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This will be a fairly short article, and shall function as an update on my Week 1 report, which can be viewed here.

1. Politics

In the recent presidential elections, candidate Olv007 pulled through, winning a full term as President of Belgium after having served a partial term as the replacement of their previous (inactive) President, Grinch85. Olv has pledged himself to preserve neutrality by any means necessary, and at any cost - a cause which I daresay appeals to each and every one of the Belgian people.

Neutrality, as many Americans are aware, is one of Belgium's top priorities. As much as is humanly possible, Belgians seek to stay away from the polarizing battle between the two alliances - EDEN and PHOENIX. To that end, Belgian philanthropist Manong Rizal has proposed a revolutionary idea: a Committee of Neutrality. Though I could go on for paragraphs, I will allow Rizal's words to explain this committee for me.

"Why make this committee?

I believe that we should strive to keep this country alive, persay [sic], thus by making this Committee we can further enforce and support our idea and notion for neutrality to assure our EDEN and PHX friends (or just EDEN for they are most concerned and most involved in our country's politics) that we are indeed neutral."

While a lot of different allegations have been sloshing around as a result of recent "legislation" (and I use the term loosely) introduced into the Belgian Congress, I for one find it admirable that Belgium can continue to cling to its creed of neutrality, even in spite of events that stain the reputation of
one alliance or the other. Political polarization is extremely difficult to avoid; this is evidenced by the relatively small number of neutral countries, especially on a comparative basis to the number of alliances, MPPs, and "sympathizer states". While I understand that some people may feel apprehensive concerning Belgium, but I can assure you that, in many respects, the feelings are mutual; ergo, I may not be reflecting the opinion of every single American, or every single citizen of EDEN, but I know that I speak for myself when I say: well done, Belgium - keep it up.

2. Military

There's not much to say, here. The Belgians have been working hard on a solid military structure, and have started recruiting extensively to give themselves some measure of defense in case of any kind of armed conflict.

One point of interest here is a draft of a possible Army Avatar:



Thus, it is quite evident that, regardless of pace, Belgium is progressing beautifully, laying a solid foundation for what will certainly become a strong, prosperous nation.

One other important thing to note here is that, recently, Belgium has been considering finding a way to participate in some training wars, so that they can build strength, and bring in some revenue from the manufacturing and sale of weapons (or, so I would assume). However, one potential outlet for such wars, Sol, would charge them approximately 200g for the MPPs, making such measures financially straining, and perhaps unaffordable.

And, while we're on the subject of money...

3. Economy

Here it is.

While they have a fair supply of BEF (approximately 6,670), it's important to note that there is absolutely no gold in the treasury, a situation which could easily lend itself to some short-term (perhaps even long-term) fiscal difficulties; however, if you factor in that one of Belgium's national goals for this term is to raise its GDP to 1488g (a 10% increase), one is inclined to believe that the Belgians will find a way to deal with it, if they haven't already.

Additionally, there's very little that has changed with Belgium's taxes - the inconsistencies remain essentially the same, though I'd like to point out how the proactive Belgian government is working furiously to combat this issue.

On a more positive note, their current rate of inflation has essentially been in severed in half (and then some!); currently, they're sitting at approximately 22%, which is a vast improvement from the previous week, during which the inflation rate sat at a nauseating 52%. Obviously, this can be irrefutably attributed to some degree of economic improvement, which further signals the expedition of Belgium's recovery.

So, there's your week two summary. I didn't want to take a lot of time for this, partially because there haven't been any drastic changes, but mostly because I'm starving, and there is some Fettuccine Alfredo waiting for me downstairs. 🙂

Before I depart, however, let me make my usual disclaimer: It's likely that, at some point in this article, I've slipped in an inaccurate detail or two, and I invite you to correct me on that. Currently, I've been making several inquiries unto a number of Belgian officials, hoping to get to the bottom of a most vexing political conundrum. Naturally, keeping up with foreign politics is both taxing and confusing, and I can't be on top of my game 100% of the time; but of course, whether I'm wrong or right, I'll never let you forget that truth takes no sides.

Cody Franklin