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The Constitutional Monarchy
of
Alunya
Liverfool, Alunya -- Queen and Regent Matilda II of the House of McMaster, Kingdom of McMasterdonia, made her first official state visit to the Constitutional Monarchy of Alunya today. Queen Matilda was welcomed at the Pirouetti Royal Palace in Liverfool by Her Royal Majesty, Queen Junia of the House of Olivotto. The two heads of state, both presiding over liberal democracies as constitutional monarchs, exchanged mice and slow blinks in a manner of greeting.
Queen Matilda was the first foreign head of state ever invited to address the newly formed Parliament of the Constitutional Monarchy of Alunya. Although the constitutional government itself is relatively new, and shares sovereignty with the Kingdom of Alunya on alternating days, the McMasterdonian monarch did not mince words when addressing long standing grievances between the two nations.
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Queen Matilda II of McMasterdonia as she is introduced by Queen Junia for the first address of a foreign head of state to the Alunyan Parliament.
While acknowledging the cooperative effort between McMasterdonia and Alunya in their respective lead roles in the construction of the McMasterdonian Canal, Queen Matilda addressed more recent concerns that allegedly are the result of errors in the canal's planning and design. Her Royal Majesty informed the Members of Parliament that the increased salinity resulting from the sea-level design had an adverse impact on many native species, As an example, she pointed out the likely extinction of Hansonn's Fishing Cat, a subspecies that was particularly dependent on the now extinct Tyrellian Barking Frog which was native to the McMasterdonian inland sea when it was only slightly briny. She informed her audience that a locked canal would have done much to moderate the salinity.
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Her Majesty Queen Junia (center), perplexed, looks to Minister for Foreign Affairs Giovanni Lobianco (right) for guidance as Queen Matilda of McMasterdonia speaks on environmental responsibility in an address to the Alunyan Parliament. Crown Prince Pasquale is seated at left.
The address continued with an admonishment over the abandonment of Coaling and Auxiliary Terminal Hayres, a former naval base leased to Alunya upon the completion of the canal. Queen Matilda advised parliament that much equipment and many structures had been abandoned in place. These were not only a concern as point sources of pollutants and an eyesore, but also a haven for fugitives from McMasterdonian justice. As the site was still under lease and therefore under the sovereign jurisdiction of Alunya, the Kingdom of McMasterdonia was powerless to do much about it.
Her Majesty did have the good grace to mention that there were still significant business ties between the two states, and many more opportunities as well. She offered the hands of McMasterdonians in a partnership to address these matters. Queen Matilda stated that only nations on friendly terms could feel comfortable enough to speak so honestly about such issues, and that she looked forward to resolving them to a mutual benefit.
The speech was lukewarmly received with subdued purrs. Spirits picked up considerably after a luncheon held in Queen Matilda's honor in Parliamentary Celebration Hall. Members of Parliament used the opportunity to digest the McMasterdonian monarch's words, and by the conclusion of the meal were in a sufficiently bouyant word to congratulate the Queen on speaking so frankly.
Upon return to the palace, Prime Minister Dottoressa Valeria Petrini had a private audience with Her Majesty Queen Matilda. The McMasterdonian monarch then had a private meeting with Queen Junia, attended by Crown Prince Pasquale and several cats. Both the Prime Minister and the Queen refused to elaborate on the discussions, calling them frank and insightful.
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Prime Minister Dottoressa Valeria Petrini, left, and Queen Junia Olivotto, right, in a courtyard of the Regia Palacio Pirouetti Royal Palace, comparing notes on their respective private conversations with Queen Matilda of McMasterdonia.
The subsequent televised press conference was more illuminating. Qeeen Matilda reiterated that there have always been strong business ties between the two countries. She pointed out that, as an example, McMasterdonia imported screws, bolts, nails and nuts as manufactured products, grains as agricultural products, and coal, kaolin and cement as extracted products. In exchange, Alunya imports paper, plastic pellets and sheeting, aluminum, and furniture; beans, fruits and truck vegetables; and natural gas, iron ore and lumber.
Queen Junia touched upon the controversy surrounding CAT Hayres, the abandoned Alunya naval base in McMasterdonia's inland waters. Her Majesty stressed that while talks would also need to include the Kingdom of Alunya, Queen Matilda had suggested that the former base be remediated and repurposed. "Queen Matilda has suggested that CAT Hayres may be an ideal location for a regional disaster relief organization," Queen Junia said. "I have suggested it be called Mass Emergency Relief Mutual Aid, or MERMAID, but any name will be up to the charter member states."
Her Royal Majesty Queen Matilda added, "Queen Junia had suggested the base's use for a regional coordinating centre of police. But we agreed that this may be better implemented in a decentralized structure, with each nation responsible for coordinating some area of law enforcement, such as financial crimes, narcotics trafficking, human exploitation or art theft." She added quickly, "I understand Alunyans are particularly concerned with criminal international animal trafficking and petnapping, for instance."
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Queen Matilda answers questions about commerce and international policing during a televised press conference in a courtyard of the Regia Palacio Pirouetti Royal Palace in Liverfool, Alunya. Her Majesty addressed concerns including the MERMAID organization, catnapping, and Alunya's nuts.
In other matters, Queen Matilda stressed that McMasterdonia shows no favor in cable landing rights, and that Alunyan companies interested in this will have to file the necessary paperwork required of any other company. Her Majesty added that this point had come up in her conversations with Prime Minister Petrini.
Also discussed with the Prime Minister was the Hansonn's Fishing Cat, as Queen Matilda had mentioned it before parliament. It was tentatively agreed that the Small Cat Research and Preservation Society in Ronronne would be welcome to conduct a field survey in McMasterdonia to see if the subspecies was still extant.
As to joint military training exercises, it is a matter that will require input from the heads of the various military branches on both sides. She noted that Alunya, possessing a unique system of weights and measures, had armaments that were not compatible with most nations of the North Pacific, including McMasterdonia, and that this greatly complicated logistics.
Queen Junia added that the Constitutional Monarchy was interested in standardization, having already adopted international standards for some areas of production and for containerization. She acknowledged that the armaments question could make exercises difficult, but that much could be learned from each other.
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The lower salon of the Royal Banquet Hall of the Regia Palacio Pirouetti Royal Palace in Liverfool is prepared for the State Dinner featuring Queen Matilda of McMasterdonia as the guest of Qheen Junia.
Upon the conclusion of the press conference, the two Monarchs left to prepare for the formal State Dinner, to which only select guests and some cabinet ministers were invited. In the interests of open discussion among those attending, the press was specifically excluded.
The following morning, at the press conference at the airport prior to departure, Queen Matilda publicly thanked Queen Junia for the hospitality shown to Her Majesty and to Foreign Minister Narles on behlaf of the Constitutional Monarchy of Alunya. "We wish to have you convey our thanks also to your father, King Guglielmo, whom we look forward to meeting in three of your days and two of our own," the McMasterdonian monarch stated. "It has been a very productive visit, and we believe that we can only strengthen our ties from this point forward."
Queen Junia thanked her guest for her kind words, saying, "There is little doubt that although there has been some unpleasantness in our mutual past, that better times await us. I personally look forward to seeing you again at my father's twenty-first coronation anniversary. Until we may meet again, may God have you in wise keeping."
