Our Fair Country: The Commonwealth of New England
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I was just as astonished, but then I thought that the Socialist Party of Austria might be fully-fledged authoritarian communists who want a dictatorship of the proletariat and/or to make Austria a puppet of the USSR. Is that the case, @Kanan ?
This is fascinating and really interesting to read - where exactly do the parties each sit ideology? I'm slightly confused as to the politics of the National Greens here.
Thank you!
Here's to hoping. So far things seem to be going well, given it's much more moderate nature, but it's unlikely the reform alone will fix the imbalances facing Rhodesia.
Mrs. Harper was instrumental in dismantling Rhodesia's state-owned enterprises, and helped to ensure all of the industries run by the Southern Rhodesian government (which nationalised every single sector) was sold off and privatised during her tenure, as a means of raising money for the government and to stimulate economic growth.
Oopsie! You saw nothing!!
John Harper *is* a real person, and he was discovered by another poster here.
First time for everything!
Such a sentiment is *not* commonplace at all! The National Green Party is a bit different than you'd expect. See my response below.
They are not. Their ideology is chiefly against the Soviet Union's doctrine of Marxist-Leninism, and instead is what we would call a "Eurocommunist" party. Full details below.
Thank you! Here's a brief rundown of the major (and non major) political parties in Austria.
Democratic Party - A big-tent liberal party that champions multiculturalism. The party's doctrines hark back to the time of the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary where there was no one dominate linguistic group and seeks to uphold the teaching of German as an administrative language, but allowing regional languages to continue to exist and expanding the culture and teaching of these minority languages. Generally believes that the economy needs controls in order to work correctly, and champions workers rights. The Democratic Party was the political arm of the Anti-Fascist Movement which toppled the dictatorship of Hans Krebs.
Socialist Labour Party - A communist party which rejects the ideas set forth by the Soviet Union and rejects Leninism as a legitimate political ideology for Central and Western Europe. Has strong ties with the on again, off again, Communist Party of Italy. They reject the notion of democratic centralism, and believe that voters are the best to determine the path of the state and the party. The party strongly supports social and economic justice, and looks to retain the market framework of the economy, with the state controlling a significant majority (80%+) of the country's economy. The party manifesto specifically mandates that all private property will be abolished, but is much more liberal about their definition of personal property, which some interpret that Socialist Labour will not seek to nationalise small businesses and companies.
National Green Party - A Green Party which upholds that climate change is one of the most important events that humanity must face in this century, and beyond. They believe in a strong capitalist economy to reinvest into Austria's future, and want to leverage the power of the state to direct private capital to continue to switch over to renewable energy sources, and to levy taxes on large polluters. Much of their policy is centred around taxing corporations, while ensuring that there are significant rebates and tax cuts for the average consumer. The party is unabashedly free trade and promotes the formation of a single European super alliance of economies, much like the Zollverein except across the continent. Generally seen as Austria's main centre-right party.
Autonomous League - A Social Democratic political party which advocates for a federal Austria. They believe the unitary nature of the state is harmful to the ethnic and linguistic minorities, and wants to see the current states reform local state governments, and also wants to see autonomous minority regions that govern their own affairs.
Socialist German League - Social Democratic party that is Pan-Germanic and seeks to unite Austria with Germany, on the condition that Germany is comfortably run by a left-wing party and believes Austria's more left-wing voter base would tip Germany in that direction.
The Left - A Social Democratic party that split from Socialist Labour over minor issues of policy.
Slovenian Independence Party - Advocates for the independence of the Slovene-speaking areas of Austria and reparations to be paid to the new state by Austria.
Beer Lovers-Pirates of Austria - A pirate political party that merged with the beer lovers party. The Beer Lovers party is a political oddity that has stuck around since the fall of the Krebs regime, and references the pro-Democratic underground network that popped up in Beer Halls to resist the fascists. They once held several seats in the legislature.
New Democratic Party - A centrist political party that felt the Democratic Party was too left-wing.
Communist Party of Austria - A communist party that *is* financed by the Soviet Union and does believe in Marxist-Leninism for the country.
Christian People's Party - A standard christian democratic party, centre-right ideology.
Czech Union of Nationalists - Advocates for the return of all of the lands of Bohemia that Austria "retained" during the collapse of Austria-Hungary.
Forward for the Future - A futurist political party that believes in technocracy to solve all of the country's problems through a "Dictatorship of the Computers."
Italian Social League - Despite all other fascist parties being banned, the Italian Social League brands itself as an Italian-language rights organisation, but in reality it's just a fascist party.
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I'm glad you were looking forward to it, and that I was able to deliver!
Austrian politics really stem from the regime of Hans Krebs. His regime has produced so much trauma for the country that right-wing parties and the doctrine of conservatism in general is very much opposed by the majority of the population. The sudden and immediate shift from a fascist regime bent on German superiority towards a multi-cultural fully equal society cemented this in the minds of Austria's people and the traditional visions of Conservatism (and religion) were generally frowned upon. The Democratic Party has formed every single government since the fall of the Krebs regime, and the party has always advanced anti-Conservative messaging which was also supported by the more left-wing parties. Several successive generations of this messaging and voters simply don't vote for the right-wing, but the Democratic Party has moved significant towards the centre, away from its original position as a more socialist party.
Add this to Hong Kong and Suez as some of my favorite parts of this timeline, @Kanan. Really stellar stuff, and it's interesting to see a 'federal' Rhodesia work with majority rule given it was an absolute failure IOTL (of course, it was tried with minority rule so that was a huge part of the problem).The Commonwealth of Rhodesia
2016 London mayoral election
Most polling found Watson slightly ahead of Abbott, and most expected a second round of voting, given Labour's control of the majority of London's Boroughs, and they would afford her a majority to enter the second round. Rees-Mogg, the leader of the Conservative Party across the United Kingdom and perennial London candidate, used much of the election to campaign for the Conservative party nationwide, and to raise awareness of the party's platform. When the returns came in, the Conservative alliance reached its highest vote share in any London mayoral election since they began in 1980. Many of their voters had previous supported Watson, who under-performed all of the pre-election polls to come in second. Abbott secured a plurality of the votes, as well as a majority of the Borough votes, and was able to become mayor in Round 1, the first time since the 1992 London mayoral election.
Alex Richards
Donor
The 2016 London mayoral election was held on 28 July 2016 concurrently with elections to the Greater London Council. Former Member of Parliament Diane Abbott was elected the Mayor of London against incumbent Liberal mayor Graham Watson and Conservative Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg. The campaign centred around Watson's leadership of London for the previous six years, as well as his plan to further increase the power of the Boroughs by supporting a plan which would eliminate the borough vote for an Electoral College, electing the Mayor of London rather than by the two-tier system currently used. Both Abbot and Rees-Mogg attacked the proposal, with Abbott supporting overhauling London's voting system by implementing a system of Instant-runoff voting and abolishing the Borough votes. Rees-Mogg opposed the reform by instead insisting that the Office of Mayor be abolished, and executive control of London returned fully to the Greater London Council.
Most polling found Watson slightly ahead of Abbott, and most expected a second round of voting, given Labour's control of the majority of London's Boroughs, and they would afford her a majority to enter the second round. Rees-Mogg, the leader of the Conservative Party across the United Kingdom and perennial London candidate, used much of the election to campaign for the Conservative party nationwide, and to raise awareness of the party's platform. When the returns came in, the Conservative alliance reached its highest vote share in any London mayoral election since they began in 1980. Many of their voters had previous supported Watson, who under-performed all of the pre-election polls to come in second. Abbott secured a plurality of the votes, as well as a majority of the Borough votes, and was able to become mayor in Round 1, the first time since the 1992 London mayoral election.
OK, looking at that, I think I can see (spiralling out clockwise):
City of London, Clerkenwell, Tower Hamlets, Southwark, City of Westminster, Marylebone, Camden, Islington, Hackney, Newham, Greenwich, Lewisham, Lambeth, Wandsworth, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, Brent, Barnet, Haringey, Hackey, Waltham Forest, Barking and Hornchurch, Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Sutton, Merton, Kingston-upon-Thames, Twickenham, Richmond-upon-Thames, Houslow, Ealing, Harrow, Hertsmere, Borehamwood? Enfield, Romford, Brentwood, Thurrock, Dartford, Swanley(?), Sevenoaks, Caterham Epsom, Leatherhead, Horsley, Woking, Chertsey, Windsor, Slough, Uxbridge, Gerrards Cross, Chesham and Amersham, Three Rivers, Watford, Basildon, Castle Point, Southend-on-Sea.
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