Balder - State Opening of 19th Storting

[Of Goats and Men]

The Realm of Balder
Foreign Update, 11th July 2017

Balder Forum

Population - 4,411 nations ~ Delegate Endorsements - 188 ~ Endorsement Cap - 15 ~ Forum Posts - 119,385

Monarchy

Queen - Rach Eriksen
Crown Prince - North East Somerset

Statsraadet (Executive)

Statsminister - OnderKelkia
Minister of Foreign Affairs - Zander Cerebella
Minister of WA Affairs - Fake
Minister of Integration - Fuzzy
Minister of War - Akillian Talleyrand
Minister of Culture - Cinder

Storting (Legislature)

Lawspeaker - Theoden Sebastian
MP - Linkin Talleyrand
MP - OnderKelkia
MP - Plembobria
MP - Rain

Election News

June saw the beginning of a new election season in Balder. Among members of the outgoing Storting, OnderKelkia, Plembobria and Linkin Talleyrand stood for re-election, while Lord_docomo, Theoden Sebastian and Rain announced their candidacies to join the Storting. A Formand was not elected this term and nominations began on the 1st of June, with campaigning and voting beginning on the 6th.

OnderKelkia put forward a strong campaign as he not only sought a position on the Storting, but also that of Statsminister. OnderKelkia noted that during his previous tenure as Statsminister activity improved dramatically month on month before stabilising at a relatively high level. OnderKelkia talked about tackling both internal and external issues which could benefit the region. "When it comes to foreign policy, we have consolidated relationships with key Independent regions and our partners in the GCR Sovereignty Accords, but further developments in military and cultural cooperation are contingent on improved domestic performance. Diplomacy on its own can only take us so far if we do not have the requisite internal strength". OnderKelkia also promised to continue to focus on legislative scrutiny and political reform where appropriate and when it can improve the current system.

On the 6th of June the outgoing Speaker Fake opened voting, with people selecting their preferred 5 candidates out of the field of 6. After 2 days of voting the polls were closed. OnderKelkia, Linkin Talleyrand, Theoden Sebastian and Plembobria took the first 4 seats while there was a close battle for the final Storting seat with Rain edging out Lord_docomo by a single.

Result:
1) OnderKelkia - 28.6%
2=) Linkin Talleyrand - 25.7%
2=) Theoden Sebastian - 25.7%
4) Plembobria - 11.4%
5) Rain - 5.7%
-------------------
6) Lord_docomo - 2.9%

Upon the conclusion of the results, the new Storting wasted no time in beginning the process of electing a new Statsminister. OnderKelkia was the only candidate for the position and was duly elected with overwhelming support.

Formation of a New Government

Statsminister OnderKelkia immediately set about appointing members of the Statsraadet (the Cabinet of Balder). The Statsraadet initially consisted of Zander Cerebella (Foreign Affairs), Fake (WA Affairs), Plembobria (Integration), Akillian Talleyrand (War) and Ervald (Culture), with Ervald continuing on an interim basis until a replacement could be found. The cabinet has since changed with Cinder replacing Ervald as Minister of Culture and Fuzzy replacing Plembobria as Minister of Integration due to Plembobria's extended leave of absence.

Each minister has been given a number of tasks to complete over the coming term including updating the foreign ministries database of active ambassadors and embassies, a ranking system for the Jomsvikings, working closely with new citizens in order to help them get involved in the region and to continue to ensure that both on-site and off-site voices are hear on WA matters.

Legislative News

Alongside the Statsminister election, an election was also held for Lawspeaker. And just like the Statsminister vote, there was also just a single candidate for Lawspeaker in the form of Theoden Sebastian, who was approved unanimously.

Our first bit of legislative news comes from the defeat of the Regional Identity Act, mentioned in our previous press release. After extended discussion the bill was brought to vote and was defeated. This is one of only a few bills in Balder's history to have been defeated at vote. One concern pointed out was Balder's Demonym Act 2016 would not be replaced as a result of this bill, but rather it "may" be removed. While MP's were happy with a number of changes it looks like there are still amendments to be made before this bill passes.

Something which had an easier path was the amendments to the Criminal Code of Balder. Introduced by Fake, the amendments were met with positive support. The amendments sought to expand the definition of harrassment to include all members and not just citizens and expanding the reach of the code to both the RMB and Balder's Discord channel, along with small amendments to number. The amendments were approved with overwhelming support.

The final piece of news comes in the form of the Regional Security Act which was introduced by OnderKelkia. The bill aims to promote accountability and professionalism and to fill a legislative hole in the Citizenship Act where no specific authority is responsible. Balder has largely relied on the Monarchy, specifically the Crown Prince NES to conduct these checks. As part of this new bill ,a new position of Head of Sikkerhet is to be create and appointed by the Monarch to conduct these security checks, and should one not be appointed then the responsibility falls on the Crown Prince. The bill was received positively by MPs and on the 6th of July was passed through the Storting.

Military News

Balder was delighted to honour a request from our ally The North Pacific for support with their Delegacy transition in May 2017. The Jomsvikings deployed to endorse the incoming Delegate of TNP, Pallaith, on 20th May and the mission concluded once Pallaith assumed the in-game Delegacy.

At the start of July 2017, the Jomsvikings deployed to the region of Ankh Mauta to provide reinforcements for an occupation led by The Black Hawks. Ankh Mauta was a region linked to the United Defenders League, an organisation which historically sought to interfere in Balder's internal affairs before opposing our external interests after their attempts at internal subversion failed. Deeming the mission a success, our involvement in the operation concluded immediately following the minor update of 3rd July, after supporting the reclamation of the region at the previous major update and assisting the defeat of a defender 'liberation' at that minor update.

[Of Goats and Men]

Balder is currently undergoing a period of restructuring, brought about by the drag created by the Riksdag (legislature) and the mutual agreement that it needed to be rebuilt based upon this premise. Thus, Balder will be back to full force soon and with a brand new ideology based upon her regional values. In particular this includes but isn't limited to; civil liberties, individualism, the limited use of force in maintaining order and personal improvement. Balder has always been about strong community and rarely has force or negativity been used against her citizens. Rather it has always been our belief that a positive outlook and mutual understanding will always lead to an ordered society. It is our hope to continue to progress and do our part for the world particularly through our writings, global newspaper and world bank.

Our government remembers when the Peoples Republic of Lazarus was born amid purges and created by the NPO with the tacit agreement of members of the FRA. Balder was one of very few regions where our leadership publicly criticized this and this resulted in the PRL ending Lazarene ties with Balder. The continuation of anti-independence and imperialism within the PRL due to the presence of extremists such as Funkadelia would lead to the Osiris-Lazarus War. Despite all of this, Balder approached the PRL with the question of aid however, this prospective question was refused by Funkadelia.

Balder sees no reason to embroil itself in a war, particularly when the PRL has consistently been a thorn in the side of Independence. They rejected the ideology and committed multiple acts against it, calling it false and attempting to sabotage it where they could. In our eyes, the PRL is not a legitimate government and has never been. We also do not the understand the altruistic need to intervene if we did not intervene to prevent the creation of the PRL. The PRL had many opportunities to legitimize itself and Balder and other allies were always willing to create ties should the PRL become less extremist.

Thus, despite a great surplus in WAs, Balder sees no altruistic reason to intervene for the FRA and other defenders who had supported the creation of the PRL as a second FRA state in the GCRs.

Yours Truly,
Rachel Eriksen

[Great Brigantia]

Translation: If you don't like independence, coup for you!

Classy as always, Balder.

[RiderSyl]

Okay, I get where you guys are coming from, but... the Lazarus takeover showed that the NPO is looking to "cleanse" all the feeders and sinkers of "userites". That means, basically, anyone that doesn't agree to be a part of the NPO. You are one of their targets, Balder. Y'all need to stop getting distracted by the PRL, and take a stance against the NPO in general.

[Funkadelia]

I'm glad to see that Balder would rather take the time out to call me an extremist than have any regard for its own security.

I would also love to know who was contacted from The Lazarene Underground State, because it certainly wasn't me.

[Bird In Hand]

Translation: If you don't like independence, coup for you!

Can't speak for anyone else in Balder, but yes, that's my general opinion on things.

[Unibot III]

I would also love to know who was contacted from The Lazarene Underground State, because it certainly wasn't me.

I believe she means Milograd (if I recall correctly, when they had a feud over embassies). You know. The guy couping Lazarus now with the coup she's supporting. Welp.

[North East Somerset]

I'm glad to see that Balder would rather take the time out to call me an extremist than have any regard for its own security.

Is that a threat?

Balder is a treatied ally to a number of regions with large armies.

Many of whom you deliberately spurned any kind of relations with due to your anti-independent and imperialist ideology.

You took part in these decision Funkadelia. You supported them.

Where is the sense of responsibility for your decisions?

At the moment it's just blaming other people.

If you want to revise your position to be more conducive to constructive relations, then I would welcome that, and I am sure Balder would as well.

The ball is in your court, Balder has taken a neutral position in this conflict.

The guy couping Lazarus now with the coup she's supporting.

Pure lies, Unibot. Balder is not supporting the coup. It is just not intervening to reinstate PRL. The same position as a number of other independent regions.

[Unibot III]

The ball is in your court, Balder has taken a neutral position in this conflict.

Certainly, I hope I can be forgiven for missing that footnote in this Anti-FRA statement. My apologies.

[Drop Your Pants]

I'm glad to see that Balder would rather take the time out to call me an extremist than have any regard for its own security.

Is that a threat?

Balder is a treatied ally to a number of regions with large armies.

Following a suspected threat with a threat of your own? How very......Gameplay

[Guy]

We were more surprised than anyone else when Laz applied for FRA membership. To ping it all on a grand FRA conspiracy is to tarnish the history books with misstatements -- the only conspirators were NPO.

[North East Somerset]

Is that a threat?

Balder is a treatied ally to a number of regions with large armies.

Following a suspected threat with a threat of your own? How very......Gameplay

The implication was that our security is not disregarded, nothing more.

The ball is in your court, Balder has taken a neutral position in this conflict.

Certainly, I hope I can be forgiven for missing that footnote in this Anti-FRA statement. My apologies.

I am led to believe you are a great scholar Unibot, I sincerely doubt your reading comprehension skills are that poor.

Additionally, the statement is hardly anti-FRA, its just noting that this is a region that deliberately spurned relations with most of the independent sphere of NS in order to join a Defender security alliance.

We're not in the business of bailing our Defender security alliances. I thought the whole purpose of them was that they could ensure security on their own?

[Arctriul]

I do like this stance...Very nice indeed...

And it's not as if evidence wasn't put forward to it being a reasonable one. I mean sure the NPO may be after cleansing all the feeders and sinker but meh; let them waste their time with Lazarus and the let of the GCRs do their thing.

[Xoriet]

Balder has a right to say their stance without the incessant criticism, you know. Not everyone was friends with PRL.

Not accepting help from one source when you have huge numbers pouring into what you want to liberate is anti-pragmatism, but an ideological choice.

As long as Balder isn't joining up with the "Was that joke too cruel?" NLO, I don't mind it.

[Funkadelia]

Balder has a right to say their stance without the incessant criticism, you know. Not everyone was friends with PRL.

Not accepting help from one source when you have huge numbers pouring into what you want to liberate is anti-pragmatism, but an ideological choice.

As long as Balder isn't joining up with the "Was that joke too cruel?" NLO, I don't mind it.

The issue is that no help was offered, and I never had a chance to refuse or accept anything. That bit was an utter fabrication.

Is that a threat?

The only threat here is the threat to all GCR's posed by the NPO.

[Tim Stark]

A disappointing stance from Balder, given that the NPO's threat is against all GCRs, of which Balder is certainly one. It seems to me like it would make sense to support the actual natives who plan to send the region to democracy whose future is yet to be decided, rather than sit back and watch the NPO turn it into a stagnant dictatorship that will without a doubt be anti-Independent.

[The Undead Horse]

Balder has a right to say their stance without the incessant criticism, you know. Not everyone was friends with PRL.

Not accepting help from one source when you have huge numbers pouring into what you want to liberate is anti-pragmatism, but an ideological choice.

As long as Balder isn't joining up with the "Was that joke too cruel?" NLO, I don't mind it.

Yeah, you don't HAVE to give support to us, its up to the region to decide whether they want to support it or not.
If Balder doesn't want to support the PRL, that's fine by me .
Rach should though, because I'm 67% sure we'll give you cupcakes after its all said and done.

[Kalterra]

Goats don't eat cupcakes though.

[Ikania]

The NPO is more like Napoleon from Animal Farm than a Franco-style 'great leader'. The concept of feederism is outdated shit that the NPO uses to justify its actions against 'userites'- whatever the hell those are. Slap a tag on an enemy, call them a userite and bam, you have a justified target. A casus belli. This whole concept of class struggle- some twisted form of Marxism- is foolish and does not apply like it did 10 years ago.

Independentism too has just been used as an excuse to do whatever you want. If you really want to get an accurate label, call it opportunism. Raiding when convenient and defending people who are your allies- apparently that's the independent manifesto, though I'd think an ideology called independent would be a little more general, most self-proclaimed independents are as independent as Anarchists are in favor of actual Anarchy- so, either hypocrites or downright insane.

To denounce a government that doesn't adhere to independence (which is a load of horseshit) and then working with Francoists who believe in Userites vs Feederites (an even bigger load of horseshit that creates unnecessary tension and conflict) is completely inane. Even more inane to not recognize a state as legitimate because they don't follow your ideology, and proceed to blame it on the FRA expanding into the GCRs- reminds me a whole lot of the Soviet Union (we need to expand communism by invading other nations, but if NATO so much as puts a military base near us, they're imperialistic bastards).

The one GCR I've never been to is sure to be the one that I'll never go to.

[Ramaeus]

Pertinent question: why is Balder's embassy in TEP?

[Onderkelkia]

The PRL is illegitimate because it came to power as the product of a coup which involved the illegal purge of more than 30% of Lazarus's legislature. Moreover, far from being Lazarus natives, the majority of its members had little to do with Lazarus pre-2013 (quite unlike some of those purged by the NPO the first time). The PRL were perfectly happy with the NPO's actions in Lazarus until it came to the point when the NPO ultimately turned on them.

As I read this statement, Balder isn't endorsing the NPO's actions. It's merely with-holding its recognition from the PRL. Simply because the NPO has now purged the PRL doesn't entitle the PRL to any greater a grant of legitimacy from Balder than what it enjoyed prior to that point. The creation of the PRL, and therefore its entire history until the most recent NPO purge, was basically a lie. The PRL has yet to acknowledge that reality, so has yet to show any capacity to change. Moreover, far from the PRL being a vehicle back to a better Lazarus, it is a partisan defender organisation, whereas Lazarus (prior to the NPO's interference with the September 2013) was a neutral region. Practically, it also has only a limited hope of success in actually retaking Lazarus.

So there is no good reason for there to be any expectation, let alone an obligation, for Balder or anywhere else to intervene in favour of the PRL.

[Jean Pierre Trudeau]

Pertinent question: why is Balder's embassy in TEP?

What better way for the NPO to infiltrate you?

[Solorni]

It founded there and I was posting on the RMB lol

[Ramaeus]

It founded there and I was posting on the RMB lol

Conspiracy!

But, seriously, it just seemed a little weird, considering that most embassy nations are in the region they're representing.

[Solorni]

I see how it is