Moving On

Day 1,314, 14:42 • Published in Switzerland USA • by Penguin4512

Though most of you have probably guessed by now, I'd like to make it clear: I will not be running for re-election July 5th. If we are able to hold a presidential elections, which at this current time I cannot promise, I will formally step down, if not, I will serve as a button-clicker for an interim president who can be elected through a special election.

Despite an exceedingly difficult term, I have no regrets about running for president in June 5th. For one thing, interest in the game had deteriorated to the point where no one else wanted to take charge. And most of all, I got this shiny medal I was able to work with some really awesome people. My cabinet across the month has changed quite a bit... I think by now the majority of active Swiss have served in my government and one time or another. Either way, it was a joy to be able to work with people of such high caliber and huge talent.

But of course, my term isn't over yet. There are still 9 days left, and I intend to make the most of them. I ran my term on three key points, and in the following section I'll give brief status reports on each of them.

Our country's sovereignty:

Not looking so good, folks. We are completely occupied by two, perhaps soon to be three major powers. Negotiations have been unsuccessful, and trust me, we've tried everything. We even considered moving our country to Aosta Valley (briefly). But nothing came to fruition.

And we've lost several unsuccessful RW's. Though we have been losing the great, great majority of minibattles, many of them have been close. In some we've put down millions of damage and I think that at the very least we've helped our brothers in occupation, Italy.

An italian recently published an article entitled "We will be the pain in your ass." Well, I'm not sure if Switzerland can qualify as a pain, but we are certainly one of those annoying itches that you just can't quite get to.

So, come on guys. Never stop fighting. We'll just poke 'em to death.

Foreign Affairs:

There's really only one relevant topic in this issue, and that's Luna. Over this month, Luna has all but died. I hate to say it, but it's true. Almost the entire Luna High Council has gone inactive.

However, this budding alliance can still be saved. I am proud to say that Switzerland was one of the first member nations to propose a revision of how Luna is run. In the new system, presidents of nations and their representatives will play a much larger role.

There is still time to turn this around. Luna has done great things, and with some hard work, it will continue to do so.

Swiss Militias:
It took a while, but we're off. Swiss militias are now receiving funds on a five-day basis. (Note: due to budget concerns, I'm currently providing funds out of my own personal accounts). Oh yeah, that reminds me. There are a few certain someones who have been largely critical of the RWs due to the amount of money spent. I have one thing to say to you folks: screw off. The recent RW's we've launched have come out of the pocket of private citizens, not the government (luv you JNArno). These days, 20 gold equals 10'000 CHF. Believe it or not, I haven't bankrupted the state. Yeesh.



Future Plans:

Is there a future for Switzerland? Of course. We may not be able to fight back effectively enough to retake our homes but we are really only losing if we give up. I hope by the end of my term to have set down some systems which will continue through successive terms. That includes militia funding. The Swiss militias are one of the few things keeping our players interested, and we must do everything we can to help them grow and expand.

When it comes to our precious land, the region of Deutschschwitz may soon be switching hands. That's because it would be a connect Hungary to its colonies in Western Europe and overseas, as shown below.



Slovenia will be loath to give up their precious iron, of course, so this might create some conflict in ONE. That could be good. On the other hand, they'll be more inclined to hold ever more tightly to the remaining two Swiss regions.

Neither the Hungarian nor the Slovenian government have approached us about any such swap. But then again, why would they?

That's all. I'm glad to see that there are several players who have already informed me of their wishes to run for president. As long as there is new life in Switzerland, we will never truly be dead.