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(last post: March 13, 2008 - 16:29)
Citizen #22:
Miestrâ Schivâ | Mr Speaker, I give the following address in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic, II.3.12. I would like to remind the Tanaïschteu, Dp. Tarfâ, that it is customary for the Opposition to give an "Address in Reply" to the Seneschál's opening address.
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ADDRESS FROM THE INCOMING GOVERNMENT
Estimat Túischac'h, estimats Deputats, toct i citaxhiêns és amici dal Repúblicâ és del Regipäts Talossáes; eu voi profréu gráitînds. Eu sînt nideradâ për la îportunità që mhe isch zonadâ estarë Seneschál dal Repúblicâ Talossán për sex mesen pü. Esperéu që pût estarë denâ dal fidüs-cha që à mhe isch setadâ.
Esteemed Speaker; esteemed Deputies; all the citizens and friends of the Republic and the Kingdom of Talossa; I bid you greeting. I am humbled by the opportunity that I have been given to be Prime Minister of the Talossan Republic for six more months. I hope I can live up to the trust that has been placed in me.
This address will be light on pomp and rhetoric and heavy on concrete proposals for action. But let me first congratulate the newly elected Deputies – Tanaïschteu Tarfâ, Minister Anglatzarâ, and of course Túischac'h Bornätfiglheu. I believe that the electors of the Republic chose wisely for a legislature that would pass just law and keep a close eye on my Government. I hope and pray that the Chamber of Deputies will be the place where all that is important in our Republic is wisely debated and plans are shrewdly made.
Now that that's out of the way, here's the plan.
The first priority: continue to build the closest possible relations with our cousins and dear friends in the Kingdom of Talossa. I am to expedite as quickly as possible the ratification of a formal Treaty of Friendship and Co-operation between the two parts of the Talossan nation. To further this end, I will make relations with the Kingdom of Talossa my personal priority as Prime Minister.
Further, as Minister of Culture, I intend to formally ask the Kingdom's foremost exponents of the historical and linguistic arts to join in the work of both l'Icastolâ and the Faculty of History. Six months from now, I want the two Talossan states to have agreed on a set of materials for learning el glheþ Talossán, and to have the basis of a common history.
The dream of a single, democratic Talossan state will remain a distant fantasy so long as the two nations are sundered in culture. Therefore, it will be my government's priority to set up, or promote the establishment of, as many trans-Talossan cultural institutions as possible. We will encourage all Talossans to browse freely between the two Wittenbergs, to take part in each other's cultural exchanges, hopefully to contribute to pan-Talossan newssources. It is only my regret that my busy schedule probably means that I can't be Prime Minister and put out my own Qator Itrìns on a regular basis!
The second priority is to continue the Republic's re-integration into the broader micronational world. The Ephemeral States Treaty Organisation is still a centrepiece of my vision for Talossa's future. When the Kingdom of Talossa first went online in the mid 1990's, micronationalism was the ocean in which it swam. When it pulled itself out of that lake, it not only lost a valuable source of potential new citizens, but also became an isolated place where its King's twisted fantasies of being the next Enver Hoxha had full reign. Talossa's rightful place is at the head of the micronational pack, and ESTO is my government's way of making it happen.
Unfortunately, the co-initiator and main workhorse of ESTO, Martì-Páir Furxhéir, has had to resign from Cabinet due to massive workload commitments. We thank M-P for his valuable service, and once ESTO is operational, it will be my pleasure to advise the President of the Republic to name s:reu Furxhéir as the Republic's ambassador to that august body. But we need a new Foreign Minister to carry on M-P's good work to make sure we get there.
I promised in the election campaign that I would name at least one independent Minister, to demonstrate the Social Democratic commitment to embracing all talented Talossans, regardless of party. It is my great pleasure therefore to announce that cxhn. Diarmuid Crovâ, the Republic's foremost press baron while QI is on hiatus, has been offered, and has accepted, the role of Foreign Minister. It will be his duty to push forward to make ESTO a living reality by the end of this Chamber's life, as well as to promote friendly relations and cultural interchanges with our friends in the Empire of Septempontia, and with such other serious, stable, friendly and interesting micronations which attract the attention of this Government. I should note that s:reu Crovâ has requested that he sit outside the Cabinet, and I am happy to accede to this request, so that his political independence might be preserved.
The third priority - the question of how to promote immigration - has been a tricky one. It is my government's firm belief that the actual process of accepting new citizens is as close to perfect as we can make it – for now. But the problem is that not enough people are hearing about the Talossan Republic. We need a marketing strategy, and it will be a priority of this government to open up debate on what this should be. Dp. Ián Anglatzarâ will retain the position of Minister of Immigration, continuing the role which he has fulfilled with style and grace for more than a year now. With the departure of s:reu Furxhéir, Ián also assumes the role of Deputy Prime Minister.
Finally, I wish to proceed with haste on the question of investing the Talossan Republic with the trappings of nationhood. Several projects have half-started or half-finished during the last six months – the Citizenship Card, the National Anthem, a design for our National Coat of Arms, the number and nature of public holidays, our currency, even whether Talossa follows the metric or imperial system of weights and measures. I wish to prioritise these and get them up and running during the term of the next Government. They are little things, and silly things, but they are the kind of things that Talossa has been made of. Many of these could probably be put into action as Executive Orders rather than legislation – they will be symbols of the state, rather than directions to bind all Talossans.
To the remaining appointments to the Government. I reconfirm s:reu D. N. Vercáriâ as Attorney-General of the Republic, outside the Cabinet – may he make sure that the government sticks to the constitutional straight and narrow. The President of the Republic, C. C. Cavéir, will continue in his portfolios of Information and Defence.
The final appointment to the cabinet will be d:nâ Iensâ Ovéir. She has a lot to offer the Republic – even though she wishes to open a public debate as to whether her portfolio, the Ministry of Women's Affairs, should even continue to exist. Whether it does or not, the Government will be richer for her input.
In summary, I have proposed four concrete goals for the next six months of Talossa:
1.Formal relationships and real cultural co-operation with the Kingdom, including the beginnings of joint history and 'teach yourself Talossan' materials.
2.ESTO to be up and running.
3.A formal strategy for marketing the Republic to potential new immigrants to be put in place.
4.More of the “trappings of nationhood” established.
There. Now there's a plan. And I charge the Peculiarist deputies to make sure we stick to it – a Government is only as good as its Opposition.
Så vivádra la Repúblicâ Talossán!
M. A. Schivâ
Seneschál
APPENDIX: GOVERNMENT APPOINTMENTS
The Cabinet:
C. C. Cavéir: President of the Republic, Minister of Information, Minister of Defence
Dp. M. A. Schivâ: Prime Minister, Minister of Culture, Minister for Inter-Talossan Relations
Dp. B. I. Anglatzarâ: Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Immigration, Minister for Lingustic Minorities
I. M. Ovéir: Minister for Women's Affairs.
Outside Cabinet:
D. Crovâ: Foreign Minister.
D. N. Vercáriâ: Attorney-General, Ambassador to Septempontia.
M-P Furxhéir: Database Administrator, Ambassador to ESTO (pending). |
