Meet the Frankens

[Confederal Republics]

In the airspace of Nürnberg
Kingdom of Franken

North Star Two, as the Commonwealth Air Force jetliner in service of Cabinet Chancellor Joanne Wainwright was called, had entered the vicinity of Nürnberg nearly two hours ago and was to touch down at the Ludwig Erhard International Airport at any moment.

Joanne gave a relieved sigh at the thought. Though the Cabinet Chancellor would not have admitted it to anyone else outside of her immediate family, she dreaded flying, always had, even though she knew that fear of flying was ultimately ridiculous and that statistically speaking, airliners had a lower accident rate than say, automobiles. However, getting onboard the North Star Two was always a stressful occasion for her due to the irrational fear of flying. She was glad that they'd soon be touching down in Franken, not only for that fear of flying but because she was particularly eager to get on with the negotiations with the Franconian government.

She attached her seat belt as the aircraft's pilot begun the landing towards the airport, where the Franconian reception was about to begin.

 

[Großlausitz]

Die Staatskanzlei, Nürnberg
Franken

The reception at the high-security section of the Ludwig Erhard International Airport Nürnberg (LEI) had been far from extraordinary. Der Präsident des Ministerrates der Regierung Seiner Majestät und Reichskanzler (these were his two main titles of office) Graf Peter Solms received his counterpart from Cornavia, Cabinet Chancellor Joanne Wainwright with military honours. The working visit was scheduled to take about one day, starting with personal talks between the two heads of government, followed by a luncheon with other senior government ministers, a meeting with the members of the Cornavisch-Fränkischen (Cornavian-Franconian) Chamber of Commerce and to be concluded with an informal dinner at Graf Solms' favourite restaurant.

Having been Franken's capital since the very beginning, Nürnberg's citizens were hardly interested in watching motorcades and visit of foreign dignitaries, unless it was something close to a royal parade. Royal visits never failed to attract the sophisticated inhabitants of Franken's senior city. Without any interruption the motorcade sped through the Staatskanzlei gates.

Inside Ms. Wainwright was led to the Ministerpresident's office by her host. While the interior was tasteful mix of modern and old, the walls were adorned with paintings of the earl's most famous predecessors.

"Again, madam, I'm pleased to have you today. The objective of our hopefully pleasant and profitable is to design plans how Cornavia and Franken can both contribute to a stable region and how we can foster our countries' relations. Which indirectly means your country's relationship to the EDF, I daresay. My country has been its leading power ever since. As usually for such circumstances, I suggest we look into and/or have our people look into bilateral commerce framework agreements, alignment of visa procedures et cetera. What are your ideas on closer regional cooperation? My senior cabinet ministers, who you will meet later, have also some ideas about that."

Graf Solms was keen on ensuring this would be a successful meeting. Actually visits to or from Cornavia had been somewhat rare due to Cornavia being a republic and being very outspoken about it. The earl was pretty glad he could finally do away with his predecessors' old-fashioned policy.

 

[Confederal Republics]

So far Wainwright had been satisfied with the courtesy that her official Franconian hosts had shown on the occasion, and was confident that the other members of the extensive delegation by the Commonwealth and the Cornavian Chamber of Commerce would also find the reception satisfactory.

However with the weary plane trip from Southport still in her mind, the Cabinet Chancellor was eager to get to business with her Franconian equivalent.

"Graf Solms", Joanne Wainwright begun in her German, which she prided on her ability in concealing the Anglo-Scanian accent for which Cornavian attempts at speaking German were often mocked, "The Commonwealth welcomes this meeting as an opportunity at extending our relations with the Kingdom of Franken and its partners in the European Defense Federation. As you likely know, my Cabinet is presently drafting a new program of foreign policy..."

Which, she grimly noted to herself, had already become one of the most controversial points of Cornavian politics in her lifetime, if not during the history of the Commonwealth. The Labour Party and the Red-Greens stood in opposition on grounds that it would mark Cornavia's transfer towards realist school power politics and neo-imperialist plots, and the Republican and Christian Parties opposed it on principle in their typical trailer park isolationism. The idiots.

Though her proposal for membership in the Council of Nations would pass, as would the new foreign policy program - of the latter she'd made sure of - Wainwright was decidedly worried about the continuing opposition. Still, she wouldn't make that known to the Franconians. They'd probably factored Cornavian internal politics into their plans already, and if they hadn't, Wainwright wasn't about to show any more weakness than necessary. For she could play the chess game of international politics as well as any man.

Anyway, enough with the pleasantries.

"...this new program entails opening up to the world more than we've traditionally done, particularly as the Red tyranny is no longer as strong in Scania as it has been", Wainwright practically spat out the words Red tyranny, her contempt towards Communism and all other manifestations of totalitarianism in public knowledge, "And in opening up the logical destinations seem to be the countries that share our values like democracy and the rule of law. You already mentioned a part of what I and the Cabinet envision as how Cornavian-Franconian cooperation should begin. The Commonwealth is seeking membership in the Council of Nations and though the Council has an inclusive policy of membership, we'd appreciate Franconian support in the matter. We've already looked in the visa matter and I daresay that access to Franconian, and possibly other EDF citizens to Cornavia could be implemented without visas. Of course, this would reciprocity. Being that you already mentioned regional affairs, how does Nürnberg see development in Scania and the nearby areas, particularly with the removal of the Batavian Communist regime and this new 'Hertha accord' being established?"

 

[Großlausitz]

Die Staatskanzlei, Nürnberg
Franken

Despite her worries Ministerpresident Graf Solms found his colleague's accent charming. With German being one of most relevant languages of Europe over all, the earl didn't have to bother speaking in another language. He was fluent in French and English, languages of Franken's important allies. Nevertheless, he preferred talking in his mother tongue, as you could plot and scheme more easily that way.

"Our country appreciates your government's domestic effort to open up to international exchange and business.", Graf Solms hinted at his insights in Cornovia's interior affairs, "Furthermore, we certainly share your sentiments towards totalitarian regimes. Speaking for my government alone I can assure you that Franken will eagerly embrace any reasonable deals on visa matters. And what's reasonable for the Franconian Kingdom may also convince our partners.

In regards of Batavie we're glad that our own operations return considerable yield. In the north Franken and the EDF are a major influence and our troops have been instructed to create goodwill with the less radical majority. Nominally and officially we observe the wishes of the Batavian government, but de facto we make sure that the people know who ensures their security and helps feeding them beside their own leadership. And let's not forget the Batavian government generously permits us to exploit resources in their island province. In a nutshell, we're trying to groom us a wee stable friend in Batavia.
Speaking of self-conscious Tyskreich's latest feat, the Hertha Accord, there's not much to be said about it, is it? Consider the practical use of a partnership solely between two very distant partners."

 

[Confederal Republics]

The Cabinet Chancellor had earlier noted to herself in a cynical manner that the EDF involvement in Batavia also meant that Batavia was and would be steadily in the EDF's sphere of influence, which Wainwright knew surely affected her counterpart's explanation of the situation. Still, her Cabinet's plans for enabling Cornavian enterprises increased access to the developing Batavian market and in establishing ties with the new Batavian administration would undoubtedly require friendly ties with the European Defense Federation, at least as long as EDF peacekeepers would stay in Batavia. Still, she appreciated the fact that Graf Solms was being honest with his government's intentions.

As for the Hertha Accord, Joanne Wainwright surmised that in a time when the Commonwealth was increasingly seeking ties with foreign powers, Nürnberg was interested in attracting Cornavia towards the EDF. However, she realized that though the alliance represented the dominating power in their corner of the world and the apparently rival Accord would be belaguered with differing interests and focuses between its Northern and Southern members, it would benefit Cornavia from an internal and external perspective to seek relations with both. Even though neither should be favored over the other if possible.

"Interesting", Wainwright said in response accompanied by a brief nod, "It's certainly in the interests of the region that the situation in Batavia will be stabilized, and Southport will also appreciate that Franken is being honest with its intentions to secure its interests in the region. Having said that, we also welcome support to our Council of Nations affair and the already discussed initiatives."

 

[Großlausitz]

Die Staatskanzlei, Nürnberg
Franken

Graf Solms nonchalantly leaned back in his comfortable chair. "Don't worry, Madam Chancellor. My government and its partners will be as honest with you as you will be with us. Franken and Cornavia are two progressive and modern states with an interesting past and an even more intriguing future ahead of them."

The Ministerpresident turned around and put a prepared tray carrying a jug and two wine glasses on the table. "Fancy a drink? It's a so-called Weinschorle (1), not pure white wine. On warm days like today it is a very refreshing alternative to some heavy red wine or even whisky. The wine itself is from one of King's highly acclaimed wineyards. Wine is one somewhat luxurious item our entrepreneurs would like to export even more. I've taken the liberty of preparing a couple of framework accords on easing commerce restrictions. Do you want to have a look? Furthermore, if you have plans for cross-border industrial projects, my government won't hesitate to support your companies. We are confident you would assist Franconian corporations vice-versa."

Both leaders enjoyed their glasses of Weinschorle while browsing the framework agreement papers. They would be useful for the subsequent informal talks with the Cornavian and Franconian businessmen at the Cornavian-Franconian Chamber of Commerce tonight.


(1) wine + sparkled water

 

[Confederal Republics]

Wainwright sipped her Franconian wine, finding the drink indeed a relaxant in the Nürnberg heat. Though she reminded herself to go easy with it, particularly as excess alcohol tended to do tricks to the mind. It was a common habit in Cornavian negotiations and meetings to indulge in heavy alcohol, and particularly the informal post-negotiation dinner parties were often marked by heavy drinking. However, she noted that this was not the case here, and that the disadvantage would've been hers had her Franconian hosts resorted in such an underhand tactic.

"Interesting", Joanne Wainwright nodded, going through the documents handed by Solms and then passing them on to her subordinates. This section of the negotiations had been a relatively effortless one, Wainwright realized, with both Cornavia and Franken having found common ground. However, hard politics could theoretically be another matter. "Cornavia's still a net exporter of natural gas and oil, though to my sorrow our oil production already reached its peak for several hours ago. However, Cornavian energy companies could find Franken as an interesting customer in any case. Aside from energy production, our export is concentrated around household electronics and machinery and information technology, which will give you a picture of any potential cross-border initiatives that we could forward in this field."

"In addition in the field of peaceful cooperation, my Cabinet would like to facilitate student exchanges and academic cooperation and such between the Commonwealth and Franken, though we've seen in earlier practice that the central government should only work to facilitate this, and leave the practical specificies to the schools and academies."

 

[Großlausitz]

Die Staatskanzlei, Nürnberg
Franken

"These proposals -", Graf Solms retorted, "- are very good, madam. Likewise in Franken the government would be set the framework, while schools, universities and private academies would autonomously reach out to their Cornavian counterparts. I think our both nations will certainly benefit from student exchanges. Furthermore, we should ponder promoting cross-border research where sensible. This, I daresay, will be the beginning of a profitable relationship between Franken and Cornavia. To mark the opportunity I took the liberty of inviting the Lord Mayor of Nürnberg to our dinner. He is very open to the idea of forging a twin city accord with your capital city as the first of many to come."

"Oh dear, how time passes by - ", the Ministerpresident had had a look on his watch, " - It's almost time for our meeting with the Cornavisch-Fränkische Handelskammer. Have you anything else on your mind, madam chancellor?"

 

[Confederal Republics]

"Actually, yes", Joanne Wainwright replied, deciding to go straight to the point, "My Cabinet is interested in opening an informal liaisonship of sorts between the Commonwealth and Franken in particular and the European Defense Federation in general. The purpose of this liaisonship would be to share views regarding political developments in our immediate vicinity and avenues of cooperation in those developments. Informal in the sense that us engaging in such an effort would not be made public knowledge."

The idea for that liaisonship had come from External Affairs Minister Fenner, who'd proposed it as an acceptable compromise in developing Cornavia's relation with the EDF without too much haste, particularly with the alliance being highly controversial in Cornavian internal and external politics alike.

 

[Großlausitz]

Die Staatskanzlei, Nürnberg
Franken

The Ministerpresident crossed his legs leisurely. "I see, madam. We are flexible regarding diplomatic relations. A practical idea would be to expand the Foreign Office's Political General Directorate 1's section for Cornavia considerably. PGD 1 is the Foreign Office's department for Central Europe, for your information. The media usually doesn't care about government ministry staff expansion, unless we do it on a big scale. So the publicity will be little to non-existent. Likewise we'll help our EDF permanent mission to some additional staff, which'll be in charge of coordinating liaisons. There'll be some opening for Cornavian political consultants, dear colleague."​

 

[Confederal Republics]

Wainwright nodded in agreement and urged her Franconian counterpart to continue with the meeting.

 

[Großlausitz]

Die Staatskanzlei, Nürnberg
Franken

Graf Solms coughed. "Well, there's one very delicate issue remaining, madam. With Cornavia and Franken being almost neighbours there'd be certainly much benefit in sharing intelligence to some extent. In these modern times anti-constitutional elements and/or organised crime try to evade due to prosecution by relocating to foreign countries. What about instituting an accord of bilateral police and prosecution cooperation? It would be accompanied by a couple of secret protocols regulating the more critical affairs."
As it was pretty self-evident, the Ministerpresident refrained from mentioning black ops as the solutions to the most delicate issues, e.g. engaging in wetwork business.​

 

[Confederal Republics]

"An agreeable proposition", Wainwright replied, "Which should also be accompanied by the institution of an extradition protocol between our countries. I should leave the specifics to the Ministry of Justice and their counterparts at your end, but suffice to say that these protocols should cover dual-criminality, the usual requirements of the fair trial and such. However, I should note that we use the death penalty."

Joanne Wainwright, in her desire to leave the specifics on this to legal experts, gestured towards one of her aides who had accompanied her to the room and exchanged a series of whispering comments with him. The bald, fifty-ish man browsed some of his papers, then begun, "Jonathan Devers, Minister-President, the legistlative affairs aide to Mrs. Wainwright. The complications that arise with our application of the capital punishment - small application, though, given that only eight people were executed by the Commonwealth during the last year - relate to the principle of dual-criminality, specifically as the capital punishment is in a category of its own. To exemplify, would the Franconian government demand that a Cornavian guilty of a capital felony and extradited into the Commonwealth have his sentence commuted into life, or would the full sentence be enabled?"

"As for cooperation in intelligence-sharing, I believe that in the realm of organized crime prevention the Commonwealth Specialist Crime Agency and the Security Service would be the relevant organs for this, and they've handled international liaisons in the past. The police and justice attaché's office in our embassy in Franken could be amended with officials from these agencies, for example", Wainwright continued, "In addition, we welcome cooperation in the more secretive areas, and this is where the Security Service will also come in in addition to their cousins in the Intelligence Service. Though our security situation, I might say, is better than ever, we shouldn't really underestimate the threats to our security and democratic systems."

 

[Großlausitz]

Die Staatskanzlei, Nürnberg
Franken

"The death penalty -", Graf Solms repeated the word nonchalantly, "- is a touchy issue in Franken." At this point the head of the Staatskanzlei's justice department took over and explained the status quo in Franken: "Josef Bohr, Generaldirektor für Innen- und Rechtspolitik. For our very own reasons we abolished it decades ago and Franconian public opinion tends to be compassionate about capital punishment. Often compassionate for the detainee, unless it's about any capital offences involving children. Under present legislation, which was amended after our supreme court turned over the old rules, a foreign citizen, who is guilty of a capital offence, can only be extradited if his sentence is commuted to life."

"Martina Igel, Stellvertretende Generaldirektorin für Sicherheitspolitik. Your suggestion to assign the security and secret services' representatives to the justice attaché is agreeable to us. Franken shall assign its services' residents at our embassy in a similar manner, within the department for security and cooperation.", the also attending senior security advisor of the Ministerpresident added.​

 

[Confederal Republics]

"This is acceptable to us, on both counts", Wainwright said in an agreeable tone, "Given the death penalty's position as something of a last resort in our criminal justice system, we'd be willing to introduce such a compromise that those extradited by Franken on those charges where the punishment can be applied - particularly heinous murder as well as acts of high treason - will attain sentences no harder than life without parole."

Joanne Wainwright noted to herself that this wasn't a keynote issue for the Commonwealth anyway, even though her Minister of Justice David Connington was a firm supporter of the death penalty's retention.

 

[Großlausitz]

Die Staatskanzlei, Nürnberg
Franken

For a first meeting the yield wasn't bad, Ministerpresident Graf Solms mused. Time to call it a day. "Excellent, Madam Chancellor. Our respective bureaucracies will arrange the regulations to be duly implemented as we agreed. We shouldn't let the businessmen and members of the chamber of commerce wait any longer, should we? I'm confident that event will be as profitable for our nations' companies as this meeting was for our peoples."

A little pathos never hurt, Graf Solms concluded.​