I know that residents of Roseville are already tired of the forthcoming election. Running the excitement metre up and down Roseville's streets did not tax the battery supply at all. What would create some excitement? Run an election on the basis of Roseville being an independent national state. Put up Louise for President... Charmaine for Prime Minister... Graeme for Immigration Minister... Harley for Climate Control... Barbara for Planning and Development... with Pam and Philomena being Party Whips. Perfect... everyone would be happy... no need for an opposition.
Now, come on, don't be cynical. I can hear you saying that Roseville is too small an area to form a national state. Today, we visited Liechtenstein... the fourth smallest nation on earth... and they are having no problems running their affairs. We were lucky in finding a parking spot right next to the national government office... right in the centre of town. We stepped out from the curb and were nearly run over by a 14 year old boy driving a tractor pulling a load of corn... we'd seen the field... just round the corner from the Government Office. You shouldn't assume that Liechtenstein is hicksville... a one tractor town. In fact, all the locals walked around in suits... hair slicked down... looking like they were all going for job interviews... with the Mormon Church. We looked around the civic square... for a national monument that encapsulated the purpose in having the nation of Lichtenstein... did they have historic battles that bound the nation... or peculiar religious beliefs... or treasured resources that bought untold wealth? We finally found the national monument... just off the civic square... of a nude lady... lying down in a sunny spot... having a snooze. We looked around the shops to see what merchandise hinted at the special industries driving the Liechtenstein economy. We did not have to look far... every second merchant was selling second hand stamps... we looked more closely at the surface of the civic square and saw etched between the bricks, tiles commemorating the famous stamps issued in yesteryear. We gazed at wonder at the 1973 issue that featured the mountain that sits within Liechtenstein ... amazing. We are not certain... but we think the national sport may indeed be stamp collecting... they are probably world champions. On a mall adjoining the civic square we found the Liechtenstein championships in beach volleyball in progress. Two teams (both from Austria) were fighting out a closely contended match. Plenty of sand was imported so that diving girls did not injure themselves... the girls looked neat in their brief bikinis... and the crowd support from the audience was exceptional... particularly from the men who made up 80% of the audience.
You wonder why Liechtenstein bothers with all the extra jobs that comes with running your own national state. They are so busy issuing stamps and holding national sporting events... they haven't had time to organise their own railway station. To reach Vaduz by rail involves stopping at a small village on the Switzerland side of the border and catching a bus back to the national capital. They don't seem to be trying to do anything different from the way Switzerland runs their country... they don't seem to be protecting any special privileges... they seem to run their own country simply because they can.
So, come on Roseville... if Liechtenstein can do it... so can you!
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