Luthori

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International Press Corps (Luthori)

Pryce elected as Labour Leader; Calls for Fresh Elections; Polls Hints Towards Hung Parliament.

January 7th, 5566

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Fort William [IPC] - The National Labour Party, Luthori’s ruling party since their victory in 5559 is currently traversing some rough paths recently. As the now-former Prime Minister, Stephen Carol officialized his resignation on December 17th, Carolina Amelia Pryce, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs during the entirety of Mr. Carol’s tenure as Prime Minister was elected as Labour Leader, becoming the first woman from a left-wing party to ascend to the position of Prime Minister since 3 centuries earlier. It should be noted that most of Mrs. Pryce’s support during the Labour Party’s National Conference to elect its Leader mostly came from either Centrist or Left-leaning elements of the National Labour Party, most of these parts being discontent with Mr. Carol’s lack of resolve in terms of economic and internal policy, with the Cabinet’s orientation being focused around the resolution of foreign policy issues left by the Tories, rather than committing themselves to the full implementation of their electoral manifesto as they had previously promised to do so.

Mrs. Pryce’s rise to the Office of Leader of the NLP was not without hardships, as most of Labour’s left wing was opposed to Mrs. Pryce’s candidacy to the Office of the Leader of National Labour Party, proposing instead the candidacy of John William Royce, a long-time trade unionist and Left (Wing) Labour Party. Mr. Royce criticized the Carol Ministries’, in which Mrs. Pryce was a member, serving since the day one of this administration, during his numerous speeches for the Party leadership, he repeatedly criticized what he called “weakness” coming from the Labour-Right, stating that Mr. Carol’s Party Wing had “fooled the Luthorian people” by “promising the moon, but not act for it..”, he also promised “radical” reforms to the country, which quickly prompted accusations from the Pryce Campaign depicting Royce as a “dangerous radical” and an “extremist”, fires that the Royce Campaign struggled to fight off in an effective way.

During the last deliberations at the Convention, both candidates promised to call a General Election two years earlier than originally planned, while they defended this stance as being a “testimony of their commitment to democracy”, in other words, this was considered by many analysts to be a ploy to secure their position within the NLP in case of an electoral victory, especially in regards to the polls, which are far more favorable to the Tories winning an outright majority in the lower house than Labour retaining their very narrow majority there. Other than that, Mrs. Pryce took distances between her programme and the policies enacted by the former administration, promising education, welfare reforms, alongside economic policies “which would benefit the people above all else”. Prime Minister Carol declined to make an appearance at the Convention, most analysts take this decline as a show of how the Prime Minister disappointed his voters with his government’s lack of policy resolve.[/font]

At the end, Mrs. Pryce was elected as National Labour leader and became Luthori’s Prime Minister after an audience with the Empress. During her first Prime Minister’s Question Time, she stated that this “Question Time will be the last held during this Parliament, as I will meet with Her Majesty the Empress to formally dissolve Parliament and call for an early general election”, Parliament was dissolved on the next day upon Imperial Proclamation and a Notification Act being passed by the Imperial Diet. Elections are supposed to be held two months from now. Although the Labour Party’s chances at the next general elections are looking slim, it is likely that either a Tory majority in Parliament will be achieved or even, in some rare and exceptional scenarios, a Labour majority. Although, most commentators point towards a Hung Parliament. Where neither the Tories or Labour secures an outright majority in Parliament, turning to smaller parties to form an coherent and stable administration.

From Fort William, the International Press Corps.

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The Weekly Telegraph | Humperdinck Media Group (Luthori)

Hung Parliament in Luthori! Labour loses GE; Pryce to form new admistration.

13th, April 5561

Fort William - It is finally official, after long hours waiting for all the ballots to be counted, the LBC, Channel 7, Times and other newspapers’ projection were all the same, at 2. AM (CLT), the Luthorian Broadcasting Corporation was the first to project that the next Parliament would be a hung one, with no major party achieving an outright absolute majority. The Tories and Labour have still won the majority of seats, combined, in Parliament, yet neither of the two achieved to reach the bar of the 265 MDs needed to control, even narrowly, the Imperial Diet. It seems that Prime Minister Pryce’s gambit to secure herself a more comfortable majority two years before the actual general election may have backfired on her, as her party now is forced into a governing coalition with another party, forcing her to compromise on some key issues within her platform.

Yesterday’s elections culminated with the National Labour Party coming first, with 257 seats in the lower house of Parliament, 8 seats shy from an outright majority in the Imperial Diet. While this is a blow to the Party’s overall ambitions, it is not, at least, a decisive blow to the National Labour’s ambitions. Overall, for the Prime Minister, this is even a great opportunity, as the Labour-Right, from whom the Prime Minister is from, is currently looking powerful within the Labour movement, especially with this hung Parliament which forces Labour to find concessions and common ground with more moderate and liberal-minded parties in Parliament, such as the Liberal Party or the Democratic Alliance. If a coalition, or at least a Confidence and Supply is secured with either parties, it would mean a great win for the Right wing of the Labour Party, which would be free to pass more moderate-minded policies with the support of their coalition partners, than to rely on the Left wing elements of the Party. The second party was the formerly dominant-Conservatives, which yesterday night came second to Labour, winning 222 seats in the Imperial Diet in the aftermath of election night.

The Tory Party only came second thanks to a last-minute save for Labour during this election, with the governing party over performing in areas that no political commentators commented upon: rural areas. Long thought to be Tory strongholds, rural areas were not an exceptional part of this campaign, yet, the Prime Minister and her Party long sought to reconnect these traditional conservative voters with the message of the Labour Party, emphasizing the fact that “Labour was a Party for the peasantry and the working class”, and promising further subsidies to the agriculture sector and farmers if they were elected. In contrast, the Tories ran a campaign focused around showing off Labour’s failures during these 8 years in office, both under Prime Minister Carol and Prime Minister Pryce. This campaign was effective around the suburbs and with white-collar liberal voters, which were disappointed by Labour’s economic, or lack of, policy. This “shift” in alignment meant that traditionally Conservative “safe” seats were taken up by Labour during the last election, while, in contrast, less Labour-held constituencies shifted hands as Tory-held constituencies did.

Other minor political parties such as the Liberal Party, the Democratic Alliance, the Unionist Front and the Farmers-Labour Party, won the remaining 50 seats in the Imperial Diet, with the Cooperative Party being unable to secure any seats in the Diet, the Liberals won the majority of these 50 seats, with the Party securing 29 out of 650 seats, the Unionist Front won 11 seats, the Democratic Alliance won 9 seats and the Farmer-Labour Party only won 1 seat, taking over the formerly Co-Operative-held constituency. Prime Minister Pryce is likely to have some breathing room to organize negotiations between the National Labour and either the Liberals or the Democrats to secure a coalition to secure their support

With this General Election being over, it is planned that the formation of a confident-backed ministry may take up some time. As negotiations between parties over the formation of a governing coalition will happen over time. In raw economic and financial news, however, the Fort William Stock Exchange reacted positively with the news of this Hung Parliament, as most of Labour’s more radical agenda would be blocked by more moderate forces in Parliament and the Tories’ gains during these elections shows that it’s becoming increasingly likely that, one way or another, the Tory Party would regain the Premiership and their parliamentary majority. The FW Index reported that the shares of the MABC have gone up in 6 hours towards the level of 1.268.35 points, as financial markets are reassured that a coalition government would likely force the Labour Party to adopt a more "Liberal"-minded course on the economic reforms that they had promised. Prime Minister Pryce announced a "round" of meetings with Democratic and Liberal leaders to try to find a compromise which would hold during the whole term. Remain to be seen if the Prime Minister could succeed in convincing the two parties to work with Labour in a ministry. Or else, the Tories would be appointed as Prime Minister by the Empress.

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The Daily Mail

Labour-Liberal Coalition Government Forms; Financial Markets Reassured by Labour’s Pivot to the Right.

5th, June 5566

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Fort William - It should be certain now that the process of formation of a government is now over in Luthori, as the Liberal Party and the National Labour Party announced conjointly that they had formed a “government program”, using it as a basis for their collaboration within a coalition government. Prime Minister Pryce during the negotiations with both Democratic and Liberal leaders was faced with refusal from both parties to support her administration through a Confidence and Supply Agreement (C&S), which would have enabled the formation of a minority government led exclusively by Labour. Something that these two parties have refused to do in the aftermath of the general election, which gave Labour a plurality of seats, but not an outright majority. Talks then focused around the creation of a “common government program” between all parties which talked together, yet even that wasn’t easy, as Democrats and Liberals had sizeable political differences with the National Labour Party and even between themselves.

One big sticking point was the consideration of the complete abandonment of the MMP electoral system for a full blown proportional representation system, as proposed by the Democratic Alliance, to make “our system fairer and more representative”, while also considered to be a policy meant to break the current standing Duopoly between the Tories and Labour, with the Liberals acting as the third-largest party in almost every election. This proposal was opposed by the Senate, the Diet, Labour, the Liberals, the Tories, being only supported by small parties in the Imperial Parliament. This frictions in regards to electoral reforms proved to be the death knell in the Labour-Democratic talks for a government, as the Democratic Alliance left the talks in protest, and DA Leader, Farrell Olympus, stated that “Neither Labour nor the Liberals are accepting the implementation of Proportional Representation in our elections, refusing to hear the voice of the people they’ve sworn to represent. I say that if a party is unwilling to accede to our demands, reasonable demands I might say, the Democratic Alliance has no place in a Government whatsoever.”

The negotiations continued between Liberals and Labour, with the critical issue of electoral reform being promptly swept under the rug by both Parties. Tonight, after intense negotiations during numerous meetings between both Parties’ representatives, the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Liberal Party, Richard McConnell were both confident enough to announce that both parties had found a governmental coalition agreement and a common program taking over both Labour’s and the Liberals’ platforms in a single 335-pages document. The Leader of the Opposition, Robert Nell-Cain, Earl of Pinkburn criticized this incoming administration as being a “testament of Labour’s refusal to leave power, even if they’ve lost the election”. The incoming administration’s plans take over most of Labour’s agenda, such as education, healthcare and continuing the previous administration's projects in terms of defence, yet, the Liberals’ agenda of continuing the previous Tory policy of a “balanced budget”, came at a crushing blow to Labour’s agenda, and while they are open to some regulations in the economy, they are fundamentally committed to the preservation and expansion of Luthorian capitalism, with less restraint being imposed on the free market and less government interference in the economy.

One of the first Acts being prepared is currently a negotiation between both parts of the Government; this Act, the Primary Education Overhaul Act, is meant to begin the long path towards a comprehensive education reform with a reform of primary education. Other reforms are planned for the future, but should be discussed between government partners. Due to the strength of the Official Opposition in the Senate, it is expected that the Tories and Labour will come to a form of compromise to not see any Bill tabled by the Government pass in the Diet then be promptly killed in the Senate.

Finally, financial markets reacted positively to a government which would likely uphold the principles of the free market and the balanced budget, two things that are “necessary” in Luthori’s economic success according to some economic analysts.

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The Weekly Telegraph | Humperdinck Media Group (Luthori)

Princess Alexandra Becomes Grand Duchess of Northriding.

7th, August 5556

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Fort William and Northminster - The Office of the Imperial House announced that Princess Alexandra, third child of Empress Audrey and Prince Richard will become the Grand Duchess of Northriding. Her Imperial Highness was already residing in Northriding on a permanent basis ever since the end of her studies in Lourenne and completing engagements on behalf of the Northriding Government, becoming the Grand Duchess in all but name. Today, after a request from the Northriding Minister-President, Her Majesty the Empress officialized the fact that the Princess would become Grand Duchess of this Duchy, signing into Act a Letter Patent officializing this change. This isn’t surprising in any way possible as, as stated earlier, the Princess was already living most of her time in Northriding and Fort William, traveling back and forth between her private estate gifted by her mother after her 25th birthday at Lymouth and her official residence of the Palace of Hastings in Fort William. The Grand Duchess will now be awarded with the property of the Richmound Complex at Northminster, the usual working and official residence of Grand Dukes and Grand Duchesses of Northriding.

Princess Alexandra is being appointed as Grand Duchess at a moment where the popularity of the Monarchy has reached an all-time high, with near unanimous support for the institution of the Monarchy and the stability that it brings to the Nation. All members of the Imperial Family and their spouses have at least 80+ percent in popularity polls, with Empress Audrey and Prince Richard being, unquestionnably and unsurprisingly, the most popular members of the Imperial Family.

This appointment of Princess Alexandra as Grand Duchess of Northriding comes at the understanding that most royal offspring would serve as Prince/Grand Dukes of all Luthorian local governments. Princess Katherine, the heir to the Throne was inaugurated by the Empress as Princess of Orange, solidifying her place in the line of succession as the heir apparent instead of the heir presumptive. Her Imperial Highness is expected to fill in her new role perfectly, as she has already been the de facto representative of the Crown in Northriding, and who knows, maybe, this title may become hereditary in the future.

The Office of the Government of Northriding issued a statement praising the appointment and calling the Princess “a gem among the people of Northriding”.

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The Luthorian Guardian | KOZOMPOL (Kundrati)

Liberal-led Treasury Department Unveils New Budget and Economic Priorities.

January 5567

Fort William - Amids the recent appointment of the new Cabinet, Mrs. Pryce’s Government, composed of both the National Labour Party and the Liberal Party in a governing coalition, works in Bills and other aspect of governance have already started, with the Prime Minister and the Treasury Department working together to unveil a government budget; yet it should be noted that the current Chancellor of the Exchequer, the second most powerful person in the Cabinet, is Liberal Deputy Leader of the Senate, Ileas Ford, who has been appointed to the position in replacement of Fr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rebecca Landmorth, as per the coalition agreement which said that the Liberals were going to hold the Treasury Department. Mr. Ford, directly after his appointment, stated that the state finances were “doing fine”, as of now and that the Liberal Party, holding the Office of Chancellor would “continue the long established policy of balanced budget, while allocating funds to needed departments”, as well as establishing a new focus to the Treasury Department’s policy. Mr. Ford, while arriving at the Treasury Department with a healthy budget at hand and a large portfolio at his disposal (adding the Department of the Economy), effectively making him the second-most powerful man in the Cabinet, something that has only been increased with the addition of the Department of the Economy within the Department of Finance, also came to Crown Street with a sense of ‘revenujation’ of his Department. As stated earlier, as part of the coalition agreements, Mr. Ford was put in charge of the Department of the Treasury and the Department of the Economy, making him the senior cabinet minister in regards to economic policy, finances and other economic subjects.

Mr. Ford during his first press conference at 11 Crown Street explored the possibility of an increased education, healthcare budgets to better accommodate the Government’s needs of funds in these areas, in that subject, he also pointed out that the Government, under his leadership would also explore possibilities of investments into both of these sectors, alongside the already modernising defence sector. These allocated funds, according to the Finance Secretary, would come as a “great helper” in order to “boost the administrations’ efforts” towards the consolidation, reform of both of these services. He offered more precisions on his economic and financial program as Chancellor of the Exchequer during his first address in the role before the Luthorian Parliament (Imperial Diet). Mr. Ford stated in the Imperial Diet, the following.

“This Government came with the promise of fixing the former government’s actions, or lack of. Therefore, the Prime Minister entrusted me with the daily operations and policy-managing of both the Luthorian Treasury and the Economy Department. [...] To my Right Honourable Colleagues in Parliament, the Budget for this Year, will consist of increased revenues for the Luthorian State, revenues which would come from an increased taxation efforts upon the most wealthy Luthorians and other poorer ones. These taxation efforts will be drawn from increased taxation for luxury goods, with the percentage taken over by taxes being increased from 3 to 5 percent during the next 5 years. [...]

These increased taxes would be used to continue the financing of currently undergoing programs, like the ones in the military, and for the financement of other programs which would be enacted by Acts of Parliament put forward by this Government. This would be accompanied by, after the passages of the Acts, further investments into the education and healthcare sector as a long and steady reform course that would be enacted and begin to be worked on during this term and administration. We also look forward to the enactment of measures destined to stabilise our economic growth at about 1.2 % per year. Although, the current analysis puts our economy at a growth rate of 0.4 % per year, having slightly increased from last years’ 0.2 %. [...]

The Government and the Treasury Department came to the conclusion that the current economic policy of government economic intervention cannot continue as such. Let the invisible hand of the free market guide our nation like it has always done. Yet, here. Luthori would continue to have the state-owned companies of the Imperial Corporations and while plans to privatise some services could be considered, this isn’t the priority of the Government to privatise the full economy, but merely ‘open ways for the administration’ in terms of economic liberalism. As such, while measures would be implement to continue receiving the same or a similar revenue from tax income, the Government, under this Budget, will be decreasing the national corporation tax from 17.25 % of all the monthly income from companies being subjected to taxation from the Government to 13.5 %, and the Government will be conducting changes to dividend tax, which would be reduced from 20 % to 16.45 %. While this decrease is certainly going to negatively affect our tax revenue, we are confident that the increase of taxes upon higher income receivers will be able to overcome this issue when the proposed Budget is implemented.”

Many MPs, especially from the National Labour Party’s left-wing announced their support for the current proposed Budget, which may come as a surprise considering the Budget’s obvious liberal orientation, but not really so when we consider that while the Chancellor of the Exchequer expressed interest in further liberalising the Luthorian economy, bringing her out of the stagnation period that plagued the nation during an entire decade, he also reassured the left-wing of the Labour Party by stating that “while the economy will be further liberalised, the Government will implement strict workers’ protection laws to represent their interests fairly and defend them in the same regard.” Mr. Ford, ruled out calls from further Liberal members to do away with the Imperial Corporation and switch to a full free-market economy without any form of state interference. Mr. Ford stated in these regards.

“It shouldn’t be ruled out that, with the current state of our Corporations, privatisation may be a good idea to implement. But, the State’s main mission is to provide free or, at the very least, very cheap services to its populations. So, this Government will not be implementing any form of privatisation of the currently existing Imperial Corporations. We’ll only kickstart a process of privatisation of the sectors in which these companies are operating into, bringing some needed competition in these fields. Yet, it isn’t the goal or purpose of any of the Corporations to begin competing for profit with other companies, which this government will be keen to avoid, even with the process of privatisation being kickstarted. All and all, the Government isn’t interested in the pursuit of a free-market economy, only contemplating changes to be made to the Luthorian capitalist model to bring more growth to our economy."

The proposed Budget announced modifications of funding allocations for certain ministries, the Department of Health will receive an increase of 3.75% in their yearly budget, the Department of Education will receive an increase of 3% in their own yearly budget. To continue with the policy of “balanced budget”, as stated by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Fort William has announced that the Department of Home Affairs will see its budget being cut by 2.5%, already fueling criticism from the right and Official Opposition. Alongside the proposed increase in taxation for individuals, the Government expects to remain in a status of budget surplus, which would then allow for government-led investment in some critical sectors of the economy, booming sectors or developing sectors within that said economy. When the news of the Budget proposal reached the Fort William Stock Exchange, most investors and private investors were quite “pleased” with the Government’s decisions to decrease their taxes. FWSE Governor, Charles Walker stated that “the proposed government policy will certainly bring down some pressure for corporations, allowing them to have a far more active hand in the economic progress that the Government seeks to implement with these policies.”. The Fort William Stock Exchange, during this day, increased its overall value by over 70 points during this day, with other companies’ stocks having seen their price skyrocket after the announcements from the Government. The only companies which did not benefit from this State of Affairs were the luxury companies, whose progress was stalled by the Government’s announcement of the increase of the tax on luxurious goods.

@TheLuthorianGuardian

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The Weekly Telegraph | Humperdinck Media Group

Govt. Passes “First Step” in Education Reform; PROFA Passes Parliament.

7th, May 5567

Fort William - The Second Pryce Ministry, has it seems, scored a very important parliamentary victory tonight, as the Imperial Diet passed the Primary Education Overhaul and Financing Act, 5567, marking the beginning of the Pryce Ministry’s efforts towards a comprehensive reform of the education system of the Realm. It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that Labour and the Liberals’ plans for education reform were far away from one another, with the Liberals’ joining the Tories’ position in this matter. The Liberals think that the Luthorian education system does not push enough efficiency and excellence among students, and proposed to reform the education system alongside these two lines, which would set as objectives to achieve for an efficient and reformed education system. This position has been supported by the Conservative Party’s Leader, who is also the Leader of the Opposition, Robert Nell-Cain, the Earl of Pickburn. During an Address to the Imperial Senate, he stated that the Conservative Party’s goal in matters of education was to achieve ‘excellence’, here is the full transcript of his intervention in the upper house.

“It is without any doubt, the objective of the Tory Party, that being the achievement of excellence in our education system. For far too long, our children, while receiving a good education, some might argue, haven’t been pushed in a way where they could enact their full potential, with the help of the school system. It is important for any Bill that the Government on the other side of these benches may propose, that the notion of excellence be the primary motive behind such reforms. If it’s the case, then this Bill would receive the full approval of the Tory Party.”

This position was later repeated at the Imperial Diet by the Shadow Education Secretary, Robert Billinghay, who stated in his address the following statement.

“During the whole existence of the Conservative and Nationalist Party, we’ve continued to support any position meant towards reforming the academic system towards one orientated towards the achievement of excellence within that system. The proposed Bill, before us in Parliament seems to be hinted towards the achievement of excellence within the education system, while at the same time, proposing to continue the development of pupils by allowing families to send their children to clubs or sports clubs after school. [...]. The Tory Parliamentary Party is currently favourable to this Bill.”

But what is exactly the Primary Education Financing and Overhaul Act? This is an Act, drafted and proposed by the Secretary of State for Education to modify the structure of the education system in Luthori, all of it? No. The Pryce Ministry decided to enact a “four-step” program, with the primary school system being the first to see any form of reform by the Government. Mr. Pryce (unrelated to the PM), Education Secretary announced that his Bill, during a debate in Parliament in this subject, would be one which would “draw consensus” from most parties in Parliament. The Act presented in the Diet before the final voting was consisting of the following policies. (1) - the Administration would conduct a gradual reduction of time spent by pupils in school, passing from 8 hours a day (traditionally between 8:45 AM to 4 PM (CLT)) to a more reduced school day, passing from an average of 8 hours to a more average of 6 hours. The Government privileges the start hour of 9 AM to 3 PM (average 5:30 hours). This reduction of hours from 7:25 hours per day to 5.30 per day, a reduction of 1.45 hours in a primary school student’s schedule would bring the average time a child spends in a school during a week from 35 hours a week on average to just 28 hours on average. (2) - currently, the school system allows for students to go from school at 12 AM on Wednesdays, the Government seeks to uniformise the proposed policy of reducing school schedules, while remaining above the 30-hour long limit, as such, the reforms plans for an increase of the time of school during Wednesdays, with an increase of over 2 hours, with the hour of ending passing from 12 PM to 2 PM.

These are only the great lines in terms of this Bill, but the ramifications of it have been planned out through the Bill, like lunch times being modified to fit with the new schedule, more offers of activities after school being proposed to students, the public school transport being left to the Grand Duchies to handle, the education program being modified per levels and an decrease of lessons being instructed is expected to take place, with a focus being planned on the education of classes such as history, foreign languages, Luthorian, mathematics, geography and sciences classes. The implementation of this Act, coming after the approval of the Budget by the Senate after concessions coming out from the Labour-Liberal Government to the Conservative majority in the Senate.

@TheWeeklyTelegraph

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The Financial Inquirer (Luthori)

Empress-Queen Set to Visit the Commonwealth of Mordusia; Marking 20th Anniversary of Her Ascension...

7th, January 5570

Randworth, Capital of the Randworth Capital Territory and of the Commonwealth of Mordusia, here pictured: the Mordusian Parliament Building.

Fort William - The Orange Palace officially announced that, in response to the rumors and offers, Her Majesty the Empress [Audrey] and His Imperial Highness the Prince-Consort [Richard] would visit the Commonwealth of Mordusia after repetitive offers coming from down south. The Mordusian Federal Government recently unveiled statues of former Luthorian and Commonwealth sovereigns and asked Her Majesty, in her capacity as Queen of Mordusia to come to inaugurate them. The Imperial Government in Fort William recently visited Mordusia in an effort to reassure trade ties and overall, excellent relations between Randworth and Fort William.

Nonetheless, it should be noted that significant efforts have been made from both sides to make this relationship more “special”. Luthori and Mordusia’s bond is considered to be “far-reaching” with both countries pursuing active cordial and always welcomed collaborations with one another, especially on the economic field where the Commonwealth seeks to increase its overall wealth by ascending as a new, upstart power in the Balance of Powers and by finding new partners in the economic field. Nonetheless, cooperation between both nations have been increased due to geopolitical alignment, as the Aldegarian State north of Mordusia faded into irrelevancy and complications pointed out to its system of governance, Luthori felt right to “diversify” the trade between Luthori and Seleya, and as nations such as Gaduridos, Kanjor, Likatonia became Luthorian trade partners, traditional strong trade relationships between the Empire and other Seleyan states (Lodamun, Aldegar) either continued to decrease due to issues within their relationship or due to a loss of confidence within that nation.

Her Majesty the Empress’ visit to the Commonwealth would mark her third visit to the nation during her 20 years of reign. The first being on the first months of her reign when she was crowned by the Archbishop of Randworth to become Queen of Mordusia, the second one happened quire recently with the celebration of the Queen’s 10 years of reign over Luthori and Mordusia, finally this state visit from the Sovereign in her far-away realm would mark her first Tour of the Commonwealth.

The Orange Palace announced that Her Majesty the Queen would mark her State Visit to Mordusia by making a tour of all Five Provincial Capitals and the Capital Territory of Randworth. This is an historic moment as during these successive visits to every Provincial Capitals, Her Majesty would open each Sessions of the Provincial Parliaments by making a Speech, written by herself, a rare occurrence when it is known that the traditional “Crown Address to Parliament” also known as the “Throne Speech” is usually written by both countries’ governments and read by either the Governor-General (Mordusia) or the Empress (Luthori). During her stay, the Monarch would reside alongside her husband in the Randworth Royal Palace, the official Mordusian royal residence which is used as the working center of the Office of the Governor-General.

His Imperial Highness, Prince Louis, Duke of Stewart, youngest child of Prince Alexander and Princess Mary, has been residing in Mordusia ever since the age of 15, studying in high school in the country. It is to be expected that he’ll be present during his aunt’s Tour. Many observers have pointed him to be appointed as the next Governor-General of Mordusia, in the case that the current Governor-General either dies, resigns or is declared to be incapable of performing his duties. Yet, as per with the Mordusian Constitution, the appointment process for a new Governor-General, must at least pass through the Mordusian Parliament in Randworth if appointed by the Prime Minister under the Crown of Mordusia's Authority. Still, no constitutional provisions is planned in the case that the Queen/King of Mordusia, under the full responsabilities enabled to them as per with the Powers of the Office of the Crown of Mordusia, appoints unilateraily a Governor-General. Case to follow closely.

Other than this Tour, the Palace announced that no “great” celebrations would be undertaken to celebrate the 2 decade-long reign of the Luthorian Empress. The Palace stated that if there is celebrations, these would be “small and discreet”, continuing with the Monarchy’s tradition of small and orderly events, which would be continued during this Year’s Jubilee, besides, it should be noted the Orange Palace hinted the Silver Jubilee of the Sovereign, which would be held in 5575, commemorating the 25th Anniversary of Audrey’s Ascension to the Throne would see more landmarked events happening through the Realms.

@TheFinancialInquirer

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The Times (Luthori)

High Chancellor Meets With Prime Minister in Crown Street.

13th, January 5567

Fort William - Luthori’s Prime Minister, Carolina Pryce met today with her Lourennais counterpart, High Chancellor Arnualt. During an highly-anticipated visit from the Lourennais Head of Government to Luthori, the first in almost a hundred years, the Prime Minister met with her Lourennais counterpart at 10 Crown Street. The High Chancellor was received warmly by the 52-year old Prime Minister at her official residence in the political centre of Fort William. While official discussions were centred around the establishment of cordial (at least) relations between Fort William and Eroncourt, some key agreements were signed between the Luthorian Premier and her Canrillaise counterpart, especially in the domains of science and military collaboration.

It is widely known that, in the aftermath of the Hubris War, bilateral relations between Fort William and Eroncourt had, for the most part, already broken down. The final nail in the coffin was the outbreak of that said War and the failure of negotiations between Luthorian and Canrillaise officials before the War. In the aftermath of the War, Crown Street broke down any form of contact between Eroncourt and Fort William, while resuming trade relations, albeit in a more reduced trend than before the War. This state of affairs continued and even strengthened with the “Second Loss” of Yishelem, this time to the Lourennais Emperor and the House of Orléans-Vasser. Recently, some form of collaboration was seen between the Imperial Foreign Intelligence Agency and the Royal Intelligence and Security Agency (RISA). Both agencies worked closely on the matter of Claudio Bravo, former Luthorian-Egelian Chancellor of the Exchequer, who fled Luthori after being indicted by the Justice Department. Since then, Mr. Bravo is presumed dead, having been on the run for 20+ years, a huge embarrassment to the security apparatus in this country.

With this context, High Chancellor Arnault’s visit to Luthori was widely awaited by the Imperial Government, who seemed eager to restart having some sort of cordial relations between the Palace of Oisy and the Bismarck Palace, as this newly-found state of affairs would help to the continuation and safeguard of currently helding trade links between Lourenne and Luthori, as after all, Lourenne is Luthori’s biggest client in Dovani.

The Prime Minister and High Chancellor held some form of talks within Crown Street, the atmosphere was dubbed as being “quite pleasant” by witnesses of the talks. Several agreements were agreed upon by the High Chancellor and Prime Minister, one of which was signed by the Secretary of State for Science and Technological Advancement and the High Chancellor. It plans for the sending of some top-Luthorian scientists in Lourenne to work with the Royal Space Agency in the development of Luthori’s space program. Another agreement which was shaked upon by the countries’ leaders was collaboration in the military field, with Luthorian companies being asked upon by Crown Street to help the Lourennais with the construction of their nuclear-powered submarine. Other than that, no further agreements were signed and high hopes were placed in Parliament for this visit to be the beginning of the rebuilding of Luthorian-Canrillaise bilateral relations.

The Foreign Secretary only responded to these hopes: “It is the continuation of the policy that has been enacted years ago”, referring to the lengthy process of reconciliation through proxies, policy used by the Luthorians in regards to Canrille. The Prime Minister’s Office stated that Pryce was “very likely” to oversee a visit to Lourenne to “lock” the “frozen” diplomatic and commercial situation between Eroncourt and Fort William before the next elections, opening the way for further discussions to cool down the existing heat in both nations.

The timing of the Prime Minister’s visit is concerning some analysts, as the next elections are likely to see a Tory majority be swept into Crown Street, mostly due to the Prime Minister’s unpopularity and the people’s tiredness with soon-to-be 15 years of Labour government. It seems very likely that with polls continuing to be quite negative for the National Labour Party that the Prime Minister would be, apart from trying to achieve the objectives written beforehand, trying to prepare the field for the (likely) incoming Tory administration.

@TheTimes

[Ligbruderkrieg]

The Economic Inquirer | WFH Group (Luthori)

MABC Announces “Considering” New Seleyan Base of Operations.

April 7th, 5571

Fort William - The Martwick-Alchester Banking Corporation (MABC) proclaimed that in the aftermath of discussions having been held at the highest-level of their corporation, that they would begin to “consider” the construction of a new base of operations in the Seleyan continent, where it seems that Luthorian commercial and economic interests are becoming even more stronger progressively over the years. The MABC’s Head of Global Operations, Henry Habbordain expressed the company’s wishes towards the construction of a base of operations, from which the company could lead its operations in Seleyan countries, location from which the MABC is currently plotting the next expansion of its operations, in a continent which has been, for now, untapped by Luthorian financial institutions. Mr. Habbordain stated that this priority was recently acted upon because of the increased economic potential of the Seleyan continent, with nations increasingly rising towards economic prosperity, Luthorian bankers looked with envy, those who had avoided integrating themselves to the Aldegarian economic system due to its apparent complexity and mistrust coming from the Luthorian side to Aldegar. In contrast, the Luthorian shipping industry already established itself in the Seleyan continent, with some bases of operations being established in Aldegar, Likatonia and others.

Nonetheless, a reflection on the establishment of a base of operations to handle the subsequent arrangements that are to be made in the subject of individual countries expansion of the MABC’s financial operations. And although reflexions has, for now, been focused around the construction of a base of operations in X or Y country, this isn’t to be excluded regardless. On to the topic of the construction of that said base, not a lot of countries are currently expected to become home of the Luthorian company’s headquarters in Seleya, hints were pointed out towards the Republic of Gaduridos, which is currently expanding its economy by engaging in state-backed projects, greatly benefiting it, or the Commonwealth of Mordusia, Luthori’s traditional ally in the South of the Continent, and more surprisingly, the Republic of Likatonia has been pointed out as a potential base of operations in Northern Seleya, although it should be noted that no countries has been, as of now, decided as an official location for the MABC’s upcoming base.

“We want to observe the situation closely and choose the location of our headquarters in Seleya based on these observations on the economic health of each country in the continent”, stated John Wilbur, head of the Financial Analytics Department of the MABC. That being said, as always, with the establishment of one company in another country, it seems that the MABC’s competitors are currently looking forward to establishing themselves in foreign nations too, especially after years of consolidation of their control over Luthori.

Other than that, it seems increasingly likely that some foreign companies would see an increased participation coming from Luthorian corporations, either in increased participation through the stock markets or through the buying of some parts of these said companies, depending on the companies’ interests.

A new wave is coming, that being a Red Wave, dominated by greed and power.

@TheEconomicInquirer

[Ligbruderkrieg]

The International Inquirer

Bank of Luthori Reaffirms Pound's Supremacy in Luthorian Commerce; FWSE Negatively Reacts to Vascanian Piracy.

15th, February 5571

Fort William - Today, the Bank of Luthori’s Governor announced the continuation of the Luthorian policy in terms of the usage of foreign currencies. Ever since the rise of the Lourennais (later considered to be the Canrillaise) Franc (soon-to-be renamed to “Fleur”) rose as the world’s currency, thanks to its usage within the Yeudi Neset, Luthori’s policy towards the usage of that currency in its commercial deals have been fluctuant towards the years, which the “non-usage” answer being the most common among all the successive Cabinets. While many hoped that the recent “heating” in relations between Luthori and Lourenne may have pushed Luthori towards a more conciliatory approach towards the LFR and its usage, their hopes were dashed by the Governor of the Bank of Luthori, Jonathan Wachford, who today appeared in a press conference detailing the Luthori’s policy towards usage of the LFR and other foreign currencies when dealing with other states in commercial partnerships. While this announcement was expected by many financial analysts, it sure was underwhelming, as Mr. Wachford announced that the Luthorian Government, upon which he was acting on their behalf, had confirmed the continuation of the “Pound First” policy. This monetary policy was established during the Ministry of Lord Derby, who established that policy in the aftermath of the Lost Souls War and the economic fallout that ensued, in order to protect Luthorian businesses from foreign competitions coming from Luthori’s already developed network of trade. This monetary policy was continued by successive Governments in the aftermath of the economic crisis and the downfall of relations with the Canrillaise Empire, even to this day, Luthori is still using that policy that was first meant to be “temporary” as stated by the Derby Ministry.

Fort William confirmed that the Currency Policy in place would remain intact, and that the Government would continue to enforce its “Pound First” policy in trade relations, although, if needed, it would use other currencies to facilitate the trade between nations, namely the LFR. Although, it has been confirmed that Luthori would push for the usage of the Pound for exchange between Luthori and another nation in priority, just as the Luthorians have done for a century now.

In other financial news, the recent information about the pirate attack on a tanker on the southwestern Vascanian region has come to exercise a ripple effect on the Fort William Stock Exchange, who has reacted negatively to the news, with some companies losing a lot of value overall in the stock market. This comes at a time when the Government was considering pursuing the privatization of both Imperial Gas Company and the Imperial Oil Company, also known as Luthori Petroleum. The Chancellor of the Exchequer stated that these goals were still “very much on the table”, when asked about the possibility of a government back-down in face of opposition coming from Labour’s left. The Tories, under Jesse Lawrence’s leadership, seem inclined to refuse the Bill as well.

In the FWSE, the day ended with a loss of 0.21% in overall value for the stock exchange. Stock Exchange analysts seem to be inclined that the whole week would follow a similar trend, as high-level shipping or oil/gas companies are affected negatively by this shelling.

Finally, the Ward Financial Holdings’ CEO is said to have met with Likatonian officials on the subject of creating a base of operations in Likatonia, this comes after serious concerns that the Martwick-Alchester Banking Corporation may be considering implementing its own Seleyan BoS in the Commonwealth of Mordusia, meanwhile both Cullsworth Finance Inc. and Stalward Financial Security (former Baklewood) are considering other locations, namely and respectively, Gaduridos and Lodamun.

@TheInternationalInquirer