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Political Parties ~WIP~
Stroulia operates as a multi-party system so that no one party has majority power in the government. Elections occur every four years for the parliament, as well as determining the holder of the position of Prime Minister of the country. These elections take place through a mixed-member voting system, specifically party-list proportional representation. The President is not elected, as he holds a more ceremonial role in the government to represent the country.Within the parliament, there are seven main parties that have national recognition. Since 1996, all the parties that have this representation have worked together under a coalition for the general benefit of the nation as a whole. The parliament consists of 245 members of the Council and 50 members of the Senate.
The parliamentary coalition that works together to benefit the nation as a whole.
The forum of left-leaning parties in the coalition to promote progressive policies.
Partio de Libereco kaj Demokratio
Social democracy
Democratic socialism
Progressivism
Liberalism
Progressive AllianceNational Council: 196/501
National Senate: 60/165
The Liberty & Democracy Party (formerly known as the Free Stroulia Association, the Democratic-Liberal Party, and then simply the Liberal Party), referred to as the LDP for short, is one of the major political parties of Stroulia and is the largest in the parliament. They are center-left on the political spectrum, categorized as being mainly social democratic with factions of democratic socialists, centrists and some liberal conservatives.
Formed in 1889 as the Free Stroulia Association, they were Stroulia's first political party and were originally founded on the basis of Stroulian independence from the United Kingdom. When Stroulia gained its semi-independent status from the UK as a Commonwealth state in 1900 they would lead the newly formed government as the Democratic-Liberal Party, overshadowing the other smaller parties and effectively turning the new nation into a single-party dominated state. With control over all aspects of the government, there was little in the way of opposition to their policies, and the party had gradually become more corrupt in its attempts to maintain control, bribing the voting commission in later elections to bump their numbers and slandering their opponents.
By 1936, public perception of the party was highly negative, especially in regards to their failure to fight against the effects of the Great Depression, leading to high levels of poverty and unemployment. When the military took control of the country during the same year, they were forced underground and the party soon fractured into smaller groups and organizations, such as the Free Stroulia Front (which would form into the Stroulian Democratic Party at the end of the war), leaving the original DLP incredibly weakened. During this period they mainly worked in cooperation with the other opposition forces to supply their troops and establish lines of communication.
By the end of the civil war, the party rejoined the government, having rebranded as the Liberal Party, though holding far less influence than other parties such as the SDP or the Center party. However, through a reformation of their public image they would regain supporters and expand their base, and by the 1980s would once again become the largest party nationally, though not an absolute majority. Then in 1996, they would form with the other parties represented in the parliament the National Coalition for Stroulia's Development, bringing every national party together into a single alliance for the first time in the nation's history. That same year they also changed their name to the Liberty & Democracy Party, since they were no longer a purely liberal party. Since that time, the party has grown for the most part, and as a result, the country has seen substantial growth and development in the last twenty years.
Ideology and Platform
The core of the party's beliefs falls along traditional social democratic lines, similar to those of European nations such as the Nordic countries: Highly regulated capitalism that aims to benefit society through a fair market, as well as providing many government services to help assist and develop the nation's people. In this vein, their goals have been rather successful, and since becoming the largest party, the country has seen the lowest levels of poverty, crime, and unemployment in its history. They've shifted their political positions over time, originally being a conservative party with fairly religious elements to their policies, however, they started to shift over to the left during the civil war, attracting a more liberal position and lessening the influence of religion within the party, and by the 1970s had become social democratic primarily and entirely secular.
However, the party is not entirely homogenous in its ideas and members and attracts many different people from both the center and the left. There are a few sub-factions that currently exist within the party that have their own core positions: There are the democratic socialist "LDP Workers and Unions Alliance", the "Moderates Group" consisting of mainly more centrist members, and the "Blue LDP" which is a more center-right faction of former SDP party members who align more closely with the LDP's policies.
Platform:
Increasing the minimum wage of employees to £12.00 an hour.
Providing a basic service for internet and cellular usage to all citizens.
Expand subsidies for local communities and businesses to assist in their economies.
Provide temporary housing for incoming migrants to either assist them in legally gaining citizenship or help with going to another country.
Expand environmental protections as well as subsidizing industries and companies developing green technologies.
Verda Partio de Sudalotero
Green politics
Liberalism
Progressivism
Market socialism
Social democracy
Global GreensNational Council: 55/501
National Senate: 32/165
The Green Party of Stroulia, commonly referred to as the Green Party or simply the Greens, is the third-largest party in the Stroulian parliament and works with the Liberty and Democracy Party and Labor & Unity Alliance in the Progressive Group forum. They are a left-wing environmentalist party, economically socialist, and socially progressive, though with a faction of conservatives.
The party was formed in 1986, brought together by a group known as the “Green Stroulian Committee”, a political organization that's main goal was to push for environmental policy to pass through the parliament. Initially a minor party, they saw steady growth during the 1990s as the threat of global warming became well known among the general populace, leading to the GP gaining several seats in the parliament through the 1992 and 1996 elections. Under the formation of the National Coalition, the party gained significant leverage in debating public policy and law.
By 2004 the party became third-largest in the parliament and had introduced several national policies regarding environmental protection and green energy that would become law, including a major expansion to existing wind farms and the development of the country’s first solar and nuclear plants. In 2008 the party had its first elected governor in the state of Central Stroulia, the first time a third-party candidate had been elected to a state governorship in the country’s history. The 2020 elections have seen major growth for the party, including tying the number of Senators in the National Senate with the SDP and surpassing the Labor & Unity Alliance.
Ideology and Platform
Originally a more centrist party, they started transitioning to the left around the turn of the millennium. While there are a few economic ideologies within the party, primarily they consider themselves market socialist in order to fully protect the environment from the dangers of corporate encroachment. They are highly progressive on social issues, especially regarding LGBT+ rights. They have a highly negative attitude towards most corporations and wish to heavily tax the income of companies and any waste and pollution they produce.
Their main goal, ultimately, is to end completely the dependence and use of non-renewables and fossil fuels and energy and completely replace them with green technologies and renewable resources. As a result of their influence within the parliament and on national policy, the conversion to solar power for homes and sales of hybrid and electric vehicles has greatly increased since 2008.
While the party's members are generally aligned in beliefs regarding environmental and social policy, there is a small faction of members who differ economically, who come together under the banner of the "Green Market of Free Enterprise", who wish to incentivize the capitalist system to push for green technology instead of punishing private enterprises and corporations.
Platform:
End the use of fossil fuels and non-renewable resources and completely transition to green energy by 2030.
Increase the corporate tax rate to 40%.
Transition the capitalist economy to a socialist form.
Expand protections for Stroulia's environments and natural landmarks.
Laborista kaj Unueca Alianco
Democratic socialism
Progressivism
Socialist InternationalNational Council: 31/501
National Senate: 31/165
The Labor & Unity Alliance (formerly known as the Socialist Party of Stroulia), commonly referred to as the LUA, or simply Labor, are a leftist political party that work with the LDP and Green Party in the Progressive Group forum. They are a democratic socialist party with sub-factions of communists and social democrats.
Formed in 1980 following that year's national elections, the party was a result of a schism in beliefs among members of the Communist Party of Stroulia. Several party members felt that the CPS had become too extreme in its beliefs, particularly regarding the concept of a purely violet revolution, and thus left the party to form their own, the Socialist Party of Stroulia, believing that the socialist system should come about through non-violent means. Coming up to the 1984 elections the party started to gain a significant following, mainly as a result of the increasingly authoritarian nature of the SDP, and on election day would gain a few parliamentary seats, to the surprise of the other parties, caught off guard that such a new and untested party would immediately see such success.
Throughout the rest of the 1980s and coming into the 1990s the party would see substantial growth, surpassing the floundering SDP and becoming the second-largest party in the parliament behind the Liberal Party. However, following the collapse of the Soviet Union and reformation of the SDP, as well as the Liberal Party making an effort to attract some of the more moderate voters of the Socialist Party, and the country as a whole finding a distaste for socialism, voters began to flock towards more liberal and conservative parties. As a result, by the 2004 elections, the party had been firmly surpassed in the parliament by other parties, falling down into the sixth position within the Coalition.
This would turn around for them in 2008, however, as the global Great Recession would hit Stroulia, causing a minor panic in the economy. With public outrage towards the more liberal and capitalist parties, the Socialist Party took advantage of this, renaming themselves as the Labor & Unity Alliance to broaden their appeal as well as attracting moderate voters once more, and thus would regain many of their seats in the 2008 elections, jumping them up to the fourth largest party. Since then the party has continued to hold this position in the parliament, either gaining or losing a couple of seats each election. However, the 2020 elections saw their most significant drop in years, as a scandal earlier that year involving high ranking members of the party leadership damaged trust with many citizens, thus driving their votes towards both the LDP and Greens.
Ideology and Platform
While originally a purely socialist party founded against the violent nature of the Communist Party, the LUA has transitioned into becoming a democratic socialist party as a need to bring in more voters. Following the ideals of democratic socialism, the LUA believes that the socialist revolution can come about through gradual change and working within the democratic system. They wish to end the country's capitalist system and replace it with socially-owned organizations and enterprises in a highly regulated market. They also wish to increase the representation of labor unions in all industries. They are highly progressive on social issues, believing in the rights of all minority groups and native islanders should be more represented within the political process. They are also the first party within the parliament to advocate for the establishment of a "universal basic income" to provide a baseline of monetary fund for all Stroulians.
There are a few sub-factions within the party: the "New Socialist Alliance", those who wish to return the party to its socialist routes, "Labor Communists", a faction of communists who identify with the Communist Party of Stroulia, the "Traditionalists Alliance" which is a small group of social democrats who want to work more closely with the LDP, and the "CPS-LUA Reformation", a group who want the Communist Party and LUA to reform into a new party to act as a broad front for all leftists within Stroulia.
Platform:
Reform the Stroulian economy into a socialist system.
Create a universal basic income for all Stroulians.
Increase the representation of labor unions within all industries.
Provide increased representation of native Stroulians.
The forum for the coalition's right-leaning parties to push conservative policy.
Sudalotero Demokrata Partio
Liberal-conservatism
Centrism
Libertarianism
International Democrat UnionNational Council: 139/501
National Senate: 32/165
The Stroulian Democratic Party (formerly known as the Free Stroulia Front), referred to as the SDP for short, is the second-largest party within the Stroulian parliament and are the main opposition to the Liberty and Democracy Party. They are center-right on the political spectrum and are considered liberal-conservative, with smaller factions of centrists, libertarians, and more hard-line conservatives.
The origins of the SDP found itself within the then ruling Democratic-Liberal Party, as a faction within the party came to disagree with the DLP's leadership. When the military junta came to power in 1936, and the DLP was forced underground, these members who opposed the party's leadership would split from the DLP and form the Free Stroulia Front, proposing themselves to be a truly liberal and democratic force.
During the civil war, the party acted as the main opposition force to the military government, establishing main lines of communication with pockets of resistance throughout the country and importing supplies from nations that supported them. They gained heavy support from the local populace as a result, and with the military government being further and further surrounded would be considered the legitimate government of Stroulia by the United Nations. At the end of the war, they became the head party of the newly formed parliament, headed by the then party leader Michael Kenna, the current President. Under the SDP’s leadership, the country rebounded from its economic hardships and would rebuild most of the country within five years.
However, over time the party would slowly lose its initial popularity due to the economy stagnating during the 1970s from the global energy crisis. They started shifting over to the right, fueled in part to regrowth of the DLP under the new banner of the Liberal Party. As a result of alienating their more liberal base, members of the party and voters began to change their allegiances to The Center and Liberal Party, with the latter growing more and more popular, and by the 1980 elections, the SDP would finally lose their majority within the parliament. The next elections in 1984 were especially troublesome for the party as most of the leadership had placed their bets on strongman-candidates, hoping to energize the more conservative voting base. This would backfire heavily, and ended up hurting them far more than helping, as it caused the more moderate voters to turn to the Liberal, Center, and Socialist parties, shrinking the SDP’s number of seats in the parliament by a considerable amount.
As a result of this loss, most of the more radical members split from the party and went to form the National Republican Party. Having been severely damaged, the SDP began a massive internal reformation in their beliefs and ideology, bringing in more moderate voices to try and regain some of their lost voter base. This seemed to prove at least somewhat effective, and by 1996 they had surpassed The Center and become the second-largest party in the parliament, behind the Liberal Party (which had then renamed itself the Liberty & Democracy Party). That same year they also worked with the LDP to form the National Coalition for Stroulia’s Development, forming a parliament-wide coalition for the first time in the country’s history.
Since that time, the SDP has remained in its position as the second-largest party, though relatively far behind the LDP, especially in regards to the Progressive Group. Despite working with other conservative parties, they continue to struggle to gain ground in their advantage. The 2020 election saw a decline in the party's strength further, putting them in threat of being surpassed by the Greens going forward.
Ideology and Platform
The SDP’s shift from a fairly conservative party to a more liberal one is seen as having been a necessity if the party wanted to survive. However, they are still considered the opposition for the more progressive LDP, lacking that party's elements of socialist policy. They are considered liberal-conservative, similar in vein to many European conservative parties. Economically, they are liberal, believing the market should be under less intense regulation. They see the costs of the many welfare programs of the country as too much of a total burden that may become unsustainable in the coming years and want to look towards alternative programs to cover many of these costs and lower spending. They also wish to lower taxes which they see putting too much pressure on the lower and middle classes. However, they are also socially liberal and want to keep protections for minority groups and classes of people.
The sub-factions within the party include the "Non-Aligned Organization", a centrist group that wishes to remain neutral and without a set-in-stone ideology, the "Golden Group", a small subset of libertarian members, and the "Alliance of Traditionalists", a faction of more socially conservative members.
Platform:
Decrease overall government spending and create more GDP neutral welfare programs.
Give states more autonomy over their communities compared to the national government.
Further open up markets for trade with other nations.
Cap the tax rate at 20%.
La Centro
Centrism
Christain democracy
Liberalism
Fiscal conservatism
Centrist Democrat InternationalNational Council: 34/501
National Senate: 12/165
The Center is a centrist political party that works with the SDP in the ACP forum. Though they are a centrist party, they are mainly center-right in terms of ideology, specifically Christian democratic, however, they don’t lean strongly in any particular direction.
Formed in 1970 as opposition to the (at the time) liberal SDP by groups of moderates and conservatives, the party found early success the Stroulian populace. Through the 1972 and 1976 elections, the party acted as the largest and strongest force against the SDP, who held the majority over the parliament, especially as the SDP grew more conservative and authoritarian. However, by the 1980 elections, with the Liberal Party gaining significant traction, many voters started to pull away from the party causing The Center to lose seats within the parliament. Though the ‘84 elections would see some minor regrowth for them from the fallout of the SDP, it would not be enough to regain the significance they once held.
By 1992 the party had become a shadow of its former self, especially as the Socialist Party and Liberal Party would dominate the political climate, becoming the smallest party. However, in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union and opinion turning against the left, the party was essentially saved and would gain a large number of seats in the parliament in that year's election. This would only prove temporary, however, as by 1996 they were already seeing a decline, being surpassed by the relatively new Green Party.
Since then, not much as changed for the party. Despite not holding overall importance in the grand scheme of Stroulian politics in modern times, they remain within the parliament, with a consistent and loyal voter base who view them as a balance between the parties on the left like the LDP and Labor, and those on the right like the SDP and PND-OS. The 2020 elections saw growth in the Council from lost voters of the SDP, but a substantial drop in seats in the Senate, being overtaken by the SFP.
Ideology and Platform
As mentioned before, The Center doesn't hold to one specific ideology despite being in the ACP. Considered a big-tent party, they occupy a space that brings in many different votes, so the party doesn’t hold a specific ideology it holds to. However, in general, the party is considered Christian democratic, wanting to instill the inherently liberal values of Christianity to treat others well, however religion has never overtly taken over their policies, believing in the separation of church and state. They are fiscally conservative, wanting to try and limit overall spending on the different sectors of the economy and government, but only so much they have what they need while not over-spending.
Platform:
Balance spending and income to increase GDP while still providing for government programs.
Reduce tax rate to about 30%.
Negotiate increased trade with European partners.
Provide more autonomy to states to enact local laws and legislation.
Development - One Stroulia
Partio de Nacia Disvolviĝo - Unu Sudalotero
Party of National Developement
One Stroulia
Right-wing populism
Social conservatism
Economic liberalism
National Council: 19/501
National Senate: 6/165
The Party of National Development - One Stroulia, commonly referred to as the PND-OS, is a political party that are a part of the ACP forum with the SDP, Center, and SFP, and are the smallest party in the Parliament. They are considered right-wing, mainly populist in nature with heavy conservative elements, with factions of conservative-liberals, reactionaries, libertarians, and even some fascists.
The youngest party in the parliament, formed in 2001, the PND-OS was the result of merging two minor right-wing parties (the Party of National Development and One Stroulia). Marketing themselves as “the answer to growing threat political correctness and the dangers of unmitigated immigration into our country”, they immediately attracted a number of supporters of more conservative voters, particularly those who had who were unsatisfied with the current state of the conservative side of Stroulian politics. Following the terrorist attacks in the United States that year, the party gained a strong and vocal base that rallied against immigration, particularly regarding Muslims.
As a result, the party was attacked from multiple outlets, from news organizations to even the parties in the parliament itself for fear-mongering and stoking racist sentiments, which the party vehemently denied. When the 2004 elections came around, the party managed to win several parliament seats, surpassing the SFP, Socialist Party, and even The Center. Despite talks of preventing the party from joining the National Coalition, they would join the Coalition as with every party in the parliament.
However, as the 2008 Great Recession reached Stroulia, favor quickly turned against the party. Their dominantly conservative and capitalist ideologies of the PND-OS drove away many voters as the economy took a downturn, especially among the lower and middle classes, and that year’s election was considered a “slaughter” for the party as they lost most of the seats they held. The 2012 elections were no different, the party losing a couple more seats, though in the 2016 elections they regained those seats. With such a small representation in the parliament, it’s in question whether or not the party will manage to survive in the coming years, or be left to return to a minor party once more. The 2020 elections saw an even greater drop in support for the party, further reducing members in the Senate and having been surpassed by the SFP in the Council.
Ideology and Platform
Since day one, the PND-OS has been a highly conservative party in terms of social issues, opposing same-sex marriage and access to marijuana, as well as wanting to apply heavy restrictions to immigration. At the same time, they are highly liberal economically, believing in an open free-market with few regulations and free-trade with many nations, as well as privatizing many of the government programs in place. However, they also want to slash funding to many of the welfare programs in place.
There are several sub-factions that exist within the party. There's the "National Cooperatives", a more liberally minded group, "Free PND-OS", a libertarian group that runs across many members of the party, and "True Nationals", a small faction of fascists that don't believe the party goes far enough in conservative policy.
Platform:
Minimize tax rate to 15%
Overturn Marriage Equality Act and Cannibis Legalization Act.
Heavily restrict immigration.
Cut funding for many different welfare programs.
Sudalotero Libereca Partio
Libertarianism
Classical liberalism
Laissez-faire economics
National Council: 18/501
National Senate: 19/165
The Stroulian Freedom Party, commonly referred to as the SFP, is a libertarian political party and the second smallest party in the Coalition and are a part of the ACP faction with the SDP, The Center, and PND-OS. They are mainly center-right on the political spectrum, liberal economically and socially, with small factions of more minarchist/anarcho-capitalists and left-libertarians.
Formed in 1985, the SFP came about as a result of the 1984 elections and the failure of the Stroulian Democratic Party to regain their lost parliamentary seats. Established by disgruntled members of the party who had opposed the SDP's growing conservatism and authoritative nature, they would quickly establish a base of similar voters who had also grown tired of the SDP, and by the 1988 elections would gain several seats in the parliament, surpassing the SDP and The Center. They would see some small growth as well in the 1992 and 1996 elections, however by this point they had already been overtaken by the newly reformed SDP and the growing Green Party.
Coming into the new millennium the SFP continued to see a decline in voters, especially as the newly formed PND-OS swept the 2004 elections. However, with the Great Recession of 2008 affecting Stroulia and general opinion turned against the more conservative parties, the SFP took advantage of this fact to market themselves as more liberally minded, regaining a few lost seats in that year's elections. While the 2012 and 2016 elections were very stagnant for the party, in the 2020 elections the party saw growth in both the Council and Senate and surpassed the PND-OS, as the party aligned itself more closely with the LDP in enacting strict Covid-19 restrictions.
Ideology and Platform
The most prominent aspect of the SFP is their espousing of libertarian ideology, as this was the main group that formed the party when the SDP splintered in the 1984 elections. They believe that the role of government is to be less involved in the economy and lives of the average Stroulian, and instead that the market should be able to offer and compete to earn the citizen's dollar. Despite this, the party still feels that the government does have its place, particularly when it comes to protecting the rights of minorities and providing fundamentally important services such as healthcare, though this opinion does have some division within the party itself.
Within the party are a couple of sub-factions; these are the "Pure Freedom", a hardline group of minarchists and anarcho-capitalists who believe in the absolute minimization or even dissolution of the state in place of a federation of large corporations, and the "Peoples' Libertarians" group, a left-libertarian faction who believe in more of social ownership of economic production while excluding the government from the lives of citizens in any measure.
Platform:
Minimize tax rate to at least 20%
Heavy reduction of general welfare spending.
National Council
National Senate
Minor Parties
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Parties without representation in the parliament.
Communist Party of Stroulia
Ideology: Communism (Trotskyist), Revolutionary Socialism
Political Position: Far-left
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Party Leader: Benjamin Sullivan
The Communist Party of Stroulia is the country's oldest socialist party, established in 1930, and gaining a decent amount of supporters during the dictatorship and civil war. Modeling themselves off the early Soviet Union, they call for the overthrow of the country's capitalist system and the abolition of private property for a worker's society, as well as the nationalization of all industries.
United Workers Party
Ideology: Communism (Marxist-Leninist) [primarily], Socialism, Anarcho-communism [minor]
Political Position: Far-left
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Party Leader: Archie Short
Originally a formation of many minor far-left groups and parties, the United Workers Party is the largest purely communist party in the country, representing several worker unions and interest groups. Despite this, they've never been able to reach the parliament due to lacking enough local support in national elections.
National Republican Party
Ideology: National conservatism, Social conservatism
Political Position: Right-wing
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Party Leader: Scarlett Parry
The National Republican Party is a splinter party of the SDP, made up of members of the party who were farther to the right, and formed after the SDP failed to win the 1984 elections. They are politically and socially conservative as well as being fairly religiously Christian.
Sudalotero Unua!
Ideology: Right-wing populism, Stroulian nationalism, Anti-immigration, Conservatism
Political Position: Far-right
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Party Leader: Nethanal Herbaviro
Sudalotero Unua! (the native Stroulian for "Stroulia First!") is a far-right nationalist party that focuses on Stroulian based interests. Their goals consist of cutting off all forms of immigration, stripping spending for most welfare programs, and wanting to make Stroulian the official language of the country.
Party name here
Ideology:
Political Position:
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Party Leader:
Party descrption here
