Journal Entry 20

22. Juli 2020

Even though my secretarial duties required me to attend this afternoon’s parliamentary address by Prime Minister Northcott, I was not obliged to go for obvious reasons. But I needed to go. I wanted Northcott to see me there. The prime minister must know I am watching his every move. Our eyes did meet momentarily as he entered the chamber, but Northcott made it a point to never look in my direction during the entire briefing. 

The prime minister had attended the Special Meeting of the European Council in Brussels from 17- 21. Juli. Today, he addressed parliament members regarding the context of those meetings and how the outcome would affect Dorstenland.

Prime Minister Northcott’s televised address to parliament was closely watched by many of our citizens. The emergency measures imposed on our economy by parliament due to the COVID-19 pandemic was meant to prevent our economy’s collapse. However, the measures implemented are solely responsible for the highest number of bankruptcies and unemployment rates in Dorstenland since WWII, while at the same time adding to the bank accounts of our nation’s wealthiest. Northcott and his party, the NCD, continue to place blame solely on the centrists and liberal members of parliament for the state of our economy. Ironically, it was Northcott and his party members who had forced through every measure.

Although I do not have proof, I believe Northcott and his party’s propaganda of blaming other political parties are meant to distance themselves from any ownership of how our economy is performing. I am willing to bet that since a vaccine for the coronavirus appears to be only months away, Northcott wants to make himself and the NCD the saviors of our economy. The prime minister waves the banner of support for those with lower incomes, but it is Northcott and the NCD parliament members who have personally profited the most from the pandemic.

Newspapers had raised the hope of our country’s citizens that parliament would relax most pandemic restrictions after the prime minister’s address. The newspapers were, in fact, correct. Although infections and deaths caused by COVID-19 continue to increase in Dorstenland, Northcott announced late this evening, a near-complete reopening of our economy – to the delight of those who have suffered economically.

It is politicians like Northcott who make me question if I should remain King Jonas’s private secretary. Is it all worth it – the stress, the lack of privacy, and now the danger? That, in turn, causes me to wonder if the abduction of my family would have ever of happened; should I never of agreed to work for the king in the first place.