Elba

The island of Elba, a small island off the coast of Dhāna (and allied with said nation), is a calm and nondescript nation. Nothing much ever happens there, which suits the Elbans just fine. They are an easygoing, relaxed people, as well as being a tad, well, rustic.

Administration

Government

Head of State is Prince. Government ruled by 15 member council elected every 5 years. Council elects Prime Minister for 5 year term. Prince has right of veto that can be overriden by popular referendum. The Prime Minister assigns four cabinet ministers to assist in his administration: Industry, Infrastructure, External Affairs, and Commerce. The Prime Minister is required by the constitution to have at least one member of an opposition party (if possible) in his cabinet.

The current Prime Minister, Federico Giorgiutti, is 56, of the Liberal Democratic Union, elected 3 June 1998, re-elected 3 June 2003. His ministers are Gione Toscanno, Minister of Industry, a member of the LDU; Álessandro Romanno, Minister of Infrastructure, a member of the LDU; Giulia Ciamma, Minister of External Affairs, a non-aligned politician; and Giovanni Zergatto, Minister of Commerce, a member of the Elbic Conservative Party.

Culture

L'Helvanni, the Elbans, are an easygoing group. Elba seems in many ways to have been untouched by the years. It harbors beautiful views. The cliffs of Portoferraho offer amazing views of the harbor and beaches there. As a visitor to Elba, it is important never to sound to formal. Phrases such as grazi (thank you) and xhusemi (excuse me) should be used sparingly. Using them every time a speaker of another language would be tempted to sounds uptight and stiff, and will distance a visitor from the locals. For an interesting look at life on Elba, spend time at the docks in the old city, watching the citizens from a streetside cafhè. You'll meet more people if you speak Elbic than if you speak Italian, though you can get by with either. As the Elbans themselves say, "Si mi parle in una lingua chè no comprendo, ti parlharo in una lingua chè no comprendei." "If you speak to me in a language I don't understand, I'll speak to you in a language you don't understand."

History and Culture

The Elbans have a history of being laid-back and easygoing. In fact, Elbic historians suspect that had the Napoleonic wars come to Elba, it would have fallen with only minimal resistance offered. As the Elbans say, "vivittu continua", "life goes on". This laissez-faire attitude to life in general is characteristic of the Elban way of life. In fact, this essentially self-centered attitude caused Elba to miss out on some major historical events. Some local historical events that passed the Elbans by:

• The conquest of Dhāna by an unspecified other power: the other nation should have conquered Elba as well, but for some reason neglected to. Perhaps it wasn't worth the effort.
• The Dhāna civil war. The only effect these had on the Elbans was to interest people in news. Indeed, they may have been the high point of Elbic journalistic history.

The most interesting thing, according to visitors, in recent Elbic history, was the largest storm in memory of the oldest living inhabitant of the island, which struck in early November 2006, and capsized the largest ship in the Elbic fishing fleet. Now, to outsiders Elba may seem like a backwards place, where people know nothing and care not about the outside world. Regrettably, they are correct.

Current Affairs

The current prime minister of Elba has begun a campaign to computerize the principality of Elba. This has sparked a mild divide between the Elbic Conservative Party, moderately opposed to the idea, based on the principle that "we've done it the other way for so long, might as well keep it up", and the Liberal Democratic Union, in favor. The youth of Elba are intrigued by the issue. Most come in on the side of the LDU, but there are some from the more rural parts of the island (everywhere, essentially), who oppose the idea. Perhaps a key part of the LDU's campaign will be to demonstrate that computers do, in fact, exist, contrary to popular belief.