Over the past month, I have been working with the ministries to implement the new Riksråd standards that were announced last month, and I am now ready to announce the first round of changes that have already taken place after a comprehensive review. Note that some of these changes came about outside of the review, but even then I believe they will bring about a streamlined, responsive, and active Cabinet that's dedicated to this region and this community...and ultimately to you, as a member of the community.
I plan to conduct another Cabinet review next month to determine if and how ministries have improved since the first one, and there may be more changes at that time...but for now, here is what we have:
Ministry of DefenseIn one of the changes that came about outside the review, I am in the process of seeking new leadership for the Ministry of Defense. Denth Kasten opted to join a foreign military, and while our policies allow for exemptions to our WHR-only policy, I could not grant it in this case due to his high position. To allow the leader of our military to be subject to orders as a subordinate of another would open up numerous conflicts of interest and give the appearance that our military itself is subordinate, which would ultimately harm the sovereignty of Wintreath as a region.
While I determine the final status of this area, two people have arisen with the desire to lead the Hvitt Riddaral: Chanku and Govindia. Both have agreed to a friendly competition with each other to show who can best lead the military, and until I determine the final status of the defense ministry both have authority to organize, plan, and lead operations, recruit on behalf of the military, organize the military and generally implement any other ideas with my approval. So far the arrangement seems to be working out well, and I'm certain there will be more news about this at the conclusion of the next review.
That would be why the Jarlship is listed as "in contention".
Ministry of InformationOne of the first changes I made in the review was to remove Stacky as Jarl of Information. He had not been active in some time, and really needed to be replaced. I hope that all is well with Stacky, and I thank him for the great job he did in the position while he was active in the region. As Azeron was Thane of Integration at the time, I gave him a choice of continuing on as Jarl of Integration or switching to Jarl of Information, and he chose the latter. So congratulations are in order for him, even if they are a bit late.
Ministry of IntegrationWith Azeron's departure from the Ministry of Integration, this ministry has been left in limbo and I have not resolved how to handle it yet...until then, Stark will serve as
Acting Jarl of Integration. I have communicated that I would like the ministry to be more involved in mentoring and keeping new Citizens from falling through the cracks, and to not just be the regional welcoming committee. To that end I will personally be taking over approval of new Citizenship apps so that the ministry can focus on those areas.
There will probably be more news about this ministry at the conclusion of the next review.
Ministry of ResolutionsFinally, I decided to dissolve the Ministry of Resolutions. I came up with the idea for this ministry during my last days in Spiritus as a solution to the community infighting that was tearing the region apart, but we have had no conflict near that scale here in Wintreath, and I ultimately came to the conclusion that a dedicated conflict resolution ministry was unnecessary here. I have faith in our chat ops and others to resolve any conflicts that arise or at least get them out of our public areas, and any other conflict resolution can be handled by third parties when needed.
Daylen did an outstanding job of that his services were called for, and I hope he will continue to be available for conflict resolution if needed.
I thank everyone for their patience while the review has been carried out and changes made...obviously, these are not all easy changes to make, especially when it comes to removing people from the Cabinet, but I feel these are changes that are needed and while move the region in the right direction. As I said, there will be another round of reviews in the next month that should finalize the status of all ministries, and I will be looking to bring in Citizen input into the next round. Look for those discussions to open up soon.