National Union (Akashi): Difference between revisions

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| national = [[List of political parties in Akashi#Alignments|Pale crimson bloc]]<br>'''Historical''':<br>[[List of political parties in Akashi#Alignments|Light yellow bloc]] <small>(1940–1972)</small>
| national = [[List of political parties in Akashi#Alignments|Pale crimson bloc]]<br>'''Historical''':<br>[[List of political parties in Akashi#Alignments|Light yellow bloc]] <small>(1940–1972)</small>
| seats1_title = [[National Assembly (Akashi)|MNAs]]
| seats1_title = [[National Assembly (Akashi)|MNAs]]
| seats1 = {{Composition bar|18|400|hex={{A-NU/meta/color}}}}
| seats1 = {{Composition bar|16|400|hex={{A-NU/meta/color}}}}
| country = [[Akashi]]
| country = Akashi
}}
}}


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The 1980s found the NU in opposition, and after another brief dalliance with the centre under Mutsuhito, it consolidated its cooperation with the {{A-SP}}.
The 1980s found the NU in opposition, and after another brief dalliance with the centre under Mutsuhito, it consolidated its cooperation with the {{A-SP}}.


The "red wave" of [[Akashian general election, 1990|1990]] brought the NU out of opposition, as it provided outside support to [[Shinobu Furukawa]]'s {{A-CP}}-led coalition, which lasted until 2000. It also endorsed [[Kōsaku Ayuzawa]] as a unity left candidate in the presidential elections of [[Akashian presidential election, 2000|2000]]] and [[Akashian presidential election, 2005|2005]], which he won.
The "red wave" of [[Akashian general election, 1990|1990]] brought the NU out of opposition, as it provided outside support to [[Shinobu Furukawa]]'s {{A-CP}}-led coalition, which lasted until 2000.


The party reached its lowest ebb in the Assembly in the late 2000s, being reduced to only 5 seats in [[Akashian general election, 2006|2006]]'s "blue wave". The "red wave" of [[Akashian general election, 2010|2010]] only repeated the performance, as the SP's single-party majority came at the expense of smaller parties.
The party reached its lowest ebb in the Assembly in the late 2000s, being reduced to only 5 seats in [[Akashian general election, 2006|2006]]'s "blue wave". The "red wave" of [[Akashian general election, 2010|2010]] only repeated the performance, as the SP's single-party majority came at the expense of smaller parties.


The NU provided outside support for [[Kōko Kaga]]'s first government, and after the SP lost its majority in [[Akashian general election, 2014|2014]], it joined Kōko's coalition.
The NU provided outside support for [[Kōko Kaga]]'s first government, and after the SP lost its majority in [[Akashian general election, 2014|2014]], it joined Kōko's coalition. It remained in [[Mizuki Kōhara]]'s coalition after [[Akashian general election, 2022|2022]], the first time since 1968 that it participated in a coalition without the SP.


==Platform==
==Platform==
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| {{composition bar|18|400|hex={{A-NU/meta/color}}}}
| {{composition bar|18|400|hex={{A-NU/meta/color}}}}
| {{increase}} 1
| {{increase}} 1
| {{yes|Coalition}}
|-
![[Akashian general election, 2022|2022]]
| 557.010
| 7,0%
| 510.471
| 6,4%
| {{composition bar|16|400|hex={{A-NU/meta/color}}}}
| {{decrease}} 2
| {{yes|Coalition}}
| {{yes|Coalition}}
|}
|}

Latest revision as of 09:16, 4 September 2022

National Union

全国同盟
𐌰𐌻𐌰𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐍉 𐌰𐌹𐌽𐌰𐌼𐌿𐌽𐌳𐌹𐌸𐌰 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉
AbbreviationNU
Founded1940
Preceded byNational Renewal Movement
IdeologyYurikarism
Political positionCentre-left to Centre
National affiliationPale crimson bloc
Historical:
Light yellow bloc (1940–1972)
Colours  Teal
MNAs
16 / 400

The National Union (Miranian: 全国同盟 Zenkoku dōmei; Gothic: 𐌰𐌻𐌰𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐍉 𐌰𐌹𐌽𐌰𐌼𐌿𐌽𐌳𐌹𐌸𐌰 𐌳𐌰𐌹𐌻ᚴ𐌾𐍉 Alaþiudō Ainamundiþa Dailkjō) is a Yurikarist political party in Akashi.

Founded in 1940 by Yurika Ehara, the party dominated Akashian politics for 30 years, leaving a permanent mark on the political landscape. It has since declined to a minor party status, continuing to uphold Yurikarist ideals within the pale crimson bloc.

History

Birth into power

The National Union was founded by Yurika Ehara in 1940, by transforming her National Renewal Movement into a political party. On the heels of her victory in the Akashian Civil War, the new party enjoyed a dominant status from the beginning, winning majorities or pluralities in the first Constituent Assembly election, presidential election, provincial election, and prefectural election. In the 1942 general election, it won over 50% of votes and a single-party majority, a feat it would repeat at the next 7 elections.

For almost 3 decades, the NU was the unquestioned dominant party of Akashi. It appealed to voters by embodying modernisation — particularly through the contemporary economic boom — and stability — a hard-won quality after the civil war. Yurikara's advisor Kozue Hidaka took a central role in party organisation, and turned it into a formidable political machine, while managing to forge a relatively coherent ideology of state-driven development and integral nationalism out of Yurikara's actions in office.

The NU's dominance in the National Assembly was backed by a solid centrist bloc of the National Cooperative Party and Agrarian Party. The party was so successful at occupying the centre ground in part due to the civil war, which left the left-wing exhausted and the right-wing disgraced from its alliance with the Futurist Political Party. It also took advantage of the koenkai system, which developed initially from other parties seeking a way to strengthen themselves outside of the legislature.

Challenges

Above all, the NU remained wedded to Yurikara and her personalised style of leadership. Yurikara treated it as more of a way to mobilise support, and neglected to develop a party apparatus. This put it at an increasing disadvantage compared to the opposition.

Despite its aura of invincibility, the NU's dominance first began to erode locally. The 1960 provincial elections were a watershed: it was relegated to opposition in all provinces. The formation of the United Opposition in 1962, although unsuccessful, was another sign of growing discontent.

The public grew tired of the party's long tenure in office, especially as the long economic boom receded. Increasing concern with quality of life issues failed to be addressed due to Yurikara's preoccupation with national "grandeur".

Decline

The NU received a near-deathblow from the Summer of Freedom. The country seemed on the verge of revolution or civil war, and the party's support plunged into the single digits in the 1968 provincial elections and 1969 prefectural elections. Despite controversy, Yurikara's tactic of letting the crisis fade away by itself was vindicated. She formed a national unity government with all parliamentary parties and introduced a series of reforms to "open up the system", which were approved by voters in a June 1969 referendum.

The party won a brief respite in 1970: Yurikara won the presidential election against a "youth revolution" candidate, and Masaki Ōshiro led the party to its last majority in the general election. The trends were ominous: the NU's PR vote nearly halved, and it was only saved by winning a majority of the single transferable vote in constituencies. At this juncture, the party needed a leader of Yurikara's stature, which the low-key Masaki was not.

The Summer of Freedom had caused a public fracture in the party, with the appearance of a "right-wing" faction that had called for tougher measures against the protesters, and leaned conservative. Masaki was part of the "left-wing" faction; to shore up his government, he formed a coalition with the Socialist Party and National Cooperative Party. This began the NU's move from the centre to the centre-left.

The government was torn by the "siege economy", the SP seizing its coalition role to push the government left, and the growing public view of Masaki as an ineffective and dithering leader. The loss of a budget vote in 1972 caused a snap election, which ended the NU's period as a major party: it fell to only 17 seats, one of the worst defeats for a ruling party in Eracura. Ironically, the defeat helped restore party unity: the "right-wing" faction was destroyed and the "left-wing" faction left firmly in control.

Minor party

The NU remained part of the left-wing governments of the 1970s. The last remnant of its ruling years was Yurikara as president; she narrowly won re-election in 1975 and ultimately lost in 1980 during another period of economic crisis and political impasse.

During the severely divided 12th Assembly, president Masako Nakai at one point asked party leader Mutsuhito Ōe to form a government. His two proposals were a grand coalition of the centre-left, centre, and centre-right, or an NU government tolerated by the centre-left and centre-right until the next elections. Neither proposal managed to win a majority in the National Assembly, and thus he resigned. His interim term makes him the last NU prime minister.

The 1980s found the NU in opposition, and after another brief dalliance with the centre under Mutsuhito, it consolidated its cooperation with the Socialist Party.

The "red wave" of 1990 brought the NU out of opposition, as it provided outside support to Shinobu Furukawa's Communist Party-led coalition, which lasted until 2000.

The party reached its lowest ebb in the Assembly in the late 2000s, being reduced to only 5 seats in 2006's "blue wave". The "red wave" of 2010 only repeated the performance, as the SP's single-party majority came at the expense of smaller parties.

The NU provided outside support for Kōko Kaga's first government, and after the SP lost its majority in 2014, it joined Kōko's coalition. It remained in Mizuki Kōhara's coalition after 2022, the first time since 1968 that it participated in a coalition without the SP.

Platform

Founder Yurika Ehara

The NU is a Yurikarist party, whose ideology derives from the thought and actions of Yurika Ehara. Key tenets of its platform include state-driven economic development, civic nationalism, and social liberalism.

Statism is a strong element within the party, and particularly so in economic matters, where it advocates economic interventionism and dirigisme. Although the party is hostile to big business, it has never fully embraced socialism, instead preferring social corporatism. It has been described as economically nationalist.

Although the NU advocates civic nationalism, it has been criticised for excessively emphasising the traditional Miranian–Gothic of identity of Akashi and neglecting the multiculturalism of contemporary Akashi.

Initially, the party was centrist under Yurikara, and historically part of the light yellow bloc. However, over time it trended towards the centre-left, and cemented a disdainful stance towards conservatism. Since the 1970s, the NU has been part of the pale crimson bloc and an ally of the Socialist Party.

Election results

National Assembly

Election Party list Constituency Seats +/– Status
PR votes % STV votes %
1940 786.114 47,9%
60 / 245
Increase 60 Government
1942 887.602 50,4%
106 / 200
Increase 46 Government
1946 1.069.164 51,0%
107 / 200
Increase 1 Government
1950 1.229.653 51,5%
108 / 200
Increase 1 Government
1954 1.497.693 51,7%
109 / 200
Increase 1 Government
1958 1.665.638 50,7%
107 / 200
Decrease 2 Government
1962 1.906.725 50,5%
104 / 200
Decrease 3 Government
1966 2.061.664 50,3%
110 / 200
Increase 6 Government (1966–1968)
Coalition (1968–1970)
1970 1.364.704 28,5% 2.420.884 50,5%
101 / 200
Decrease 9 Coalition
1972 350.405 7,0% 449.510 9,0%
17 / 200
Decrease 84 Coalition
1974 361.513 7,0% 380.877 7,4%
15 / 200
Decrease 2 Coalition
1978 354.438 6,4% 350.459 6,3%
14 / 200
Decrease 1 Coalition
1980 389.273 6,9% 270.200 4,8%
14 / 200
Steady Interim
1982 288.400 5,0% 155.397 2,7%
17 / 400
Increase 3 Opposition
1986 178.496 3,0% 107.216 1,8%
10 / 400
Decrease 7 Opposition
1990 233.161 3,7% 201.432 3,2%
10 / 400
Steady Outside support
1994 256.283 4,0% 267.890 4,2%
11 / 400
Increase 1 Outside support
1998 362.522 5,5% 369.155 5,6%
16 / 400
Increase 5 Outside support
1999 316.321 5,0% 271.389 4,3%
14 / 400
Decrease 2 Opposition
2002 314.052 4,7% 334.215 5,0%
15 / 400
Increase 1 Opposition
2006 148.020 2,2% 168.004 2,5%
5 / 400
Decrease 10 Opposition
2010 136.320 1,8% 151.803 2,0%
5 / 400
Steady Outside support
2014 534.331 6,8% 464.065 5,9%
17 / 400
Increase 12 Coalition
2018 571.184 7,2% 523.221 6,6%
18 / 400
Increase 1 Coalition
2022 557.010 7,0% 510.471 6,4%
16 / 400
Decrease 2 Coalition

Presidency

Election Candidate First round Second round Result
Votes % Votes %
1940 Yurika Ehara 957.738 58,5% Won
1945 Yurika Ehara 1.108.072 59,0% Won
1950 Yurika Ehara 1.376.062 57,7% Won
1955 Yurika Ehara 1.666.744 57,3% Won
1960 Yurika Ehara 2.005.521 56,6% Won
1965 Yurika Ehara 2.337.917 58,9% Won
1970 Yurika Ehara 2.639.572 55,0% Won
1975 Yurika Ehara 2.396.660 45,9% 2.478.373 50,2% Won
1980 Yurika Ehara 1.423.267 25,2% 2.150.945 39,3% Lost
1985 No candidate
1990 No candidate
1995 No candidate
2000 No candidate
2005 Mokichi Sasagawa 477.944 7,4% Lost
2010 Shirō Kasai 476.063 6,3% Lost
2015 No candidate
2020 No candidate

Provincial assemblies

Prefectural assemblies