ACN's Newsnight with Peter Hawke-Armstrong (SONDRIA)

[Gristol-Serkonos]

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From Rien-Stadt, C.D.R, the Sovereign Empire and beyond, this is ACN World News. Good evening.

Now running: ACN's Newsnight with Peter-Hawke Armstrong

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Good evening to the viewers across the Sondria and the Sovereign Empire.

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Welcome to Newsnight, I am your host Peter Hawke-Armstrong. In this special episode of Newsnight, coming from the Populae Palati, in the capital city of the Sovereign Empire. Leaders of Sondria's northwestern countries are about to meet tomorrow morning, all sharing the common interest of creating a union in this part of Sondria. Whatever this union would entail, only time would tell. It is also a historical moment for the Sovereign Empire and of the Elder Republic, as the two countries are about to conduct their first talks since the complete break up of diplomatic contact between the two nations following the Red Revolution. The Lord High Chancellor emphasizing a new foreign policy of renewal, she has indeed expressed interest in re-opening relations to the Elder Republic.

Indeed, times are truly changing.

With me tonight is Kyra Blackridge, the President of the Elder Republic of Erjunhuf.

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Known among Erjunhites as the most interventionist President of the last century, President Blackridge is approaching near the end of her five-year term. Tomorrow, she and the Lord High Chancellor will be having their first bilateral talks for the first time since the 1920's. Growing up in the old city area of Victoria, she is known for her seriousness and stoicness, even for Erjunhites. She is known by her advisers, aides, and even political adversaries as a stubborn, hard to read woman, with a distinctly Victorian dry sense of humor.

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For the first time in the history of our two nations, Newsnight has been granted the first interview with the President herself.

Your Excellency, thank you for the opportunity to fit us in your tight schedule. How do you find Rien-Stadt so far?

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[Erjunhuf]

"Thank you for having me." President Kyra Blackridge smiled slightly as she replied. Doing television interviews in foreign countries was generally a formality, something most foreign policy correspondents would do after a bilateral engagement and generally glossed over by the public, largely forgotten or rendered moot weeks or months later. This interview, however, was incredibly important for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was that this was the first time in almost a century that the Elder Republic and Sovereign Empire had directly engaged with one another; for better or worse, this interview would be the first chance many Gristol-Serkonosi would have to gauge an accurate opinion on Erjunhuf itself. It would also be a chance to set a tone on the coming summit, the outcome of which her administration was hoping to set a precedent for future Erjunhite regional involvement.

"I've thoroughly enjoyed myself in Rien-Stadt thus far; in many respects it's quite similar to Victoria, which as you previously mentioned, is my home. I was fortunate enough to be able to tour the capital earlier today, particularly the War Memorial and the 1st Arrondissement, which reminds me so much of the Old Market in Victoria. And, I must say, the climate here is far more agreeable than it is in Carthage this time of the year."

[Gristol-Serkonos]

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Well, from all of us Rien-Stadites, we are happy that you have enjoyed yourself in the city so far. Typically, in most interviews we have seen in other shows... it is largely glossed over by the public, forgotten or ignored days or months later. Since this is our countries' first, I am sure this would be more memorable for all of us. Both for the Sovereign Empire and the Elder Republic.

Our viewers, myself included, would like to know you as a person first. Second, as a leader of a prominent Sondrian state. Although the word 'prominent' may be understating it, because let's look at it this way. The Elder Republic is one of the largest economies. It is a founding member of the alliance known as the Triad, in which includes the Sovereign Empire as an observing partner. Our countries both fought in the same side in the ongoing conflict in Jagis. Through the Shogunate, both our military-industrial complexes have become partners in Myrmidon Tactical Design of the Marquesas. Fast forward today, the Sovereign Empire is working along side the Elder Republic, the Federated States of Epraria, and the Stratocratic Republic of Iohann to form this partnership.

It must have been a very exciting half of your term.

So what keeps you going? Is it your personal interests, art, literature, music? Maybe a family?

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[Erjunhuf]

"Well, I would say that my belief in improving the state of the Elder Republic for the next generation is what really keeps me committed to the job, but that's not precisely the root of that belief." Kyra replied after a momentary pause. "My father is the one who truly inspired me to that end; he was a newspaper editor for the Victorian Herald, one of the largest newspapers in the country. His father had been a bit of a disappointment - he'd had a reputation as a drunkard and a gambler, you see - and I believe that it tremendously shaped my fathers outlook on life and legacy, specifically as a parent, to leave the next generation on a better foundation and in a better position than the one before it. It impacted his work as well; he was quite notorious for really putting politicians' feet to the fire and ensuring that the average citizen had a voice in the city and knowledge of what our city council was planning. One of his favorite proverbs, and one that truly influenced me, was 'This generation needs to be planting trees that will shade the next'. He was the one who got me into politics and inspired me to make a tangible difference for the country, from my time as a young and idealistic parliamentary aide to today."