Kalistani Major History

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Empress discusses War and Taxes
"Troubles in Dovani and Majatra are concerning" says Kalistani Monarch
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
September 9, 5517


Her Imperial Majesty responds to questions after meeting with Government

Following a closed door meeting with members of Her Imperial Majesty's Government, the Empress Nicolette II Ananto stepped outside the Privy Council Chambers to talk to reporters. Among the topics she discussed were proposed cuts in taxes and spending and tensions around Terra.

"We have received updates with regard to the final processes of liquidation of the assets and holdings of KALENCON," said The Empress. "It was our intention to punish those responsible for the malfeasance and misrepresentation of that Corporation to both our Government and to the people of our Nation. However, expropriation of assets from bad capitalist actors can only take us so far. KALENCON was a major force in our economy, and dealing with the disaster their dishonesty caused in Kalistan will require constant effort on the Part of our Government. We have therefore authorized the transfer of all non-institutional level stocks on a 1:1 basis to KPO, while institutional investors who were not involved in corporate governance will be compensated directly.

"We have informed our Chancellor that he is to cut taxes. It is our desire that the tax rate should return to the lower levels which they have been set at previous to the inauguration of our efforts to address energy shortfalls caused by the revelation that KALENCON was defrauding our State. Meanwhile, as the infrastructure necessary to fully replace the holes in our Energy sector is complete, and so funds necessary for the procurement of materials, wages for construction and diversion of NSP are no longer needed. The tax cuts will result in a drop in revenues of between 250 and 300 Billion Rubles annually.

"We have ordered corresponding spending cuts in Infrastructure and Industry, as large scale investment in the building of the infrastructure shall now be replaced by much smaller needed in maintenance. We have increased the Military budget slightly to adjust for procurement efforts involved in the recreation of the Regular Air Forces and the alerts in the Regular Navy, but the large ticket spending will decrease. We have ordered cuts totaling about 105 Billion Rubles.

"The Ministers also expressed to us their concerns over the inexplicable outbreak of conflict between Seko and our friends in Lourenne. Our Foreign Minister has been monitoring the developments there and the extremely suicidal policy of nuclear testing in Majatra and has been daily briefing us on the situation in those places. We have, in consultation with our Admirals and Chiefs of Military Staff, maintained a neutrality through Strength posture in the Anantonese Ocean, and have continued to encourage those countries from other places in the world to avoid Kalistani Water as they rush to involve themselves in yet another foreign war, and we have been lucky enough so far to stay out of it. We maintain a safe and secure lifeline with Lourenne across the Meridian Strait to ensure that trade and commerce continues unaffected by the War, but we are also careful not to take a position one way or another in their war. We hope they shall find a way to accomplish peace very soon, and meanwhile, we are repeating our request for third party adventurists to stay on the Keris Side of the ocean, so there is no possibility that there will be any interaction between foreign warships and Kalistani vessels.

"Finally, we strongly condemn any flirting with nuclear weapons technology in places like Beiteynu. There is no reason that that nation needs nuclear weaponry. Instead, we encourage that government to adopt an ethical position and end their nuclear weapons program immediately, and join us in the Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Weapons Ban Treaty that civilized nations such as Kalistan and Lourenne are members of. It is difficult to watch Beiteynu knock its own planes out of the sky without being reminded of a toddler playing with a loaded weapon. We encourage Beiteynu and all other nations who think that nuclear weapons somehow make a state important to rethink their choices, abandon the path of global thermonuclear terrorism, and adopt peace without weapons of mass destruction. In the meanwhile, we have asked our Foreign Minister to re-evaluate our relationship with that troubled kingdom. If we are known by the friends we keep, then keeping nuclear terrorists as friends is something we must not countenance.

The Empress stayed to answer questions to clarify her statements, but most reporters were more interested in how the Empress was dealing with being a mother, and whether or not more children were in the making. The one question concerning Beiteynu involved possible sanctions against the nation for its nuclear testing. The Empress was non-committal, but said her Government was exploring all options. She also answered a question concerning the rise of socialism in several nations, and was asked whether she would make any diplomatic efforts to reach out to them. She responded that Kalistan owed a great debt to socialists, but she wasn't about to encourage anything that looked like

"the mass insanity of free-for-all elections" the way socialists often do. "As our Mother governed, and as we continue to govern, often times we have found that the People simply wish to participate in elections so they can scapegoat the rulers when they themselves discover they have no stomach for the decision making process involved with self-government," said the Empress. "Socialism is fine where nationalization of important industries is concerned. It is not fine when it elevates the common and the disinterested over the noble. We wish those states well, but know they are not choosing political stability."