April 4407
![Image](http://cdn1.theweek.co.uk/sites/theweek/files/styles/theweek_article_main_image/public/6/05/150224-malcolm-rifkind__0.jpg?itok=YXlYccjB)
Bürggraf Goddestreu showcasing his characteristic sense of humour: "Come visit us, we have cookies... well, Strudel, at any rate."
Kien, Hulstria - In an update on the government's economic plan, two years after the announcement of the greatest economic overhaul in over a century, Finance Minister Severin Goddestreu, the Bürggraf Goddestreu, has announced that the Crownlands are now once more open to foreign businesses. Taking a walk through the Kien Business District with a visiting group of foreign investors invited just for the occasion, the Bürggraf was heard remarking with his family sense of humour that "there were certainly a lot of advantages to investing in Hulstria and Gao-Soto." Leading his guests past a coffee bar, the Bürggraf spoke up, saying: "Come visit us! We have cookies... well, strudel and sachertorte, at any rate," drawing much hilarity from the gathered press and public as well as his guests.
The announcement came as the second part of Goddestreu's economic agenda was introduced to the Imperial Diet, including several further wide-reaching measures to restructure the national finances and economy. Among others, Health Minister Chijimatsu Kuni proposed a law to privatise health insurance and provision to non-profit companies set up for this purpose. The measure is intended to cut the healthcare budget by quire some amount, allowing the financing of another key measure of the government: the universal student grant system introduced by Education Minister Wim Geissler, which is intended to boost the education level in the Crownlands in order to pave the way for a revitalisation of innovative and high-tech economic sectors. "If we want national economic crown jewels like Tenkoun back," declared Geissler, "we need to up our game in the knowledge economy."
The Staatsministerium announced that representatives of Their Imperial Majesties' Government would be going on a tour around Terra to re-establish international relations, with a focus on trade. "We'll be using the time-honoured tactic of travelling with political dignitaries and a trade delegation in their tow," Staatsminister Clemens Heumayr announced. "We've already planned a few itineraries and I can say this: Graf Michels, Bürggraf Goddestreu, Frau Böhme and myself shall be quite busy in the coming months, but I'm looking forward to it."