An Interview with Funkadelia

I am joined today by Funkadelia, the Chairman of the People’s Republic of Lazarus. Thanks for joining me today, Funkadelia.

It's not a problem. I'm glad to be here and answer your questions

So, you decided to step down as Chairman. What made you reach this decision?

It was a combination of a lot of factors. Not the least of which was my dwindling amount of time that I have been able to commit to the position. However, there are other pressing factors that led to my decision. I will admit, I was considering stepping down for the past month or so now, but I think now is the most appropriate time to.

The war ended with Osiris, and I was left guiding Lazarus through the next period of peace. However, in my opinion I just felt some crucial change within Lazarus. Everything simply feels different than when I was first elected. Perhaps it is my newfound experience or it is something different. Either way, I feel that it is time for me to pass on the torch and allow someone else to take the reigns to continue to keep the keep the region full of robust activity and culture.

I feel that for some amount of time I have been lacking in that respect, so I feel that the region can be helped more if someone else with new ideas and new ways of doing things takes charge and brings Lazarus to new waters. I am not retiring from Nationstates, and I fully intend to continue to be active in Lazarus, and will be happy to help the next Chairman during their administration.


Have you enjoyed serving as Chairman as Lazarus? Perhaps you could share some of the highlights from your term in office?

Serving as the Chairman has been the high point of my time in Nationstates by a *very* wide margin. I feel that I have served the region well during my tenure and I am pleased with how it turned out on the whole.

I think the top highlight from my service was the Regional Sovereignty conference. Despite the disagreements between some of the regions, I believe that we got some serious work done in that realm, and I hope Lazarenes take that position and run with it, as Regional Sovereignty is something that is fundamentally very important to the People's Republic at its root. A runner up is easily the peace with Osiris, and the situation surrounding it. That was a lot of fun and it produced a very critical peace deal.

What was the greatest challenge of being Chairman?

Just as the ending of the war with Osiris was a high point, the beginning was a low point. At the time, I was constantly being trashed by the big name imperialists, and Lazarus was about to be tossed into a war over something entirely nonsensical. It may have not been that difficult from an objective point of view, but it was personally hard to keep my own sanity during that time.

War was being declared over my cabinet for obviously personal reasons, not region v. region reasons, because all of the members of my cabinet were also in Milograd's cabinet, and things were normal during that time. There were no sabre rattlers. Suddenly, when I became Delegate, the story was different.

At the same time, we were shifting forums, and that was drawing a lot of ire from our own citizens, so that wasn't helping the situation either. I sincerely worried about the continuation of the PRL at that point, in all honesty.

Did the war declaration take you by surprise?

Yes, it did. Mostly because of the reasons I stated. My State Council was very similar to Milograd's, but suddenly Osiris had decided to declare war over my selection, which was mostly holdovers from Milograd's time. I did not take the bit about Karpathos' "threat" seriously, and still don't. Karpathos says things like this to everyone on a regular basis, that's his nature.
So yes, it's safe to say I was a bit blind sighted about the prospect of war.

Had there been any efforts by the Osiran Government to discuss their concerns with you, prior to the declaration of war?

No. I received no contact whatsoever. I prefer dialogue and pacific settlements of disputes to war and military action, especially as Lazarus is a region that is committed to not aggressing on regions. But there was not even an avenue for that, nobody brought any concerns to me, it was just sudden.

Did you attempt to discuss the declaration of war with the leadership of Osiris, prior to it's ratification before the Deshret?

I did not. They didn't seem willing as it was. I was mostly trying to get my own house in order in preparation for it. I will admit that was probably a fault, however we never sought to escalate matters in the first place. I figure that because they had the dispute with us, they should have contacted us, or more specifically *me* with it privately before they decided to make a decision like that.

Were you surprised or disappointed by the responses of other regions to the declaration?

I was probably the most disappointed with TEP's handling of it. In my opinion they totally mismanaged the entire thing, and their causing of tension with Lazarus was absolutely unwarranted. Most of the other regions seemed to fall where I expected them to. I anticipated a lot more out of the other side though, I must say. Not to say I was necessarily disappointed, but myself and my State Council and the Lazarene Security Directorate had expected a far more expansive campaign for the delegate's seat, but instead we had a coup attempt that was easily spotted.

Do you think the regional sovereignty conference strengthened the position of Lazarus in the war? And, more generally speaking, how do you think Lazarus was perceived during the war by other regions?

I think the unity of so many regions definitely supported the Lazarene position in this. Also, the absolute debacle at the hands of the Osiran government due to the attendance of some regions to the conference really helped us out on that front.

Okay, thanks for the honest and detailed answers Funkadelia. I will move on now to some reflections on your past term and plans for the future.

Do you have any regrets from your term in the Chairmanship?

I do have a few. I think that one of the major ones was my mishandling of the group that left Lazarus close to the beginning of the term. With the exception of Ikania, I feel like that group of folks could have contributed more to Lazarus if I had given them the opportunity. They were a total thorn in my side, but I really mishandled what happened. I do not regret removing Llamas as Vice-Chairman, but I do feel I should have used less grave words when I learned of what they were doing. I'd say that that is my biggest lingering regret over my whole term.

What will you miss most about being Chairman and Delegate?

Being able to have such a direct impact on Lazarus as a whole. I liked to think of myself as the Chairman was supposed to be: Primus inter pares, first among equals. I never really felt like I was very far above the citizens, soldiers, congressmen, and governors of Lazarus, and I felt like I really got along with everyone. I really enjoyed being able to take peoples' inputs and put those into policy for the region.

What do you believe is the greatest challenge for the People’s Republic? Do you believe that the People’s Republic is a sustainable form of government that will continue to survive the test of time?

I feel if we're able to keep the place vibrant, then the PRL will be around for quite a long time. It requires a combination of dictatorship and democracy to keep things interesting and stable. I think that the biggest challenge ahead will be just that: to keep things vibrant. We have a lot of potential, but right now Lazarus is hitting a bit of a lull, and I hope that my successor can overcome it and turn it around for the for the better.

Final question, What advice do you have for the next Chairman?

I hope to expand on this on the 21st, the day they take office, but I will be brief here: The next Chairman must be strong willed and creative. They should keep the spirit of the PRL in mind, and try to emulate that spirit during their term in office. They should also try as hard as they can to keep Lazarus inclusive and fun for all people.

I didn't really have the creativity (or time) for it, but I believe it would be incredibly beneficial for the next Chairman to have an eye for culture and continue to try to develop our culture and make people *want* to be part of Lazarus.

Thanks for joining me today Funkadelia. Congratulations on your term as Chairman of the People’s Republic and I wish you luck with your future. I hope that you will stick around.

Thank you McMasterdonia. It was good to be able to truly speak my mind. I plan on being around. NS will be stuck with me for some time to come And thank you for the well wishes.

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