General elections for Cabinet ministers are slated to start in two weeks. I would like to take this opportunity to announce that I will not seeking another term as Minister of Foreign Affairs. All combined, I have served this community for 18 months as its Minister of Foreign Affairs. That makes me the second-longest serving minister in the Coalition's existence! I've enjoyed most of my time in the Cabinet, but I've also felt the stress, pressure, and annoyance that comes with serving under many different administrations, leadership styles, and agendas. Our foreign policy is no longer on the wrong track as it was before my first term, and I believe we have staked our position on the right side of history in NationStates Gameplay.

I want to make this announcement a full two weeks before elections start, because I want to give those truly interested in charting the future of the Coalition the time necessary to craft a campaign, polish a forward-looking agenda, and anticipate their competitors in an open election. My hope is that somebody emerges who won't let the Coalition fall under the vise grips of imperialism or its off-shoots, will take a principled stand against foreign and domestic coups, and will be tough on those Gameplayers who often lead their own regions and coalitions to chaos that somehow finds its way to our own community. I hope for somebody who does not retreat to the safety of promising activity in forms that will never deliver it, nor somebody who believes neutrality is the equivalent of diplomatic professionalism.

The NationStates Gameplay community is at a unstable low point of activity. I predict the coming months will bring a new paradigm in Gameplay politics and diplomacy. A new paradigm requires new blood. I encourage the region to break from the staleness of familiar names, but to caution itself in choosing somebody still qualified, if a little green. Choose somebody trustworthy, who has never turned traitor on their communities for personal or petty gains. Choose somebody who cares about the plight of destructive invaderism, and won't turn our region down the path of destroying others. And above all, choose somebody who has brave and new ideas, even if we're not sure they'd work--- the dynamism of NationStates depends on it.

Thank you for electing me this last term and making me the second-longest serving Minister in our history.

And good luck!

- Glen-Rhodes