Prince Dionisiy elected Prime Minister

HSH Dionisiy I, Prince of Montescano and Duke of Lycaonia, has been elected the fourth Prime Minister of Austenasia with 52.27% of the vote in a closely-fought election. His rival candidate, Lord John Gordon, received 40.91% of the vote, whereas an option to Abstain – which, if it gained a majority, would have forced fresh elections – received 6.82% of the vote. This translates to twenty-three, eighteen, and three votes respectively from the forty-four Austenasian subjects who voted yesterday. With fifty-nine of Austenasia’s population eligible to vote, this was a 74.58% turnout. Lord Gordon campaigned on a platform of social democracy and progressivism, but also pledged to nationalise private businesses. Dionisiy’s campaign promises focused on promoting the Romano-Christian culture of the Empire, as well as implementing internet-based referenda on important legislative issues. Despite criticism from some quarters for referring to “climate change hysterica”, the Prince has also pledged to minimise Austenasia’s carbon footprint, and is currently overseeing the construction of a solar farm in Seleucia ad Cilicia. Prince Dionisiy is expected to release a Prime Minister’s Broadcast tonight detailing his plans for the rest of the year. As well as the general election, local elections for Representative took place in the towns of Palasia, Gebirgspark, Chalcedon and Nahona. Palasia saw its incumbent, Dionisiy’s rival Lord Gordon, re-elected, whereas the other three towns had the Acting Representatives appointed upon their annexations (Lord Kristof Fondrk, Lord Ismetcan Sarac, and King William I, respectively) elected to the position proper.

General election takes place after New Virginia given independence

Yesterday saw New Virginia set up an independent state under outgoing Prime Minister, Lord Admiral Joseph Kennedy. Tomorrow will see the Lord Admiral’s successor take office as Prime Minister. Austenasia’s sixth general election is currently underway, as Prince Dionisiy I and Lord John Gordon battle for the public’s votes to become the fourth Prime Minister of Austenasia. As announced at Christmas, the towns of New Richmond, Terentia and Augusta were yesterday granted independence from Austenasia as the newly independent Commonwealth of New Virginia. An uninhabited part of Augusta has been retained by Austenasia as the territory of Fraternitas, which now borders both New Virginia and the United States of America. Yesterday also saw the Crown Dependency of Oregonia leave Austenasia. Although it did not likewise join New Virginia, the decision to dissolve the crown dependency by its governing commissioner, Adam I of Uberstadt, was based partially on the departure of Lord Admiral Kennedy from government. Although these losses only saw Austenasia lose 3.28% of its land claims, the population has dropped from 102 to 80. Outgoing Prime Minister, Lord Admiral Joseph Kennedy, has published a speech for the occasion: My fellow Austenasians – as you all know, yesterday, the Commonwealth of New Virginia seceded from the Empire. Today marks a general election, and my last day as Prime Minister of the Empire of Austenasia. Together, we’ve built this nation up as a testament to the success a small country can achieve. Our nation has gone from a small home south of London with four residents to a vast empire on which the sun never sets, from North America to Australia. We are one of, if not the, largest functioning democracies in the community of small nations, and it has been my absolute pleasure to oversee this growth for almost five years now. We’ve accomplished a lot since I assumed the office of Prime Minister back in 2015. We’ve expanded our territories exponentially and more than doubled our population. We’ve established ourselves as a military superpower in our community. We secured peace in New South Scotland, and returned full administration of that crown dependency to the central government. We’ve reformed the executive branch to ensure ministerial accountability to the Prime Minister’s Office and to Parliament through ministerial reports. We’ve made Parliament more accountable to the people through the reformation of our elections and the introduction of the Parliamentary Gazette. We’ve completely reformed our judiciary and introduced the Ministry of Justice. We’ve introduced the Ministry of Culture, which has undertaken various efforts such as a registry of historic locations. We’ve reformed the way Parliament operates through the Parliament Act 2019. We’ve amended our Constitution twice through national referenda.  The Empire as it stands today, the last day of my term, is vastly different from the one I knew when I came to office, and I am very proud – not of myself, but of the Austenasian people, because my team and I couldn’t have accomplished any of this without your mandate and support. I cannot possibly articulate my appreciation for you, my fellow Austenasians, and for the opportunity you have given me to be your highest elected official. As I leave this noble office, I can say wholeheartedly that this Empire is better than ever. As I’ve said, I’m eternally grateful for my time as Prime Minister of the Empire of Austenasia. Personally, I’ve grown as an individual during my time in office. I was sixteen years old when I took office, and I am twenty-one years old as I leave. I’ve spent the most important formative years of my life as the head of government of a micronational superpower, and it has been a surreal and incredible experience. We have, as stated, accomplished a vast number of reforms and growth. Speaking now as Chairman of the Provisional Council of New Virginia, I affirm that the Commonwealth will take great measures to ensure the fraternal bonds shared by our peoples, for which the Territory of Fraternitas is so aptly named, continue to thrive. I am very, very excited to see where our national friendship will take us in the future. I am furthermore announcing the dissolution of the Imperial Party. The party has achieved a great deal of success in the Empire, however the bulk of its membership has amicably departed for the Commonwealth. I thank the party’s many supporters for the confidence they placed in me as Leader of the Imperial Party. After discussion with the Emperor, it has been decided that I will stay on as the Emperor’s deputy in North America as Caesar, the Chief Advisor of the Privy Council, and will assume a seat in the Illustrious Senate. While I leave my high offices and retract from political life within the Empire, I will remain a trusted friend and advisor to the Monarch, government and people of Austenasia. I wish the best of luck to whoever is elected to assume the premiership. I thank you, my fellow subjects, for your continued confidence in myself and my team over the past five years. Serving as Prime Minister has been one of the most challenging – yet rewarding – experiences of my life, and I’m proud to leave the Empire in a better place than I found it. God bless you all, and God save the Emperor. The results of today’s election will be announced on the morning of Thursday 13th.

Population passes 100 with the annexation of new Town

The population of the Empire of Austenasia has passed 100 for the first time in its history, now standing at 102. This comes as a result of a new town, Nahona, yesterday being annexed alongside the registration of three residents for the hitherto uninhabited crown dependency of Trebizond. Nahona consists of a 21.2 acre property which has been declared independent from the U.S. state of Texas. It is home to King William I of Gradonia and his mother. Despite being home to William I, the property has never been claimed by the Kingdom of Gradonia, a state with which Austenasia entered into mutual recognition in June last year. William I has been appointed Acting Representative of the new Town, the annexation of which has increased the number of Representatives in Parliament to ten. There were previously ten Representatives between January 2015 and September 2016; this remains the record highest number. Unfortunately both of these records are unlikely to last for long due to the upcoming secession of New Virginia on February 11th.

Dionisiy I and Lord John Gordon confirmed as general election candidates

Emperor Jonathan I yesterday confirmed two candidates for next month’s general election. Prince Dionisiy I of the Fatherland Party will be standing against Lord John Gordon of the Whig Party. Lord Gordon is Representative of Palasia, and Prince Dionisiy is Representative of Theodosiopolis. The Whig Party espouses classical liberalism, but Lord Gordon is on the left-wing of his party, and will be running on a platform of socially liberal ideas. The Fatherland Party’s candidate, Prince Dionisiy, is running on a platform of social conservatism and the promotion of Roman and Christian culture. The general election will take place on 12 February, and will elect the country’s fourth Prime Minister. The incumbent Prime Minister, Lord Admiral Joseph Kennedy, has been in office since March 2015 but is stepping down due to the secession of New Virginia. Lord Gordon previously ran for Prime Minister in 2013 as a Marxist, but lost to Countess Eritoshi with one third of the vote. He then served as her Deputy Prime Minister until her own electoral loss to Lord Admiral Kennedy in 2015. Lord Gordon has held positions in Cabinet, serving as Home Secretary from November 2013 to May 2014 and as Minister of Defence from February to July 2018. He also serves as President of the Iceni Democratic Republic, an independent state located near to Palasia. Prince Dionisiy, who also reigns as sovereign of Montescano, joined Austenasia upon the annexation of Theodosiopolis in March last year. He has since been instrumental in the expansion of Austenasia in the old Roman East, personally claiming Laranda, Seleucia ad Cilicia, Chalcedon, and Trebizond for Austenasia.

New Virginia to secede on 11 February

Yesterday saw an Act of Parliament passed establishing Tuesday 11 February as the day on which the majority of New Virginia will secede from Austenasia to become an independent state. As announced at Christmas, the City of New Richmond and the Towns of Terentia and Augusta will be leaving Austenasia to form the Commonwealth of New Virginia. An uninhabited part of Augusta will be retained by Austenasia as the Territory of Fraternitas, which will be administered by Lord Admiral Joseph Kennedy as its Governor. Lord Admiral Kennedy, the incumbent Prime Minister, will remain in office throughout February 11th and 12th, with the latter due to see his successor elected in the upcoming election to take office on February 13th. Lord Admiral Kennedy will retain Austenasian nationality alongside Lady Vice Admiral Eryn Lewis and Lord Riley Kennedy, the three Representatives of the towns in question. The other residents of New Virginia will lose Austenasian nationality, bringing Austenasia’s population down to the mid-seventies. Furthermore, the Imperial Navy – the modern iteration of which was based entirely in New Virginia – has by the same Act of Parliament been disbanded. The legislation authorising the creation of the Commonwealth of New Virginia states that “maintaining a close and special relationship with the Commonwealth of New Virginia… [will be] a top priority of the Austenasian Government.”

Crown Dependency of Trebizond founded

A new Austenasian Crown Dependency has been founded, consisting of territory formerly belonging to the Empire of Trebizond. The Empire of Trebizond existed between 1204 and 1461 as a break-away state from the medieval Roman Empire, begrudgingly recognised by the latter in 1282. The new Crown Dependency of Trebizond consists of a small farm near the Turkish city of Trabzon (the medieval empire’s former capital). The crown dependency was claimed for Austenasia by its landowner, Prince Dionisiy I (the Duke of Lycaonia, whose Principality of Montescano was recently recognised as sovereign by the imperial government). Prince Dionisiy has been appointed governing commissioner of Trebizond, with the title of Despot. He is a descendant of the medieval Trapezuntine rulers through his maternal ancestry. Trebizond does not have any permanent residents, but may in future be rented out to tenants, who would be made aware that they were living on Austenasian land. This annexation represents a further expansion of Austenasia in the former Roman lands of the East.

IGS Expedition to Tarsus

The Imperial Geographical Society yesterday conducted an expedition to Tarsus, the biblical hometown of St Paul the Apostle. The expedition was comprised of Lord Dionisiy Tezdzhan-Smahin and his wife Lady Mariia. It was the first expedition to take place outside of Europe, and the first to not have included Emperor Jonathan I amongst its participants. This is a major step for the IGS, which since 2017 has been aiming to conduct an expedition not requiring the personal direction of the Emperor. Tarsus is an ancient settlement, dating back to the Neolithic period and named by the Hittites. The expedition first encountered the Danyal Makami or Mausoleum of Daniel, one of several claimants to be the tomb of the Prophet Daniel. This site is thought to have been identified as the prophet’s tomb by the Caliph Umar (r. 634-644). The expedition then continued past a Roman section of the city walls to Saint Paul’s Well, a well situated next to the ruin of a Roman house claimed to have been that of St Paul himself. The well is twenty metres deep and still yields drinkable water. It is supposed that St Paul would have drunk from the well during his lifetime. The Duke and Duchess continued by car to the Tarsus Waterfall, where the expedition concluded with lunch.

Emperor announces changes for 2020 in Christmas broadcast

His Imperial Majesty the Emperor used his annual Christmas broadcast to announce that February 2020 will see a general election and the secession of New Richmond and Terentia from Austenasia. He has also revealed exclusively to the Austenasian Times that the Town of Augusta will be joining them, and was not mentioned in his broadcast due to a mistake. The three towns will create a new Commonwealth of New Virginia, to be recognised as an independent state. New Richmond is the most populated single town of the Empire, with 15 inhabitants, and is home to the current Prime Minister, Lord Admiral Kennedy. Augusta – which was part of New Richmond before becoming its own town in June this year – has three inhabitants, and Terentia has six. New Richmond and Terentia both originally joined Austenasia in 2013. It is understood that their desire to leave Austenasia and create their own country is primarily due to the growth of their own local identity and culture during this time. With the impending departure of the incumbent Prime Minister’s hometown, a general election has been called for 12 February 2020. At the time of writing, the Whig Party is expected to put forward Lord John Gordon and the Fatherland Party Lord Dionisiy Tezdzhan-Smahin as candidates. Applications for candidacy will be confirmed by the Emperor by 15 January. The Christmas broadcast was published this morning on YouTube, and can be heard here. Jonathan I has broadcast a Christmas message every year since his ascension to the Throne in 2013. Other than the publication of the Emperor’s Christmas broadcast, the Imperial Family celebrated Christmas Day by attending a morning church service at Carshalton Methodist Church and later opening presents and enjoying a Christmas meal at the Imperial Residence. The Imperial Family was joined at the church service by members of the extended Imperial Family as well as the former residents of Zephyria. Although most of the Imperial Family is Methodist, Emperor Jonathan I joined the Orthodox Church in 2011. He attended a service at his own church yesterday for Christmas Eve, but often attends the morning Christmas Day service at the Methodist church with his priest’s blessing in order to spend time with his family at Christmas. During this year’s service, Jonathan I and Crown Princess Caroline were invited to light all five of the Advent candles to mark the beginning of the service. Christmas wishes have been sent to and received from numerous foreign national leaders by cards and e-mails.

Midget titles abolished

In an Imperial Decree passed on Thursday 16th, His Imperial Majesty the Emperor has decreed the abolition of all Austenasian titles derived from the Midget Nation-in-Exile. The Midget Nation-in-Exile was an entity which existed between 2009 and 2011. It was the government-in-exile of the Midget Empire, a playground-based micronation that functioned between 2002 and 2007, and was comprised of several former members of said micronation. The Midget Empire and Nation-in-Exile were both run by a “Midget Master,” a title which has been held by the Austenasian Monarch since 2010. The Nation-in-Exile was annexed by Austenasia in April 2011, with its remaining members becoming a unit in the Austenasian Army. The word “Midget” was chosen by the founders of the Midget Empire for no real reason; it is important to note that said founders were between eight and nine years old at the time. The micronation had no relation to dwarfism or little people, for whom the word “midget” is a pejorative term now regarded as politically incorrect. It is in an attempt to avoid offence and confusion that Emperor Jonathan I has therefore decreed that the instances of “Midget” in Austenasian titulature which remain from the annexation of the Nation-in-Exile in 2011 are to be abolished or revised. Most notably, the office of Midget Master is to be dissolved and subsumed into the throne of Rushymia, an entity which represents the heritage of an earlier micronation which was based at the same school as the Midgets. Furthermore, Centuria II Midgetae – the military unit comprised of former members of the Midgets – will be renamed to Centuria II Ruscimiae. The changes to titulature mandated by the Emperor will come into force on 1 January 2020.

New Austenasian March founded

Thursday 5th saw Harlemum founded as a March of Theodosiopolis. Lord Dionisiy Tezdzhan-Smahin, the Representative of Theodosiopolis, moved from said town to a new home earlier this year with his wife Lady Mariia. Their new residence has therefore been annexed as the Harlemum March. Harlemum is an enclave of the Dutch city of Haarlem, and is located just over thirteen miles west of Theodosiopolis. A March is a territory which is attached to a Town for the purposes of parliamentary representation but is governed autonomously from its Town Council. Before Thursday there had only been one March, Caldari, for which the status was created in 2014. Prior to this move, Theodosiopolis had five residents, the other three of whom remain living there.