Nsanlosa

[Rogue]

Niederung: The Maroon Palace has announced that Crown Prince Garaakoo will serve his 2 year mandatory military service starting in january next year. According to the Llaqtese constitution every male that is at least 18 years of age must serve a term of 2 years mandatory service within the Armed Forces and must do so between the ages of 18 and 28, being allowed to pick the age at which to start their service. The Crown Prince, currently 25, will serve a term of two full years in the Airforce, becoming a airforce captain and likely going to fly in the airforce its helicopter squadron. While for years the Maroon palace had stayed silent on whether or not the Crown Prince would serve in the Armed Forces that silence has thus now been broken. Many people reacted positively to the news, with hundreds responding on social media and praising the Crown Prince for performing his duty. One mother noted that "it is good to see that not just the poor and weak are drafted, our leaders themselves are open to and will actually serve and i think that is a good message to send."

Garaakoo his service will start on the first of january 5233, meaning that he will serve till at least january 5235.

[Rogue]

Niederung: Just last week the new draft military budget for 5233 had been send to the House of Representatives with the press being allowed a look at the general numbers behind the budget as well. Notably the numbers show the potential for a major effort to reform the Armed Forces, as it is quite different from military budgets proposed in recent years. According to government insiders it isnt a coincidence, with both spokesman for the Ministry of Defense as for the Armed Forces have confirmed rumours that it is at the request of the Armed Forces and high ranking military officials that a serious effort to reshuffle and reform the Armed Forces is now underway. The budget hints at these efforts, as the budget for the airforce is to be reduced from 600 million to just 300 million while the Army, traditionally already the largest branch of the military, will retain its previous budget of to 1.5 billion. The navy will see its largest increase however, going from a budget 500 million to a budget of 1.3 billion, a 800 million increase. While most officials are tight lipped, likely due to the delicate matter that defense reforms in Suyu Llaqta always tend to be, the certainty is that defense spending will rise from 2.6 billion before to 3.1 billion now, correspondig to nearly 4% of the national GDP. This thus indicates that the size of the military might increase or that it will make a effort in professionalizing itself.

The shift of funds from the airforce to the navy however is seen as a major indicator that the Royal Navy is likely to expand in size, traditionally being nothing more then a trinket force. The army retains its supremacy, being by far the largest branch in the Armed Forces. While speculation about professionalization and potential for change in the Armed Forces are thus confirmed it is yet unclear what these exact changes will entail, with all involved parties not willing to hand out any additional information on the matter.

[Rogue]

(Pre-posted)

Niederung: The Socialist Party has scored a major electoral victory this election, winning 35% of the vote and also gaining the electoral bonus of 50 seats for winning most votes this election. This means a gain of 77 seats compared to 4 years ago and automatically means that the ruling KVP-DP coalition loses its governing majority in the House of Representatives. Instead the Socialist Party and the communist oriented "Forward with Freedom" have captured a majority of seats in the lower house together, creating the possibility for the first left-wing government in nearly 4 decades. This possibility was something many Llaqtese had worried about however, as the still very much influential military could become uneasy with a governing coalition of which some members had criticized the Armed Forces in the past. But throughout the campaign socialist leader Gadise Lalistu had positioned herself as a pragmatic politician and repeatedly praised the Armed Forces and the King. While she did say she would like to form a left-wing governing coalition she also stated that the Socialist Party would restrain itself from adopting "revolutionary ideals" and would opt for common sense policies. One key policy she advocated for was an end to constant liberlizations and privatizations that had left the working class behind, instead adopting mixed-market solutions and state capitalism to invest and guide in areas where it is most needed. She also vouched to properly implement the military budget of 5233 and that her government would not backtrack on additional military reforms proposed just one month ago, thus vouching to go with the military its own reform plans.

But their likely government partner, Forward with Freedom, has been less moderate in those regards. The party had repeatedly called for nationalizing the national economy and centralizing government power further. Its leader also promised to advocate for a cut in the military budget early on, something he backtracked on under Socialist Party pressure to keep his party in the mix as a government partner. While the military might be uneasy with this victory they are, as far as its being indicated, not taking any forcefull actions to overturn the result. King Mosi has already formally appointed Lalistu of the SP to become the next Prime Minister, subsequently also becoming the first female prime minister of the country. She is expected to propose a SP-VmF government, introducing the first firmly left-wing government in 4 decades.

The election loss of the KVP-DP coalition is attributed to the lower-classes, which had been left behind in the liberalizations and privatizations of the last 8 years under their rule. Outgoing Prime Minister Gadisa Saldaan has announced that he is to step down as KVP leader and leadership elections for his position are to be held within the year. While the SP-VmF coalition will have a majority in the lower house it will have to govern with a minority in the House of Peers for at least the next two years, with provincial elections to shape the House of Peers for the two years after that.


The elections, with the VmF once again winning most of its support in the rural north while the SP managed to crack the KVP support base in the capital province

[Rogue]

Niederung: The military reforms proposed by the KVP-DP coalition 4 months ago are, under the new Lalistu government, on their way to being fully implemented by the end of this year. The reforms were almost completely drafted by the military itself, according to government insiders, but some influence from the Ministry of Defense has been making its way through in the final draft. The objective of the reforms is to create a more efficient and well thought out command structure and set the stage for military expansion later down the line. But the reforms have also been carefully crafted to ensure that the top command, mainly talking about individuals, remains influential. This thus means that the reputation the military has for being corrupt and to influential in politics will likely persist.

The main changes in the reform is the high command structure. The new changes will create a new hierarchy of command which will see the new to be created Llaqtese High Command on top. This command will consist of 5 members, 1 of which is the Prime Minister, another the Minister of Defense and the highest ranking officers in the Army, Navy and Airforce. This structure thus ensures that the High Command has a majority of military members, giving the military majority voting rights within it. The JHC will be primarily used as a coordinating organization between the three combat branches, with it convening during times of war or other security situations and discussing the approach and coordination during those situations amongst eachother. Below the JHC will be Police Command, a seperate command specifically made for the Military gendarmerie which directs the activities of the Gendarmerie and is appointed by the Monarch. Then come the three individual commands namely Army Command, Naval Command and Aerial Command. Army Command is headed by a General appointed by the Monarch who automatically serves as one of the three members of the High Command. Army Command oversees all army activities and will also oversee the new "Military Regions" system implemented in this reform. The regions will see the creation of three distinct administrative regions named Region North, Region Central and Region South. All are administered by a Region Commander appointed by the General of the Army. These regions are allocated certain units and administer any army activity within their region during times of peace. In times of conflict the regions also direct the "immediate response", meaning that if the north is invaded the Region North commander can direct his forces to respond until higher orders are received. The Military regions get Armies which are attached to them, with the generals of the individual armies answering to the Region Commander until higher orders are received. The Naval Command is led by a High Admiral appointed by the monarch, who also serves on the JHC. The navy is divided into navy fleets and a patrol fleet. Every navy fleet is given a port from which it is stationed and serves a specific function or a multirole function depending on the composition of said fleet. The Patrol fleet consists of a variety of smaller vessels, meant to patrol the coast and remain in territorial waters. Every fleet is led by a fleet admiral who answers to the High Admiral. The Air Command will be led by a Brigadier general appointed by the monarch, also serving on the JHC. Air Command directs the activities of the newly created Air Identification Zones, which correspond mostly with the Military Regions in that there is a Northern Zone, Central Zone and Southern Zone. The airforce operates on a base by base basis, meaning that basis have their own command structure and are led by a base commander, directly answering to Air Command. Bases are assigned to every individual zone and tasked with responding to aerial incursions in their respective zone. During times of war, Air Command can issue the creation of new zones in conflict areas, assigning bases or individual squadrons to these zones. Air units can also be assigned to army units in case of conflict but only by Air Command.

Another change in these reforms is the creation of several "supporting offices", meant to help branches and commands to administer various aspects of government administration. These include the General Office, functioning in between the JHC and individual commands and helping them in properly administrating paperwork and orders. The Logistical Office, which helps all the branches in keeping up to date numbers on their stocks and helps with logistical planning on request. The Audit and Review Office which keeps a eye on military finances and ensures that general funding guidelines are followed (in allocating funding between branches, to keep the peace) and lastly the new Office for Strategic Planning which will consist of senior strategists and will draft war scenarios during both peace and war, giving the branches beforehand knowledge on certain scenarios and how they may play out.

Furthermore a new division of the navy has also been created named the Special Operations Naval Unit or SONU, a new special forces unit that is to be attached to Naval Command and will serve, at least thats what the military hopes, as a elite unit that is better trained and equipped then ordinary units in the Llaqtese military.

While the intend of the reforms is to diversify command structures, make command more effective and lay the groundwork for military expansion many analysts seem to agree that the fundamental problem of corruption and political involvement that has plagued the military since its inception will likely not be solved by these reforms. The Lalistu government has furthermore added provisions that will create a hybrid military-industrial complex, which was a compromise from the military. This change will see the creation of the state owned "Royal Shipbuilding Company" and the "Llaqtese Armaments" companies. The RSC will be a state owned and funded shipbuilding company that will in the coming years construct two large shipbuilding wharfs, likely meant to kickstart Llaqtese shipbuilding capabilities. Llaqtese Armaments will through this reform take over 4 large armaments factories in the country, also being state owned and funded, and will be primarily focussed on the production of ground warfare equipment. The design of equipment will be left to the private sector while production will thus be a joined private-state affair.

Prime Minister Lalistu has expressed her desire to fully implement and finalize the reforms by the end of the year, with both SP and VmF representatives vouching to vote in favour of the reforms.

[Rogue]

Niederung: The government of Prime Minister Lalistu has put forth a legislative draft of a bill that would mark significant reforms to the administration of the national and local governments. The reforms, labelled the "National Civil Service Act", will effectively end political influence in lower levels of the civil service and only make the top ranking officials within ministries, agencies and other government institutions responsible to the Council of Ministers. This change would be monumental for Suyu Llaqta, which was until now stuck in a archaic system in which ministers could basically appoint and dismiss whoever they wanted, often resulting in corruption such as bribery and nepotism. If the reform passes it will mean a professional civil service that could continue to function on near automatic pilot, able to prevent the possibility of new civil servants being appointed after each shift in power. The reform, in the form it is written in right now, would also apply on lower governments such as the provinces and municipalities, ensuring that both national and local government have to abide by these new rules that attempt to professionalize and de-politicize the civil service.

Drafts of the bill are to be debated over the course of the next few months with the Minister of Domestic Affairs Biiflee stating that he intends to implement the reform this year, if it passes parliament without issue.

[Rogue]

Niederung: Following a recent first visit by the New Englan PM Norah Turney to Suyu Llaqta the national government, spearheaded by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development, has announced plans to significantly expand the infrastructure network in the country. The plan, which would cost nearly 100 billion over the course of 10 years, will see the expansion of the national highways, the creation of a railline between Niederung and the coastal city of Aree and additional secondary road systems in the border regions, meant to allow trade between Suyu Llaqta and its neighbours to both increase in volume and occur more efficiently. The plan also reserves funds for the creation of new sewage systems and the construction of electricity cable lines to ensure that urban expansions can be paid for in the coming years. The plan would put a significant strain on the national budget for the years to come but is a necessary step to "fascilitate economic growth and stability in the coming years and set the first step for Suyu Llaqta to have a robust infrastructure network by 5260" said Minister Negasu Bona. The creation of the modern Niederung-Aree railway line will also mark the first truly modern railway line in the country once completed, with Suyu Llaqta still relying on old, half broken and unreliable trains stemming from its days of Dorvish occupation. Prime Minister Lalistu has hailed the plan, saying it marks the immense progress made by Llaqtese society and will finally move it in the direction of modernity and progress.

Besides the national plan for infrastructure the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development has also send a letter to provincial government, urging them to use subsidies meant for infrastructure development to start constructing new or modernizing old infrastructure in their province. The ministry will invest a additional 50 million annually into the infrastructure subsidy program and will grant exemptions to provinces if they seek to accelerate infrastructure development, allowing both the national and local governments to work together in improving national infrastructure.

[Rogue]

Niederung: The KVP has, during its party congress this morning, elected moderate representative Beekan Kumalaa as the new party leader ahead of the provincial and House of Peers election later this year. Polls are showing that the socialist government of Prime Minister Lalistu is doing extremely well, backed by a growing economy, renewed regional dialogue and bold plans to take on national problems such as infrastructure. If the polls are to be believed the Socialist Party might obtain a straight majority in 7 of the 10 provinces, almost guarenteeing them a majority in the House of Peers as well. The VmF, even though already being extremely strong in the north, will likely increase their strength in their traditional strongholds, guarenteeing a coalition majority in the House of Peers if it comes through. To stem the tight of this surge in popularity the formerly ruling KVP has pushed ahead Kumalaa as their party leader, hoping to attract centrist as well as center-right voters and create a new coalition against the SP-VmF government. But many voters are already criticizing the move from party leaders, who had pushed forward Kumalaa without a second candidate to compete with, basically guarenteeing him leadership over the party. Many on the right of the KVP are arguing that the party is moving to far from its roots, threatening to be seen as a imitator of the socialists and lacking their own identity. Kumalaa has even been heard preaching for more government involvement in the economy, something the KVP is traditionally against.

The former KVP government partner, the Democratic Platform, is itself in a crisis as its former leader Gudina Labuu unexpectedly resigned, pushing deputy leader Kuma Lencho into the seat of party leader. The party is furthermore suffering from defections in several municipalities, with many members unsure how the Democratic Platform can regain its foothold in Llaqtese politics following disastrous results in recent local elections. All indicators seem to suggest that the coalition of Prime Minister Lalistu is set to gain a majority in all of parliament, paving the way for bigger legislative initiatives to be passed in the next 2 years.

[Rogue]

Niederung: Llaqtese High Command, consisting of the Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and the heads of all three combat branches of the Armed Forces, has adopted a new military doctrine more in line with recent military reforms. The new doctrine, of which most details are classified, is called "Strike and Deterrence". The little information that is known about the new doctrine is that it will affect all branches of the military. With recent reshuffles in the military budget it is likely that the Royal Navy and Llaqtese Army will play center stage in this new doctrine as both branches have gained additional funds and/or resources at their disposal in that budget. Some leaks have been confirmed to be true by the Ministry of Defense, which had reportedly angered high ranking officials in the armed forces. The details leaked so far are that in this new doctrine the armed forces will "seek greater ability to perform offensive actions against both small and large military formations." The leak also includes a passage which states that "the overall goal of the Llaqtese Military Forces is to significantly weaken enemy capabilities in the early stages of conflict, after which deterence and fatigue operations should be the main focus."

It is unclear what change this new doctrine might bring forth but outside observers have noted that the Llaqtese military its capability to perform offensive actions has always been its weakest point. They have pointed towards the new Marineeinheit für Spezialoperationen or MfZ as the first step for Suyu Llaqta to improve their capabilities in this field, with this new unit having been created as a more elite fighting force that could be forward deployed during a conflict. This combined with the vast size of the ground forces might suggest that the Llaqtese Army will use its vast size to its advantage, by tiring enemy forces and forcing conflicts into a stalemate if the new to be enhanced offensive capabilities do not prove to be enough.

The navy itself has already stated that it will seek to aid the national defense industry in creating a robust naval industry in Suyu Llaqta that would "set significant steps in expanding the Royal Navy". The navy has also revealed that it will focus on multirole operations, with the two main objectives for the navy being area control and troop transport, implying that submarines and small, agile but capable of heavy lift fleets will be created in pursuit of these goals. The role of the Royal Airforce is still rather unclear, with the little info thats out there suggesting that the airforce will play a primarily supporting role for the Army but Aerial Command has refused to comment on this theory.

The new doctrine goes into effect immediately, applying to all branches of the Llaqtese military.

[XanderOne]

Emperor and Prime Minister visit Suyu Llaqta

[Rogue]

Niederung: Minister of Defense Hirkisaa has confirmed reports of a major military deal between Istalia and Suyu Llaqta that will see the aquisition of new modern ground vehicles and a procurement deal for field artillery. It has been known for quite some time that the Llaqtese military seeks to modernize and create a more efficient force one step at a time. This deal would put the Army one step closer to that goal, with the aquisition of new Main Battle Tanks, Infantry Fighting Vehicles and field howitzers combined with a license to produce Istalian logistical equipment in Suyu Llaqta itself. The deal was struck following a high level visit by the Istalian Emperor and its Prime Minister, with the goal of strengthening bilateral relations and thus start a defense partnership between the two countries. Through the defense deal between the two country's Istalia will send advisors to Suyu Llaqta who will help with maintaining the purchased equipment for at least 10 years, also teaching their Llaqtese counterparts how to properly maintain the equipment. Istalia will create designs for two IFV's, one wheeled and one tracked, based on designs of the past and suited for the Llaqtese needs. The MBT to be purchased will be a variation of the old Istalian MBT's and will be adjusted for the Llaqtese/Dovanian terrain, likely to be efficient in mountainous and dessert like environments. As for the howitzers the Istalians will sell a initial batch to the Llaqtese Army after which Suyu Llaqta will gain the right to produce the howitzers within its own territory. Istalian manufacturers and its Armed Forces will also provide training to Llaqtese forces, besides the already promised technical and logistical support.

The deal details the purchase of a total of 50 Wheeled IFV's, 30 Tracked IFV's, and 100 MBT's with a unspecified number of howitzers and the likely production of 100's of logistical vehicles. While this is seen as a good start for modernizing the equipment of the Ground Forces it is not at all enough to provide the entire army will these new modern ground vehicles. Instead the bulk of the Llaqtese force will continue to use older equipment currently in stock until MoD is able to also replace this equipment. Defense minister Hirkisaa has however already acknowledged that it will be impossible to provide all of the Army with the most modern equipment such as the Istalian equipment just purchased and that the ministrey is currently ecploring options to partially design and procure its own ground equipment. The Army is also looking at creating a specific force or army formation within the ground forces that would be more thoroughly trained and be specialized in using the modern Istalian equipment while the conscript force of 500.000 will likely use the equipment to be produced by Suyu Llaqta itself, which is expected to be of lesser quality.