9th August (Still. You weren't expecting progress were you?)
As Tiso and Tuka take a break from the meeting to discuss the shock of not being the most incompetent German puppet, the rest of the cabinet discuss the burning issue of the day. Their long discussion on the Slovak fire service need not detain us, suffice to say they all agreed it would be a good idea to have one, but it wasn't that urgent as most of Slovakia was too damp to burn. With that sorted they moved onto the rest of the agenda.
"Is there anything else we need to show to the President and Prime Minister?" Catlos asked the group. "Production?"
"It's something of a mixed bag I must admit." Pruzinksy said. "On the plus side our reserves of steel and rare materials are slowly increasing. However this is only because we are completely out of coal and so our industry is barely running at a 1/3rd of capacity due to the shortages."
A lesser man would have wondered how this qualified as mixed news, but Catlos was not the sort to indulge in idle thinking. Or indeed thinking at all.
"Any other news?" Viest asked.
"Well our crude oil reserves should run out completely in about two and a half months, but that should give us enough fuel for quite some time as we barely use any."
Head of the Air Force Anton Pulanick suppressed a sob as he though of his missing Me-109s.
"That's something I suppose. Any Foreign News?"
Durcansky opened his file of many things and pulled out a telegram
"We think the Chinese communists have gone mad." He said.
There was a brief pause as the group tried to remember where communists sat on the Slovak 'Spitting on the floor in disgust' hierarchy, eventually one of the junior General Staff officers found the list and confirmed that the correct form was looking disgusted but not actually spitting, to the relief of the cleaners. That sorted out, the group looked suitably disgusted and then studied the telegram.
Actually up to date news from the Slovak Foreign Office. I know, I'm as surprised as you are.
"I thought nationalising everything was what Communists were supposed to do?" Catlos asked.
"Yes, but that's not why we think they've gone mad." Durcansky said.
"Is it because the Chinese communist are currently three men and a Yak up a mountain in North China so there is no industry, private or otherwise, for them to nationalise?" General Viest guessed.
"Yes, that's it." Durcansky replied.
"I thought Communist China was four men and two Yaks?" Pruzinksy asked.
"It was, the Mao had one of the Yaks purged for failing to meet it's milk quota. When one of the men pointed out a bull Yak was always going to struggle to meet a milk quota Mao had him purged as well." Intelligence Minster Hans Not-A-German Bernard chipped in.
"Anything else?" Catlos asked.
"Just this."
Typically Swedish behaviour. A man who expects the worst from Sweden will never be disappointed.
After another quick check on the disgust list, the group spat on the floor in mild disgust; for while the Swedes were democratic vermin they did at least rig their elections, so therefore merited a less disgusted response than a full blown real democracy would.
As the Slovak War Cabinet congratulated each other on a good meeting, the cleaner swore under his breath and went to get a mop.
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Note: I've no idea where Slovakia's fuel is going. The army doesn't use any (well barely any, there that one anarchonistic Armoured Car brigade but the rest is leg infantry) and of course there is no air force or navy. When the oil and fuel does run out I'll probably disband the AC brigade and carry on as normal. The hidden benefit of Slovakia's lack of tech.
