Liberal Party (Themiclesia)

The Liberal Party (自由黨, sbjih-ljiw-dang′) is the primary right-of-centre party in Themiclesia. It has governed since 2016 and survived the recent 2019 general election. The party is led by [name] and currently supports the maintenance of the welfare state but also co-operation between the public and private sectors to stimulate growth. While it represents the political right in Themiclesia, internationally it is considered a centrist party, or even slightly left of centre.

History

Origins

The deepest roots of the Liberal Party, though academically controversial, may be traced to the imperial lobby at the Themiclesian court in the 15th century. As a coherent body of opinion, it did not rise to prominence until mid-century, consisting of domestic and foreign merchants and interest groups in Themiclesia's possessions abroad. All these forces decried the peace treaty that prohibited Themiclesia from seeking maritime domination in the Meridian Ocean, when the Yi cavalry crossed the Dzhungestani desert in 1385. In response, the court began to concentrate resources in Columbia, organizing a standing army to fend off encroachment by Casaterrans there, now that Meridia was beyond reach. Since then, commercial and other interests in Columbia have been active at court to ensure that sufficient resources are devoted to maintenance of military dominance in Columbia.

19th century

While the imperial lobby at court always enjoyed some degree of influence up to the end of the 18th century, the need to fund a standing army in Columbia and Norfeld and a large navy led to excessive taxation domestically, which injured the financial position of the aristocracy. Upon serious defeats in 1791 and 1796 and years of over-taxation and resentment, the Lord of Gar-lang (河陽侯) assembled a wide coalition of civil servants and aristocrats to rout the lobby's supporters. When a peace treaty was proposed, barring tariffs on Hallian imports and exports, and initially rejected by the throne, the stability of Gar-lang's support base forced the the emperor to accept the treaty.

This treaty meant a great influx of Hallian goods into Themiclesian markets, which the merchant class decried, though the aristocracy saw no major issue with it. Gar-lang's confederacy became the Conservative Party, which dominated Themiclesian politics for the next 20 years, imposing minimal taxation (especially on land) as its primary directive. While the imperial lobby was weakened at court, the domestic economic recovery and integration popularized the objectives of the imperial lobby with classes that formerly had held few stakes therein. Despite Conservative dominance, it gradually rose to prominence over the 1820s and 30s. Economically, it evolved to represent domestic merchants and industrial magnates that wished to see regulations adverse to their interests lifted. Politically it was influenced by the Enlightenment, desiring to see political reforms to a more accountable and less aristocratic system of government.

In the course of the 1820s, the Imperial lobby dismantled its platform on the restoration of imperial control over parts of Columbia and nothern Maverica and embraced political reform as its principal objective.

In 1835, the issue of constitutional reform was first brought to the fore by the then Prime Minister the Baron of P.ran, who made a forceful argument in the Council of Peers that "the strength of foreign powers comes from consensus and mutuality, and the weakness of Themiclesia came from caprice and compulsion." P.ran's beliefs are, in no small part, influenced by thinking of contemporary Anglian liberals, though his interpretation extends only to the "enlightened classes" of literate, propertied households that hold legitimate power in public policy and "will inevitably use it against the government should their wishes be not recognized". He also made a historically-oriented case that ancient Themiclesian monarchs were far more conciliatory with even minor nobles, whom he compared to the landed gentry, than has been the case in the period of absolutism in the 1600s and 1700s, a view the Conservatives found difficult to refute. P.ran's goals, however, were not realized during his premiership, as Conservatives found unacceptable an "open franchise" replacing the hereditary franchise.  

Prominent members of the Imperial lobby such as the Barons of P.ran and Rai-lang came to power with promises to address louder calls for political reform since the 1830s, which culminated in the grievances of 1841 and 1844. These events paralyzed Conservative administrations that sought to reinforce aristocratic control over land and economic resources, such as mines, forests, and streams. In 1841, a large league of merchants, finding that their local lord would not present their arguments to the royal court, boycotted the Tor docks for six months, causing a severe loss of revenue for local aristocrats that held economic rights on the docks; in 1844, a petition was signed by thousands of striking junior administrators in the capital city. In each case, such grievances were funnelled by supporters of the Liberal party, but resolution was too brought about by Liberal leaders, where Conservative policy was refusal to acknowledge the existence of public discontent. Yet amongst Conservative circles, it was often believed that the Liberals had sowed the seeds of discontent and then obtained political glamour by then addressing them.

P.ran was appointed prime minister a third time in 1844 with an announced intention to see through constitutional reform after ten turbulent years in the salons of the major cities. The policy enjoyed the emperor's patronage, who shared P.ran's belief that only a nation united through representation could be strong; alternately, the expected reforms would also permit the throne to regain some political power after decades of sidelining by powerful nobles that led the baronage.

See also

• Themiclesia
• Conservative Party (Themiclesia)