Kalistan

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Kalistani Chancellor speaks about Nationalism
"Seleyan then Anantonese Affairs, then everyone else," says Chancellor
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
June 4, 5712


Chancellor of the Empire, Lady Melanie Alvarez-McLinn at her home in Downtown Kaliburg

The Kalistani Republic was granted an interview with the often combative and fiery Chancellor of the Empire, Lady Melanie Alvarez-McLinn, who has been in office for just over a year and has returned Kalistan to the forefront of International discussions on a number of points. Lady Alvarez, a direct descendant of Duke Mark Ananto, and therefore of Empress Nicolette The Great, is herself the Countess of Lucid and grew up in the ancestral home of Lady Margaret Alvarez-Ellison. She is more Gaduri than Suldanoran, her grandparents returning to Lucid after more than four generations, where they settled before she was born. She speaks Egelian as her first language, but primarily speaks now with a Suldanoran dialect, with a bit of a rasp to her voice that is caused by a chronic cough due to asthma, which she has suffered from since she was a child.

But the Chancellor also considers herself the heir of Lady Erica Donahue, the ousted former Orthodox Chancellor who was removed from office before the turn of the century due to her nationalist ideology running afoul of Her Imperial Majesty's foreign policy. Lady Alvarez would consider herself a hard Orthodox member of the Institutional Party, and has adopted a very forward leaning attitude which has upset many in Kalistan and abroad but which has not, interestingly enough, drawn much comment or critique from Her Imperial Majesty. It is well known that there is friction between the two, but many put it down to a clash of personalities. Because whatever Lady Alvarez thinks of Her Imperial Majesty's policies, she is first and foremost a conservative, an Orthodox Institutionalist and a loyal subject, as she will declare to anyone who asks, and some who do not ask.

"I know we do not use factional terms any longer within the Party," she said, "but it cannot be denied, that the Orthodox position, to which I happen to subscribe, has won that contest of ideas. And so this becomes the mandate of our Party. People were very angry at the loss of Gaduridos. We needed someone to blame. We could blame chance, we could blame powers that are completely beyond our control, but many of us chose to blame the Empress. And while she had a hand in the matter, most certainly: the policies which required our nation to separate from the homeland of my ancestors came from her own hand, we can not say she is entirely at fault, because it was inevitable. The seeds were sewn the moment Gaduridos joined the Empire to begin with. Anyone with half a brain knew it was never going to last. We should have seen the writing on the wall and let them go when Lodamun left, then we wouldn't have wasted all those decades and decades of development trying to keep afloat a nation that was trying to sink and resented our help from the start. It's very bittersweet."

Fact is, she said that those Gaduris who supported the Empire are already here. "I think I can say that Kalistan was never as popular in Gaduridos as Gaduridos was in Kalistan, but no matter, its not an issue now. Our focus, my focus, is on Kalistan itself. The Empire gave my family so much, and now our job is to give back. I do so by serving the People in the name of Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Carolina II Ananto. It is my one and only calling in life, just as my predecessor Lady Erica Donahue did before me." When asked if her and Lady Erica are friends, Ladt Alvarez said, "Well, of course... I aim to carry forward her legacy in office. She was one of the greats. Unapologetic, confident, so smart, growing up, she was my hero. I talk to her as much as I can."

And to the Empress? "Well, as much as I am required," she said with a laugh. "Her Imperial Majesty and I have come to a place, I think over this year where we can see eye to eye. We have many disagreements, but maybe six months ago, she invited me to eat dinner with her and her husband and her children. We ate as fellow Brethrenists, and I think that helped us get over some things, because we share the same faith and the same beliefs about things. Maybe not government, all the time. I don't mean ever. I mean we can still disagree, and sometimes we very much do. But we also have a lot in common between us, and I hope a ground for mutual respect. At any rate though, she is the Sovereign and I as the Chancellor, I serve at her pleasure, so that's what that is."

Asked about how her legislative priorities have been moved this first year in office, the Chancellor was fairly positive. "I think we got most of our first year agenda through. I really wanted to be further on delinking Kalistan from Majatran and Artanian economies, but things have been going slow there. I think Her Imperial Majesty wants to stay in some of the Yeudi stuff that we are involved with, despite Tel Bira's rather petulant withdrawal from the Non-Aligned pact, which more or less confirmed our beliefs on where Tel-Bira and Amudim stand on MATO. They can deny their association, but leaving the NAM so they can make a new NAM for non-Kalistani Nations pretty much makes our point for us. Tel Bira has not formally joined the collective security agreement over there, but they may as well: their brethren in Amudim have. We do, however, plan to remain within the Bankaut system, which is based in Tel Bira. Her Imperial Majesty happens to believe that to be an excellent system, and we do as she fiats. Other things I have wanted to do have either been accomplished, like reforming the Party, making a formal bid for the New Englian oil formation, reforming the rules around foreign investments both abroad, and starting to get the ball rolling on them here, and seeing to it that we are expanding on our own domestic production to deal with any jitters we had around adoption of the Peso. I'd give us a solid B."

Lady Alvarez reiterated that the overall strategy remained regional. "It's Seleyan, then Anantonese Affairs, and then everyone else," said Lady Alvarez. "We are first and foremost always going to be concerned about Kalistan first. We come first no matter what. Lodamun, Valruzian , and even Baltusia cooperation come a very close second. Then we can be concerned about what is happening in Egelion, NEKK, Gaduridos, Vorona, Seko, maybe Lourenne... And everyone else is after that.”

On the Englian bid for the Rossfadda oil formation bid process: “Her Imperial Majesty is not expecting to really win the Englian concession. Our bid is competitive, but something tells us that there is more than just the money figure at play there, especially with the enthusiasm that Luthori has for the bid and the support it is getting from Majatran and even Nadiyan interests. Egelion is out there all alone, though it does have a strong global reach, and of course Bianjie is also a great candidate and makes a great argument. Something tells me that the Englians would prefer to use their oil to buy an ally, which Kalistan will never be given New Englia's distance from our nation, by tying the eventual bid winner to New Englia's fate as a nation. So we will most likely be keeping our money. But on the positive side then, we can certainly use that money to build Kalistan: Most of it came from divestment in Gaduridos and in Kundrati anyway so we kind of need to spend it somewhere. May as well spend it on projects that will benefit us here, in a concrete way. It would certainly behoove us to invest that money at home: Englia's loss becomes our gain in this sense."

When asked for parting words, the Chancellor was stoic: "There are somethings we cannot control. We cannot control what others think of us, no matter what that is. We cannot actually even reliably influence those opinions of us. The only thing Kalistan can do is be the fine nation we are. We can pursue policies that allow us to hold our head up high, to be justified in our beliefs and in our actions. And we let others take those as they will. Because at the end of the day, we are the Empire of Ananto and Kalistan, and Carolina Ananto is our Empress, and really, this is all that matters. It's all that should matter to every Kalistani, both at home and abroad. The days of trying to please others are over. I may say take Kalistan as it is, and most will opt to leave it. This is their loss then. But we do have people who are willing to take us as we are and work with us: Maybe they gain something from it, maybe not. But we will never change, we will never stop being who we are. Kalistan has been this way for going on 5000 years now, the center of the world. Surely it would be ridiculous to ask us to see ourselves any differently. And for those foreign nations who disagree, clearly you are not led by Kalistani Nationalists. And for that I feel sorry for you."

Then the normally stone faced Chancellor smiled, "Claro, sólo estoy bromeando. Sobre todos cosas." she said with a wink.

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