Quote:That is not in the works.  No one has approached us requesting we join. We have generally had much more of a neutrality stance than one inclined toward mutual defense treaties so we are an unlikely candidate for membership.
 
We want to continue to seek to be economic and trading partners with most nations whether MATO or not. That has not been and will not be a factor.
 
We do feel close to Luthori with which we have participated on the same side in two wars. And to the Triad republic with whom we have had a number of cultural, military and technical interchanges.
 
In the past it is fair to say we first tried to have mutually beneficial relations with our Artanian neighbors. Then during an extended period our closest ally in all respects was Lourenne.  Now we are trying to look more Terra wide for new partnerships. In Dovani, for instance we have only had two arrangements in the rememberable past.

Quote:Not at all. Our friends Luthori and the Triad Republic believe it is a good organization for them, and we have no reason whatever to doubt their judgment.  We are just not a candidate for MATO.
 
Since we are not purely pacifist but have fought in wars from time to time, let me be clear.  We may again someday enter a mutual defense treaty with another nation. But we would reach such an agreement as a  bilateral not a multilateral contract.

An Exclusive Interview with Former President Lorena Oberlitz
October 5707

Former President Lorena Oberlitz  joined the faculty of the University of Dunlake, following her retirement from politics in 5700.

Quote: Interviewer, Jonas Schumann: President Oberlitz, thank you for sitting with the Zeitung for your first post-presidential exclusive interview. We will cover several issues, and your opinion is still central for many Dundorfians.

Former President Lorena Oberlitz: Thank you Jonas, I am happy to be here and thankful to the Zeitung.

JS: Let's start from international developments. You joined the University of Nordenhaus as a Full Professor in International Relations and ever since you've grown your reputation as our nation's top foreign policy expert. An ally to Dundorf, Luthori, has stepped towards the new MATO organization, and previously, another ally, Narikaton and Darnussia, did the same. The Federal Government clarified that its intention is not to join. Did they make the right call?

LO: I think that the Foreign Minister, my friend Gunther Krancke, released a good statement and I fully endorse it.

JS: Why is that?

LO: As I stated when I was Foreign Minister, we're a pragmatic nation committed to friendship and cooperation and we do so on the basis of commerce and cultural exchanges throughout Terra, mainly through bilateral agreements. We entered multi-nation blocks in the past, like the AU, but since the 5600s our strategy has shifted on these bilateral agreements. Thanks to them, wee entertain very good relations in Artania with Luthori, N&D, and Kundrati. But we also do with countries outside this hemisphere, such as Xsampa and Egelion. I believe that this situation is coherent with our past and with our modest international role and I think that the Federal Government made an excellent call in this matter.

JS: Talking of Federal Government, your party, the DSDP, just entered opposition status after 16 years in power. In these 16 years, the DSDP kept losing votes and parliamentary weight. Some say that the era of the DSDP-NDZP duopoly is effectively over following last November's election. Do you share the view that your party is losing its prestige and with it, its power?

LO: I think that after all these decades since the party system was revolutionized, our country is finally maturing politically. There are benefits and disadvantages: on one hand, more parties and more fragmentation mean that there is increased representation for all the different political opinion and sensibilities. On the other, we saw increasing difficulty in forming cabinets, previous political coalitions becoming obsolete and polarization. My party is the oldest in Dundorf's political scene, and prior to the complete change of the party system we used to reach results lower than 10%, in the 5400s, so this situation where we stayed as a top political force is actually an historical anomaly. Same goes for the NDZP. Our two parties being a duopoly, as you called it, was a natural reaction of the Dundorfian electorate to the sudden change of the political system: they chose stability and found a 'safe option' in supporting this country's two oldest parties. Now that the other parties such as the TLD, the Greens and excetera are becoming more and more institutional it's only natural that the newer generations and the electorate are becoming comfortable in supporting these parties. I think that the DSDP still has a lot to offer to this country, and that our leader Renate Reinhardt did a fantastic job during the last campaign to retain as many votes as possible, I think that after a term in Opposition we will be reinvigorated.

JS: The decline happened mainly during former Chancellor Matthias Werner's watch. Do you blame him?

LO: Absolutely not. I would like to point out Chancellor Werner served for sixteen years and won this party four Federal Elections in a row. He was transformative to the country, being the first gay Chancellor, and promoting important reforms. He probably slowed the decline DSDP would have otherwise had for the reasons I stated previously.

JS: The Pirate Party promised to disrupt Dundorfian politcs and bring "real change". They now joined two Federal Cabinets and the party is normalizing relations with almost every party, exclusind DRF and KBP. Do you think the Pirates were successful in disrupting Dundorf's politics or they're becoming like the 'old' parties they promised to topple?

LO: [chuckles] I feel like I have no right to comment on another party's doings.

JS: You must have a personal opinion.

LO: Well, one can't say they didn't disrupt Dundorfian politics, can they? Since they became a political force, the traditional center-left and center-right coalitions became obsolete. Surely, the Pirates of today are a lot more willing to compromise that the Pirates of fifteen years ago, but that's often the natural evolving of a protest party like theirs.

JS: Should we expect a Pirate entry in the old center-left coalition?

LO: Ask Renate Reinhardt and GPP/DRF,  I am just a Professor!

JS: Let's move on to the final question: how has your life changed following your departure from Karlottenberg Schloss seven years ago?

LO: When my term ended I was sad for a bit: I liked being directly involved in politics whether it was as a Bundestag member, Foreign Minister, DSDP Leader, Chancellor or President. I decided a year and a half after my "retirement" that I still had it in me to do something: after a chat with my husband I decided that I would apply to become a Professor at the Nordenhaus University, and by fall 5702, I moved to this beautiful city. I am happy with what I'm doing now and I enjoy attending dinners at Karlottenberg Schloss with current and former Federal Presidents.

JS: Thank you very much, President Oberlitz.

Interior Minister Franziska Niedermeyer Announces Formation of Dundorfian Olympic Committee
November 5707

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The new 'Dundorfisches Olympisches Sport Büro' building in Dundorf.

Quote:As it stands now no. As Chancellor Gimbel has pointed out, there will be no additional nuclear power plants built for the time being from budget surplus.
 
NKK is a government corporation overseen by several Ministries including mine. It has a budget for repairs, replacement equipment, maintenance, labor, construction and fuel components particularly uranium, and other costs and expenses which do rise as power plants grow older.  Since Nationales Bergbaukonglomerat, also a government corporation, supplies the uranium, that cost fluctuates little.
 
To a large extent utility bills fund the budget to pay those costs.  There is an appropriation to NKK by the Majlis which can be used to cover shortages should they occur or rolled over to a subsequent year if there are none.  Accordingly there is unlikely to be a need to raise utility bills simply because we are not building a new nuclear plant.  Including those which are subsidized for lesser income citizens.
 
NKK also is involved in sponsoring courses leading to a Master of Nuclear Power Engineering degree at Karl Ulrich Universitat in Unterscloss, Stadtuniversitat Lutzenkamp, Oberegg Universitat, and Stadtuniversitat Sudscloss-am-der-Czimnetz which will qualify recipients in all aspects of construction and maintenance and for that matter repair of a nuclear power station including the reactor, the steam generator the steam turbine and electric generator.  Proficiency in shutting down and reactivating in a safe manner is also taught whether done as a temporary measure meant to be safely undone or as a permanent closure.  An engineering degree is a prerequisite as well as courses in mathematics, chemistry and physics.
 
Additionally, there are training courses for NKK technical staff at Karl Ulrich Universitat and Stadtuniversitat Sudschloss-am-der-Czimnetz conduct their Schools of Engineering.
 
The programs for the Master’s Degree and the technical training are partially funded by tuition but interest on an endowment fund established through NKK many years ago pays for the bulk of the expenses associated with those programs.

Quote:The uranium and diamond mining by our mining conglomerate is done with subsurface drilling and mine shafts in accordance with the law of the Bundesrepublik.  This is much more environment friendly but much less profitable than open pit mining. Make no mistake, the conglomerate is solvent but the profit is not such that any venture capital is being attracted to the mining process itself.
 
As to NKK, the current plan calls for review and recommendations to the Majlis upon completion of the tenth power station of possible privatization perhaps in the form of partial or total conversion to private ownership. The current thinking to date is to allow preferred shares to be sold but not common stock.

Vögelberg University Becomes One of Dundorf's Top Educational Institutions
June 5709

The main building of the University of Vögelberg.

• Bundestag passes bill to make DOSB a permanent agency of the Federal Government, separating it from control of the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
  
• Lutzenkamp chose as host for the next FOMAT, to be held in June 5711.
  

President Hans Meyer Re-Elected in Landslide
March 5710

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Karlottenberg Schloss, official residence of the Federal President.

Quote:Not really as such.  I do think our citizens showed they were generally happy with the centrist direction the Government of the Bundesepublik is taking and were voting for continuity and stability. And there is no widespread dissatisfaction with our efforts.
 
I do very much appreciate the support of a solid majority of our electorate and pledge to faithfully serve all the citizens of the Bundesrepublik which is the nature of the office of Federal President.

Dundorf Elects 5710: NDZP and DSDP Incredible Tie for First Place
November 5710 (backdated)

Campaign posters in a suburb of Nordenhaus.