Join the new world

Another country presidential draws nigh and I always like to do an interview with the CP candidates. While this month, this interview was a bit of a last min thing since Nohjis decided to run last min, I am really pleased that both candidates was able to find the time and to answer these questions with great detail and care.

For me, manifestos are important, they are framed into a format that does not deal too much with the policy details. While manifestos offers us what are their overall positions, it is always framed in a very general and at times not that useful format. All candidates will say things like they support democracy or accountability etc, that is why I do these interviews since my time in eGermany and eNL.

The point of these questions is to allow myself as well as the electorate the means to better know the candidates. The questions I ask ranges from general questions, fun questions at the end, and very detailed policy questions. The purpose of these questions are to test the candidates and and to offer detail and comprehensive replies and more importantly, his or her rational and possible solutions.

Both candidates received the exact questions and the questions I hope are as objective as it can be. For the sake of length, I split the interviews as separate articles. This article is Nohjis’s interview.

Click here to read Lily’s Interview
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-Please introduce yourself. How old are you in RL? What do you do (student, job, etc)? What are your hobbies etc? Please introduce yourself so that the people will get to know you better.

Hi, I’m Nohjis. I don’t believe a real life situation really matters but you can all know, I’m 33, a family man with 2 kids and a lovely wife and work as an office manager for a travel insurance company. My hobby is eRep, I think it got a bit out of hand... My sport is cycling.
I’m specifically keen on having things that “work”. I enjoy helping out others to achieve just that; producing the best possible result with as little effort as possible.

-Why do you want to be CP?

I’m running for office this term to make certain everything runs smoothly while we pass our trial period in CoT. eBelgium has decided to go for a big change and we were given the opportunity to prove ourselves worthy. As I have pushed towards this change for several months now, I believe it’s my duty to face the challenge and allow eBelgians to choose to put the people who wanted this change to happen in front of their responsibilities.

-What are your past experiences (office/titles held) that qualify you for the office of Country President?

I’ve been the President of eBelgium twice (back to back) before and had a term as Vice President. These three terms gave me a sufficient view on how to lead in eBelgium. I have experiences in all other domains of governance (MoD, MoFA and Education) and understand the challenges each department faces. My particular expertise is that of Minister of Finance (4 terms so far), able to work within the budgets available to the state and attempting to work out the best possible solutions in the interest of the state.

-How would you describe your political orientation (ie, conservative, liberal, socialist, communist, anarchist, etc) and how would your views/orientation influence your policies and management style if you are elected as CP?

My political orientation is that of a liberal socialist. I believe it’s essential to allow people the freedom they desire but at the same time offer them the possibility to get an organized form of help that will improve their general experience in game.

-Please explain/describe your philosophy on both domestic and global governance.

I believe in applying governance on the best possible level. If we’re joining an alliance today, it’s because there are supranational interests which are conflicting with the wish of a small state to be independent. In order to not only undergo things and still have fun, I believe it’s necessary to cede most part of military authority and foreign affairs authority to the supranational level, it’s also part of what has motivated my choice pro alliance. Other things are best organized on a domestic level with again a choice for each country to orient their expenses.

-What do you think are your personal strengths and weaknesses? How will you overcome your own personal shortcomings?

My greatest strength is most likely that I’m a hard worker who is able to motivate others to do the same in an organized manner. I make it very clear to people what I expect of them when they’re working with me. People will have a list of objectives to complete.

My greatest weakness is that I have a busy schedule outside of the game with a priority for the kids which shows in limited availability during certain weekends. This is solved by relying on people who I know that will be available and making sure that it’s clear who is entitled to make a decision.

-What does eBelgium mean to you personally?

eBelgium is my home, a place to defend and nurture. I’m a very pro-state oriented person and as such attach much importance to helping the nation care for its citizens. I find eBelgium to be an interesting challenge with many opportunities for those who wish to grab them and that is a value only a small nation can offer.

- What is the one issue that is most urgent that eBE needs to tackle?

Making sure all of us work hard on joining CoT. Put in place an organisation we have never had before.

-Many former LCCers moved to HOPE. Some, like LEFT666, went back to Greece, while others just recently came. Do you view these illegal immigrants as a threat to eBE’s national security?

I believe a part of the former LCC citizens to be a minor threat to national security. They have shown little interest to take part in our community, continue to keep strong ties with their home countries and disrespect the structures put in place by the eBelgian people through their congress. All of this makes them a threat, however with the most recent returns. It seems however that they grew bored of making only little progress. It’s a threat that needs to be kept under surveillance taking necessary ATO measures when needed. As announced in my presidential article I will bring each breach of immigration rules to congress and the Supreme Court to evaluate the threat. It’s up to them to judge if the threat is important enough to sanction and warrant further measures.

- Recently, the congress stopped all funding of the eBE Paramilitary Team. Why is this needed and what are our budget challenges we will experience in the coming month? How will you address these finance issues?

The funding of the Belgian Paras were indeed scrapped due to a financial issue. The cost of this unit was over 1,000,000 BEF a month to pay for both training and supplies at the time it was removed. Since our tax income can not pay for this expense currently and that our reserves would have been depleted somewhere during the month of October, it was a highly necessary cut. I believe that the challenge in Finances for this month is rendering our market an attractive place to trade weapons but still guaranteeing a good tax income. The balance may need to be adapted several times to measure the full impacts but I believe this needs to be done through a decrease in taxes.

-Shifting to foreign policy, why is joining the Circle of Trust (COT) alliance better than being neutral?

I have written an entire article on why I believe being in an alliance is better then being neutral, rather then being too extensive here I’ld advize people to go read it. The choice for CoT in particular has to do with appreciation by those who were often our decisionmakers. Due to the military activity of the recent past (be it “just” for fun or for strategic resources), eBelgium has a tendency to rely on certain countries for help. It felt as logic to align with something concrete where we are appreciated for help given when asked rather then turning to the place where help was never asked but fingers were pointed when our help went elsewhere.

Besides our future COT allies, which countries are the most important friends to eBE?

We’ve been able to count on military assistance of the Venezuela, UK, Hungary, Macedonia, Serbia and Spain in the not so distant past. I believe this is of crucial importance and would love to see the good relations we have with these actors confirmed in the future.

When needed we’ve always been able to count on eNL be it for some military assistance or help against Political Takeovers. The US has helped us with the benefits of production bonuses for our expatriated supply officers.

-Which is a more important ally, eUK or eNL? Why?

To me eNL was the more important ally, the question I ask myself is if this will not shift in the future rather then the question why it has been like this. The question why is rather obvious. eNL and eBe have been in a union in the past. As such, strong ties exist between both communities. Another factor is that a good part of those inside eBelgium can easily communicate in dutch, giving a major advantage in bilateral discussions to resolve minor conflicts.

-People like the current CP of eNL, van Spjick, as well as people here in eBE, like Jofroi, the old ATO gang, and MaryamQ, see a benefit in having a union like UNL/UBE. What are the benefits as well as the negatives of such an union? Do you think it is possible? What are your personal opinions of such a union and will you try to work towards it?

I do believe there are undeniable advantages in a unified state. I have to admit though that at this point it’s not a realistic option. For realistic reasons the union is at the moment impossible. With a strong Polish neighbour occupying a part of eNL, this will not benefit either of our two nations. As much as I would love to see this happen from an economical and military point of view, it’s not something I will work towards at this time but who knows what the future holds.

-Some fun questions - Why are German beers the best?

Because you forgot to taste Belgian beers.

-Star Wars or Star Trek?

Star Wars.

-Why are gay guys the best?

I think it’s because they have a green belly button.

-One word to describe yourself.

Purple.

-Many thanks for your time and I wish you luck. Is there anything you want to say or address to the reader about yourself or your campaign?

I have no specific advice to give aside from asking your readers to vote for me on september 5th!
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Many thanks to the candidates for your prompt reply and best of luck to each and one of you. To the readers, thank you for your interest and I encourage you to contact each candidate and to vote on election day.