Garden Group

The Garden Group (Delkoran: Havegruppe) is an informal group of influential advisors to Cybrian First Minister Astrid Marett. They have gained recognition in Delkoran media for their diverse backgrounds, unorthodox approach to policymaking, and role in public communications.

Name

The nickname emerged from the group's habit of meeting at the Eldenvard Botanical Garden, particularly in coffeehouses and teahouses in its vicinity. It became widely known after a newspaper photograph, taken shortly after Astrid's 2016 victory, showed her and the group eating smørrebrød at a table overlooking the Botanical Garden's lake.

Astrid later stated on her Cloudverse account that she received more comments about that image than any others during her term as First Minister, and speculated that it "struck a chord" due to its contrast with the more "masculinised and aggressive" perception of federal politics.

Andreas Støvring described the group positively as "Astrid's motley crew of misfits", and commented that it was a strong symbol of her difference from predecessor Aksel Rask.

Members

• 

  Greta Birk
  (economist)

• 

  Nora Gunnarsen
  (music journalist, media personality)

• 

  Dijana Novaković
  (actress, writer)

• 

  Jaipriya Jandhyala
  (actress, media personality, writer)

• 

  Zoë Qvist
  (video game developer, activist)

Origins

The group came together during Astrid Marett's term as First Minister. Most of its members were acquaintances and friends of hers before she ran for office, and were born in the late 1980s–early 1990s, with the exception of Nora Gunnarsen. Novaković, Jandhyala, and Qvist met each other through their involvement in feminist activism.

While Delkoran media have compared the group to the Jaerevik clique, Gylian media outlets have drawn comparisons to the ferroses and Tetramazones. Sigrid Eisen wrote in 2015 that the Garden Group's "youthful glamour, talent for communications, and explicit origins outside the political fishbowl" owe more to the ferroses, while conceding that Jandhyala "would have been perfectly at home in the Jaerevik clique".

Out of the group, only Birk is a political party member (of National Labor), and only Birk and Gunnarsen are university graduates. Gunnarsen holds dual Delkoran and Gylian citizenship, Novaković is of Syaran descent, and Jandhyala of Tennaiite descent.

All members speak English and French in addition to Delkoran. Novaković's native language is Syaran, and Jandhyala's is Samil. Gunnarsen additionally speaks Miranian due to her music journalism career.

Activities

The Garden Group are senior advisors to Astrid Marett — although Novaković quipped in an interview that "the only senior among us is Nora!". They largely share her left-wing politics and belief in activist government. Out of the group, Birk largely specialises in economics and just transition, Gunnarsen in cultural policy, and Novaković, Jandhyala, and Qvist have focused on feminist social policy and the arts. Birk, Novaković, Jandhyala, and Qvist regularly attend cabinet meetings, while Gunnarsen does so infrequently due to dividing her time between Delkora and Gylias.

Additionally, the group serves as spokespersons, communicators, and activists. Birk has contributed to many leftist publications and has frequently commented on economics for television programmes. Novaković and Jandhyala co-host a podcast of cultural commentary and politics that has gained them a significant following in Delkora, and on which Qvist has frequently appeared as guest. Qvist has written articles about the politics of video gaming and its radical potential, inspired by acid communism.

The group is known for bohemian lifestyles and cosmopolitanism; Jandhyala's fashion style, refined English accent, and propensity for anecdotes from her acting career have contributed to a public image of champagne socialists. Jandhyala has said she doesn't mind the perception because it's beneficial in dealing with the media and reaching an audience. Novaković remarked in an interview, "None of us were born lucky. I'm from Lebøvenland — the poorest state. So this idea that we're well-off, champagne-drinking, name-dropping socialists just makes me laugh."

Astrid and the group were interviewed extensively in Rasa Ḑeşéy's 2020 documentary The Red State.