People's Party
The majority partner in the governing coalition, the grass roots of People's Party is in the working classes of the Serpentine Range city-states and the agricultural workers of the Livingstone Basin. The party was founded shortly after the creation of the NLC, and remained a regional phenomenon until the time of St.Vincent's War. During the long reconstruction process which followed the devastating conflict, the party forged important alliances with labor movements on a national scale and became one of the recognized political voices of the working Norlight citizen. The People's Party developed into a significant player on a national scale, taking part in many governing coalitions and leading three during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Always pro-labor, the People's Party has had several other allies. With the rise of Revisionist activism on behalf of the popular classes, the party and the church have become associated over the last 40 cycles. Second Follower Hutchison considers the President and her government as good leaders for the state and they, in return, acknowledge the important role that the church must play in Norlight society. Of course, the extent of this role is a matter of great debate within both the church and the party, and a disagreement could lead to serious repercussions in the future.
The People's Party is a conservative movement which is most concerned with protecting working citizens and the long established Norlight "safety net" of social programs. Under President Adjanni, who rose to the party's leadership in TN 1907 after a career as a labor negotiator, the party has supported a program of national consolidation aimed at ending glaring inequalities in societal programs across the league. Some have accused Adjanni of turning the entire league into a Sesshite welfare state, but Adjanni is far more concerned with ensuring a respectable standard of living for all. In fact she has made several attempts to break Valeria's commitment to fund Sesshite extravegance, to no avail. Her greatest goal, however, is to end the corporate rule of Petropolis and Kossuth. Although the latter maintains a decent social safety net, Petropolis has a long history of labor strife and poor working conditions.
The Party currently leads a coalition government which includes members of the religiously-minded Twin Pillars and the Social Action Party. The latter partner is an agrarian reform party popular in the Northern Plain and Arctic Basin. Social Action is led by Andreas Poddinger, who serves as Minister of Agriculture and Regional Development and is a close friend of President Adjanni. While the President's ability to establish warm personal relationships with her political allies has strengthened the current government, it is increasingly unpopular within her own party. Lazlo Stanislav ran for party leadership against Adjanni and maintains a strong core of support within rank and file members. As the Adjanni administration has been forced to change its policies, Stanislav has revived his leadership bid and does not hesitate to criticize his own party during Congressional debates and in the media.
Structure
All the members of the People's Party elected to the House or Chamber form the caucus which is the ruling body of the party itself. In fact, the elected members tend to be concerned more with the day to day affairs of government than with party organization, and so a body known as the "special committee" takes charge. The committee is chaired by the party whip (the congressional leader) and includes elected and non-elected party members. It is responsible for ensuring discipline within the caucus and making long-term strategy decisions regarding campaign efforts, funding and policy. The committee reports to the party leader and is usually renamed the election committee as Norlight citizens prepare to go to the polls. The People's Party also has an administrative wing which manages party resources and organizes local acthities with the regional support committees. Several city-states also have People's Parties of their own, which are affiliated with the national party.
Public Agenda
The People's Party is in the process of reevaluating its policies for the future. The Adjanni administration has begun to shift the NLC to a war-footing, increase military funding, accelerate modernization of existing forces, and prepare agricultural and industrial production for war-time needs. This has led to some very hard decisions, in terms of labor and fiscal policy. While the government, including members of the People's Party, Social Action Party, and The Twin Pillars Pillars, seems prepared to make the necessary sacrifices, the party is less sure. Congressional discipline is a serious problem and large numbers of People's Party congressional representatives have voted against important government legislation. Opposition members of the House have started to gather support for a non-confidence vote in the current government and rumor has it that the move is gaining popularity within the disgruntled membeh of Adjanni's own party. Party whip Elias Thorne has his hands full uncovering caucus members who are contemplating such a move.
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