Sanctus – Foreign Secretary Kathryn Stewart was today announced as the government’s nominee to succeed Alexandra Maye as Director of the Sanctarian Intelligence Service when she retires at the end of her second term later this month. While technically a downward move, the SIS Director reports directly to the Foreign Secretary, the nomination is seen as one that cements Stewart’s foreign and national security experience, and tees her up for at least five years, and potentially ten, in a role that would span at least two governments. If confirmed by the Senate, Stewart would have to resign from the House of Deputies to take up her new position.
Speaking at her nomination, Chancellor Ringrose said that “Stewart is one of the nation’s foremost experts on national security, having served a full term as Secretary for Homeland Security, and the past year as Secretary for Foreign Affairs. She is well respected across the intelligence community, with our diplomatic network, and in capitals around the world. It is a signal that Sanctaria is continuing to take intelligence and global security seriously.”
For her part, Stewart said she was “honoured” to be nominated and would “not exactly miss the day-to-day of politics”. Answering a question from journalists, she confirmed that once her name was raised as a possibility to succeed Maye, she removed herself from the recruitment process for Maye’s successor; normally the Foreign Secretary would be the one to bring a nominee to cabinet for approval, in this instance it was done by Chancellor Ringrose himself. “While I was Home Secretary, I was responsible for the SIS, and when I became Foreign Secretary the agency was moved with me to that department. I am intimately familiar with the organisation and am honoured to be nominated to lead this wonderful agency and work with dedicated, patriotic individuals.”
If confirmed by the Senate, which is to be expected, Stewart will be the second female Director of the Sanctarian Intelligence Service. It will also cause not just a by-election in her canton, but will also necessitate Ringrose nominating a new Foreign Secretary – someone who will be Stewart’s new boss. Ringrose today declined to say who he would be nominating to one of cabinet’s more prestigious positions, but rumours are that Deputy Leader, and current Homeland Security Secretary, Nicola Allman, is a favourite. The presence of the Green Party in government, however, complicates things. Traditionally the leader of the smaller coalition party would take Foreign Affairs or the Treasury as their portfolio, and Green Party leader Josephine Chari-Jones elected to take the Infrastructure portfolio. Her popularity in this role, though, is not high, and the Greens may take this opportunity to swap portfolios with the Democratic Left.
JOEY SESSIONS, Political Editor
