Kalistan

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Alvarez-Miller elected Institutional Party Leader
Set to be named as next Chancellor of the Empire
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
August 1, 5649


Institutionalist Leader Jennifer Alvarez-Miller in this photo from 6 years ago, and now member of the Brethrenist Caucus, gets enough votes to claim Party Leadership

Following the planned retirement of Sir Michael Koenig from the Chancellorship and Lady Anya Waltrip from the position of Her Imperial Majesty's Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Institutional Party has had to determine new leadership. This is the first time in nearly a generation that there has been a party leadership turn over. The Party, for its part has settled on dark horse Candidate Jennifer Alvarez-Miller from Yoshimi Sulari. Jennifer is the youngest daughter of Sir Jesus Martin Ananto-Bjorksdattir, and as a result is a 5th Cousin of Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Mary I Ananto and the niece of Egelian Queen Nicole Montelivet. Though she grew up in Gaduridos, Alvarez-Miller relocated to Suldanor at the age of 18 to join the NSP and learn agronomy. She is a devout Brethrenist, and a freshman Deputy with the Brethrenist Caucus and she represents the Yoshimi Constituency.

Alvarez is technically not a member of the Royal Family, but will, as per tradition be made a member of the Ancient Order of the Gray Smoke upon being appointed Chancellor of the Empire. As she is a relative newcomer to Kalistani politics, her political positions on various matters are for the most part unknown.

"I was a compromise choice," said Alvarez recently to The Republic. "Its my understanding that the Orthodox Caucus and the Internationalist Caucus couldn't decide amongst themselves who should be leader, and so, they turned to the Brethrenist faction, my caucus, which is the smallest grouping the the Assembly. The Orthodox caucus said they thought I would govern honestly, while the Internationalist Caucus was apparently impressed by a statement I had made while running in support of the Democratic Clubs. I wasn't present for most of the discussion, it was quite late in the evening, and I go to sleep early."

There were rumors that the Crown was incidentally involved in the discussions, though the extent of their influence was not discussed by anyone involved. "You know if the Empress has any say, her word carries a lot of weight," said Kaliburg analyst Yolanda Franklin. "But if I was a betting person, Alvarez would not have been the one I would have thought the Empress wanted. Her Imperial Majesty tends to give a wide berth to those who express preference for religion very openly. For example, her aunt, Lady Michelle is a well known adherent of the Brethrenist Faith and she was safely ensconced for years at House Ananto, well away from the levers of political power in Kalistan. The Empress tends to be at best apathetic toward religion, and has in the past even expressed a deeply held suspicion of the influence of Brethrenism in Kalistan. So Alvarez, who wears her faith on her sleeve would not have been my first pick, if I were trying to guess who the Empress wanted."

Alvarez, for her part said she intends to work closely with Her Imperial Majesty to reduce the size of Kalistan's military. She recently voted against the new jet fighter procurement package with Hutori, along with the rest of her 7 person Brethrenist Caucus, and has called on the Defense Ministry to audit and reduce the size of the Kalistani Navy. Neither effort resulted in a reduction of the Kalistani Regular Force, but both put her on record as opposing the Empress' traditional position regarding the military.

And within the last year, Alvarez has taken a stance against any effort to bring Athosia closer to Kalistan, which puts her diametrically opposed to the Empress. "What I said was," she later clarified, "We need to stop trying to influence politics within the Baltusian State of San Luis. That kind of disruption there, even if it is low level, prevents that State from reaching its maximum potential, and prevents that state from developing. I didn't say anything about the Empress' titles, imagined or otherwise, and I think it is important to keep the record straight. I want our brothers and sisters in San Luis to experience the same quality and standard of life that we enjoy north of the Lucid River, and fully support all efforts to do that."

Despite major policy differences with Her Imperial Majesty, Alvarez says that when she becomes Chancellor, she will do her best to advise Her Imperial Majesty and shepherd the Empress' bills through the National Assembly. "I realize that in this role, I don't really have a lot of independence. I think the real power of the Chancellery is in the ability to come to an agreement somewhere between what the Empress wants and what the National Assembly says the people want- something that both sides can live with. Her Imperial Majesty is known for being a difficult negotiator, and ultimately gets her way when there is a disagreement. But there is a lot of time before she makes a decision where we can talk and listen to one another, and ensure that what the people want and what the Empress wants is overlapped enough that we get good policy out of that. My predecessor did that to a lot of degree, though he may have spoken less for the Assembly in meetings and more to the Assembly during session. I hope to make a difference and make good policy, and will work with as many sides as I can while crafting that."

Asked if she intends to switch meetings to Kaliburg Monthly Meeting, she said "I already have lots of Friends in the Kaliburg Monthly Meeting, because I am here in town so often. But I have asked my home meeting in Yoshimi to send a letter to the Kaliburg Meeting to move my membership. So we've already done Clearness on this, and now I am just waiting for Kaliburg to hold business meeting here in a couple weeks to consider it." She mentioned that she would like to invite Her Imperial Majesty to the Kaliburg Meeting once The Empress returns from Wood House in late October. Meanwhile, her formal installment as Chancellor is expected by September 1, and then she will be initiated as Stranger Lady Companion in the AOotGS in mid September, and will obtain the title Dame Companion. She will also likely be granted a lifetime peerage in Suldanor, and will go by the title Lady Jennifer Alvarez-Miller henceforth.

@TheRepublic