How that would mesh with Indira Gandhi's socialistic economics would be interesting.
A True October Surprise: The Added Surprises
- Thread starter lord caedus
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How that would mesh with Indira Gandhi's socialistic economics would be interesting.
You mean politically? Well, for the most part most they were ignored due to realpolitik during Indira Gandhi's tenure. It was only after it became clear that China had begun to lean more in favor of the United States than towards Soviet Union (as well as begin to open up its markets to foreign investors), that Washington began to express its annoyance about the Licence Raj.
United States Senate election in California, 1988
The 1988 United States Senate race in California would, like most elections that year, have been overshadowed by the presidential election between incumbent President Bob Dole and his Democratic challenger Walter D. Huddleston if not for one very notable candidate and the attention he brought to it. Incumbent Senator Robert Finch was viewed as vulnerable, especially as the state had begun to lose its status as a solidly Republican state (having gone Democratic three times in the last five elections). Despite hints that Finch would face a serious primary challenger from the right, none emerged after actor and pro-life activist Bob Dornan instead decided to run for (and eventually win) and open House seat.
The Democratic side was another story. Famous Star Trek actor George Takei, who had spent several short stints in local government between the series' cancellation in 1969 and the first Star Trek film's release in 1978, had thrown his hat into the ring shortly after the 1986 midterms finished. Takei's high name recognition, and charisma naturally lent him vaulting into the front of prospective Democratic candidates, deterring all but state Attorney General John Van de Kamp from dropping out as the primary date began. However, Takei’s candidacy had resulted in television stories in California not being able to air episodes of Star Trek that featured Takei's character, Hikaru Sulu under the "equal time" rule after protests from Van de Kamp (and Finch), leaving only 27 of the 79 episodes for Trekkies in the largest state in the country. It also resulted in the fifth film in the series, The King of Infinite Space, being the first not to feature the entire crew from the original series, as filming would take place primarily during the 1988 election season.
However, Takei's sexuality, while an open secret among Trek fans and in Hollywood, was not public knowledge before the campaign. Both Van de Kamp and Finch learned of Takei's homosexuality, but both refused to use it—at least until national Republican strategist Lee Atwater learned of it. Atwater quickly leaked the information to the press, who soon found corroboration from members of the Los Angeles gay community. Despite Takei having made no effort to either publicize or hide his sexuality, the actor soon found himself the target of a national firestorm, drawing homophobic protests at all his campaign events and eventually, having to be granted Secret Service protection after several death threats were lodged against him. His poll numbers against Finch declining and unwilling to keep living under constant armed guard, Takei withdrew and threw his support to Van de Kamp.
Atwater's plan worked by pitting Finch against a weaker candidate. But it failed to count the backlash to the treatment Takei endured after his outing. Even Californians who had little love of gay people were disgusted by the personable actor receiving death threats and Democratic campaign used video of angry crowds screaming homophobic slurs while interspersed with archive clips of Finch's speeches opposing gay rights to associate Finch with hateful bigots. Van de Kamp's mediocre campaigning abilities and Finch’s long-standing reputation in the state allowed the race to be close until election day.
Van de Kamp ended up winning by 180,000 votes in a race where 9.5 million were cast, a relatively slim margin that was undoubtedly helped out by Senator Huddleston's solid victory in the state and overwhelming support for the Democratic ticket from the gay community. Van de Kamp's term would be his only one, with him becoming one of the victims of the Republican wave of 1994. Takei, following the election, would return to acting and occasionally interject himself into Los Angeles politics. He would later return for the final Star Trek film featuring the crew of the original series (The Peace Conspiracy), and become one of the leading spokesmen for the gay rights movement in the United States. After California's legalization of same-sex marriage in 2010, Takei and his boyfriend would be among the first to get married, attended by family, admirers and his surviving crew members from the Enterprise.
The Democratic side was another story. Famous Star Trek actor George Takei, who had spent several short stints in local government between the series' cancellation in 1969 and the first Star Trek film's release in 1978, had thrown his hat into the ring shortly after the 1986 midterms finished. Takei's high name recognition, and charisma naturally lent him vaulting into the front of prospective Democratic candidates, deterring all but state Attorney General John Van de Kamp from dropping out as the primary date began. However, Takei’s candidacy had resulted in television stories in California not being able to air episodes of Star Trek that featured Takei's character, Hikaru Sulu under the "equal time" rule after protests from Van de Kamp (and Finch), leaving only 27 of the 79 episodes for Trekkies in the largest state in the country. It also resulted in the fifth film in the series, The King of Infinite Space, being the first not to feature the entire crew from the original series, as filming would take place primarily during the 1988 election season.
However, Takei's sexuality, while an open secret among Trek fans and in Hollywood, was not public knowledge before the campaign. Both Van de Kamp and Finch learned of Takei's homosexuality, but both refused to use it—at least until national Republican strategist Lee Atwater learned of it. Atwater quickly leaked the information to the press, who soon found corroboration from members of the Los Angeles gay community. Despite Takei having made no effort to either publicize or hide his sexuality, the actor soon found himself the target of a national firestorm, drawing homophobic protests at all his campaign events and eventually, having to be granted Secret Service protection after several death threats were lodged against him. His poll numbers against Finch declining and unwilling to keep living under constant armed guard, Takei withdrew and threw his support to Van de Kamp.
Atwater's plan worked by pitting Finch against a weaker candidate. But it failed to count the backlash to the treatment Takei endured after his outing. Even Californians who had little love of gay people were disgusted by the personable actor receiving death threats and Democratic campaign used video of angry crowds screaming homophobic slurs while interspersed with archive clips of Finch's speeches opposing gay rights to associate Finch with hateful bigots. Van de Kamp's mediocre campaigning abilities and Finch’s long-standing reputation in the state allowed the race to be close until election day.
Van de Kamp ended up winning by 180,000 votes in a race where 9.5 million were cast, a relatively slim margin that was undoubtedly helped out by Senator Huddleston's solid victory in the state and overwhelming support for the Democratic ticket from the gay community. Van de Kamp's term would be his only one, with him becoming one of the victims of the Republican wave of 1994. Takei, following the election, would return to acting and occasionally interject himself into Los Angeles politics. He would later return for the final Star Trek film featuring the crew of the original series (The Peace Conspiracy), and become one of the leading spokesmen for the gay rights movement in the United States. After California's legalization of same-sex marriage in 2010, Takei and his boyfriend would be among the first to get married, attended by family, admirers and his surviving crew members from the Enterprise.
George Wallace
Nearly fifty years after his third-party run in 1968, George Wallace remains the most recent third-party candidate to successfully win a state, taking five in that same contest. Wallace had became nationally known for his combative, populist support for racial segregation in the south, notably for standing in the schoolhouse door to prevent black students from registering at the University of Alabama (before eventually moving aside after President Kennedy nationalized the Alabama National Guard and ordered them to allow the students to register). However, he failed in his strategy to tie the Electoral College and instead handed the presidency to Hubert Humphrey, who similarly had risen to national prominence because of his efforts on racial segregation— to end it. Wallace returned to the Democratic fold and prepared to return to the governor's office in 1970 with an eye towards challenging Humphrey in the primaries in 1972. However, the incumbent governor, Albert Brewer (who had succeeded Wallace's late wife Lurleen, who Wallace had convinced to run in his place in a naked attempt to end-run around term limits, upon her death), refused to bow out for Wallace and a bruising primary fight ensued. Brewer, a moderate who was a shining example of the generation of "New South" politicians coming after the end of Jim Crow, was backed to the hilt by the White House— although secretly, as President Humphrey remained personally unpopular in the state throughout his presidency.
With a combination of support from the national party and black voters who remembered how Wallace had proclaimed "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" less than ten years before, Brewer defeated Wallace for the Democratic nomination in spite of particularly nasty and racist attacks by the Wallace campaign. It was a tremendous blow to George Wallace's ambitions that marked the beginning of Wallace's effort (that would last the rest of his life) to rehabilitate his image. He quietly sat out the 1972 campaign, refusing offers to join the Reagan campaign and loyally proclaiming his intention to vote "straight-ballot Democrat" even as Reagan employed the law and order themes that Wallace himself had used four years earlier. Wallace similarly began to make amends with black voters and with Brewer ineligible to run in 1974, Wallace cruised to a victory in both the Democratic primaries and the general election in his triumphant return to the national stage.
Wallace wasted little time in laying the groundwork for getting the Democratic nomination in 1976, emerging as one of the top candidates to challenge Vice President Muskie by mid-1975. However, Humphrey's death changed the dynamics of the race dramatically. Most of the other candidates dropped out to support the new president, with Wallace being the only viable candidate besides Muskie to remain in the race. Despite a strong showing in the south, Wallace's loss was a foregone conclusion. Public musings about another third-party run led to Muskie privately promising Wallace that he would appoint a southern conservative to the next Supreme Court vacancy should he win a term of his own. Satisfied, Wallace announced that he would support the Democratic ticket and returned to Birmingham.
Re-elected in 1978, Wallace's national ambitions were not quite dead and he announced that he would seek the presidency for a fourth (and final) time in 1980. With a crowded field, Wallace initially emerged as one of the top-tier candidates, having strong networks of support still left over from his 1976 run. However, as the campaign progressed and candidates began to fall, Wallace slowly sunk in the polls, although adamantly refusing to withdraw even as he began to fall further and further behind in the delegate count. Finally, with South Dakota Senator George McGovern being the only candidate who could mathematically win the nomination, Wallace announced the end of his campaign and retired from presidential politics.
Retiring after the end of his third gubernatorial term being succeeded by Fob James, who years later would also run in a third-party bid for the White House, Wallace quietly spent the remainder of his life in Montgomery, Alabama. Publicly apologizing for his support for Jim Crow in the last few years of his life, George Wallace died peacefully in his sleep in May 2008, with yet another Alabama governor as the presumptive Republican nominee for president.
With a combination of support from the national party and black voters who remembered how Wallace had proclaimed "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" less than ten years before, Brewer defeated Wallace for the Democratic nomination in spite of particularly nasty and racist attacks by the Wallace campaign. It was a tremendous blow to George Wallace's ambitions that marked the beginning of Wallace's effort (that would last the rest of his life) to rehabilitate his image. He quietly sat out the 1972 campaign, refusing offers to join the Reagan campaign and loyally proclaiming his intention to vote "straight-ballot Democrat" even as Reagan employed the law and order themes that Wallace himself had used four years earlier. Wallace similarly began to make amends with black voters and with Brewer ineligible to run in 1974, Wallace cruised to a victory in both the Democratic primaries and the general election in his triumphant return to the national stage.
Wallace wasted little time in laying the groundwork for getting the Democratic nomination in 1976, emerging as one of the top candidates to challenge Vice President Muskie by mid-1975. However, Humphrey's death changed the dynamics of the race dramatically. Most of the other candidates dropped out to support the new president, with Wallace being the only viable candidate besides Muskie to remain in the race. Despite a strong showing in the south, Wallace's loss was a foregone conclusion. Public musings about another third-party run led to Muskie privately promising Wallace that he would appoint a southern conservative to the next Supreme Court vacancy should he win a term of his own. Satisfied, Wallace announced that he would support the Democratic ticket and returned to Birmingham.
Re-elected in 1978, Wallace's national ambitions were not quite dead and he announced that he would seek the presidency for a fourth (and final) time in 1980. With a crowded field, Wallace initially emerged as one of the top-tier candidates, having strong networks of support still left over from his 1976 run. However, as the campaign progressed and candidates began to fall, Wallace slowly sunk in the polls, although adamantly refusing to withdraw even as he began to fall further and further behind in the delegate count. Finally, with South Dakota Senator George McGovern being the only candidate who could mathematically win the nomination, Wallace announced the end of his campaign and retired from presidential politics.
Retiring after the end of his third gubernatorial term being succeeded by Fob James, who years later would also run in a third-party bid for the White House, Wallace quietly spent the remainder of his life in Montgomery, Alabama. Publicly apologizing for his support for Jim Crow in the last few years of his life, George Wallace died peacefully in his sleep in May 2008, with yet another Alabama governor as the presumptive Republican nominee for president.
I'm assuming Wallace lived longer than in OTL because he didn't get shot in this timeline.
That's correct. Quite a bit of the health problems that Wallace had from IOTL 1972 onwards were the result of the assassination attempt & subsequent complications. So without that, he lives longer.
German federal election, 2014
The German federal election of 2014 was the seventh held since the country's reunification in 1989 and surrounded by retrospectives on the country since its East and West were reunited. The dominant alliance of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian affiliate the Christian Social Union (CSU) finally wore out its welcome in 1998 after controlling (West) Germany for almost three-quarters of its post-World War II history, with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) under Gerhard Schröder winning the first elections since the Bern Accords. Schröder and his predecessor Helmut Kohl had begun the task of bringing the poorer and less-developed former German Democratic Republic up to par with the part of the country that had never been under communist rule, as well as finding themselves perhaps the largest economic beneficiary of the end of the Cold War in Europe.
Schröder had annoyed Washington by refusing to include German combat troops in the Congo Stabilization Force, instead only promising supply and logistical support, although the move played well domestically and in Europe. Nonetheless, Schröder's "social liberal" government between the SDP and Free Democratic Party (FDP) begun peeling back the German welfare state in the economic boom times, infuriating SDP voters and resulted in a staggering loss to the CDU/CSU under Friedrich Merz in the 2002 elections. Merz, in contrast to his immediate predecessors, was largely content to allow French President Alain Juppé to be the public face of continental Europe (the USSR notwithstanding) while his government quietly consolidated the reduced welfare state he had inherited and chafing against the European Union's immigration laws. Merz's fiscal prudence, ironically, ended up costing him a third term: his government reopened several dormant nuclear power stations that had been shuttered following the Kahuta Explosion two decades prior after cost-benefit analysis concluded nuclear power to be cheaper than the marked-up fuel the Germans had since been importing from the Soviet Union. Memories of Kahuta and the proximity of many immigrant neighborhoods to several urban plants (a result of lower housing prices) quickly saw the government's support collapse as a SDP-Green Alliance minority government under Frank-Walter Steinmeier took over in 2010.
Steinmeier's government was beset by its minority status as well as the SDP's worry about the Green Alliance's growing support that caused the coalition to be remarkably unstable and unsure of itself. Domestically, Steinmeier's chancellorship was a disappointment to SDP voters who had hoped for a reversal of Schröder and Merz's changes to the welfare state as the chancellor's time was spent reasserting Germany's role on continental Europe that his predecessor had allowed to fade. He also began overhauling Germany's system of integrating refugees that Merz had pared back to the barest acceptable under EU law. Steinmeier was also the last German chancellor to have his government issue marks, as he oversaw Germany's transition to the ecu alongside most other European Union members throughout 2013.
The CDU-CSU coalition had a large lead heading into the 2014 election, but public spats between CDU and CSU politicians and concerns over the coalition's proposal to combat projected higher retirement costs led to the evaporation of the lead as the SDP promised a large investment in its aging transportation infrastructure in a second Steinmeier term. CDU leader and chancellor-candidate Hermann Gröhe, however, incorporated that into the coalition's manifesto and managed, for the most part, to avoid controversy for aping the government's plan.
The CDU-CSU won a convincing plurality of seats, but could not get a majority even with FDP support. Similarly, the SDP-Green Alliance could not get a majority without including either the FDP (which firmly rejected a "traffic light coalition") or the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), the reinvented ex-ruling party of Eastern Germany, the latter of whom all other four parties had enacted a cordon sanitaire around, owing to concerns about its extremist tendencies and surviving links to the Soviet Union. As such, a grand coalition was formed between the CDU/CSU and SDP, with Gröhe becoming chancellor. The chancellor has so far proved able, but has come under fire for being more socially conservative than many in his party would like and increasing disenchantment with the SDP makes it seem likely that an early election will take place before the Bundestag would normally dissolve in 2018.
Schröder had annoyed Washington by refusing to include German combat troops in the Congo Stabilization Force, instead only promising supply and logistical support, although the move played well domestically and in Europe. Nonetheless, Schröder's "social liberal" government between the SDP and Free Democratic Party (FDP) begun peeling back the German welfare state in the economic boom times, infuriating SDP voters and resulted in a staggering loss to the CDU/CSU under Friedrich Merz in the 2002 elections. Merz, in contrast to his immediate predecessors, was largely content to allow French President Alain Juppé to be the public face of continental Europe (the USSR notwithstanding) while his government quietly consolidated the reduced welfare state he had inherited and chafing against the European Union's immigration laws. Merz's fiscal prudence, ironically, ended up costing him a third term: his government reopened several dormant nuclear power stations that had been shuttered following the Kahuta Explosion two decades prior after cost-benefit analysis concluded nuclear power to be cheaper than the marked-up fuel the Germans had since been importing from the Soviet Union. Memories of Kahuta and the proximity of many immigrant neighborhoods to several urban plants (a result of lower housing prices) quickly saw the government's support collapse as a SDP-Green Alliance minority government under Frank-Walter Steinmeier took over in 2010.
Steinmeier's government was beset by its minority status as well as the SDP's worry about the Green Alliance's growing support that caused the coalition to be remarkably unstable and unsure of itself. Domestically, Steinmeier's chancellorship was a disappointment to SDP voters who had hoped for a reversal of Schröder and Merz's changes to the welfare state as the chancellor's time was spent reasserting Germany's role on continental Europe that his predecessor had allowed to fade. He also began overhauling Germany's system of integrating refugees that Merz had pared back to the barest acceptable under EU law. Steinmeier was also the last German chancellor to have his government issue marks, as he oversaw Germany's transition to the ecu alongside most other European Union members throughout 2013.
The CDU-CSU coalition had a large lead heading into the 2014 election, but public spats between CDU and CSU politicians and concerns over the coalition's proposal to combat projected higher retirement costs led to the evaporation of the lead as the SDP promised a large investment in its aging transportation infrastructure in a second Steinmeier term. CDU leader and chancellor-candidate Hermann Gröhe, however, incorporated that into the coalition's manifesto and managed, for the most part, to avoid controversy for aping the government's plan.
The CDU-CSU won a convincing plurality of seats, but could not get a majority even with FDP support. Similarly, the SDP-Green Alliance could not get a majority without including either the FDP (which firmly rejected a "traffic light coalition") or the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), the reinvented ex-ruling party of Eastern Germany, the latter of whom all other four parties had enacted a cordon sanitaire around, owing to concerns about its extremist tendencies and surviving links to the Soviet Union. As such, a grand coalition was formed between the CDU/CSU and SDP, with Gröhe becoming chancellor. The chancellor has so far proved able, but has come under fire for being more socially conservative than many in his party would like and increasing disenchantment with the SDP makes it seem likely that an early election will take place before the Bundestag would normally dissolve in 2018.
Maybe. Although if there is a recession in the 2020s, it's likely to be quite a bit different than the OTL Great Recession.
Merkel has been a cabinet minister in every CDU/CSU government from Kohl onwards, and is currently the Minister for Health in Gröhe's cabinet.
The Pirate Party and National Democratic Party are the only parties outside of the five in the Bundestag to consistently get over 1% of the vote while the Republican Alternative (ATL splinter of The Republicans that embraces more explicitly nationalist themes) did surprisingly well in state elections in the past few years, although federally they're unlikely to hit 5% anytime soon if current trends hold.
Chilean presidential election, 1974
The 1974 Chilean presidential election was the end of the greatest crisis Chilean democracy faced in the latter half of the twentieth century. Salvador Allende, who had been elected in the divisive 1970 contest, had begun an ambitious program to put Chile on the road to socialism, including land redistribution and the nationalization of the country's copper mines and health-care system. Despite Allende's wishes to remain on good terms with the Humphrey Administration, Washington and other western powers were alarmed by these moves and reduced economic aid to Chile. Allende's programs were also divisive domestically and well-off Chileans and industries that feared becoming nationalized began to loudly proclaim their willingness to strike in opposition to Allende's program. After the country's Supreme Court lambasted Allende's administration for failing to uphold Chilean laws that the administration disagreed with, or that limited their implementation of certain policies, the center-right dominated National Congress began impeachment proceedings after a sweeping victory for the Confederation of Democracy (CODE: Confederación de la Democracia) center-right alliance in the 1973 parliamentary elections.
Allende refused to go without a fight and publicly called on his backers to oppose what he called an "illegitimate attempt to overthrow the elected government" and the center-right was unable to muster the two-thirds majority needed to oust Allende as 1973 turned into 1974. After a series of by-election victories that were won by the Christian Democrats (the largest party in CODE), the Popular Unity (Unidad Popular) alliance reacted to the visible shift in popular attitudes by beginning, little by little, to move away from Allende. Allende, increasingly spread thin by the fighting to keep his coalition intact as well as trying to push through the rest of his program within the final two years of his elected term, alienated his radical allies by refusing to consider their appointments to vacant cabinet posts or input. In response, several hard-line Socialist Party members (as well as a few members from the Radical Party) telegraphed to CODE their plans to leave the country for simultaneous vacations, giving the center-right two-thirds of the vote with the absences. The center-right wasted no time and impeached Allende within days of the last hardliner leaving the country. A small stand-off ensued as Allende briefly refused to leave the Presidential Palace, but eventually acceded to the inevitable and handed the presidential sash to his Minister of the Interior Carlos Briones, who became acting president under Chile's constitution.
Briones, per his constitutional duty, declared new elections to be held two months after Allende's removal and begun campaigning immediately. Unlike the 1970 election that had seen Allende come on top with a divided center-right vote, CODE unanimously backed Senate President Patricio Aylwin of the Christian Democrats for the presidency. Popular Unity and Briones castigated the removal of Allende as a “national shame” and promised to continue Allende's work. Aylwin, in contrast, campaigned on restoring constitutional governance and in "healing the country's wounds".
Aylwin won by a convincing margin and begun to heal the wounds of the Allende administration in ways that would enrage rich supporters who believed that removing Allende would reset the clock to before the Socialist victory in 1970. Aylwin notably did little to Allende's social programs, including the nationalization of copper mining and the country's education system, although he dutifully refused to fight those the Supreme Court had ruled unconstitutional. The marked difference in Chilean politics between his 1974 inaugural and the 1980 election of his successor, Andrés Zaldívar, has been credited almost universally to Aylwin's steady hand at governing and calming influence on the national political scene, something unthinkable for Socialists in 1973-4 who saw him as an architect of Allende's impeachment.
Briones' loss in the election marked the beginning of a low point for the Socialist Party in Chile, as Zaldívar's actions against Argentina in the Falklands War ensured a landslide victory for his successor, Edmundo Pérez Yoma in the 1986 election. Indeed, the center-right would not lose the presidency until Ricardo Lagos' victory in the 1998 contest, the first after the end of the Cold War. Aylwin's death in 2016 marked a nation-wide period of mourning for the man who, in the words of outgoing president Soledad Alvear "prevented a civil war", although Socialist candidate (and soon-to-be-president) Osvaldo Andrade was more circumspect in his praise for Aylwin, pointing to the role Allende had played after his removal in preventing his supporters from attempting violent revolution.
Allende refused to go without a fight and publicly called on his backers to oppose what he called an "illegitimate attempt to overthrow the elected government" and the center-right was unable to muster the two-thirds majority needed to oust Allende as 1973 turned into 1974. After a series of by-election victories that were won by the Christian Democrats (the largest party in CODE), the Popular Unity (Unidad Popular) alliance reacted to the visible shift in popular attitudes by beginning, little by little, to move away from Allende. Allende, increasingly spread thin by the fighting to keep his coalition intact as well as trying to push through the rest of his program within the final two years of his elected term, alienated his radical allies by refusing to consider their appointments to vacant cabinet posts or input. In response, several hard-line Socialist Party members (as well as a few members from the Radical Party) telegraphed to CODE their plans to leave the country for simultaneous vacations, giving the center-right two-thirds of the vote with the absences. The center-right wasted no time and impeached Allende within days of the last hardliner leaving the country. A small stand-off ensued as Allende briefly refused to leave the Presidential Palace, but eventually acceded to the inevitable and handed the presidential sash to his Minister of the Interior Carlos Briones, who became acting president under Chile's constitution.
Briones, per his constitutional duty, declared new elections to be held two months after Allende's removal and begun campaigning immediately. Unlike the 1970 election that had seen Allende come on top with a divided center-right vote, CODE unanimously backed Senate President Patricio Aylwin of the Christian Democrats for the presidency. Popular Unity and Briones castigated the removal of Allende as a “national shame” and promised to continue Allende's work. Aylwin, in contrast, campaigned on restoring constitutional governance and in "healing the country's wounds".
Aylwin won by a convincing margin and begun to heal the wounds of the Allende administration in ways that would enrage rich supporters who believed that removing Allende would reset the clock to before the Socialist victory in 1970. Aylwin notably did little to Allende's social programs, including the nationalization of copper mining and the country's education system, although he dutifully refused to fight those the Supreme Court had ruled unconstitutional. The marked difference in Chilean politics between his 1974 inaugural and the 1980 election of his successor, Andrés Zaldívar, has been credited almost universally to Aylwin's steady hand at governing and calming influence on the national political scene, something unthinkable for Socialists in 1973-4 who saw him as an architect of Allende's impeachment.
Briones' loss in the election marked the beginning of a low point for the Socialist Party in Chile, as Zaldívar's actions against Argentina in the Falklands War ensured a landslide victory for his successor, Edmundo Pérez Yoma in the 1986 election. Indeed, the center-right would not lose the presidency until Ricardo Lagos' victory in the 1998 contest, the first after the end of the Cold War. Aylwin's death in 2016 marked a nation-wide period of mourning for the man who, in the words of outgoing president Soledad Alvear "prevented a civil war", although Socialist candidate (and soon-to-be-president) Osvaldo Andrade was more circumspect in his praise for Aylwin, pointing to the role Allende had played after his removal in preventing his supporters from attempting violent revolution.
Sad to see Allende go like that. At least Pinochet didn't swoop in to screw everything up.
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Allende being impeached isn't a new development. Also, I take it you mean that you're glad that Pinochet didn't get to screw everything up in Chile?
I knew he had been impeached in the TL, but now we have an in depth explanation of why he got impeached and the aftermath. Right, typos. Fixed.
Fourth Republic of South Korea
The Fourth Republic of South Korea was the government of the Republic of Korea for over two decades in the final years of the Cold War. Ushered in by dictatorial president Park Chung-hee, the Fourth Republic was governed by the so-called Yushin ("rejuvenation") Constitution that removed almost all limits on Park's power, including allowing the previous constitution's limits on the amount of times he could run for re-election and allowing him to appoint one-third of the National Assembly. Park's economic vision for the country would result in the "Miracle on the Han River", transforming Korea from a poor, backwards country in the 1960s to an economic powerhouse by the time he died by investing heavily in industry and technology. However, Park's rule became increasingly tenuous as it went on, with South Koreans increasingly tired of the state of nationwide martial law (which Park had declared in 1972 at the end of the Third Republic), and lack of democracy and civil rights.
Park faced several assassination attempts (some tied to the North Korean regime) and serious protests throughout his long presidency, and the frequency of the latter increasing as more and more Koreans with no memories of the Korean War came of age. Park also faced increasing scrutiny from his main allies in Washington, especially after Park dragged his feet ending the country's nuclear program following the Kahuta incident. By the time of his last re-election in 1990, Park had few defenders left in Washington, and the Huddleston administration had begun to increasingly lean on Park to begin democratization. The author of the Yushin Constitution, however, refused. Park's rationale was that, with North Korean dictator Kim Il-sung's advancing age, the country needed a strong leadership in case Kim's son and heir apparent, Kim Jong-il, felt he needed to invade South Korea to prove his legitimacy. However, the senior Kim would in fact outlive Park by a matter of months. Park died in February 1994 at the age of 76. Prime Minister Roh Tae-woo became acting president, and repealed the station of martial law. Roh also used his power to dissolve the National Assembly for elections concurrent with the electoral college that would confirm him as president and promised to use his power to appoint a third of that body in proportion to the votes won at the new election.
With a National Assembly and president committed to democratization, the Yushin Constitution's days were numbered. As South Koreans cautiously watched Kim Jong-il ascend to the leadership of North Korea following his father's death in July, a new democratic constitution was promulgated, ushering in the Fifth Republic.
Park faced several assassination attempts (some tied to the North Korean regime) and serious protests throughout his long presidency, and the frequency of the latter increasing as more and more Koreans with no memories of the Korean War came of age. Park also faced increasing scrutiny from his main allies in Washington, especially after Park dragged his feet ending the country's nuclear program following the Kahuta incident. By the time of his last re-election in 1990, Park had few defenders left in Washington, and the Huddleston administration had begun to increasingly lean on Park to begin democratization. The author of the Yushin Constitution, however, refused. Park's rationale was that, with North Korean dictator Kim Il-sung's advancing age, the country needed a strong leadership in case Kim's son and heir apparent, Kim Jong-il, felt he needed to invade South Korea to prove his legitimacy. However, the senior Kim would in fact outlive Park by a matter of months. Park died in February 1994 at the age of 76. Prime Minister Roh Tae-woo became acting president, and repealed the station of martial law. Roh also used his power to dissolve the National Assembly for elections concurrent with the electoral college that would confirm him as president and promised to use his power to appoint a third of that body in proportion to the votes won at the new election.
With a National Assembly and president committed to democratization, the Yushin Constitution's days were numbered. As South Koreans cautiously watched Kim Jong-il ascend to the leadership of North Korea following his father's death in July, a new democratic constitution was promulgated, ushering in the Fifth Republic.
Walter Mondale
The protegee of Hubert Humphrey (and his replacement as senator following Humphrey's election as vice president), Walter Mondale was a faithful advocate for his policies in the Senate during Humphrey's presidency as well as during the brief Muskie administration. An unabashed liberal, Mondale's first presidential bid in 1980 was a disaster: a fundamental misunderstanding of the post-1968 primary system led him to write off the states of the former Confederacy and allowed South Dakota Senator George McGovern and others to take the votes and delegates of black Democrats who otherwise would have voted for "Fritz". A chastened Mondale soon fell behind and withdrew in support of McGovern, who went on to lose an Electoral College landslide to President Bush. With Minnesota law preventing him from running for both the presidency and his Senate seat, Mondale opted to retire from the Senate in 1984 with his eye on the White House.
He quickly emerged as one of the front-runners, alongside Ohio Senator John Glenn and the two had a long, dragged-out primary season that ended with Glenn finally peeling ahead in April. Mondale opted to withdraw, believing that Glenn would reward him stopping the brutal primaries early with the vice-presidential spot. But Glenn's personal dislike of Mondale and need to shore up support among conservative Democrats resulted in the former astronaut choosing their colleague Lloyd Bentsen of Texas instead. A furious Mondale refused to campaign for Glenn until being persuaded to in October, well after the electorate had gained the impression of the Democrats as a divided party and with it, doubts about Glenn's ability to smoothly handle the affairs of state.
Although out of office, Mondale emerged as the presumptive front-runner for the Democratic nomination in 1988 after Glenn's loss. Expecting his strongest challenger to either be New York Governor Mario Cuomo, Delaware Senator Joe Biden or Maine Governor George Mitchell, Mondale was shocked like the rest of the political establishment by the victory of dark horse Kentucky Senator Walter D. Huddleston in the Iowa caucus. Soon, with Mitchell dropping out after losing in an upset in New Hampshire and Biden hospitalized after suffering an aneurysm before Super Tuesday, Huddleston emerged as the front-runner while Cuomo and Mondale fought to be the candidates of the party liberals. By the time Cuomo was forced out and Mondale became the anti-Huddleston candidate, the Kentuckian had already won an insurmountable lead in delegates.
Learning from Glenn's mistake, Huddleston quietly promised Mondale the Secretary of State position if he campaigned for the Democratic ticket in 1988, an offer Mondale gratefully accepted. He became Secretary of State at a momentous time in world history, with the Warsaw Pact disintegrating and Eastern Europe (save the Soviet Union) abandoning communism and the death of Viktor Grishin in 1992 paving the way for an end to the Cold War. Mondale was instrumental in negotiating the Huddleston-Noriega Treaty that returned the Panama Canal Zone to Panama and, despite Huddleston's offer to retain him in his second term, opted to retire as as result of disagreement with the president's failed Secure Borders Act and exhaustion with the grueling workload.
In retirement, Mondale worked both as a speaker and professor at the University of Minnesota in addition to remaining active in the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (the state version of the Democratic Party).
He quickly emerged as one of the front-runners, alongside Ohio Senator John Glenn and the two had a long, dragged-out primary season that ended with Glenn finally peeling ahead in April. Mondale opted to withdraw, believing that Glenn would reward him stopping the brutal primaries early with the vice-presidential spot. But Glenn's personal dislike of Mondale and need to shore up support among conservative Democrats resulted in the former astronaut choosing their colleague Lloyd Bentsen of Texas instead. A furious Mondale refused to campaign for Glenn until being persuaded to in October, well after the electorate had gained the impression of the Democrats as a divided party and with it, doubts about Glenn's ability to smoothly handle the affairs of state.
Although out of office, Mondale emerged as the presumptive front-runner for the Democratic nomination in 1988 after Glenn's loss. Expecting his strongest challenger to either be New York Governor Mario Cuomo, Delaware Senator Joe Biden or Maine Governor George Mitchell, Mondale was shocked like the rest of the political establishment by the victory of dark horse Kentucky Senator Walter D. Huddleston in the Iowa caucus. Soon, with Mitchell dropping out after losing in an upset in New Hampshire and Biden hospitalized after suffering an aneurysm before Super Tuesday, Huddleston emerged as the front-runner while Cuomo and Mondale fought to be the candidates of the party liberals. By the time Cuomo was forced out and Mondale became the anti-Huddleston candidate, the Kentuckian had already won an insurmountable lead in delegates.
Learning from Glenn's mistake, Huddleston quietly promised Mondale the Secretary of State position if he campaigned for the Democratic ticket in 1988, an offer Mondale gratefully accepted. He became Secretary of State at a momentous time in world history, with the Warsaw Pact disintegrating and Eastern Europe (save the Soviet Union) abandoning communism and the death of Viktor Grishin in 1992 paving the way for an end to the Cold War. Mondale was instrumental in negotiating the Huddleston-Noriega Treaty that returned the Panama Canal Zone to Panama and, despite Huddleston's offer to retain him in his second term, opted to retire as as result of disagreement with the president's failed Secure Borders Act and exhaustion with the grueling workload.
In retirement, Mondale worked both as a speaker and professor at the University of Minnesota in addition to remaining active in the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (the state version of the Democratic Party).
Brazilian presidential election, 2014
The 2014 Brazilian presidential election was held in the shadow of the scandals engulfing President Antonio Palocci, who had been accused of several allegations of corruption and abuse of power. Palocci had wisely decided not to seek re-election instead of running and almost surely losing. Palocci's Brazilian Labour Party (PTB- Partido Trabalhista Brasileiro) opted to run Governor Fernando Pimentel of Minas Gerais in an attempt to make a clean break with the Palocci administration. The Christian Social Democratic Party (PSDC- Partido Social Democrata Cristão), the center-right alternative to the PTB, nominated Senator José Serra of São Paulo, who emerged after a vicious backroom struggle between PSDC factional leaders over their nominee.
As expected, Serra won a plurality of the vote in the first round, with the left-wing divided between Pimentel and perennial left-wing candidate Chico Mendes, who won nearly 20% of the popular vote, mostly from disenchanted Brazilians tired of the corruption that marred Brazil's economic success since the end of military rule in the 1980s. Pimentel's stellar record as governor, combined with being much closer to Mendes on most issues, resulted in most support naturally flowing to him in the second round. However, Serra and the PSDC did well in tying Pimentel to Palocci, proclaiming that if he were elected president, with a National Congress that would "begin to take corruption seriously", he would clean up the presidency.
Despite his powerful appeal to Mendes supporters, Serra narrowly failed to win the runoff, helped in part by Pimentel's slick advertising campaign that appealed to both middle-class Brazilians and low-income Brazilians who had benefited from policies introduced by the two previous PTB presidents, Palocci and his immediate predecessor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Elections for the National Congress, however, returned a majority for the PSDC and other parties unfriendly to the incoming administration and corruption investigations that had been set up for the Palocci administration were re-tooled to look into allegations of corruption in the Pimentel administration. Despite (valid) protests by Pimentel that the members of the National Congress who were spearheading the charge against him were also under investigation for corruption, investigators seem to recently have found pay dirt over issues of payments to businessmen during Pimentel's tenure as governor of Minas Gerais and it seems certain that the hostile National Congress will make a motion to impeach Pimentel ahead of the 2018 elections.
As expected, Serra won a plurality of the vote in the first round, with the left-wing divided between Pimentel and perennial left-wing candidate Chico Mendes, who won nearly 20% of the popular vote, mostly from disenchanted Brazilians tired of the corruption that marred Brazil's economic success since the end of military rule in the 1980s. Pimentel's stellar record as governor, combined with being much closer to Mendes on most issues, resulted in most support naturally flowing to him in the second round. However, Serra and the PSDC did well in tying Pimentel to Palocci, proclaiming that if he were elected president, with a National Congress that would "begin to take corruption seriously", he would clean up the presidency.
Despite his powerful appeal to Mendes supporters, Serra narrowly failed to win the runoff, helped in part by Pimentel's slick advertising campaign that appealed to both middle-class Brazilians and low-income Brazilians who had benefited from policies introduced by the two previous PTB presidents, Palocci and his immediate predecessor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Elections for the National Congress, however, returned a majority for the PSDC and other parties unfriendly to the incoming administration and corruption investigations that had been set up for the Palocci administration were re-tooled to look into allegations of corruption in the Pimentel administration. Despite (valid) protests by Pimentel that the members of the National Congress who were spearheading the charge against him were also under investigation for corruption, investigators seem to recently have found pay dirt over issues of payments to businessmen during Pimentel's tenure as governor of Minas Gerais and it seems certain that the hostile National Congress will make a motion to impeach Pimentel ahead of the 2018 elections.