• misterp@lemmy.today
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    5 months ago

    This could work. We could maybe take over Andorra or Monaco. They wouldn’t mind because we will seduce them by being either A) shopaholics in Andorra or B) gambling addicts in Monaco. It could be like this big European Vacation that never ends (eat your hearts out, Griswalds).

    • barsoap@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      5 months ago

      You’re aware that Monaco is a full-blown monarchy, are you. Yes there’s a parliament but every law needs the signature of the Prince, who is also sole head of the executive. Also they already have like 80% foreign population in the city.

      San Marino would be the sane choice. Sole country ever to first elect fascists (to avoid getting invaded by Mussolini), then elect MLs, and then get rid of them again in the next elections. (Had no chance to get rid of the fascists like that they went AWOL after Mussolini’s death). Oldest constitutional republic in the world. Arguably the oldest democracy in the world: Modern suffrage was introduced in 1906 by the Arengo, a meeting of all household heads, which had had constitutional primacy since the middle ages it simply never got around giving the ruling oligarch council the boot. That council was first introduced in 1243 because the Arengo became unwieldy, then centralised power, then forgot who gave it power. I mean after 650 years that’s not necessarily surprising.

      • misterp@lemmy.today
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        5 months ago

        I said take it over, not obey the monarchy. The comment I’m replying to suggests creating our own country that is free of fascism. I proposed these two places because they are small and easy to take over peacefully by means of shopping and gambling. Ever hear of passive territorial expansion? That was my idea. You don’t seem to indicate another place for us to go to that would be better, geographically speaking. Maybe an island? Maybe Ibiza? That would be cool. I wonder if you were a boring child. No imagination. I also wonder if you didn’t understand my comment. I was like suggesting territorial takeover. Last time I looked, pretty much the entire European continent is occupied. Forming a new nation within Europe involves taking over a place. I picked a couple of small, easy to take over places with shopping, drinking and or gambling. And all of this is just silly, anyway. Reality must strike. This lovely plan ain’t happening. The future is quite bleak.

        • barsoap@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          5 months ago

          If you want to take over Monaco by force you’ll have to deal with France. Essentially, because history, France tolerates a part of itself as a privately-owned municipality with a symbolic UN seat of its own. Similar things apply to Andorra though there it’s both France and Spain, also they’re more democratic but you’d still have a tough time with all that Catholicism there. Ibiza is part of Catalonia, ask the Catalans overall how easy it is to gain independence from Spain. Liechtenstein is also out, they actually gave their prince absolute power in a referendum. Hopeless case. By force, you’d soon discover that the mountains say “Grüezi”. Vatican state, forget it.

          There’s a reason I mentioned San Marino.

          • misterp@lemmy.today
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            5 months ago

            OK, so we’ll all go to San Marino. I was basically throwing out some ideas. It’s a brainstorm, not a contest. San Marino is kind of dear to my heart, anyway, because of reasons you mentioned, which I know well. Also: we need to do it now, because later we’ll all be starved to death in concentration camps.

          • misterp@lemmy.today
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            5 months ago

            Also, I did not mention force. I very much expressed my desire to take anything over passively. Andorra, shopping. Monaco, gambling. No military. Just sphere of influence influencing and boom, over time, we got them taken over gradually and peacefully.