Valkyrian Chancellor Margaret Harrison, having been notified days in advance by Conservative leader Stella Kaufman that she would become Chancellor, organised a rally in her hometown of Darwin at Alexa Garza Stadium. At the rally, current and former campaign and Executive Valkyria employees and local supporters were invited. Others who were attendance included: Valkyrian President Kate Murphy and former Acting President Katelynn Williams; Labor leader Avianna Aldridge, Populist Left leader Taeler Shaw, and Socialist leader Amalia Rollins; former Qvaitican presidents Patrick Beckley, Victor Cutter, and Jonathan Victor; current and former members of Harrison's cabinet, including former Qvaitican Vice President Julia Burns; and former Opposition Leader Giovanni Giletti. Foreign dignitaries were also in attendance.
After a brief speech from the Populist Left leader, Shaw introduced the Chancellor of the Valkyrian Republic to a thunderous applause. Margaret Harrison now stood before 100,000 of her supporters.
Thank you!
I'm back where it all began. It feels like yesterday that I was here serving as this city's mayor. Relatively speaking, life felt so much simpler and different back then. Fourteen years ago, you, the people of this city, gave me the opportunity to represent you as the mayor of Darwin—my hometown. For nearly seven years, I worked to make our city a better place for all of us. During those years, we struggled together to survive corruption within our government and to survive the streets that had been dangerous at the time. None of us were safe. I should know, because I took a bullet for this city.
While Sydney nearby was glowing brighter than ever, our city was not. In 2005, we set out on a path to build a better city—to build a better home for ourselves and our children. We wanted our city to rise from the ashes of crime and corruption to become the shining star that we knew it could become. At the most basic, we wanted peace, freedom, and democracy and that is what we set out on doing. Together, we took on a corrupt police force, built homeless shelters, implemented welfare programmes, built new buildings, and developed our local economy to rebuild our city. Together, we saved our city.
However, our mission was not done. We still had a country to save. So after nearly seven years of serving as your mayor, I campaigned to represent and execute your vision in the Qvaitican Congress in 2012. You gave me your blessing to serve as a congressperson and I did that for four years. Those weren't easy years. I remember. We struggled. We were mocked. We were ridiculed. However, we overcame. We were not going to allow people to bully us and knock us down so easily. Every time they pushed us down, we got right back up to fight for the principles that we believed in: peace, freedom, and democracy.
During these years, we led a social democratic resistance and fought for our core principles. We never knew whether we were going to be successful, but knew that someone had to fight for social democracy in our country. Because, if we weren't going to take a stand, who would? And so, against all odds, we stood together and as lonely as we can be and spoke up for a social democratic revolution in our country. Our fight for this revolution came to a head during the 2016 Qvaitican presidential election campaign and we did it. We took back the Labor Party and, eventually, we took back the government. In 2016, we won the presidency, we won control of the legislature, we won control of the governorships, we won control of the mayoralties. We finally won.
After our victory, we reformed the country with the Social Democratic Reform Act 2016, reshaping the country in the image that we wanted it to be. With that one bill in June 2016, we gave increased powers to trade unions by giving them the right to collectively bargain; we established a renewed transition to rehabilitation in the criminal justice system by criminalising felony disenfranchisement, reforming how criminals are treated in jails and prisons and after their release, and the abolition of capital punishment; we legalised same-sex marriage and strengthened anti-discrimination laws against LGBT+ people, minorities, and immigrants; we eased the unreasonable restrictions on our country's immigration system. We accomplished all of that with one bill and forever changed the face of the country we loved.
In July that same year, we voted to do something that none of our predecessors could ever accomplish—the unification of Qvait and Winston Island. Together, we made our dreams reality by creating Valkyria. Many kings and queens in the history of our two countries only dreamed of accomplishing this and, of those monarchs, many dreamed of accomplishing it through violence and bloodshed. Instead, we chose the path of peace, freedom, and democracy and it led to our unification. We did not build this new country with blood and tears; we built this new country with hope, love, and compassion, which is something few other countries could honestly claim. That is something that we should take pride in.
After the unification, we continued down the path of peace, freedom, and democracy. Together, we passed legislation and referendums that expanded the National Health Service to watch over our children and provide care for animals, developed homeless shelters around the country for those in need, legalised physician-assisted suicide for the terminally ill, decriminalised drug use and drug possession, and introduced new reforms to our police force and the criminal justice system. Beyond Valkyria, we developed a new international governance system with the World Forum. We are the people who laid the groundwork for peace, freedom, and democracy around the world and we should be proud of that.
There are a number of people that I want to personally thank for their friendship and support. First and foremost, I want to start by thanking my late husband Trevor, who unfortunately passed in 2012 in his fight with leukemia. He inspired me to fight, no matter how hard or how difficult the battle became and those words came from a man who fought every single day to live. He was a man who had a big heart and could put a smile on anyone's face and that is why I loved him. He even taught me how to love myself, because we were both bisexual. He helped me come out and I could never be any more thankful to him.
Another person that I want to thank is President Patrick Beckley. If I had never met him in 2000 and never earned his support, I wouldn't be standing here today as Chancellor if he never gave me a chance to build a legacy different than that of my father. The fact that Ambrose was my last name didn't faze him one bit. In fact, he only gave me that classic smile and said that "the sins of one's father is not the sins of the daughter". President Beckley, you are and always will be my favourite President of Qvait. The work you put in as president is unrivaled and I am thankful to have called you my president.
I would also like to thank Presidents Victor Cutter and Jonathan Victor. Even though we did not always agree on politics, the two of you were always kind and willing to lend your service in any way. When I sought out guidance and counsel, I would turn to the two of you for your respective brilliance and your wives are of equal intelligence. Katelynn Williams and Rebecca Victor were well versed in politics and your advice were always welcomed too. I love you guys very much.
Now, Team Labor—or what many of you loved to call "the Big Three". I loved every second working with Avianna Aldridge and Julia Burns—my sisters-in-crime. I first met Avianna after the 2012 election and she was one of the very few people in Congress that I could call my friend. As for Julia, I first met her in 2015 and grew pretty close to her when she said that she was coping with personal loss. The two of you made work fun in Stockholm and I couldn't be any more thankful for having the opportunity to get to know the two of you.
I want to thank Socialist leader Amalia Rollins, who I came to call a friend after the 2017 election. She showed me nothing but kindness and had my back whenever I needed her most. We didn't always agree on something, but we always found a way to get something that benefited both of our parties. Not only professionally, but also personally, you were a great friend to hang out with on weekends off in Stockholm with the others. You always knew how to have a good time and I will never forget the fun we had together.
There are several world leaders that I want to thank for their kindness, intelligence, and generosity. First, I want to thank the late Ura'sia Yena Yamera-Hyudo or Erinor. She was an international inspiration to me and I want people to remember her as one of my influences. We both came to power around the same time and it was an honour to lead beside her. May the gods be ever so benevolent to her resting soul. I would also like to thank Empress Yan, the Peony of Huawan, who gave me counsel during our meetings. I always enjoyed meeting and speaking with her. Thank you, to the two of you.
Lastly, I want to thank a lifelong friend who just happens to be the Leader of the Populists of the Left. Our fathers were national politicians, so we would often see each other in Stockholm. Even though we were born on opposite ends of the country, we basically grew up in the middle and the bond between us grew no matter how far we got from each other. We went to university together and studied together. You are my best friend, Taeler Shaw, and I want to thank you for that.
It has been a great honour to serve you as the first Chancellor of the Valkyrian Republic. All I ever wanted in life was to build peace, freedom, and democracy at home and around the world. When I first began this endeavour, I did so without the thought processes of the people. As the years passed, I learned that I could not simply promote peace, freedom, and democracy. I learned that we the people needed to truly believe that we could live in a world that operates under these principles.
I want each and every one of you to remember that 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. I love you and thank you for all of the support that you have given me since 2005.
May peace, freedom, and democracy forever reign in the land of Valkyria.
![[Image: 400]](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/qvwi/images/4/43/Harrison_sig.svg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/400)
Margaret Harrison,
First Chancellor of the Valkyrian Republic,
Last President of the Republic of Qvait,
Former member of the Qvaitican House of Representatives,
Former mayor of the city of Darwin,
And daughter of Qvaitican President Jonathan Ambrose and Melinda Andrews
After her speech, Populist Left leader Taeler Shaw proposed to Harrison. Harrison was so shocked and smiled with tears in her eyes. She nodded and said yes. While it was the end of an era, it was the beginning of something new—for everyone. 9 August 2019 marks the beginning of a new era for Valkyria and a new life for Margaret Harrison, who spent 30 years of her life in the service of peace, freedom, and democracy.
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