NewsNight 2.0 #1

Day 1,722, 09:26 • Published in United Kingdom Belgium • by Veruvia


In a weekly series discussing events surrounding the United Kingdom, we look at what both Congress and the Country President is doing to improve the state of affairs. Will we see a shift in national policy following the dissolution of ONE or will we continue to remain allies and look to create a second alliance from the ashes of the last? What effect will this have on the Anglo-Irish Treaty? Will BigAnt be considered a good President by the end of his term? All questions we have here on NewsNight 2.0.

The Anglo-Irish Treaty

What both Kravenn and Talon Karrde managed during their periods as Country President may be considered a key moment in British history in managing to solidify a peace agreement between ourselves and Ireland. There has been no doubt that the United Kingdom and Ireland had a long and troublesome war, leaving us wiped for some time when Canada, France and Ireland conducted a joint attack on our isles. Public support for this agreement seems strong, solidified by the knowledge that this endless war may soon come to an end. In the agreement, the United Kingdom agreed to offer two regions in return for Louth and Dublin, two regions that provide us with an extra resource bonus. Once the Natural Enemy status ends in the next few days, we can anticipate that Congress will propose a peace agreement and we can turn our attention to our allies.

BigAnt - The Next Country President

BigAnt was elected this month with 37.03% of the vote, succeeding in becoming the second Country President to have been elected from Every Single One. He faced opposition from Count Drakula who, days before the election, announced that he would not be running, Baroness Margaret Thatcher of the United Kingdom Progression Party, Bamber of the People's Communist Party and Stefan1992 of the Dharma Initiative. Despite the announcement that Count Drakula would not be running, the fact that BigAnt won with a majority of 5.9% or 33 votes is perhaps a warning sign about his potential support base. Did people vote for Count Drakula simply because he was in The Unity Party? Possibly.

The Dissolution of ONE

Whether you believe that the dissolution of ONE has rocked the boat of foreign diplomacy or not is largely irrelevent. What we can all agree is that its demise forces us to re-engage in a debate about our allies. There's no doubt that those who were such a critical part of ONE HQ, for example, Iain Keers and Thomas765 will be arguing to retain our allies and it's a position I agree with. There is some discussion going on between some of the more influential members of the eUK which is worth reading here. Whatever happens, the fact that we have such experienced diplomats and people who are truly respected in the international community may yet provide us with some leverage as to what steps we take next. We've already proven our worth by negotiating a peace treaty with Ireland. That diplomacy is going to be key for us in the next few weeks.

A Cosmopolitan Cabinet

BigAnt's relative inexperience in politics compared with our previous Country President, Iain Keers, necessitated a cabinet full of experience and that's what he delivered when he announced his cabinet on the final day of the elections. With Daniel Thorrold and Count Drakula as Ministers of Defence, there is a wealth of experience in military affairs from two polar opposite parties. There's no surprise that Kravenn, a former Country President himself, has been appointed to be Minister of Foreign Affairs with Max Blue as Minister of Home Affairs. The Minister of Finance is expected to be Talon Karrde once he returns from absence but is, at the moment, being filled by BigAnt himself. The experienced cabinet may help stave off criticisms of BigAnt's premiership but only if those placed into those positions manage to achieve what they set out to do.