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Sincere citizens of Belgium,

Tomorrow, (or perhaps now if you just started reading now), the presidential election will be fully operational. As promised, I will now give you my program for foreign affairs and military. Also transparency and communication will be talked about.


Foreign Affairs


I wouldn't have called Sauron, the leader of the Ringwraiths is far more fun to negotiate with

Keeping Belgium Independent and Whole
Good Relationships with all our Neighbours
Keeping an eye on the New Alliances

Let’s start with some history lessons. Back in January 2010, when Belgium became independent from Spanish/Polish rule, we quickly become a hotly contested country in PTO and ATO terms. For one part this was due to our open citizenship, for the other part because back then we were of huge strategic value to both PHOENIX and EDEN, with us bordering French and German lands occupied by EDEN aligned Poland and Spain, the free PHOENIX countries the Netherlands and United Kingdom and parts of liberated France and Germany, an ex-PEACE member and a PHOENIX founder. In the months afterwards, France and Germany got liberated and our importance on the map got diminished. A strict neutral stance made it possible for us to survive in the grand EDEN-PHOENIX conflict
Now however, the map is changed in two ways. First, Poland has come back to our borders and has shown not to hesitate when they need our regions. Secondly, the old alliances are dead, long live the new ones! The international political climate of tomorrow will challenge us all, and more so due to the new changes in economy. Every region now is valuable, and countries no longer attempt to switch themselves throughout half of Asia to get a far and distant colony, but now they take what they need close to home.
This will be the biggest challenge for me and my future MoFA team (yes, I've got a team for it!). We need to show our neighbours where our allegiance lies. We need to redefine our self into this chasm of everyday changing politics. And this month is a crucial one, it will determine the face of the world in the next 6 to 12 months to come. And thus ours.
This does not mean that I intend to join any alliance, but it will mean that I WILL CONSIDER joining a worthy alliance that will benefit both us and our coalition partners. And even if we cannot join an alliance, cooperation with a strong alliance or a strong regional powerhouse also can strongly help us. However, all this depends on how things will turn out, and in the same way it can be that we decide to keep ourselves on the path of neutrality.


Military

[img]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9GHoR-RJLy8/SZC4GcafInI/AAAAAAAALHE/9d2aWWljBH4/s400/militaryNerd.JPG[/img]
I'd bring my laptop with me to a war too ...

Continue the Growth of our Armed Forces
Using them!
Cooperating with Potential Allies

Our Armed Forces have not done bad against the Polish Juggernaut. But it remains something to be taken care off. Our military has grown a lot and soon I will think the time is ripe to make use of it. Even as a small force doing minor damage, our army can help out the countries who we consider allies. And there are enough countries that I’d consider friendly or ally. Irish forces have helped us in the struggle against Warsaw, France has shown more than once their friendship and our relationship with Holland may be a love-hate one, they were among the first to attempt helping us in many ways during the invasion of Wallonia. Also working within a (potential, see Foreign Affairs) alliance gives battle oportunities for our army.
Sending out the army has also become easier. With the possibility to keep your job, party affiliation and even congress statute, our army should be able to be far more mobile than in the past. It is up to us to make use of it. The army is one of the ways to bring joy for us to this game. Let's use it.


Communication and Transparency


I even looked this up!

Ingame Articles as Often as Possible
Congress Forum for Delicate Things
IRC: Live Update

All this I conclude with two words: Transparency and Communication. Transparency is a difficult thing. I don’t think that every word that I share with my ministers about the latest results of Standard-Anderlecht should be shared with congress. However, both congress and the population should know what we are doing. I’ll try to walk the thin line between it graciously. So I tell you this: I will attempt to bring on a two to three daily base an article concerning the government latest achievements. The public has the right to know what I do and what I have done. This I will attempt in the 3 national languages as well. I almost got an operational translating team ready, only one more french translator is required.
The Congress Private Forum on the other side is the ideal spot to give delicate information. Note that wor😛 delicate. It remains often a problem that delicate information got leaked somehow through the quick chitchat of Congress. That’s why I propose that each party will assign one of their most trustworthy and active members to join the closed commission. This would be a commission with which I will share 95% of what I know as president. It would mostly be focused on foreign sensitive policy and on military matters. Things like the battleplans for the Polish conflict could be posted there. Ofcourse again, this is a trust-trust thingie: no leaks can be allowed from this forum. Nothing leaves it, or I won’t feel compelled to share things there. The only reason why I do this is to allow atleast a part of congress to do their checks and balances while being able to work freely around.
IRC in the end will be the live update. I will attempt to be there as often as possible and when I’m there, citizens can ask me any question about anything. The answer is not guaranteed, for I’ll become a busy man, but if possible, I will give a quick answer as soon as possible.


Another Box with a hole in it

I have now given in this article and the previous ones my vision and goals for Belgium. The things in here vary from realistic practical things to grans ideas and concepts, and from one-time activities to constant work that me and my cabinet will do. That cabinet is btw almost ready to go and rumble. And I ask you this thing:

What has my opponent said so far of what he'd do?

Only that he'd make an oversized cabinet with more then 22 ministers and vice-ministers (I refer to his article about this). That he wants a "unified belgian government" (but last government also had representatives from all parties, just like mine now will have). And that he wants to end the rule of what he call, "a small elite ruling from an ivory tower" (although it was his party member Theneka that was president of Belgium during September, and that, once more, since that government his party members have assisted in upholding then this so called Ivory Tower by cooperating in every government since then. Is there a real ivory tower?).

Do not fall for hollow slogans. I brought forth a program with everything, from practical straight forward solutions to grand schemes, from one time operations to a day-to-day task. Vote for a loyal and dedicated man, vote Sammy Tanghe for the first president of Belgium of 2011!

Sincerely yours,

Sammy