Azazia
31-01-2006, 06:44
Office of the Prime Minister
The Citadel, Imperium, New Britain
Are we ready, Howard? Tetley asked while straightening his tie with the help of his reflection in a small picture on his desk.
Indeed, sir, the limousine is waiting outside and the first four have assembled at Parliament House and will meet you there.
Excellent work, Howard.
It had been only twenty-four hours since the disappearance of King Andrew, Daniel Collins, and Roberta Kline over the Pacific and yet Tetley had all the while been pushing for the establishment of his next cabinet. While en route back to the capital, Tetley learned with great sadness that his Minister of Defence, William Ramsey, had disappeared and was presumed dead in some secret facility used by Andrew and Collins. At the same time he also needed to purge Collins’ supporters from Parliament to ensure they did not attempt another pseudo coup d’etat, a move that would put him and his party solely in charge of government but could also be used by enemies of the DSP and the UK to paint him as eliminating his democratic opposition. And so he had prepared a brief speech to be delivered in Parliament that would assuage the fears of those who dreaded the abolition of an Azazian democratic government – although until the next by-elections in two years time the government would not be wholly representative of the people.
As he stepped out of his office, with workers diligently slapping a new coat of paint over the horrid pastel colours chosen by Collins, he made his way down a still oddly quiet hallway. During the time out of office, upon order of Andrew many of his staffers who had remained in the Home Islands had been forcibly detained and had since disappeared with no trace or evidence as to who took them or to where. For the time being, Robertson was fulfilling his old role as well as that of Tobias Heath, his trusted friend and chief of staff whose plane had gone missing in a much similar fashion to that of Andrew’s. Tetley held no illusions about the fate of his friend.
Reaching the limousine, the door was held open by Geoffrey Blaine, his personal aide, who allowed both Tetley and Robertson to enter before climbing in himself. As armoured vehicles took up positions in the small convoy the limousine rumbled to life and began its trip down the bumpy cobblestone streets that led out of the brick Citadel. Well, gentlemen, Tetley said, breaking the silence. It certainly feels quite right to be back at home, wouldn’t you agree?
The two men nodded, Yes, sir.
For his part Robertson turned his head and looked over at his boss, are you sure you want to do this?
I think we have to.
I’m just worried about how it’ll be received, the Russians aren’t going to like it one bit. That and it’s going to anger a whole number of government officials that we probably need on our side right now.
Tetley nodded his head, appearing to be giving thought to the issue although his mind had been decided long before. The best analogy, Howard, is to that of a bandage. Best we rip it off all at once then to keep tugging at it as it rips out hair by hair. The problem with the Empire Act was that it didn’t go far enough, and since then we’ve been playing catch up by introducing tiny pieces of legislation one bill at a time. Today, we act in one grand stroke.
Parliament House
Imperium, New Britain
As Tetley walked into the massive white marble building, he pulled his peacoat closer tighter as a brief chill ran its course through his body, the massive New Brittany Mountains often sending down cooler air masses that swept through the capital during the winter months. Flanked by soldiers, trumpeters, and even the Royal Guard Marching Band, Tetley entered the building to much fanfare as television and internet video crews prepared to film the entire event.
His small physical frame echoed loudly as his heels clicked on the swirled marble floors, his reflection moving beneath him on the highly polished stone. Dressed in a simple black suit, a bright cerulean blue dress shirt and a matching colour tie with red and yellow palms forming a pattern of tiny icons. Smiling politely to those aids who stood in the numerous doorways he passed, he continued to look down to the end of the hall where the massive wooden doors, retained from the original meeting place of the first colonial administration, signified the entrance to the House of Commons.
With Robertson and Blaine trailing just a few steps behind, out of the frame for the filming cameras, Tetley approached the door and paused, listening to an indiscernible chatter on the other side of what were theoretically sound-proof doors. He smiled at how inaccurate the original designs had been. With a single knock he then listened until no more sounds reverberated through the dark, sienna-coloured wood. Pushing the doors open he entered the massive chamber, flooded with natural sunlight that bounced off the white plaster surfaces and glinting off the metal surfaces. Over seven hundred bodies were crowded into the room, and each stood and each to varying degrees applauded the comparatively short man who strode between them all as an unparalleled giant.
At last, he reached the familiar podium from which he had delivered numerous addresses, and he smiled to the throngs of cameras that recorded every minute for the viewing pleasure of the citizens of the United Kingdom as well as foreign citizens through numerous foreign media organisations.
Taking a quick swallow of ice water placed underneath the podium ahead of his arrival, he shuffled his papers out in front of him to allow him to glance down in case he needed to remember any particular details.
Good morning, ladies, and gentlemen, members of the House of Commons and the esteemed members of the House of Lords.
We have as a nation witnessed an unprecedented constitutional conflict in the past week as the late King Andrew unlawfully dismissed my Cabinet to allow for the installation of the late Daniel Collins as a caretaker until the elections for which His Majesty called. As of this moment, there remains no information on the whereabouts of King Andrew or Daniel Collins and as such we shall presume they dead in order to continue governing the United Kingdom.
To that end, I have returned from Port Elizabeth and I do so with a broad series of measures that will reorganize the United Kingdom into a more efficient political entity that will truly recognise our unique culture as well as our historic past.
The system of the semi-autonomous republics is no longer an efficient system of government, and will be done away with in favour of a new provincial system that shall allow for better representation at both local and national levels. Most new provinces will share their existing boundaries with those of the eponymous republics they will be replacing except in the instance of Bennington, which shall be divided as follows. To include the city of Breningrad, the province of West Oceania will run along the northeastern quadrant of the island of New Australia while the new province of Oceania will occupy the land south of West Oceania running roughly along the Arkanen Ridge until it meets the city of Hobart, where the border will run south to the coast. To the west of Oceania will be the province of Bennington, which will run until it meets the boundary of the province of Azazia, whose borders shall remain the same as the republic of Azazia. North of Bennington will be the province of Artega, to be named after its capital. The provincial capitals shall remain the same except in the case of Benninton, which will move from Philadelphia to Portsmouth. Philadelphia will retain the seat of a provincial government, though it will now be the Oceanian government. West Oceania will retain Breningrad and Azazia will retain Caliz.
These provinces will fall under the larger administrative entity of a “home country.” With the exception of the various provinces of the Home Islands, each home country will feature a unique culture and will be largely responsible for its domestic governance so long as any laws passed do not directly contradict those passed by Parliament, from which all said powers of home country and provincial government will flow. Currently there are two home countries: Azazia and Juristan while the current republic of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which will be reogranised into a single province, will also become the home country called the Indian Islands.
In the coming years, however, those three countries will be joined by a fourth as we seek to better incorporate the varied and diverse populations of the Kingdom into a state that takes better account of its population; and attempts to fairly represent them in Parliament. After consultations with the Royal Governor Sir Thomas Cahill and Prime Minister Milos Borovic, the Royal Crown Colony of Novikov will begin to undertake the processes required to become the third home country of the United Kingdom. This significant change will add nearly two billion more citizens to the current four billion located within the Home Islands and Juristan and will, with the changes I intend to announce later to the number of members of Parliament, better provide the Novikovian people, as citizens of the United Kingdom, with representation equal to that of we who reside in the Home Islands. The Novikovian people are our brothers and sisters and it is long due that we recognise them as such.
The last bit of news prompted a flurry of photographs and still images as heretofore the intended policy of the United Kingdom had been, in secret, a steady move in the direction of devolution that would conclude with Novikovian independence. However, in recent months as the bitterness over the war began to fade, and as Novikovians and Azazians began to intermingle culturally, commercially, and even politically, the antagonism between the two peoples had been on the decline and recent polls depicted an actual desire of many Novikovians to join the United Kingdom, but as full equals not as colonials. Allowing the media their photos, he took another sip of water to quench his dry throat before continuing.
We shall also revisit the structure of the colonies, dependencies, and freely associated states within the Kingdom. Upon consultations with the government of the Verdant Archipelago and the Royal Governor of the Crown Colony of the Verdant Archipelago, to be renamed the Crown Colony of Avinapolis, the Verdant Archipelago Union shall enter into a Commonwealth with the United Kingdom. This Commonwealth will be the resurrection of our former system of government as a loose confederation linked by a common head of state and a common system of laws that seeks to serve as guideline to locally passed legislation.
Remaining as colonies for the time being shall be the lot of Port Elizabeth, New London, Port Nelson, New Atlantis, and Azazian Sarnia. Also remaining unchanged are the status of the Crown Dependencies of Victoria, Apua, Trilviu, and Ericsson Island and the Freely Associated States of East Datria and Kiae.
These massive reorganizations of the United Kingdom have prompted me to also propose a reorganization of the Cabinet as well as Parliament, although the legislation to alter Parliament will remain until the formal bills in relation to Novikovian integration are prepared. However, in the interim I should like to name the first four positions of the new Cabinet and my selected officials.
Serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer will be Stephen McKay; as Secretary of State for the new Home Department will be former Minister of the Interior Ashley Thomason; as Secretary of State for the new Foreign Office will be former Minister of Foreign Affairs Emily Deveraux; and lastly as Secretary of State for the new Colonial Office will be former Minister of Colonial Affairs Iain Bashir. If my colleagues would please stand and be recognised.
Tetley took a step backwards away from the podium with his water in hand as his four senior Cabinet secretaries stood to be recognised with boisterous applause by their peers. It took several minutes before the applause subsided to a level that allowed Tetley to continue on with the remainder of his speech.
The remaining members of my Cabinet have not all officially notified me of their intent to serve and so I shall refrain from naming the rest of my Cabinet until such time as I have received all letters of acceptance or rejection.
This brings me to the last item of business today, the one I am most hesitant to address. Many of my former colleagues from the House of Commons and my current peers in the House of Lords will undoubtedly notice a great number of empty seats. These were all seats held by officials of the Conservative and Centre Party that displayed overt signs of loyalty to the late King in support of his illegal dissolution of my Cabinet. All are currently being held under numerous charges related to Treason and in accordance with their being charged in the courts there seats have been left vacant until the next by-elections to be held two years from now.
In the meantime, the Conservative Party will remain in operation and will remain legal as will the Centre Party. However, my duties as Prime Minister obligate me to ensure that all citizens of the United Kingdom are represented fairly in Parliament, even if their elected officials commit treason against the state and so I shall call for in the coming months a series of special elections that will determine the replacement for the affected constituencies.
Although bills such as this often require months of examination, I urge Parliament to consider this bill today and tomorrow and to provide a quick vote for without it I cannot govern the United Kingdom as it ought to be for the benefit of our citizenry. I thank you for your time and yield the floor.
72 Hours Later
Tetley sat in his office, slowly picking notes on his guitar that had been left behind in his hurried evacuation from the Citadel nearly two weeks before. Unfortunately for the guitar, Collins had cast it aside by throwing it into a small hidden closet where it received numerous scratches on its formerly polished surface. After retuning the instrument he had begun to pick out some classical songs while he unwound from yet another day of setting up a government.
As the sun set behind the New Brittany Mountains a rapid series of knocks could be heard on the door, to which Tetley called out, come in, in response. He looked up as he played an open chord while Robertson entered the room, a broad smile on his face and a piece of paper in his hand. Howard?
It passed, sir. The Empire Reorganisation Bill is now the Empire Reorganisation Act. Congratulations, Mr. Prime Minister.
The Citadel, Imperium, New Britain
Are we ready, Howard? Tetley asked while straightening his tie with the help of his reflection in a small picture on his desk.
Indeed, sir, the limousine is waiting outside and the first four have assembled at Parliament House and will meet you there.
Excellent work, Howard.
It had been only twenty-four hours since the disappearance of King Andrew, Daniel Collins, and Roberta Kline over the Pacific and yet Tetley had all the while been pushing for the establishment of his next cabinet. While en route back to the capital, Tetley learned with great sadness that his Minister of Defence, William Ramsey, had disappeared and was presumed dead in some secret facility used by Andrew and Collins. At the same time he also needed to purge Collins’ supporters from Parliament to ensure they did not attempt another pseudo coup d’etat, a move that would put him and his party solely in charge of government but could also be used by enemies of the DSP and the UK to paint him as eliminating his democratic opposition. And so he had prepared a brief speech to be delivered in Parliament that would assuage the fears of those who dreaded the abolition of an Azazian democratic government – although until the next by-elections in two years time the government would not be wholly representative of the people.
As he stepped out of his office, with workers diligently slapping a new coat of paint over the horrid pastel colours chosen by Collins, he made his way down a still oddly quiet hallway. During the time out of office, upon order of Andrew many of his staffers who had remained in the Home Islands had been forcibly detained and had since disappeared with no trace or evidence as to who took them or to where. For the time being, Robertson was fulfilling his old role as well as that of Tobias Heath, his trusted friend and chief of staff whose plane had gone missing in a much similar fashion to that of Andrew’s. Tetley held no illusions about the fate of his friend.
Reaching the limousine, the door was held open by Geoffrey Blaine, his personal aide, who allowed both Tetley and Robertson to enter before climbing in himself. As armoured vehicles took up positions in the small convoy the limousine rumbled to life and began its trip down the bumpy cobblestone streets that led out of the brick Citadel. Well, gentlemen, Tetley said, breaking the silence. It certainly feels quite right to be back at home, wouldn’t you agree?
The two men nodded, Yes, sir.
For his part Robertson turned his head and looked over at his boss, are you sure you want to do this?
I think we have to.
I’m just worried about how it’ll be received, the Russians aren’t going to like it one bit. That and it’s going to anger a whole number of government officials that we probably need on our side right now.
Tetley nodded his head, appearing to be giving thought to the issue although his mind had been decided long before. The best analogy, Howard, is to that of a bandage. Best we rip it off all at once then to keep tugging at it as it rips out hair by hair. The problem with the Empire Act was that it didn’t go far enough, and since then we’ve been playing catch up by introducing tiny pieces of legislation one bill at a time. Today, we act in one grand stroke.
Parliament House
Imperium, New Britain
As Tetley walked into the massive white marble building, he pulled his peacoat closer tighter as a brief chill ran its course through his body, the massive New Brittany Mountains often sending down cooler air masses that swept through the capital during the winter months. Flanked by soldiers, trumpeters, and even the Royal Guard Marching Band, Tetley entered the building to much fanfare as television and internet video crews prepared to film the entire event.
His small physical frame echoed loudly as his heels clicked on the swirled marble floors, his reflection moving beneath him on the highly polished stone. Dressed in a simple black suit, a bright cerulean blue dress shirt and a matching colour tie with red and yellow palms forming a pattern of tiny icons. Smiling politely to those aids who stood in the numerous doorways he passed, he continued to look down to the end of the hall where the massive wooden doors, retained from the original meeting place of the first colonial administration, signified the entrance to the House of Commons.
With Robertson and Blaine trailing just a few steps behind, out of the frame for the filming cameras, Tetley approached the door and paused, listening to an indiscernible chatter on the other side of what were theoretically sound-proof doors. He smiled at how inaccurate the original designs had been. With a single knock he then listened until no more sounds reverberated through the dark, sienna-coloured wood. Pushing the doors open he entered the massive chamber, flooded with natural sunlight that bounced off the white plaster surfaces and glinting off the metal surfaces. Over seven hundred bodies were crowded into the room, and each stood and each to varying degrees applauded the comparatively short man who strode between them all as an unparalleled giant.
At last, he reached the familiar podium from which he had delivered numerous addresses, and he smiled to the throngs of cameras that recorded every minute for the viewing pleasure of the citizens of the United Kingdom as well as foreign citizens through numerous foreign media organisations.
Taking a quick swallow of ice water placed underneath the podium ahead of his arrival, he shuffled his papers out in front of him to allow him to glance down in case he needed to remember any particular details.
Good morning, ladies, and gentlemen, members of the House of Commons and the esteemed members of the House of Lords.
We have as a nation witnessed an unprecedented constitutional conflict in the past week as the late King Andrew unlawfully dismissed my Cabinet to allow for the installation of the late Daniel Collins as a caretaker until the elections for which His Majesty called. As of this moment, there remains no information on the whereabouts of King Andrew or Daniel Collins and as such we shall presume they dead in order to continue governing the United Kingdom.
To that end, I have returned from Port Elizabeth and I do so with a broad series of measures that will reorganize the United Kingdom into a more efficient political entity that will truly recognise our unique culture as well as our historic past.
The system of the semi-autonomous republics is no longer an efficient system of government, and will be done away with in favour of a new provincial system that shall allow for better representation at both local and national levels. Most new provinces will share their existing boundaries with those of the eponymous republics they will be replacing except in the instance of Bennington, which shall be divided as follows. To include the city of Breningrad, the province of West Oceania will run along the northeastern quadrant of the island of New Australia while the new province of Oceania will occupy the land south of West Oceania running roughly along the Arkanen Ridge until it meets the city of Hobart, where the border will run south to the coast. To the west of Oceania will be the province of Bennington, which will run until it meets the boundary of the province of Azazia, whose borders shall remain the same as the republic of Azazia. North of Bennington will be the province of Artega, to be named after its capital. The provincial capitals shall remain the same except in the case of Benninton, which will move from Philadelphia to Portsmouth. Philadelphia will retain the seat of a provincial government, though it will now be the Oceanian government. West Oceania will retain Breningrad and Azazia will retain Caliz.
These provinces will fall under the larger administrative entity of a “home country.” With the exception of the various provinces of the Home Islands, each home country will feature a unique culture and will be largely responsible for its domestic governance so long as any laws passed do not directly contradict those passed by Parliament, from which all said powers of home country and provincial government will flow. Currently there are two home countries: Azazia and Juristan while the current republic of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which will be reogranised into a single province, will also become the home country called the Indian Islands.
In the coming years, however, those three countries will be joined by a fourth as we seek to better incorporate the varied and diverse populations of the Kingdom into a state that takes better account of its population; and attempts to fairly represent them in Parliament. After consultations with the Royal Governor Sir Thomas Cahill and Prime Minister Milos Borovic, the Royal Crown Colony of Novikov will begin to undertake the processes required to become the third home country of the United Kingdom. This significant change will add nearly two billion more citizens to the current four billion located within the Home Islands and Juristan and will, with the changes I intend to announce later to the number of members of Parliament, better provide the Novikovian people, as citizens of the United Kingdom, with representation equal to that of we who reside in the Home Islands. The Novikovian people are our brothers and sisters and it is long due that we recognise them as such.
The last bit of news prompted a flurry of photographs and still images as heretofore the intended policy of the United Kingdom had been, in secret, a steady move in the direction of devolution that would conclude with Novikovian independence. However, in recent months as the bitterness over the war began to fade, and as Novikovians and Azazians began to intermingle culturally, commercially, and even politically, the antagonism between the two peoples had been on the decline and recent polls depicted an actual desire of many Novikovians to join the United Kingdom, but as full equals not as colonials. Allowing the media their photos, he took another sip of water to quench his dry throat before continuing.
We shall also revisit the structure of the colonies, dependencies, and freely associated states within the Kingdom. Upon consultations with the government of the Verdant Archipelago and the Royal Governor of the Crown Colony of the Verdant Archipelago, to be renamed the Crown Colony of Avinapolis, the Verdant Archipelago Union shall enter into a Commonwealth with the United Kingdom. This Commonwealth will be the resurrection of our former system of government as a loose confederation linked by a common head of state and a common system of laws that seeks to serve as guideline to locally passed legislation.
Remaining as colonies for the time being shall be the lot of Port Elizabeth, New London, Port Nelson, New Atlantis, and Azazian Sarnia. Also remaining unchanged are the status of the Crown Dependencies of Victoria, Apua, Trilviu, and Ericsson Island and the Freely Associated States of East Datria and Kiae.
These massive reorganizations of the United Kingdom have prompted me to also propose a reorganization of the Cabinet as well as Parliament, although the legislation to alter Parliament will remain until the formal bills in relation to Novikovian integration are prepared. However, in the interim I should like to name the first four positions of the new Cabinet and my selected officials.
Serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer will be Stephen McKay; as Secretary of State for the new Home Department will be former Minister of the Interior Ashley Thomason; as Secretary of State for the new Foreign Office will be former Minister of Foreign Affairs Emily Deveraux; and lastly as Secretary of State for the new Colonial Office will be former Minister of Colonial Affairs Iain Bashir. If my colleagues would please stand and be recognised.
Tetley took a step backwards away from the podium with his water in hand as his four senior Cabinet secretaries stood to be recognised with boisterous applause by their peers. It took several minutes before the applause subsided to a level that allowed Tetley to continue on with the remainder of his speech.
The remaining members of my Cabinet have not all officially notified me of their intent to serve and so I shall refrain from naming the rest of my Cabinet until such time as I have received all letters of acceptance or rejection.
This brings me to the last item of business today, the one I am most hesitant to address. Many of my former colleagues from the House of Commons and my current peers in the House of Lords will undoubtedly notice a great number of empty seats. These were all seats held by officials of the Conservative and Centre Party that displayed overt signs of loyalty to the late King in support of his illegal dissolution of my Cabinet. All are currently being held under numerous charges related to Treason and in accordance with their being charged in the courts there seats have been left vacant until the next by-elections to be held two years from now.
In the meantime, the Conservative Party will remain in operation and will remain legal as will the Centre Party. However, my duties as Prime Minister obligate me to ensure that all citizens of the United Kingdom are represented fairly in Parliament, even if their elected officials commit treason against the state and so I shall call for in the coming months a series of special elections that will determine the replacement for the affected constituencies.
Although bills such as this often require months of examination, I urge Parliament to consider this bill today and tomorrow and to provide a quick vote for without it I cannot govern the United Kingdom as it ought to be for the benefit of our citizenry. I thank you for your time and yield the floor.
72 Hours Later
Tetley sat in his office, slowly picking notes on his guitar that had been left behind in his hurried evacuation from the Citadel nearly two weeks before. Unfortunately for the guitar, Collins had cast it aside by throwing it into a small hidden closet where it received numerous scratches on its formerly polished surface. After retuning the instrument he had begun to pick out some classical songs while he unwound from yet another day of setting up a government.
As the sun set behind the New Brittany Mountains a rapid series of knocks could be heard on the door, to which Tetley called out, come in, in response. He looked up as he played an open chord while Robertson entered the room, a broad smile on his face and a piece of paper in his hand. Howard?
It passed, sir. The Empire Reorganisation Bill is now the Empire Reorganisation Act. Congratulations, Mr. Prime Minister.