Nope, not instant. New flags have always needed review, afaik.
Also, there's only so much a ruler can do. Without an active player base that wants to play together and that wants to be active, you can dump the most caring and active ruler on them and you still won't get any results out of it. Selenia's success lies not (only) on invigorating whoever happens to be there, but finding people who want to be there and participate. GX also has the advantage of being young, so it doesn't have all the titles filled with lazy old timers who don't care anymore, or who do care but only to protect whatever they've put all those years to make/see happen.
The ruler is definitely very important, but in the end it's just one person of many.
