Questions & mythbusting about the referendum

Day 1,894, 01:13 • Published in Ireland Ireland • by Brian Boru


There seems to be a lot of wild opinion going around about the CoT referendum, particularly my place in organising it and my opinion as to its result. As such, I am going to address some of these myths and take questions in this article.

Myth No.1: "Brian Boru is pro-Circle of Trust"

I am not pro-CoT. I view their members nations much as many of our citizens do. Some are dear friends. Others are former enemies. The latter makes me as uneasy as any of us.

But the fact of the matter is this. Ireland has no alliance. For two months or longer, the Circle of Trust has been promoted as the alliance of choice in this country by quite a few. The lack of action on this matter by the previous administration did nothing to help us, and now we are caught between new friends and old friends.

We had to have the referendum. I could not leave this term without an answer for this question, a question that has now burned us.

The time to make a decision has come. Which leads me to the second myth.

Myth No.2: "It's been rushed" or "People are too uninformed"

As I have said, the debate on this has lasted for two months. Besides that fact, the time to decide has essentially been pushed forward thanks to developments in diplomacy, including the success of negotiations and the war currently ongoing.

As for people being uninformed, for newer players this is understandable perhaps. For everyone else, it is not. Two months of debate, a week's notice to the Senate for the date of the referendum, two days for campaign articles, a clear set of facts on what the deal means. The government's job in this case is to give the facts, that has been done.

That said, I am happy to expand on the facts by request.

If new players have any questions, post them below. I will answer them to the best of my ability. For specific information on the Circle of Trust, look here.

Myth No.3 "Asgard wasn't considered"

To bust this myth, I enclose a message from the President of Finland.
"I see still see Ireland as a potential member of Asgard in the future if that's something you want. I guess the result of your referendum will decide the path you are going to take. Of course, governments change and the people in charge may have different views of these questions. However, as said Asgard most likely won't be expanding anymore during my term."

While this message came after the announcement of the referendum, it was well known to my government and I that this was the attitude of Asgard for quite a while. The resentment of the Swedes over previous events hasn't died down either, to make matters more complicated.

Asgard was never an option this month. It may be an option later, but we cannot predict when.

Questions:
If you wish to ask a question about the referendum, please ask below.