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The Pulse of the Empire, Delivered to You

Carshalton Day marked with visit from Attorney General

Anthony R. Clark, Attorney General and Governing Commissioner of Amerdansk, visited Carshalton today by invitation of Emperor Jonathan I. June 24th is Carshalton Day, an annual celebration both of the heritage and unity of the “Carshalton Nations” as well as the anniversary of the Liberation of Orly. The occasion was taken by the Emperor to give Mr Clark a guided tour of Orly, before they headed to Wrythe for a working visit to the Imperial Residence. At the Imperial Residence, the Attorney General met the Emperor’s parents and the imperial pet cat Baby, and was able to view various objects of significance including the Imperial Regalia, King Alex’s Bottle, and Diplomabear, in addition to the Micronational Collection in the Imperial Numismatic Museum. The Emperor and Attorney General were then able to have a productive meeting in regards to various issues facing the Empire, before Jonathan I walked Mr Clark to Morden station to depart. As Attorney General since December last year, Mr Clark oversees the Ministry of Justice and is responsible for providing legal advice to the government. His visit to Wrythe marks the first time a Cabinet Minister has visited the capital while in office – with the exception of the Emperor – since Countess Eritoshi the then Chief Ambassador visited Wrythe in early 2016. It was around the same time, March 2016, that Mr Clark founded Amerdansk. He was initially known as Lord Anthony Clark, as Baron of Amerdansk, before it transitioned into a Crown Dependency. He stood in the February 2019 general election, managing to gain 5% of the vote even after dropping out, and was recently elected 33rd Chairman of the Grand Unified Micronational.

Territorial reforms enacted by Parliament

The Empire sees various territorial reforms with the passage of the Amerdansk, Augusta and New Richmond Act 2019. The Act, proposed to the House of Representatives by Prime Minister Lord Admiral Joseph Kennedy, has separated the former New Richmond borough of North New Saint Josephsburg from that City, becoming the Town of Augusta. The now Lord Riley Kennedy, Baron of Augusta – the younger brother of Lord Admiral Joseph – has been appointed Acting Representative of Augusta pending a local election. Lord Riley has joined the Imperial Party, and as a Representative has become a member of the Imperial Party Board (the governing body of the party). The legislation has also re-annexed portions of the New Richmond borough of Saint Josephsburg which were previously ceded to the United States by the New Richmond Act 2014. The newly re-annexed land consists of the house where Lord Admiral Joseph resided at the time of New Richmond’s transition from a Crown Dependency to a Town, and is currently resided in by his aunt and her three children. The Town of Amerdansk, formerly represented in Parliament by Lord Anthony Clark, has been transitioned to a Crown Dependency, which the now The Rt. Hon. Anthony Clark has been appointed Governing Commissioner of. This is in response to Clark’s withdrawal from active politics, including within Parliament.

Kennedy re-elected in landslide as Clark drops out of election

HIH Lord Admiral Joseph Kennedy, Duke of Bohemia has been re-elected as Prime Minister with 86.84% of the vote after his sole opponent, Lord Anthony Clark, announced the day before the election that he no longer wished to run. Despite the announcement, Clark – the Representative of Amerdansk – still received 5.26% of the vote; the option to abstain (which, if it gained a majority, would have forced fresh elections) gained 7.89% of the vote. The election saw a total turnout of 73.08%, with thirty eight of the fifty two subjects eligible to vote doing so. Every Town of the Empire saw a 100% turnout, with the exception of Clark’s town, Amerdansk, from which no votes were reported. Just under half – 47.6% – of the Empire’s twenty one non-residential subjects voted. Kennedy’s victory of 86.84% is the most decisive in any general election since that of January 2009, when the then Crown Prince Jonathan was unanimously elected Prime Minister by all four subjects of the new Empire. A victory speech from the re-elected Prime Minister is expected to be published shortly.

Lord Admiral Kennedy and Lord Clark selected as general election candidates

Emperor Jonathan I has chosen the candidates for next month’s general election. HIH Lord Admiral Joseph Kennedy, the incumbent Prime Minister, will be running for re-election against Lord Anthony Clark, Baron of Amerdansk. The general election will take place on 28 February, with campaigning now starting to get underway. Lord Admiral Kennedy is leader of the Imperial Party, the sole political party currently registered in Austenasia. Lord Anthony announced his intention to stand for election back in December 2018, and has already published a campaign website. Lord Admiral Kennedy has served as Prime Minister since the previous general election in 2015, and also holds the rank of Caesar. As Representative of New Richmond – the most populous Austenasian land claim – he holds a large advantage in terms of predicted votes. Lord Anthony Clark joined Austenasia in 2016 as the Governor of Amerdansk, which in August last year transitioned into a Town. Since 14 January, Lord Clark has served as Minister of Defence. Under the Austenasian Constitution of 2011, the Monarch selects applicant Representatives to run for Prime Minister three weeks after a general election is called, four weeks before voting takes place (general elections taking place seven weeks after being called).

General Election called for 28 February

His Imperial Majesty the Emperor has called a general election for 28 February 2019. Under the Constitution, the election would have had to have taken place on or before 3 March, which will be four years since the previous general election in 2015. Until 31 January, Representatives will be able to apply to the Monarch to be appointed Candidates for the election. The Monarch is obliged to appoint at least two Candidates from those who apply, with any others being appointed at his discretion. The month of February will be spent by the Candidates campaigning for election, with votes being cast on the 28th and the victorious candidate taking office on 1 March. The incumbent Prime Minister, HIH Lord Admiral Joseph Kennedy, is expected to run for a second term, and Lord Anthony Clark of Amerdansk announced on 31 December an intention to also stand for election. No other Representatives have so far publicly announced an intention to run, although Lady Vice Admiral Eryn Lewis of Terentia has indicated a desire to stand if Lord Admiral Kennedy decides not to do so.

Further expansion for the Empire

The population and territory of Empire of Austenasia grew yesterday, despite the Town of Ionisia being ceded back to Greece. In an Act of Parliament passed yesterday morning, Ionisia was dissolved whereas Amerdansk – a Territory annexed in 2016 – was expanded into a Town with the annexation of an adjoining house. Amerdansk, which had previously consisted of an uninhabited garden, now includes a residential property inhabited by three. Lord Anthony Clark, former Governor of the territory, now serves as its Acting Representative. Ionisia joined Austenasia on 6 August last year, precisely one year before its dissolution. Inhabited by dual citizens of the Kingdom of Imvrassia, the town was founded in an exercise of national friendship between Imvrassia and Austenasia. Its three residents have retained Austenasian subjectship in a ceremonial capacity in a sign of the enduring friendship between the two states. The expansion of Amerdansk has outweighed the territorial loss of Ionisia, with Austenasia actually making a net gain of roughly 187 square feet. In addition to the new Austenasians living in Amerdansk, non-residential subjectship has been granted to Admiral Shiro Mephistopheles, the Empire’s new Minister of Defence. His eight days in office prior to gaining subjectship mark the only time a non-Austenasian has ever held a position in Cabinet. The population of Austenasia now stands at 82.

Interview with Lord Anthony Clark of Amerdansk

Lord Anthony Clark is Baron and Governor of the newly annexed Austenasian territory of Amerdansk,  and last year founded the RadioMicro media group and the micronation of Mcarthia (his house in Scotland). He is known for his public criticism of Lord Admiral Joseph Kennedy – most recently supporting concerns raised over the Prime Minister’s mandate – and is a prominent figure amongst the newer members of the MicroWiki community. The Austenasian Times has conducted an interview with Lord Clark: Tell us a bit about Amerdansk. What’s it like; what interesting features does it have? Amerdansk is a patch of land next to Mcarthia’s east border, sitting directly north of Government House – indeed, the President’s Office overlooks it. Mcarthia’s two free range chickens are frequently seen there, along with Mcarthia’s two cats. The land is accessed by a short narrow path through a wooden frame with various plants growing over it. Much of the territory is actually covered in thick moss, which in summer gets extremely warm. In fact, two years ago, it got so that residents could see a little steam coming off! Why did you decide to offer Amerdansk to the Empire? Mcarthia greatly respects the Empire’s position as a community leader, and on our first anniversary we wished to make something of a contribution. Therefore, the Mcarthian Parliament unanimously agreed to cede the land of Amerdansk to the Empire. We also hoped that after the – ahem – ‘Austenasian Election Affair,’ relations could be improved between the two nations. There have in the past been tensions between yourself and the Prime Minister, Lord Admiral Kennedy. Can you see this being a problem for your position in the Empire? I would be lying if I said I approved of all the Prime Minister’s actions, and that is common knowledge. At times, I have found the Prime Minister to be offensive, and believe that some of his actions have been inappropriate for someone of his position. However, he has been democratically elected, and no matter what issues I may have with him, if the electorate trusts him, I will of course support his position. I have no desire to fight further, and hope that we can respect each other – accepting, but not dwelling on past events. So long as he is also prepared to accept that, I hope there will not be any further problems between us. You’ve recently advocated for the Grand Unified Micronational to return to being a full-blown intergovernmental organisation. Could you tell us a bit about your reasons for this, and what you think it would take to be a success? The GUM was fairly undeniably the most successful of all the micronational organisations, even considering its eventual demise. I have been discussing with a senior member of the community the possibility of the GUM once again becoming active in its previous style. The community, I have long believed, needs some kind of focal point. Even disasters such as the MNTO brought the community together, and created activity (even if it wasn’t always the activity we wanted…). Despite their bad name, organisations are a good way of encouraging participation in the community, and helping us stay attractive to new and younger members. I think that with genuine careful planning, and the support of major micronations, the GUM has a hope of becoming a ‘real’ organisation. It is an unfortunate fact that most, if not all, organised micronational activity does not last forever. I suppose the essential reason for this is that micronationalism is for many a hobby, and is not essential to people’s lives. So what if an organisation collapses? However, this puts many off founding organisations. We have to accept that there is perfectly good chance that the GUM would not survive again. However, I don’t think this should put us off. If it doesn’t work, it’s not the end of the world. It’ll have given us all something to do! Any efforts however would face a dilemma – the GUM survived while it did primarily because it was full of extremely experienced, respected nations. However, in my discussions with others, it is clear that many would see a new GUM primarily as a project for newer nations. Concerns have been raised that younger micronationalists have no role model, if you will. People see a need, and I think I agree, for an organisation that would mentor MicroWiki’s younger members, and give them valuable political and professional experience. But then, there is a problem. If an organisation is focused towards younger nations, many of the more experienced nations might not be so interested in joining. And if we don’t have the experienced members, long term success would prove much harder. A very careful balance would need to be struck. Absolutely meticulous planning would be required, probably months’ worth, and all of the essential technical and legal infrastructure would have to be in place before the organisation began again. One of the major problems the Nollandish Confederacy suffered was a lack of this. All our activities revolved around self-management because the system wasn’t effectively working when the organisation began. Work was divided into two categories – elections (taking 80-90% of our time), and attempting to pass legislation relating to governance and management. We were inflated by unimaginable amounts of bureaucracy. What should be happening ideally is that the members of an organisation shouldn’t have to bother with this. Administration should, as much as possible, be taken care of behind the scenes. We couldn’t afford this in a new organisation. Elections would have to take less than no time, and the Constitution should mean that self-governing legislation shouldn’t be necessary. A new organisation would have to hit the ground running. What happened with the Confederacy was that a complete lack of anything useful being done meant that no one bothered to even vote on all the pointless legislation. No one cared. What others and myself were trying to do later in the Confederacy’s life was introduce some kind of projects – there was a guide

New territory in Scotland

The Empire of Austenasia has expanded for the second time this year, with the annexation of a small territory in eastern Scotland. The Territory of Amerdansk, which consists of the 360 square foot garden of a residential property, was annexed by Austenasia last night. The land had been offered to the Empire by the now Lord Anthony Clark, a resident of the adjoining house, who has been appointed governor of the territory. Amerdansk is the sixth Territory of the Empire, and the fourth to be an enclave of Scotland.