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The Coalition Unravels - End of 1985
Part II - The Coalition Unravels
OOC: This part of the TL is going to have a different format, presented as a series of news articles from different sources to provide a variety of POVs - in fact, these were the first things I wrote for this TL, before I even knew it was going to be one. Let me know your thoughts about the change in format!
Atlantic Post - The End of an Era?
Montevideo - Murmurs out of the PM's office have recently taken a turn towards the frantic -- it seems that the National Coalition, which has governed the country continuously for nearly four decades, is coming apart at the seams. Inside sources say that Brazil's return to civilian rule, in addition to Argentina's return to democratic government two years ago, has allowed deep rifts to form in the ruling party.
These developments must have certainly come as a shock to Prime Minister Alan Smith, who must have expected a longer tenure when he took over for Jason Raleigh in 1980. Instead, when Parliament dissolves at the end of the year, Smith will go down as the second shortest reigning Prime Minister in the history of the Coalition, topped only by George Roem, who died 3 years into his premiership.
Now, Platte faces a possibility no one could have imagined in 1982, much less in 1980 when Smith entered 33 River Road: an election without the National Coalition, the first of its kind since 1945. The question on everyone's mind now is: what happens next?
Despite the pretense of unity, the National Coalition has always been a fractious bunch, prone to internecine conflicts and petty brinkmanship -- at least, in private. It remains to be seen however how these conflicts will be resolved once they're public, and subject to voter approval on an individual basis. Will the liberal-conservative wing, which has held a tenuous grip on the party for the past 15 years, remain the dominant force in Plattinean politics? Or will the social democratic wing, long stymied in the interests of national security, finally get their chance?
One thing is for certain: when this Parliament’s term expires, it'll mark the end of an era, and 1986 will usher in a new order in Platte.
Montevideo Telegraph - BREAKING: Fight erupts as Smith Cabinet resigns en masse, Speaker Blanco closes Parliament for a week
Montevideo - What was once just a rumour finally blew up into a real crisis: all but 2 ministers of Alan Smith's cabinet have formally resigned. In the wake of the mass resignation, Parliament was thrown into chaos as Speaker Blanco struggled to maintain order and was ultimately forced to end the session and close the chamber for a week, with crossed accusations of treachery and opportunism.
As the lurid spectacle unfolded, two different groups watched powerlessly from the sidelines: on the one hand, the small group of independent MPs remained largely above the fray as over a hundred National Coalition MPs lobbed insults and recriminations at one another; on the other, the Prime Minister and the only two remaining members of his cabinet -- Economy Minister Charles Everett and Defence Minister Simon Rodriguez -- watched in dismay as the last semblance of unity within the ruling party came crashing down.
Speaker Blanco's pleas for calm and decorum fell on deaf ears, and he was eventually left with no choice but to ask the Bailiffs to intervene and evacuate the chamber, as a fistfight broke out on the floor when Mark Dancy MP -- the only Anglo member of Parliament elected from Salto -- called Andrés Jimenéz, a fellow MP from Salto and Defense Minister of the National Coalition, a sellout and an Argentine agent. Other MPs quickly joined the fray, and as it is at least 4 were hospitalized with minor injuries after being separated by the Bailiffs, including the oldest serving member of Parliament and Telecommunications Minister, Joaquín Peretti, 76 (MP Colonia Central).
Although speculation that the National Coalition was on its last legs was rife already, the latest scandal in Parliament must be the final nail in the party's coffin, and it's clear now that there will be no Coalition in the next elections. In a scrum with journalists in the entrance to 33 River Road, Prime Minister Smith tersely responded that it was his exclusive prerogative to dissolve parliament when asked if the latest crisis signaled the end of his government. When pressed for comment on how he would continue to govern with a cabinet of two, he retreated into the official residency and left his aides to sputter a response about junior ministers and royal prerogative.
No other Coalition figures were available for comment at press time; the Telegraph reached out to several of the involved members, but no answers were forthcoming. Independent MP Robert Moses (University Park) was quick to point out that the sudden closure of Parliament is a gross breach of parliamentary tradition and possibly an unconstitutional maneuver, but most legal experts agree that ultimately the Speaker has the authority to take such a drastic measure, especially in the event of such dramatic incidents within the chamber. It seems unlikely however that things will improve by the time the closure is lifted next week, and inside sources seem truly despondent off the record.
One thing is for certain: all signs point to a cataclysmic schism in the ruling party and the first competitive election in generations when the Prime Minister finally dissolves the legislature. Speaking on condition of anonymity, officials within the National Electoral Commission have already expressed their concern that a lot of their employees are so accustomed to the Coalition's hegemony that serious doubts are emerging about whether or not the agency will have the resources or capabilities to run a competitive election in time.
The River Star - WHO'S WHO: BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE DIVORCE OF THE CENTURY
Montevideo - The National Coalition's hegemony has been a godsend to most of Platte's anonymous MPs: when all decisions emanate from 33 River Road and the elections are but thinly veiled rubber-stamping ceremonies, no amount of cowardice, ineptitude or insignificance can threaten a lucrative career warming a bench behind the only man in the country with any actual agency, the Prime Minister. This rigid, stale arrangement has served the country's elite well, preserving the status and the seats of such luminaries as the one-time TV magnate Alfred Woodstock even as they were rocked by scandals and accusations of corruption and abuse of power (Woodstock was famously forced to resign because of revelations that -- despite publicly claiming he'd sold any stake in the Atlantic Television TV channel he founded -- he continued to collect dividends from the company even as he served as Minister for Telecommunications).
But as the establishment's party careens towards a messy split after 40 uninterrupted years of power, the press is getting its first glimpses at some of the figures that hope to to capitalize on the collapse of the Coalition to position themselves as the future of Plattinean politics. Long held together by the allure of power and the promise of reward for loyalty, the MPs now sniping at one another in the press can be lumped into three main categories (notably, Smith loyalist is not one of those categories: the Prime Minister's grip on the Coalition is so tenuous, that he's been left with nothing but two of his friends): the center-right of the party, generally the old guard of the Coalition and to a man admirers of Margaret Thatcher and especially Ronald Reagan; the center-left of the party, predominantly former members of the old Liberal Alliance but with the few remaining survivors of the extinct Socialist Party; and finally, the so-called "Oriental Elite", the men and women (but mostly men) who've controlled the fate of the Oriental provinces of the north since before the National Coalition was even founded.
Despite being a natural fit for the first wing, Alan Smith's position has been so damaged by the imminent collapse of the ruling party -- it should be noted, for reasons beyond his control -- that he's essentially been expelled from the faction he helped nurture into the leading force within the Coalition after successfully pushing the late PM Roem's acolytes to the margins: in effect, despite owing him a great deal for their current strong position, Smith has been rewarded by his former allies with unbridled scorn. The image of the Prime Minister holding his head in his hands seated between the only two ministers who stayed on as the rest of Parliament stormed the floor for fisticuffs will go down in history as an image that is as tragic as it is eloquent in its representation of his unenviable and inescapable predicament. Two up and coming parliamentarians are vying to come out of the crisis as his natural successor: Mark Dancy, the young conservative firebrand and son of former National Union leader Stephen who speaks out against nefarious Argentine influence while representing the affluent Anglo riding of Thornbury in Salto; and Charles Everett, current Economy Minister and long-time Member of Parliament from The City. Supporters of both admit that their differences will be difficult to overcome even in the event that a split is avoided in the center-right, but both are adamant that the other should support them as the only logical successor.
On the so-called center left of the party, things are no less complicated: far from the dominance they enjoyed when they managed to place George Roem in power, they are no less divided than their counterparts on the right despite their fewer members. Elizabeth Bailey, an MP representing suburban Landsend, moved quickly to position herself in the press, but Jonathan Miller -- the only member of the faction to survive every reshuffle since 1968 -- is known to command a solid majority of these MPs. Bailey's greatest claim to fame is her last name: her father, Sir Jordan Bailey, was an Alliance potentate and instrumental in founding the National Coalition; in large part, his shadow is the border between the two factions: Jordan Bailey's old friends -- of which there are still many in the Coalition ranks -- have lined up behind Elizabeth, but by all accounts most of the MPs from this wing seem to prefer Miller's experience.
The Oriental MPs have so far rallied around their common language, and have stayed out of the factional fray: while the ideological differences are there, Dancy's ascendancy in the party and Cowen's well known disdain for the Oriental Railroad Trust have placed them all on high alert, as they fear that the dissolution of the National Coalition could mean the imminent marginalization of Orientals from power. They've rallied around the Speaker, who in an odd twist of fate, has become the most powerful man in Plattinean politics as the last line of defense against dissolution, and as long as he keeps Parliament closed, the only man keeping the Coalition in power. Despite being a traditionally ceremonial role, Blanco's precise understanding of parliamentary procedure and constitutional law as a result of nearly a decade at the helm of the House of Commons make him an attractive figure for Orientals fidgety over the future. Sources close to the Speaker have also begun highlighting the fact that he first entered parliament as an aide to one of the few Alliance MPs to win in the North in 1945, in an attempt to portray the 64 year old as a possible national figure in the post-Coalition future.
The clock is ticking, and the fact remains that no one seems to know when the bomb will -- inevitably -- go off; sources within the Speaker's office have been even more reticent than their usually taciturn selves, and no two constitutionalists seem to agree on the limits of the Speaker's power to keep Parliament temporarily closed. Independent MP Robert Moses (University Park), longtime Member of Parliament and respected lawyer and defense attorney, added that the closure was as unprecedented as it was unpredictable -- according to Moses, the lack of legislation on the matter leaves the Speaker with considerable leeway -- but by his estimation, prolonging the closure much more would only further isolate Blanco, Smith and the establishment. One thing is for certain: there is renewed hope in Platte that, after a 40 year farce, democracy is finally returning to our corner of the continent as well.
OOC: This part of the TL is going to have a different format, presented as a series of news articles from different sources to provide a variety of POVs - in fact, these were the first things I wrote for this TL, before I even knew it was going to be one. Let me know your thoughts about the change in format!
Atlantic Post - The End of an Era?
Montevideo - Murmurs out of the PM's office have recently taken a turn towards the frantic -- it seems that the National Coalition, which has governed the country continuously for nearly four decades, is coming apart at the seams. Inside sources say that Brazil's return to civilian rule, in addition to Argentina's return to democratic government two years ago, has allowed deep rifts to form in the ruling party.
These developments must have certainly come as a shock to Prime Minister Alan Smith, who must have expected a longer tenure when he took over for Jason Raleigh in 1980. Instead, when Parliament dissolves at the end of the year, Smith will go down as the second shortest reigning Prime Minister in the history of the Coalition, topped only by George Roem, who died 3 years into his premiership.
Now, Platte faces a possibility no one could have imagined in 1982, much less in 1980 when Smith entered 33 River Road: an election without the National Coalition, the first of its kind since 1945. The question on everyone's mind now is: what happens next?
Despite the pretense of unity, the National Coalition has always been a fractious bunch, prone to internecine conflicts and petty brinkmanship -- at least, in private. It remains to be seen however how these conflicts will be resolved once they're public, and subject to voter approval on an individual basis. Will the liberal-conservative wing, which has held a tenuous grip on the party for the past 15 years, remain the dominant force in Plattinean politics? Or will the social democratic wing, long stymied in the interests of national security, finally get their chance?
One thing is for certain: when this Parliament’s term expires, it'll mark the end of an era, and 1986 will usher in a new order in Platte.
Montevideo Telegraph - BREAKING: Fight erupts as Smith Cabinet resigns en masse, Speaker Blanco closes Parliament for a week
Montevideo - What was once just a rumour finally blew up into a real crisis: all but 2 ministers of Alan Smith's cabinet have formally resigned. In the wake of the mass resignation, Parliament was thrown into chaos as Speaker Blanco struggled to maintain order and was ultimately forced to end the session and close the chamber for a week, with crossed accusations of treachery and opportunism.
As the lurid spectacle unfolded, two different groups watched powerlessly from the sidelines: on the one hand, the small group of independent MPs remained largely above the fray as over a hundred National Coalition MPs lobbed insults and recriminations at one another; on the other, the Prime Minister and the only two remaining members of his cabinet -- Economy Minister Charles Everett and Defence Minister Simon Rodriguez -- watched in dismay as the last semblance of unity within the ruling party came crashing down.
Speaker Blanco's pleas for calm and decorum fell on deaf ears, and he was eventually left with no choice but to ask the Bailiffs to intervene and evacuate the chamber, as a fistfight broke out on the floor when Mark Dancy MP -- the only Anglo member of Parliament elected from Salto -- called Andrés Jimenéz, a fellow MP from Salto and Defense Minister of the National Coalition, a sellout and an Argentine agent. Other MPs quickly joined the fray, and as it is at least 4 were hospitalized with minor injuries after being separated by the Bailiffs, including the oldest serving member of Parliament and Telecommunications Minister, Joaquín Peretti, 76 (MP Colonia Central).
Although speculation that the National Coalition was on its last legs was rife already, the latest scandal in Parliament must be the final nail in the party's coffin, and it's clear now that there will be no Coalition in the next elections. In a scrum with journalists in the entrance to 33 River Road, Prime Minister Smith tersely responded that it was his exclusive prerogative to dissolve parliament when asked if the latest crisis signaled the end of his government. When pressed for comment on how he would continue to govern with a cabinet of two, he retreated into the official residency and left his aides to sputter a response about junior ministers and royal prerogative.
No other Coalition figures were available for comment at press time; the Telegraph reached out to several of the involved members, but no answers were forthcoming. Independent MP Robert Moses (University Park) was quick to point out that the sudden closure of Parliament is a gross breach of parliamentary tradition and possibly an unconstitutional maneuver, but most legal experts agree that ultimately the Speaker has the authority to take such a drastic measure, especially in the event of such dramatic incidents within the chamber. It seems unlikely however that things will improve by the time the closure is lifted next week, and inside sources seem truly despondent off the record.
One thing is for certain: all signs point to a cataclysmic schism in the ruling party and the first competitive election in generations when the Prime Minister finally dissolves the legislature. Speaking on condition of anonymity, officials within the National Electoral Commission have already expressed their concern that a lot of their employees are so accustomed to the Coalition's hegemony that serious doubts are emerging about whether or not the agency will have the resources or capabilities to run a competitive election in time.
The River Star - WHO'S WHO: BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE DIVORCE OF THE CENTURY
Montevideo - The National Coalition's hegemony has been a godsend to most of Platte's anonymous MPs: when all decisions emanate from 33 River Road and the elections are but thinly veiled rubber-stamping ceremonies, no amount of cowardice, ineptitude or insignificance can threaten a lucrative career warming a bench behind the only man in the country with any actual agency, the Prime Minister. This rigid, stale arrangement has served the country's elite well, preserving the status and the seats of such luminaries as the one-time TV magnate Alfred Woodstock even as they were rocked by scandals and accusations of corruption and abuse of power (Woodstock was famously forced to resign because of revelations that -- despite publicly claiming he'd sold any stake in the Atlantic Television TV channel he founded -- he continued to collect dividends from the company even as he served as Minister for Telecommunications).
But as the establishment's party careens towards a messy split after 40 uninterrupted years of power, the press is getting its first glimpses at some of the figures that hope to to capitalize on the collapse of the Coalition to position themselves as the future of Plattinean politics. Long held together by the allure of power and the promise of reward for loyalty, the MPs now sniping at one another in the press can be lumped into three main categories (notably, Smith loyalist is not one of those categories: the Prime Minister's grip on the Coalition is so tenuous, that he's been left with nothing but two of his friends): the center-right of the party, generally the old guard of the Coalition and to a man admirers of Margaret Thatcher and especially Ronald Reagan; the center-left of the party, predominantly former members of the old Liberal Alliance but with the few remaining survivors of the extinct Socialist Party; and finally, the so-called "Oriental Elite", the men and women (but mostly men) who've controlled the fate of the Oriental provinces of the north since before the National Coalition was even founded.
Despite being a natural fit for the first wing, Alan Smith's position has been so damaged by the imminent collapse of the ruling party -- it should be noted, for reasons beyond his control -- that he's essentially been expelled from the faction he helped nurture into the leading force within the Coalition after successfully pushing the late PM Roem's acolytes to the margins: in effect, despite owing him a great deal for their current strong position, Smith has been rewarded by his former allies with unbridled scorn. The image of the Prime Minister holding his head in his hands seated between the only two ministers who stayed on as the rest of Parliament stormed the floor for fisticuffs will go down in history as an image that is as tragic as it is eloquent in its representation of his unenviable and inescapable predicament. Two up and coming parliamentarians are vying to come out of the crisis as his natural successor: Mark Dancy, the young conservative firebrand and son of former National Union leader Stephen who speaks out against nefarious Argentine influence while representing the affluent Anglo riding of Thornbury in Salto; and Charles Everett, current Economy Minister and long-time Member of Parliament from The City. Supporters of both admit that their differences will be difficult to overcome even in the event that a split is avoided in the center-right, but both are adamant that the other should support them as the only logical successor.
On the so-called center left of the party, things are no less complicated: far from the dominance they enjoyed when they managed to place George Roem in power, they are no less divided than their counterparts on the right despite their fewer members. Elizabeth Bailey, an MP representing suburban Landsend, moved quickly to position herself in the press, but Jonathan Miller -- the only member of the faction to survive every reshuffle since 1968 -- is known to command a solid majority of these MPs. Bailey's greatest claim to fame is her last name: her father, Sir Jordan Bailey, was an Alliance potentate and instrumental in founding the National Coalition; in large part, his shadow is the border between the two factions: Jordan Bailey's old friends -- of which there are still many in the Coalition ranks -- have lined up behind Elizabeth, but by all accounts most of the MPs from this wing seem to prefer Miller's experience.
The Oriental MPs have so far rallied around their common language, and have stayed out of the factional fray: while the ideological differences are there, Dancy's ascendancy in the party and Cowen's well known disdain for the Oriental Railroad Trust have placed them all on high alert, as they fear that the dissolution of the National Coalition could mean the imminent marginalization of Orientals from power. They've rallied around the Speaker, who in an odd twist of fate, has become the most powerful man in Plattinean politics as the last line of defense against dissolution, and as long as he keeps Parliament closed, the only man keeping the Coalition in power. Despite being a traditionally ceremonial role, Blanco's precise understanding of parliamentary procedure and constitutional law as a result of nearly a decade at the helm of the House of Commons make him an attractive figure for Orientals fidgety over the future. Sources close to the Speaker have also begun highlighting the fact that he first entered parliament as an aide to one of the few Alliance MPs to win in the North in 1945, in an attempt to portray the 64 year old as a possible national figure in the post-Coalition future.
The clock is ticking, and the fact remains that no one seems to know when the bomb will -- inevitably -- go off; sources within the Speaker's office have been even more reticent than their usually taciturn selves, and no two constitutionalists seem to agree on the limits of the Speaker's power to keep Parliament temporarily closed. Independent MP Robert Moses (University Park), longtime Member of Parliament and respected lawyer and defense attorney, added that the closure was as unprecedented as it was unpredictable -- according to Moses, the lack of legislation on the matter leaves the Speaker with considerable leeway -- but by his estimation, prolonging the closure much more would only further isolate Blanco, Smith and the establishment. One thing is for certain: there is renewed hope in Platte that, after a 40 year farce, democracy is finally returning to our corner of the continent as well.
- minifidel
- Word Count: 2.1k