[President] The End

Day 1,566, 03:57 • Published in Sweden Sweden • by Valnad
Picture a nation that is...

...at war against Finland, who is already occupying half of its regions.
...at war against Russia, who is occupying the other half.
...having Romania right next to the capital (and currently occupied) core region.
...with Denmark, Norway and Denmark as enemies.
...left with 0 SEK in the national bank account, i.e.: bankrupt.
...in debt to her own soldiers with 500-600k currency.
...guilty of having just helped Serbs PTO Norway.
...without a Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
...without a functional Ministry of Education.
...is down to a measly 14 seat congress, out of which only a handful were active.
...merely hours away of being wiped for the first time in history, being attacked in its last region by the full force of being TEDEN's 1st priority battle.

That picture is a copy of how Sweden looked the 6th of January, when I became President of eSweden again.

Today, two months later, I leave my office in a country that has all her core regions back (although Jamtland is swapped to Finland for 10 more days, after which Lapp3n will go berserk and take it back single-handed) and consequently we also have our original production bonus back again. Sweden once again at peace with Finland and Norway and through a gentleman's agreement we're at no threat from GDC (Germany and Denmark). Since Romania was kicked out of the Baltics in January and Russia succumbed during the early days of February, our haven is safe again. For now.

Today we no longer have any debts. Instead we have a healthy surplus of several million SEK in our national bank. Unfortunately we haven't managed to gain more than 5 citizens, which is a major disappointment, but considering the fragile state Sweden was in when I came to office, it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that we haven't exactly had optimal conditions for attracting new blood (which almost no other country had either, due to the decisions to make the game ever more focused on gold consumption).

The Ministry of Finance is once again posting detailed fiscal resports, the Ministry of Education has been more active than I have seen it in more than a year and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is up and running again. Business as usual? Not quite. But business as it should always ought to have been.

It is a sad day when I have to apologize for not being able to more than this.

Our country is currently considered a safe haven nad players from all across ONE have travelled here lately in search of a less war-ravaged country. The NE bonus to boost strength no longer apply, which only adds to my conviction that our focus on achieving peace and stability instead of war prooved to be the winning hand in the end. When Serbia, Hungary, UK, Spain, Macedonia, Indonesia and Iran all lost their congresses, we rowed our boat gently through calm waters. Instead of charging head long into useless battles for resources or pride, we helped our allies through MPP battles and sent our mobiles to their Resistance Wars. Some call it "Sim City", I call it biding our time and accepting reality. Preparing for another (rainy) day.

But never forget that we only managed to reach this position because of the friendly sacrifices that Poland and other allies made when they helped us in our war against Russia. In a time when most of our allies struggled to regain their regions, we received the help we needed to get rid of both Romania and Russia and we've kept our 40% production bonus ever since. Poland did not help us in vain - we're once again as steady as a rock up here in the cold North. Their choice to help us out has enabled Sweden to send her soldiers to help all of her allies instead of having to fight for survival.

Whoever wins the upcoming election will have plenty of clay to mold with as they form their own, future model of eSweden.

Thus, we have reached the conclusion of my last eSwedish presidency. You will be rid of me, at last 😉

I have sat in this office for 8 months now. That is probably longer than the median age of our active citizens. During this time I have watched our nation rise from its ashes, but I have also watched everything we had struggled so hard to build up be smashed to pieces due to the hubris and arrogance of leaders that lacked the respect needed to fullfill their duties to our country. These long months have showed me the value of true friendship and loyalty, but it has also showed me the true face of deceit and betrayal.

Unfortunately, I am my own worst enemy. It is almost impossible for this angry little baby to live up to her own high expectations. No matter how many hours I spend on diplomatic talks, no matter how many sleepless nights I spend monitoring various battles or how much our treasury grows, no matter how many regions our country gets or enemies we conquer - in the end, it will never be "good enough". There's always room for improvement.

That is why the words of trolls and liars weigh so heavily upon my shoulders. Despite the praise I've got (and still get) from the lion's share of our community, I will always find it easier to accept (and expect) a knife in the back than a compliment. I don't like what the petty party political fights does to our active community and I don't want to lash out in defense of myself or others again. I've done what I could for this country and I can sleep with a good conscience and in the end, that is what matters the most.

I was eBorn in this country and I have remained a steadfast citizen ever since. When others moved, I dug in. When we were at our lowest, I continued to try and climb upwards. But eventually, even a house made of stone will wither down to a pile of rubble, bricks and mortar. Small men with their big egos have proven to me that caring too much for your country will eventually lead you nowhere but an early eGrave.

This marks the end of my last Swedish presidency.

And since I have no intention of laying down beside ThomasP87, shoot, St00r, Mr_W and the others just yet, I will remain but a humble servant to our future leaders from the "new" generation.

With love and respect,

Valnad
President of Sweden
Keeper of The Cake