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Good evening and welcome again to the new edition of the Economist. This week we've got a special elections run-down, with a newspaper recording of the vote below. The format will be more compact, to make it easier to read, and also because the elections are dominating the line-up this week. Congratulations to all those who got elected, this author would like to extend personal thanks to those who took the time to vote for him. This has been a busy week, and we'll be covering a lot of topics. We would like to apologise for any disappointed readers last week. An unfortunate collision of a lack of top-level news and a mass emergence of real life problems resulted in an edition that was thinner than normal.

So what has happened this week? We have a new President! Despite our differing political views, I welcome the new President and pledge full support. A country runs on the relationship between its congressmen and it's President, and the UK prides itself on its political maturity. Although we have differing opinions, we know that to make a country work, you need strength, commitment and unity. I believe that JerryGFL offers that to a country which has been rudderless for the last few weeks. Good luck to him, and to all the new congress members.





I will just jump straight into the results, as no doubt that is what most of you will be interested in. Please remember to vote and subscribe!

Candidate............................ ..|..Party...|...Votes...|

Funky 44.................................|...U KRP.|....52........|

Squiddy................................. ..|...TUP....|....35........|

SaraDroz................................ .|...UKRP.|....32........|

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar.........|....PCP...|....30....... .|

Roadrunnerspeed....................|.... TUP....|....26........|

Anaxima................................| ....FTP.....|....26........|

Tommy Tommasino................|....UKRP..|... .24........|

Thomas R26..........................|....PCP... ..|....23.......|

Sir Graystar...........................|.... TUP.....|....21.......|

Rolfus_Mercator....................|.... TUP.....|....20.......|

Liam Smith...........................|....TUP .....|....20.......|

Gazala.................................| ....UKRP..|....20.......|

Jizm.................................... .|....TUP.....|....19.......|

Iain Keers.............................|....T UP.....|....17.......|

Azra'eil................................ .|....MDU...|....17.........|

Bob Boblo.............................|....P CP......|....15......|

tas_pats...............................| .....FTP......|....14......|

Yvette Ynsydr.......................|.....FTP.. ....|.....14.....|

Peter Lucas..........................|.....UKR P..|.....14......|

SKQ62.................................|. ....TUP.....|.....13.....|

Count Drakula.......................|.....TUP. ....|......13.....|

Scipio the Great....................|.....PCP.....| .......13....|

Carl Paul..............................|..... UKRP...|.......12...|

Deathtoll32...........................|. ...UKRP....|......11....|

Hurley (resigned)...................|....UKRP.. ..|.....11.....|

Jaden87...............................|. ....PCP......|.....11.....|

Sardinitoni............................| .....UKRP...|.....10.....|

EJPayne..............................|.. ..PCP.......|.....10.....|

Big Boy Bulley.....................|.....MDU.... ..|......9......|

Malta_1990..........................|... ..TUP.......|......9......|

Rastari................................| .....PCP.......|.....9......|

Certacito.............................|. ....UKRP....|.....8......|

Eadie..................................| .....TUP.......|.....7......|

Felix K................................|.....M DU.....|.....7.......|

70mD..................................|. ....FTP......|.....7......|

Kambei...............................|.. ...UKRP....|.....5.......|

Wildcards:

Jan Baykara.......................|.....PCP. ......|.....13......|

CV James..........................|.....MDU ......|......11.....|

Dobis.................................|. ....MDU......|......11.....|

Teh User............................|.....TU P.......|......10.....|


So the results

Party................................... ...........|...Seats

The Unity Party.............................|....1 2
UK Reform.................................. .|....11 (10 now Hurley Resigned
People's Communist Party.............|....8
Movement for Democratic Unity.|....5
Free Thinkers Party.......................|....4

So what does this say? The 'big 3' are still here, with the MDU vote being stolen by the new Free Thinkers Party. The Unity Party has extended its dominance of congress, taking twelve seats, with twelve forum-active congressmen. Hurley disgraced themselves by resigning an hour after winning, again pocketing the gold for congress. Overall, a more forum-active congress than the February Congress.






War is one of the biggest selling points for eRepublik? But how does one participate in a war? There are two main ways. You can sign up for your countries army, or you can move to a war zone yourself and fight. Most players opt for the first, due to the cost of outfitting yourself to do meaningful damage in a war. Some of the older richer players move around, starting resistance wars and joining battles for the fun. Now, however, a third option has arisen.

Private military companies (PMCs) are common in the real world, with an estimated ninety-five thousand in Iraq during 2008. In eRepublik, however, they are mostly bands of gamers from other games or forums, such as the Theocrats who took over Switzerland. Now however, there is a new PMC on the block. Greystone Defence Group have released two news articles so far, and have reputably signed up over a hundred members. The only requirements are that the sign-ups are over level 4 strength and aren't congress members.

Their second release advertises their services. Greystone have claimed to be capable of delivering three main services to their customers: Soldiering, advising and electioneering. All three seem to be mainly targeted at small new countries which need help organising themselves. We think that they have a good chance in attracting that demographic. With reputably over one hundred recruits already, it looks like Greystone are going to be a major political and military force.





The introduction of podcasts has opened up a whole new news option for newspapers. The Economist is considering releasing a 5 minute audio round-up of the weeks news each Thursday to accompany its written newspaper. Economist editor, Iain Keers, may also be collaborating with fellow eRepublikans in other podcasts, so keep your ears open!





This week, with the election of JerryGFL to the country Presidency, we have seen a new wave of initiatives from Number 10. The first is the establishment of the Prime Minister's Office newspaper. The significance of this however pales in comparison to the content of the first article. Jerry has announced that due to extreme financial difficulties, the UK will be suspending the NHS, as well as all overseas warfare, until a solution to the impeding financial collapse is discovered. Many will be aware that the country has not recouped the financial loss it made during the French wars, but few will realise the extent of our financial damage.

In Jerry's article, he estimates that at current rates of spending, the government will become bankrupt around the 20th of March.

This is a massive blow to the UK's financial confidence, and business leaders and economists both are trying to find solutions to the problem. The Economist has heard much talk of increasing taxation, but this is the wrong choice. Most of the government's tax income is made on income tax. This is because the import taxes are so high that foreign businesses cannot compete with domestic businesses in many cases. To avoid economic failure, the Economist suggests opening the nation's doors by lowering import taxes so that foreign business can compete. Cheaper raw materials means that higher income taxes can be levied on our domestic businesses without grossly effecting prices. A free market is also a wealthy market. Open the doors, Jerry.





This week we saw a little scuffle break out in Western Europe. Switzerland declared war on Italy, and promptly lost two regions. Seizing their opportunity to attack whilst Italy was distracted, Spain invaded the Italian region they border in Southern France. The invasion was a success, and Italy has effectively lost a medium grain area, and gained a medium grain area and a medium grain/wood area. So overall, a net gain for Spain and Italy, and a net loss for Switzerland. How planned this was is unknown, as despite all of their talk, the Theocrats are led by two Italians and not by Dio Brando. How much influence they have over the Italians is unknown.





Romania has long had its sights on Iran, as an oil rich nation and as a major enemy on the world stage. It even invaded and conquered large regions of Russia to reach the Iranian border. However, at the last minute their plans were foiled. Whilst the vote for war was going through the Romanian congress, the Iranians, Pakistanis and Indonesians did a little regional jig, exchanging regions to establish an Indonesian border with Romania.

Since then, the two countries have exchanged insults but little else. It seems the Romanian Government is looking for a way to engage Iran without having to fight through Indonesia first. It's entirely possible that they will do it. For Romania, very little seems to be impossible. With Indonesia suffering from a bout of rebellions from it's Asian provinces, as well a lot of new borders with new nations, it may have enough on its plate without a clash of swords with the world military superpower.

Only time will tell whether Romania will decide to continue in its plans, or take time out to subdue its own rebellious neighbours. The Economist would recommend that Romania fix its own problems and consolidate its possessions before expanding Eastwards any further. The danger is that they will run out of people to occupy provinces and will thus constantly face the kind of rebellions that Norway faced not so long ago.





India as a country barely had time to exist before it came under attack again. This time it was a political attack from the Indonesians, who have made a half-hearted attempt at a political takeover in the three-region country. After a brief scramble, the Indians have managed to have a mostly Indian congress, and the threat of take-over is fading. However, with the upcoming Presidential elections, we will no doubt see another challenge.

In the Presidential elections, Indian political disunity may result in an Indonesian candidate slipping between the Indian parties and becoming President. Indian spokespeople on the UK forums are already panicking about the ramifications of this happening. We strongly advise the Indian people to unite around a single candidate for the number one job. A country needs to exist for the Presidency to be valuable, and there is no point squabbling over the seat if it is going to be lost to a foreign power. With India signing MPPs with every country around, the danger of a direct invasion is limited. But an invasion of votes can be just as deadly.





The Guild of Hard Workers was established this week as a stab at an eRepublik union that could actually work. The idea is that it would work much like a medieval guild (hence the name). Members would have an established high standard of work which employers will be able to rely on day after day.

The requirements for entry are:
At least one Hard Worker Medal
Work every day
Active on the forums

The Guild is not just for workers however, it is also for businesses. Guild Accredited businesses will be allowed to advertise jobs in the guild section of the forums. They will also be able to directly PM guild members IN FORUM with job offers provided they also copy the Guild Master into the PM.

So what are the advantages of joining? Business owners will benefit from being able to guarantee that their workers will work each day, in higher profits. Therefore it is in their advantage to pay higher wages to guild members.

How do you join the guild? Send a PM to Iain Keers in-game or apply directly in-forum.



***The Economist***


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