LAST OF THE OLD GUARD: St.Charlian President Alexander Reinhardt has stepped down following the dissolution of his office, leading many in the community to lament the state of the modern St.Charlian nation.

Havilland, WE, Aug 12 · Tri 28 – Alexander Reinhardt, arguably the most popular member of the MicroWiki community, has formally ended his presidency today as St.Charlie undergoes major ‘constitutional and institutional’ reforms aimed at arresting the nation’s chronic inactivity.

Reinhardt made the announcement (in Italian) today in the MicroGroup Facebook group, which counts most of the community’s political leaders as part of its membership.

In it, Reinhardt says that Alexander Eastwood, who served as the country’s Prime Minister since early 2013, assumed office as Chancellor of the Federal Republic, and that the decision ‘may be revoked only through newly established standards.’

He went on to state that he would remain available ‘to the extent necessary’, and wished Eastwood well in his new position.

Reinhardt said the document was his last as President of St.Charlie, and also stated that it was “probably […] one of the last letters I will publish after almost seven years of micronational activity.”

To allay fears of the departure of the man seen as one of the most significant figures in the community’s history, Reinhardt clarified that he would not be leaving micronationalism altogether, saying that he likes the company of the community, members of which he called “too awesome” to leave.

Instead, he has been nominated to manage the country’s Foreign Office, a position he likened to as a ‘retirement cheque’.

Speaking to the Times this morning, Reinhardt said that he had received offers from both Sirocco and Landashir to join their nations, but declined, saying that he would only join another state if he could ‘give it the attention it deserves.’

The news has been met with shock and sadness across the community, with many leaders lamenting Reinhardt’s departure from his role and the state of St.Charlie in the post-Reinhardt years.

Premier Daniel Anderson said of the man who inspired him to become a micronationalist that ‘[he] is the community’, while Emperor Jonathan of Austenasia said that the nation’s reforms “are literally the last [he] would’ve recommended.”

Jonathan went on to say that “If someone had said in 2011 that Alexander Eastwood and Atlantis would’ve taken it over, they’d have been laughed out of the room.”

The most common opinion amongst international leaders has been that Reinhardt should have used his presidential powers to dismiss the Eastwood government and assume full power in an attempt to reverse the once-powerful nation’s long decline.

Sources in Reinhardt’s National Party indicate however that his colleagues did not support him, seeing him as a member of the party’s ‘old guard’ and as such found it necessary to force him to hand the country to the next generation of leadership.

The National Party has also apparently turned into a microcosm of the nation it led twice between 2009 and 2013, with most members departing for ‘work and girlfriends.’

One common fear amongst many in the community, and indeed within St.Charlie itself, is that the nation has lost its old identity as a cornerstone of the community and is turning into a socialist Italophone-oriented nation akin to that of the former Republic of Atlantis, which joined St.Charlie as a federation in July 2012.

In the Yellow Bear Micronational Skype chatroom this evening, one member passed comment that St.Charlie would become ‘Atlantis with a new name’ by early 2016, while another blamed the nation’s woes on the assimilation of ‘foreigners who were not truly culturally St.Charlian.’

Part of this perception can be attributed to the plan to merge the nation’s numerous federations into two – one Italian, the other non-Italian, which King Adam of Überstadt said would “make their existing problems worse: consolidate responsibility and virtually promote Italo-centrism.”

Anderson commented that the nature of micronationalism rarely allows for power-sharing arrangements such as parliaments.

“Micronations are generally personal endeavours that nearly always fall apart when power is passed on or shared” he said, citing Flandrensis, which recently dissolved its parliament in favour of full powers for its Grand Duke as a means of making the state more efficient.

Despite bold statements from both the St.Charlian government and Atlantian media on what the reforms aim to achieve, there appears to be almost universal apathy at hopes the nation will rebound from the inactivity that was first observed in the Alvisi government of 2011-12, but eased to an extent after Reinhardt returned to government in 2012-13.

Reinhardt became involved in micronational affairs in late 2008, culminating in his leadership of that year’s November Revolution, which replaced the kingdom formed on Christmas Day 2000 with a new republican government.

He went on to become one of the most significant and well-respected politicians in the community, partaking in international organisations and mediating in diplomatic disputes, most notably St.Charlie’s clashes with Erusia in 2009-10 and the Yablokogate crisis of September 2011.

Reinhardt stepped down as Prime Minister and as the National Party leader at the 2013 elections, taking on a quiet role in the Eastwood cabinet before announcing his intention to run for the presidency in early 2014, which he won unanimously.

He has not yet stated any intention to take on other roles alongside that of the Foreign Office.