Highlights of Valkyria and its predecessor states (2015–2019)

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(OOC: As I join Eras from the South Pacific's forum roleplay, I want to familiarize everyone with my country and the events that have shaped it in recent years. I've reformatted these articles and edited out TSP canon to make sure that these stories are compliant with Eras. Enjoy!)

The following are selected news articles from The Qvaitican Cascade, KTN News, and other publications.
 
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THE QVAITICAN CASCADE
THE CENTRE OF ALL QVAITICAN MEDIA, DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN


Wednesday, 09 December, 2015


Issue #171: Margaret Harrison pulling away from Nicole Chancellor, polls say

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STOCKHOLM, QVAIT — Less than a month away from the general election, polls are predicting a landslide favoring the Labor Party. The most recent Rancho poll (1–5 December) shows Labor nominee Margaret Harrison leading Conservative nominee Nicole Chancellor 55% to 37%, with the remaining portion going to minor candidates. The 18-point advantage that Harrison has over Chancellor is one that grew from what was a 7-point lead on 8 November, one month ago. Because of the Labor nominee's performance in the opinion polls, some political analysts are calling the general election before it has even begun.


On 5 January next month, one of these two nominees will become the next President-Elect and eventually the 17th President of Qvait. That is, if the current President makes it to 1 April, 2016. The last two President-Elects, Dmitri Buzinsky and Gabriel West, both resigned during their respective presidencies under the pressure of the Qvaitican people. Corruption in the Qvaitican government had never been a public issue until late 2013. Since then, there have been hundreds of congressional hearings investigating corruption in the government. Even the Qvaitican Congress had been under fire when the judicial branch convicted three congressmen of corruption.


It seems that the majority of Qvaiticans care about three things right now: the economy, terrorism, and corruption. In a Qvaitican News poll, 64% of polltakers said that the Conservatives in office are to blame for the corruption. On the topics of the economy and terrorism, 78% of polltakers said that the economy has been well under Conservative rule, and a weak 42% believes the Conservative leaders are handling terrorism properly. Because of the corruption and the recent rise in terrorist attacks, the Qvaitican people are turning to the Labor Party for solutions and a Harrison victory on 5 January would prove it.
 
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5 January 2016 general election
General election results
Voter turnout: 63.85% (0.63846563), 35.1 million out of 55.0 million eligible voters actually voted

  • Margaret Harrison (Labor), 20,542,631 votes, (58.5%)
  • Nicole Chancellor (Conservative), 12,325,578 votes, (35.1%)
6.5% of the vote went to minority candidates.


By a landslide, Congresswoman Margaret Lloyd Harrison won the election. On 1 April, President Elect Harrison of the Labor Party will be inaugurated as the 17th President of Qvait. When inaugurated on 1 April, she will become the first female President in the history of the country and will also become the third social democratic President.

Senate elections

[img=]https://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/cupat/images/3/3c/2016-17_Senate.png/revision/latest?cb=20151105221028[/img]​

In the above image, blue represents the UCP and red is Labor


During the 2015–16 term, there were 62 Conservatives and 38 Labor. Before the election, seats 3; 7; 11; 15; and 19 of each province was contested. After the election, the Conservatives lost 9 seats, and Labor gained 29. This occurred after the Conservatives lost two seats from Alderney, four in Algonquin, three in Silesia, and two in Unicy. After the District of Stockholm gained representation in the Senate, 18 seats were won by the Labor Party, while the Conservatives picked up 2. The two-thirds voting threshold has increased from 67 to 80 votes. The 2016–17 composition of the Senate is 67 Labor and 53 Conservative. The Labor Party gains the majority in the Senate.

House of Representatives elections

[img=]https://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/cupat/images/4/4c/2016-17_House.png/revision/latest?cb=20151105221615[/img]​

In the above image, blue represents the UCP, red is Labor


During the 2015–16 term, there were 259 Conservatives, 240 Labor, and one independent caucusing with the Conservatives. After the election, the Conservatives lost 52 seats and Labor gained 52. The 2016–17 composition of the House of Representatives is 292 Labor and 207+1 Conservative. The Labor Party gains the majority as well as the largest majority in the history of the House of Representatives for either party.

Gubernatorial elections

During the 2015–16 term, there were four Conservative governors and only one Labor governor. After the election, the Conservatives lost two and Labor gained two. For the 2016–17 term, there will be three Labor and two Conservatives in the National Governor's Association.

Territorial elections

latest

In the above image, blue represents the UCP, red is Labor, green is Green Party, and gray is unaffiliated

The referendum on the political status of Winstonia has been voted on. The results are as follows: 41% voted to maintain its current political status, 31% voted to become a province of Qvait, 22% voted on achieving full independence from Qvait, and 6% voted on none of the above. Prior to the election, the Conservative Party formed the majority government (79 seats) under George Weston. With all 150 seats of Parliament being challenged, the Labor Party successfully challenged the Conservative Party for control of the government by holding more seats. However, being unable to break the 76-seat majority threshold, the Labor Party will form a minority government. The 2016–17 composition of the Winstonian Parliament is 72 Labor, 70 Conservative, 3 Green, and 5 unaffiliated. After being inaugurated by Queen Katelynn Williams, Jonathon Cobb of the Labor Party will be the next Prime Minister of Winstonia.

Summary of presidential and congressional elections

In the 2016 general election, infighting between national conservatives and centrist democrats in the Conservative ranks led to an overall collapse. It was a wave election in favor of the Labor Party, which gained 29 seats in the Senate and 52 in the House of Representatives, gaining its first majority since the formation of the Second Republic of Qvait. In the presidential race, Labor Congresswoman Margaret Lloyd Harrison defeated Conservative Governor Nicole Chancellor in a landslide, becoming the third social democratic President-Elect in the history of the Qvaitican Republic.

Thomas Harris, the Chairman of the United Conservative National Committee (UCNC), said that he was disappointed with the results of the general elections, but "the people [had] spoken." He recognized that the party was not united after a heated primary election between national conservative Nicole Chancellor and centrist democratic Giovanni Giletti, "The party was united under big tent conservatism in 2013, but we did not see any unity in this election. When Central News called the election, Nicole Chancellor called Margaret Harrison to concede the election to her. On the Left, Melissa Marilyn, the Chairwoman of the Labor National Committee (LNC), said she was satisfied with the results and said that "the Labor Party will not disappoint its constituents."
 
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The Qvaitican Cascade
Insight on all Qvaitican affairs


Ahead of 12 July referendum, polls suggest a very pro-merger sentiment
Marshall Lynch, Winstonia correspondent
Sunday, 12 June, 2016


SYDNEY, QVAIT — The Third Republic of Qvait and the Kingdom of Winstonia are about thirty days away from the crucial 12 July referendum that would decide the future of both countries. In a poll of polls conducted in both countries, there is 58 percent and 61 percent approval to the merger in Qvait and Winstonia respectively. If this holds true, the two countries will merge on 1 August, 2016. However, other than the question on the merger, there will be three other equally-important questions on the ballot in both countries.


Should the people of both countries agree on 12 July that there should be a merger, both countries will decide on whether their unified government should form a federal government, constitutional monarchy, or a mix of the two forms of government. The most interesting part of this question is that it could lead to the restoration of the Qvaitican Royal Family, which was violently dissolved by the Fallenists in the June Revolution of 1923. There are three people who are qualified to be the head of a restored Royal Family: former President Jonathan Ambrose, President Margaret Harrison (Ambrose's eldest child), and Melissa Harrison (Margaret Harrison's eldest child). While the first two have publicly declined to lead a restored Royal Family, Melissa Harrison has said that she would accept being the head if it were to be restored.


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Queen Katelynn Williams of Winstonia


If the Qvaitican Royal Family was to be restored and the Winstonian Royal Family also continues to exist, both countries have agreed that the two families would share the throne by rotating control after a monarch abdicates or dies. In a gesture of goodwill, Queen Katelynn Williams of Winstonia will take the throne first, should the people of both countries decide their government should form a constitutional monarchy or a mix with a federal government.


On Referendum Day, President Margaret Harrison's and Prime Minister Jonathan Cobb's leadership will be tested with Question 3, which will decide who shall become the first leader of a unified country. At this time, the Qvaitican head of government is leading in polls conducted in the Kingdom of Winstonia against fellow head of government, Prime Minister Jonathan Cobb. In the month of May, President Harrison's approval rating has jumped to 68 percent, up from 62 percent for the month of April. While Prime Minister Cobb has a 54 percent approval rating from his own electorate, Winstonians are more energized by the Qvaitican leader, recent polls suggest. However, what if neither country agrees on this?


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President Margaret Harrison of Qvait


If the Qvaiticans select President Harrison and the Winstonians select Prime Minister Cobb, or vice versa, that outcome will be accepted as the equivalent of holding an open election. However, it was decided during the announcement of the referendum that, if there was an open election, the head-elect of government would fill the rest of President Harrison's term, but would end on 1 August, 2022, rather than 1 April of that year.

(Author's note: The two nations voted to merge on 1 August 2016 as a constitutional diarchy)
 
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The United Cascade
Insight on all United Kingdom affairs


Chancellor's New Right crushes Giletti's Conservatives in special election
Samantha Weston, Right-wing commentator
Sunday, 11 September, 2016


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Nicole Chancellor


STOCKHOLM, UNITED KINGDOM — The sixth of September was not a happy day for Giovanni Giletti and the Conservative Party, but it was for Nicole Chancellor and The New Right. On Tuesday, The New Right crushed the Conservative Party in the special election, making Nicole Chancellor the Leader of the Opposition and the Conservative Party the smallest right-wing party in the House of Country. Before the election, Giovanni Giletti was the Leader of the Opposition and the Conservative Party held eighteen seats. After the election, the Conservative Party held seven seats. Scott Walters of the Libertarian Party and Nicole Chancellor of The New Right would have been Co-Leaders of the Opposition, but Paul Silva of the National Party chose to caucus with The New Right, making The New Right the leading party in opposition.


When the special election was first called, polls showed the Conservative Party and The New Right were in a dead heat. After Chancellor's remarks about her political opponents, polls showed that The New Right had even more support with a widening gap between the Conservative Party and The New Right. During this time, Giletti stuck to his ideology and tried to convince the right-wing electorate that "Chancellor's kind of politics [was] dangerous." However, it would do no help as The New Right would win sixty percent of the vote and clinched enough seats to take the office of Leader of the Opposition without Scott Walters becoming Co-Leader. After receiving the results of the election, Chancellor thanked her supporters for "coming out in numbers. We have ousted Giletti here in 2016, and we will do the same to Harrison in 2022."


]Now that the election is over, Nicole Chancellor has appointed ten members of The New Right to the House of Country. Drew Tyler, the lone member of the National Party in the House of Country, gave Paul Silva the green light to essentially merge the National Party with The New Right, giving the latter a twelfth seat. There was a quid pro quo between Tyler and Chancellor that allowed Silva to remain in the House of Country as an appointee of Chancellor. In this move, Silva would keep his seat in the House of Country while Silva's twelfth seat would make Chancellor the sole Leader of the Opposition.


Giletti took to the phone to speak on Central News to say that "demagoguery won the election…For the next six years, conservatism in the United Kingdom is dead, and the blame will lie solely on [Nicole] Chancellor." On United News, Chancellor responded, "Those are the words of a sore loser and a person who did not receive the support of his electorate. Conservative populism, not elitism, has won the day…Mark 3 May, 2022 on your calendars, because that is the day that conservative populism will win the chancellorship." Several other party leaders took to the media to voice their disappointment with the election, including Chancellor Margaret Harrison, the leader of the Labor Party, "It's a sad day considering that we will now have twelve demagogues in the House of Country. The Conservative Party has my sympathy."
 
Referendum Day set to spark showdown between Harrison and Chancellor
By Melody Wilkerson and Kevin Morgan, KTN
Monday, 17 April 2017

Stockholm (KTN) — With the nation's first Referendum Day nearing, one referendum is bound to cause a showdown between the Chancellor and the Leader of the Opposition. The first referendum on the list, if passed on 2 May, would revise the Constitution to turn the tricameral Parliament into a bicameral legislature, a Citizens' Assembly and National Assembly. As such, a legislative election will occur on Sunday, 11 June to fill the National Assembly. Even though Margaret Harrison's party and coalition with The Greens enjoy comfortable majorities in all three chambers of Parliament, polls conducted by Lemon Research show that the voters are not interested in having a tricameral legislature, the only one of its kind in the world. According to the polls, voters believe that tricameralism leads to a slower, inefficient process of passing legislation. Another concern is possible corruption of the process that leads to the ignoration of constituents' concerns.

With Referendum 1 being supported by 76 percent of respondents, it appears inevitable that Chancellor Harrison and Opposition Leader Nicole Chancellor will be at war once again. Last year, Nicole Chancellor set the tone when she successfully broke the United Conservative Party in half and founded The New Right. On 6 September, she took it a step further when she crushed a Conservative Party led by then-Opposition Leader Giovanni Giletti to become the Leader of the Opposition herself. However, Nicole Chancellor's position as the Leader of the Opposition held little power to slow down Harrison's agenda as the latter's coalition and the leftist wing of Parliament as a whole held enough seats to quash any and all opposition from the right.

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Nicole Chancellor at the February 2017 Qvaitican Nationalist Summit​

In a poll conducted by Lemon Research on 12–15 April, the results show a massive deconsolidation of the Labor Party and The Greens, which forms the coalition of the government. In the House of Districts, the Labor Party holds 40.1 percent of the vote share, but the poll shows the same party holding only 15.6 percent of the vote share in a theoretical National Assembly. As for The Greens, which holds 14.3 percent of the vote share in the House of Districts, the party would only hold 7.1 percent of the vote share in a National Assembly. Many of the votes, which would have gone to the Labor Party, now go to the recently-formed Populists of the Left and the Socialist Party. The overall vote share of the left drops dramatically from 59.4 percent to 48.5 percent in the poll.

On the right side of the spectrum, there is an opposite, and quite surprising, reaction with a consolidation in favor of The New Right. If the election was held today, The New Right's vote share would increase from 14.3 percent to 38.7 percent. The poll shows more voters on the right having sympathy for The New Right's anti-globalist cause, with the Conservative and Centrist Democratic Parties suffering a crushing defeat. It is a clear signal that the right has drifted even further and become much more nationalist. This shift also signals caution for Harrison's party and her agenda. If The New Right secures more than 40 percent of the vote share in a theoretical National Assembly, that would mean filibuster after filibuster, which can only be stopped with 60 percent of the votes, according to legislative rules as mandated by the Constitution.

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Margaret Harrison at the March 2017 Annual Conference for Social Democracy​

If Harrison is forced upon such a position, it would mean having to compromise on some of her social democratic values in order to win over centrist democrats and conservatives, which would be a tall order in and of itself. When asked about the recent polls, Executive Press Secretary Ivan Jennings chose not to comment. Sources in the Executive Building state that there is growing discontent among Harrison's top aides because of the numbers that came out of the recent poll. These same sources would single out Lara Riley, the Legislative Affairs Director, who reportedly asked Harrison to 'drop the world government agenda.' This would be opposite to Michael Mendez, Chief of Staff, who said on Central News that Harrison still wants to 'lay out the groundwork for a world government.'

In a March 2017 report released by the Electoral Commission, The New Right led and set a party record after raising $59 million in one month, far ahead of the Labor Party's $27 million. It just shows that The New Right is preparing for a massive campaign operation in the leadup to a possible election on 11 June. Coupled with excellent polling numbers, Nicole Chancellor may have bigger plans than just simply having enough votes to filibuster and hopes to have an oppositional majority to completely block Harrison's agenda. In a meeting with voters in Aurora's fourth constituency on 14 April, Nicole Chancellor said, "You might as well consider the current Parliament a lame duck and, as such, major pieces of legislation should not be passed until the next Parliament convenes."

However, Referendum 1 is the least of Harrison's worries. The New Right-sponsored Referendum 4, which would be a nonbinding resolution in opposition to any world charter, will serve as an official indicator whether the voters support Harrison's world government agenda. Sources in the Executive Building say that Referendum 4 is 'make or break' for Harrison. Polling conducted by Lemon Research shows that there is an even divide on Referendum 4, with 14 percent of respondents undecided. Jeremy Christensen, one of Nicole Chancellor's closest allies, said Harrison should resign if Referendum 4 passes. Executive Press Secretary Ivan Jennings said, "[Harrison] is confident that Referendum 4 will fail." If Referendum 4 passes, there will be significant doubt on whether Harrison can press on with her agenda.

KTN's Bryant Aguilar and Haajid al-Shaban contributed to this report.
 
Margaret Harrison suffers major setback, massive showdown scheduled for 11 June
By Levi Hodges, Allie Vega, and Lyle Williams, KTN
Wednesday, 3 May 2017

Stockholm (KTN) — In the span of a little over 24 hours, the political landscape of the United Kingdom has dramatically changed. Only one day after the most consequential political event in modern politics, Chancellor Margaret Harrison has suffered a significant blow to a major aspect of her political agenda, Opposition Leader Nicole Chancellor has been gifted an electoral opportunity to embarrass her globalist opponents, Foreign Secretary Avianna Aldridge has resigned and will run to lead the legislative wing of the Labor Party, Giovanni Giletti has resigned as leader of the Conservative Party and transferred leadership to former Qvaitican President Jonathan Victor, and the Centrist Democratic Party is pulling out all stops with King consort and former Qvaitican President Victor Cutter announcing his return to politics. All of this comes as a legislative election is scheduled to occur on Sunday, 11 June.

The first major news to break on the night of 2 May was the passage of Referendum 1, which revises the Constitution by disbanding the tricameral Parliament in favor of a bicameral legislature, a Citizens' Assembly whose seats will be filled randomly among UK citizens and a National Assembly whose seats will be filled by an 11 June legislative election. The change from a parliamentary system to a semi-presidential system and the election that follows comes at a bad time for Chancellor Margaret Harrison as she just began implementing the bulk of reforms that she promised in her election campaign in 2015. Having been President of Qvait from 1 April 2016, then Chancellor of the United Kingdom from 1 August 2016, Margaret Harrison's only major achievements have been anti-corruption and campaign finance reform and the incorporation of dental care into the National Health Service. In April, Margaret Harrison's immediate priority was a world charter, but the passage of Referendum 4, albeit a slim majority, has put that indefinitely on hold.

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Margaret Harrison (left) and Taeler Shaw (right) in June 2016​

The passage of Referendum 4, which was authored personally by Nicole Chancellor and sponsored by The New Right, was inopportune for Margaret Harrison because she was just recently negotiating with her counterparts for a world charter. This was the last thing that Margaret Harrison could want, because she was elected President, then as Chancellor, on the promise of a democratic world government. The loss was so disappointing that one political commentator and staunch supporter of Harrison, David Burnette, caught the attention of social media when he said she should resign, "The idea of a one world government was one of the top five priorities for Chancellor Harrison…and that plan went up in flames." Members of The New Right were quick to use Burnette's words against Harrison, with NR's number two, Jeremy Christensen, posting a video of his remarks on social media and writing, "Time for her to go." Early Wednesday morning, some members of Harrison's own party, such as Phillip Guzman, who is considered to be one of the most influential members of the Labor Party, called for her resignation.

Sources in the Executive Building state that Foreign Secretary Avianna Aldridge approached Harrison and asked to resign so that she could lead the legislative wing of the Labor Party through the 11 June election. These sources say that Margaret Harrison 'gave Aldridge her blessing.' Following her resignation, Avianna Aldridge put out a press release stating, "I feel that I would of better service to my country if I ran for a seat in the National Assembly." With Aldridge leaving the executive wing and heading for the legislature, it will be up to her to defend her party against an onslaught from parties on every side of the spectrum which are looking to steal seats from the Labor Party. Polls already show the Labor Party losing a significant amount of its voting share to the Populists of the Left and the Socialist Party, with the former vying for the power of the legislative gavel.

In spite of the numerous calls for her resignation, Margaret Harrison does not seem intent on doing so. In fact, she gave the people of the United Kingdom a promise to issue a binding referendum when there is a complete charter for a world forum. Margaret Harrison would also put her political career on the line, saying, "If you vote not to ratify such a charter, I will immediately resign as Chancellor of the United Kingdom." She highlighted the fact that Referendum 4 was a nonbinding resolution and called its passage a 'message by the people that they want to directly vote on ratifying a charter.' Only time will tell whether Margaret Harrison will win the day or succumb to her wounds that were created Tuesday.

Coinciding with Referendum Day, the Populists of the Left held an election to determine the leader of the party, which would be Taeler Shaw, a former member of the Labor Party. A recent poll conducted by Lemon Research showed that the Populist—Left could outnumber the Labor Party. The Populist—Left's agenda is very similar to the Labor Party but, as the name implies, is more populist and oriented towards agrarianism. If the Populist—Left becomes the largest party of the left after the 11 June legislative election, it would not do very much damage to Margaret Harrison's agenda, but it would mean having to work with a party that is not her own. Taeler Shaw has pledged to form an alliance with the Labor Party, The Greens, and the Socialist Party. Nicholas Courtney, the leader of the Socialist Party, has also made the same pledge, "While the people on the right are fighting amongst each other, this is the perfect time for the left to come together with common values and a common agenda."

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King consort Victor Cutter in September 2016​

With The New Right having tremendous momentum, the upstart Centrist Democratic Party has managed to pull out all the stops by successfully convincing King consort Victor Cutter, who served as President of Qvait from 2012 to 2013, to come out of retirement. Cutter, who vowed in 2016 to never hold public office again, has broken that promise in an effort to shut down Nicole Chancellor and The New Right. In his first political statement since the birth of the United Kingdom, Victor Cutter said, "I know I promised to never run for office again, but I have no choice but to break it to put to a stop the nationalist sentiment that is growing in our country. History has shown that nationalism is a perpetual threat to peace and stability and that is why I will be running for a seat in the National Assembly."

It will be interesting to watch as Victor Cutter runs for office for the first time since early 2012, which was the first and only time he did so. He made a name for himself when he was at the center of an international scandal and high-profile marriage with Winstonian Queen Katelynn in 2004 at a time when relations between Qvait and Winstonia were at its lowest. At the time, he was a junior enlisted soldier in the Qvaitican Defense Forces who risked being court-martialed by the Army, faced deportation threats from Winstonian Prime Minister Tommie Shane, and was accused of committing treason from people back home. Even when the older, more traditionalist Qvaiticans and Winstonians were disgusted by their actions, Victor Cutter and Queen Katelynn would doublehandedly change the relationship between their two countries and set the tone for a new one.

In spite of the controversy, Victor Cutter would go on to be elected as the President of Qvait, serve as the Secretary of Defense and later as the Secretary of Intelligence and Security (SIS) under multiple governments, and his marriage with Queen Katelynn has largely been credited to the unification of Qvait and Winstonia in 2016. Once an apolitical man, Cutter is not perceived to be an ideologue and has never been afraid to sit down and deliberate with leaders of other parties. In fact, he once served as the SIS under Margaret Harrison before the unification of Qvait and Winstonia. With respect to Margaret Harrison, Cutter said, "I am more than willing to work with her, especially when she wants to implement her program addressing homelessness in our country, but we're not on the same page when it comes to social issues."

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Jonathan Victor at the January 2014 Annual Summit of Conservatives​

Meanwhile, the Conservative Party will be shaking up as a result of Giovanni Giletti's announcement of resignation as leader of the party. After a three-year absence from politics, Jonathan Victor, who served as President of Qvait from 2013 to 2014, has been asked to serve as interim leader of the Conservative Party and is running for a seat in the National Assembly. This marks the end of the Giletti era, who was the first Conservative in years to fail to win the presidency in 2015, which was credited as a reaction to the Operation Affirmed scandal under conservative President Gabriel West. Now, it will be up to former President Jonathan Victor, who once led a powerful United Conservative Party, to lead the successor party out of the wilderness. However, he will now have to face a type of opponent he never fought before—a nationalist.

Jonathan Victor will have to push against the efforts of Nicole Chancellor, who managed to split the United Conservative Party in half mid-2016. In his shocking announcement of return, Jonathan Victor promised that we would work with Victor Cutter, a close friend and former Conservative, in taking on what he calls 'the nationalist tide.' He said that "there will be an alliance between the Centrist Democrats and Conservatives to take on the nationalists and restore proper conservatism to the country." Much like his Centrist Democratic colleague, he vowed to cooperate with Margaret Harrison, but only to counteract the efforts of The New Right, "We will work with [the Labor Party] when we can, but we mustn't let the social democrats destroy our sense of tradition. We are an alliance united in keeping tradition a sacred value of this country."

Before the announcements made by Victor Cutter and Jonathan Victor, polls projected a crushing defeat for the Centrist Democratic and Conservative Parties at the hands of The New Right, but their return to the political landscape may not be opportune for Nicole Chancellor. In the days to come, polls will show how much of an effect their return to politics will affect her party's success on 11 June. In their joint announcement, Victor Cutter and Jonathan Victor said that it was time for their two parties to "proclaim the return of the United Conservative Party without the malicious elements," which was a shot fired at The New Right. Jonathan Victor said, "Nicole Chancellor likes to talk a lot about 'taking this country back.' Well, let's take it back from her. Her politics are a cancer to this country and the time for playing games is over. We are the real conservatives and we are united once more!"

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Nicole Chancellor in April 2017​

Leading up to Referendum Day, Nicole Chancellor campaigned vigorously for the passage of Referendum 4, which appears to have paid off. She called its passage a 'rejection of globalism.' However, she will be in the biggest fight of her political career, going up against two former Presidents of Qvait and a third by proxy—two on her side of the spectrum and one on the left. While Nicole Chancellor was intent on fighting to shut down Margaret Harrison's agenda, she now has to stop Victor Cutter and Jonathan Victor from stealing crucial votes, which will be a tall order. However, Nicole Chancellor does not seem to be afraid, "The momentum is on our side. They said we would fail to break away from the fake Conservatives. They were wrong. They said we weren't going to be the largest opposition party. They were wrong. They said Referendum 4 would fail. They were wrong. We will win and win and win and win!"

Nicole Chancellor also had a message for voters who may vote for the Centrist Democrats or Conservatives, "Do you honestly believe that [Victor Cutter and Jonathan Victor] care about you? Their only intention is to screw us over. Don't waste your votes on them. They won't help you." She would go on by calling them 'political hacks.' Despite the new competition that she faces, Nicole Chancellor should not be underestimated. The Electoral Commission released a report for April 2017, which showed The New Right having raised the most money out of all the parties for the fifth consecutive month. Matthew Dames, a member of the Labor Party, said, "The thing about [Nicole Chancellor's] supporters is that they have passion and know that she has conviction, which the other parties have been lacking as of late." He also said that Margaret Harrison should be worried, especially with the return of Victor Cutter and Jonathan Victor, "One of the three might just steal the National Assembly and that would spell the end for Harrison's agenda."

Referendum Day results (88.47% turnout):
  • Referendum 1 (reform legislature) — 79.84% yes, 20.16% no
  • Referendum 4 (world charter negotiations) — 50.06% oppose, 49.94% support
  • Referendum 5 (legalize recreational marijuana) — 54.31% no, 45.69% yes
  • Referendum 6 (reintroduce death penalty) — 56.29% no, 43.71% yes
  • Referendum 7 (ban single-use plastic bags) — 53.48% yes, 46.52% no
KTN's Haajid al-Shaban and Kasey Winters contributed to this report.
 
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Labor and the Left survive legislative election
By Allie Vega and Haajid al-Shaban, KTN
Monday, 12 June 2017

Stockholm (KTN) — Margaret Harrison has been given a lifeline. In Sunday's legislative election, former Foreign Secretary Avianna Aldridge led the Labor Party and a coalition of other center-left political parties to victory. The election, which filled a new National Assembly, gave an alliance of five parties enough seats for Chancellor Margaret Harrison to keep her agenda alive. Securing four independent politicians, the newly-created Alliance of Social Democrats consisting of 83 Labor, 82 Populists of the Left, 76 Socialists, 28 Greens, and 24 Liberals will preserve the status quo. In the upper chamber of Parliament, the Citizens' Assembly, a random lottery also gave the five-party alliance majority control, which leaves few roadblocks for Margaret Harrison when she wants to implement her agenda.

On the other side of the aisle, Nicole Chancellor led The New Right to secure 146 seats in the National Assembly, performing above expectations but not enough for the nationalist party to singlehandedly filibuster Margaret Harrison's agenda. Victor Cutter and Jonathan Victor, whose respective parties were projected for a crushing defeat on 1 May, managed to prevent their destruction by each securing 67 seats for the Centrist Democratic Party and 62 for the Conservative Party. At the end of the day, Nicole Chancellor remains as the Leader of the Opposition, but will have a rather raucous opposition to the other parties in the National Assembly. However divided the right side of the spectrum may be, the right-wing parties have seized enough seats to compete against the cultural liberalism of the left.

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Avianna Aldridge in April 2017​

Margaret Harrison can breathe easy again after her coalition's victory, thanks to her former Foreign Secretary, Avianna Aldridge. After a nightmarish defeat on 2 May with the passage of Referendum 4, her party and coalition managed to regain their composure after retaining control of Parliament, albeit a slimmer majority. Now one day removed from the legislative election, Margaret Harrison hopes to sign into law a bill that intends to give shelter to the homeless, which was one of her highest priorities after being elected President of Qvait in 2015 and later the Chancellor of both Qvait and Winstonia in 2016. After Victor Cutter, the leader of the center-right Centrist Democratic Party, pledged to support Margaret Harrison's bill on homelessness, there is a filibuster-proof majority to ensure the passage of the bill.

Due to a convergence of aspects of social and economic policy between the Alliance of Social Democrats and the Centrist Democratic Party, Margaret Harrison will be left unhindered in implementing her economic agenda. However, her cultural liberalism will be at odds with the four right-wing parties, all of which seek to impose varying levels of restriction on abortion and drugs and some of which want to restrict same-sex marriage and oppose Margaret Harrison's secularist policy. The four parties—The New Right, Centrist Democratic Party, Conservative Party, and The Front—all have a unified socially conservative agenda and enough votes to successfully filibuster bills that further Margaret Harrison's culturally liberal agenda. Nicole Chancellor and Jonathan Victor both said they will seek a return of what they call 'religious liberty.'

In terms of foreign policy, Margaret Harrison is going to need to walk a fine line depending on the issue at hand. When it comes to free trade, the Populists of the Left will be the deciding factor whether such agreements can be ratified. Taeler Shaw, the leader of the Populists of the Left, has stated that she will only support free trade agreements if they do not threaten farmers and other rural workers, which is her party's most influential voting bloc. A little over a month removed from Referendum Day, Margaret Harrison's foreign policy agenda is still damaged due to the passage of Referendum 4. However, she has said when a charter to a world forum is complete, it will be at vote on the next Referendum Day. Margaret Harrison's rationale for the passage of Referendum 4 is its nonbinding status, "Once we have a complete charter with all of the contents available to the public, we will have a binding referendum at vote."

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Nicole Chancellor in May 2017​

Even though Nicole Chancellor's party performed above expectations and is the largest party in both houses of Parliament, The New Right must continue rely on other rightist parties to compete against Margaret Harrison's social democratic agenda. However, with the Centrist Democrats and Conservatives eager to reach deals with the Alliance of Social Democrats, there may not be a successful obstructionist opposition. For the foreseeable future, Margaret Harrison's social democratic agenda will continue to be implemented with Centrist Democrats and Conservatives 'going home with something,' according to Avianna Aldridge, who will become the Leader of the National Assembly on 15 June, when it convenes. Avianna Aldridge would reach out to Nicole Chancellor, calling on her to not be the 'party of no,' but a party that wants to cooperate with the majority and 'get something for The New Right's voters.'

In the buildup to the legislative election, Nicole Chancellor successfully convinced Winstonian nationalists to join The New Right, in the combined hope of undoing the unification of Qvait and Winstonia. However, their alliance was not enough for the party to gain enough seats for a majority, let alone power to successfully filibuster pieces of legislation. On Sunday night, Nicole Chancellor expressed disappointment in her party's performance in the legislative election but vowed that The New Right 'will never give in to the globalists' demands.' She insisted that Qvait will 'bow to no one.'

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Victor Cutter in June 2017​

The return of Victor Cutter and Jonathan Victor enormously paid off for the Centrist Democrats and Conservatives, two parties of which were expected to be crushed as of 2 May. The two former Presidents of Qvait agreed to form an alliance between their two parties to compete against the rise of far-right nationalism. However, the two parties were still unable to outnumber The New Right in the National Assembly. While there may be some good news for the Centrist Democrats on some aspects of social and economic policy, the once dominant Conservative Party will get the short end of the stick on both social and economic policy, with current nationalized institutions such as the National Health Service being increased in scope. The Conservative Party, which already failed to prevent the incorporation of dental care into the NHS, will not be able to stop Margaret Harrison from incorporating child care.

With Jonathan Victor and the Conservative Party remaining in the wilderness, it will be Nicole Chancellor and The New Right which shall remain the most influential party in right-wing circles, but it will be Victor Cutter and the Centrist Democratic Party that will get the best deal on the right for the foreseeable future. The Centrist Democrats will give the Alliance of Social Democrats the votes they need to pass certain legislation. They are in agreement in the fields of education, healthcare, housing, and labor. In a deal with the Alliance of Social Democrats, members of the Centrist Democratic Party will be allowed to chair some parliamentary committees. Avianna Aldridge personally promised Victor Cutter the chairmanship of the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence.

With the legislative election in the books, Margaret Harrison can rest easy, for now. However, a binding world forum referendum is on the horizon, a referendum of which she will put her political career on the line. If that referendum fails, Margaret Harrison has promised to resign as Chancellor of the United Kingdom. So far, the referendum has not been scheduled because a charter is not yet available, but it could be put to a vote as early as 1 May 2018 if negotiations finish before then. As for the rest of her agenda, Margaret Harrison will face little opposition with the Alliance of Social Democrats in the majority in both chambers of Parliament.

Composition of the 2nd National Parliament
Citizens' Assembly
400

PartyLeaderSeatsPct.
The New RightMarshall Steele2121.2
Labor PartyIvan Sullivan1515.2
Populists of the LeftRebecca Miller1515.2
Socialist PartyCassandra Quinn1313.1
Centrist Democratic PartyJustin Bennett1212.1
Conservative PartyOwen Hernandez1111.1
Liberal PartyKevin Clarke44.0
The GreensCecilia Hawkins33.0
Independent55.1
Total99100.0
Government: LP + PL + SP + Libs + Greens + 3 Ind = 53 seats (majority)​

National Assembly
400

PartyLeaderSeatsPct.
The New RightNicole Chancellor14624.7
Labor PartyAvianna Aldridge8314.0
Populists of the LeftTaeler Shaw8213.9
Socialist PartyAmalia Rollins7612.9
Centrist Democratic PartyVictor Cutter6711.3
Conservative PartyJonathan Victor6210.5
The GreensDominic McKinney284.7
Liberal PartyNathan Martinez244.1
The FrontFaarooq el-Rehmann71.2
Communist PartySydney Guzman50.8
Independent111.9
Total591100.0
Government: LP + PL + SP + Greens + Libs + 4 Ind = 297 seats (majority)​

KTN's Lyle Williams contributed to this report.
 
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Second Referendum Day sparks massive change in Valkyria
By Allie Vega and Lyle Williams, KTN News
Wednesday, 2 May 2018

Stockholm (KTN) — In the second annual Referendum Day in Valkyria, the people have triggered what is perhaps the largest geopolitical transformation in nearly two years, having approved of reforming the United Kingdom of Valkyria into a republic in Referendum 1. At the same time, Chancellor Margaret Harrison and the Alliance of Social Democrats have proclaimed victory on a series of other referendums at vote, which reaffirmed their positions on certain agenda. Harrison, who had placed her own political career on the line, has survived the recall election attempt. Harrison also managed to legalise physician-assisted suicide with the passage of Referendum 2, a promise that she had made in 2015 during the Qvaitican presidential campaign.

The Greens scored victories with the passage of Referendums 5 and 7, which kept recreational marijuana legal and banned tobacco products. The former was legalised on 25 July 2017 after The Greens'-sponsored Free Marijuana Act narrowly passed in Parliament on 17 July without a veto from Harrison. On the other hand, two referendums—4 and 6—that were backed by The New Right have been overwhelmingly rejected. Referendum 4, which would have triggered a recall election for the chancellery, was rejected by 68.4 per cent of the voters. Referendum 6, which would have forced naturalised Valkyrians to renounce their original citizenship, was rejected by 79.3 per cent of the voters, the greatest margin between Yes and No out of the seven referendums at vote. Lastly, Referendum 7 passed with 57.2 per cent support from the voters, banning tobacco products.

Ref.QuestionYesNo
1Should Valkyria reform as a republic?69.9%30.1%
2Should physician-assisted suicide be legalised?55.6%44.4%
4Should Chancellor Margaret Harrison be recalled?31.6%68.4%
5Should recreational marijuana remain legal?53.5%46.5%
6Should naturalised Valkyrians renounce their original citizenship?20.7%79.3%
7Should tobacco products be banned?57.2%42.8%

Tuesday's vote is a sea change for Valkyrian politics as the Monarchy will come to an end after only two years. Queens Katelynn and Melissa will be stripped of their titles on 1 August 2018 and the nation will be reformed as the Valkyrian Republic. It has been a roller coaster for the initial years of the new Valkyrian regime that formed on 1 August 2016. For the first few months, the nation's political system featured a tricameral legislature before being replaced by a bicameral one after Referendum Day 2017. The move resulted in Harrison being removed from Parliament and established a separate executive branch, but Referendum 1 brings the chancellery back to Parliament. The Queens, who have served as the collective head of state, will be replaced by a popularly-elected President who will have mostly ceremonial powers.

To avoid having a third parliamentary election in three years and a new presidential election from being held in 2018, Referendum 1 keeps the chancellery independent from the Parliament until June 2019, when the first fixed-term parliamentary election is supposed to occur. At the same time, the National Assembly voted to give the Citizens' Assembly the temporary power to elect an Acting President, who will serve until one is elected simultaneous to the parliamentary election. As for term length, Referendum 1 has stipulated that the President should serve a six-year term at the most before needing to be reelected to a second and final term. On the other hand, the Chancellor will serve a three-year term at the most and will not be term limited.

Another reform triggered by Referendum 1 is how members of the National Assembly are seated. Starting in June 2019, members of the National Assembly will be elected in an open list mixed-member proportional representation system, meaning that Valkyrians will have two votes in the parliamentary election: one for their respective constituencies and another for a political party. Furthermore, Referendum 1 issues a ten-year moratorium on referendums that affect the structure of the Valkyrian government. A chief concern of members of Parliament from different sides of the political spectrum is that Referendum Day 2017 changed the structure of the Valkyrian government months after it initially formed and Referendum 1 has changed it in quick succession. Politicians in Stockholm agree that the governmental structure of Valkyria should only be changed rarely, rather than annually.

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Margaret Harrison in March 2018​

With the passage of Referendum 2, Harrison has finally been able to keep a promise that she made during the 2015 Qvaitican presidential campaign—legalise physician-assisted suicide. Referendum 2 legalises PAS for patients with terminal illnesses such as cancer or advanced heart disease. Since initially taking office as President of Qvait on 1 April 2016, Harrison had been repeatedly pressuring her allies in the legislature to legalise PAS, but they feared that such a move would have been politically harmful in a future election. Unable to find support in Parliament, Harrison took her case directly to the people by putting PAS up for vote on the Referendum Day ballot. On Tuesday, Referendum 2 passed with 55.6 per cent support. During her speech on Tuesday night, Harrison praised its passage and criticised her fellow Alliance members for their "lack of faith" on the issue.

Starting 1 August 2018, patients with terminal illness will be able to ask for PAS. Referendum 2 requires the physician to notify the requesting patient of alternatives and also that the patient makes two oral and one written requests for PAS. At no point can the physician administer the PAS medication to the patient. The medication can only be voluntarily self-administered by the patient. A physician and at least two witnesses must be in attendance for self-administration.

A number of "right to die" groups around the nation praised Referendum 2's passage and Dignity Valkyria founder Elias Martin called Harrison a "champion of freedom" for her advocacy on the issue of PAS. Martin said, "We were fighting for this right ever since [Patrick] Beckley became President of Qvait in 2000. Our eighteen year long campaign has finally succeeded." However, conservatives have been relatively quiet or moderated on the issue. Centrist Democratic Party Leader Victor Cutter said that he did not support PAS, but he will support "the wishes of the people". On Tuesday night, the former Qvaitican president said, "While I may not agree with assisted suicide, the people have spoken." A high-ranking official from the CDP has told KTN News that mentions of the party's opposition to PAS will be removed from the party manifesto in 2019.

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Nicole Chancellor in April 2018​

After Referendum Day 2017, Harrison promised that a referendum on a world forum would be on the ballot, but she also promised that she would resign as Chancellor if the referendum forced Valkyria to leave. Negotiations on a world forum fell through, but Harrison stayed on as Chancellor. Tonight, the Chancellor has survived an attempt to recall here, which was fuelled in large part by The New Right.

Current polling from the Harris Group on the 2019 parliamentary election shows the governing ASD winning a majority in the National Assembly, but also shows a statistically even divide between The New Right and the UCA in their bid for leading the right-wing opposition. Conservative political analysts such as Jay Dawson and Rickey Ortega have said that an entente between The New Right and the UCA is the only way to remove the ASD from the government and bring in the return of a conservative government, but political historian Marcella Stokes says, "It is quite difficult to see how The New Right and the United Conservative Alliance can agree to a ceasefire and form a government together considering that there are irreconcilable differences between the two camps." Stokes went further to say that the divide among conservatives is the only reason why Harrison is Chancellor, "If they actually overcome their differences, then they have a real opportunity to unseat this government."

KTN's Levi Hodges, Haajid al-Shaban, and Kasey Winters contributed to this report.

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Valkyrian constitution gets makeover
By Allie Vega, KTN News
Friday, 27 July 2018

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Katelynn Williams in June 2018

Stockholm (KTN) — Ahead of 1 August, the Valkyrian monarchy and government officials are preparing for the reconstitution of the state into a republic. After it was announced that Referendum 1–2018 passed, which strips the royal family of their titles and brings about a republic, the two Queens—Katelynn Williams and Melissa Harrison—issued a joint statement, calling on media outlets to stop referring to them as queens and instead use their first and last names. On 5 June, the Citizens' Assembly voted to name Williams as Acting President of the Valkyrian Republic until one is elected in July 2019. Since then, Williams has used the title "Acting President designate of the Valkyrian Republic" instead of "Queen of Valkyria". Melissa Harrison, who is the daughter of Chancellor Margaret Harrison, announced that she will seek to be elected into Parliament and represent the people her mother served while she was a member of the Qvaitican House of Representatives and Valkyrian Parliament.

With her daughter seeking her old seat, Chancellor Margaret Harrison announced that she would seek election into Parliament through the Labor Party list. If it were not for Referendum 1–2018, Harrison could have served as Chancellor until 2022 at the latest, but by bringing the chancellery back to Parliament, the officeholder will serve a three-year term at the most rather than what would have been a potential six-year term. Opposition Leader Nicole Chancellor has not yet announced whether she will seek election as President or Chancellor, but Centrist Democratic Party leader Victor Cutter, who once served as President of Qvait, announced that he will run for President of the Valkyrian Republic.

Even though Cutter was once President of Qvait, the office that he will run for in 2019 will have extremely limited powers. The President of Qvait was the head of state and government, but the President of the Valkyrian Republic is just the head of state. However, the President will have the power to nominate people to the Courts of the Valkyrian Republic and cast the tie-breaking vote on legislation in the Citizens' Assembly. While this President will not have the power to sign or veto bills into law, the tie-breaking vote in the Citizens' Assembly can be the de facto signature or veto of legislation. When it comes to judicial nominations, the President has the de jure power to fill the Courts, but his or her nominations must be approved by the Chancellor's party or coalition, giving the latter the de facto power to fill the Courts. Legal scholar Yvette Lynch tells the KTN, "There is give and take between the President and the Chancellor when it comes to the Courts and the passage of legislation."

On Friday, the Parliament ratified the new constitution despite opposition from classical liberals on portions of the document and national conservatives on the document in its entirety. While the ratification was successful, the Parliament added stipulations that made the implementation of the new constitution transitional rather than abrupt. For now, there will be an Acting President who was voted upon by the Citizens' Assembly, a Chancellor operating independently from Parliament, and a 99-member Citizens' Assembly. However, the first President will be elected alongside a Parliament that regained control of the chancellery and a Citizens' Assembly that has 100 members by 1 August 2019. It will be on that date that the new constitution will be fully operative.

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Margaret Harrison in July 2018

When the new constitution enters into effect on 1 August 2018, it will do so with a clearly-defined bill of rights known as the Basic Rights Code. The current constitution featured a bill of rights, but it was not listed out all at once. In the new constitution, a section was dedicated to naming the rights of the people of the state. The Basic Rights Code retains the freedoms that were granted by previous constitutions, but the Alliance of Social Democrats made additions to the bill of rights, which led to opposition from classical liberals. The additions made grant new freedoms such as the rights to collectively bargain, food, housing, internet, and water. Conservative MP Eric Lockhart told the KTN, "The ASD will bankrupt businesses in Valkyria with these unattainable freedoms. I would love to live in a world like this, but it is unrealistic."

Lockhart also pointed at what he called opportunism, "How opportune is it for [the ASD] to make these revisions when the purpose of changing our constitution was to become a republic?" The Conservative MP said that a referendum on the new constitution should be held on Referendum Day 2019, despite the fact that Referendum 1–2018 placed a ten-year moratorium on referendums that affect the structure of the Valkyrian government. In response to Lockhart's remarks, Labor MP Angelica Sherman told the KTN that the Parliament had the "legal authority" to ratify the new constitution and justified the other additions by saying, "The people voted for these changes in 2016, 2017, and 2018." However, Opposition Leader Nicole Chancellor alleged that the Alliance of Social Democrats have "nefarious motives".

The 28-year-old political leader said in a Central Valkyrian News interview that the Alliance of Social Democrats are "testing the limits of their power, from constitutional revisionism to suspicious legislation". Chancellor cited the recent legalisation of coca production as evidence of Harrison's alleged authoritarianism, "At no point during any of [Harrison's] campaigns did she talk about legalising coca production. This legislation came out of nowhere and was rushed through Parliament by the ruling coalition. The same could be said about these unannounced and uncalled for revisions to the constitution that were ratified today." While it is true that Harrison never spoke about coca during her political campaigns, Vice Chancellor Taeler Shaw and the Populists of the Left presented it as a political issue in the 2017 election campaign.

With eleven months to go before the general election, the various political parties in Parliament are already preparing for what one MP has described as "all-out war". An aide to one Green MP told the KTN that the party's relationship with the Alliance of Social Democrats is "already on thin ice" and one Conservative MP said that a three-way alliance between The New Right, the Conservative Party, and the Centrist Democratic Party is "being looked at as a potential counterweight" to the Alliance of Social Democrats. A Harris Group poll conducted between 24–26 July showed the Alliance of Social Democrats having 53 per cent of the vote, The New Right at 25 per cent, and the United Conservative Alliance at 20 per cent. The remaining two per cent went to the The Front and the Communist Party. Compared to the current National Assembly, the poll shows an increase in support for the current government and a decline among the United Conservative Alliance, with little change for other parties.

KTN's Lyle Williams contributed to this report.

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OCMI releases report on cultist groups in Valkyria
By Vanessa Davis, KTN News
Friday, 31 August 2018

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Alleged cult leader Jake Marshall in Silesian town, date unknown

Stockholm (KTN) — On Friday, Attorney General Cheryl Fox announced that 54 groups were added to a list of potentially dangerous cultist movements, marking the biggest addition to the list since its inception. Since March 2017, the Valkyrian government has been tracking what Chancellor Margaret Harrison had said was a "dangerous rise in cultist groups". A unit was contemporaneously formed in the Intelligence Directorate, Section 4 to track and investigate cults across the country. The Office of Cultist Movement Investigations, which released a status report on Friday, has since arrested 152 people but the OCMI's Assistant Director Eli Owens says that it is undermanned in its efforts to systematically dismantle cultist groups, "We arrest one cultist and another ten take the one's place."

Owens charges that several cultist groups have either already or are in the process of assuming control of towns across Valkyria's mainland, "When a local businessperson joins the cult, his or her assets are used to help further the cult's goals. When a local politician joins the cult, his or her influence is used to help further their goals. This is happening all over the mainland and, in most places, it is happening unimpeded." The assistant director says there are some armed resistance groups being formed and are engaged in violent conflicts with cultist groups. The murder of a member of one of these resistance groups is credited to 64 per cent of the arrests made by the OCMI. The remaining 36 per cent of arrests come from members of the resistance groups. When it comes to arresting the latter, Owens says it is "unfortunate" that the OCMI has to arrest them, but the office "cannot turn a blind eye" to crimes committed by the resistance groups, even if their crimes come out of self-defence.

The existence of the OCMI has been called an "attack on freedom" by Members of Parliament in the opposition. In April 2017, Opposition Leader Nicole Chancellor accused the OCMI of being "a front to suppress political opponents". 101 of the 204 groups that are on the OCMI's watchlist professed support for The New Right and its policies and members of these groups were urged by their leaders to vote accordingly on Referendum Day 2017 and in the subsequent June election. Jeremy Christensen, the parliamentary deputy leader of The New Right, claimed in May 2017 that the mission of the OCMI is to suppress his party's votes in rural areas in favour of the Populists of the Left, which then-parliamentary leader Taeler Shaw said was "ludicrous".

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Opposition Leader Nicole Chancellor in July 2018

Shaw, who now serves as Vice Chancellor, says that "the cultist groups and their ultraconservative and reactionary views are being enforced" on her party's supporters, who mostly live in rural areas. The vice chancellor warns that the groups could "significantly drive down" voter participation by members of the Populists of the Left by threatening violence against them if they attempt to vote in the July 2019 general election. Shaw told the KTN that freedom and democracy in Valkyria are "at risk" because of the threats of violence. In June 2018, the Parliament passed a bill sponsored by the Populists of the Left that criminalised any action to intimidate voters. The party stated on their website that the bill was put forward after its membership told their Members of Parliament about the threats they were receiving from these groups.

One of the groups that the OCMI has been tracking is known simply as "The Family", which operates in the Silesian region of Valkyria. In December 2017, two members of the group were arrested and charged for the kidnapping, torture, and murder of a family of four. The suspects justified the crimes by telling the authorities that the family was "showing disobedience in the face of the gods". Four months later, the two suspects were sentenced to twenty years in prison—the maximum sentence. The leader of the group, which the OCMI has identified as Jake Marshall, has been subject to a warrant to arrest since February 2018. The OCMI indicated that Marshall is "armed and dangerous" and told the KTN that local residents "fear for their lives while he walks free" in the Silesian region.

In the town of Crick, which is located in the Unicy region, a woman was arrested by local authorities and transferred into the custody of Intelligence Directorate, Section 4 after she was captured by video fatally stabbing a victim 42 times with a broken beer bottle. In her interview with the investigators, she said that the victim was stabbed once for every "sin" she committed. In the New Camden region, a group known as the Church of Valkyria is being investigated by the OCMI for allegedly drugging and kidnapping local residents for a practice that has been called "the conversion". According to anonymous sources, the Church of Valkyria takes people to an underground bunker where they inject hallucinogenic drugs into their captives and force them to either do manual labour or kidnap their friends and family.

After the release of the report by the OCMI, Chancellor Margaret Harrison made a public statement about its contents and said, "The details of this report reflect a dark and scary reality for Valkyria. Much of our country's revenue comes from tourism and the release of this report will heavily hurt this industry in the coming months and possibly years. The cultist threat in our country is very real and must be seriously dealt with." In her statement, Harrison promised to secure more government funding of the OCMI's activities. However, Opposition Leader Nicole Chancellor called on Valkyrians to ignore the OCMI report and called it "vicious lies used to target those who stand and fight for freedom".

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Valkyrian news | Search underway for two missing police officers
By Vanessa Davis, KTN News
Wednesday, 7 November 2018

Ballard (KTN) — After two National Police officers were reported missing by colleagues in the Silesian region on Monday, the police requested the public's assistance. Sergeant Rebecca Hawkins and Officer Craig Lance have been missing for 48 hours, causing angst among their colleagues who fear that the two officers may be deceased. Sergeant Victor Hoffman, who is a close friend of Hawkins, told the KTN, "I know that Rebecca is a strong woman, but we are taught that time is crucial when a person has disappeared. To the best of my knowledge, we still don't know where either of them are." Since their disappearance, the suspected member of a cultist group that the two officers were tasked to arrest has also gone missing. Attorney General Cheryl Fox has ordered a manhunt for the suspect Roger Owens, who has been called a person of interest in the officers' disappearance.

This is a developing story.

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Valkyrian news | The Chancellor has been shot
By Lyle Williams, KTN News
Wednesday, 14 November 2018

Stockholm (KTN) — On Wednesday, Valkyrian Chancellor Margaret Harrison was shot by a sniper as her motorcade was en route to Dockland Marrow, the headquarters of the Department of Intelligence. The shots were fired at approximately 1048 by an unidentified sniper who appears to remain at large. According to aides at Executive Valkyria, the chancellor was scheduled to meet with Intelligence Secretary Jonathan Wade and the principals of the Intelligence Directorates at 1100. The shooting occurred on the eve of the Day of the Valkyries parade, which has been indefinitely postponed until the nature of this shooting is revealed and a new security assessment of holding the parade is conducted by the Department of Intelligence. Harrison's chief of staff Michael Mendez issued a press release stating that the chancellor was in surgery. So far, two servicemembers of the National Gendarmerie and one aide of the chancellor have been identified as having been killed. At this time, the extent of Harrison's injuries are unknown.

The Alliance of Social Democrats have named First Vice Chancellor Taeler Shaw as the Acting Chancellor. In Parliament, the leaders of all political parties condemned the shooting and wished the chancellor a successful recovery. On the floor of the National Assembly, Shaw said, "I have met fewer people who are tougher than Margaret Harrison. I am confident that she will pull through." Opposition Leader Nicole Chancellor, who has often been at odds with Harrison on various issues, said, "The chancellor and I may have our disagreements, but she is my colleague and I hope that she will survive this attempt on her life. It is with great importance that we find the people responsible for this attack and punish them for this heinous act."

This is a developing story.

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Valkyrian news | The Chancellor woke up, Valkyries Front claims responsibility
By Lyle Williams, KTN News
Thursday, 15 November 2018

Stockholm (KTN) — On Thursday, Valkyrian Chancellor Margaret Harrison woke up when Labor parliamentary leader Avianna Aldridge was in the room. The parliamentary leader described feeling "relief" after the chancellor woke up and asked, "What's going on?" After a lengthy discussion with the chancellor, Aldridge said she called Acting Chancellor Taeler Shaw and Defence Secretary Julia Burns to tell them the news. Upon the chancellor's awakening, the doctors at Stockholm Queens Hospital upgraded Harrison's medical state from critical to fair condition. At Executive Valkyria, Shaw alluded to Harrison's institutional development programme Brighter Horizon, "Today, we now know that Valkyria will still see a brighter horizon in the future."

A day after the sniper attack against the chancellor's motorcade, the Valkyries Front has claimed responsibility, accusing the Valkyrian government of acting as an "oppressive regime". In September 2018, the Valkyries Front was designated as a cultist group by the Department of Justice and described by Attorney General Cheryl Fox as a "paramilitary organisation representing several cultist groups in Valkyria". Before its designation as a cultist group, the Valkyries Front was being monitored by the Office of Extremist Groups for neofallenist rhetoric and other suspected criminal activities.

SStella Kaufman, the Shadow Intelligence Secretary of the Conservative Party, introduced the Expansion of Security Powers Act, arguing that the Valkyrian government was ineffective in preventing the sniper attack. The shadow secretary was criticised by members of the Alliance of Social Democrats for introducing the legislation. Labor MP Dominic Walker scolded Kaufman on the floor of the National Assembly, calling the proposed legislation an "act of political opportunism". In spite of the criticism from the governing coalition, Opposition Leader Nicole Chancellor endorsed the shadow secretary's proposed legislation, calling it a "necessary move for the security of the state". The Conservative parliamentary leader, Jonathan Victor, has declined to give comment on Kaufman's proposal.

This is a developing story.

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Valkyrian news | Valkyria declares a state of emergency
By Allie Vega, KTN News
Friday, 23 November 2018

Stockholm (KTN) — On Friday, Parliament voted to declare a sixty-day state of emergency, the first of its kind in the state's history, after Acting Chancellor Taeler Shaw presented declassified intelligence concerning cultist activities in Valkyria. The move comes after the disappearance of two National Police officers in the Silesian region and the attempted assassination of Chancellor Margaret Harrison. On the floor of the National Assembly, the acting chancellor said, "Actionable intelligence suggests that the cultists are planning to carry out terrorist attacks against members of the current coalition government and supporters. Other events causing the need for a state of emergency are the broader activities of the cultist groups by their engagement in assault, battery, kidnapping, torture, murder, and other crimes."

Preparation for a formal declaration of a state of emergency came on 14 November after the Valkyrian Security System raised the threat level from moderate to severe, skipping over one level. By initiating a state of emergency, the Office of Cultist Movement Investigations, a department of the National Police, will be granted emergency funding by the government to counter cultist activities. Since the disappearance of the two National Police officers and the attempted assassination of Harrison, neither the National Police nor National Gendarmerie have been able to identify and arrest any suspects who appeared to have been involved in either of the two events. The two law enforcement agencies believe that the perpetrators are professional criminals, which is the reason for declaring the state of emergency.

This is a developing story.

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Valkyrian news | Harrison returns as National Police makes mass arrest
By Vanessa Davis, KTN News
Tuesday, 18 December 2018

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Margaret Harrison in December 2018

Stockholm (KTN) — Margaret Harrison returned to Executive Valkyria for the first time since her attempted assassination on 14 November, resuming her responsibilities as the Chancellor of the Valkyrian Republic. Concurrently, the National Police arrested 674 people who they suspect to be members of various cultist groups designated as such by the agency's Office of Cultist Movement Investigations. In a press conference, Chief David Lawson said that 43 of the arrests were made in connection to the attempted assassination of the chancellor. The other arrests were made in connection to other ongoing investigations into cultist activities around the country. The police chief said that a detailed report on Tuesday's arrests will be released within three months.

At Executive Valkyria, Harrison was greeted by First Vice Chancellor Taeler Shaw, who had been serving as acting chancellor for the past month, with a flower bouquet and a hug. In the chancellor's office, the acting chancellor ceremoniously returned the powers of the office to the chancellor. Speaking before the press, Harrison made an ominous statement, "We cannot afford complacency before the enemies of peace, freedom, and democracy—from within and without. We have a cultist threat at home and there are ideological powers outside who are staging for total war in Reizen. We will be vigilant and we will be strong, but we must not forget that we strive for peace. We will fight when we must and we will destroy what we must. Sometimes, a war must be fought for the greater good and greater peace."

Valkyrian politics | Kaufman takes over Conservative Party
By Allie Vega, KTN News
Tuesday, 18 December 2018

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Stella Kaufman in December 2018

Stockholm (KTN) — Looking towards the July 2019 general election, the Conservative Party has elected Stella Kaufman as its leader, abandoning former Qvaitican president Jonathan Victor. The leadership election was triggered after Kaufman earned majority support from the party's Members of Parliament to hold one. By a vote of 35 to 27, Kaufman defeated Victor, the incumbent leader. After winning the leadership, Kaufman announced that, if necessary, she would look to build a coalition with Opposition Leader Nicole Chancellor, the parliamentary leader of The New Right, in the aftermath of the July 2019 general election. The new Conservative parliamentary leader said, "A clash of personalities—not ideologies—is the reason why a new United Conservative Party cannot be formed. I am here to change that."

Since June 2017, Kaufman served as the Shadow Secretary of Intelligence for the Conservative Party. After being appointed to the position by Victor, she voiced persistent criticism of Intelligence Secretary Jonathan Wade for what she alleged to be "weak leadership of the intelligence services". In the aftermath of the attempted assassination of Chancellor Margaret Harrison, a sniper attack that killed four people, Kaufman introduced the Expansion of Security Powers Act in an effort to give the Intelligence Directorates the ability to collect data from computers and other devices without the need of a warrant.

Immediately after Kaufman's election, the Leader of the Opposition congratulated her on becoming the Leader of the Conservative Party and expressed a desire to cooperate with her, "Together, we can build a stronger, sovereign, and conservative Valkyria." Centrist Democratic parliamentary leader Victor Cutter expressed hope for a conservative coalition after the July 2019 general election, but he also expressed disappointment in Victor's defeat, "Jonathan Victor has been a close friend of mine for years and it is difficult to watch his party betray him after everything he has done for the conservative movement in our country."

Other news
  • Day of the Valkyries will be held on 27 December 2018

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Valkyrian politics | Chancellor and Kaufman form New Conservative Coalition
By Allie Vega, KTN News
Saturday, 13 April 2019

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Stella Kaufman at a conservative conference, April 2019

Stockholm (KTN) — The leaders of The New Right and the Conservative Party have agreed to form the New Conservative Coalition on Saturday as an opposing bloc to the governing Alliance of Social Democrats. Opposition Leader Nicole Chancellor and Conservative leader Stella Kaufman signed an agreement to form a coalition together ahead of the 7 July general election. The decision to do so comes after years of polling suggested that The New Right, the Conservative Party, and the Centrist Democratic Party needed to form a coalition in order to form a majority government. In 2016, The New Right was created after a split between conservative liberal Giovanni Giletti and national conservative Nicole Chancellor. At a conservative conference on Saturday, Kaufman stated that the two parties "[came] to a mutual understanding that [they] need each other in order to defeat [the Alliance of Social Democrats]".

Despite forming the new coalition, in-house polling has consistently showed that The New Right and the Conservative Party will not win enough seats to outnumber the Alliance of Social Democrats and will need the support of a third party such as the Centrist Democratic Party. While the Centrist Democratic Party is generally cooperative with the Conservative Party, its membership in Parliament have historically been hostile toward the notion of an alliance with The New Right, especially under the leadership of Victor Cutter, who resigned in March to run for President of the Valkyrian Republic. Bradley Murphy, the new leader of the Centrist Democratic Party, has so far sidestepped journalists' questions on forming a partnership with the Alliance of Social Democrats or a coalition involving The New Right.

During the conservative conference, the Leader of the Opposition said that the New Conservative Coalition "is a viable alternative to the current government and will be tolerable to other conservative opinions". These comments come after years of verbal attacks towards the other two right-wing parties. When Jonathan Victor and Victor Cutter respectively led the Conservative and Centrist Democratic Parties, Opposition Leader Nicole Chancellor was persistent in calling them "fake conservatives" and claimed that their presidencies of Qvait "led to the decline of conservative leadership" in the country. Since Kaufman's election as leader of the Conservative Party in December 2018, the opposition leader has courted her support as the two leaders may need each other after the 7 July general election.

With the right-wing parties in Parliament one step closer towards having the capability to form a government, the leadership of the Alliance of Social Democrats are now concerned that the current government could be toppled after the 7 July general election. "For years, the ASD has relied on conservative infighting to stay in government," an official from the Alliance of Social Democrats says, "but now that The New Right and the Conservative Party are rallying together, they only need the support of one more party (the Centrist Democratic Party) to go head-to-head with [the Alliance of Social Democrats]". The official stated that the Alliance of Social Democrats will now need to "work harder than ever" during the general election in order to stay in government for another three years.

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Investigative news | The wildlands of Valkyria
By Vanessa Mendoza, Malcolm Reynolds, and Joshua Tate, The Stockholm Post
Sunday, 19 May 2019

"We knew that we were being hunted and there was no time for us to rest."

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The only church in Ormskirk, May 2019

Macais (The Stockholm Post) — Between 29 April and 3 May, we travelled across Silesia to investigate reports of a cult allegedly committing various kinds of crime that includes kidnapping, torture, and murder. In the last three years, 477 people have been reported missing in the Silesian province. For comparison, there have been 501 people reported missing in all of Valkyria, including Silesia, over the same period, meaning 95.2 per cent of the missing persons reported in the last three years came from Silesia. In response to the rise of missing persons and allegations of a cult operating in the province, the Valkyrian national government opened the Office of Cultist Movement Investigations (OCMI) within the National Police, but the OCMI has been underfunded in its efforts to complete their mission.

27 Members of Parliament represent a geographical constituency in the Silesian province. Of those 27 MPs, 11 are members of the Populists of the Left and 10 are members of The New Right. Since 2017, the Populist Left MPs have persistently warned that cultists are intimidating their constituents and trying to influence their decisions on legislation. However, the MPs who are members of The New Right have countered the Populist Left's claims by denying the existence of a cult in Silesia and are "making excuses to vote against their constituents", as New Right MP Natasha Walker stated in October 2018. Nevertheless, as the Populist Left is part of the governing Alliance of Social Democrats, Chancellor Margaret Harrison opened the OCMI to investigate their claims, much to the contempt of The New Right.

We first travelled to Ormskirk, a small town where two National Police officers were reported missing in November 2018. Police Sergeant Rebecca Hawkins and Officer Craig Lance drove to the town to arrest Roger Owens, a suspect in three kidnapping cases. Over the radio, the police sergeant requested backup shortly before the sound of gunfire could be heard. When assistance arrived, the two police officers were missing and there was blood at the scene. The blood did not match either Hawkins or Lance, but it also did not belong to the suspect that they intended to arrest. Valkyrian Attorney General Cheryl Fox ordered a manhunt for the suspect and pleaded with with local population to call the National Police if they saw people who looked like the suspect or the two police officers. Six months later, the suspect and two police officers are still missing.

In Ormskirk, we found it difficult to use the internet or make calls and find a local resident who was willing to speak with journalists. After two hours of searching for people who were willing to speak with us, a couple invited us into their home on the condition that their identities were kept anonymous. When we asked why others in the town were hesitant to speak with us, the wife told us, "Many of the people who live here fear for their lives. This town used to be full of people who could trust each other, but now there is only fear here." We asked why that was so and she said, "There is a group that calls itself 'the Family' or 'the Chosen' and they infiltrated this town. They're religious fanatics who believe in the Old Valkyrian religion and claimed that the gods had chosen them to save the world."

We inquired into how the cult came to control Ormskirk, "It started with them quietly pushing out our local priest. One day, we saw him and his family rush to move out of town. I asked his wife what was going on and she was crying and begged me to leave the town. I thought they were being hysterical. However, when my husband and I went to church the following weekend, a stranger walked up to the front of the hall and said that our priest chose him to continue in his absence." Out of curiosity, we showed the couple a picture of Jake Marshall, the alleged leader of The Chosen, to see if the stranger they spoke of was him. The husband took a quick glance at the picture and whispered loudly, "That's him! He came to this town and made many people here fear him and, for two years, he has been brainwashing people's children."

We asked the couple why no one has stood up to Marshall and the husband said, "We tried—a couple of us tried to fight back. One day, the people who spoke out against him and his cult suddenly disappeared as if they never existed. It didn't take long for many of us to keep our mouths shut after that, especially with the children telling the new clergy about everything their parents say and do." We wanted to further understand the children's role in the cult, so the wife said, "The cult started taking over the town by taking control of the church, but they slowly began replacing the teachers at the local school with people of their own and now there are two venues for the cult to brainwash the children. There's no escaping them. They're everywhere." Lastly, we asked the couple what they plan on doing now that they have lived under these conditions for nearly three years now. The husband said, "We're gonna weather out the storm. This madness will have to end sometime."

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A Silesian forest, May 2019

Vanessa Mendoza went on a ride along with a National Police officer that patrols in and around Calmarnock, a town that is 59 kilometres away from Ormskirk. Officer Dwayne Hunt has been on the police force for four years and says that Calmarnock has "never been the same" since the cult showed up two years ago. He pointed to a church on the north end of town that was flying a black flag bearing a white Valkyrian star, "That is the flag that the cult uses to identify itself." The first important question I asked Officer Hunt was what steps the National Police were taking to respond to the cult. His answer to that question was grim, "There's nothing we can do. We know exactly what they are doing, but there are many people here who are unwilling to testify about what's going on and, oftentimes, there is not enough evidence to bring charges against cultists. We're fighting a losing battle."

I disclosed to the officer the earlier interview I had with the couple in Ormskirk and I asked if he was afraid about speaking on-the-record. Officer Hunt stated that it was "daunting" but being a National Police officer already "puts a target on [his] back". The police officer recalled his colleagues who went missing in November 2018, "I have friends who knew PS Hawkins personally and they want revenge for whatever happened to her and Officer Lance. The National Police is one of the few things in this province that the cult has not corrupted and we badly want justice for the two of them." Officer Hunt said that seven of his colleagues have resigned in the past year because the national government has not done enough to take on the cult, "Some officers turned in their badges and started a militia. A few weeks later, those former officers died in a shootout with cultists and the media never knew about it."

The police officer told me that there is a part of Silesia that has come to be called "the wildlands" because of what he calls "the fall of civilisation" in those areas. He stated that the towns within the arbitrary boundaries of the wildlands have no communication with the rest of the country, "The closer you get to the mountains, the deeper you go into the cult's territory." Officer Hunt said that the National Police hears only rumours of happens in those areas, "There are so far unsubstantiated claims that the cult has been committing crimes against humanity up there and I don't question those claims at all. Whatever they're doing up there is something that us ordinary police officers are not prepared to handle. Hell, I don't think NTIF is up to that task." NTIF (en-TIFF) is the National Tactical Intervention Force, the special combat unit of the National Police.

I asked if I could go to the wildlands and Officer Hunt told me that I was free to go there but cautioned against it, "Not many people come back from the wildlands. It's more than likely that you'll take a one-way trip." Knowing that I would ignore his warning, the police officer told me to never use the main roads nor go to the wildlands alone. With the team, we headed into the wildlands with a map that Officer Hunt gave me with main roads highlighted in red. Through a back road, we entered into the wildlands and travelled 17 kilometres to the town of Duncaster. From a distance, we noticed quickly that there were no cars on the roads of the town. That was until we saw a black truck with a white Valkyrian star painted on its sides. The town looked as if it was under occupation.

The truck disappeared from sight, but we heard what sounded like two gunshots a minute later. The reality of the situation in Duncaster felt surreal. We circled the town, using the forest as cover, and noticed that there was a checkpoint on the north end of the town. Two black trucks with the same white star were blocking the road. At the checkpoint, a flagpole was erected and flew the black and white flag of the cult. There were militiamen on foot, armed with V9C rifles, a weapon that is only legally supposed to be in the hands of the Valkyrian Defence Forces and the National Police. Somehow, those weapons were in the hands of these civilians standing guard on the road. As we sat hidden behind trees, we watched the militiamen stand guard and a black SUV with the same star stopped at the north end of the checkpoint.

The driver of the SUV rolled down the window so the other militiamen could confirm that person's identity. Quickly recognising the person, one guard gestured the trucks to move, allowing the SUV to pass. We scrambled to our car to find out where the SUV was heading, but we noticed that there was a group of visibly armed cultists patrolling in the forest nearby. It was time for us to escape from the wildlands, but we had to cover 17 kilometres of land and a cult that was alerted about our presence. We travelled three kilometres by car before we noticed that a black SUV was tailing us. The SUV attempted to run us off the road several times before it suddenly stopped and disappeared. Concerned that the cult was planning to cut us off ahead in the road, Joshua Tate yelled at Malcolm Reynolds to stop the car.

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Cultist militiaman armed with a V9C rifle, May 2019

Tate told us to grab what we can and put them in our backpacks. We were going to travel 14 kilometres back to Calmarnock on foot. After six kilometres, the sun was dimming and nightfall was upon us. We knew that we were being hunted and there was no time for us to rest. And how could we? Our lives were at stake. For the rest of the night, we travelled through the forest, struggling in the darkness. At various points, we heard the wilderness growl and click. By the time we made it to the National Police station in Calmarnock, it was six in the morning. We explained what we were doing and what we had seen and the officers let us rest in the cafeteria. Our colleague, Michael Warringah, drove from Macais to pick us up. Our work in the region came to a conclusion, for now.

There is a part of Valkyria where no one freely comes and goes and we've been there. It's a whole different world in the wildlands and the cult has full control over the activities of people in the region. The cult presides over the sound of gunfire and the illegal possession of military and police weapons with expansive ownership of land in the Silesian province. The cult is very much real and the Valkyrian national government is not doing enough to fight it.

Camille Harrington and Brie Stevenson contributed to this article from Stockholm and Michael Warringah contributed to this article from Macais.

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Valkyrian news | Chemical attack kills 176 in Stockholm
By Malcolm Davis, KTN News
Thursday, 13 June 2019

"The deadliest peacetime attack in the history of Valkyria."

Stockholm (KTN) — On Thursday, a chemical attack occurred inside a nightclub in Stockholm, killing at least 176 people in what is the deadliest peacetime attack in the history of Valkyria. In total, 42 units from the National Police were dispatched to the scene of the attack, but were ill-equipped to handle this type of attack, thus requiring the mobilisation of the National Gendarmerie, which had a CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear) unit at its disposal. At Executive Valkyria, Chancellor Margaret Harrison stated that the National Police and National Gendarmerie were "cooperating in the response and investigation of the attack" and expressed her shock that such an attack would happen. Furthermore, the chancellor promised that the perpetrators would be "brought to justice for this crime against humanity".

So far, no individual or group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

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Valkyrian politics | Kate Murphy wins presidency, "queenmaker" situation in Parliament
By Tara Cross, Lyle Williams, and Allie Vega, KTN News
Monday, 8 July 2019

Stockholm (KTN) — On Sunday, the Valkyrian general election drew to a close and led to the election of Kate Murphy as the first President of the Valkyrian Republic. As for the chancellery, negotiations are underway to form a new government. Before a hometown audience in Darwin, Chancellor Margaret Harrison said that she will renegotiate for a new coalition agreement to form the Alliance of Social Democrats for another term. Across the river in Sydney, Conservative leader Stella Kaufman said she will pursue a three-party coalition with the Centrist Democratic Party and The New Right. If the projected results stand, it appears that Centrist Democratic leader Bradley Murphy will be the kingmaker. Harrison and Kaufman are the most likely candidates for chancellor. Because both candidates are women, commentators are calling the Centrist Democratic leader the "queenmaker".

The Centrist Democratic leader will be the one to decide whether Harrison or Kaufman will become the Chancellor of the Valkyrian Republic. As of Sunday, the Alliance of Social Democrats is certain to consist of the Labor Party, the Populists of the Left, and the Socialist Party, comprising 37.9 per cent of seats in Parliament. In order to retain their majority in Parliament, the Alliance of Social Democrats will need the support of the Centrist Democratic Party and either The Greens or the Liberal Party. On the right wing of Parliament is the New Conservative Coalition, which consists of the Conservative Party and The New Right, who comprise 42.9 per cent of seats in Parliament. In order to win a majority of seats in Parliament, the New Conservative Coalition will need the support of the Centrist Democratic Party.

Presidential election
CandidatePartyRound 1Round 2Round 3Round 4Round 5Round 6
Kate MurphySocial Democrats*19.524.229.335.235.655.2
Victor CutterCentrist Democratic Party14.716.817.023.742.944.8
Lucas WhiteSocialist Party14.214.419.720.721.5Eliminated
Jeremy ChristensenThe New Right17.918.018.120.4EliminatedEliminated
Timothy WalshConservative Party15.315.715.9EliminatedEliminatedEliminated
Elena ReeseThe Greens10.010.9EliminatedEliminatedEliminatedEliminated
Natalie CruzLiberal Party8.4EliminatedEliminatedEliminatedEliminatedEliminated

* The Social Democrats is an electoral alliance between the Labor Party and the Populist Left.

Parliamentary election
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Projected composition of the 2nd National Assembly (by party)
Left to 2: Socialist, Labor, Populist Left, Green, Liberal, Centrist Democrat, Conservative, The New Right

PartyIdeologyBlocLeaderSeats
Conservative PartyConservative liberalismCoalitionStella Kaufman140
The New RightNational conservatismCoalitionNicole Chancellor125
Labor PartySocial democracyAllianceMargaret Harrison104
Centrist Democratic PartyCentrist democracyBradley Murphy70
Populists of the LeftSocial democracy, agrarianismAllianceTaeler Shaw69
Socialist PartyDemocratic socialismAllianceAmalia Rollins61
The GreensGreen leftDominic McKinney34
Liberal PartySocial liberalismNathan Martinez14

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Projected composition of the 2nd National Assembly (by bloc)
Left to right: Alliance of Social Democrats, unaligned, New Conservative Coalition

BlocLeader (presumed)SeatsPer.
New Conservative CoalitionStella Kaufman26542.95
Alliance of Social DemocratsMargaret Harrison23437.93
Unaligned11819.12

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Kate Murphy represented Stockholm's 3rd constituency in Parliament between 2017 and 2019

In the presidential election, Kate Murphy of the Labor Party won the election and finished with 55.2 per cent of the vote in the final-two ballot against Centrist Democratic candidate Victor Cutter and became the first woman in history to be elected as the head of state of Valkyria. As president, Kate Murphy will become the commander-in-chief of the Valkyrian Defence Forces and have the power to break ties in the Citizens Assembly, call referendums, and dissolve the parliament upon the recommendation of a majority in both chambers of Parliament.

A member of Parliament, Kate Murphy has been known to be a staunch supporter of the chancellor. Between 2005 and present day, she has represented Stockholm either in part or in whole at both the municipal and national level. Since 2017, Kate Murphy has represented Stockholm's 3rd constituency and her attention has been centred on securing more state funding for universities, research and development, and increased subsidies for technology companies. Outside of politics, she is a mechanical engineer with an accompanying doctorate from the University of Stockholm. Her specialisation in the field is biomedical engineering. Even though she has not worked in her profession, Kate Murphy has made great efforts as a politician to make sure that her interests in the matter are well-funded by the state.

Ideologically, Kate Murphy is a social democrat, just like most in her party, but the democratic socialist tendencies of her city are reflected in her views. As such, she supports the nationalisation of some parts of industry, particularly arms manufacturing and pharmaceuticals. In 2017, she argued that "industries essential to the safety and security of the state should be nationalised" while allowing other aspects of industry to remain in the private sector. As a member of Parliament, Kate Murphy has regularly hosted town hall meetings alongside the Socialist MPs who also represent parts of Stockholm, including Socialist deputy leader Steve Bennett. At one of these meetings in 2018, Bennett joked that Kate Murphy was "the most popular socialist who wasn't a member of the Socialist Party".

When asked about her political affiliation, Kate Murphy said in 2019 that her parents' membership in the Labor Party was the reason why she herself became a member of the party. Even though the Socialist Party has newfound political strength in a multi-party system, Kate Murphy said that the Labor Party "is and always will be [her] home", but has quipped that the Socialist Party "is [her] secondary home". Her popularity among those in the Socialist Party has prompted several of their members of Parliament to hand Kate Murphy registration papers to switch parties. However, this effort has been made by some Liberal MPs who had defected from the Labor Party over "the socialist tilt" that has occurred under Harrison's leadership, hoping that they could regain social liberal control over the party as was done in 2005.

Among those on the Valkyrian left, Kate Murphy is viewed as a "unity figure" for the core parties of the Alliance, threading a thin line between social democracy and democratic socialism. During the election campaign, an in-house poll was conducted in May on the inter-party approval of each presidential candidate. The poll found that 94 per cent of Labor Party members, 92 per cent of Populist Left members, 89 per cent of Socialist Party members, and 85 percent of The Greens held a positive view of Kate Murphy. Paradoxically, she also polled well among those within the Centrist Democratic Party (46 per cent) and the Liberal Party (42 per cent), in spite of their reservations toward socialism. The Conservative Party and The New Right were the only two parties where a majority of members held a negative view of Kate Murphy.

According to political historian Ralph Owens, Kate Murphy has a choice of either playing a neutral role as president or that of an activist one, both of which will influence the behaviour of future presidents. In an interview with KTN, the political historian said, "[Kate Murphy] is going to assume a role that no other person has ever held in an elected capacity and the choices she makes in the next six years will shape the choices that all of her successors will make." Owens argued that the path Kate Murphy will take is dependent on which bloc becomes the government, "If the Alliance remains in government, she will be neutral. If the Coalition wins the election, she will be an activist." Owens also stated that Kate Murphy could use her position as a stepping stone to the chancellery, aiming to become Valkyria's head of government when her term ends.

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Centrist Democratic leader Bradley Murphy is being called the "queenmaker"

The New Conservative Coalition, which will be led by Stella Kaufman in the next Parliament, has made several campaign pledges: the establishment of an agency with police, military, and intelligence gathering powers and the closing of the Office of Cultist Movement Investigations. From October 2018 to May 2019, Marcus Bailey spearheaded Harrison's Brighter Horizon programme. However, a Coalition victory may revert all of the foreign policy actions that Harrison made since taking office in 2016. Furthermore, reorganisation of the Valkyrian security apparatus and a promise of additional military funding shows a potentially more aggressive military policy for the country.

In spite of facing a much more difficult path to majority, approval of the Alliance of Social Democrats remains stable at 57 per cent. According to an in-house poll, 62 per cent of Valkyrians approve of the Alliance's agenda and, more specifically: 71 per cent of Valkyrians approve of the Alliance's handling of health policy, 72 per cent approve of their education policy, and 77 per cent approve of their labour policy. During the campaign, Alliance candidates spent the majority of their time speaking on these three public policies and promising to oppose any form of privatisation and deregulation in these areas. Domestic policy was at the forefront of the Alliance's campaign, with only some time spent defending Valkyrian foreign policy in which the country has played a minimal or nonexistent role in resolving international conflicts.

Standing between Harrison and Kaufman is Bradley Murphy, the Centrist Democratic Party leader who holds the metaphorical keys to the kingdom. Up until the election, the party leader was tight-lipped about choosing between the Alliance and the Coalition, voicing support for both the former's social policy and the latter's security policy. Owens stated that Bradley Murphy's position as kingmaker almost guarantees him the position as Foreign Secretary in the next government, "His role is so important that it would not be surprising to see the Populists of the Left and The New Right hand over the SFA position, instead opting to take the Home Secretary post." Either way the Centrist Democratic Party leader goes, Bradley Murphy will have a strong hand in the agenda of the governing coalition for the next three years.

Other significant election results:
  • Alleged cultist leader Jake Marshall has won a seat in the Valkyrian Parliament as a member of The New Right
  • The Socialist Party's dominance in the Stockholm City Council wanes as three of their seats are taken by the Labor Party
  • The Alliance of Social Democrats (Labor Party, Socialist Party, and The Greens) have won control of the Sydney City Council
  • The New Right has won an outright majority in the Silesian Parliament
  • The United Conservative Alliance (Centrist Democratic Party and Conservative Party) have won control of the Winstonia Parliament
  • The New Conservative Coalition (Conservative Party and The New Right) have won control of the Algonquin Parliament
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Valkyrian politics | Kaufman decrowns Harrison as chancellor
By Tara Cross, KTN News
Friday, 9 August 2019

Stockholm (KTN) — On Friday, Conservative leader Stella Kaufman announced that a coalition agreement was reached with the Centrist Democratic Party and The New Right, allowing the New Conservative Coalition to become the governing bloc of Parliament. In doing so, Kaufman will become the second Chancellor of the Valkyrian Republic. In the aftermath of the July general election, it became apparent that Centrist Democratic leader Bradley Murphy was going to be the kingmaker—the person to determine who would serve as chancellor in the next term. After weeks of negotiation, Murphy announced that he will give Kaufman his party's support. Upon taking office, Kaufman will become the youngest chancellor in Valkyrian history at the age of 38 years, 1 month, and and 9 days, breaking Margaret Harrison's record by one year and six months.

The 2019 New Conservative Coalition agreement, which was negotiated between the leaders of the Conservative Party, The New Right, and the Centrist Democratic Party, outlines the agenda of the coalition up to 2022, when the next election is supposed to occur. In the security-oriented agreement, the parties agreed to several major policy issues, which includes forming Kaufman's promised combined security agency within the Department of Home Affairs; The New Right leader Nicole Chancellor and her party have been given control over internal security and trade; and giving the Centrist Democratic Party control over foreign policy, labour, and health policy. The agreement supersedes the 2017 Alliance of Social Democrats agreement, which featured an internationalist stance and supported an expansion of public-sector services.

Incoming cabinet

On the incoming cabinet, five secretaries will be members of the Conservative Party, five from The New Right, and three from the Centrist Democratic Party. Because the Equal Representation Act 2016 mandates near-gender equality in the Cabinet, seven secretaries will be men and six will be women.

PortfolioOfficeholderPartyTerm start
Foreign SecretaryBradley MurphyCentrist Democratic12 August 2019
Home SecretaryNicole ChancellorThe New Right12 August 2019
Defence SecretaryElena HaigConservative12 August 2019
Finance SecretaryMichael BowmanConservative12 August 2019
Trade SecretaryKari MarkussenThe New Right12 August 2019
Education SecretaryMatthew RoseConservative12 August 2019
Labour SecretaryFelicity WalkerCentrist Democratic12 August 2019
Health SecretaryGreg DiedrichCentrist Democratic12 August 2019
Natural Resources SecretaryClayton ThorpeThe New Right12 August 2019
Transport SecretaryJohanna QuinnThe New Right12 August 2019
Planning SecretaryDavid MarshallConservative12 August 2019
Communications SecretaryClaude CurryThe New Right12 August 2019
Culture SecretaryEmilia BaldwinConservative12 August 2019

See the Executive Valkyria website for more information on the Cabinet

Kaufman's security policy

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Proposed logo of SIEGE

With the New Conservative Coalition succeeding the Alliance of Social Democrats as the government in 2019, Kaufman seeks to pass the Expansion of Security Powers Act 2019 (ESPA 2019), which would form the Strategic Intervention, Emergency Guard, and Enforcement (SIEGE) Component, an agency that would be tasked with handling the most important intelligence, military, and police operations of the state. In the event that SIEGE is formed, it will assume control over the Valkyrian Special Services, the special operations centres of the Intelligence Directorate-General (IDG), and the National Tactical Intervention Force (NTIF) within the National Police. Unless ESPA is amended, the current proposal would create a director position for the new agency and a SIEGE Oversight Council (SOC) consisting of the Foreign Secretary, the Home Secretary, and the Defence Secretary.

In the coalition agreement, the government is set to take a much more aggressive position against states that are considered "malicious against the Valkyrian Republic". Instead of relying on the international community for the authorisation of use of military force, the Coalition will exercise "national sovereignty and self-determination" when it comes to taking military action abroad. A provision in the security policy section of the coalition agreement states, "Any state that takes actions that are harmful to the security of the Valkyrian Republic will be swiftly handled by the Home Office, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Valkyrian Defence Forces." This security policy is a significant departure from the policy of the Alliance, which relied on multilateralism.

Chancellor's trade and immigration policies

In what was the most contentious issue between the member parties of the Coalition, the three parties agreed that the next government will be able to negotiate free trade agreements with other countries as long as they are "fair trade agreements" that do not harm Valkyrian workers. As part of the coalition agreement, the responsibility of negotiating trade agreements will be taken away from the Foreign Secretary and will be given to a Trade Secretary. Furthermore, The New Right will have the final say as to whether a trade agreement is passed by Parliament. The coalition agreement also highlights the possibility of placing sanctions and tariffs on countries that "engage in unfair trade practices" until such time that these states reform their labour and trade policies to make competition fairer between them and Valkyria.

The new government will look to pass legislation limiting immigration. The immigration section of the coalition agreement was entitled, "Valkyria is for Valkyrians". Several proposals in the section include the deportation of 165,000 refugees who currently live in Valkyria, the establishment of a zero-refugee policy, the expansion of existing migrant detention centres, the reinstatement of immigration quotas, and the termination of family-sponsored immigration. Several of the justifications that the Coalition gives for this new immigration policy are overpopulation, inter-ethnic conflict, and the limitation of the job pool for native Valkyrians. A provision of the section says, "Migrants who do not positively contribute to the development of the Valkyrian Republic do not belong in our country and should be deported to their respective native countries."

Murphy's foreign and domestic policies

The Coalition decided to name Centrist Democratic leader Bradley Murphy as the Foreign Secretary because of his role as the kingmaker of the next government. As such, Murphy will be the chief representative of Valkyria to the world. However, his power as Foreign Secretary is limited by the coalition agreement because of The New Right's grip on trade and immigration policies. The coalition agreement expressed the hope to build coalitions with other states sympathetic to the new government of Valkyria. The Coalition will attempt to promote their ideology, similar to the Brighter Horizon initiative when Harrison was Chancellor. In the coalition agreement, the Coalition stated that they will "spread peace, freedom, and democracy in a way that the previous government couldn't".

Other than foreign policy, the Centrist Democratic Party will be responsible for health and labour policies, which they say "will remain largely unchanged from existing policy". As evidenced by consistent in-house polling, the health and labour policies of the Harrison government were the most popular policies with strong majorities approving of the Alliance's handling of them. The coalition agreement explicitly stated that the Coalition will not seek to privatise any part of the National Health Service or implement labour reforms. On this front, it appears that the Alliance has been victorious in their expansion of NHS and the wide-reaching labour reforms they passed in the last three years. The Centrist Democratic Party will take control of these departments from the Alliance, but they will only continue the work of their predecessors.

Harrison and the opposition

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Labor acting leader Avianna Aldridge will become the Leader of the Opposition

Margaret Harrison, who had served as the first Chancellor of Valkyria since August 2016, announced that she was going to retire from politics, marking the end of her three-decade political career that began when she first joined Young Labor in high school. Labor acting leader Avianna Aldridge, who has worked with Harrison since her election as President of Qvait in 2016, said that Harrison's departure from politics is the "end of an era" and vowed to continue Harrison's agenda while in opposition, "This movement—a movement for peace, freedom, and democracy—is bigger than any one person and we will fight to make sure that Chancellor Harrison's legacy lives on. The Labor Party owes her a great debt that can never be repaid." Populist Left leader Taeler Shaw, a longtime friend of Harrison, also expressed her sorrow that Harrison is retiring from politics, "Chancellor Harrison and I have been friends since university and her leadership will be greatly missed. Valkyria will never be the same without her at the forefront."

With the Coalition submitting their agreement to President Kate Murphy, the president announced that the new government will begin on Monday, 12 August. This development is not likely to be viewed by the president in a positive light, who had been a staunch supporter of Harrison. During her announcement, Murphy praised Harrison's leadership as chancellor, "When we look back on this era, people will remember Margaret Harrison as one of the greatest leaders this country has ever had. She was a hero of peace, freedom, and democracy to many of us. It was an honour to serve alongside her as an MP and I will never forget these years—the greatest years of our time. May the gods be ever so benevolent to her, the last President of Qvait and the first Chancellor of Valkyria."

Before a crowd of current and former campaign and Executive Valkyria employees in Darwin, Harrison thanked them "for standing beside her through thick and thin". While she restated that she was retiring from politics, Harrison said that social democracy will not retire with her:

"This is not an idea that began with me. It is an idea that began with you, the people of Valkyria. It wasn't I who saved our country. You saved our country and held on to the belief that social democracy would prevail. You put your trust in me to execute your vision of the country and I tried to execute that to the best of my ability. Today, we suffered a bitter defeat, but I assure you that we will come back from this, because that is what we accomplished in 2016. I have faith that the sun will rise on Valkyria yet again and you will not need me for that. Never lose hope and never give in to the politics of fear."

Moving forward, the Alliance of Social Democrats will consist of three parties: the Labor Party, the Populists of the Left, and the Socialist Party. The Greens and the Liberal Party left the Alliance over disagreements on Harrison's leadership. Because the Labor Party is the largest party of the opposition, its leader Aldridge, will become the Leader of the Opposition. The incoming opposition leader has stated that she "will try to hold the Coalition accountable and responsible for the authoritarian agenda that it seeks to impose on Valkyria". On the Coalition's immigration policy, Aldridge said that the language and positions set forth were "horrifying and racist" against refugees and other migrants, "If the next government passes legislation that looks anything like the proposals mentioned in their coalition agreement, I promise that there will be litigation against them."

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Valkyrian politics | Who is running to succeed Margaret Harrison?
By Lyle Williams, KTN News
Wednesday, 14 August 2019

On 9 August 2019, Stella Kaufman welcomed the Centrist Democratic Party to the New Conservative Coalition, toppling Margaret Harrison's government and becoming the new Chancellor of the Valkyrian Republic on 12 August. Harrison, who had been the de facto Leader of the Labor Party since late 2015, announced that she would retire from politics, necessitating a leadership election within the party. While this is an opportunity for new and old faces to have their time in the spotlight, all of the candidates who have launched their leadership campaigns thus far have been staunch supporters of Harrison. In fact, all of the candidates have been in close proximity to the former chancellor in governments past and going as far back during her time as mayor of Darwin in 2005. One of the candidates is Harrison's younger sister, Melissa Ambrose.

Labor Party leadership candidates:
  • Avianna Aldridge, former Foreign Secretary (2016–2017) under Margaret Harrison
  • Melissa Ambrose, former co-Queen of Valkyria (2016–2018) and younger sister of Margaret Harrison
  • Julia Burns, former Vice President of Qvait (2016) and Defence Secretary (2016–2019) under Margaret Harrison
  • Michael Mendez, former chief of staff (2005–2019) of Margaret Harrison
  • Jonathon Murphy, former Veterans Affairs Secretary (2016) under Margaret Harrison

While Harrison made it clear that she will not endorse any candidate to succeed her, she did name Avianna Aldridge as the acting party leader due to the fact that she had led the MPs of the party when the chancellery was independent from the legislature between 2017 and 2019. Before the unification of Qvait and Winstonia, when Harrison was serving as President of Qvait, Julia Burns and Avianna Aldridge respectively served as Vice President and Secretary of State and they were called the "Big Three" due to the fact that the three women were the most powerful figures in the country at the time. Recent in-house polling on members of the Labor Party has shown that Aldridge and Burns are the two most likely candidates to become the Leader of the Labor Party and consequently become the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament. However, Melissa Ambrose follows the two closely behind.

It is apparent that social democracy will continue to be the prevailing ideology of the Labor Party. In 2005, social liberals wrested control of the Labor Party from the social democrats and was the prevalent ideological force of the party for ten years until Harrison won the party's nomination for President of Qvait in 2015. Many of the social liberals who were in powerful positions within the Labor Party have since defected to the Liberal Party, whose leader Nathan Martinez is in a precarious position over his support for Harrison in the previous government. Due to the influx of former Labor Party members who had not supported Harrison, Martinez decided not to renew the Liberal Party's membership in the Alliance of Social Democrats after the 2019 general election and played a role in Harrison's ultimate defeat to Kaufman in the race to become Chancellor.

There are several issues that are important to the members of the Labor Party and are key for who will become the new Leader of the Labor Party. The party membership is critical of Kaufman's chancellery, viewing her negatively due to allowing Nicole Chancellor and The New Right to be a part of the new government. According to the in-house poll, 89 per cent of Labor Party members view the Coalition as authoritarian and 77 per cent want a party leader who will strongly challenge their policies. When it comes to ideology, 83 per cent of Labor Party respondents identify as social democrats and a total of 71 per cent said that it is important or very important for the next party leader to be a social democrat. As for experience, 58 per cent of Labor Party members want the party leader to have at least ten years of government experience.

The Labor MPs will hold several votes on 30 August to determine the final two candidates and the party membership will vote on 14 September to determine the next Leader of the Labor Party who will consequently become the Leader of the Opposition. Seven debates are planned to be held: three will be hosted by KTN, two will be jointly hosted by One Seven and The Sydney Times, and another two will be hosted by Central News.

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Valkyrian politics | Parliament passes ESPA 19
By Allie Vega, KTN News
Tuesday, 20 August 2019

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Chancellor Stella Kaufman addresses the National Assembly

Stockholm (KTN) — On Tuesday, the Citizens Assembly voted 27–23 in favour of the Expansion of Security Powers Act 2019, which brings comprehensive reforms to the security services of the Valkyrian government. The legislation, which has come to be known as ESPA 19, has been pursued by Chancellor Stella Kaufman since June 2017, long before she was in government. ESPA 19 has been a source of controversy with Opposition Leader Avianna Aldridge calling it a "bill of authoritarianism". However, Kaufman rationalised ESPA 19 as a "tool to eliminate all threats to the Valkyrian Republic". Shortly after the bill's passage in the Citizens Assembly, several opposition leaders have stated that they will pursue constitutional litigation against ESPA 19, claiming that the legislation is a violation of the right to privacy.

With the passage of ESPA 19, the legislation authorises the creation of the Strategic Intervention, Emergency Guard, and Enforcement (SIEGE) Component, a government agency given intelligence, military, and police powers. Now that SIEGE has been created, the agency will assume jurisdiction over the Special Operations Centres of the Intelligence Directorate-General, the Valkyrian Special Services within the military, and the National Tactical Intervention Force within the National Police. The agency will also oversee all special operations that the Departments of Defence and Intelligence used to do in conjunction. SIEGE will consist of six sections: administration, medical, operations, police, support, and technology. ESPA 19 intends for each section to be complementary in the execution of special operations.

The new government agency will be headed by a director, who will be accountable to a three-member body called the SIEGE Oversight Council (SOC), which shall consist of the Foreign Secretary, the Home Secretary, and the Defence Secretary. Each of the six sections will be led by a chief appointed by the director. By creating SIEGE and giving it powers similar to the Valkyrian Defence Forces, the agency circumvents the Valkyrian Constitution, which requires parliamentary authorisation for the deployment of the VDF to conduct military operations. With SIEGE in existence, the agency will have the power to conduct operations anywhere in the world without the approval of Parliament. While Opposition Leader Aldridge states that ESPA 19 is "taking advantage of a constitutional loophole", the Coalition says that the SOC will provide adequate oversight.

The new law further defines state of emergency in Valkyria, which was given a broad definition in the Constitution. ESPA 19 establishes three levels of state of emergency: Class 1 for warfare and insurgency, Class 2 for organised mass civil disobedience, and Class 3 for natural disaster. However, Socialist leader Amalia Rollins argues that the Class 1 state of emergency provisions of ESPA 19 are "tantamount to imposing martial law". A Class 1 state of emergency immediately mobilises the National Gendarmerie and a clause entitled Procedure 94 enforces a shoot-to-kill policy for civil and military police. Home Secretary Nicole Chancellor stated that the provisions were necessary to protect to the Valkyrian Republic from invasion and insurgency, "These provisions are essential to the security of the state."

ESPA 19 introduces reforms to the National Police by closing the Office of Cultist Movement Investigations (OCMI) and opening the Office to Counter Political Repression (OCPR). In her unveiling of the final bill, the home secretary denied the existence of cultist groups in Valkyria and stated that it was a "left-wing conspiracy theory". Instead, the National Police has been given a mandate to investigate claims that a person's freedoms and liberties are being infringed upon. Chancellor said that religious groups and right-wing personalities were being "silenced by the left" and it was for this reason to create the OCPR. The Leader of the Populists of the Left, however, disagrees. In a press conference, Taeler Shaw warned that the OCPR was being formed with the intent to "suppress the political power of her party in favour of The New Right".

Despite the passage of ESPA 19, President Kate Murphy has stated that she will pursue judicial review of the legislation to determine its constitutionality. This is distinct from signing the bill outright.

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Valkyrian news | VRSOG veteran designated to lead SIEGE
By Allie Vega, KTN News
Monday, 2 September 2019

Stockholm (KTN) — Valkyrian Special Services Commander Kara Beckett has been selected by the SIEGE Oversight Council (SOC) to become the director of the Strategic Intervention, Emergency Guard, and Enforcement (SIEGE) Component. Until recently, Beckett had lived in obscurity as an operative in the Valkyrian Republic Special Operations Group (VRSOG), Valkyria's most elite and secretive military unit. To become the director of SIEGE, Beckett's identity was declassified and made public, which effectively ended her service in the VRSOG. The director-designate is the first person to be revealed as a member of the elite special operations unit. While her identity has become public knowledge, the clandestine operations that Beckett has participated in will still remain a government secret.

The formation of SIEGE has been a controversial issue with opposition parties arguing that the agency will be used to promote authoritarianism within and beyond Valkyria. After the passage of the Expansion of Security Powers Act 2019, the bill that formed the agency, Opposition Leader Avianna Aldridge accused the government of "initiating a fear campaign with SIEGE at its helm". A legislative aide from the Labor Party stated that most of the party leadership is unwilling to comment on the appointment of Beckett as the director of SIEGE because she is "an unknown quantity". Shadow Defence Secretary Julia Burns, who was once a member of the Neptune Group naval special operations unit, spoke in Parliament on the appointment, "We hope that the director of SIEGE will be forthcoming and transparent during her leadership. Ms. Beckett will no longer operate under military secrecy."

While most members of the opposition have either been quiet or disapproving of the appointment, Socialist deputy leader Steve Bennett said that he was confident that Beckett would "lead honourably". Bennett, who serves in the Valkyrian military reserve as a captain in Neptune Group, said that he served alongside Beckett in various military operations and stated that he believes that SIEGE will be "in good hands". The declassified documents pertaining to Beckett show that, before 2016, she served in Neptune Group as a lieutenant commander, giving credibility to Bennett's claims. The SOC, which consists of Foreign Secretary Bradley Murphy; Home Secretary Nicole Chancellor; and Defence Secretary Elena Haig; issued a joint statement in which they said that Beckett is "more than qualified to lead the security services to ensure a safer and more secure Valkyria".

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Valkyrian politics | Aldridge elected Leader of the Labor Party
By Tara Cross, KTN News
Saturday, 14 September 2019

On Saturday, the membership of the Labor Party voted between Avianna Aldridge and Julia Burns to determine which one would become the leader of the party and, consequently, the Leader of the Opposition. In the leadership election between former Foreign Secretary Aldridge and former Defence Secretary Burns, 64.9 per cent of the party membership sided with the former, who has been the parliamentary leader of the party since 2017. With the election being certified by the Electoral Commission, Aldridge's position as acting leader has been upgraded to Leader of the Labor Party. Upon being named the elected party leader, Aldridge designated Burns to become the deputy leader of the Labor Party. Despite being opponents in the election, the two candidates have been friends for years and were part of the so-called Big Three alongside Margaret Harrison in 2016.

With the Labor Party being in opposition for the first time since 2016, Aldridge stated that she will work as a part of the Alliance of Social Democrats to regain a majority in Parliament. After the 2019 general election, the Alliance consists of only three political parties: the Labor Party, the Populists of the Left, and the Socialist Party. Leading up to the election, The Greens and the Liberal Party chose not to renew their partnership with the Alliance, which Aldridge said was "detrimental" to the bloc's electoral performance in July. Populist Left leader Taeler Shaw and Socialist leader Amalia Rollins posted congratulatory messages to Aldridge on social media. On the social media network, Shaw and Rollins reaffirmed their respective parties commitment to the Alliance and expressed hope that the bloc would return to government in the years to come.

While there were messages of congratulations from the political left, members of the governing bloc criticised the newly elected opposition leader. Chancellor Stella Kaufman gave a sarcastic message of congratulations before claiming that the Valkyrian people "will never elect" her to become Chancellor. Home Secretary Nicole Chancellor, who had previously served as Leader of the Opposition whilst being the Leader of The New Right, gave a speech in the National Assembly in which she said that the Labor Party has become "authoritarian in nature by only allowing supporters of the former Chancellor [Margaret Harrison] to thrive in their party". In contrast to the criticism coming from the other party leaders of the New Conservative Coalition, Foreign Secretary and Centrist Democratic leader Bradley Murphy simply congratulated the newly elected Leader of the Opposition before moving on to talk about foreign policy.

In her first post on social media since leaving office, Harrison congratulated Aldridge and thanked Burns for her attempt to become the Leader of the Labor Party, calling them her "sisters".

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Valkyrian news | How Valkyria plans to take down a country
By Malcolm Weston, The Stockholm Post
Monday, 16 September 2019

"Think of a country as if it was a turtle. Frostnet strips the turtle of its shell."

Since 2014, Qvait and its successor state of Valkyria has maintained a relatively low profile when it comes to the development and deployment of the military forces. When Margaret Harrison became President of Qvait in April 2016 and later Chancellor of Valkyria in August that year, this was credited to her foreign policy of peace, freedom, and democracy, but the Valkyrian government has silently been working on strategies and tactics to undermine and cripple foreign governments in the event that the Valkyrian Republic goes to war. The Stockholm Post has received leaked documents that show what Valkyria would do covertly during times of peace and war.

Since 2015, Qvait and now Valkyria has been looking at limiting the number of soldiers deployed and maximising their cyberwarfare units. The Qvaitican Armed Forces began research on the ominously-named 21st Century Project. In the leaked documents, the purpose of the 21st Century Project is to employ cyberwarfare in an effort to cripple foreign governments and corporations without sacrificing the lives of Valkyrian soldiers in the process. The project has since been transferred to the Intelligence Directorate-General, but the mission remains the same. Instead of overtly declaring war on an enemy of the Valkyrian Republic, the government could direct the IDG to employ cyberwarfare against a target country and cause a massive disruption to computer systems in that country.

In 2016, the Qvaitican government developed a computer worm called Frostnet, which is capable of spreading to systems around the world in order to give the government the power to shut down the systems of any target country. The IDG has full access to Frostnet, but the protocols for the deployment of the computer worm remains a closely guarded secret. However, the leaked documents show that the extent of Frostnet would affect many institutions of society, including but not limited to: government, military, police, industry, and mass media. Cybersecurity expert Brandon Greene, who is the director of the General Security Foundation, says that the computer worm is far more effective in executing a widespread disruption of technology than an electromagnetic pulse, "This is a sophisticated piece of code that can cause a lot of damage in only a matter of seconds."

[align=justify]The determination made in which technology is susceptible to Frostnet is based on their geotag, which means that infection can be indiscriminate. Greene warns that Frostnet could be deployed and disrupt the computer systems of hospitals and other medical institutions, which could result in civilian deaths caused by machines becoming inaccessible. However, the cybersecurity expert also says that Frostnet could cause many other problems for the country affected by it, "We are talking about a spontaneous halt in governmental and financial activity. Civil and military communications will also be disrupted, which would grant the Valkyrian military the opportunity to invade or for a coup to occur without anyone even knowing. In this circumstance, police will be unable to effectively end rioting or looting because communications have been disrupted. Think of a country as if it was a turtle. Frostnet strips the turtle of its shell."

It is currently unknown as to whether Frostnet is currently operational, but the leaked documents show that the code of the computer worm has been completely developed. The Stockholm Post has reached out for comment from current and former chancellors, cabinet officials, and agency directors that were privy to this information, but to no avail.

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