Prime Minister Resigns!

After a fairly long tenure marked by controversy, violence, and political polarization and division,  Prime Minister Martin Heglund has just returned from the Palace where he has just informed His Majesty The King that he would be resigning from his position in light of the overwhelming support behind a No Confidence motion in Parliament. The move comes at a time while the National economy has taken a steep downturn due to the increased defense spending, a near catastrophic international incident involving the sinking of the Dutch Cruise liner Noordam and the heavy reparations that were paid to the Dutch Government, as well as the revelation by the controversial Dickyleaks website that the Defense Advanced Research and Development Agency had secretly and successfully developed Nuclear warheads and stockpiled a significant amount before Parliament ever voted to approve the project. 
 

(Prime Minister Martin Heglund)

In a statement to the press Prime Minister Heglund had these words to say

"I have no regrets for the conduct of my administration. Everything that I have done was in service of my Country and to the never ending love I have for it. It is still my desire to see that this country will prosper and rise like the Phoenix of our Eternal Mother, but alas the task must be left for the next Prime Minister."

When asked who will be stepping up as the interim Prime Minister until Parliament can be convened to vote for it's nominee for the office, Mr. Heglund replied.

"It was my recommendation to His Majesty, to Appoint Foreign Minister Kristina Naufahu as the Interim Prime Minister. I can think of no finer candidate within the cabinet. With her years of experience and statecraft in the Diplomatic Service and the Foreign Ministry, I have full confidence that she can guide our nation through these days ahead."

(Foreign Minister Kristina Naufahu)

It has been confirmed that Foreign Minister Naufahu had been summoned to the palace not long after the Prime Minister's arrived at the Palace. Upon arrival at Hale o na Ali'i, the Prime Minister's official residence and the center of cabinet, Mrs. Naufahu had these words to say to the press.
 

"Good afternoon, I can confirm that His Majesty has asked me to take on the position of Prime Minister in the wake of Mr. Heglund's resignation. I have gracefully accepted his Majesty's task for me to head and to ensure executive stability over the ministries and keep the Government in order, until at which time snap elections can be held in parliament to nominate the next Prime Minister."

When asked if she would take on the position as the head of the conservative party. 

"Yes, with the resignation of Martin Heglund as Prime Minister, he will also be stepping down as the head of the conservative party and I will be seeking to hold the position within the party and running for the nomination of Parliament to be confirmed as the next Prime Minister."

When asked if she could garner the support of Mr. Heglund's Alt Conservative faction within the party and both the opposition, Mrs. Naufahu had these words to say.

"In my long career as a diplomat and as a stateswoman, my record speaks for itself as far as being able to work with every faction. We have a country to rally and unite and I am certain that we can find common ground here to bring this country back together and heal. In doing so, we aim to also restore the confidence of the people with the government that was elected to represent them."

When asked if her religion, being a Christian, might cause some issues or conflicts with being able to administer a country whose majority are Amateranist or Buddhist, Mrs. Naufahu had this to say.

"My personal religious views will not have any affect on my ability to successfully and capably run this country. In my long service, I have worked alongside many folks who were Amateranist, Buddhists, or of the Konko Faith. Ceresians of all paths of worship have been living and working together for nearly a century, peacefully and I expect that we will for as far as I can see. Right now the real focus isn't who worships who or what religion one follows, It's about getting this country back on it's feet, lowering inflation, and restoring our image on the international stage."

The Final question asked was whether or not Ms. Naufahu would seek to dismantle the Nuclear program and stockpile that the Heglund Administration overlooked.

"I have long been against the use of and the proliferation of Nuclear weapons, and my position has not changed on that topic and despite being part of Mr. Heglund's cabinet, I was shocked and appalled to learn of this secret project that he had DARDA(Defense Advanced Research and Development Agency) working on. By going behind the backs of His Majesty, the people and most of the government, by siphoning public funds for a black budget within the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Homeland Security, the previous administration has committed a gross act of negligence bordering criminal and If I am indeed elected to be next Prime Minister, I will work to restore the Public's faith in government and heal those rifts. That is all that I can say for now, there is much affairs of state that need to be tended to. Thank you."