Today I'm back in my homeland of Uppsala to talk to a young politician making waves here in the Nordic nation of Nya Åland. Dr. Olivia Robertsson has thrown her hat officially into the ring for this years elections to Head Gothi having recently been certified as a Gothi by the Odinic Order. Recent polls have suggested that if the election was to take place tomorrow she would push incumbant Stein Ulfsson hard but ultimately lose, however each day that passes see's the membership of her Liberal Odinic Rite party increase. Should she win the election she would be the first female Ålander Head of State. Dr.Robertsson has an impressive CV when it comes to her life however has next to no political experience. Born in Sprigwald, a small village north of Uppsala she became a national heroine during the Uppsala Crisis when she was discovered running a medical aid post for those seeking to escape the destruction. She then voulenteered to return to Uppsala and carry out rescue works in areas under threat by the Gungnir terrorist group. Once back at University she enrolled as a voulenteer for JET and when the Uppsala Chemical leak took place she remained in the area despite the dangers. For her part she was awarded the Hammer of Odin, the nations highest civilian award for bravery, the anual stipend of which she used to fund mobile health care in Zimalia. Now her impressive background is being labelled as a perfect preparation for being a Head of State.
Krista - Olivia. Thank you for joining me this evening. If I may begin with a rather awkward question. You're 26 years old, aren't you a bit young to try and rule a country? Why not wait a few more years?Olivia - I could sit here and name several Heads of State who have been younger. King Karlis of Chistopol was a year younger than me when he began running a campaign that freed his nation. Queen Viktoriya of Lodja was five years younger than me when she chaired the 2nd set of reforms of the MCUR. The Bene Gesserits Reverened Mother was still a teenager when she assumed the leadership of that faith and is still younger than me and rebuilding a nation. If you're ready then you're ready. I worry that the longer we wait to begin enacting change in the nation the bigger the hill we'll have to climb. We've been largely isolated from a lot of Mundus for a few years now mainly as Ulfsson has not actively engaged with Mundus and of course the fact that some have shunned us. The longer we wait the more isolated we become. I've a chance to bring about change this year, otherwise we are stuck with the same do nothing administration we have now until 2027 and can we really afford that? My age shouldn't be a question, people should ask do I tick the boxes needed to be a leader. If they believe I do then age becomes irrelevant.
Krista -You're spent the last few years abroad, are you not concerned that you have grow slightly out of touch with the concerns of the people who work and leave in Nya Aland?Olivia I get home very regularly, both to see family and friends but also as part of fund raising for the various projects. I think in the days of modern media and communications its not as difficult to see whats happening as it was in days gone by. I speak to thousands of Ålanders and I'm confident I have a good read on their views on a whole range of issues. If people think I am out of touch you need only look at our most recent rally. 120,000 people turned up. Membership of our party grows everyday and we're now the 2nd largest party in terms of members. I think that by being out on the ground I learn a lot. Since setting up the party I've been based in Uppsala almost full time. I work in the local hospital and as such I see people at some of their worst moments. I host religious worship too, I have people attend the grove I utilise and we're like a small family. I'm not as isolated from the Ålanders as perhaps Stein Ulfsson is.
Krista -Do you put stock in allegations that Nya Aland is a discriminatory state on basis of religion?Olivia A little. There are no policies that deny Christians for example rights. They can marry, they can have a Christian marriage. They can have an education, they can even have a private Christian education. They can gather as a community. The discrimination comes on the way the faith can be visible. The Church can't display a cross on the outside, the gatherings must be done indoors and be careful of sound. These things are the discrimination. I hope no Christians feel threatened just because they are Christian, they aren't being targetted and they aren't being denied oppurtunities. I think one issue that exists at times is the way nations react to some media stories. We are a nation of Odinists. To us things like mistletoe groves are sacred objects when Christians, perhaps ignorant of this cut down the branches for their festival they are rightly prosecuted. I would hope though we live in a society where prosecution is not perhaps the first step and that a conviction is more about education that punishment.
Krista -During your altruistic missions in Zimalia and Lijiang, what is the lesson you got, and how shall it help you lead Nya Aland shall you be elected Head Gothi? Olivia I've worked in some high pressure situations in circumstances that are alien to most. As a Head of State you are going to have to make tough decisions daily. So do Doctors, especially ones working in cultures that are unfamiliar to them. I think that the main lessons I've learnt are about the importance of working with others. This is something we as a nation have forgotten. What was the last joint project or initiave we got involved in? I think I have done more to develop foreign relations in the past few years than are actual government. I have an understanding of nations like Lijiang and Zimalia far beyond that of the current administration.
Krista -How do you feel, knowing that your first voter base of support aren't native alanders, but well displaced nords? Does this mean that your program for Head Gothi is made at the detriment of native and well established alanders??Olivia The nation of Nya Åland is rather unique in many ways. The concept of native when talking about the Nords was always a tricky one, the way people moved between the five Nordic states was always rather pourous. Families were mixed and it was hard to know exactly where one state ended and another began. Ålanders were perhaps always the most conservative and traditionalist but since the Uppsala disaster that has become more entrenched, largely I think because we don't have other administritive centres allowing different ways of doing things. Lets also remember in a technical sense us non-Ålanders didn't have a choice. There was no effective way for us to administer something like a referendum of provisional government. As a result what was left of the old Union of Nordic People was in a sense annexed by the Ålanders. They made the decision to make us part of their population. I have no desire to make Nya Åland the old UNP. What I want to do is take the hard working and self sufficent mentality of the Ålanders and mix it with the old UNPs courage to act on a global stage. Between both the old and the new we embodied what is best about the nine noble virtues.
Krista -In an ever constant changing militaristic Mundus where threats are real, where following the great disaster, Nya Aland have been in much need of foreign help, most particularly of East Moreland which provided tremendous one, ultimately, is your proposal of Armed Neutrality not a slap to the face of those who helped?Olivia - If we look at how the Morelanders, Achkaerin, The Iwi, Lodja and several other nations helped us it wasn't in terms of military intervention in a combat sense, at least not initially. The actions began as large scale humanitarian operations and then anti-terror operations. Even when following armed neutrality of the past our service men and woman went into operations of a humanitarian nature. I may not have served in the military but while a member of JET I worked alongside our military helping in a variety of situations. Armed Neutrality means that we intend to stay out of any war and will defend our right to be treated as a neutral nation. It does not mean we do nothing. It puts us in a unique position where we can be trusted once more to be the leading force for peace. That is how we return the favour nations like East Moreland did for us, by working hard and diligently to maintain a peaceful Mundus.
Krista -Thank you for your time this evening Olivia and we wish you well in the coming elections?
