Gospel of the Godfather

This articles main feature is on developments in Europe, especially the controversial events in the Balkans. Next article will focus on the Americas and PANAM.

Contents

NOTE: If you do not want to read about events in Europe then please scroll down and complete the Poll for Irish Citizens.

- Europe
-- EDEN/Phoenix/NWO
-- Czechoslovakia
-- Italy
-- France

-- Ireland
-- Shannon
-- Public Poll for Irish Citizens
-- Ambassadors Wanted


EDEN / Phoenix / NWO

Much has been made of recent developments as regards alliances. The major powers in Europe have been the centre of the e-World's attention yet again. The 5 countries entangled in the dispute are Romania, Croatia and Poland, members of the EDEN alliance and Hungary and Serbia members of EDENs arch-enemy Phoenix, until recently when they formally quit the alliance. The relations between each of the countries on a one-to-one basis is what has been causing major complications in the situation and has finally brought it to breaking point. Certain events along the way have played a part in this situation coming to a head, and the 4 main talking points have been-

Romania(EDEN) signs Peace with Serbia(Phoenix)

Romania, having wars open on 2 fronts(Serbia and Hungary) decided that they could not sustain both wars. As Romanian/Hungarian Peace was never likely, their President, Bogdan_L proposed a Peace Treaty with Serbia. This caused a stir at the time as Romanian ally Croatia had also been involved(and still are) in a demanding war with Serbia, and it appeared that the Croats were being left to deal with Serbia by themselves. However when the dust settled, most educated players in Croatia realised that due to the changes in the game(which had just been implemented at the time), that no country could sustain 2 open wars and they understood Romania's position on the matter. However, this Peace Treaty has been used and exaggerated in a recent propaganda war to justify controversial moves by Poland/Hungary.

Poland(EDEN) refuses MPP with Romania(EDEN)

There have been suggestions in various articles that Poland and Romania have never been the best of friends, and that neither country actually supported each other to any great degree in their various campaigns. The Romanian Peace Treaty with Serbia has also been used to partly justify the deterioration of relations between Poland/Romania. Also central to this event was Bogdan_L, ex-Romanian President(signed Peace with Serbia) and the then SC of EDEN. He was involved in what turned into an ugly public war of words with Polish Congress which poured fuel on the flames of an already worsening situation. However, no ample nor logical reason has been put forward by anyone to justify a refusal of an MPP with another country within the EDEN alliance. Trolling and flaming ensued which drove a wedge between the communities of both countries.

Croatia(EDEN) refuses Peace with Serbia(Phoenix)

More than once in the past, Croatia has proven to be the glue that holds EDEN together. Lately this has become apparent yet again. Their absolute insistence on being loyal to allies, and hostile to enemies is the foundation upon which the alliance itself is built upon. Their war with Serbia has been a demanding and costly one. Since the loss of their heavily fortressed colony in China, Liaoning, which was then a highly important High Iron region, Serbia had been forced back to the "cage" of the Balkans. The intensity and frequency of the battles in the Balkan regions makes it a huge task for any country to break out of this "cage". As already mentioned, Serbia managed to close their war with Romania. Doing likewise with their war with Croatia would give them the opportunity to plough through Europe meeting little resistance, and crucially, would not be drained of influence and resources by Croatia everyday. Serbian Congress voted to remove Croatia as a Natural Enemy in the hope that Croatia would do likewise. Opinion in Croatia on whether to close the war was divided. A majority of congress, though not the 66% required, actually voted to remove Serbia as a Natural Enemy and thus close the war. Propaganda at the time had been focused on a hypothetical alliance(Hi5) of European Superpowers, which would include Croatia and Serbia fighting side by side. It had also been clear that Poland-Hungary were entering into a mutual deal. Even to disregard all other external events, Peace in this war would have undeniable benefits for Croatia. The constant battles are costly and uses up a lot of their resources that they could focus on more beneficial campaigns. However, a public poll showed that 70% of Croatians were against closing the war with the terms that were offered.

The main issues Croatia had with the proposal was that the benefits of the closure of the war were heavily stacked in Serbia's favour-

- Serbia had took a region in Slovenia which gives them a way out of the cage, closing the war now gives Serbia free reign through Europe without the hassle of being drained and having more than one country placing them as a Natural Enemy.
- Serbia still held most of/all of Bosnian regions, Croatian ally.
- Due to RL tensions with Serbia, many Croatian players join/stay in the game because of this war.

Peace would have been acceptable to Croatia if Serbia returned all non-original regions. This was unrealistic though as the Serbians will need certain colonies if they are to remain free from the cage. Since the Croat/Serb war looks set to continue indefinitely, the rivalry between the two guarantees that the EDEN/Phoenix divide will continue even if the alliances themselves fall, as both countries are held in high regard by their old allies on either side of that divide.

1- Serbia still hold the regions of Croatian ally BiH
2- At the time of the Peace talks, Serbia had escaped the cage to Slovenian region Upper Carniola
3- Serbia have now moved into Austrian region Tyrol.

Poland(EDEN) signs MPP with Hungary(Phoenix)

Arguably the most controversial MPP in the history of the game. Poland's MPP with the Magyars, added to their refusal to sign an MPP with Romania throws Europe as we know it into a viscous circle of contradictions and puts strain on every member nation of the EDEN alliance. Hungary have an open war with, and are sworn enemies of EDEN nation Romania. Rumours about the future membership of Poland in EDEN are rife. Much ink has been used in suggesting that Poland, Hungary, Serbia(NWO) are to form the core of a new alliance. Having an MPP with a nation who has been a long time enemy of the EDEN alliance creates a direct conflict of interests. Reasons given for the MPP(which will see Poland fighting against fellow EDEN member Romania) have been that the 2 countries share a great bond in real life, that Hungary are now a "neutral" country and that Romania signed Peace with Serbia, though the latter has been used more to try convince the Croats to accept Poland's decision. Like most other issues connected to EDEN and warfare, the Croats are central to this. Poland and Croatia have a long history of good relations and brotherhood. However, with Poland seemingly intent on supporting the Magyars over Romania, this has put them at odds with Croatia as well. The term "Cromania" (coined several months back after the two nations were instrumental in liberating Heilongjiang, Hungary's Chinese Iron colony) refers to the deep friendship between the nations. Croatia generally hold their friendships with both Poland and Romania in equal regard. The fact that they perceive Poland's recent actions as dishonourable would lead them to side with Romania should it come to that. Croatia's decision influences the rest of the EDEN alliance. For example, Spanish-Polish relations have always been excellent and should Poland leave EDEN, the Spaniards maybe likely to follow. But the vast majority Spaniards also hold Croatia in high regard. As already mentioned, Croatia is the glue that holds EDEN together, should they bend on the Poland-Hungary MPP, or to a lesser extent on their war with Serbia, the alliance would likely crumble as it makes the decision of every other country an easier one. The supporters of "NWO" know this and much propaganda has been written to try to drive a wedge between Croatia and Romania and to "sell" the Pol-Hun MPP to the Croats as being a justifiable one. EDEN have insisted that Poland must sign an MPP with Romania and this is being discussed in private Polish congress. However, at this time if the proposal was made in-game it would likely fail, and the wedge would have been driven further. Polish congress seems set on an MPP with Hungary, and no MPP with Romania. Public opinion in Poland is divided on the matter though. Many influential and experienced players are outraged by the decisions that have been made. Many older Poles would have fought side by side with Croatians and other EDEN soldiers for the common cause of and in the interests of all allied nations. A large number of military groups in Poland have announced that they will no longer be co-operating with the Polish Government(many have already integrated their forces into other EDEN armies) and an impeachment proposal against President smrtan(44% of congress are not happy with his leadership) show that there is not a clear consensus on the matter. Poland could be in for an internal battle between those who would prefer to stay loyal to old friends, and those who seek to make new ones.

Conclusion:
My own conclusion on this is-
Officially Phoenix is all but dead. Officially EDEN still exists but if Poland are to depart from the alliance then it's future is on even more shaky ground than it's rival. Phoenix still exists, even if not on paper. An alliance is more than a name, a logo and a central command. The friendships and relationships built up between nations and citizens over the years do not simply disappear. If Poland are to continue to place relations with Hungary above those of EDEN members then they will in effect have joined Phoenix(or it's successor). If this happens then EDEN is a far weaker alliance without them and may fall to pieces soon afterwards. Realistically, to stay in EDEN, Poland must give up their MPP with Hungary. At this time, that is unlikely and Poland may end up losing many old friends as well as many of their own experienced players who will never fight against old allies. As long as Croatia stands it's ground on the matter, other allied nations will find it very difficult to follow Poland, leaving Poland to pick a side between EDEN or Hungary/Serbia. A situation where one alliance member is actively fighting against another is untenable. Something has to give.


Czechoslovakia

Sandwiched between both Poland and Hungary are the nations of Czech Republic and Slovakia. The 2 nations once existed in real life as the single nation of Czechoslovakia. It seems as if they have agreed to unify in-game (Slovakia holding the regions) giving them 6 of the 10 in-game resources including both Iron and Grain. They are said to be(wisely) seeking positive relations with both Hungary and Poland.

With Poland to the North and Hungary to the South, pursuing relations with the 2 newly allied superpowers would be wise for the unified Czechoslovakia


Italy

Italy's recent expansion has come to an end after Slovenia took their Iron colony in Bavaria. Slovenia have now launched an invasion on Italian home ground.

1- Italy has lost the Iron region(originally German) of Bavaria to Slovenia.
2- They now face a defensive war with Slovenia on home turf


France

Yet again, Poland are involved in this story too. France secured the return of the regions of Loire Valley and Burgundy by agreement with Poland. Poland have been allowed to keep the Rubber region of Poitou-Charentes in this agreement, however it seems that France have not gotten anything else in return for this apart from the return of the aforementioned regions.

1- France have agreed a deal with Poland for the return of their regions
2- Poland however hold onto the Rubber rich region as part of the deal.



Shannon

Preliminary talks were held on the future of Shannon with Canada to reach a mutually beneficial arrangement. However no exchange can take place at this time, for several reasons although we expect that it will happen at some stage. An over zealous Canadian started an RW there thinking that an exchange was going to take place immediately. Shannon is once again Irish, for the time being at least. Other, separate possibilities were discussed and future talks will expand on these.

Ireland's extra resource regions provide an opportunity for a source of extra income through rentals, which could be crucial in rebuilding the nation.
1- Shannon is an extra Fruit region
2- Southeast is an extra Iron region(currently rented to the USA)

Poll For Irish Citizens

All Irish Citizens please fill out this poll. Though any final decisions will be made by the Administration and Congress, this Administration would like to gauge public opinion on matters so it can be taken into account in any decisions made.

Ambassadors Wanted
We are seeking experienced and quality Ambassadors. I am looking for quality over quantity for this term. It's gonna work something like this-
- Each successful applicant chooses a group of countries they feel they can have success with.
- Weekly Report on the Nations in question to be handed into the FA Department.
- Reporting of news from the media, forums etc from the country in question with links to anything of interest
- Spend time on the IRC channels of the countries in question everyday you log on.
- Report to the Department any prominent individuals from these countries who you have contacted and feel may be of benefit to Ireland, to be added to a list of contacts for the Irish FA Department.
- To those who meet these requirements each week, I will personally pay a weekly amount of currency.

If interested, please sign up here

For those of you who believe that only allowing the most experienced players a chance at taking a role, I encourage all applicants to take on a younger player they see potential in, take them under your wing and show them the ropes etc etc.

Is mise,


Irishbhoy1967
Irish Minister of Foreign Affairs