15th August
Having realised there was nothing useful they could contribute to the military situation at that point, or perhaps ever, Tiso and Tuka met in the Presidential Office to discuss a vital political matter. And for Tiso to refill his hip flask from the drinks cabinet, a task that he was being forced to undertake increasingly frequently. We join them mid-discussion.
"I know it might be unpleasant, but I believe we have to consider it. Tuka said.
"But what difference could it really make?" Tiso asked, a useful phrase that could be applied to any aspect of the Slovak war effort.
"I think a Minister for Production who at least knows what century we are in can only help." Tuka replied.
"We'd still have a tiny industrial base utterly crippled by a lack of resources." Tiso countered.
"Yes, but we'd have a chief scientist who isn't surprised every time a telephone rings and who would know that heavier than air flight is a good idea and not just a passing fad." Tuka outlined his (limited) hopes.
"Possibly. Remember what happened last time we looked at potential replacement ministers, who knows what horrors await?" Tiso warned.
"The whole of the General Staff think we should at least consider it. Even the Minister for Security agrees." Tiso said, handing over a memo from said minister
On a subject as vital as this
People would think it remiss
Not to say yes
in support of progress
And remind everyone that only through critique of the fact-value dichotomy can emancipatory change be actualised
Straying far beyond his security remit Janko Jesensky was a passionate and eloquent supporter of bringing in a new armaments minister. Possibly. That or he was putting in his order for breakfast. As always with socially realistic poetry, it is hard to be sure.
Bowing to the arguments of his cabinet, and because he could see the attraction of an armaments minister who didn't keep talking about the Holy Roman Empire, Tiso agreed.
Relieved, Tuka sent a messenger to bring in the file of options. A strangely familiar looking man eventually arrived, handed over the file and then departed.
"I'm sure I've seen that man before. He looks familiar." Tuka said.
"That's my cousin Stefan, he's the new Private Interior Senior Secretary For Logistics And Personnel." Tiso explained.
"That's not an important sounding role." Tuka said, deliberately not working out the acronym.
"No it isn't. I was thinking about giving him a senior role in the government, but he is a bit of an extremist so I think it's safer if he stays where he is." Tiso said.
Torn between surprise at such a display of common sense, and horror at quite what Stefan must have done to be too extreme for even a hardened collaborator like Tiso, Tuka took refuge in reading the file.
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Bonus Note: Stefan Tiso was a real person and actually a cousin of our own AAR President Joseph Tiso. He did pick up a few very senior jobs in the Slovak state in real life and is a minister in the HOI3 data files. However as Slovakia is set up as merely a right wing autocracy, as opposed to a full blown fascist dictatorship, all the actual national socialist ministers (like Stefan Tiso and Alexander Mach) are not selectable. Apparently Paradox believe the Germans set up a puppet state where the collaborators who most agreed with the Germans were not allowed into power. Another triumph of Swedish logic and attention to detail.