Xelha is a nation that prides itself on always being prepared for anything. After emerging from its Civil War, and in order to fortify against Carida getting any ideas, the nation imposed a law to build nuclear bunkers beneath every house, or pay into a public one. You were also expected to keep stocks of food and medicines for at least one month, or if you were further out from the main cities, two months. Though they were mainly for nuclear disasters, the plan also was to avert shortages if manufacturing dipped due to man made problems such as war or natural disasters such as blizzards and avalanches, Xelhans would persevere on and hopefully, whatever the issue was, would right itself within a month's time. In addition to personal stockpiles, the government was expected to maintain stocks of what were deemed essential items. These not only included food, but medicines and clothes. The plan being that should it last longer than two months, the government has reserves of its own to call on and distribute.214Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3zKzylznUW
The issue arose in 1997 when Xelha was paying off its brand new upgraded Jump Jets and was looking to diversify its arsenal. Numerian House of Lords Member Symon Samuelson proposed a review of government stores to save money that could be redirected to military spending to pay it all off sooner. Minister of Defense Janette Bell agreed and a review was held to see what could be cut off the list. One of those items expected to receive the axe was NesHeli. Now, for anyone not familiar with Xelhan cuisine, this might seem insignificant, but many Xelhans (a poll run during the event in 1999 was as high as 80%) enjoy at least one cup of some form of NesHeli products daily, particularly hot cocoa. This was reflected in government stores of about 8,000 tonnes of their goods at the time. The bill quietly passed through the House of Commons on 24 Oct 1999. What broke the story wide open was a Numeria Inquirer Article that ran just prior to the House of Lords vote on 1 Nov claiming that the government was banning NesHeli. This prompted a Blizzaria Gazette report to clarify that the products were only being removed from the storage list.214Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTnGrlTWFGc
Reaction was swift as people protested that they would die without NesHeli stores or significantly alter their habits. Many saw it as political scapegoating, and using it as an excuse to arm themselves and become a more militaristic nation. Protests were held across the nation. In the run up to the House of Lords vote, Minister of Health and Safety Mira Vern urged her peers to rethink their votes and strike down the bill. However, Symon and Janette both insisted it was for the good of the nation and if people wanted the product they could stock it themselves. On 1 Nov, the House of Lords voted to pass the list with a margin of 13 - 2. Only Mira Vern and Sigrund Valo voted against the bill and it went to the queen for royal assent.214Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEzjmocoo7N
A group, Communal nesHeli Against Removal (CHAR), sprung up and amassed what would be the first internet petition in Xelha, sending approximately 1 million signatures to the then King Maiku to not give the bill royal assent. King Maiku then took the unusual step of taking a stance and voicing a personal comment, "Queen mother Yuki feeds it to Princess Tsuyu, and if it's good enough for Tsuyu, then I don't see why the Xelhan public should be restricted." The list was vetoed with the recommendation of 'removing NesHeli from the list'. Symon in particular took the slight hardest and appealed for the intervention to be overturned as it was undemocratic and the monarch was allowing personal opinion to interfere with what was best for the nation.214Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHf7Rl017kW
The House of Commons had five abstainers in the follow up vote, citing that it was obvious that no one wanted the product removed except politicians. The House of Lords was preparing to revote when King Maiku deferred judgment to Queen Millia, who called a referendum on the list. Due to the Election Recess approaching, the referendum was made into an election topic in the House of Lords. The House of Commons candidates avoided the topic unless cornered. Aside from that one comment the royals kept out of the conversation, however, there was one exception to which many attributed the eventual breaking of any resistance. Queen Millia was taking the young Princess Tsuyu to a clinic to encourage mothers to have their children checked out and use all available resources to make sure their child was growing healthy. A pushy reporter asked the queen for her opinion on the matter and instead a loud "no" was heard, not from the queen but from the young princess. "NesHeli is [my] favourite drink with grandma!" Indirectly breaking the royal commentary taboo, but the damage was done. The video clip became ammunition for the pro-NesHeli groups and it flooded the fledgling social media scene as well as commercials for the upcoming referendum. Every so often, much to the chagrin of the current monarch, the clip is replayed, especially during her birthday celebration.214Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdB2PufIq9x
On 13 Nov 1999, Xelhans went to vote if the list was fair or not. However, everyone knew that it meant if NesHeli should be included or not. Both camps rallied their cause and encouraged people to come out and vote, which they did, the weather even being unseasonably warm on voting day (which was a Saturday). The list was voted unfair by a margin of 90% to 10% and remains the record most one-sided defeat in any form of voting in Xelha. 214Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhvT3QkOH8D
NesHeli was kept on the list, however, the fall out was almost immediate. Mira Vern and Sigrun Valo were the only two House of Lords members who would retain their seats during the next election. While in the House of Commons, they saw ten of sixteen members lose their seats. The list itself, then died a quiet death, locked away in a cabinet somewhere, the House of Lords completely withdrawing it in January 2000 and neither house attempted to apply a new one. Funding was never cut and Xelha maintained its usual military spending for the duration of the next House Terms. No one has since attempted to amend the list.214Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpPvEaGBzyB
