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This Speech was originally given by the King, in the Storting of Balder, but is reproduced here for all Nations and Friends of Balder

"It is a pleasure to appoint Fuzzy, the Prince of Ribe, as Statsminister, under The Instrument of State and Government Act. His dedicated service to Balder over the past 7 years are an example to us all, and he has all the skills to help drive Balder forwards. Indeed, it was Fuzzy who served inaugurally in the Office of Statsminister when it was first created during my first term as Monarch in 2014. Balder has come through a lot since then, but its loyal members remain ever committed to its betterment.

The past term has seen some notable successes in the deployment of our military, the Jomsvikings, which in some respects represents the Constitutional reforms in late 2019 bearing fruit. But this would not yield anything without the work of the Viking Command to lead our growing forces. We have worked with a number of our allies, across various projects both in update operations and reinforcing major occupations. In a few of the latter including Asia, Xedas and currently in Boston, we have been able to make rapid and significant deployments, a credit to all involved. We look forwards to seeing the Flag of Balder continue to fly in ever increasing numbers in these Operations.

The Balder flag was created from a competition held in 2016. The entry that won bears a very close resemblance to the current flag. The symbol at its centre was always a rune, but originally it was the Sowilo rune, which symbolised the Sun. This was fine, but unfortunately the S-rune was later co-opted by Austrian mysticist Guido von List's, Armanen Futharkh. He referred it as the Sigel, and changed the concept associated with it from "sun" to "victory". In German, it was referred to as the Sieg rune, and two Siegs became the symbol of the Schutzstaffel (SS). So we decided to scrap that element of the flag.

It was replaced by the Fehu rune, which means "wealth" or literally in Viking times, livestock. That in some ways describes Balder well, for it is a land of wealth and opportunity. We are a stable Realm, that has a reliable and trusted legal framework, and a combination of democratic and meritocratic governance. We have a significant presence in various affairs in NationStates: from our strong diplomatic relations with several major regions, to our expanding military action and capability, and also our involvement in the World Assembly. We want to use these assets to drive a positive agenda, engaging new and existing players in our vision. Balder is open for business, and welcomes positive players who will protect and promote our independence, and want to make a difference to the history of the game.

As we move forwards though, we can use our strengths to our advantage, but equally we are not afraid of change. We have already undergone some pretty major Constitutional realignments over the past year, so I do not think major reform on that front is necessary, but we are open to ideas that might enhance our current arrangements. But in the broader picture, we should not be afraid to express our dynamism in the usual Balder tradition of engaging our populace. To that effect, I would like our Government for the next term to organise a new in-game regionwide Flag competition, in a way that respects our historic traditions, but that allows us to tap into the collective talents of our wider Region.

Tapping into the existing talent that manifests itself in our Realm is something I know will be high in the priority list of the Government over the next term, and I believe it will yield encouraging results. We want to remain engaged in the wider NationStates world, and to be an attractive destination for players from across the Game, but that must be on terms that do not sacrifice our Regional Sovereignty. For Regional Sovereignty should be the foundation of our Realm, and we must build a political system on solid ground, not in a marsh of confusion and contradiction. We cannot base our regional policies on placating the personal interests of players whose primary objective is to seek to suppress and break down the Inter-Regional politics which form the basis of our existence as a Sovereign entity. I am keen to support measures internally that will promote our ability to retain and advance our Identity, and defend it against those who would seek to denigrate and weaken it. We also hope to work over the next term with likeminded Regions across the game that share these values, to work together to help us all to protect our regional interests going forwards.

Last but not least, I want to pay tribute to the outgoing Statsminister, Sir Bowzin, for his service over the last term. His rapid and successful rise to the position of Head of Government of this Realm, is an example to all of the wealth of opportunities that Balder presents. I would like to bestow upon him in gratitude for his service, the Chivalric Order of the Knight of Odin, and so I name him Sir Bowzin (Knight of Bragi & Odin). I'd like to also thank others who served throughout the term, in particular the Minister of War, Vamperiall; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Fuzzy of Ribe; and the Attorney General, Baron Aexnidaral of Brattahlíð. And also to Zander, Prince of Aarhus, for stepping into the role of Talman and thus helping to keep the Odelsting running. And so I hereby officially open the Storting for what we will endeavour to make an even more successful period, and may we once again move;

Fram!"

North East Somerset

King of Balder