Reposting from my Four Empires TL.
Because of the subversion and restoration of the political processes, the dates of founding of all Roman political parties are given as Jan 15, 1967, though most have roots stretching back considerably longer.
Because of the subversion and restoration of the political processes, the dates of founding of all Roman political parties are given as Jan 15, 1967, though most have roots stretching back considerably longer.
Political Makeup of the Modern Roman Senate
The modern Roman Senate went from a semi-oligarchic and highly aristocratic body, with real legislative power exerted by the Popular Assembly (think US House of Representatives) before 1958, to a fascist rubber stamp body that would rival North Korea's, to, after the 1967 "Imperial Re-Democratization", a truly representative organization. After the Assembly was unified with its senior counterpart in 1975, the Senate is the sole body of the unicameral legislature. It is one of the few Constantinople-based bodies that still regularly uses Latin, as it sees itself as fundamentally the same body that met under the Republic.
Proportional representation makes it nearly impossible for one party to form a broad majority, however, not having vote of no-confidence elections, with only general elections at four-year intervals, it is significantly more stable than most OTL parliamentary systems.
The Senate is protected from gerrymandering by the provision of an independent, nonpartisan Election Representation Commission. It has 701 seats.
Political Parties (in order of most seats to least):
The Liberty Coalition
The Imperial Popular Front (IPF)
Seats:289
The IPF is, without a doubt, the oddest Roman political party to ever gain a mass following. It is liberal in its acceptance of multiculturalism, left-wing in its embrace of protectionism and workers' rights, conservative in its support of Imperial power over legislative, and nearly fascist in its knee-jerk nationalism, radical populism and hatred of "elites", and belief in a nigh-mystical union of all true Romans as one, abandoning their individuality, transforming into, "a great army of liberty."
Its support base comes from unionized workers, particularly in manufacturing, the military, and all but the least nationalist lower-income people,as well as urbanities in general, who support its positions on mass transit and urban re-vitalization. Most politically conscious young people drift thorough the party during their twenties, but are put off by the extreme nationalism,and usually vote for the Free Democrats in their thirties. Wether they re-join in midlife is mostly dependent on economic status: the upper-middle class and above votes Free Dem. indefinitely, while everyone else normally begins to lean towards the IPF.
The IPF began as an result of the popular discontent with conventional Roman politics in the 80s, as the major parties on both ends of the spectrum seemed to be converging on a neoliberal, laissez-faire, technocratic, anti-monarchical, and dovish platform. This did not lead to an increase in apathy, as one might expect, but rather to an upwelling of support for a party that was both populist, and credible.
Admittedly, the IPF is far more left-wing than it is fascist. Still, the tradition of compromise engendered by the Senate, and its populism, has given it a mass appeal.
Although it supports multiculturalism, its real motivation is the " expansion of the Roman Nation, so that its guiding light may shine on ever-widening sections of mankind." And when calls for independence, rather than integration, are made or even seconded by the more liberal parties, as happens on occasion, you would be wondering where the IPF members misplaced their brown shirts, so vitriolic is the rage.
As they are always in favor of policies that increase the power of the people over the Senate (and "The Oligarchs" in general), which it still distrusts and regards as blinkered, reactionary, and elitist, the IPF strongly supports such measures as direct democracy and the abolition of campaign spending.
Ultimately, they adamantly do not qualify as a truly fascist organization. For all their populist-nationalist bombast, they vigorously defend the freedoms of speech, press, and assembly. In regards to their opponents, the IPF follows the mantra of ,"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
The Reform Party
Seats:90
A moderate party devoted to compromise, efficiency, and "radical centrism", this party is also ever-so-slighly populist, and the coalition headed by the IPF is the one most suited to their ideals.
The Progressives
Seats:63
Essentially a left-wing version of the Reform Party, they mainly draw their support from both the leftward fringes of that party, and from a certain type of liberal voter who is put off by the Free Democrats' neoliberalism, while not radical enough to join the IPF.
Total Coalition Seats:442
Opposition Parties
The Conservatives
Seats:122
Suffered less atrophy than their liberal counterparts, as there are only two right-wing parties, compared to three (semi) leftist ones. They are the standard neoliberal, "Liberal Conservative" party that Angela Merkel would inhabit. They have entered into a semi-formal alliance of convenience (or more accurately, an alliance of desperation) with the Free Democrats.
The Free Democrats
Seats:78
The IPF's reigning "Neoliberal Elitists" of the hour (alternating with the Conservatives). It was once the preeminent left-wing party, but as they became more moderate, and they started to focus on social issues rather than economic ones, their base slipped away towards the Progressives and the IPF. Currently, the party's main constituencies are the more socially liberal sections of the upper-middle class, and minorities who take a more "expansive" view of "autonomy" than the IPF does. Facing more severe demographic problems than the rest, because their average voter is in the late 50s.
The Royalists
Seats:35
Less neoliberal than the Conservatives, their main issue is, inevitably, an expansion of Imperial power. As they are almost populist, they attract a relatively large constituency, and do other things than simply siphoning off Conservative votes.
Labor
Seats:15
Quite left-wing, the only Opposition party to be protectionist, non-neoliberal, and leftist, the Labor Party would probably be regarded as "the Workingman's Party", and would garner far greater support, except for its long-held and very strident Republicanism, which it has only just begun to repudiate.
The Libertarians
Seats:8
Instead of infiltrating the main parties, in this TL, the much smaller group of Libertarians has organized itself into a single unsuccessful political party.
