Sitting at the council chamber was a middle-aged, brown-haired woman, Breochtife Æscfoord, the diplomat that was chosen to represent the Eiyglish government in the PGU. She sits with a calm demeanour, but within is a cold, disturbed shiver through her spine as she listens to Stöcker’s words. This wasn’t anything Æscfoord had expected in her five years as the realm’s representative in the Union. But then again, no one else expected this either, for as far as the government, from the High Chancellery and the Foreign Office, to ambassadors and consuls knew, Waltalriche was a theocratic authoritarian regime. Standards of living were adequate, according to public knowledge and intelligence reports from the Staatsfeiligheidsdiynst*, but this was outweighed by the country’s government structure, the lack of many rights and freedoms, and the appalling human rights record. All of this meant that Waltalriche wasn’t merely under authoritarian rule, or that it posed a potential threat to PGU allies like Andrenne, its government was antithetical to what are sometimes described as Eiyglish values; the West Gotic country in Auroria is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, a nation that is largely secular, mostly tolerant, meritocratic, and a welfare state. The manner in which the Waltalricher monarch and the clergy maintained their control and the many values espoused by the regime were and are opposite to what many, though not all, in Eiygland believe.
Æscfoord would listen in until Stöcker gave out the ostensible reason for Waltalriche’s application. She had intended to wait for more representatives to speak out for or against it. Hearing this, she would abide no longer and turned to the microphone to speak.
“We in Eiygland are not convinced that Walteriche has the interests of the Gotic community at heart,” she bespoke in her accented, but clear Mercanti. “Hieer Stöcker says that his country seeks to foster peace and unity within Gothis, that they seeks a ‘more peaceful and prosperous age’ of ‘cooperation’ between member-states of this Union. Yet, the reality falls short of such aspirational goals. Honourable members, this is a nation that is deemed hostile to Andrenne, a fellow member-state. Why is this? It is because Waltalriche is governed under an authoritarian regime, a state which is controlled by its King and its Courantist clergy, which together curtail its citizen’s freedoms and cruelly suppresses human rights.”
She continues: “It aligns itself with states that likewise authoritarian, some of which the most repressive and tyrannical in this world,” she takes care not to refer to any such country by name. “Waltalriche’s actions in the past and present are contrary to the purpose of establish peace and unity with any nation, let alone with other Gotic nations. It’s the opinion of Her Majesty’s Government that the presence of Waltalriche in the Union would be to the detriment of the Union, and by extension, the interests of the Gotic community as a whole. Therefore, we in Eiygland are strongly opposed to the Waltalricher application.”
Æscfoord would take a sip of water as she finishes speaking, awaiting a response from other representatives in the council chamber.
*Staatsfeiligheiddlsdiynst (State Security Service): Eiygland's foreign and domestic intelligence agency.
