Project Nordheim - The Meriq infiltrate Riscelnia (Closed)

[L E F]

December, 1989


King's office, Royal Place in Djerb, Al-Meriq


In the Royal palace in Djerb, the capital, a meeting is taking place in the king's office. There's a heated argument with the King almost yelling at his youngest son:

"No, this is a waste of time and money. We don't need to waste 100 million dinars(USD) on a crappy region in Riscelnia. We can make a deal much faster in any authoritarian regime and, unlike a democracy, I know the people remain in charge even after elections. Why the hell would I want to deal with Riscelnia?"

His son listened patiently thinking that his father had clearly not read his report. He would have to tread carefully.

"It's 100 million dinars over four years and if we succeed we'll have a foothold in the federated state of Nordheim and from there we can operate in the whole country and all of Western Nori...".

"Why the hell don't we just bribe the police there to look the other way rather than wait a lifetime for this to unfold?" The king cuts off his son.

"He definitely didn't read the report", he thought to himself. " In order to have a lasting influence, we need to partner with one of the politically powerful families there. That will allow us to get in on those sweet government contracts and...".

"And what if their federal government gets wind of us? Why don't we just deal with them directly?"


"That would be much harder, we would need a national operation which would cost us billions and most likely be stopped by their intelligence services. We don't stand a chance and wouldn't really be needed for our plans".

There was silence in the room. The king seemed to be considering it. After a couple of moments, he king resumed:

"Four years wait and it might me a blunder even if the operation succeeds. Fine, do it! ".

" It will work, I'll make sure."

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Ooc: This a RP meant to show how the Meriqs attempt to infiltrate the state Nordheim with the hope of starting a political party and running in elections. Riscelnia would determine how effective the campaign and how well the party does in elections. Once the elections are over, Meriq will attempt to strike a deal/ partnership with one of the major families in control of the Nordheim.

Clearance: Classified
Budget: 100 mil dinars USD.

[L E F]

January 1990, The Kingdom of Al-Meriq

With project Nordheim getting the green light, Munatas Meriq, the king's son, got to work as soon as possible, four years might seem like a long time but there was plenty to be done. Also, there was a lot of pressure on him, it didn't matter if the king understood the risks, should the operation fail the king would blame him because he came up with the idea.

The last couple of weeks were spent trying to find a suitable puppet for his soon to be started political party in Nordheim. This proved to be a difficult task, not only were the Meriqs without contacts in Riscelnia but also not a lot of people met the criteria. Considering the end goal of the operation, the target had to be a reasonable young woman, unmarried, with some skills in politics yet unknown and easy to blackmail. So far none of the proposals submitted by his team fit, there was always something off with each of the of them. Considering that this was arguably the most important part of the operation, he took his time.
His secretary had just come and presented the dossier of a new "candidate". Munatas, opened the file and started reading:


Name: Annika Andersson
Age: 28
Occupation: secretary at the a local branch of the Askir's Cross NGO.
Alma Mater: Südhamn State University (BS in political science)
Other: never married, teenage son with serious illness, was an active member of local party (ideology unknown) , heavily in debt following the illness of her son, no known relatives.



Munatas kept reading through the file, everything about her seem to meet their requirements. Südhamn State University was a very good school,probably the best in Riscelnia therefore she should be smart enough for the job. After careful consideration, Munatas decided he would go with her and made the necessary agreements for his right-hand man to personally contact her in Nordheim.



-A week later, Zavard, Nordheim,The Allied Republics of Riscelnia

Two days ago, Sufian Mua'Mar, arrived in Zavard, the capital of the state of Nordheim. He was sent by Munatas Meriq to recruit Annika Andersson. He welcomed the break from the monotony of his work in Al-Meriq and would have liked to get the chance to visit the city. However, the business was urgent. Munatas was not a patient man (like of the Meriq clan). Even more so when his neck was on the line. It was the Meriq tradition to have the sons compete against each other in order to earn the respect of their father and eventually to be given control of the family. At least in this regard, Sufian was glad he wasn't a Meriq.

So here he was, in a local coffee shop, waiting for Annika Andersson. Not that she was late but rather he always made sure to arrive early and today was no exception. It was easy for him to get her to agree to meet with him. He needed only to mention he was from a foreign NGO looking to help children with grave health problems and she immediately took the bait. He had the suspicion that she wasn't entirely convinced about the story yet she couldn't afford to pass on such an opportunity. Just as he was thinking this, Annika entered the coffee shop. She was about five minutes early which for Sufian meant she was nervous and anxious. He singled her to approach the table which she did:

"Hello, Ms. Annika. Please have a seat", he addressed her in Almerish. He should have used her family name but as an al-meriqan, he wasn't used to that and it didn't seem worth the bother to show too much politeness.

"Thank you. Mr. Mua'Mar" she replied in an almost perfect Almerish. She was a little taken aback by Sufian's minimal politeness.

One she was seated, Sufian cut straight to the point:

"Ms. Annika, I am not from an NGO. That was just an excuse to get you to come here. I am here to represent the Meriq family". He would have used clan instead of family but that didn't sound right in this Nori culture.

Annika was speechless for a couple of moments but she quickly resumed:

"I suspected that something might be off. Who did you said you represent? Who are these Meriqs?"

Sufian was beginning to question her knowledge:

"The Meriqs, the one who have a country named after them." he replied in a calm tone.

Annika started leaving as she replied:

"In that case I'm leaving, I want nothing to do with them. I know what kind people they are and..."

Sufian quickly cut her off:

"Then you must know that if they want you to listen to something, you will in the end. So just make my job easy and hear me out". Seeing he had her attention , he resumed "I know all about your son and his illness. I know he needs a double transplant if he is to live and he's running out of time. I also know that, although none of the medical staff have said so, you suspect that there's no chance he will get the transplants since they can save two lives with those organs rather than one. So you worry more and more, that keeps you from doing a decent job and the debt keeps pilling up."

Hearing a stranger talking so callously and succinctly yet truthful about her life made her crumble down in her seat barely stopping herself from crying.

"What do you want from me?" she asked crestfallen.

"The Meriqs can help your son. They can provide the transplants he needs. He would be back to normal and fully recuperated in a matter of months."

"And what do they want in return?" she asked.

"I thought you said you knew what kind of people the Meriqs are. They want everything you have. Your life for your son. If you agree to this, your son lives a healthy life. You, on the other hand, will belong to the Meriqs in all but name. As far as they are concerned, when they'll ask something, you will no longer have the word "no" in your vocabulary. They tell you to jump, you ask only how high".

Annika started crying. Sufian made no gesture to comfort her as he patiently waited for her to reply.

"Can the Meriqs really help my son?"

"Yes. If you agree to the terms, some of the best doctors in the Empire of Bnnu will be operating on your son by the end of the month. The operation will have to take place in Al-Meriq because of legal issues, of course".

The conversation continued for a while longer. Once Annika's consent had been given, Sufian made all the necessary arrangements and had the two flown to Bnnu. There they taken to a military base and from there, a military airplane took them to Al-Meriq. Two days later, in an al-meriqan military hospital, after a 20h long operation, the Bnnu doctors informed Annika that the operation was a success. Annika and her son never left the military complex the entire time they stayed in Al-Meriq. After another two weeks they were flown back home to Zavard, via Bnnu. The Meriqs had kept their word.


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Clearance: discrete (unless the characters are being followed/tapped, the authorities should not know about this).
Expenses: operation, transport etc 1 mil dinars/ USD
Budget left: 99 mil dinars/USD (out of 100 mil).

[L E F]

March, 1990, Zavard, Nordheim, The Allied Republics of Riscelnia

After "recruiting" Annika Andersson, Munatas Meriq was free to focus in the next stage of the operation. He needed to get the infrastructure in place. Nordheim was not such a big state in terms of population, less than 1.2 million, so having the infrastructure concentrated just in the capital would do just fine.

He first set out to buy a house that would host The Kingdom of Al-Meriq's official consulate in Zavard. A convenient way to do some low level surveillance and remain within the law. Munatas would have liked to have a larger building and more staff but he had to keep the cost down. The surveillance that the men working at the consulate will be doing will prove important for potentially blackmailing various key figures in the Nordheim but in the end blackmailing alone will not bring votes. A staff of ten will have to handle 24 h surveillance of two simultaneous targets and security of the consulate. He also made sure to staff the consulate with a couple of "workers" from the numerous brothels in Al-Meriq. Munatas was sure that regardless of culture, the world's oldest profession will come in handy.



The new Al-Meriqan consulate in Zavard, Nordheim


By far the largest expense yet was the acquisition of a newspaper in Nordheim for 25 million dinars (USD). He would have liked to buy a TV station but he didn't have the budget for anything like that. The newspaper while have to do, while TV is king the newspaper is still second best. People are beginning to talk about a thing called the internet but Munatas was sure that such folly would not catch on. After six weeks of painstaking negotiations, he was the indirect owner of the "Arbetet"(The Labour), the third largest newspaper in Nordheim, with a decent coverage in the urban areas and somewhat lacking in the rural ones. The newspaper was experiencing some financial difficulties but at least it was in the black. Munatas hoped it will stay that way and not burn his capital.


The Arbetet HQ in Zavard, Nordheim



April, 1990, Zavard, Nordheim, The Allied Republics of Riscelnia

With the infrastructure in place in place and operational, Munatas could finally start going on the offensive. He was in a meeting with Sufian Mua'Mar debating their next move:

"You're crazy, Munatas! It won't do us any good and will only hurt the operation!"

Munatus was not the slightest bothered by Sufian's tone. Unlike his father he was not one for formalities.

"We must come out in the open from the start otherwise her political opponents will crucify her the campaign. It must become public knowledge that we are present here and connected to her in some form. Also, what's wrong with the Meriq Foundation? I think is has a nice ring to it."

"The Meriqs do not have a good reputation..."

"I doubt the average Joe has any idea about us but assuming they do, by coming out in the open we show their nothing nefarious going on and by the time the campaign starts would be old news. "


The front page of the Arbetet nespaper:

Local activist, Annika Andersson, opens a soup kitchen with the help of the Meriq Foundation



The recently opened soup kitchen Zavard, Nordheim


Today, the lives of some of the poor living in Zavard got a little better thanks to local social activist Annika Andersson who has managed to find a generous sponsor who financed the opening of a soup kitchen. This way hundreds of people living on meager income will have a decent meal every day. We asked Ms. Anderson to answer a couple of questions for us and she graciously accepted:

Reporter: Ms. Anderson, what made you decide to put so much effort in opening a soup kitchen?
Annika Andersson: On my way to work I always pass by a homeless person and I do my best to bring some extra food for him so I can help him in some way. After months of doing this I said to myself what about the other people living like this? So I came up with this idea.

R: Was it hard to find a sponsor for the project?
AA: As a matter of fact, yes. I was searching for months but got no commitment. That's until I contacted the Meriq Foundation. They were very open from get go.

R: We have here with us Mr. Sufian Mua'Ma of the Meriq Foundation. Al-Meriq is far away from Riscelnia. What made you choose Riscelnia for charitable activities?
Sufian Mua'Ma: Well, we at the Meriq Foundation are about helping people regardless of race, nationality, religion etc. It doesn't matter whether the person in need is close to home or faraway. As for getting here in Riscelnia. That's all Annika's doing. She's been very persuasive and managed to convinced us.

R : Interesting, how did she manage to do that?
SM: She first contacted us by phone about her proposed project. I have to admit we were skeptical at first. Not because the plan wasn't solid but because I found it hard to believe there was so much need of us in a wealthy Nori nation. We frankly thought it was a scam. She insisted and divine intervention had it that we unexpectedly met in a hospital in Bnnu. Long story short, she showed us how wrong we were in believing that rich countries like Riscelnia do not have people in need of our help.

R: Now I have to ask. There has been numerous reports of serious human rights violations in Al-Meriq. And since the Meriq family is in charge there, some have asked how does that go with having a foundation for helping the poor?
SM: We here at the foundation do not do politics. I will say this, the Meriq family has a lot of members not everyone is the same, just as all societies have their shortfalls and none are perfect. The Meriq family has a lot of members. All I ask is that people follow Annika's advice and keep an open mind and an open heart. Just as we were proven wrong about Riscelnia's problems, I believe we will prove our critics wrong.

R: One last question. Do you think the government of Nordheim should do more to help the poor so they don't have to rely on private charities for help?
SM: As I said before, we don't do politics. We are here just to help. Also, I would like to thank the volunteers at Askir's Cross NGO for their help running the soup kitchen. All this wouldn't have been possible without their help.

R: Thank you Mr. Mua'Ma.
SM: Thank you.

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OOC: public information
Expenses: acquisition of the newspaper (25 mil dinars), the house for the consulate (1 mil dinars), 4 years wages for the consulate staff + 4 years operating cost of the soup kitchen(3 mil dinars).
Budget left: 70 mil dinars/USD (out of 100 mil).

[L E F]

September, 1990, Zavard, Nordheim, The Allied Republics of Riscelnia


The following months were less spectacular but progress was being made nevertheless. An operation like this would take years to complete and a lot of the time less grandiose but equally important ground work would take place.

One of the areas of focus was the charitable activities of the foundation and the work with the Askir's Cross NGO volunteers. Munatas Meriq made every effort to promote Annika as an informal leader of the volunteers and increase her standing among them. The plan was that when the new political party will be started they could recruit some of them as members and activists.
Munatas decided there was no point for Annika to keep her job at the Askir's Cross so she had her quit her current job and had her start her own NGO, the " Nordheimans for Solidarity and Progress". This way Annika was able to work full time ( and a lot more) to increasing her notoriety and standing in the community. The long hours she put in the NGO and charitable events were seen by citizens as extreme dedication to the cause. They were right in a way, it was just that her motivation and cause were different than people believed.

The Meriq foundation also opened a second soup kitchen in Zavard. This time though, Annika recruited volunteers for her NGO and had them staff the soup kitchen. It was important to have people working for her and get some leadership experience. In order to compensate Annika's NGO for the " help", the Meriq foundation made monthly contributions to Annika's NGO. The aim was for her to steadily build a war chest for the future election campaign.

The Meriq owned Arbetet newspaper also did it its part in increasing Annika's notoriety and positive image in Nordheim. However, they couldn't go overboard with promoting her or they'd risk the newspaper's reputation and start losing readers. Therefore articles about her work were infrequent and did not make front page. Aside from the promotion of Anikka's image, Munatas used the newspaper to discreetly promote idea the state government wasn't doing a good job as the private charities at helping the poor. This wasn't because Meriqs had an ideological agenda it was because it would help with their end goals.

The surveillance operations were a different story. Without any contacts on the ground to tip them were there might be something worth " digging" they were pretty much going blind, randomly selecting targets and hoping something would turn up. They were careful not to choose very important targets as that might attract attention and instead focused on smaller fish. After all, for what they had in mind, the bigger fish might just not be intimidated by them even if something to blackmail would be found.
Under these circumstances, their operation did not go very well. Munatas had considered increasing the number of people doing surveillance but Zavard was not such a big city, about 800 thousand lived in it and it my draw attention even suddenly dozens of people were doing surveillance. Worse still for them, even when some "dirt" was found on targets, like a local bank branch manager cheating on his wife, they couldn't know for sure how important was the info for the branch manager. He might just be on the brink of divorce or some had some other arrangement with his wife and approaching him for blackmail could jeopardize the whole operation.

They did get one break, though. It seemed that a police sergeant was having a gambling problem and was borrowing money from loan sharks. That's the only lead Munatas was comfortable pursuing. It proved to be a good call. Once contacted, the sergeant cracked easier than he had hoped. It also turned out, his financial troubles were much worse than suspected so when Munatas not only agreed to not make public his addiction but also put him on the "pay role" and provide regular payments for his services the sergeant was quick to agree. He was a small fish but for Munatas' operation it was an important breakthrough. They finally had a local that could provide them with precious info and might even provide tips on who has something to hide.


Using the sergeant

Successfully running in elections was the main goal of phrase one of the operation but in order to have more leverage in the negotiations of phase two, they had to promote among the people policy changes that helped their agenda. The newspaper was already discretely pushing for the idea that private charities do a better job than the government.
The Meriqs wanted to see prostitution and drugs illegal so they can profit by indirectly involving themselves in these activities and getting a cut. Nordheim already had a ban on drugs and that suited the Meriqs perfectly, prostitution was a different story. In this state it was legal for a prostitute to sell services but illegal for the customer to purchase. Munatas didn't really understand how the system worked nor did he care to. He wanted prostitution banned so that the activity could be managed by organized crime. Organized crime that will need to bribe the authorities to keep the police off their backs and that will pay handsomely to have their money laundered, a service which the Meriq could provide.

Munatas knew that policies changes function totally different in democracies. You had to change the minds of the electorate by shocking them with a sad story. So Munatas had one of the slave girls working in the brothels of Al-Meriq brought to Nordheim on a tourist visa. He then had her roughen up by his men at the consulate and had the sergeant set up an arrest of one of the regulars of the prostitutes in Zavard who happened to have a criminal record of abuse. The Abbat newspaper made sure to make the incident front page news.


Man arrested after abusing a young al-meriqan woman kidnapped and forced into prostitution



Nordheiman police in action

A 45 year old male was arrested today on charges of abuse and rape of 20 year old al-meriqan woman. The police report that initial findings indicate the woman was visiting the country as a tourist when she was kidnapped and forced into prostitution. The police intervened after an anonymous call tipped them off about the poor state the girl was in. The man now in custody was just leaving the motel when the police arrested him. The police also state the woman had visible signs of abuse. So far the police have had difficulties communicating with the woman since she does not speak Riscelnian and seems to be in a state of shock after the ordeal. The Al-Meriqan consulate has offered to provide a translator for the police.

The police sergeant from the precinct which made the arrest has agreed to answer a couple of questions for us:
R: Please, tell us if the victim is all right.
S: Yes, she has been through a lot but she is recovering. She is very anxious to return home.

R: How could something like this happen in Zavard?
S: The situation is a lot more complicated than it might seem at first glance. The men patrooling the streets had no indication that she was being forced into prostitution. We can't just randomly check sex workers.

R: Don't you think this could have been avoided if prostitution had been illegal?
S: It is not my place to make comments on policy. Our job as policemen is to apply the law.

R: Let me rephrase that. Had prostitution been illegal, would the police have approached her and check up on her?
S: In that hypothetical example, yes.

R: Thanks you very much, sergeant.
S: Thank you.


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OOC: public information (expect for the sergeant and his activities)

Expenses: 4 years operating cost of the second soup kitchen(6 mil dinars), various charity events + sergeant's 4 year "salary" (1 mil dinars)
Budget left: 63 mil dinars/USD (out of 100 mil).

Assets acquired:
1 newspaper
2 soup kitchens
Al-meriqan consulate (surveillance and escort services)
Annika's NGO - the " Nordheimans for Solidarity and Progress"
Annika Andersson
The police sergeant

[L E F]

October, 1990, Zavard, Nordheim, The Allied Republics of Riscelnia

Preparations for launching the party


Munatas had decided that Annika's notoriety was high enough that other parts of the media in Nordheim might start paying attention to her. Because of this he had to inform her of his plan of running in elections. However, he decided against informing of his after elections plans.


Annika Andersson giving an interview to a local TV station

He set up a meeting with her. Annika had a bit of a shock when he informed her of his plans of turning her NGO into a political party and running in the elections with her as the leader of the party. She wasn't dumb to believe the Meriqs were interested in charity work, so she knew the Meriq Foundation and her own NGO are just a cover for something else. Sje never imagined that forming the party was the goal. She expected something like money laundering or some other nefarious activities. After a long discussion, he laid out the general plans for the party while Annika filled in the details where necessary.

The party would have the following characteristics:

1. Non ideologically defined, it will describe itself neither left nor right (so they can ally with whatever political family is more willing to compromise after elections).

2. Will present itself as a party of common people/ concerned citizens that want a voice at the table. The will argue to the public that its members are new to politics, will make mistakes but are not corrupt or power hungry.

3. Policies supported: ban prostitution because it exploits women, tough on drugs ( so the current drug cartels could be replaced by Meriq backed cartels), the government should give money to private charities because they do a better job( so the Meriq backed foundation can profit), subsidies for fishermen to buy new boats( Munatas didn't really care about them but Annika insisted that sucking up to the fishermen is mandatory for any party in Nordheim).

4. Be the voice of the forgotten people: the poor, the drug addicts, the exploited women, fishermen.

5. Support the status quote in all other areas: they do not want a revolution, they do not want to rock the boat or change the system, businesses should not fear them, no tax increases.

With the basic plan explained, Annika could be careful not to make public statements that would later contradict the party policies (not that there were many policies to watch for).

With that behind him, Munatas would need to find people he could control that would run for the position of members of the state parliament. People who would follow Annika's lead and not jump boat and join the other parties when elected. Those kind of puppets where hard to find and expensive. Thankfully the state parliament had only 31 members so at least he wouldn't need a lot of them.

The sergeant would play a crucial role in recruiting the puppets. He provided Munatas with a list of people in various difficulties: wives abused by their husbands that had nowhere to go, people that owned money to the local organized crime and where desperate for money etc. Munatas made sure that none of them had a criminal record before considering them. They would be running in elections after all. He chose the most desperate of the cases and those for which the sergeant had evidence of law breaking (either by them or their close relatives). That way he could be sure he had them in his pocket. The "approved" candidates would introduced to a new program initiated by Annika's NGO. They would be provided accommodation ( rented flats in the city) and a job at the NGO. Munatas knew the drawback to his selection. These were people he owned but they would be of little value in the campaign. Not only were they not camera material but they were likely to make blunders. Nothing big he hoped but these were inexperienced people and that could be seen from a mile away (including by the electorate). Hopefully, Annika could teach them how to politely shut up and not say anything. That's the most he could hope for. All his campaign effort will be focused on Annika, the less the public knew about the others the better.


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Expenses: cost of recruiting and "operating expenses" associated with the candidates for state parliament: 3 mil dinars.
Budget left: 60 mil dinars/USD (out of 100 mil).

Assets acquired:
1 newspaper
2 soup kitchens
Al-meriqan consulate (surveillance and escort services)
Annika's NGO - the " Nordheimans for Solidarity and Progress"
Annika Andersson
The police sergeant

[L E F]

January, 1991, Zavard, Nordheim, The Allied Republics of Riscelnia

Today was a big day for Munatas. After more than a year of work, Annika's party was officially being announced to the public. It had taken a lot of work and especially money to get this far but he did it. He knew he still had a long way to go before the operation would be complete but for now he could relax and enjoy his work.

Annika was having a press conference where she invited all the press in Northern. Munatas turned on the TV and watched to conference live. Annika was just about to start her speech:


Annika Andersson announcing she will run for office


"Thank you all for coming here today. I promised you a surprise and I will deliver on that promise. Let me start by saying that what will be announced here today is not the result of my decision alone or not even my idea to be honest. It was a collective decision, reached after much deliberation between members of our NGO as well as requests from our partners in the civil society. So it is with great pleasure that I announce today that all of us in the NGO have launched a new party with the same name, "Nordheimans for Solidarity and Progress", and will be running in the next state elections. I am also honored that my colleagues have nominated me to run for the position of head of government in our on beloved state republic."

Annika stopped for a couple of moments, smiled at the camera and resumed:

"Now unless there are any questions I propose that we move along to...". Predictably she didn't get a chance to finish her sentence because reporters jump at the opportunity to ask her questions which she happily answered".

The next day Annika had her day booked for interviews with various newspapers and TV station. Naturally the most lengthy of the interviews was with the Meriq owned Arbetet newspaper.

R: Ms. Annika Andersson, thank you for agreeing to an interview with us. Let's start with the main issue that's been on everybody's minds since yesterday. You took Nordheim by storm with your announcement, we had many readers sending us mails demanding us to interview you. Where did this idea come from and why did you decide to run?
AA: Working in an NGO is an incredible opportunity, you get to help people and also learn a lot from them. I think we did some terrific work but an increasing number of people were asking us to do more. Many of the things they asked just could not be done outside the political process so we had to decline to help. Many of the people in question kept asking "Then why not run?". Long story short: here we are.

R: We had a chance to look through your manifesto and one of the things that stand out is the non commitment to a side of the political spectrum. Why is that Ms. Andersson?
AA: We are not here to promote an ideological agenda. We are here to improve government, to help the civil service, to focus more on the disadvantaged and to work with all parties. I truly believe that the great state Republic of Nordheim can be a leading power in Riscelnia if we work together, all political parties.

R: We also had a chance to look at your team, the people you'll be running with for the state parliament. How can I put this mildly?! They are virtually unknown even to us political journalists not to mention the general public. It seems to us that your team is not only lacking in notoriety but also in political experience.
AA: Well we are a new party so that is to be expected. The elections are still years away so that will be give us the chance to have my team meet more of the electorate.

R: A lot of readers have asked, why not join one of the existing political parties in Nordheim? You have some notoriety in our state republic, you would have most likely be given an eligible seat in the state parliament.
AA: As I said, I'm not interested in a certain ideology. I want to get people involved in politics as I have done in charitable activities. Also, as I said in my initial speech, It was a collective decision, if it wasn't for the great team I worked with I would have never ran for office. This is not about one person, it's a collective effort.

R: One last question, you know just as well as I do that the politics in our state republic are dominated, for better or worse, by a couple of "ruling" families as some people call them. What's your realistic objective in this race? Because you'll have a hard time competing against the dominance of these families.
AA: Winning the election. People keep voting for the same people because they did not have a credible alternative until now. I strongly believe that when voters are given a chance between the current status quo and a better alternative, they will choose the latter.

R: Thank you so much, Ms. Andersson.
AA: Thank you.



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Expenses: none.
Budget left: 60 mil dinars/USD (out of 100 mil).

Assets acquired:
1 newspaper
2 soup kitchens
Al-meriqan consulate (surveillance and escort services)
Annika's NGO - the " Nordheimans for Solidarity and Progress"
Annika Andersson
The police sergeant

[L E F]

September, 1992, Zavard, Nordheim, The Allied Republics of Riscelnia

After the party was launched, the operation more or less went on autopilot as Annika coordinated the daily operations of the party. Munatas was left with little to do in Nordheim and thus had shifted his focus to others targets.

When the election campaign was officially getting started in Nordheim, Munatas was in Al-Meriq with his father watching Annika giving a speech at a rally:


Annika Andersson speaking at a rally

"The time for change is now. The old political parties do not understand that this is no revolution or something that can be stopped. Our movement is the natural evolution in politics. The people are not only tired of top down approaches to policies, they are also fed up. Movements such as our represent the future.
Our detractors have said that we lack experience in the matter of politics, I believe that in some cases that's a plus. Experience in the old ways of doing things is not a plus but a drawback. We do however have experience in working with people and helping the common good. We will use that experience when governing Nordheim.
Our children and grandchildren will look to this day in history and say this was the moment when people started getting involved and having a voice in government. It will first begin in Nordheim and from here it will spread to the whole of Riscelnia."

Munatas' father had joined him in watching the speech rally. The look on his father's face showed he was still not convinced this operation was worth the money they powered in:

"Really? She's what we have for a leader there? That speech wouldn't convince a Meriq child let alone an adult!"

"Father, we need to convince Riscelnians to vote, not us. Democracies are all about telling good stories and touching people's feelings. They function very different than our system. It's more like theatre if you will."

His father did not seem very convinced but did not continue the argument and instead left the room.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Expenses: advertising 30 mil.
Budget left: 30 mil dinars/USD (out of 100 mil).

Assets acquired:
1 newspaper
2 soup kitchens
Al-meriqan consulate (surveillance and escort services)
Annika's NGO - the " Nordheimans for Solidarity and Progress"
Annika Andersson
The police sergeant

[Riscelnia]

September 11, 1992
Federal and National (F&N) Elections Day

On September 10, 1992, F&N elections were held. Parties expected to take a seat in the Nordheim Parliament were mostly the same as last election; Sovereignity (S) was expected to keep the 11 seats they had, and in their coalition with the Nordheim Workers' Party (NWP), who had 5 seats, secure a slim majority in the parliament (16/31 seats). The remaining 14 seats were expected to be split between many smaller parties, which were deemed unlikely to form a coalition of their own and could thus not properly oppose the majority coalition. Amongst these smaller parties was Arbetet, a relatively small part that had seen a great growth in popularity over the past year thanks in large part to the actions of Annika Andersson, the leader of Nordheimans for Solidarity and Progress (NSP).

However, the huge growth of NSP had gotten some unwanted attention; Rumours had it that the Office of Federal Security (OFS) had launched an investigation into Annika's past on request of the "supergovernment" (nickname for the federal government). Whether or not this was true was not confirmed or denied by OFS officials before the elections.

At 15:30, on the 11th of September, the results for Nordheim's F&N elections was announced on TV. The seats were as follows;

• Sovereignity: 11 seats
• NWP: 4 seats
• Other parties: 15 seats
• NSP: 1 seat

The results of the election surprised most; Many assumed that S and NWP would secure a majority of the seats, but having ended up with a minority coalition (15/31, <50%), the leading coalition would have to try to rule by minority.

However, as both S and NWP realized that the opposition could not be relied upon to pass any law they wanted to, they quickly turned to several of the 1-rep parties to try to gain their support; Amongst these parties was NSP (despite the rumors of the looming OFS investigation; they were that desperate to secure a majority coalition). In exchange for supporting most of their legislation, S and NWP offered any party willing to join them in a coalition to place priority of some laws said small part would want to pass.

[Al-Meriq]

OOC: I moved the RP to Al-Meriq since it made sense to post it like that. Also, I changed Al-Meriq from a Kingdom to a Sultanate.


September 12, 1992 Sultan's office, Royal Place in Djerb, Al-Meriq

Munatas was excited, after years he finally got to see the results of his work. He was pretty happy with them. However, his father, the Sultan of Al-Meriq, was of a different opinion. In fact he was just about to start shouting again:

Sultan: "Three years and 50 million USD spent and we got one seat and a federal inquiry to show for? How could this be any worse?"

Munatas:" In democracies one seat is a lot when the ruling coalition no longer has a majority without it. That's why they reached out to our party in spite of the federal investigation."

S:"Assuming you're right, we still have that blunder: the federal investigation. Aren't we done for?"

M:"Well in my defense we probably wouldn't have been in this mess if we asked for help from the Bnnu intelligence services instead of having to go blind in a country we know nothing about...".

S:"We can't call on Bnnu for ... trivial matters. This is a matter best handled by us alone."

M:"Well there's no point in talking about the past. The federal investigation is a problem but it's not an insurmountable one. We have some alternatives..."

S:"Like?"

M:" Try to see if the Sovereignty Party has some sway with the feds to drop the investigation or have her lawyer up which will cost us... a lot. But we still have money left in budget operation."

S: "Can't we just bribe the feds? None of those options look like we have much of a chance "

M:"We don't have that kind of connections to bribe the feds. We have other options, we could try and have her collaborate with feds like a double agent or something. That way the feds know what we're up to, have some kind of oversight and see we aren't there to promote terrorism or anything like that. And if all that doesn't work then we can always sacrifice her to the feds. I'd rather not since she's our most valuable asset but the option remains on the table"

S:" All options are bad from what I see. When do we get a return on our investment? This project so far has been a waste of time and money"

M:"I'll contact Annika as soon as possible and then set up a meeting with the ruling coalition."

S:" Inform me when you have something tangible"

M:"Will do."

[Al-Meriq]

The following weeks the press in Nordheim reported:

"The new political party, the NSP joins the governing coalition after almost a week of negotiations"

"The NSP keeps campaign promise and forces the Nordheim's state parliament to vote on banning prostitution"

"Motion to ban prostitution in Nordheim is defeated by a small margin"

" Nordheim police launches multiple raids against organized crime in the State. Annika Andersson, leader of NSP, praises the actions of the police"

June, 1993, Royal Place in Djerb, Al-Meriq

Munatas Meriq was pleased with the developments in Nordheim. The police there dealt some heavy blows to the local organized crime weakening them enough to allow the cartels friendly to the Meriqs to move in. Demand for narcotics, which the Meriqs produced, was already increasing. Furthermore, his puppet party, now part of the ruling coalition was having some influence allocation of the state budget, influence translated into income Munatas. It wasn't a large amount. After all, his party was just a junior partner in a coalition of three parties, but it was enough to put the operation in the black and finally get a return on his investment. That combined with the extra money the newly "settled" cartels brought in was more than enough to guarantee the long term profitability of the operation.
There were also setbacks, while the coalition did allow a vote on banning prostitution in the state, they did not offer their full support and the motion failed. He would have to wait for the next elections to try again, until then Munatas could not expand his operation in the prostitution business. More worryingly, the federal investigation was still looming, threatening his entire operation. His political allies either didn't have the connections to stop it or were unwilling to do so. As long as the investigation was active, he would have to tread carefully and expand slowly.
"One step at a time" Munatas thought to himself.

OOC: The end.