Tales of Leonnia (nation maintenance)

[Leonnia]

OCC Note:

This thread aims to show the various events that take place in the Leonnian society, ranging from random short stories to major events involving several national leaders to some bullshit, with the idea of doing this being totally inspired by Sunset's Nation Maintenance thread. You are invited to read as soon as you can, but you are not allowed to post anything without my prior approval. Any grammatical error or suggestion will be warmly received via telegrams or by Discord.

[Leonnia]

Scott Banking Company Headquarters
1002 Barkfield Street, Bedford, Leonnia
Monday 1st October 2018, 1:34 PM

"As you can see, the profit generated by the Scott Banking Company in September was one of the worst of our whole history, so... I think we should talk a bit more about it." Finished Carl Edwards, using a stick to point the slides and other images projected on the wall. He was wearing an impeccable suit that had been rented yesterday and spoke clearly and comprehensively to all members of the Board of Directors of the Scott Banking Company. The institution was not a famous banking company and had scarcely had so much prominence in the media, but that situation was shameful even by its standards. Founded in 1972 by Benjamin Scott, the bank started providing only some unreliable insurance services, but with the hard work of its founder, the company grew and arrived in a good position for its infrastructure. With his death in 2003, problems have accumulated and accumulated, and his sons have no ability to solve them.

Carl might have been a young man, but he was clever enough to be able to serve as a board member. He always wanted the best of the company that works, but he has to share the same space with other people with a much greater experience and who were not comfortable with his growth, just as he has to work with idiots who did not make any question of being there. Returning to the meeting, he gave a pale smile to everyone as he returned to his chair, seizing the time of the other board member to organize before speaking his opinion to arrange some papers, until he glanced at his companions, and observed who would be next to speak: Phil Hastings, the one Carl hated most. He did not hate and crave bad things personally, but professionally. Phil was an old dog in the institution, and he saw Carl as a threat, just as he knew all his weaknesses. Knowing this, he took some papers and a pen drive with some images to be projected, and after organizing everything in an orderly way, he started:

"Firstly, good morning. It's still good morning, is not it? No? So, good afternoon." He paused and cleared his throat, tidying up his tie. "Before, I wanted to wish a late happy birthday for Mrs. Cloe from HR, who turned 63 last week and has been so long in that company. Now, talking about Mr. Edwards' stats and despite being against some of his ideas, I have to admit that he's right." He spoke a little way back, even making Carl interested in what he was going to say. "It is true that our company is going from bad to worse, and if we continue this way, we will go bankrupt until the end of the year. So I've been thinking with my buttons and I had a brilliant idea that will surely reconcile both the part of rescuing the bank and making it become one of the most important in that country! We will stop focusing about insurance and we will invest in... wood!"

"Wood?" They all spoke and whispered as if they were just a choir, while the members began to look curiously at each other.

"Yes, wood! I was looking at the profits that the extractivism of wood generates in Crawlsey, and the results are impressive! Besides being an extremely cheap and profitable raw material, it generates incredible numbers that could take our company out of the crisis in a matter of months!" Said quite excited. "My idea is to send a small group of board members to assess some landowners in Crawlsey who work with wood extraction. We could create some companies dedicated to the extraction and sale of wood for some industries, being the shareholders and owners of these groups. The small landowner would earn, the employees earn, the owners of the furniture producing industries would earn as well and we would earn even more. It's a win-win for everyone!"

"Seems to be a great idea, Phil." Another member said with an air of instigation. "But, as you yourself said, who would go to Crawlsey?"

"Oh, George, that's a good question. Well, I do not see anyone wiser for it to be done other than Carl and... Peter!" He spoke with great enthusiasm as Carl fell into despair and anger. Peter Scott was a complete idiot, in his opinion. Benjamin's grandson, he was never interested in studies because he knew he had a fortune waiting for him, and because of his family ties, he became a board member to occupy the only remaining seat, being the exact opposite of Carl in every way. Peter, in turn, was a bit confused as he listened to his name, turning his attention to Carl who tried to protest:

"But, but... I do not want-"

"I think it's a great idea, and I believe Carl can do it!" Another member said, who had his comment extended: "Yes, I totally support sending Carl to Crawlsey! Only then can we save this company!"

"Hurrah!" Spoke everyone in a single choir. There was no need to say anything more nor make an election to decide if this act would be approved. It was already decided and ready, even though no one was listening to poor Carl's opinion. Already Peter did not give a damn what was his custom, just agreeing with what he said after all he would not be annoyed with a trip to Crawlsey.

[Leonnia]

Prime Minister's Residence
8 Abingdon Street, Castelby, Leonnia
Tuesday 2nd October 2018, 8:21 AM

Abingdon Street was quiet as it has always been that morning. For a tourist, it might be strange that His Majesty's Government seat was virtually deserted, with only a few guards doing their work along with a few (usually black) cars parked on the street, but this had an explanation: the street always remained closed to the with restricted entry, with only government-linked politicians and certain journalists allowed in certain cases. The street itself was considered to be one of the prettiest in all of Castelby - which has several hundred-year-old streets, with trees and flowers of all kinds coming from all parts of the Commonwealth decorating the road, having no need to fight space with the bicentennial buildings who boast all the luxury they can.

With the street being practically dead for the whole weekend, things were just getting busier with Tuesday morning, where the notorious Cabinet Meeting took place. Every Tuesday, every member of the current Prime Minister's cabinet, including secretaries, directors, and representatives of all Commonwealth nations would meet and discuss the maneuvers and projects that would take place throughout the week, calculating as strategically as possible guarantee popular support and also the confidentiality of Parliament. Meetings ranged from heated discussions to the future of the nation to a union of people who commented on ridiculous matters. Most of the time, what was happening was the second hypothesis, but even a year after the election many things still had to be done.

George Whestling has always been a very dedicated politician. He first applied for the Social Democratic Party in 1978 under the administration of conservative James Persey. Always tied to trade unionism, he slowly gained the status he has within his party, making harsh and often unnecessary criticisms of the conservative and liberal governments that ruled the country between 1975 and 2017. With the resignation of former Prime Minister Thomas Craig for health reasons, his party immediately chose him for being "crazy in a moderate way" as some have said, although he never knew whether it was a compliment or a criticism. With effort, it managed to win the elections in a very intense dispute against its conservative rival, Arthur Arrington, and adopted measures to prioritize the national industry with taxes and other socialist policies after ten years of liberal policies.

Since he also lived there, George was ready, just waiting for the ministers to arrive. He looked at his watch a little anxiously, until he heard the first noises of extravagant engines through the window, heading toward him. He tidied up his suit as he walked, as well as cleared his throat, leaving the residence and remaining with some officials waiting for his office, always acting courteously with everyone. The first to leave were Treasurer Adam Scatwell and Foreign Minister Peter Tersey, followed by the other members. George gave a simple smile as he directed: "Follow me, please."

And so it was done, with everyone following George in a rather disorganized line towards the Cabinet Room, where - as the name already says - all formal meetings were held or not with the Prime Minister's government or in some cases, certain international meetings. As the building was huge, it took some time that was used for some comments, gossip or otherwise bland jokes, until finally a guard opened the door to the hall. It was not as luxurious as the royal palace, but it was cozy and comfortable, and beautiful enough. After a few minutes had passed and everyone had taken their seats, papers and documents were placed on the large dark wood table, with another employee handing cups of coffee to the ministers clumsily. After everything was organized as it should be, George took the initiative, picking up some papers on the table and putting on his coke-bottle glasses, starting slowly and comprehensively:

"First of all, good morning, gentlemen. From what I can see, the dairy tax act is still being discussed in the House of Commons, is not it? Yes? Great." He paused briefly. "Well, to begin today's meeting, I will speak so that everyone knows about the report from the Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce that was released yesterday. In this report, the chamber demonstrates that the number of foreign companies operating in Leonnia using cheap labor and expanding their profits over the last ten years increased. He paused again, this time to put the glasses on the table. "Here also says that hm... let me see... ah! Here it is. The report also talks about the number of foreign companies involved in logging and commercial fishing on our land also grew aggressively, so my plan is to find a way to end this use of our country just to make a profit. Any suggestion?"

"I have an idea!" Said Anna Halfmann, Minister for the Environment for the Green Party and the youngest in the cabinet, as she almost got up from the chair with such excitement. "As the Most Honorable said, we need to find a way to avoid using our laws and country to make a much bigger profit by using our cheap labor, just as we have to protect our natural wealth being reduced by hunting and extractivism unregulated from our waters and forests, right?" He paused again, this time to drink some coffee. "I propose the creation of stricter taxes and regulations in the extractive sectors and fisheries, with all following strictly the regulations for the preservation of the environment!"

"Is that possible, Adam?" George asked his Treasurer.

"Besides being possible, I thought it was a great idea." He replied. "Creating taxes and regulations imposing stricter rules for foreign companies will not only increase the quality of workers and our popularity in trade unions, but will also create a great space for the development of industry and domestic trade."

"Yes, it is what we need: popularity." George spoke in a thoughtful tone. "It seems to be a great proposal, Anna, and it will get good approval in the House of Commons when the milk tax proposal is voted on, of course." He finished with a slight smile, followed by a slightly uncomfortable laugh of Adam.

"Anyway, do you want coffee?"