Kalistan

[Doc]

Statement on Gaduridos provokes controversy in Kalistan
Some Parties oppose Empress; Some Support
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
November 1, 5659


The Newspaper offices of "Bedrock," The Institutional Party's Press comment on Empress' Position

The recent comments concerning Istalian trade with Gaduridos have earned mixed reviews from columnists from various independent newspapers in Kalistan, most notably the independent Party Presses. The Kalistani Republic does not, in practice, publish editorial content regarding Imperial decisions, as our job is news, but in this case, the news is the news. The mixed opinion that is freely expressed in various news outlets adds credence to the overall movement toward a more active civic polity in Kalistan, and assuming there is no official sanction of the Press in Kalistan, it would be safe to assume that at least some democratic, and possibly liberal norms either still hold (as in the case of the independence of the Courts) or are re-rooting in Kalistani society characterized by autocracy and fiat rule by a sole monarch.

In this case, we feel it is in the public interest to report on what others are saying, if for no other reason than to document the conversation between differing viewpoints.

Most critical of the Empress' statement, made via her Trade Representative Ms. Melanie Boone, is the Journal called Liberty, which is owned and operated for the Liberal Party. This periodical mostly concerns itself with business affairs of the Anantonese Empire and surrounding nations, but in this particular instance, the editorial was a savage rebuke of the Policy from Her Imperial Majesty's Government. We quote the Liberty editorial of October 18:

"What this statement reflects is nothing less than a rebuke of the fundamental economic orientation toward free trade. Free and fair trade is a cornerstone of the modern world, and in attacking Gaduri efforts to establish free trade with an equally sovereign nation of Istalia, Her Imperial Majesty has tarnished Kalistan's reputation abroad and marks our nation as one who looks backward, rather than forward to unlimited progress and capital dominance. She has set Kalistan on a path toward hard protectionism, and it requires to ask one's self: Why does Gaduridos even remain within the Empire, if it can't conclude even modest trade agreements like this one, or, in the words of the Trade Minister, "to sell itself" to whatever empire it so chooses?

For the Gaduri, it should make no difference whether Gaduridos is tied to the Anantonese Empire or if they are free to chart their own course. They have no military except a home guard? They should cut ties with Kalistan and build their own military. They want to accept money and trade from Istalia? Let them divest of Kalistani investments, including the Imperial Family's personal investments of several hundred billion Imperial, and build their own economy with the money, trade and investment that will surely come in from liberal nations to replace it. Given the generous nature, of Istalia and other economically liberal nations, there is no doubt that a withdrawal of Kalistani capital from the nation, while leaving a huge but temporary hole in the Gaduri economy, will open the doors to massive inflows of FDI to more than make up for the loss of Kalistani investment. There can be no doubt that Istalia will be willing to pick up the slack if it means a win for their free trade liberal bloc, which already has supplanted Kalistan everywhere else in the Anantonese Ocean.

"But if Gaduridos ever wishes to be a modern nation, they must be brave, throw all caution to the wind, and take the chance to cut the iron ropes that bind it to Kalistan. It's a gamble, but free trade and more importantly, their own sovereignty, and dignity as a nation will likely be worth it, if they win."

This sentiment is the strongest argument for the Gaduri position printed in Kalistan in decades. The Liberal position toward unlimited capital accumulation, privatization of the economy, elimination of collective bargaining and the establishment of universal at-will work agreements, elimination of all public money to private individuals with the exception of tax rebates and preferential tax rates to business owners and investors, and free and unfettered trade is well known. But Liberty doesn't frequently comment on foreign affairs. Several similar editorials over the next few weeks set Liberty out as the most critical of all Party Presses, even earning the Empress several "eye rolls" from "exasperated" opinion columnists who felt that the Empress had no legitimate concern at all with regard to Gaduridos, Istalia, or the rest of Seleya. One columnist wrote: "Her Imperial Majesty is throwing a temper tantrum here and is acting like a snot nosed little girl. But the one thing she doesn't understand is that her complaints, all of them, are utterly illegitimate: The Anantonese Empire is an Empire in name alone. Just as Lodamun chose to set its own course in its foreign affairs, so too should Gaduridos. Lodamun was much happier after they left, and so too will Gaduridos be. The Empress needs to mind her own business and stay out of ours. *eye roll*"

On the other side, predictably is the Bedrock, the Institutional Party's daily that is taking the side of the Empire, the Empress, and the case for unity. Quoted from the Bedrock's Op-Ed, dated October 7th, to which most of above-excerpted Liberty editorial was a direct response:

"What Gaduridos has done here in accepting a meeting with the Istalian Prince is to tell Kalistan that it doesn't matter. But let's look briefly at what Kalistan means to Gaduridos. Historically speaking, Kalistan provided significant capital to Gaduridos as it returned to development. Kalistani money built the Gaduri steel industry, which was, at the time, sending iron to Dolgava at a very low price and reimporting steel from Dolgava at a very high price, thus draining the wealth from Gaduridos to support the Dolgavan Steel Industry. Kalistan was responsible for kick starting the high tech industry in modern Gaduridos, which had long since fallen into disrepair before KalMD returned IC production to the country. Kalistan opened a MoCo plant in Cuernatecas which provided hundreds of jobs. Kalistan expanded the major airport on the Gaduri Mainland. Kalistan rehabilitated and then expanded the Puerto de Gaduri on Marlingantos, turning it into the largest ship building center in the Northern Anantonese Ocean, larger than even Port Elga at Sulari, and a major port for cargo to and from Dovani, Indrala, the rest of Seleya, and by the way, Istalia and southern Majatra. It was Kalistani capital that funded the coffee industry, and massive expansion in food, luxuries and fibers. Kalistan inspired a national service program and an organized labor program in Gaduridos. Kalistan has provided defense in the form of the Third Navy being stationed at Bentasur for more than a century that has allowed Gaduridos to protect it vaunted neutrality on foreign affairs and focus on domestic affairs without having to do much defense spending of its own.

"Kalistan has given all of this to Gaduridos. Yes, Kalistani investors have profited along with Gaduri investors from Gaduri success in these fields. The Gaduri success story is one that Kalistan is very proud of and very happy to share in. The loss of Gaduridos would be morally devastating to Kalistan, but it would also result in much of this largess going away, to everyone's detriment. Perhaps Gaduridos could withstand Kalistan's withdrawal from the Southern Kingdom. Maybe there is a state that would be willing to pick up the slack if Kalistan left. But the fact of the matter is, untangling is more than the matter of simply cutting the rope. Once that rope is cut, it can never be retied again: not the same way it is now.

"Lodamun was different: Their Government never had any interest in Kalistani investment or political involvement in their nation. Elimination of trade barriers was one thing, and it did benefit both nations, but Lodamun always saw itself as only nominally tied to Kalistan, so it was easy for them to leave the Empire that they were barely a part of to begin with, and then only nominally so. They merely had to say the word, and it was done with a brief performative formality and a slight tinge of humiliation of Kalistan. Gaduridos is a different story: Kalistan finds in Gaduridos a kindred spirit, one's whose culture we can, and do freely intermingle with our own, and we welcome. The Kalistani view toward Gaduridos is far more romantic than toward any other nation in the world, with the possible exception of Athosia. The loss of Gaduridos would be a severe blow to the Kalistani people, because it would be a rejection of everything our two nations built together, in consonance and cooperation. It would be a personal rejection of Her Imperial Majesty, and it would be an outright rejection of the notion of Northern Seleyan solidarity and unity, a principle that Gaduridos held deeply when it decided to join the Empire in the first place.

"Make no mistake: the surface and motive issue here is the misstep of the Istalians and their neglect of Imperial Protocol in attempting to treat with Gaduridos without even acknowledging the role that the Sovereign of the Anantonese Empire plays in Gaduri foreign affairs. But behind that issue is perhaps a much deeper hurt, that the Gaduri Government would also ignore that role of its devoted friend and long standing ally in Kaliburg. Some of the murmurs of resentment toward the Empire from some Gaduri circles seem to suggest that resentment is a much wider held feeling than is public. Some may not care, and some may go overboard to diminish that feeling in the press and in public conversation, but it is nonetheless still present. If the Gaduri truly wish to set their own course, free of the fetters of the Anantonese Imperial Structure, they only have to look to Lodamun for the example of how to go about it. Lodamun did it unsentimentally, and only later became concerned about the implication of cutting ties with Kalistan. But they came out ok in the end. Gaduridos could just do that if they wanted.

"Let's hope Istalia would be willing to pick up the slack if Kalistan were to withdraw from Gaduridos. That's all this paper is saying."

Bedrock has, like Liberty, continued running a series of editorials after this one further defending the Empress' role in Gaduridos under the Articles of Empire, which Gaduridos still subscribes to, as well as various economic and security arrangements, both formal and informal between the two nations. Most recently, however, likely in response to continued screed from Liberal papers, Bedrock has taken a darker tone, hinting at calls for more formal action against Istalian products in the region.

Other Party presses generally fell somewhere between these two poles. The Social Democrat, the weekly from the SocDems, tends to want to focus on continued cooperation between Kalistan and not only Gaduridos but also other Anantonese Nations, and notes that significant disruption could lead to negative human development Indicator movement for all people involved. "Kalistan and Gaduridos are better off working together, whatever that means politically," said the Editor of The Social Democrat. "Both nations may want to consider a peaceful evolution of the mutual relationship to allow our two nations to continue to cooperate, especially in light of any expressed Gaduri resentment of the Empress flexxing her rights in the Articles of Empire." Meanwhile the Socialist Party's daily Izquierda blasted the spat as "a quarrel among right wing imperialists who seek to divide the world up amongst themselves without regard for the plight or the demands of the working class." Said Izquierda's columnist: "Anantonese Empire aside, we should never forget that Socialism in Kalistan is generally supportive of stability and calm, but we are also not afraid to call the working people to stand together to let their voices be heard above the din and the mindless thrum of bellicose drum beats. If there is to be conflict, we will certainly be on the side of the Worker, specifically the international worker, whether they be in Kalistan or in Gaduridos, or in Istalia. Because we have more in common with each other than any of us have in common with the Dread Lady in Kaliburg, or the little man in Romula."

The Social Nationalist Party's press, Estado y Nación, agree with Izquierda, in as much as they have written this spat off as a distraction from the needs of Kalistan's working class, but have taken a much less internationalist tone. From an editorial in Estado y Nación dated October 21:

"The blood sweat and tears of the Kalistani worker has paid for the development of the Gaduri economy. It seems odd to us now, that they seek out a new patron. Make no mistake: Our Empire is a leech and sucks the blood of the Working Class, enabling their allies in capital to prey upon those who have the least amount of power in our system. But ALL empires are this way. There is no daylight between the behavior of Kalistan's Imperial Elite and Istalia's Imperial Elite. Both seek to take advantage of others, but as workers, this is not our fight. Kalistani Workers should not be distracted by the efforts Gaduridos is taking to play one Empire off against the other: Because at the end of the day, their political elites are just the same after all. What Gaduri Workers should do is take care of their own house, so that Kalistani workers can focus on ours. More militant unions, more worker control in every shop, more people power in the marketplace, in the voting booth, and in the various institutions of this nation. And Gaduridos can and should learn to fend for themselves. We aren't playing the Imperialist Distraction game here anymore, not as long as this editorial staff still has a voice."

If all you read are Party Presses, you would think this proposed visit from Istalia has opened up a deep rift between Kalistan and Gaduridos. While nothing like this has been formally mentioned, and given the party dynamics within the National Assembly, such a split, from Kalistan's side at any rate, is highly unlikely for at least the next five years, without significant efforts to repair relations between the two Anantonese Nations, a split over Istalia may become inevitable. At The Kalistani Republic, we can opine that whatever the outcome, the final demise of the Anantonese Empire over something as major as whether or not Istalia is allowed to set up wholesale shop in every country in the Anantonese Region will certainly lead to more Kalistani isolation in international affairs. In the words of one other Institutional Party editorial, "And that would play right into the hands of Kalistan's enemies in fascist nations of the world, who would like nothing more than for Kalistan to suffer and fail."

Or put another way, in our own words, the ultimate collapse of the Anantonese Empire will mean the final extinguishing of a light in Northern Seleya which has burned brightly for more than a century to the benefit of many hundreds of millions of people. Many other millions would take pleasure in nothing less.

@TheRepublic