In Vlaanderen

[Großlausitz]

Vlaanderen,
Batavie

Under the current conditions the country was still in, the reception of Ministerpräsident Graf Peter Solms by the Batavian prime minister had been posh and impressive. At the airport they posted an impressive guard of honour and a large marching band, which aptly performed Gott mit Dir, Du Land der Franken. "They want to impress their most important creditor.", Graf Solms' Chief of the State Chancellery joked when they rode the car to the prime minister's office.

"Mr de Jonghe, once more, thank you for your warm welcome after your cordial invitation to pay a working visit to Batavie. What is on your mind, colleague? My country and her friends have already invested so much in Batavie, explicitly and implicitly, we won't leave you alone too soon." Although Graf Solms uttered the last words in particular friendly way, he refrained from disambiguating the statement on purpose.

 

[Batavië]

Prime Minister De Jonghe greeted his guest, Graf Peter Solms, and led him into the library of the Prime Minister's residence. Located in the quieter, more residential eastern end of the city, the residence had a good hilltop view of the city.

The library itself was not too large, but was filled with books of many centuries. De Jonghe fixed himself and his guest drinks and sat down on the leather sofa. The doors were closed and they were left alone to talk.

'I am so glad that you could take a few days and visit here, it means a lot.' he sipped his cognac and got comfortable.

'Franken is...' he searched for the right word in German, 'well, the most important beneficiary to our cause of rebuilding. The investments, monetary grants, offers, they are all so important. I wanted to have you here as my guest so that we can tour areas where investment and money from Franken is being put to good use. Windhoek we will fly to tomorrow morning, for example.'

De Jonghe stood up and looked out the window. It was a floor to ceiling glass pane of the utmost quality. Jap de Graaf, when still leader of the communist regime, insisted on installing large windows in his residences and offices. That, thought De Jonghe, was the one thing they could agree on.

'This glass...it was crafted in Franken. The quality...superb. We don't have glass blowers of this quality here, but perhaps one day. I also wanted to discuss cooperation on some inter-government levels. We will be creating an Office of the Auditor General. They will be responsible for making sure that tax and public money is well spent, legally etcetera. I was hoping that, among many things, your equivalent office could help train our new one? I also want to see our two parliaments work together, learn from each other. Share democratic ideas.'

A shrot discussion tonight was to be had, but De Jonghe wanted his guest to return to the city, to his hotel quarters soon. Tomorrow they had an early flight to Windhoek, a tour of that city and then the island's interior where they would tour infrastructure projects and mining operations. Then a quick flight back Graf Peter Solms would address Parliament on national television before rounding up his day with more touring of the capital region.

 

[Großlausitz]

"Well, that's what we want to do in Batavie: We provide long term investments in the infrastructure which will yield a considerable return on the long run, i.e. attracting companies, fostering your country's stability and altogether improve Batavie's status quo. We are patient. I expect your office has informed the regional media in time about our little trip. In politics doing good stuff while others talk about it is the key to a sound electoral success. If I recall correctly, my aides told there will be a couple of correspondents from Franken. But as the saying goes, the more, the merrier.", Graf Solms chuckled heartily and took a sip from his drink.

Following de Jonghe's look through the window, he remarked "Thank you for the compliment. My glass manufacturing knowledge is admittedly slim, nevertheless. I will tell them once I'll visit a glass factory in the Northern Rhönland again. There's the centre of our modern glass industry. As for your idea to set up an independent auditing office, I will talk to ours, the Reichsrechnungshof. Under our law they're an autonomous entity, whose leaders are picked by both houses of parliament. Furthermore, I'll get in touch with our parliament's leaders to convey them your proposal of close cooperation. We have two chambers, which form the Landtag: Abgeordnetenhaus and Senat. I believe it's best if your parliament's president and ours discuss this issue themselves.

There's one question which has bugged me for a while since we have become sponsors of your nation building: Have you ever considered introducing the office of a head of state? A ceremonial presidency can be a strategic asset for a clever leader. For example, you could provide a former opponent with a comfortable sinecure, which requires him to behave nicely instead of trying to backstab you. It's just an inquisitive man's question, not actually a suggestion, my friend."

Although the Ministerpresident had been informed about this and that project sponsored by Franken and/or its companies, Graf Solms was honestly curious to see himself what was being done on Windhoek Island.

 

[Batavië]

The question caught him off guard. A head of state...he returned to his seat, trying not to look too confused.

'No, to be quite honest, I have not considered it. Actually, it might be a very good idea. Someone not too political would be best. Perhaps a figure representing the people, not the government. It might also help foster better relations with our former colony(ies) (might be more than one). I will have to bring it up in the next Council of Minister's meeting, of course.'

The two men continued to chat, finishing their drinks before retiring.


The following morning they met at the airport. The Griffin, the government's jumbo jet 747 clad in KLM livery was waiting on the tarmac, glistening in the sun. The flight was only about an hour and twenty minutes, but for security and comfort it was better to take this albatross of a plane than a canary.

They flew over the Great Sea and eventually land came into sight. Unlike the mainland, which was mostly flat and in many places below sea level, Windhoek Island was rugged, mountaineous even. The mountain tops rose out from the water and the plane flew past to reach Windhoek Air Force Base. The commercial, civillian airport was not large enough to handle a jet of this size. De Jonghe pointed out that the harbour was being dredged and expanded to accomodate larger bulk ships, able to export large quantities of minerals and coal and that the airport was also receiving upgrades, including a runway extension. All part of the Economic Action Plan and the Franken investments as well.

They deboarded and headed for an office building in the city centre. Chief operational headquarters for infrastructure development. The building itself was a ten story glass and steel tower from the '70s, old but the best they had in the sleepy city, now bustling with construction.

De Jonghe wanted to hear his counterpart's first impressions thus far.

(OOC: Sorry, have to run to the Canadian Senate, otherwise would have posted more!)

 

[Großlausitz]

Both heads of government had enjoyed a vivid discussion, which the Ministerpresident peppered with subtle compliments for his colleague's command of German. Other than his foreign minister and deputy Robert Beaumont, Graf Solms had less qualms exploiting the status of German as an international language. While the Ministerpresident enjoyed using his mother tongue, he was more or less fluent in English, French and Aren, which were the languages of Franken's closest partners.

When they were led through the busy and bustling offices of the infrastructure headquarters, Graf Peter Solms noted that there were a bunch of German-speaking engineers and office assistants. "You can't say they wasted time with commissioning construction works, FRO and PVBB (1). What's the name of their engineering procurement construction contractor?" De Jonghe tried to pronounce the Franconian name correctly, but he failed miserably. Smirking Graf Solms remarked: "Ah, you certainly mean Blank Hoch- und Tiefbau zu Kissingen or just BHT. They keep the name of their original city in their full company name for reasons of company tradition. Which makes things difficult for foreigners. A bit."

The conference room they had been given was truly a sad memorial of what could go wrong with architecture in the 1970s, the earl thought. "On the very first glance: The city needs quite a lot work to embellish it. On the short run the mining companies will have to lure employees by high compensations on this still godforsaken island. However, on the middle and long run it is necessary to turn Windhoek into a city, where you can live well and want to live. What would give both Batavie, Franken and the involved companies good publicity would be to plan Windhoek's further expansion in a 'green manner'. The basic supply will be provided by nuclear power and energy efficient coal plants while a third or a fourth will be provided by wind craft.
Have you plans for Windhoek's educational sector yet? This will be crucial, I daresay, since the currently nearest Batavian universities are a 90 minutes flight away. Regarding tertiary education a university of applied sciences - taking the Franconian system as an example - seems to be worth a thought.
Nonetheless, generally my first impression is positive, Mr de Jonghe."


(1) the two mining corporations

 

[Batavië]

Listening was De Jonghe's strongest asset. It made him learn new things every day from friends and foes alike.

'Yes a university is certainly needed. I will have some people look into your model of post secondary education, perhaps we could learn from it. As for green building, well, I could not agree more. Uranium deposits are indeed plentiful on this island and I would like to see the first nuclear reactor of the country built here to supply the city with power. We will need expertise from abroad, of course. The city itself is home to, oh, I would say no more than 300.000 people and the rest of the island has only 20.000 or so spread out, not including mine workers. It is a beutiful nature preserve so while I want to see it exploited for its riches, its pristine environment must be protected as well.'

A staff member came in and brought them water.

'City planning will be crucial. As you say we need to attract people here. Engineers and workers are living in cramped flat blocks. The streets are narrow and there are hardly any hotels at all. We also need to plan for a surge in population and invest in public transport accordingly. A city council commission should be set up shortly and at the top of their list will be city expansion, renovation, public transport. Buses, diesel electric. Bus lanes, bike paths, wider streets and pedestrian pavements. New flat buildings with stylish glass façades overlooking the harbour and city with green rooftops. Imagine riding the lift to the top floor and enjoying a private park atop a building?'

All of this would cost money and lots of it. Foreign investment, loans and bond sales would all be required. Having discussed the future of Windhoek, the city, they returned to the ground floor where their aides and staff were waiting for them in the lobby.

Three black cars (does Franken make mercedes?) awaited them. The air conditioning was a welcome relief. The Green Sea current kept the island warm all throughout the year making snowfall rare during the winter even as the mainland couldn't get enough of it. The three cars along with a modest police escort made their way out of the city and on to the island's ring road, heading south around the southwest bend of the island. The cracked asphalt gave way to a gravel road just ten minutes outside the city centre.

'Don't worry, Road Team A is widening and paving the portion of the ring road north of the city as we speek and Road Team B is preparing supplies received in the harbour to begin on this side by next week.'

The cars skirted the island's coast as the road wound along the edges of the cliffs. Down below the waves crashed into the rocks and seals could be seen bathing in the sun from their rocky beds. The drive was long and at slower speeds due to the road conditions it took them nearly three hours to reach the mine to be toured. On the way military signs warned of restricted zones and military bases.

'This was and still is primarily a military island, Ministerpresident. As you probably saw the Republican Navy is headquartered in Windhoek and the aircraft carrier calls this place home. She is docked until further notice, unfortunately, due to a lack of funds. I would like to see here patrolling and monitoring our coasts, but I can't have everything.'

They pulled into a compund and exited the cars. Construction noise could be heard. Lorries and forklifts were moving about, men in hard hats were coming in and out of the mine's entrance and stacks of crates full of the precious minerals were waiting in one area waiting for pick up to be delivered back to the city. They would stay only for an hour, then a helicopter would arrive to bring them back to the city. Driving back would take too long. The drive over was only to show Solms some of the island itself.

 

[Großlausitz]

"The landscape isn't actually what I would call picturesque, Prime Minister. Then again, when I was in grammar school my art teacher repeatedly told me never consider a creative career. I'm sure she's glad I appreciated her suggestion quite.", Ministerpresident Graf Solms joked and both men chuckled.

The mine they were visiting was one by the Pegnitz Vereinte Bergbau - PVBB. Followed by a small group of accredited journalists Graf Peter Solms talked to the senior engineer as well as two previously selected foremen on the site. "Here, Ladies and Gentlemen you can see Franconian money and knowledge being invested for the benefit of us as well as Batavie. Both my colleague Alex de Jonghe and myself are very delighted that we could achieve such mutually profitable conditions."

On the return flight to Windhoek he gave the three journalists aboard the first government helicopter a brief interview in which he praised the economic opportunities of Windhoek Island.

Back at the 1970's office complex, the Franconian head of government addressed the issue of military presence. "Even if your carrier is de-facto a lame duck, a military presence on Windhoek Island is a valuable security asset. We won't object to it. Is the island run by a military governor or is there a regional administration?"

OOC: Franken has Audi and BMW doppelgänger.

 

[Batavië]

'It was military run until a few weeks ago. I'm not sure if you get our news, but we are in the process of dividing the country up into provinces to grant devolved powers. Windhoek Island will of course become its own province. Currently only one MP represents the island, but with so many people expected to move here, that will soon change.'

'The communists forbid unauthorised travel to the island. Actually, we are investigating confidential reports that secret military installations were operated in the island's deep interior. We are not yet sure what they did, but it was obviously secret enough to warrant very little travel. The locals were either fishermen or provided services for the Navy and military.'

They flew back to Vlaanderen and the Ministerpresident was returned to his hotel to freshen up for the evening's events. A gala was to be held tonight with all of the MPs and Ministerial staff invited. A dinner, of course, would occur beforehand.

De Jonghe changed into a dinner suit. His chief aide was brushing the slacks and jacket with a brush as the Prime Minister stared at himself in the mirror.

'Do you think it is going well?' he asked his aide.

He kept brushing but spoke at the same time.

'Yes. I think having Herr Solms here to see his country's investments for himself will help keep long term commitments.'

De Jonghe nodded in agreement. 'Just wait until tomorrow. We're going to the DMZ.'

 

[Großlausitz]

In his own hotel room the Ministerpresident was about to change clothes at the same time as de Jonghe was discussing the visit with his aide. While his wife Gräfin Steffi was busy in their suite's bathroom, Graf Solms was discussing the visit with Johannes Paul Stephanson, loyal Chief of the State Chancellery, i.e. his cabinet secretary. "Do you think I have been too soft on them?" Stephanson nonchalantly handed the St. Sebastian Order insignia to his boss, shaking his head slightly. "I don't think so, Peter. We should sooth them. For us they're one object of our interest, but not our only one, as you very well know. Creating a sense of mutual understanding will serve our interests best. Indirect rule, ahem, influence is far more efficient than direct and blatant show of force."

"We will do our very best to show cloth our iron fist in a velvet glove.", Graf Peter Solms smirked and adjusted the St. Sebastian insignia. Said order was the second highest order of chivalry of his home kingdom. Traditionally it was awarded to Ministerpresidents of His Majesty's Government before the end of their first term in office. Furthermore, upon state visits by His Majesty the respective Franconian ambassador who was accredited in the King's name was made a knight or lady of the order.

"Steffi, dear, are you done yet?", the earl inquired. "Just a minute, Peter." Some minutes later a relatively tall (1.75m) brunette woman, some years younger than the chief of government appeared. Other than her husband curly-haired Steffi was very keen on showing her foreign language skills. Indeed, she did reasonably ok in Batavian. Gräfin Steffi Solms sported one order badge herself. For her volunteer work at the YMCA Franken she had been awarded the highest of four tiers of the Goldener Hirschorden, Franken's senior general order.

Perfectly prepared for a splendid night, the Franconian delegation was brought to the gala dinner's venue.

 

[Batavië]

He was tired. The first hour he had to greet people. The Franken ambassador, some prominent Franken investors and businessmen, MPs and, of course, the press.

The champagne was fine, the food splendid as usual and even the conversation was rich. At the end of the evening they retired only to arise early and fly to an air base in the North. The air base was the chief delivery base for the EDF peacekeeping mission. Lorries of supplies arrived from Poortstad in the south and cargo plane were constantly shuttling out and in.

Both the men were wearing more casual dress. It was a windy day, normal, actually, for this region of the country, which was mostly below sea level, totally flat and full of farmland. They walked with uniformed peacekeepers as the press followed to snap pictures and record the walk for the evening news. With the cameras off the two leaders will left alone with the commander of the air base.

'An update would be good. Particularly what is going on in Spa and the trade shipments. The opposition brings it up everyday in Parliament: when will I begin negotiations. Well, part of that lies on the successes here.' he asked the commander.

OOC: you can RP the commander since he is EDF.

 

[Großlausitz]

Graf Solms had been satisfied about the course of the dinner and the gala. The group of managers who were also part of his delegation could get in touch with industrial leaders of Batavie, whereas he had several interesting conversations, e.g. with the mayor of the capital. He had been eager to learn about municipal administration and how Franconian municipalities generated their income from the Ministerpresident. The mayor was somewhat surprised when Graf Peter Solms told him the Franconian cities and towns had a national union, whose president acted as their national spokesman towards His Majesty's Government and the public at large.

The next morning the airbase commander invited both leaders to have a seat after they had left the flock of journalists behind at the door of the base commander's office. With Franken in charge of running the logistics of the mission, the commander was Oberst Siegfried Drawell, who commanded this Royal Army detachment of logistics and support units. Instead of the army beret he wore an EDF-coloured one and the acronym of the mission was attached to his sleeves.

"Our Montelimarian comrades, who provide the vast bulk of the combat troops, report a generally calm situation. Naturally there are still groups of extreme insurgents, who we have yet to find and dismantle. Thanks to the commander's emergency recovery programs the EDF district commanders are able to provide immediate funding where necessary and reasonable. It's not that we generally distrust civilian organisations, but we prefer to keep the money in the military's hand. The cerp is the result of a political decision of the EDF leaders. To build further trust we can rely on the superb assistance of the Eiffellander medical teams, civilian and military alike. In terms of securing the supply routes we have been successful with establishing the freedom of shipping on the sea. If it came push to shove, there's still a carrier group available from Franken, isn't it, Herr Ministerpräsident? On land the main routes are safe as long as we maintain a firm presence near them. Unfortunately modern cheap SUVs make it very easy for BRA groups to attack unprotected lorries and so forth. Moreover, there are still a two boroughs of Spa we still have to literally smoke out. We suspect undercover BRA warehouses there."

 

[Batavië]

De Jonghe nodded as the relatively good news was told.

'The Staatsveiligheid says that the BRA leadership may be ready to meet, within days even. The bigger issue is that there has been division within the group. Some of them want to lay down arms and become political, then there are enough of those who want to continue an armed struggle. The shootings and bombings in our cities in the south have all but ended. I am concerned, Herr Oberst, that if they officially split this more radical branch of the BRA will not only recommence sporadic attacks in places like Vlaanderen and Poortstad, but also begin to randomly target civilian groups, not just police and military ones. If that happens the mission might need to move into our cities, something I would prefer to avoid.'

The wind whipped through their tent and it began to drizzle. The grey sky hung low and it appeared that a fog was developing. Perfect weather for ambushing.

'Is there anything else that I can do? I hope that the Republican Forces are cooperating. The Staatsveiligheid has also told me that they would like to begin weekly briefings with your men. They have been gathering intelligence from some agents and informers still in Spa. Oh and tell me, has the public been receiving your men well? I have been told that some of them are getting used to the BRA running things there.'

 

[Großlausitz]

OOC: Just for the record, this guy isn't the commander in chief but the commander of the logistics, supply and other stuff (intelligence) arm of the operation.

IC:

Oberst Drawell nodded quietly. This wasn't different from what the mission's joined intelligence arm he was also commanding had reported to him. From a military point of view his recommendation to his superiors, the mission command, was, in a nutshell: On the short run the military was in charge of search and neutralise missions, on the long run the civil authorities needed to be strengthened. "Furthermore, Herr Premierminister, to achieve stability permanently we recommend to educate these people properly about the merits of the new system. Our CERP money alone won't be a cure, I'm afraid.

As to cooperation with the Republican Forces, I have no complaints to make. We enjoy agreeable relations. The Staatsveiligheid is welcome to send liaison officers. Speaking about the public reception: They have mixed feelings about us. Whereas they happily accept the CERP money, not everyone is happy when we announce that we expect BRA militias to disarm before the money is available. It's safe to say that most of the people would happily accept the new regime if they were assured both a decent living and some say in its future. Decent living means to give them an opportunity to work not just shove money down their throats."

The Royal Army colonel had addressed Prime Minister de Jonghe in a calm and non-committal way. The Royal Armed Forces' self-conception was that of a force loyal to king and country, i.e. the military obeyed the Crown not vice-versa.

 

[Batavië]

'Gut, gut. Now, Herr Oberst, if you read the papers this morning or have tuned into the radio, you will know that we are holding Presidential elections this weekend. I want the North to be a part of this, but by post ballot for safety reasons. If I have Elections Batavia send ballot supplies to your men, can you distribute them to households? I want them included.'

The creation of a head of state seemed rushed to De Jonghe, but his top political advisers assured him that it would be worthwhile. It would bring more political trust and stability, a safety valve or sorts for the country and expand influence potentially to Fulanistan as those two countries grew closer together after a neglected number of decades. He wondered, however, what Graf Peter Solms thought of it.

 

[Großlausitz]

Oberst Drawell nodded once more. "Of course, sir. I will forward your request to the supreme command, but there's no doubt it's within our mission objectives in Batavia to help you organising the presidential elections."

"Well, the speed surprises me a bit -", Graf Solms diplomatically commented, "-nevertheless you have to choose the pace for political actions yourself. If your advisors recommend to install the presidency quickly, they will have good reasons to do so. At least from their point of view. Anyway, a separate head of state is very useful for a nation. Without prejudice to our collective experience the monarchy is best suited to serve as a symbol of national unity, a president can do so under certain circumstances, too. I think it's somewhat risky to have a president directly elected if you want him to stay a figurehead. By virtue of his direct election he might claim being legitimized to have his own share of real power."