NationStates Jolt Archive

Mizrachi: Good night - I'm Andrew Mizrachi, for the EBG. Welcome to The World Tonight - in this half-hour segment, we interview Lord Governor Jovan S. Norris of Maraque. [turns] Sir, it is an honour to have you here tonight.

Lord Governor: It is my utmost pleasure being here tonight.

Mizrachi: To begin, let's hear a bit about Maraque.

Lord Governor: To start off, it is widely believed around the world that Maraque is a highly developed, wealthy, and enormous nation. In a sense, this is all true, but in all honesty Maraque is very undeveloped with only 2% of the land developed to... normal standards. The misconception is how television perceives Maraque as a sprawling metropolis of colossal buildings, which could be true, because while it is indeed true that only 2% of the land is developed, it's also true that just about 2% of the population of Maraque lives in these areas deemed undeveloped, while the vast majority live and only know the urban environments seen on television.

Another subject is wealth. A lot of people have this stereotype that all Maraqueans are wealthy aristocratic types. This couldn't be further from the truth; there are 226 million people on welfare in Maraque. A segment of the population that is nearly the entire population of the former United States of America. I can say, however, that there is a very comfortable middle class in Maraque, and that depending on national standards, they do place "above" those of traditionally middle class people in other country's, but are nonetheless still financially restricted like their international counterparts.

Also true, is that Maraque is a very big country. Maraque is an empire, and that empire started out as six separate Kingdoms that united together more than 800 years ago. As such, no bloodshed or conquering was required, and to date Maraque spans over 30 million square miles of the globe, comprising of four continents and two islands.

Mizrachi: Now, I understand that at one point you were referred to Emperor, but now you are a Lord Governor - could you explain that?

Lord Governor: Absolutely. Just recently, my son Prince Deric married the granddaughter of Count JWolf, the God-Emperor of the Dominion of the Transylvania. The royal union ultimately united both of our country's together in friendship and alliance, and as such I decided to submit the Secular Empire into the Dominion Commonwealth, which requires that I, as a ruler of a Commonwealth of the Dominion, change my title to Lord Governor.

Tanaka: The Dominion Commonwealth...could you elaborate on that, please?

Lord Governor: The Dominion Commonwealth is... a commonwealth of nations that is run by Count JWolf himself. Members of the Dominion Commonwealth are guaranteed protection by the Dominion, from foreign aggression, and member states are also classified as Dominion land. Also important to note is that no other member state has an obligation to help if another member state is invaded.

Another pro is that member states will be allowed full access to all technology within the Dominion, and have the exclusive right to build vehicles and firearms made in the Dominion and have access to Timber Wolf Inc. designs, such as the Wolfe Coastal Gun, Body Armor, and many other things.

Yet another pro is that you can still run your nation as you see fit. Nothing changes besides your title. You are even given a special team of body guards from the Dominion. Among other things.

Tanaka: How is the balance of power set in Maraque? Is it primarily focused on you or on a democratically elected body?

Lord Governor: Maraque is a democratic constitutional monarchy, and as such, my powers are constitutionally restricted greatly. Maraque has a tricameral imperial congress, which consists of the Imperial Senate, the Imperial House of Representatives, and the House of Imperialists.

The House of Imperialists consists of 12 elected members from each province, and all 12 are of noble birth. They serve life sentences, but are subject to strict behavioral procedures or face impeachment. The House of Imperialists also acts as the highest court in the land, with a randomly selected panel of 12 Imperialists chosen to preside over a case, constitutional or otherwise.

The Imperial Senate consists of 8 democratically elected Senators from each province, and their job is to debate and create new laws to better the lives of all citizens. Although any law they create and validate must first be passed down to the Imperial House of Representatives and approved, then moved up to the House of Imperialists.

The Imperial House of Representatives is sometimes regarded as the most powerful of the three legislative branches simply because the Imperial House of Representatives is full of normal, everyday citizens of the Secular Empire. The way this works is that any citizen is allowed to apply to run for a seat on the Imperial House of Representatives, as long as they are not privileged or otherwise "above" the average Maraquean citizen. This may sound like an affront on the wealthy, but it has been shown time and time again that the wealthy make up the vast majority of the Imperial Senate, a higher house. The Imperial House of Representatives, however, is made up solely of middle class Maraqueans, and any citizen can submit a proposal for debate in the Imperial House of Representatives.

Basically, I just sit back and sign laws as they come to my desk. I do not have that much power. The only things I can do is submit temporary laws, but they are constitutionally restricted to only 6 months, and after that they will have to be approved by 3/4's of all three houses to become law; something that is ultimately impossible. I'm also constitutionally restricted to one veto per decade.

Mizrachi: Could you elaborate on what sort of policies Maraque is pursuing?

Lord Governor: A stronger military. For more than 30,000 years, Maraque has lacked a sufficient military and we're just now beginning to realize how vital a strong and reliable military is in this time and age. As such, we've diverted 4% of the national budget to defense so we can increase our troop numbers and provide them with the training and equipment necessary so they can defend the homeland from acts of aggression.

Mizrachi: Does this mean that we'll be seeing more Maraquean military presence throughout the world?

Lord Governor: Absolutely not. There will not be a single Maraquean soldier stationed abroad because we do not believe in interfering with the internal affairs of other nations militarily, unless under specific circumstances. They will all be in strategic locations throughout the country to protect it from attack and other heinous acts of aggression. Maraque is a country 5 times larger than Russia, and that being said we must have people at the ready to defend it at a moments notice and that can't be accomplished if they are stationed half way across the enormous NationStates world.

Mizrachi: If not an interventionist power, where do you see Maraque in the upcoming years?

Lord Governor: In the next decade I see Maraque as one of the worlds major economic powers. Of course that's all in relative terms, because when you are dealing with a world of 100,000 or so nations it's hard to be a superpower when there are several dozen who are at your level competing to be #1.

In our region, Atlantian Oceania, Maraque is currently the 4th largest economy, with a GDP of about $194 trillion. Our goal is to reach $208 trillion in ten years, and to become the 3rd largest economy in the region.

Mizrachi: Your Majesty, I apologise, but we are, unfortunately, running out of time. Is there anything you'd like to say before the conclusion of this broadcast?

Lord Governor: Certainly. It was a pleasure speaking with you and I assure the people watching today this isn't the last time you'll hear about Maraque. We're moderately well known in the world today, but the future holds a bright light over Maraque that has yet to reach the depths of the world, but soon that light will reach the world over and great things shall happen.

I thank you again for this opportunity. [shakes Mizrachi's hand]

Mizrachi: [returns handshake] Thank you very much, Lord Governor. [turns toward camera] To find the complete transcript of this interview, please visit news.ebg.co.eu.