Pelasgia
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CARIA'S LARGEST ENGELSH-LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER · EST. A.D. 1954
Government considers easing immigration restrictions as demographic crisis worsens
Nauplia, 28 March 2022 | Stephanos Papadakis
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The main building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in downtown Nauplia, Caria
As the demographic crisis of Caria worsens, the incumbent government of the conservative Constitutional Democratic Party has taken the unprecedented step of airing immigration as a means of resolving the country's population-related woes. With a fertility rate of 1.37 births per woman as of 2019, and a median age of 45.2 years, Caria is one of the oldest and least fertile countries in the world. This is sharp contrast to its economic profile, where the Meridian Sea nation of 47 million people boasts a per capita GDP of 40,113 euromarks per resident, totaling over one and a half trillion euromarks for the whole Kingdom. Indeed, the Carian Government has done all it can to use these funds to boost fertility at both the polity and federal level, with both orders of government financing public daycare, maternity and paternity leave, education, healthcare, and even chilrearing-costs programmes. Nevertheless, these steps seem to have done very little in a society where increasingly late marriage and higher educational attainment, coupled with strong social pressures to build a career and work long hours meet with modernisation, individualism, urbanisation, and other trends discouraging procreation. For all their efforts, successive Carian federal ministries seem to have done little to overturn this issue.
Whereas internal migration from more fertile inland regions to more urbanised polities was seen as a solution well into the late 1990s and early 2000s, sub-replacement fertility and growing socio-economic prosperity in those regions has deprived Caria's metropolitan regions of that relatively easy source of new residents. For many economists, immigration would have seemed as the solution to Caria's woes since long ago. But that is not the case in the culturally insular and admittedly somewhat xenophobic nation, whose residents often distrust residents of other polities (states) within the Carian federation--let alone foreigners. Long rocky coasts, faraway islands, a rugged inland, and tall mountainous borders characterise the Carian geography, which, along with a completely distinct language and a separate national confession of Christianity have served to isolate the nation from its neighbours culturally and politically over past centuries. Indeed, Carians, though mercantile and sea-loving by general admission, and hospitable by reputation, prefer to welcome foreigners only for a limited time and only in manageable numbers. It is no surprise that, despite being one of Europe's foremost touristic destinations and leading maritime nations, Caria receives next to no immigrants on an annual basis.
Yet, as demographics worsen, that might be about to change. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has put out a tender for applications for foreigners from across Europe. While this is not novel--as Caria increasingly relies on foreign temporary workers to do low-paid, unskilled labour that Carian businesses have a hard time finding workers for--what is novel is precisely what the tender entailed. Among the 400,000 or so foreigners who come into Caria every year as resident temporary workers, in addition to the 800,000 resident aliens, the Ministry requested applications for some 40,000 immigrants. This is a tiny figure, which is less than a tenth of 1% of the Carian population; and yet it is monumental, precisely because of the strictness of Carian immigration law. Generally, immigrants to Caria are only allowed there if they are married to a Carian or have stable, high-level employment which more than compensates for any benefits they receive from public services via taxes. Moreover, the path to citizenship is effectively closed for those without a parent who is him or herself a Carian national. Even those 40,000 immigrants are more likely to be drawn from culturally proximate countries like Pelasgia, since even Pannonians (seen as easily assimilable in other countries of the region) are far too exotic for most Carians according to recent polls.
That being said, the federal government has also aired the idea of facilitating the naturalisation process. Criteria would include willingness to abandon other citizenships, demonstrated willingness to assimilate into local culture, and a long residency requirement, according to a draft bill circulated within governing party circles. Additional criteria would require some similar assimilation into and approval by the authorities of the polity where the applicant would reside. But, again, by Carian standards this is a shocking development--and one which might not easily go along with great sections of the governing party's base. Caria's dominant party, the conservative Constitutional Democratic Party, has relied on broad middle class support, institutional backing, and business-friendliness to remain in power (with rare exceptions) for the better part of forty years. That being said, while business might favour immigration, the middle class is strongly opposed--and institutional players (who are notoriously both conservative and nationalistic) are split. While opposition parties have varying positions, ranging from that of the Carian Socialist Workers' Party (KSEK), which is strongly in opposed, to that of the All-Carian Progressive Coalition (PAPS), which is strongly in favour, the most interesting one is that of the official opposition--the National Democratic Movement (EDIK). The National Democratic Movement is not so much an ideological party, as it is the party of the opposition of the Constitutional Democrats' power; it has gone through centre-left, hard left, centre liberal, centre-right, and even hard right phases, all based on the election cycle. With a new leadership race in course, between right-wing,anti-immigration populist candidate Anastasios Germanos, and left-wing, pro-immigration candidate Theodora Manou, the National Democrats could either capitalize on the Constitutional Democrats' new immigration policy or they could join forces with the governing party to promote. What will be remains to be seen.
Other Headlines
- (International) Ministry of Foreign Affairs congratulates new Pelasgian Chairman on election but remains mute on new political developments in the country, fearing imperilment of largest neighbour's stability. At the same time, the Ministry condemned continued Pelasgian vilations of the airspace and waters around the Carian frontier island of Hagios Georgios, which Propontis illegally claims.
- (National) Federalism row between federal government and Polity of Navarone regarding polity's carbon tax to be heard by the Supreme Court, following filing by the federal Ministry of Justice challenging the law's constitutionality. Navarone has responded by challenging the federal government's choice to withhold tax funds collected by the Royal Revenue Agency under the tax from the polity's coffers.
- (Religious) Church of Caria reaches settlement with Ecumenical Patriarchate regarding official guidelines on the inclusion of olive oil in the Easter lent guide. The Patriarchate has agreed to recognise that the matter falls within the Carian Church's Charter of Autocephaly, in exchange for a compromise solution leaving the matter to each the faithful.
- (Sports) Asteras Nauplia F.C. beats Atromitos Nikaia F.C. 3-2 in heated derby at the latter's home court, thereby eliminating the Nikaia team. Asteras is now set to face off against Neolcus in the finals for the I National Division's annual league, while Nikaia is veering from the resignation of its coach after the game.
© Copyright 2022 - Nauplia Herald, Ltd. / Ο Ναυπλιωτικός Κήρυκας Ε.Π.Ε.
Whereas internal migration from more fertile inland regions to more urbanised polities was seen as a solution well into the late 1990s and early 2000s, sub-replacement fertility and growing socio-economic prosperity in those regions has deprived Caria's metropolitan regions of that relatively easy source of new residents. For many economists, immigration would have seemed as the solution to Caria's woes since long ago. But that is not the case in the culturally insular and admittedly somewhat xenophobic nation, whose residents often distrust residents of other polities (states) within the Carian federation--let alone foreigners. Long rocky coasts, faraway islands, a rugged inland, and tall mountainous borders characterise the Carian geography, which, along with a completely distinct language and a separate national confession of Christianity have served to isolate the nation from its neighbours culturally and politically over past centuries. Indeed, Carians, though mercantile and sea-loving by general admission, and hospitable by reputation, prefer to welcome foreigners only for a limited time and only in manageable numbers. It is no surprise that, despite being one of Europe's foremost touristic destinations and leading maritime nations, Caria receives next to no immigrants on an annual basis.
Yet, as demographics worsen, that might be about to change. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has put out a tender for applications for foreigners from across Europe. While this is not novel--as Caria increasingly relies on foreign temporary workers to do low-paid, unskilled labour that Carian businesses have a hard time finding workers for--what is novel is precisely what the tender entailed. Among the 400,000 or so foreigners who come into Caria every year as resident temporary workers, in addition to the 800,000 resident aliens, the Ministry requested applications for some 40,000 immigrants. This is a tiny figure, which is less than a tenth of 1% of the Carian population; and yet it is monumental, precisely because of the strictness of Carian immigration law. Generally, immigrants to Caria are only allowed there if they are married to a Carian or have stable, high-level employment which more than compensates for any benefits they receive from public services via taxes. Moreover, the path to citizenship is effectively closed for those without a parent who is him or herself a Carian national. Even those 40,000 immigrants are more likely to be drawn from culturally proximate countries like Pelasgia, since even Pannonians (seen as easily assimilable in other countries of the region) are far too exotic for most Carians according to recent polls.
That being said, the federal government has also aired the idea of facilitating the naturalisation process. Criteria would include willingness to abandon other citizenships, demonstrated willingness to assimilate into local culture, and a long residency requirement, according to a draft bill circulated within governing party circles. Additional criteria would require some similar assimilation into and approval by the authorities of the polity where the applicant would reside. But, again, by Carian standards this is a shocking development--and one which might not easily go along with great sections of the governing party's base. Caria's dominant party, the conservative Constitutional Democratic Party, has relied on broad middle class support, institutional backing, and business-friendliness to remain in power (with rare exceptions) for the better part of forty years. That being said, while business might favour immigration, the middle class is strongly opposed--and institutional players (who are notoriously both conservative and nationalistic) are split. While opposition parties have varying positions, ranging from that of the Carian Socialist Workers' Party (KSEK), which is strongly in opposed, to that of the All-Carian Progressive Coalition (PAPS), which is strongly in favour, the most interesting one is that of the official opposition--the National Democratic Movement (EDIK). The National Democratic Movement is not so much an ideological party, as it is the party of the opposition of the Constitutional Democrats' power; it has gone through centre-left, hard left, centre liberal, centre-right, and even hard right phases, all based on the election cycle. With a new leadership race in course, between right-wing,anti-immigration populist candidate Anastasios Germanos, and left-wing, pro-immigration candidate Theodora Manou, the National Democrats could either capitalize on the Constitutional Democrats' new immigration policy or they could join forces with the governing party to promote. What will be remains to be seen.
Other Headlines
- (International) Ministry of Foreign Affairs congratulates new Pelasgian Chairman on election but remains mute on new political developments in the country, fearing imperilment of largest neighbour's stability. At the same time, the Ministry condemned continued Pelasgian vilations of the airspace and waters around the Carian frontier island of Hagios Georgios, which Propontis illegally claims.
- (National) Federalism row between federal government and Polity of Navarone regarding polity's carbon tax to be heard by the Supreme Court, following filing by the federal Ministry of Justice challenging the law's constitutionality. Navarone has responded by challenging the federal government's choice to withhold tax funds collected by the Royal Revenue Agency under the tax from the polity's coffers.
- (Religious) Church of Caria reaches settlement with Ecumenical Patriarchate regarding official guidelines on the inclusion of olive oil in the Easter lent guide. The Patriarchate has agreed to recognise that the matter falls within the Carian Church's Charter of Autocephaly, in exchange for a compromise solution leaving the matter to each the faithful.
- (Sports) Asteras Nauplia F.C. beats Atromitos Nikaia F.C. 3-2 in heated derby at the latter's home court, thereby eliminating the Nikaia team. Asteras is now set to face off against Neolcus in the finals for the I National Division's annual league, while Nikaia is veering from the resignation of its coach after the game.
© Copyright 2022 - Nauplia Herald, Ltd. / Ο Ναυπλιωτικός Κήρυκας Ε.Π.Ε.
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