Prater Ineligible? Problem Solved

On August 11, one day before the dissolution of Austenasian Parliament in preparation for the upcoming General Election on September 9, it was discovered by the Acting Prime Minister, Lord Andrew Musgrave, that his election opponent, Lord Hunter Prater, was ineligible to run for the office of Prime Minister, according to Act 1 of the Austenasian Constitution. Act 1, Section 6 states the following: “Candidates for Prime Minister must be Members of Cabinet” Lord Prater, was a member of Cabinet and sat as Chief Ambassador, but resigned from the position in July of this year.  Considering the fact that he resigned, he became no longer eligible to run for Prime Minister. Lord Musgrave consulted other members of government, including Acting Deputy Prime Minister, Shiro Mephistopheles, on what to do about the situation, as the Constitution also states that there must be at least two candidates running for Prime Minister. As a solution, it was decided to appoint Lord Prater to a ceremonial position in Cabinet. He was appointed Home Secretary, the previous post of Lord Musgrave. Acting Deputy Prime Minister, Shiro Mephistopheles, made the following statement, explaining the situation: “Note that this is a stop-gap measure because the Constitution states in one place that only a Cabinet official may run, and in others only a Representative may run. Additionally, the Prince Regent must approve at least two candidates, and it happens there are exactly two. This invites a paradox that the Government has summarily addressed. To refuse to do otherwise invites a constitutional crisis. Additionally, it represents a fatal flaw in Austenasia’s democratic process, and we cannot countenance even the appearance of undermining this process. So, in a spirit of good faith and a desire to avoid manufacturing a distasteful situation by lack of action, the Acting Prime Minister took this unorthodox move upon consultation with myself. The government will be expected to address the issue itself at the very first possible opportunity. Until then, we proceed as if Lord Hunter Prater is fully qualified.” Lord Prater has yet to comment on the situation, but we are sure he will be relieved to know that he is still in the race. Parliament will be dissolved today, August 12, from there the campaigning and road to the election begins. The Times will be following any and all developments and will report as necessary.

CLASH at the Wrythe Public House!

Following the August 8 announcement of the upcoming General Election date and Lord Hunter Prater’s announcement to run for Prime Minister, a heated altercation took place in the Wrythe Public House between the two election candidates. Prater’s opponent, Lord Andrew Musgrave, responded to his statement expressing his excitement for the election and disagreeing with Prater’s statement on the Empire collapsing and the prospect of it lasting a hundred years. Prater made a grand response, which could have been taken for campaigning, essentially saying that Musgrave was wrong. Musgrave made a response, attempting to take the moral high ground by trying to de-escalate the situation by telling Prater to “leave the campaigning until the 4 weeks allocated to it”. Prater came back, guns-a-blazing, accusing Musgrave of attempting to limit his freedom of speech in the Public House. Musgrave, again responded and belittled Prater’s knowledge of Austenasian laws. Prater then accused Musgrave of speaking with condescendence and back-handed comments, going so far as to call him a “bully”. “You’ve got a lot to learn” was Musgrave response, who also brought up his superior micronational experience to Prater’s and then brought Prater’s maturity into question. Former Austenasian Prime Minister and current New Richmond Republic national, Vera Hewitt, was also in the Public House at the time and she weighed in on the situation. Hewitt suggested that Prater not pick fights and re-worded Musgrave’s early comment stating that Prater’s campaigning up that point was unconstitutional. She cited her extensive knowledge of the Constitution and previous experience as Prime Minister. From here an argument occurred between Prater and the team of Hewitt and Musgrave. Prater’s basis was that the pair were limiting his freedom of speech as an ordinary citizen, whereas Hewitt and Musgrave’s was that Prater’s campaigning was unconstitutional, saying he needed to wait for the allocated 4 weeks. Prater argued that he was in fact not campaigning and was simply expressing his displeasure for the current government. He even challenged them to charge him for his actions. Hewitt and Musgrave kept citing the Constitution without actually providing the evidence for their argument. They instead told Prater that he himself should read the constitution, to which Prater insisted they show him. Hewitt made a sharp comment saying the following to Prater: “You aren’t very bright and I hope for the Empire’s sake you lose by landslide.” It wasn’t until a few hours later where Lady Addison O’Halloran dug up the section of the Constitution that was being referred to in the argument. It reads as follows: “During the first of the three weeks between the order for a General Election and the actual election, any Representatives willing may apply to stand for election to run for the office of Prime Minister. The Monarch must choose at least two applicant Representatives, who from the point of being chosen until the General Election concludes shall hold the status of Candidates. The remaining four weeks may be spent by the Candidates campaigning to attempt to persuade the subjects of the Empire to vote for them.” It can be argued wether or not Prater’s statements could be considered campaigning or not, but that is a decision that would be best decided by a Judge. Either way you look at it, here at the Times, we believe that we are in for an exciting Campaign Trail leading up to this General Election and wish both candidates all the best.

Territorial changes see population increase

The population of Austenasia has reached 110 upon various changes made to its territorial make-up. Thursday 1st December saw an Act of Parliament passed which annexed a new town, Valens, as well as a new Crown Dependency, Ganapati Vihar. Valens, annexed from Montreal in Canada, has a population of six, making it the Empire’s joint most populous land claim alongside Chalcedon. It is comprised of a three-floor apartment building, all the inhabitants of which have signed a request to joing Austenasia. Ganapati Vihar, annexed from Kolkata in India, is uninhabited, and consists of a currently uninhabited residential property claimed for Austenasia by its owner, Soumyadip Sengupta. Three other changes were also made which affected the demographic and administrative make-up of the Empire. First, New Flat Rock, which was founded as a Town in December 2020, has been transitioned into a Crown Dependency. This is primarily due to none of it residents wishing to serve as an active Representative, while at the same time they wish to retain Austenasian nationality. It will therefore be governed autonomously by its former Representative, Lord Hunter Prater, as Governing Commissioner. Second, Oberfalcer – a Territory annexed from France in August 2019 – has been dissolved after its founder and governor, Lord Paccard, dropped out of contact with the government last year. Lastly, Austenasian subjectship was removed from Lord Paccard, together with another Austenasian non-residential subject who is likewise believed to have no desire to retain nationality, while also being granted to the Empire’s newly appointed Ambassador to the Philippines, Manuel Salta. Although the cession of Oberfalcer has resulted in a net loss of territory, the annexation of Valens and the grant of subjectship to Mr Salta has raised the total number of Austenasians to 110, 76 of whom live in Austenasian land claims.

Bradley of Dullahan appointed Deputy Prime Minister

Bradley of Dullahan, Representative of Helinium, was yesterday appointed Deputy Prime Minister following the resignation of Lord Hunter Prater from the position. Lord Prater, who was appointed Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) in September last year upon Lord William Wilson’s victory in the general election, has announced his retirement from national government, although he remains Representative of New Flat Rock. One notable legacy of Lord Prater’s time in office as DPM is his advocacy of weekly meetings of Cabinet, which previously tended to be held as required. Bradley, Duke of Dullahan, also known by his title in the Holy Roman Empire as King of the Romans, was appointed yesterday to fill the vacancy. The position of Deputy Prime Minister is held by a Representative who is selected by the Prime Minister with the consent of the Monarch. Duke Bradley – who also serves as the long-standing Prime Minister of Austenasian ally Wyvern – became an Austenasian national in March 2019. Earlier this year he was elected the parliamentary Representative of the new town of Helinium, which is inhabited by his sister and her partner.

Another territory claimed as Hoagland ceded

Saturday 10th July saw Hoagland ceded back to the United States of America at the same time as a new territory was annexed from the same country. Hoagland was claimed in July 2017 as an Austenasian Territory after previous periods under the sovereignty of Adammia and the Holy Roman Empire, and was governed by its founder, Grant Hawkins, who lived nearby. Consisting of a grassy area bordered by Ohio, Hoagland was administered by Hawkins until earlier this year, when he and his family moved aware from the area. Hawkins was unable to find a replacement for the office of governor, and so the decision was made to dissolve the claim. In a symbolic nod to their previous claims over the land, Adammia and the Holy Roman Empire have both been given a nominal chance to reclaim Hoagland before it is ceded back to the USA. Simultaneously, however, a new Territory has been established with the annexation of Travarn. Travarn is comprised of a wooded area and contains a hunting post. It is the personal property of Lord Hunter Prater, who has claimed it for Austenasia and been appointed its governor, and it is an enclave of north Alabama. Travarn measures 40 acres, whereas Hoagland was just over a third of an acre; this exchange of claims has therefore been a large net territorial gain for Austenasia.

Two new Austenasian Towns founded

Sunday 20th December saw two new Towns formed in the Empire of Austenasia. Blue Ridge, which was founded in July as an uninhabited Territory, became a Town after it expanded to claim a neighbouring residential property. The second new town is New Flat Rock, a property claimed from North Carolina for Austenasia by its residents and owner. Both new towns have a population of five, and so have boosted Austenasia’s population by ten to one hundred and nineteen, a new record. Lady Addison Dillon, governor of Blue Ridge while it was a territory, has been appointed its Acting Representative now it is a town. The now Lord Hunter Prater, who led the initiative of claiming New Flat Rock for Austenasia, has been made its Acting Representative and granted the title Count of Henderson.