Kalistan

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Empress Praises Baltusia in Wide ranging Interview
Visit to Radio Kaliburg Studios is first for Monarchy
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
May 7, 5650


Her Imperial Majesty talks with host Ysabel Ramirez of Radio Kaliburg

In an interview at Radio Kaliburg 89.1 FM, which covered several topics, Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Mary I Ananto praised Baltusia, previewed the Northern Seleyan Games in Valruzia, had great words for the Contestants at FOMAT and said she looks forward to attending the upcoming royal marriage in Egelion. The wide ranging interview is a first for Her Imperial Majesty, or any member of the Royal Family, in that it is the first time any of them appeared at the famously independent radio broadcasting station.

For the interview, Her Imperial Majesty waved protocol for addressing her directly, and served the host, Ysabel Ramirez, tea which is required under the law for a meeting with the Empress to classify as "informal" (that is, not requiring the attendance of the Chancellor of the Empire.) The Imperial Tea, which is reserved for informal audiences is a strong black tea traditionally brewed with opium (a tradition starting with Empress Nicolette I Ananto) but it can also be brewed without opium--In this case it was brewed without opium out of courtesy for the host, and Her Imperial Majesty added opium to her own glass only.

Her Imperial Majesty began by praising Baltusia for fully establishing their monarchy.

"We are happy to see the developments in Baltusia and the enthronement of our cousin, King George Alvarez. By our reconning he is our 5th cousin: we share Empress Nicolette I Ananto as our common ancestor. But his family has served our Empire for centuries, and now it is important that they turn their attention to making Baltusia an economic powerhouse in our continent, a peer with our Empire, and an active partner in regional security and development. Baltusia has had their issues in the past, including the brutal and unforgivable attempt on the live of their First Minister, which we found shocking and appalling, and are so grateful for Mr. Merridan's recovery. But it is our hope that under the enlightened leadership of His Royal Majesty, King George, Baltusia can put that dreadful event in their past and move forward with a government that is widely supported by the People and wisely governed by the King and his government."

When asked if she intended to visit King George, she answered,

"We indeed intend to visit Baltusia. We are looking at early fall: our calendar is booked solid until then, but this will give George an opportunity to settle into his role, to make sure his government is fully organized, and to take a good look at his nation to find areas where our two nations may cooperate most effectively. It is in our interests, and we will communicate to the King, that the rail line from San Luis Port to Valruzia be completed, as this will greatly aid in our own trade as well, and I have it from a reliable source, namely our own Chancellor, that the branch of the family here in Kalistan stands ready to aid their relative to the greatest extent possible. The Alvarez Family, who are our cousins through Adoption, are one of the most important families in Suldanor and Athosia/San Luis State, and stand in a place where they can bring significant money into the service of development of that State as well as Baltusia as a whole, and it is in House Ananto's interest to also be of assistance where we may. When we visit, we want to make this fact crystal clear."

Switching topics, Ramirez asked how Her Imperial Majesty felt about the FOMAT outcome.

"We are satisfied with the result of FOMAT in Istalia. Fourth Place is the highest place Kalistan has received in my lifetime. Music tastes aren't what they used to be, but we had the opportunity to be introduced to Mr. Phillips before the concert, and can confirm that he is indeed a serious musician who is interested in music as art. His entry legitimately won in Kalistan, but the entries from the winning nations really showcased their nations' culture, and we had to inform our sister as we watched the contest together on television that we would have likely supported the top three as well: their songs were what we think FOMAT should be about, as a cultural music festival, and we believed the judges got this one right for a change. So while we congratulate Mr. Phillips and are certain he will have a long successful career in Kalistani music, we are happy that the folks who should have won actually did. It was refreshing. Congratulations to Kalopia, and we are certain Kalistan will participate again when it is held there."

Ramirez also discussed another upcoming competition, the North Seleyan Games in Valruzia. She wanted to know how the Empress thought Kalistan would do.

"We intend to fly to Valruzia to cheer on Kalistani athletes. It is our opinion that our sister and mother will make the trip with us, as well as the Princelings and the Emperor Consort. This contest will of course be somewhat different than a contest like FOMAT which is judged by taste of the panel. At grand sporting events like Valruzia, excellence is on display. Kalistan excels in some sports, but even in the ones we do not expect to do too well in, someone will rise above the pack and display their physical prowess, their endurance, their mastery of the sport, or some other laudable feature which displays this sort of excellence.

"It is our opinion that sport is the one pursuit outside of art and philosophy, where mediocrity and lowest common denominator democratic sensibilities are pushed aside in favor of virtuous excellence. It is uplifting therefore to see excellence on display, and its not really a concern where that excellence comes from, or where they were born at. When you can watch a human being cover 100 meters in less than 9 seconds, you are watching the closest thing to an actual God on this planet that you will ever see--That is the best argument you could make for the existence of an actual deity of some kind that doesn't rely on superstition. These feats of physical excellence are not to be missed, and we dare say, should serve as examples for those in other fields of human activity. We should all strive to be as excellent as we may. So we will absolutely be on hand to watch the games. We look forward to it."

When asked if the Empress intends to meet with members of the Valruzian Government during her visit, she responded,

"We haven't set anything official in place. There is no doubt that we will have the opportunity to meet with our close friends the Valruzians during the event. But our goal is primarily to observe the games, so any meetings between us and Valruzian officials is likely to be incidental and friendly rather than official or business oriented."

Continuing the talk of state visits, Ramirez asked the Empress then to talk about the upcoming visit to Egelion to celebrate the wedding of the Crown Prince Artemio and the Lady Anastasia Rothringren.

"As you likely known, the Egelian Crown Prince is our cousin, also by way of the Alvarez branch of our Family Tree, who have been rather successful in placing royalty on various thrones in the region. So this will be an excellent opportunity for us to visit our cousins once more. Nicole Reina, daughter of Lady Dana, has long been our personal friend besides being our cousin, and we celebrated the birth of her son, and welcomed them both following the terroristic assassination plot that wounded the Crown Prince when he was a small child. So this will be a reunion in addition to being a celebration of his marriage."

Asked what she thought of Lady Anastasia, Her Imperial Majesty's answer was polite, but not that enthusiastic.

"We do not know the girl well, sadly, but this is something that we look forward to remedying soon. It is our intention to present her with a diamond broach from our own collection as a wedding present that we have asked Reed [the royal Jeweler in Kaliburg] to customize for us, so that it reflects both her nation's and Egelion's national symbols in the same piece to honor the personal union that will eventually form. We are certain that she is an intelligent young lady, and are pleased for her that she has found her happiness in the company of our cousin. And we take this as an opportunity to welcome her to our extended family."

Asked if Her Imperial Majesty believed that the marriage would improve Kalistani relations with Trigunia/Nadiya, The Empress stated that she doubted it.

"We don't think it will alter much in the short term. What we see as Trigunia, which has undergone some regime changing events recently, is still a largely unknown and fairly incomprehensible entity to us. Their confederation system makes their process fairly opaque to us, given the absolute transparency of our own. So if relations are established, they will need be indirectly through Egelion, who we maintain excellent relations with. As Egelion and Trigunia/Nadiya will be in a personal union, this may be the easiest work around to ensure that we have a line to their government if we need it for anything, and vice versa. We can still be happy for the Princess, and possibly even work with her as she sees fit, and we are, while not also needing to attempt to figure out what is going on in her Government."

Ramirez thanked the Empress for her comments and asked what she thought about the Radio Kaliburg Studios.

"As this is the first time we have been here, or really in any radio studio, we can say that we find it fascinating, the whole process. We frequently listen to your station's music programming, and, occasionally, tune into your political commentary, and while we would sometimes prefer that you tone down some of the more... liberal... appeals to our population, we also understand that you have your job to do as we have ours, and appreciate that the people feel that they have a safe and legitimate outlet for these types of discussions within our Empire. And we hope to avail ourselves of the opportunity to speak with you and your listeners again, as you please."

@TheRepublic