Katrin Weber for Internal Affairs | EU Commission Elections

Announcement of the Foundation of the Kiel Local Assembly

My sisters, my brothers, my comrades-in-arms; it has been a terrible week, a terrible year, for Kiel, for Europe as a whole. We have let ugly partisanship divide us; we have let theorists in ivory towers hold full sway over our hearts and minds. This, all of this, has led to death and destruction. I express my deepest condolences for those injured in any way, for the dead and for their families, both here and throughout Europe.

Yet we cannot let things like this, the effects of pure ideology, happen again. We must return to good governance.

What is good governance, then? All of us in Europe know that it is elusive and rare; yet at the same time we can at the very least describe the principles it bases itself on - democracy, self-determination, and solidarity.

These three are completely absent in the government of the European Union. It does not listen to the people, does not let them make their own decisions; instead, it throws out random lists of proposals in the hope that one of them will gain favor with the people, who they manipulate for the simple reason of gaining power. This has become the norm; almost everyone who wishes to enter it mimics these awful behaviors.

This must be entirely abandoned. Rather than ourselves inventing policy proposals, we must instead work with the people to develop them, whether it be through mass organizations, through democratically elected legislatures, or simply directly; in essence, we must uphold democracy, the first principle of good governance.

At the same time, we must not entirely give ourselves to populism. To say that the 'people' are always correct is entirely untrue, for they can be deceived. We must temper both the opinions of the people with those of impartial experts, must provide a basis of facts and only facts to the people, so that we may create policy, through logical dialogue, that is both informed and truly helpful.

Centralization, however, must be abandoned. We cannot presume to know best for all, for situations are different everywhere, even within individual countries. The European Union must stop interfering so much in what should be the affairs of its constituent members; it must, instead, step aside, except in situations where the principles of good governance are themselves threatened. We must let the national, the ethnic, the geographical, and perhaps, in time, even the professional groups, decide their matters for themselves - the second principle, self-determination.

Despite this, we must also stay united. Only through unity can we protect these principles and all of our livelihoods; we each contribute something to both, whether it be through our voices in the European Council, our defense, or our resources both natural and human; the loss of any one of us would be a loss for us all. Together, as such, we must create norms that will help us and posterity thrive together, in solidarity - the final principle.

It is with this message for you, that I now officially declare the creation of the Kiel Local Assembly - my admittedly limited contact with you, through which we both can develop better policy, implemented both here and hopefully, hopefully throughout all of Europe.

Q&A - Political Career

Q: Your nation is one of the most unstable in the European Union. Can we trust you to be a competent IAC?

A: Yes, my nation is unstable. But it was born with this instability; from its very founding, it was rocked with near-constant ethnic and political conflict. As Consul, however, I presided over a period of relative calm. Before me, there was, on average, a revolution or a coup every three years. Under my administration, however, through community discussion and arbitration, I reduced this to exactly one - the revolution in 2020, which everyone in Eastern Haane feels was justified. So, yes, I believe that I can be trusted as a competent IAC.

Q: As head of government, you allowed for mass nationalizations which led to yet another revolution. Why?

A: It was either that or nothing. The country was spiralling out of control; we were worried about the possibility of sabotage to production. By temporarily nationalizing essential industries, we had believed that this would be prevented. Even now, I am still worried about this, for the political climate has not changed at all.

Q: You argued that Hoebeek was guilty during his initial trial, using harsh language to describe him. Do you regret this?

A: I regret passing judgement too early; however, I do not regret some of my words. The man was one of the most corrupt, power-hungry, and idiotic politicians ever to lead Eastern Haane.

Q: Under your administration, Eastern Haane's economy was among the worst in the world. However, by all accounts, you had full control over it. So, then, why was it so?

A: In a monetary sense, the economy was extremely bad, I admit this. Because of the isolationist policies of the Solidarist Bloc, we had no access to anything outside of the country. However, materially, everyone was fed healthily, had access to clean water and healthcare, and was housed. So really, I don't believe that we should look at the economy as being 'bad,' per se.

Q: During the Revolution of May 2020, there was a near crisis between syndicalists and council communists. How was this averted?

A: Through deliberation. During the revolution, I held tripartite discussions between the provisional legislature, the Congress of Workers' Councils, and myself, from which we came to an agreement in which, until a new constitution would be drafted, we would share power. During the drafting itself, I again presided over deliberations on the continuation of this sharing, from which a new arrangement, in which the Congress would have powers of coordination and impeachment and the legislature legislative power.

Q: On the first of July, talks between you and Iuliha Teimasenvou collapsed. Why exactly was this?

A: Mrs. Teimasenvou wanted complete legalization of the drug in her own community, but wanted to forbid its usage by Eastern Haanean citizens. At the same time, she wished to deport everyone living within 50 km. of the Essen Rock. This was ridiculous, and I protested. She became physically violent; I was forced to defend myself.

Platform

Democracy

Hold discussion with mass organizations, legislatures both national and regional, and regular people as to develop policy
Reform the European Assembly to become an advisory body to the IAC, comprised of representatives from national, ethnic, and professional groups.
Create bodies of experts to develop reports and recommendations for Europe, as to equip national legislatures and other political bodies with better information.
Through tripartite discussion between experts, the European Assembly, and the IAC, develop a plan for the creation of a more egalitarian EU.

Self-Determination

Stop interference in national affairs, so long as the basic principles of democracy and good governance are not violated.
Give ethnic and professional groups greater power and autonomy on a Europe-wide scale.
Work and cooperate with individual countries in implementing various projects, if they wish to, rather than imposing a unified plan from the top.
Work to rebuild independence in regions politically or economically dependent on others.

Solidarity

Through discussion with European member states, mass organizations, and other national, ethnic, and professional groups, create united policy to protect the European commons - the seas, the air, and space, so that future generations may enjoy them as we do.
Seek to form a united front in the European Union against all threats to it or its member nation; what weakens one weakens all.

A Broadcast to Europe

To all those listening, I apologize for my inability to come in person. Transport in and out of Eastern Haane is severely limited at this time.

But let me get to the point. I understand that I have gained a reputation for rambling, and wish to put it to an end.

Europe faces an existential threat - a threat seen by few and opposed by even fewer. Yet it is an obvious threat, one that should be plain to see, for its effects are already everywhere.

What is this threat? What are its effects? The threat is the lust for power; its effects are the poisoning of the air, its transformation into a thick, unbreathable, black sludge that suffocates everything in it, the destruction of the land as resource after resource is taken from it until it crumbles to dust, forever destroyed, unable to support even the most basic of life,' the littering of space, looked to as a wonder by so many for thousands upon thousands of years, now studied with that same wonder today, with simple junk until it becomes inaccessible to all, the pollution of the sea, as it is used as an arena for the powerful to compete against each other, its transformation into a vat of death, the enslavement of entire nations as, in search of resources to replace those already destroyed by the lust for more, they are pillaged by powers drunk on their own power, the destruction of whole ethnicities as, in a desperate attempt to save their own power as those below them turn on them for the terrible atrocities they have committed, the lusting place the blame, redirect the growing hatred of them, onto innocent groups, who, through their culture or their language, are different from the rest. All of this, all of this, and more that we cannot see, more that is certainly far worse than this.

From this, it is easy to deduce the answer to another question: Why can no one see it, this threat? In essence, those without power have been blinded to it by those who have the power to do so; those who have the power to do so have become so drunk on their power that it is now all they see or care about.

If we are to stop this threat, we must destroy the very idea of holding power, for its very existence allows for the development of this terrible drunkenness. Those in leadership position should not exist to give the people something; they should exist simply as an organ of governance, through which the people as a whole hold power, sharing it among each other so that none can usurp it.

This is my primary mission; to destroy the idea of a European Union, perhaps even governments of a whole, as ruling over their people, and put into its place new system of good governance; a system in which democracy and logic prevails over populism and authoritarianism, in which all are equal in dignity, and in which the rights of all groups as well, whether national, ethnic, cultural, or professional, are protected, and in which, rather than being done for power, actions are to improve the well-being of the whole community; a Europe in which all countries are united in the common defense of these. In essence, I wish to create a Europe based upon democracy, self-determination, and solidarity; a Europe that is the very negation of the threat that I have described.

This may not be possible within my term; it may not be possible within a year, ten years, perhaps even fifty. But even if we can never accomplish it, it is at least a noble thing to try, to try and to create a better world, instead of simply resigning oneself to inevitable doom.

Second Broadcast

Do not fall for the tricks of the alcoholics, for their only wish is to have more and more alcohol as to satiate themselves, even if it brings them and those around them to ruin.

But of course, everyone knows this. Everyone knows that their 'promises,' of love, of future abstinence, and so on and so forth, are entirely false.

So, then, what is this election? If we do not satiate the desires of alcoholics, why should we satiate the desires of these power-addicts?

Ah, but of course, they are not power-addicts. They are entirely sincere in their promises, promises to bring fast transportation and internet to all Europeans.

If only this could be true. The reality is that these promises are ridiculous; at a European level, it would be entirely impossible for them to be accomplished; Europe is not integrated enough to support such an expansion, for every country, in everything, has entirely different standards. Even if this were not true, resistance from the people and the various collectives that make up society, whether they are the nations, the ethnicities, the cultural or linguistic groups, or even the professions would stop them entirely.

But this is of now matter, for they are not meant to succeed. These magnificent proposals; they are all a ploy, a ploy to gain power over the European people as to satisfy a terrible addiction that threatens to rip everything apart, from the air to the sea and to our very lives, as I stated in my previous broadcast.

Of course, I may be one of these addicts. I myself do not know that I am not; it is possible that I have become so addled in my in my desire for power, that I no longer can see things for what they are.

But even then, I have stated repeatedly that I, at least as far as I know, do not want power for myself. I want to give power to the people, both individually and through the many constituent groups of European society, whether they are national, ethnic, cultural, linguistic, political, or professional.

I want to end the addiction to power, as well, not by punishing the addicted but simply by removing the structures that allow and support their addictions, replacing them with a truly egalitarian system, a system based upon both democracy and logical discussion, a system in which the facts, undistorted by bias, are available to the people.

At the same time, however, we must allow for empowerment. We cannot simply have destruction, embodied a system in which people are brought down; we must have a system defined by creation; a system in which all are brought up, to become active participants in a new polity; a system in which all individuals and all societal bodies are entirely autonomous, with fair representation; but at the same time united in a fellowship where the strong help the weak so that the weak may one day help them, in which all may have true dignity.

Again, as I have said before, I cannot possible accomplish this all; such a thing may not even be accomplished in a hundred years. But one must at least begin, one must at least try.