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George Roem Government - Dancy Interim Ministry
George Roem Government (1968-1971)
George Roem’s appointment as Prime Minister represents the high-water mark for the National Coalition’s progressive wing, and the man promised much upon his victory: a veteran of the Spanish Civil War and World War 2, he wasn’t originally an obvious fit for the National Coalition, but he stayed faithful to the Alliance that he’d helped found and would work his way up the ranks patiently, capping off his resumé with a much-lauded stint as Minister of Education when the ministry was pushed into the public eye.
To the relief of the Montevideo establishment, his soft-spoken style and penchant for careful and meticulous planning was a stark contrast to the military strong men that proliferated during the era, and he would further placate their fears by maintaining a slim Conservative plurality in the Cabinet and extending an olive branch to the most intransigent opponents by reappointing John Hamm to a ministerial post (although he refused to budge on the condition that it not be a Cabinet post).
But in his own subtle way, George Roem would introduce radical changes to the National Coalition and Platte, some of them tragically cut short by his untimely death in 1971. The first such change are three “firsts” in the cabinet: Roem would name the first woman to a Cabinet post, Catherine Hess taking over the Health brief from fellow Christian Democrat David Croft; the first Oriental minister as Defense minister, with Salto MP Jorge Estebañez getting the nod; and the first black minister to the Cabinet, appointing fellow Alliance member Damian Guevara as Minister of Labour and Social Services.
Next would be his alphabetization campaign, entrusted to his close friend and confidant Matthew Pierson; already low for the region, Roem’s campaign would reduce the rate of illiteracy from nearly 15% in 1968 to 8% by 1971, dropping to 3% by the end of the decade. The campaign was paired with an earl education reform that granted the provinces greater leeway in local schools, which helped ensure that the alphabetization campaign reduced Oriental illiteracy as well, and his government would introduce the first timid attempts at a bilingual education with ambitious pilot programs that would ultimately be abandoned upon his death.
His most ambitious plan would prove to be his last, although it would prove the most lasting: in early 1971, George Roem announced the creation of a Telecommunications Ministry and would begin a much-needed reform of broadcast media in the country. Initially occupying the ministry personally on an interim basis, he implemented two key changes to the PBC (Plattinean Broadcasting Company) and television in the country: he would formalize the apportionment of some timeslots for broadcasting locally-produced Spanish language content (to compete against Argentine productions), and he would approve national licenses to Landsend-based Atlantic Television and Montevideo’s venerable River Plate Broadcasting (rebranded as River Plate Broadcasting and Television).
His death would mark the end of more than just progressive control of the Cabinet: it would cause a rift within the Coalition that wouldn’t ever fully heal, and it signaled the end of a National Coalition rooted in a hope of offering a positive alternative to communism, transitioning towards a National Coalition more firmly rooted in explicit anti-communism. But more immediately, it would cause a serious political crisis as no clear line of succession existed in the Cabinet, leading to a power vacuum that would last until the parties managed to decide on a formal successor in early 1972.
Stephen Dancy’s “interim” government
Stephen Dancy was an ambitious man: originally a member of the far-right National Union, he would jump ship to the Conservatives in the early days of the National Coalition, wary as he was of John Hamm’s looming shadow and its chilling effect on advancement in the outfit. He wasn’t entirely at ease in his new home, but he understood that sacrifices had to be made to get ahead.
George Roem’s death would provide him the perfect opportunity to try and take what he’d always wanted: in a stunning breach of decorum, and without consulting other party leaders, Stephen Dancy appeared on live television and personally gave the news of Roem’s death, rounding out the announcement with his intention to take over the position of Prime Minister on an interim basis. A staunch conservative and a fierce anti-communist, he would take advantage of the unclear line of succession and the ensuing chaos to ultimately strong-arm his way into 33 River Road.
His tenure would prove as scandalous as it was short: he reportedly rushed Roem’s still-grieving family out of the official residence the day after his announcement, and he would take a cleaver to the precariously balanced Cabinet his methodical predecessor had assembled: all three “firsts” were booted within a week, and in his haphazard reshuffling, he threatened to even replace the Speaker and strip the post from the Popular Party.
This would prove to be the last straw: already stinging from the humiliation of having the Defense ministry stripped from them, the leaders of the Popular Party arranged an emergency meeting with the leaders of the Alliance, the Christian Democrats and the Conservatives, where they politely reminded the latter that they held the balance between the coalition’s left and right wings, and that they would ensure that no Conservative could achieve a majority unless Dancy was reined in.
After a month and a half of bedlam, the other parties put an end to the crisis by formally announcing Jason Raleigh, a former Alliance MP turned Conservative, as Prime Minister, quickly undoing his haphazard “reforms” and returning a sense of normalcy to the Coalition. Dancy for his part would put up little fight, choosing instead to go quietly in exchange for a brief of his own once a clear majority against him had formed in the coalition. His only consolation would be taking control of the National Union faction which had been in disarray since John Hamm had died a year before Roem.
The National Coalition also implemented sweeping reforms to its internal structure to prevent it from happening again in the future, most notably the creation of the post of Deputy Prime Minister. The reforms however would ultimately weaken the coalition, as it further encumbered the Cabinet with more moving pieces that needed to be carefully balanced: in addition to creating the post of Deputy Prime Minister – a cabinet post, albeit one without a specific brief attached – Raleigh would ratify Roem’s decision to make the Telecomms ministry a Cabinet post, and would split Labour from Social Services to create yet another. The bloat was a strain on party relations, and Raleigh would ultimately be the last to successfully hold it together.
George Roem’s appointment as Prime Minister represents the high-water mark for the National Coalition’s progressive wing, and the man promised much upon his victory: a veteran of the Spanish Civil War and World War 2, he wasn’t originally an obvious fit for the National Coalition, but he stayed faithful to the Alliance that he’d helped found and would work his way up the ranks patiently, capping off his resumé with a much-lauded stint as Minister of Education when the ministry was pushed into the public eye.
To the relief of the Montevideo establishment, his soft-spoken style and penchant for careful and meticulous planning was a stark contrast to the military strong men that proliferated during the era, and he would further placate their fears by maintaining a slim Conservative plurality in the Cabinet and extending an olive branch to the most intransigent opponents by reappointing John Hamm to a ministerial post (although he refused to budge on the condition that it not be a Cabinet post).
But in his own subtle way, George Roem would introduce radical changes to the National Coalition and Platte, some of them tragically cut short by his untimely death in 1971. The first such change are three “firsts” in the cabinet: Roem would name the first woman to a Cabinet post, Catherine Hess taking over the Health brief from fellow Christian Democrat David Croft; the first Oriental minister as Defense minister, with Salto MP Jorge Estebañez getting the nod; and the first black minister to the Cabinet, appointing fellow Alliance member Damian Guevara as Minister of Labour and Social Services.
Next would be his alphabetization campaign, entrusted to his close friend and confidant Matthew Pierson; already low for the region, Roem’s campaign would reduce the rate of illiteracy from nearly 15% in 1968 to 8% by 1971, dropping to 3% by the end of the decade. The campaign was paired with an earl education reform that granted the provinces greater leeway in local schools, which helped ensure that the alphabetization campaign reduced Oriental illiteracy as well, and his government would introduce the first timid attempts at a bilingual education with ambitious pilot programs that would ultimately be abandoned upon his death.
His most ambitious plan would prove to be his last, although it would prove the most lasting: in early 1971, George Roem announced the creation of a Telecommunications Ministry and would begin a much-needed reform of broadcast media in the country. Initially occupying the ministry personally on an interim basis, he implemented two key changes to the PBC (Plattinean Broadcasting Company) and television in the country: he would formalize the apportionment of some timeslots for broadcasting locally-produced Spanish language content (to compete against Argentine productions), and he would approve national licenses to Landsend-based Atlantic Television and Montevideo’s venerable River Plate Broadcasting (rebranded as River Plate Broadcasting and Television).
His death would mark the end of more than just progressive control of the Cabinet: it would cause a rift within the Coalition that wouldn’t ever fully heal, and it signaled the end of a National Coalition rooted in a hope of offering a positive alternative to communism, transitioning towards a National Coalition more firmly rooted in explicit anti-communism. But more immediately, it would cause a serious political crisis as no clear line of succession existed in the Cabinet, leading to a power vacuum that would last until the parties managed to decide on a formal successor in early 1972.
George Roem Cabinet (1968-1971)
- Prime Minister – George Roem (Alliance)
- Speaker – Adrian Ramos (Popular)
- Chief Whip – Stephen Dancy (Conservative)
- Foreign Minister – Jason Raleigh (Conservative)
- Economy Minister – Anthony Valant (Alliance)
- Justice Minister – Alan Smith (Conservative)
- Health Minister – Catherine Hess (Christian Democrats)
- Education Minister – Matthew Pierson (Alliance)
- Defense Minister – Jorge Estebañez (Popular)
- Labour and Social Services Minister – Damian Guevara (Alliance)
Stephen Dancy’s “interim” government
Stephen Dancy was an ambitious man: originally a member of the far-right National Union, he would jump ship to the Conservatives in the early days of the National Coalition, wary as he was of John Hamm’s looming shadow and its chilling effect on advancement in the outfit. He wasn’t entirely at ease in his new home, but he understood that sacrifices had to be made to get ahead.
George Roem’s death would provide him the perfect opportunity to try and take what he’d always wanted: in a stunning breach of decorum, and without consulting other party leaders, Stephen Dancy appeared on live television and personally gave the news of Roem’s death, rounding out the announcement with his intention to take over the position of Prime Minister on an interim basis. A staunch conservative and a fierce anti-communist, he would take advantage of the unclear line of succession and the ensuing chaos to ultimately strong-arm his way into 33 River Road.
His tenure would prove as scandalous as it was short: he reportedly rushed Roem’s still-grieving family out of the official residence the day after his announcement, and he would take a cleaver to the precariously balanced Cabinet his methodical predecessor had assembled: all three “firsts” were booted within a week, and in his haphazard reshuffling, he threatened to even replace the Speaker and strip the post from the Popular Party.
This would prove to be the last straw: already stinging from the humiliation of having the Defense ministry stripped from them, the leaders of the Popular Party arranged an emergency meeting with the leaders of the Alliance, the Christian Democrats and the Conservatives, where they politely reminded the latter that they held the balance between the coalition’s left and right wings, and that they would ensure that no Conservative could achieve a majority unless Dancy was reined in.
After a month and a half of bedlam, the other parties put an end to the crisis by formally announcing Jason Raleigh, a former Alliance MP turned Conservative, as Prime Minister, quickly undoing his haphazard “reforms” and returning a sense of normalcy to the Coalition. Dancy for his part would put up little fight, choosing instead to go quietly in exchange for a brief of his own once a clear majority against him had formed in the coalition. His only consolation would be taking control of the National Union faction which had been in disarray since John Hamm had died a year before Roem.
The National Coalition also implemented sweeping reforms to its internal structure to prevent it from happening again in the future, most notably the creation of the post of Deputy Prime Minister. The reforms however would ultimately weaken the coalition, as it further encumbered the Cabinet with more moving pieces that needed to be carefully balanced: in addition to creating the post of Deputy Prime Minister – a cabinet post, albeit one without a specific brief attached – Raleigh would ratify Roem’s decision to make the Telecomms ministry a Cabinet post, and would split Labour from Social Services to create yet another. The bloat was a strain on party relations, and Raleigh would ultimately be the last to successfully hold it together.
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