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Hi kids!


Pickle's military compound, high in the Swiss Alps.

I've been on IRC today. Unfortunately I should be asleep because I work tonight. I consider the current situation very important and as such it deserves my immediate attention. For whatever reason the future of Switzerland is up for grabs.

I do not intend to start an argument of who is right, who is a PTO or why we are failing. Everyone has their own opinion of these. I am not attempting to solicit the good will of anyone nor to sway their convictions. I mean to state my position about certain key elements affecting the Swiss condition and allow you to make your own conclusions and develop your own opinion.




The Wars

The recent struggle to block Slovenia from our boarders in Vorarlberg Austria was a campaign not soon forgotten. Many, many golds were spent by myself and others. This eventually climaxed with TWO and CoT going head to head. Many of our allies gave their all. Some of us with ties to foreign MU's pulled strings. I sent PM's to certain friends who are well known tanks. In the end however might won out. We were summarily wiped in spite of a valiant effort. Slovenia's land bridge survived as they had the Vorarlberg boarder intact.

This was an all out effort to make it difficult for Slovenia to retake our regions. It was hoped that this extra difficulty would give them pause before returning. We have had several failed wars in recent months since Slovenia has determined that we should pay the consequences for breaking an agreement that protected us from PTO by wiping us at congress elections yet allowing a region or two. There was also a minimal payment by Slovenia for Swiss regions controlled by them.




The Recent Agreement

The Welsh administration conducted negotiations with Slovenia and produced a proposal to have a NAP with certain stipulations. We would be allowed a congress and guaranteed peace with Slovenia with concession of two regions, monthly payment of cash and the promise that we would not attack Slovenia or RW our regions that were held by them. Talks were continued by the Walen administration and were signed by both parties.

According to the agreement a RW was started and quickly it became evident that Slovenia would renege. I understand that they did in fact pay the penalty cash to Switzerland for not allowing the region to be RW'ed.




The Decision

Now we must decide what direction to take. What we choose will have a long term affect on Switzerland. Some paths may not be easy to recover from.

There are four possibilities that leap to mind.

> Do nothing.
> Continue with sporadic RW's and consequent wipes.
> Have a massive war with Slovenia with allies in attendance.
> Continue negotiations to address where the agreement failed.

I do not consider the possibility that I've proposed in the past in which we have continuous RW's with no intention of winning, just simply to annoy Slovenia. Those RW's with friends and allies dropping left over damage after they had fought their orders. This never gained traction and as such has been rejected.

Do nothing.

It sounds awful and would bore everyone to be sure but is not without merit. The advantage here is that we can save gold and EB's to provide the massive attack many are looking for. The downside is that to be effective we would have to stay quiet for several months and that would cost players, both new and old. They would change citizenship or simply quit playing. I oppose this option.

Continue with sporadic RW's and consequent wipes.

This is what we've been doing since the original agreement failed. We've had a couple of congresses but for the most part the RW's have gained us little. There is little pride for me to win a region and have it taken back in a couple days. Also the money (RL and eRep) that is spent could better be used to build and encourage new players, instead it is poured down the drain to buy EB's and weapons. I oppose this option.

Have a massive war with Slovenia with allies in attendance.

While similar to the first this action would require the resources which can only be acquired by credit card. Yes we have allies but they are mostly wiped. Wiped countries do not send their armies to help other wiped countries. (I have an opinion of CoT strategy but that is not for this article.) Some MU's might be willing to help but that will still cost someone money and I'm betting it would be us.

In addition the immediate action against Slovenia would prevent any further conversation with them for quite some time. Public Relations is is a tricky business, even in a browser game. I am extremely opposed to this option.

Continue negotiations to address where the agreement failed.

The door is still open to negotiations. I've stepped in (albeit uninvited) and began talks with Ice Killa (Howly). We are planning a joint article to discuss the situation as soon as our RL schedules come together. We agree on most every point. He explains that the problem is Slovenian internal politics. I have also seen a bit of that here.

If allowed to continue I do not see any reason that the NAP could not take effect. Not soon enough to have congress this month but I believe we have been doing too much 'hurry up' planning lately anyhow. Let's do this right and see if there can be a mutual understanding.




TL😃R

I view how we handle the current situation with Slovenia to be paramount in determining whether Swiss become stagnate & boring or progressive & exciting. There is a future here if we put effort into the game. Standing by while waiting for others to do it all will not work. Let's see if the NAP will happen. In my opinion this would be our best bet to grow Switzerland.

To this end I would like to announce my intention to seek the office of President on November the 5th. There is much to do between now and then, both at the bargaining table and in a campaign. I look forward to providing articles to inform you of goings on and my intentions.

Thank you for reading, I hope this has been informative.