Unity Party (Venadia)

Unity Party
File:Upvenadia.png
Native Name	Партия Единства
Leader	Graf Nikodim Babkin
Founded	July, 1941
Headquarters	Venagorod, Venadia
Membership	356,200
Ideology	Conservatism
Political position	Right wing
Official colours	Blue
Great Veche	41 / 400
Website	http://www.yedinstvo.vda

The Unity Party (Venadian: Партия Единства, transcript: Partiya Yedinstva) is a right-wing conservative political party in Venadia, and the successor to the pre-constitutional political order of Venadia (although, the modern Unity Party does not campaign for a return to that era). The Unity Party's support comes primarily from the traditionally conservative members of society, such as the nobility, clergy and landed farmers. Economically the Unity Party is arguably to the left of the LRP, as Unity desires a greater amount of state-control and protectionism in the economy. The party has never participated in national governance, but has always managed to gain representation in the Great Veche and have achieved regional power in several parts of Venadia.

History

The Unity Party was founded at a conference in Venagorod in 1941, largely by former prominent members of the Constitutional-Democratic Party and the Principlist Party, in order to found a group to hold the disparate opponents of the Socialist and Liberal Republican order that had emerged in the early 20th century. While originally a loose coalition of everything from agrarians to conservatives to classical liberals, the party quickly developed into a socially conservative and traditionalist party.

The party's success has waxed and waned, but has never managed to climb out of its position as a third party. Their most prominent electoral success was the 1959 election where it attained 21.4% of the vote and gained 85 deputies, only barely behind the Liberal-Republican Party. The party is slow to accept social changes, often only adapting years or decades after new reforms have gained mainstream appeal.

Policies

• Supports a strong Venadian state in the economy to preserve the traditional Venadian way of life and to protect against foreign competition.
• Supports agricultural subsidies and a limited social safety net for the disabled, elderly and orphans.
• Opposes homosexuality, particularly the legal civil unions granting homosexuals equal legal rights with married couples.
• Supports a strong military and participation in military alliances against Venadia's historical enemies.
• Supports increased authority locally compared to the central government.
• Supports environmental protection to preserve Venadian wilderness and land.
• Supports a prohibitive justice system focused around deterring would be criminals with harsh punishments.

Organization

The Unity Party is divided into regional parties, with a variable number of local groups among them. The Unity Party has a total of 22 regional parties. The Unity Party platform and leadership is decided on during meetings between the leaders of the regional parties, who themselves are elected from their own member mass. The regional parties are responsible for their own economy and funding candidates for national and local elections.

Electorate

The Unity Party's electorate consist of many of the traditional elements of society, such as the aristocracy and clergy. The vast majority of the UP's members are Christian, although in addition to the Catholic majority also have a significant minority of Protestants from Someria among its ranks. The party's electorate is predominantly rural, with the party struggling to make gains into larger cities or towns. The party's electoral strongholds are predominantly in the south, especially in the Tysyacha of Reloslav, as well as to a lesser extent in the countryside of central Venadia.

Party Factions

The Unity Party has no formalized system of factions, although both members of the party and outsiders can observe ideologically distinct wings.

Traditionalist Wing

The Traditionalists within the Unity Party, sometimes referred to as Principlists, are the most conservative and reactionary members of the Unity Party. They are strongly paternalistic, supportive of the privileges of the aristocracy, the restoration of the Catholic Church as Venadia's official religion and the way of life in the traditional Venadian Mir community.

Conservative Wing

The Conservatives in the Unity Party are moderates within their own party, and consist of a wide variety of the party's membership. They are supportive of modern conservative policies, with a high focus on social-conservatism and pragmatic economic policies.

Constitutionalist Wing

The Constitutionalists within the Unity Party are the remnants of the liberal tradition among the Venadian establishment. They support the Venadian state, rule of law, unitarism and classically liberal economic policies. They are the largest trend among urban members of the Unity Party.

Agrarian Wing

The Agrarian Wing are largely concerned about rural and farmer issues, especially relating to agricultural subsidies, property rights and local governance.