Lusatian-Veltist Diplomacy

[Moshel-Generał]

With the massive electoral victory of the SLP a message of congratulations was sent to the new government by the URRV, as well as the question of when the new government would like to exchange official ambassadors.

[alxeu]

A relatively informal communique from the the Lusatian government indicated that URRV Ambassadors could travel to Kazimierzgrad anytime after a week; prior to that point, it would be highly likely that the SLP government would still be organizing and selecting ministers. Similarly, an official delegation from Lusatia would have to wait until the Foreign Ministry was adequately readjusted to fit Lusatia's new foreign policy, and suitable diplomats could be located.

[Moshel-Generał]

A diplomatic party would be assembled and prepped to send to Lusatia once the government of Lusatia was fully selected and was ready to receive the delegation. In the URRV there were also preparations to receive the the official Lusatian delegation once it was sent. All in all the government just had to sit back and wait for the Lusatians to be ready and form an official government.

[alxeu]

With the Lusatian government finally established, Foreign Minister Ramūnas Valantinas finally invited the URRV delegation to meet him and formally begin relations whenever they were ready. Simultaneously, a modest diplomatic team was sent to the URRV, largely consisting of SLP Moderates from the Democratic Socialist wing of the party, as they were most characteristic of the party as a whole.

For the moment, however, Valantinas awaited the second response from the URRV, waiting to see who would be the URRV's ambassador to their nation.

[Moshel-Generał]

Philippe Lemoine was the assigned ambassador to Lusatia. Like the rest of the government he was fairly young, having been a student before the Revolution. Now however he would serve as the Representative of the Union in Lusatia. It was something he was looking forward to, as he had always wanted to see Lusatia, having taken their language courses in university. While he was a member of the Ain Club, he refrained from choosing a faction, as he felt the two main ones were just a little bit too extreme.

[alxeu]

Valantinas invited Ambassador Lemoine to a brunch at a reasonably nice café in Kazimierzgrad, as a prelude to a more formal meeting in his office, afterwards. The place seemed frequented by lower-ranking government officials interspersed with a few college students from the nearby university.

Upon the ambassador's arrival, he smiled warmly and offered his hand, "Dzień dobry, Ambassador, and welcome to Lusatia. I trust your journey was well?"

[Moshel-Generał]

"The journey went as well as it could have done," Philippe answered. "It's quite the pleasure to be here in a state with such rich history."

[alxeu]

Valantinas gleamed, "Aye, a rich history, though one that is already being reanalyzed and corrected. No doubt you've heard some discussion of the reassessment of old historical documents and such? The government has officially sponsored investigations to find out just how much of our history we've suppressed just because it didn't fit old narratives." He took a deep look of Phillipe, and continued, "If you're a student of history, you ought to see some interesting books regarding the new analyses appearing in bookstores during your tenure, here."

Shortly after Phillipe arrived, a server came, and asked the two men what they wished to drink, the Foreign Minister ordering a coffee. After waiting for Phillipe to order, he continued, "So, how fares the Union of Revolutionary Republican Velts? I heard great things of your capital from the Prime Minister, said it was the most marvelous city, and that Lusatia ought to make a planned city its capital. The Economic Minister refused the idea on the basis of the costs of unnecessarily relocating the capital."

[Moshel-Generał]

Phillipe would order some coffee as well. "It fares quite well," Phillipe said with a smile. "We had the 'advantage' of having a blank slate to build upon. The Union so far has done fairly well in most areas. Most impressive is the rebuilding of our infrastructure after the Civil War, it has been such a great effort by everyone to rebuild the Union."

[alxeu]

Their drinks would arrive shortly, and Valantinas would soon get to sipping his coffee, and would respond, "That's good to hear. I wasn't quite sure how long it'd take your nation to rebuild and heal from your civil war, given that there are still a multitude of scars from the Galran invasion, and many more buildings to reconstruct, yet. The major cities look good again, but the rural villages and farmlands are still recovering."

"There are some that insist that we should rebuild the old buildings as they were before, where possible. The government has taken the position only local monuments should receive such treatment: the war was ample cause to spur forward new development and revitalization of stagnant townships."

[Moshel-Generał]

"The war did leave many a scar on the Union," Phillipe said nodding in agreement. "However it also provided us with a new opportunity. As the old was torn down we were able to erect the new. The Revolution enabled us to heal those scars by adding new tissue. Where there was once fear we were able to provide hope. The symbols of oppression torn down and replaced with monuments to liberation. We even built a new clock tower in the center of Librevelt, which I highly recommend checking out if you get the chance." He would smile wryly. "However I do warn you, time is a little bit wonky to most people now. The Revolution brought many changes, and I am sure you have heard of the decimalization of time and our new calendar. Our citizens have actually adapted quite well, though I am sure it is a pain for any foreigner travelling there."

[alxeu]

The Foreign Minister chuckled, "I've been told of your experiments with decimalizing time. While we preach that the revolution should rebuild and remake all parts of society, we are of the opinion that time, itself, is not anti-socialist in nature and not necessary to revolutionize," he said, tongue-in-cheek. "Besides, with so much else to be done, we haven't the time to deal with time. All focus is on the proceedings of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Transportation. The news from the southern region of Lusatia is grim, if you haven't heard."

"Though all ambassadors to Lusatia should know is that there is nothing to worry about, as the Foreign Ministry, in consultation with the Ministry of Health, has established a plan for protecting foreign consulates should the worst come to pass and cases begin cropping up in the capital."

He paused, shook his head, and continued again, "Pardon me, there, it seems all talk here circles back around to the plague in the south, and that has nothing to do with our meeting here, today," he said, checking his watch before finishing his coffee. "If you wish, whenever you are ready, we can take my car back to the Foreign Ministry? There's some law or another that prevents me from driving it myself while performing government business," he noted, sounding more than a little hurt, "but the chauffer the civil service picked out is capable enough."

[Moshel-Generał]

Phillipe chuckled. "I am sure many would agree with you about time, but at this point it is firmly enough entrenched that it would be more expensive to get rid of it than to keep it." He would nod at the suggestion from the Foreign Minister. "It would likely be best to head back shortly. Though it is a pity you have such a law, and we don't. If Commissar Bonaparte ever invites to drive you, say no. She served in the military." There was a visible shudder from Phillipe, as he had been one of the few foolish enough to get in a vehicle the Commissar was driving.

[alxeu]

Valantinas laughed, "I'm sure one cannot be that bad? At any rate, I'll keep that in mind."

He led Phillippe over to where his car was parked, passing by a mixture of old and new shops contained wholly within older buildings. An idle look down a street might also yield notice that some roads in the area were cobblestone, in addition to being pedestrian only, leading into the old town where the roads were too narrow for most vehicles.

Hopping into the vehicle, which was a simple Lusatian model, Valantinas told the driver to head to the Foreign Ministry, and, nodding, the man did so. Turning to Phillippe, the Foreign Minister continued speaking to the URRV's ambassador, "I always used to dream of visiting this city when I was younger, having grown up in Poniatowa, and now, here I am, helping form policy for the entire country from some of its most austere halls. Liberty and freedom for all the peoples of Lusatia lives and breathes in the buildings here, a democratic tradition now over one hundred and fifty years old, all leading to now, the true triumph of the people. What a time to be alive, eh?"

[Moshel-Generał]

"It is indeed a time to be alive," Phillippe said with a smile. "We are headed to a bright future where everyone in the world will be treated equally by all, whether they be young, old, rich, or poor. It is a good time to be alive."