodge]

(I do find the roleplay really fun tho. At times I get frustrated by people not bringing up what I would bring up, or having too much hindsight or whatever, but at the end of the day it’s a very nice way to spice up the game, I’ve not touched the guide making in a while, but still do this)

[warm escarp]

Well I got the support of Vladko and Serge. That counts, right?

[spare lodge]

If we just copy Jacso’s vote from the previous vote, we’d have a tie between fully BS and minority BS. But since I assume the minister of economy would prefer a strong nationalization effort rather than minor, it seems like fully BS has a majority.

Unified education language act. The idea seems good. Mr Ricter was somewhat supportive too. But what do the ministers think?

[warm escarp]

Every NFP bill seems good until you read it carefully.

"The Grand National Assembly advances the Unified Education Language Act (U.E.L.A.) to strengthen national unity and facilitate consistent, comprehensive learning across Sordland. Section I of the U.E.L.A. stipulates that all educational institutions in Sordland are required to conduct their teaching in the country's official language, except in the case of foreign language instruction. To offer courses in any language other than Sordish, institutions must obtain explicit approval from the Ministry of Education. Any universities, technical colleges, or other educational institutions found to be non-compliant will face a temporary suspension of operations until they apply for and receive the necessary approval. Section II of the U.E.L.A. underscores the enforcement of the Act. Schools found to be in violation of these guidelines may face penalties, which may include reduction or withdrawal of funding. In severe cases or cases of persistent non-compliance, total shutdowns may be enforced. This enforcement mechanism reinforces the commitment to a unified language policy, ensuring a cohesive educational experience across the nation."

So, this bill demands that every, single, course, that wishes to teach in a language other than Sordish, will require explicit approval from the ministry of education. If they try to comply with this, all we'll be doing is overburdening our esteemed Minister of Education and Healthcare with requests from all of Bergia's Schools, as our Bludish population will be the only one affected by this, and until they obtain said approval, their schools will be shut down leaving the children without an education, which will likely see an increase in anti-government sentiment and some might be more open to joining, terrorist organizations.
And of course, the second section only aggravates all this, taking away the funding of whatever school tries to stand against this law, the only thing we'll achieve is angering a large portion of our population, one that, let me remind you, has a bigger presence than ever thanks to our relaxed immigration policy.

TLDR: NFP bill, Veto.

[jolly wave]

Oh did i miss something? I was busy...

[warm escarp]

Watching or participating?

[spare lodge]

We chose to nationalize BS fully. We’re now discussing UELA

[jolly wave]

... Well ...

[jolly wave]

Ah i smell a depression

[warm escarp]

We're actually doing great.

I mean, we're definitely gonna have a debt crisis.

But other than that we're doing great.

[jolly wave]

Yeah yeah and we're going to win against Rumburg yeah yeah I've heard that...

To whatever hellhole they belong

[warm escarp]

We're actually prepared to win against Rumburg. I'll certainly advocate for that.

[jolly wave]

Over prepared...

[warm escarp]

The queen deserves it.

[spare lodge]

(I’ve heard people claim Agnolia only needs Modernised army, not Air Force, even Catsland said it, but I have no clue why that would be the case. If it is, we’ll learn together I guess)

[warm escarp]

(I'm, 90% sure I've done this exact thing before. I don't know, sometimes I modernize the army, so maybe I'm confused. There's a chance we fuck up and die.)

[solar swift]

Well, Karl doesn't make decisions does he

He just takes them

The orders I mean

[spare lodge]

The only decision Karl could comment on by now is whether to keep pursuing the old guard or to change the target? Nothing else is left really.

[solar swift]

I see

[open escarp]

Following the decision to accept Koronti's deal and nationalise only BS, the Minister for the Economy promptly flees the country to Kyrute, fearful of the backlash of the Old Guard for neither successfully guiding the presidency to the emergency nor curbing the corruption of the Oligarchs, firmly in the belief Sordland and the Sollonomic policies he is so proud of have been betrayed. He sends his resignation letter only after moving his assets to Kyrute, safely arriving, and being formally accepted into the country. He now works as a reporter for the Kyrute Chronicle and pens his first article "The President that Sold his Mind, Body & Soul".

[median shore]

-# SYMON NOOO

[open escarp]

(the president had openly commented on the koronti deal in-character, so sollmon had to stress nationalising koronti else seeing it as selling Sordland out. He also has some OG links so the ACP + failing all their priorities isn't gonna be a happy ending for him in Sordland)

[solar swift]

💔

[spare lodge]

(Bro I wanted to arrest you. But yes, very, very well, uuuuh, not sure what now tho. Did you leave any notes, or do we actually need to appoint a new minister, or what?)

[open escarp]

I left a scribbled note explaining that we're going to have a terrible debt crisis if we don't sign all the taxes as soon as humanly possible

[spare lodge]

(I’ve laughed out loud you actually did it, but I did not plan as to how to continue. If you got arrested for the OG connections, then it’d be so lategame it wouldn’t matter, but now? Let me think).

(Okay to be fair all that’s left is decrees, lategame taxes and lategame welfare decrees. We should manage if our general goal from now on is austerity)

[open escarp]

(taxes would be the only thing I'd have suggested going forward anywho, as none of the available decrees are remotely sollist)

(and money for industry expansion? what money?!)

[spare lodge]

(Arcasian MIC will do I hope. Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself. I guess your resignation is a well known fact by now, the OG are my enemies, as soon as we pass the constitution no need to placate them anymore)

[spare lodge]

(But do think about what I said here Catspaw. If you’re up for another such coop run)

[open escarp]

(totally am though I see another one starting to set up too, so it'll depend on numbers.)

[spare lodge]

HOLY SHIT! I think I feel the pride a father feels when he sees his son ride a bike for his first time. I’ll read through it, see how well they did so far.

To be completely honest I do feel like I’m a bit elitist, if there’s anyone else who wants to take the reins, be my guest.

[spare lodge]

Only one comment on UELA so far? Anyone else?

[spare lodge]

To be fair u think vetoing it will be consistent with our policy so far, that is doing basically the opposite of what the NFP wants. So I won’t ping people, if no one speaks up we will continue with that.

[warm escarp]

Catspaw might have wanted you to sign it, but he's not here now.

[spare lodge]

Traitor.

I just hope the rest of the conservatives don’t mind it too much.

To be honest with you Mr Zargos, you don’t think the entire conservative wing is a part of the Old Guard, right?

Gloria wouldn’t obstruct us after all we did to placate her?

I get obstructing Alphonso, but we’re too moderate. If they obstructed us; they’d lose their face.

[warm escarp]

Nah, we're still following the main tenets of Sollism. Statism, Self Reliance, and international neutrality. We're just less authoritarian than them, but we should still have a good amount of support from them.

[spare lodge]

Yeah, fair points. Guess we will wait and see.

[north linden]

My apologies sir, we tried to caught him at the port

One of our officer reportedly to have intercepted his vehicle, but he sped up too fast and ran passed our blockade

The fugitive drives a fast sport car which our police vehicles are not equipped to deal with

[spare lodge]

We can always hope Kyrute extradites him if he were to be found guilty of any crimes. Right @warm escarp ?

[north linden]

Uhh

[spare lodge]

The hell do you mean “uhh”?

[warm escarp]

It is a possibility, although I wonder, if he were guilty of anything, if he wouldn't take the time to burn all the evidence before fleeing.

[median shore]

https://tenor.com/view/fire-flame-burning-paper-gif-17794892

[warm escarp]

We can always hope.

[north linden]

Sir, its common knowledge that Kyrute has not extradited any political assylum for 103 years

[rich eagle]

(What happened? Catspaw left the cabinet?)

[median shore]

he did a kanye west

he ran away 😔

[warm escarp]

(Yeah, he left early, like, before the big resignations event.)

[north linden]

Kyrute has maintained the policy of neutrality for a hundred years, its hard to imagine they would break it for Sordland

[spare lodge]

(He quit since we didn’t do emergency like he suggested nor fully nationalized like he demanded. It looks like hardline larping, not being bored and quitting, at least to me)

[spare lodge]

Trail in abstentia?

[spare lodge]

. Love it

[north linden]

Any lawyer would recommend fleeing to Kyrute if he/she is in risk of political persecution

[north linden]

Its the only option, sir

[rich eagle]

(Well I was against any kind of nationalization, just allowing a minority on both could've been good though)