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![[Image: 200]](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/qvwi/images/6/67/KTN_News_logo.svg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/200){kind=logo} International news | Harrison urges Transsuneria not to drill By Alyssa Weston, KTN News Wednesday, 26 June 2019 "For the sake of the environment, please do not drill." Darwin (KTN) — After the Sedunn-based energy company KABB announced their discovery of oil in Transsuneria on Wednesday, Valkyrian Chancellor Margaret Harrison spoke on the matter during a campaign rally in her hometown of Darwin. In her remarks, the chancellor said that "the world has already been making strides toward becoming an oil-less society". As an alternative to oil, Harrison offered to negotiate an energy agreement with Transsuneria that would lead to the Valkyrian state-owned enterprise VENR investing in renewable energy in Transsuneria. The predominant energy company in Valkyria, VENR maintains 12 offshore platforms, but recent environmental legislation requires their closing by 2050. In place of nonrenewable energy, the company has been opening power plants in renewable energy with three nuclear power plants, dozens of solar power stations, and wind farms.
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The following 5 users Like Jay Coop's post:• Bzerneleg, GI-Land, Imperial Frost Federation, Pax Dracon, Qwert Upon recommendation from Chancellor Margaret Harrison, the Sentence Review Commission has unconditionally released 528 prisoners who had been convicted of a nonviolent drug offence. This comes after the passage of the Criminal Amendment Act 2019, which expunged the criminal records of those convicted of these crimes.
Have a comment? Sports news | Valkyria set to face FiHami in quarterfinal By Chelsea Myers, KTN Sports Sunday, 7 July 2019 "We will do everything we can to bring the gold home." Stockholm (KTN) — Despite a tough 111–106 defeat to Huawan in the 2019 Women's Basketball World Cup, preventing a perfect run in the group phase, the Valkyrian women's national basketball team will advance alongside Huawan to the quarterfinals. However, Valkyria United will have their hands full as they take on the undefeated team from FiHami, who are quickly becoming the favourite to win the World Cup. Heading into the World Cup, FiHami was a dark horse in the tournament, but after going 3–0 in the group phase against three formidable teams in Bzerneleg, GI-Land, and Rebeltopia; FiHami has become a great threat for any of the other teams in the World Cup. Valkyria United forward Kala Wolfe, who is also the captain of the team, told KTN Sports that the team "will do everything [they] can to bring the gold home".
Have a comment? ![[Image: iM0uhbS.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/iM0uhbS.jpg) Valkyrian politics | Kate Murphy wins presidency, "queenmaker" situation in Parliament By Tara Cross, Lyle Williams, and Allie Vega, KTN News Monday, 8 July 2019 Stockholm (KTN) — On Sunday, the Valkyrian general election drew to a close and led to the election of Kate Murphy as the first President of the Valkyrian Republic. As for the chancellery, negotiations are underway to form a new government. Before a hometown audience in Darwin, Chancellor Margaret Harrison said that she will renegotiate for a new coalition agreement to form the Alliance of Social Democrats for another term. Across the river in Sydney, Conservative leader Stella Kaufman said she will pursue a three-party coalition with the Centrist Democratic Party and The New Right. If the projected results stand, it appears that Centrist Democratic leader Bradley Murphy will be the kingmaker. Harrison and Kaufman are the most likely candidates for chancellor. Because both candidates are women, commentators are calling the Centrist Democratic leader the "queenmaker".
The Centrist Democratic leader will be the one to decide whether Harrison or Kaufman will become the Chancellor of the Valkyrian Republic. As of Sunday, the Alliance of Social Democrats is certain to consist of the Labor Party, the Populists of the Left, and the Socialist Party, comprising 37.9 per cent of seats in Parliament. In order to retain their majority in Parliament, the Alliance of Social Democrats will need the support of the Centrist Democratic Party and either The Greens or the Liberal Party. On the right wing of Parliament is the New Conservative Coalition, which consists of the Conservative Party and The New Right, who comprise 42.9 per cent of seats in Parliament. In order to win a majority of seats in Parliament, the New Conservative Coalition will need the support of the Centrist Democratic Party.
Presidential election
* The Social Democrats is an electoral alliance between the Labor Party and the Populist Left.
Parliamentary election
![[Image: 534]](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/qvwi/images/0/0f/2nd_NA.svg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/534) Projected composition of the 2nd National Assembly (by party) Left to right: Socialist, Labor, Populist Left, Green, Liberal, Centrist Democrat, Conservative, The New Right
![[Image: 569]](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/qvwi/images/7/77/2nd_National_Assembly_by_bloc_%28election_day%29.svg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/569) Projected composition of the 2nd National Assembly (by bloc) Left to right: Alliance of Social Democrats, unaligned, New Conservative Coalition
![[Image: 0rbmkuZh.png]](https://i.imgur.com/0rbmkuZh.png) Kate Murphy represented Stockholm's 3rd constituency in Parliament between 2017 and 2019 In the presidential election, Kate Murphy of the Labor Party won the election and finished with 55.2 per cent of the vote in the final-two ballot against Centrist Democratic candidate Victor Cutter and became the first woman in history to be elected as the head of state of Valkyria. As president, Kate Murphy will become the commander-in-chief of the Valkyrian Defence Forces and have the power to break ties in the Citizens Assembly, call referendums, and dissolve the parliament upon the recommendation of a majority in both chambers of Parliament.
A member of Parliament, Kate Murphy has been known to be a staunch supporter of the chancellor. Between 2005 and present day, she has represented Stockholm either in part or in whole at both the municipal and national level. Since 2017, Kate Murphy has represented Stockholm's 3rd constituency and her attention has been centred on securing more state funding for universities, research and development, and increased subsidies for technology companies. Outside of politics, she is a mechanical engineer with an accompanying doctorate from the University of Stockholm. Her specialisation in the field is biomedical engineering. Even though she has not worked in her profession, Kate Murphy has made great efforts as a politician to make sure that her interests in the matter are well-funded by the state.
Ideologically, Kate Murphy is a social democrat, just like most in her party, but the democratic socialist tendencies of her city are reflected in her views. As such, she supports the nationalisation of some parts of industry, particularly arms manufacturing and pharmaceuticals. In 2017, she argued that "industries essential to the safety and security of the state should be nationalised" while allowing other aspects of industry to remain in the private sector. As a member of Parliament, Kate Murphy has regularly hosted town hall meetings alongside the Socialist MPs who also represent parts of Stockholm, including Socialist deputy leader Steve Bennett. At one of these meetings in 2018, Bennett joked that Kate Murphy was "the most popular socialist who wasn't a member of the Socialist Party".
When asked about her political affiliation, Kate Murphy said in 2019 that her parents' membership in the Labor Party was the reason why she herself became a member of the party. Even though the Socialist Party has newfound political strength in a multi-party system, Kate Murphy said that the Labor Party "is and always will be [her] home", but has quipped that the Socialist Party "is [her] secondary home". Her popularity among those in the Socialist Party has prompted several of their members of Parliament to hand Kate Murphy registration papers to switch parties. However, this effort has been made by some Liberal MPs who had defected from the Labor Party over "the socialist tilt" that has occurred under Harrison's leadership, hoping that they could regain social liberal control over the party as was done in 2005.
Among those on the Valkyrian left, Kate Murphy is viewed as a "unity figure" for the core parties of the Alliance, threading a thin line between social democracy and democratic socialism. During the election campaign, an in-house poll was conducted in May on the inter-party approval of each presidential candidate. The poll found that 94 per cent of Labor Party members, 92 per cent of Populist Left members, 89 per cent of Socialist Party members, and 85 percent of The Greens held a positive view of Kate Murphy. Paradoxically, she also polled well among those within the Centrist Democratic Party (46 per cent) and the Liberal Party (42 per cent), in spite of their reservations toward socialism. The Conservative Party and The New Right were the only two parties where a majority of members held a negative view of Kate Murphy.
According to political historian Ralph Owens, Kate Murphy has a choice of either playing a neutral role as president or that of an activist one, both of which will influence the behaviour of future presidents. In an interview with KTN, the political historian said, "[Kate Murphy] is going to assume a role that no other person has ever held in an elected capacity and the choices she makes in the next six years will shape the choices that all of her successors will make." Owens argued that the path Kate Murphy will take is dependent on which bloc becomes the government, "If the Alliance remains in government, she will be neutral. If the Coalition wins the election, she will be an activist." Owens also stated that Kate Murphy could use her position as a stepping stone to the chancellery, aiming to become Valkyria's head of government when her term ends.
![[Image: EzR6x81h.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/EzR6x81h.jpg) Centrist Democratic leader Bradley Murphy is being called the "queenmaker" The New Conservative Coalition, which will be led by Stella Kaufman in the next Parliament, has made several campaign pledges: the establishment of an agency with police, military, and intelligence gathering powers; the closing of the Office of Cultist Movement Investigations; and a referendum on Valkyria's membership in the World Forum. From October 2018 to May 2019, Marcus Bailey of Valkyria was the Speaker of the Assembly of the World Forum, spearheading Harrison's Brighter Horizon programme. However, a Coalition victory may revert all of the foreign policy actions that Harrison made since taking office in 2016. Furthermore, reorganisation of the Valkyrian security apparatus and a promise of additional military funding shows a potentially more aggressive military policy for the country.
In spite of facing a much more difficult path to majority, approval of the Alliance of Social Democrats remains stable at 57 per cent. According to an in-house poll, 62 per cent of Valkyrians approve of the Alliance's agenda and, more specifically: 71 per cent of Valkyrians approve of the Alliance's handling of health policy, 72 per cent approve of their education policy, and 77 per cent approve of their labour policy. During the campaign, Alliance candidates spent the majority of their time speaking on these three public policies and promising to oppose any form of privatisation and deregulation in these areas. Domestic policy was at the forefront of the Alliance's campaign, with only some time spent defending Valkyrian membership in the World Forum and the government's response to the Reizen Civil War and other conflicts in the region where the country has played only a minimal or nonexistent role in their resolution.
Standing between Harrison and Kaufman is Bradley Murphy, the Centrist Democratic Party leader who holds the metaphorical keys to the kingdom. Up until the election, the party leader was tight-lipped about choosing between the Alliance and the Coalition, voicing support for both the former's social policy and the latter's security policy. Owens stated that Bradley Murphy's position as kingmaker almost guarantees him the position as Foreign Secretary in the next government, "His role is so important that it would not be surprising to see the Populists of the Left and The New Right hand over the SFA position, instead opting to take the Home Secretary post." Either way the Centrist Democratic Party leader goes, Bradley Murphy will have a strong hand in the agenda of the governing coalition for the next three years.
Other significant election results:
Valkyrian politics | Harrison's chancellery in jeopardy By Allie Vega, KTN News Sunday, 28 July 2019 Stockholm (KTN) — Margaret Harrison's position as Chancellor of the Valkyrian Republic is at risk of coming to an end according to several high-ranking members of the Centrist Democratic Party and the Populists of the Left. The sources state that negotiations to include the Centrist Democratic Party in the Alliance of Social Democrats fell through on Saturday when Centrist Democratic leader Bradley Murphy refused to join a coalition government that included the Socialist Party. The Centrist Democratic leader told Harrison that he was willing to join the Alliance with the inclusion of the Liberal Party and The Greens to form a minority government. However, Harrison stated that she was unwilling to form anything but a majority government.
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Valkyrian Chancellor Margaret Harrison and President Kate Murphy congratulated Alex Lindon on becoming elected President of North Prarie.
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Valkyrian Chancellor Margaret Harrison announced that she will hold a rally in her hometown of Darwin on Friday. An announcement on coalition negotiations will be made beforehand.
Have a comment? ![[Image: iUlt0Dy.png]](https://i.imgur.com/iUlt0Dy.png) Valkyrian politics | Kaufman decrowns Harrison as chancellor By Tara Cross, KTN News Friday, 9 August 2019 Stockholm (KTN) — On Friday, Conservative leader Stella Kaufman announced that a coalition agreement was reached with the Centrist Democratic Party and The New Right, allowing the New Conservative Coalition to become the governing bloc of Parliament. In doing so, Kaufman will become the second Chancellor of the Valkyrian Republic. In the aftermath of the July general election, it became apparent that Centrist Democratic leader Bradley Murphy was going to be the kingmaker—the person to determine who would serve as chancellor in the next term. After weeks of negotiation, Murphy announced that he will give Kaufman his party's support. Upon taking office, Kaufman will become the youngest chancellor in Valkyrian history at the age of 38 years, 1 month, and 9 days, breaking Margaret Harrison's record by one year and six months.
The 2019 New Conservative Coalition agreement, which was negotiated between the leaders of the Conservative Party, The New Right, and the Centrist Democratic Party, outlines the agenda of the coalition up to 2022, when the next election is supposed to occur. In the security-oriented agreement, the parties agreed to several major policy issues, which includes forming Kaufman's promised combined security agency within the Department of Home Affairs; fulfilling The New Right leader Nicole Chancellor's promise of a referendum on Valkyria's membership in the World Forum and giving her party control over internal security and trade; and giving the Centrist Democratic Party control over foreign policy, labour, and health policy. The agreement supersedes the 2017 Alliance of Social Democrats agreement, which featured a pro-World Forum stance and supported an expansion of public-sector services.
Incoming cabinet In the incoming cabinet, five secretaries will be members of the Conservative Party, five from The New Right, and three from the Centrist Democratic Party. Because the Equal Representation Act 2016 mandates near-gender equality in the Cabinet, seven secretaries will be men and six will be women.
See the Executive Valkyria website for more information on the Cabinet Kaufman's security policy ![[Image: 250]](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/qvwi/images/5/5b/SIEGE_logo.svg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250){kind=logo} Proposed logo of SIEGE With the New Conservative Coalition succeeding the Alliance of Social Democrats as the government in 2019, Kaufman seeks to pass the Expansion of Security Powers Act 2019 (ESPA 2019), which would form the Strategic Intervention, Emergency Guard, and Enforcement (SIEGE) Component, an agency that would be tasked with handling the most important intelligence, military, and police operations of the state. In the event that SIEGE is formed, it will assume control over the Valkyrian Special Services, the special operations centres of the Intelligence Directorate-General (IDG), and the National Tactical Intervention Force (NTIF) within the National Police. Unless ESPA is amended, the current proposal would create a director position for the new agency and a SIEGE Oversight Council (SOC) consisting of the Foreign Secretary, the Home Secretary, and the Defence Secretary.
In the coalition agreement, the government is set to take a much more aggressive position against states that are considered "malicious against the Valkyrian Republic". Instead of relying on the World Forum for the authorisation of use of military force, the Coalition will exercise "national sovereignty and self-determination" when it comes to taking military action abroad. A provision in the security policy section of the coalition agreement states, "Any state that takes actions that are harmful to the security of the Valkyrian Republic will be swiftly handled by the Home Office, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Valkyrian Defence Forces." This security policy is a significant departure from the policy of the Alliance, which relied on multilateralism and authorisation from the World Forum.
Chancellor's trade and immigration policies In what was the most contentious issue between the member parties of the Coalition, the three parties agreed that the next government will be able to negotiate free trade agreements with other countries as long as they are "fair trade agreements" that do not harm Valkyrian workers. As part of the coalition agreement, the responsibility of negotiating trade agreements will be taken away from the Foreign Secretary and will be given to a Trade Secretary. Furthermore, The New Right will have the final say as to whether a trade agreement is passed by Parliament. The coalition agreement also highlights the possibility of placing sanctions and tariffs on countries that "engage in unfair trade practices" until such time that these states reform their labour and trade policies to make competition fairer between them and Valkyria.
The new government will look to pass legislation limiting immigration. The immigration section of the coalition agreement was entitled, "Valkyria is for Valkyrians". Several proposals in the section include the deportation of 165,000 refugees who currently live in Valkyria, the establishment of a zero-refugee policy, the expansion of existing migrant detention centres, the reinstatement of immigration quotas, and the termination of family-sponsored immigration. Several of the justifications that the Coalition gives for this new immigration policy are overpopulation, inter-ethnic conflict, and the limitation of the job pool for native Valkyrians. A provision of the section says, "Migrants who do not positively contribute to the development of the Valkyrian Republic do not belong in our country and should be deported to their respective native countries."
Murphy's foreign and domestic policies The Coalition decided to name Centrist Democratic leader Bradley Murphy as the Foreign Secretary because of his role as the kingmaker of the next government. As such, Murphy will be the chief representative of Valkyria to the world. However, his power as Foreign Secretary is limited by the coalition agreement because of The New Right's grip on trade and immigration policies. The coalition agreement states that Valkyria will hold a referendum in 2020 on membership in the World Forum and expressed the hope to build coalitions with other states sympathetic to the new government of Valkyria. The Coalition will attempt to promote their ideology, similar to the Brighter Horizon initiative when Harrison was Chancellor. In the coalition agreement, the Coalition stated that they will "spread peace, freedom, and democracy in a way that the previous government couldn't".
Other than foreign policy, the Centrist Democratic Party will be responsible for health and labour policies, which they say "will remain largely unchanged from existing policy". As evidenced by consistent in-house polling, the health and labour policies of the Harrison government were the most popular policies with strong majorities approving of the Alliance's handling of them. The coalition agreement explicitly stated that the Coalition will not seek to privatise any part of the National Health Service or implement labour reforms. On this front, it appears that the Alliance has been victorious in their expansion of NHS and the wide-reaching labour reforms they passed in the last three years. The Centrist Democratic Party will take control of these departments from the Alliance, but they will only continue the work of their predecessors.
Harrison and the opposition ![[Image: xsXSRr2h.png]](https://i.imgur.com/xsXSRr2h.png) Labor acting leader Avianna Aldridge will become the Leader of the Opposition Margaret Harrison, who had served as the first Chancellor of Valkyria since August 2016, announced that she was going to retire from politics, marking the end of her three-decade political career that began when she first joined Young Labor in high school. Labor acting leader Avianna Aldridge, who has worked with Harrison since her election as President of Qvait in 2016, said that Harrison's departure from politics is the "end of an era" and vowed to continue Harrison's agenda while in opposition, "This movement—a movement for peace, freedom, and democracy—is bigger than any one person and we will fight to make sure that Chancellor Harrison's legacy lives on. The Labor Party owes her a great debt that can never be repaid." Populist Left leader Taeler Shaw, a longtime friend of Harrison, also expressed her sorrow that Harrison is retiring from politics, "Chancellor Harrison and I have been friends since university and her leadership will be greatly missed. Valkyria will never be the same without her at the forefront."
With the Coalition submitting their agreement to President Kate Murphy, the president announced that the new government will begin on Monday, 12 August. This development is not likely to be viewed by the president in a positive light, who had been a staunch supporter of Harrison. During her announcement, Murphy praised Harrison's leadership as chancellor, "When we look back on this era, people will remember Margaret Harrison as one of the greatest leaders this country has ever had. She was a hero of peace, freedom, and democracy to many of us. It was an honour to serve alongside her as an MP and I will never forget these years—the greatest years of our time. May the gods be ever so benevolent to her, the last President of Qvait and the first Chancellor of Valkyria."
Before a crowd of current and former campaign and Executive Valkyria employees in Darwin, Harrison thanked them "for standing beside her through thick and thin". While she restated that she was retiring from politics, Harrison said that social democracy will not retire with her:
"This is not an idea that began with me. It is an idea that began with you, the people of Valkyria. It wasn't I who saved our country. You saved our country and held on to the belief that social democracy would prevail. You put your trust in me to execute your vision of the country and I tried to execute that to the best of my ability. Today, we suffered a bitter defeat, but I assure you that we will come back from this, because that is what we accomplished in 2016. I have faith that the sun will rise on Valkyria yet again and you will not need me for that. Never lose hope and never give in to the politics of fear." Moving forward, the Alliance of Social Democrats will consist of three parties: the Labor Party, the Populists of the Left, and the Socialist Party. The Greens and the Liberal Party left the Alliance over disagreements on Harrison's leadership. Because the Labor Party is the largest party of the opposition, its leader Aldridge, will become the Leader of the Opposition. The incoming opposition leader has stated that she "will try to hold the Coalition accountable and responsible for the authoritarian agenda that it seeks to impose on Valkyria". On the Coalition's immigration policy, Aldridge said that the language and positions set forth were "horrifying and racist" against refugees and other migrants, "If the next government passes legislation that looks anything like the proposals mentioned in their coalition agreement, I promise that there will be litigation against them."
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Stella Kaufman was sworn in as the 2nd Chancellor of the Valkyrian Republic on Monday, succeeding Margaret Harrison.
Have a comment? ![[Image: SlvcHfW.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/SlvcHfW.jpg) Valkyrian politics | Who is running to succeed Margaret Harrison? By Lyle Williams, KTN News Wednesday, 14 August 2019 On 9 August 2019, Stella Kaufman welcomed the Centrist Democratic Party to the New Conservative Coalition, toppling Margaret Harrison's government and becoming the new Chancellor of the Valkyrian Republic on 12 August. Harrison, who had been the de facto Leader of the Labor Party since late 2015, announced that she would retire from politics, necessitating a leadership election within the party. While this is an opportunity for new and old faces to have their time in the spotlight, all of the candidates who have launched their leadership campaigns thus far have been staunch supporters of Harrison. In fact, all of the candidates have been in close proximity to the former chancellor in governments past and going as far back during her time as mayor of Darwin in 2005. One of the candidates is Harrison's younger sister, Melissa Ambrose.
Labor Party leadership candidates:
While Harrison made it clear that she will not endorse any candidate to succeed her, she did name Avianna Aldridge as the acting party leader due to the fact that she had led the MPs of the party when the chancellery was independent from the legislature between 2017 and 2019. Before the unification of Qvait and Winston Island, when Harrison was serving as President of Qvait, Julia Burns and Avianna Aldridge respectively served as Vice President and Secretary of State and they were called the "Big Three" due to the fact that the three women were the most powerful figures in the country at the time. Recent in-house polling on members of the Labor Party has shown that Aldridge and Burns are the two most likely candidates to become the Leader of the Labor Party and consequently become the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament. However, Melissa Ambrose follows the two closely behind.
It is apparent that social democracy will continue to be the prevailing ideology of the Labor Party. In 2005, social liberals wrested control of the Labor Party from the social democrats and was the prevalent ideological force of the party for ten years until Harrison won the party's nomination for President of Qvait in 2015. Many of the social liberals who were in powerful positions within the Labor Party have since defected to the Liberal Party, whose leader Nathan Martinez is in a precarious position over his support for Harrison in the previous government. Due to the influx of former Labor Party members who had not supported Harrison, Martinez decided not to renew the Liberal Party's membership in the Alliance of Social Democrats after the 2019 general election and played a role in Harrison's ultimate defeat to Kaufman in the race to become Chancellor.
There are several issues that are important to the members of the Labor Party and are key for who will become the new Leader of the Labor Party. The party membership is critical of Kaufman's chancellery, viewing her negatively due to allowing Nicole Chancellor and The New Right to be a part of the new government. According to the in-house poll, 89 per cent of Labor Party members view the Coalition as authoritarian and 77 per cent want a party leader who will strongly challenge their policies. When it comes to ideology, 83 per cent of Labor Party respondents identify as social democrats and a total of 71 per cent said that it is important or very important for the next party leader to be a social democrat. As for experience, 58 per cent of Labor Party members want the party leader to have at least ten years of government experience.
The Labor MPs will hold several votes on 30 August to determine the final two candidates and the party membership will vote on 14 September to determine the next Leader of the Labor Party who will consequently become the Leader of the Opposition. Seven debates are planned to be held: three will be hosted by KTN, two will be jointly hosted by One Seven and The Sydney Times, and another two will be hosted by Central News.
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