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General Election Prologue

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With the General Election just two weeks away, scheduled for September 24, the candidates have been set and the first polling results are in.

General Election Candidates

The two candidates for Prime Minister in the General Election are:

  • Lord Andrew Musgrave
  • Lady Addison O’Halloran

The Times conducted a poll on Saturday to gauge the public’s opinion on the two candidates. The polling question was as follows:

“Who are you currently supporting in the upcoming General Election?”

  • Lady Addison O’Halloran
  • Lord Andrew Musgrave

The results of the poll are as follows:

There were 13 total participants, Lord Andrew Musgrave received 85% of the vote with 11 votes, Lady Addison O’Halloran received 15% of the vote with 2 votes.

The Times acknowledges that some participants of the poll were not Austenasian citizens, but the poll is only a gauge of public opinion.

Interview with the Election Candidates

The Times reached out to both election candidates to get an idea of their election platform and ask questions which have been on many Austenasian’s minds.

Lord Andrew Musgrave was happy to conduct an interview, but Lady Addison O’Halloran declined to respond.

The following questions were asked to Lord Andrew Musgrave:

  • The Empire as of late has been accused of being in decline, from both citizens and foreign states. How would you as PM address these issues to ensure that any further decline is halted and have the Empire see a resurgence?

“I believe Austenasia has seen better days, that’s beyond denial. But I do believe the best of our days are ahead of us.

I think Austenasia needs drastic constitutional reform, with nothing off limits. I believe with a streamlined and common sense alteration to the Consitution, we can bring our nation back into greatness.

I also think allowing the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister to be elected together, on a joint mandate, and establishing a clear line of succession for the office of Prime Minister, would avoid a situation like the one that occurred recently from happening again.”

  • Do you have a plan to get some of the more inactive members of government, active again?

“Hopefully the planned reforms will inspire others back into the fold, as it inspired John Gordon to return to politics.

If that doesn’t work, the reforms should allow other, more energised candidates to partake in mainstream politics.”

  • During the recent GUM incident, you faced accusations of ignoring the democratic mandate. How do you feel about those accusations?

“I think it’s more complicated than that.

I recalled the GUM delegates because of the upcoming election, unaware of the 14 day limit. Once I was made aware of the limit, I actively negotiated with the two GUM chairs to resolve my concerns.

My whistleblowing was met with discourse and me being removed from the lobby, which doesn’t give me much confidence in the future of the GUM, nor a working relationship if Newton and Clemems were to win the upcoming election.

That’s why I’ve opted to support the Pio Lowe-Stefan campaign.

Our relationship with the GUM may be salvaged if Pio and Stefan are elected.”

  • As the Regency continues, some would argue wether the Monarchy is still fit for purpose. What do you think of this?

“I can’t go into too much detail regarding this, but there’s been some discussions about the sustainability of the monarchy.

That’s all I can say.”

  • You referred to constitutional, parliamentary, and senate reform. What are your plans to achieve this?

“All in good time.

A full and detailed plan will be revealed in the coming days.”

  • How do you feel about the current peerage system in place. Is there anything you would change about it?

“Like I said, nothing is off limits in the reforms. It may be a case where we amend the current peerage system. But there’s no immediate plans.”

  • How do you intend to attract new people to Austenasia? Ei, recruiting programs, advertising, etc.

“A complete redesign of the website, for starters. More incentives for people to become citizens and potentially (although this isn’t for definite), selling titles akin to Sealand to spike up interest.

Theres been some pushback, but I think it would help Austenasia in the long term. I’d want to donate some of the proceeds to domestic abuse charities.”

  • Amid recent concerns regarding sexual abuse to minors, verbal abuse, really abuse in general, on an inter-Micronational scale. How do you plan on mitigating similar issues in the future, and or preventing it altogether?

“Honestly? Get the hell out of dodge. The further we can get away from the MicroWiki community, the better. This problem only occurs within that sector.”

  • Do you plan on scaling back Austenasia’s inter-micronational involvement in all regards?

“Not in all regards. But I’d rather we focused our energy on actual, in person engagements; rather then Internet chatrooms. It’s infantile.

We’d try to focus our energy on more local micronations.

I think Austenasia also has a bit of an identity crisis, too.”

  • Please Elaborate.

“Austenasia is a Christian micronation. The Emperor must be Christian, and marriage equality isnt recognised. But I’m a gay atheist, and I’m the (Acting) Prime Minister. My opposition is a trans woman of an unknown religious identity.

I think removing the requirement for the monarch to be Christian, which really limits the pool, would be good.

And marriage equality recognition.”

  • Recent questions have come up regarding acquisition of Austenasian citizenship. Will it be a priority of your government to establish an Immigration Office to streamline the immigration process?

“Absolutely. It’s fantastic that people are enquiring about becoming citizens. I do intend to make it easier for those with an interest in Austenasia to become apart of our great nation.

I also intend to provide citizens with unique citizen IDs and streamlining the voting process too, as that’s equally confusing.”

That was the entire interview with Lord Andrew Musgrave, General Election Candidate.

The Times will conduct more opinion polls on Saturday September 14 and 21.

Stay tuned to the Times for the latest developments on the upcoming General Election.

About this article

Additional context relevant to this article.

What is the Monarchy? The Austenasian Monarchy is the constitutional institution headed by the Emperor of Austenasia, who serves as Head of State. The Crown represents the continuity and constitutional authority of Austenasia and has formed part of the Empire’s constitutional structure since its foundation in 2008. The office of Monarch is distinct from that of the Prime Minister, who serves as Head of Government and leads the day-to-day administration of Austenasia. The powers and constitutional arrangements of the Crown have changed during Austenasia’s history.
What is the office of the Prime Minister? The Prime Minister of Austenasia is the Head of Government and leads the day-to-day administration of the Empire. The Prime Minister leads the Government and Cabinet and oversees the development and implementation of government policy and the work of the administration. The office is distinct from that of the Emperor, who serves as Head of State. The constitutional powers and arrangements of the premiership have changed during Austenasia’s history.
What was the Senate? Under the Constitution of 2011, the Senate was a constitutional body primarily responsible for holding the Monarch accountable and was separate from Austenasia’s legislature. Established in 2018, it exercised powers relating to matters including regency, treaties, constitutional amendments and the line of succession. Legislative authority was separately exercised through Parliament and the House of Representatives. This institution should not be confused with the present Senate established under the Constitution of 2026, which serves as Austenasia’s legislative body and succeeded to functions formerly vested in the House of Representatives.
Historical line of succession The Line of Succession described in this article is no longer current. Austenasia’s succession arrangements have changed substantially since this article was published. Under the Constitution of 2026, the reigning Monarch may nominate an heir subject to confirmation by the Senate; if no nomination is made, the Senate may elect an heir. Readers should therefore not treat historical lists or descriptions of succession in this article as representing the current order of succession.
Who is Andrew Musgrave? Lord Andrew Musgrave is the Prime Minister of Austenasia and one of its longest-serving officials. He joined Austenasia in 2013 and has served as Governor of Corinium Terentium since December of that year. After holding several government positions, he became Deputy Prime Minister in February 2024 and was elected Prime Minister in September 2024. During the constitutional crisis and interregnum of 2025–26, Musgrave also served as Lord Protector and Regent to the Crown. He relinquished those powers upon the accession of Johannes Karl I Augustus in July 2026 and continues to serve as Prime Minister.