Present: Prime Minister Elizabeth Hall ( @Thunderer ), Home Secretary Sir Ambrister Jones ( @AlphaWolf215 ), Foreign Secretary Lady Sarah Mountbatten ( @Capt. Henry Morgan ), Chancellor of the Exchequer Nathan Graham ( @Gagadug. ), Lord Chancellor Lord Edwin Glyn (shared), Secretary of State for Trade and Industry Sir Henry Fairfax (shared).
Absent: Defence Minister David Templer ( @Markam ).
Prime Minister (to the Lord Chancellor, who helped her gather a pile of papers which she had dropped on the floor -- an ominous first deed as prime minister): Oh I'm quite fine myself Glyn, thank you. (Clears her throat; speaks to the cabinet): Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We already know each other more or less, so let's start working. I am sorry it has to start this way, but the Chancellor of the Exchequer will have to read us all some very disturbing... and eye-opening facts about Bretonia's economy. Graham?
(Graham took a deep breath, slowly finishing the last lines of a file before raising his head.)
Chancellor of the Exchequer: Good Morning, Ladies and Gentlemen. As Miss Hall put quite well I don't have good news to bring you. The last days of catching up showed some severe holes in our finances throughout all branches.
First and foremost the immense spending on the military and the colonization efforts in the south as well as Tau 31 are putting deep holes in the Kingdoms pockets. As the economy is in the process of transforming back to peacetime production we also face transition costs of a considerable height, even though those should not be much to be worried about in the future as it also means modernization of production. Yet it puts more pressure on our current budget.
I think this should suffice for a basic overview of where our biggest problems are, if you are interested in the details I will gladly enlighten you.
He glanced to Hall, waiting for her to speak.
Prime Minister: So... you are suggesting that we unburden ourselves?
Chancellor of the Exchequer: I don't suggest it, I implore you to do so if we are to stay solvent. If we do not we will not be able to pay our bills in less than two months from now.
As a significant cut in military spendings is off the table, he shot a look to the royalists at the table I see but one real option. We need to give up the colonization of both Exeter and Harris and consider the option to sell them. I know this sounds harsh but I don't think we have a choice.
By doing so we will free enough funds to invest in infrastructure to develop Newcastle and properly reconnect it with the tradeflow. We will even have enough funds for investment which are direly needed in my opinion.
Prime Minister: Is there someone potentially interested in that real estate with whom we have reasonable relations and who could afford it?
Chancellor of the Exchequer: I did not reach out to anyone yet but I would consider to sell either of them to OS&C, maybe Synth Foods has interest in one of them, too. Apart from that we might consider the Crayter Republic or the Empire of Kusari for Harris.
Foreign Secretary: Excuse me. Are we seriously considering abandoning sovereign Bretonian territory? After the lives and wealth spent securing it in the first place? You should be ashamed of yourselves.
Chancellor of the Exchequer: Miss, I do not want to sell out our territory but you have to face reality. We have no choice but to cut costs and I can not think of other options on the table right now. May I remind you that its thanks to you that cutting military expenses is not an option?
Home Secretary: Perhaps selling the land, but keeping it under Bretonian rule would be a compromise. We retain sovereignty, and gain a little cash in the proceedings?
(The Home Secretary looked around at his peers).
Foreign Secretary: Well of course it's not an option! We're still at war. What's next? Shall we sell Cambridge? New London itself? The integrity of our nation is worth far more a few pounds in the treasury.
Prime Minister: That's enough, I believe we've all understood the pros and the cons. We will vote.
I approve of the Home Secretary's proposal. All in favour, raise hands.
(Lady Mountbatten keeps her hands firmly on the table and glares at the Home Secretary and PM).
(Graham does not raise his hand either, biting his lip not to speak up again)
(The Lord Chancellor automatically supports everything the PM says and raises his hand. The Secretary for Trade and Industry cunningly scans the general emotion and decides to abstain).
Prime Minister: All opposed, raise hands.
(Again, Graham keeps his hand on the table).
(Lady Mountbatten raises her hand).
Prime Minister: Technically this could pass as it's 2 - 1 in favour, without my vote, but I don't like this many abstentions. We need to make a firm decision. Jones, would you mind if I did a few alterations to your idea?
(He nods at the Prime Minister).
Prime Minister: This government's task is to prepare Bretonia for a final battle against the Enclave. The liberation of Edinburgh and justice for Leeds. But fleets need money. We could pump more in right now, yes... provided the motion manages to pass the Commons somehow, which is unrealistic, but that would have negative consequences on the economy, which means there will be even less money to fund the military with in the end. Am I on the right track, Graham?
Chancellor of the Exchequer: That is correct. I dare say there wont even be enough left to finance our salaries if we keep going like we did in the last years.
Prime Minister: Oh, the masses would like that, they would! If their stomachs were full enough to like anything. Jones, I hope you have this information, how much civil disorder was recorded on Sprague last week?
(Barely audible to the individuals either side of him he muttered the "sir").
Home Secretary: Actually lower than during wartime. The previous Fleet Admirals decision to deploy the Prince's Regiment plus supporting forces has proven effective, but it still ranks the highest from the BPA's latest report. I had hoped to secure additional funding for a further 50,000 police constables...
(Grahams left eyelid twiched a little at Joneses request).
Chancellor of the Exchequer: Miss, we already pay lower wages than we should with the justification of having to save government funds.
If we cut them even further after the main fighting is over...
Prime Minister: Surely the police can keep the masses in good order if the police is better funded? Or would this be too optimistic, Sir Jones?
Home Secretary: You would find the house on the brink of civil war, I imagine. As the war grows ever more distant, the people will be less and less satisfied with the lack of funding.
The police will certainly not be the answer to that situation.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, nodding while Jones spoke, now turned to the Prime Minister: If I may, you are forgetting another important factor. Even if we are able to control the people by force, they still wont be able to buy without money. How are we going to get our economy back up without people spending?
Prime Minister: I realise that we have an unpleasant fact striking us in our arrogant faces. Patriotism is a virtue, but hubris, ladies and gentlemen, hubris is not! If I understood what the Chancellor of the Excequer said correctly, we can only spare the funds for one colonisation effort. Only one planet. Am I right?
Chancellor of the Exchequer: Even if the answer doesnt satisfy you, yes and no. We would be able to fund developing Newcastle or Exeter I suppose, as they are somewhat close and already have a basis of infrastructure around them. Exeter would be pushing it though as it would require immense investment into defenses, too. As for Harris, I doubt we can afford supporting it even if its the only endeavour.
Foreign Secretary: Don't forget the investment we've put into Planetform's efforts on Harris. By all accounts, that investment is less than a decade from paying off.
Chancellor of the Exchequer: Even when they start paying off we still face ever increasing cost of defense. The planet is effectively encircled, we have no short supply chains to it and further more the planet will permanently cost us as you are well aware. Planetform themselves admit it will require high upkeep costs compared to the other possible colonizations
Effectively we will loose money every day we keep it.
Prime Minister: Alright. Let's vote. Harris, Exeter or Carlisle. Which one do we focus on? All in favour of Harris, raise your hands.
Foreign Minister: I can tolerate licensing a friendly corporation bearing most of the costs of development, but giving it away to Crayter or Kusari is simply unacceptable.
Prime Minister: We'll talk about that a bit later. But we must vote now.
(The Lord Chancellor does not raise his hand).
(Graham reads yet another file).
(Jones folds his arms).
(The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry is waiting to see what others will vote).
(Sarah reluctantly keeps her hands on the table).
(The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry decides not to raise his hand).
Prime Minister: Everyone in favour of Exeter, raise your hands.
(Graham doesn't even raise his eyes).
(Considering what Jones had been privy to in the previous government and the amount invested, Jones raises his hand).
(The Lord Chancellor raises his hand, thinking that the former Governor-General of Exeter wants to focus on Exeter. The Prime Minister gives him a puzzled look and he puts his hand down).
(The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry awaits to see what the Foreign Secretary will vote).
(Sarah does not raise her hand).
Prime Minister: All in favour of Carlisle, raise your hands.
(Graham looks up and raises his hand, closely monitoring the others).
(Using the logic of elimination, the Lord Chancellor immediately raises his hand).
(Jones has already lowered his hands, keeping them on the table, his fingers interlocked).
The Foreign Secretary raises her hand: Provided we reach an adequate arrangement concerning Harris, I think Carlisle represents our best investment.
(-Graham looks at her, somewhat surprised as he did not notice her refraining from voting for another option before, a hint of a smile on his lips).
Foreign Secretary: For now, we can let Exeter go, but I'd like to keep open the option of returning should our problems in the Taus resolve themselves favorably and we can focus on dealing with our enemies in the Omegas.
Chancellor of the Exchequer: If things clear up I see no reason not to.
(Seeing most have voted for Carlisle, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry raises his hand).
Prime Minister: Carlisle wins 4 - 2. It has been decided. Mountbatten, thank you for suggesting that, that is exactly why I asked the Home Secretary to modify his proposal a little.
We will not sell any land on Exeter. That would imply abandoning it permanently. We will abandon it only temporarily. No agreements, treaties, no words. Just leave, take everything with us, destroy what we can't. This will leave the Coalition, the Corsairs and perhaps the Zoners too, fighting over it. And when we have regained our strength, it will be easy for us to come back. And legitimate.
All in favour, raise your hands.
(The Lord Chancellor raises his hand).
(Graham raises his hand, too).
(AJ raises his hand, perhaps begrudgingly).
(Sarah raises her hand reluctantly, suspecting this is about as good as it'll get).
(Seeing everyone has raised their hands, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry raises his as well).
Prime Minister: Unanimously in favour, it has been decided. Exeter will be evacuated as quickly as possible. No treaties, everything that can't be evacuated will be destroyed. We will return when we can.
Now, Harris. I suggest offering Synth a deal. It is a corporation from an allied state and they have just lost much of Stuttgart. I would dislike if Liberty declared war on Rheinland over that and I'd prefer offering them a substitute. The planet will stay nominally Bretonian, but the soil, rich with nutrients for crops, will be sold to Synth. All in favour, raise your hands.
(Graham's hand shoots up).
(The Lord Chancellor raises his hand, as this was the Prime Minister's idea).
(Jones interlocked his fingers again, not raising his hand).
Foreign Secretary: A contract with Synth is fair. They'll develop it for much the same use we were planning anyway, and the planet remains part of our great Kingdom.
(She raises her hand).
(Seeing most vote in favour, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry raised his hand).
Prime Minister: It has been decided, Harris will be sold to Synth... if they offer enough, of course. Graham, Lady Mountbatten, would you mind working on this? I would like Mountbatten to contact Synth and Graham to to all the necessary preparation about bartering and alike with Mountbatten. Or perhaps contact Planetform as a middleman and have them contact Synth? What do you two think?
Graham: Of course, Miss. I think we should contact Synth directly though. We might have a stronger position negotiating that way and it might even be of political use as a show of goodwill towards Liberty.
Foreign Secretary: Synth is a foriegn corporation, so the FCO should take the lead on this one.
Prime Minister: Mountbatten, do you think we should involve the Liberty Government as well? Only allow them access to our correspondence with Synth, or contact them first? We all know that the interest of any Liberty corporation is Liberty's interest.
Foreign Secretary: In the interest of transparency, it's probably best if we at least notify them of what we're doing. Dealing with the Libertonian bureacracy is migraine-inducing on a good day, but I think it's unavoidable here.
Prime Minister: Very well, I will leave this in the capable hands of your two departments. Contact Synth and Liberty as soon as possible. I trust this will be done until Saturday... the initial contact at least. After that I would like to invite you to the Steiner estate on New London for tea, Mountbatten. There's some finer subjects about foreign policy that I would like to discuss. Is that alright?
Foreign Secretary:; It would be a pleasure, Prime Minister.
Prime Minister: Very well. The meeting is adjourned until Monday. Ladies and gentlemen, you are dismissed, good day to you.
(Graham nods and moves up, leaving the room deeply in thoughts).
Prime Minister: Oh, and... I nearly forgot. Mountbatten, the Defence Minister will be there. Should be there. Him and the Fleet Admiral had a critically important talk and he had to be excused. We'll have an informal little chat about the troubles together. Until then.