The Summer of the Thousands Flowers

[Ayzek]

Day 16
The Holy Lanlanian Empire had been interested in the "Keszarian crisis" since the beginning. Such a democratic crisis on the empire's border, while also in the geopolitical hotzone surrounding the Allied States, was of significant interest to Imperial reporters and subjects alike, especially since it involved an Imperial cousin. Reporters had been constantly questioning Imperial officials on the Empire's reactions to the crisis, which the officials largely dodged or deflected. That changed once the situation showed no signs of slowing down and instead seemed to be heating up.

Of course, the higher echelons of Imperial government remained silent. But on the 16th day, hours after the National Committee of Democratic Restoration demanded President Bekesy's resignation, the first signs that the empire may not support the Keszarian government unconditionally spouted in Azreae. When questioned on Keszaria following an unrelated routine press conference, rather than avoiding the issue, a spokesperson for the Azreaen Prime Minister answered, "the Azreaen government is, of course, dismayed at the developing situation in the Republic of Keszaria. We are disappointed in President Békésy and the Liberal Movement for their consistent tolerance of convenient electoral fraud and their inaction in the face of growing electoral corruption over Keszaria's recent elections."

Asked what action the Azreaen government intended on taking, the spokesperson answered, "the Republic of Keszaria is a sovereign state and we will respect that. But while this crisis is between Keszarians and must be solved by Keszarians, Azreae is not without options. Until we feel that Keszaria's administration has made progress in its election security, Azreae will no longer contribute to development projects in Keszaria and will be recommending that the Pythian Sea Economic Council take a similar stance at the next meeting. Additionally, we are suspending arms and law enforcement goods sales to Keszaria."

While the Azrean government was not the Imperial government, it didn't act entirely independently either. Azreae's actions were most likely a result of Halvadag's efforts to increase the pressure on Bekesy's administration without having to take direct action itself. While the empire could tolerate election corrupt provided Keszaria remained stable, over one million protestors--not far from 5% of Keszaria's population--rocking the nation was not the sign of a stable state.


Day 19
On the 19th, the Imperial ambassador to Keszaria again gave the President a phone call. He urged Bekesy to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis. That ethnic Keszarians in the empire were calling their representatives and urging them to "do something" and members of the Imperial riksdag were passing their frustrations onto the Prime Minister. Indeed, apparently some members of the Prime Minister's Social Democratic Party were threatening to withdraw funding and support from Keszaria should the situation worsen. Against the Prime Minister's wishes, if need be.