Margaret Harrison in October 2018

Stockholm (KTN) — On Thursday, Valkyrian Foreign Secretary Leslie Hunter announced the commencement of Brighter Horizon, a foreign policy strategy that Valkyrian Chancellor Margaret Harrison spent thirty months of preparation for. The chancellor intends to promote multilateralism in international relations and form a series of international organisations within the framework of the World Forum. One of the international organisations that Harrison seeks to form is an international trade council that will promote free and fair trade, a phrase that the chancellor often uses. As part of Brighter Horizon, the chancellor plans to secure multiple international agreements and treaties to develop greater global cooperation and integration.

Several government officials have been designated as "key leaders" in the Brighter Horizon plan: Foreign Secretary Leslie Hunter and World Assembly Speaker Marcus Bailey. In naming these two, Harrison has selected a duo of career diplomats who adhere to a social democratic worldview to be the purveyors of Brighter Horizon. However, many of the strategies within Brighter Horizon were a collection of ideas formulated by Harrison and former Foreign Secretary Avianna Aldridge, who is now the parliamentary leader of the Labor Party. Sources within Executive Valkyria tell the KTN that Aldridge continues to "play a major role" in Harrison's agenda, especially in the execution of Brighter Horizon.

In her statement, the foreign secretary said the agenda of the next six months form Phase I of Brighter Horizon. Several key components of Phase I include the formation of an international trade council as a constituent organ of the World Forum that would research the labour and trade laws of states and release policy recommendations to develop common standards in labour and trade. Another component that will be sought is greater enforcement of international law, which Harrison believes is needed in response to allegations of war crimes in Reizen. The chancellor stated that a formal document must be drafted and ratified by the World Forum to define war crimes and an international anti-criminal organisation will need to be created to assist the International Court in upholding international laws and treaties.

According to Hunter, Phase II would be using the newly-formed international organisations to develop rules and norms for the world to follow. In the case of an international anti-criminal organisation, Hunter says that such an organisation would help in the extradition and trial of war criminals. The foreign secretary has proposed the creation of a "world arrest warrant" to apprehend war criminals that are in the jurisdiction of a participating country. Harrison wants to form an international refugee protection organisation to oversee the resettlement of refugees from conflict zones and the eventual return of refugees to their home countries. According to the Valkyrian Immigration Department, Valkyria currently provides shelter to about 500,000 refugees. The immigration department states that two in ten refugees eventually become Valkyrian citizens, but the remaining eight continue to await their return to their home countries.

Coinciding with Brighter Horizon, the Valkyrian Labor Party and Populists of the Left, which formed the Social Democrats electoral alliance in September, announced that they will seek the creation of a social democratic political international to promote the ideology around the world and assist sister parties in their effort to lead governments. Aldridge told the KTN that the Brighter Horizon programme will be promoted by the Labor Party and the party will "look for support" from social democratic parties around the world. First Vice Chancellor Taeler Shaw said that a political international allowing cooperation between social democratic parties would lead to greater global peace with more governments are under the leadership of social democrats. Shaw rationalised that social democrats were the "least likely to engage in violence and most likely to engage in peace".

Nicole Chancellor in October 2018

While the announcement of Brighter Horizon was well received within the Alliance of Social Democrats, the leading opposition party believes that the programme will harm Valkyrian sovereignty. Opposition Leader Nicole Chancellor called Brighter Horizon a "globalist agenda meant to erase the Valkyrian state". Jeremy Christensen, the deputy parliamentary leader of The New Right and presidential candidate, decried the programme as "relinquishing" the powers of Valkyria to foreign states. The opposition leader instead proposed Valkyria's withdrawal from the World Forum and resorting to hard power as a means to expand Valkyrian influence. Chancellor also accused Harrison of hypocrisy, alleging that the Valkyrian government is engaged in a "covert war" in Reizen.

Victor Cutter and Jonathan Victor, the respective parliamentary leaders of the Centrist Democratic Party and Conservative Party instead criticised the government for initiating an "ambitious programme" only months before the July 2019 general election. The two parliamentary leaders issued a joint statement as part of the United Conservative Alliance, calling upon the Alliance of Social Democrats to engage in "less controversial policy" due to the upcoming election. The Conservative parliamentary leader warned Harrison that implementing policy antithetical to The New Right only months before the upcoming election would only encourage the opposition's voters to show up. While the issued a joint statement, the words used by the Centrist Democratic parliamentary leader were softer in tone since the CDP had pledged its confidence and supply in June 2017. Sources close to the Conservative parliamentary leader tell the KTN that Jonathan Victor wanted to be "more forceful" in his statement, but Victor Cutter "moderated" him.

Ballard (KTN) — On Monday, two National Police officers were about to arrest a suspected member of a cultist group before they were reported missing by their colleagues. Deputy Assistant Chief Steven Morgan made the announcement at the Ballard regional police headquarters and released the names of the two officers: Sergeant Rebecca Hawkins and Officer Craig Lance. The National Police have asked for the public's assistance in identifying the whereabouts of the two officers. Chancellor Margaret Harrison posted a message on Scribo that she is "monitoring the situation".