Gerald Larsson

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The Right Honourable Gerald Larsson CI
Gerald Larsson, 1999
13th Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas
In office 23 April, 1992 – 23 April, 2000
President	Isidoro Libero Dale Morse
Deputy	Eleonora Lavorgna
Preceded by	Edmondo Privitera
Succeeded by	Agnes Ingram
Member of Parliament for Bronstad-South
In office 23 April, 1992 – 23 April, 2000
Preceded by	constituency established
Succeeded by	Sylvia Patton
Member of Parliament for Bronstad
In office 23 April, 1984 – 23 April, 1992
Preceded by	constituency established
Succeeded by	constituency abolished
Member of Parliament for Bronstad-South
In office 23 April, 1980 – 23 April, 1984
Preceded by	Reg Fuller
Succeeded by	constituency abolished
Personal details
Born	Gerald Larsson (1946-08-17)17 August 1946 Bronstad, Saint Florian's, Imagua
Died	2 July 2016(2016-07-02) (aged 69) Bronstad, Saint Florian's, Imagua and the Assimas
Nationality	Imaguan
Political party	Democratic Labour Party
Spouse	Tabitha Larsson
Children	2
Alma mater	Università di San Pietro

Gerald Larsson (17 August, 1946 - 2 July, 2016) was an Imaguan politician who served as the thirteenth Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas from 1992 to 2000, and was the last of a series of six Prime Ministers to be part of the Democratic Labour Party governments from 1960 to 2000. He was the second Bahio-Imaguan Prime Minister after Eric Fleming.

Born to working-class family, Gerald Larsson would first enter politics during his studies at the University of San Pietro, where he joined the campus DLP association. Larsson would, after graduation, return to Bronstad to work for the DLP association, working under Reg Fuller until Fuller crossed the floor to join the National Labour Party in 1976. Gerald Larsson would subsequently enter the Chamber of Commons in the 1980 general elections.

He had a rapid rise, becoming Deputy Prime Minister in 1984 when Edmondo Privitera appointed Larsson to serve as Deputy Prime Minister, and would serve in this role until 1992, when the Democratic Labour Party selected him to become their nominee for the Imaguan premiership. Due to vote-splitting between the opposition National Labour and Sotirian Democratic parties, he was able to secure a majority government in the 1992 and 1996 general elections.

After a failed bid to the Presidency, which saw him defeated by the Sotirian Labour Party in 2000, Gerald Larsson would retire from politics and live a reclusive life until his death from leukemia in 2016.

Early life

Gerald Larsson was born on 17 August, 1946 in Bronstad, Saint Isidore's to fisherman Wilmer Larsson, who was Eucleo-Imaguan on his father's side and Bahio-Imaguan on his mother's side, and Bahio-Imaguan housewife Lucile Larsson, as the youngest of three children. Larsson grew up "just above the poverty line" in his early years, before falling into poverty following the death of Wilmer at sea in 1955.

Larsson would be enrolled in school in 1951, attending the Harmond Lambourne School in Bronstad, where he was described by his teachers as having a "natural acumen" towards the humanities. After taking the eleven-plus in 1957, he was able to attend a grammar school, attending the Bronstad Grammar School, where he did "relatively well" compared to other students. In 1962, he took the O-level exams and entered Sixth Form where after completing his A-levels, he graduated in 1964.

As one of the smartest students at his school, he was given a scholarship to attend the University of San Pietro, where he was to study history. However, he became involved in student politics, joining the Democratic Labour Party in 1965. There, he met his wife, Tabita Palamara. He would graduate with a bachelor's degree in 1967, and returned to Bronstad.

Political career

Early years

In Bronstad, Larsson joined the local Democratic Labour Party association for Bronstad-South, and would work under DLP MP Reg Fuller as a staffer and volunteer. During this period, Gerald Larsson became well-known for his activism in support of deepening civil rights protections, and for his support of dockworkers in Cuanstad.

In 1972, he helped Reg Fuller campaign for his re-election, with Gerald Larsson knowing at that point that "he had found his calling" in Imaguan politics. During the early 1970s, Gerald Larsson would oversee the local constituency office at Bronstad, to the extent that in the 1976 elections, Larsson was seen as a potential successor to Reg Fuller.

When in 1978, Travis Marshall and several of his supporters left the Democratic Labour Party in favour of the National Labour Party, Reg Fuller joined with Travis Marshall, throwing the local DLP association into chaos. Despite his "good partnership" with Reg Fuller, Gerald Larsson opted to stay with the DLP, finding "more in common" with Pietro Muro's government. This, combined with his high position within the local association made Gerald Larsson the most likely candidate to succeed Reg Fuller within the DLP.

Thus, when the writ was dropped for the 1980 general election, Gerald Larsson became the DLP candidate for Bronstad-South. During his campaign, he portrayed Reg Fuller as an "opportunist" who "betrayed Imaguan values for a chance of getting to the top," and promised that the DLP would "help the people get through the coming storm." Larsson's rhetoric, combined with Fuller splitting the votes with the SDP candidate meant that when the results came in, Larsson succeeded Fuller as MP for Bronstad-South, with 46.7% of the vote.

Entry into Parliament

File:Larsson80.jpg

Gerald Larsson, 1980

On 23 April, 1980, Gerald Larsson was sworn in as Member of Parliament for Bronstad-South. As a backbencher in the Chamber of Commons, Larsson sought to defend the interests of Bronstad-South. During this period, he developed a working relationship with Edmondo Privitera, who took Larsson under his wing.

However, when President Anthony Brockett died in 1981 and was succeeded by Pietro Muro, his Deputy Marguerite Ernman became Prime Minister. Per convention, an election was called, with Larsson defending his seat against his predecessor, Reg Fuller. Larsson campaigned on his ability to "get things done," and pointed to his support of the 1981 budget. Fuller attacked Larsson's support of the budget, calling the budget "devastating to Imagua" and criticised "his willingness to stay on in a party of socialists, a party of people whose ideas are antiquated."

When the results came in, Larsson kept his seat with 49.6% of the vote, to Fuller's 38.1% of the vote, allowing him to keep his seat in the Chamber of Commons. Although he would remain a backbencher, as Privitera became Marguerite Ernman's deputy, Larsson would occasionally attend cabinet meetings in the Deputy Prime Minister's absence. This would give him "substantial insight" into how the Imaguan cabinet worked.

By 1984, an early parliamentary election was called so that Ernman could become President. As the Bronstad-North and Bronstad-South constituencies were merged due to population losses, Gerald Larsson would compete in the new constituency of Bronstad against National Labour candidate Irene Thompson, and Sotirian Democratic MP for Bronstad-North Roy Floyd.

In the elections, Larsson capitalised on the Sotirian Democrats' unpopularity among Bahio-Imaguans, while attacking the National Labour Party's willingness to "sacrifice the people" to the "altar of capital," while promising that the Democratic Labour Party would maintain a "strong and steady presence" for Bronstad. Larsson's personal popularity, combined with vote-splitting between the National Labour and Sotirian Democrats meant that the Democratic Labour Party were able to keep the seat, with 54.3% of the vote.

Deputy Prime Minister

File:DeputyPMLarsson.jpg

Parliamentary photo of Gerald Larsson, 1984

On 23 April, 1984, Gerald Larsson was sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas in Prime Minister Edmondo Privitera's cabinet, succeeding Privitera as Deputy Prime Minister. As Deputy Prime Minister, he would chair cabinet meetings in the Prime Minister's absence.

As Deputy Prime Minister, Gerald Larsson was able to exert influence over government policy, although he had a primary focus on the affairs within his constituency: in 1986, a reporter noted that Larsson's interests "were largely parochial in nature," with Larsson "leaving most national issues to Edmondo Privitera." However, Larsson did demonstrate some interest in national issues, mostly concerning fisheries and petroleum, with Larsson supporting "a balanced approach" between extraction and conservation.

In the 1988 general elections, Larsson faced against Bruce Hawkins of the National Labour Party. In the campaign, Hawkins criticised Larsson's "neglect of Bronstad" in favour of the national government, and criticised Larsson for being a "career politician with no experience outside of politics." Larsson criticised Hawkins' positions on fisheries, which he described as "sucking the seas of our fish until there's nothing left," and critcised the National Labour Party's positions on deregulation, fearing "a return to the 19th century." This helped Larsson win with 58.2% of the vote against Hawkin's 33.5% of the vote. This allowed for Gerald Larsson to remain in the Chamber of Commons for his fourth term, and to remain as Deputy Prime Minister.

On 23 April, 1988, Larsson was once again appointed as Deputy Prime Minister. Larsson largely continued his activities as Deputy Prime Minister, although he spent much of the time building up his position within the Democratic Labour Party, as Privitera had his sights aimed at the Imaguan presidency, leading to Larsson seeking to build up his support to become the next Prime Minister.

At the 1991 leadership convention, Larsson threw his hat in the ring for the premiership: while Larsson was elected unopposed, Edmondo Privitera's presidential nomination was defeated, who chose Isidoro Libero to be the DLP candidate for the Imaguan Presidency, as Marguerite Ernman was to retire from politics. While this disappointed Gerald Larsson, Larsson pledged to "work with Libero."

Thus, when the writ was dropped on 17 January, 1992, Gerald Larsson was facing off against National Labour leader Dale Morse and Sotirian Democratic leader Erbeto Formica on the national level, while in Bronstad, his constituency was divided into two as its population grew: thus, Larsson chose to run for Bronstad-South against National Labour candidate Louis Houghton.

On the national level, Larsson pledged to continue Privitera's policies concerning the environment and to continue "the liberalisation of our country," while pledging to rebuild the welfare state "back to its former glory." This was opposed by Dale Morse, who campaigned on "dismantling unnecessary regulations" to make Imagua competitive, and on reducing taxes on job-creators to help increase employment, particularly on the Assimas.

Although Larsson's poll ratings never reached above 55%, as the National Labour and Sotirian Democrats were splitting the vote, it was expected that Gerald Larsson would be able to form a majority government, while his performance at the leaders' debates encouraged many voters to vote for Gerald Larsson.

Thus, on 27 March, 1992, the Democratic Labour Party maintained their majority in the Chamber of Commons, despite winning with 45% of the vote. This enabled Gerald Larsson to become Prime Minister. Likewise, as he won Bronstad-South with 52.1% of the vote, he was able to enter a fifth term within the National Assembly.

Prime Minister

First term

File:LarssonInauguration1992.jpg

Gerald Larsson's inauguration, 1992

On 23 April, 1992, Gerald Larsson was sworn in as the thirteenth Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas, succeeding Edmondo Privitera. That day, he unveiled his cabinet, with Eleonora Lavorgna becoming Deputy Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas.

As Prime Minister, Gerald Larsson began plans to establish national parks: while nature reserves had been established since the early twentieth century, Larsson felt that "establishing national parks for the most wondrous of Imagua's nature" and having stronger protection for these would help boost Imagua's standing among environmentalists. This was done with the passage of the National Parks Act, 1992, which designated the Central Highlands Nature Reserve, Mount Apita Nature Reserve, and Mount Pionere Nature Reserve as national parks.

As well, Larsson sought to expand Imagua's welfare state: while in 1992, funding for social programs on Imagua had been the lowest since prior to the Great War, Larsson's government was able to improve funding so that by the end of his first term, it rose to "2/3rds that of Pietro Muro in 1980," with healthcare and education also seeing increases in government spending.

However, during his first term, Gerald Larsson became unpopular, particularly as the national deficit increased, and due to the continuous string of Democratic Labour governments since 1960. This was hastened when in 1994, he attempted to relax the ban on Sunday trading which was met with fierce criticism from labour unions and from religious conservatives. This led to the government dropping the bill, but at the cost of Larsson becoming more unpopular.

Despite this, he would be nominated unopposed at the 1995 leadership convention to run for a second term as Prime Minister on behalf of the Democratic Labour Party, while Isidoro Libero was to run for a second term as President. Thus, when the writ was dropped on 25 January, 1996, Larsson was facing an uphill battle against new National Labour leader Erico D'Antonio, as well as against Formica's Sotirian Democrats.

Gerald Larsson's campaign vowed to "build a bridge towards 2000," with a vow to invest in the construction of social housing to reduce house prices in the Cuanstad metropolitan area. D'Antonio in contrast campaigned on lowering taxes, reducing the deficit, and reducing expenditure on welfare. Formica campaigned on a platform of traditional values, lowering taxes, reducing the deficit, and on returning to Parliament.

While Larsson was not popular, with only one poll during the campaign seeing him breach the 50% mark, many pundits expected that he would win as both the National Labour and Sotirian Democratic parties would "cannibalise each other" as they competed with each other for votes on the right, as opposed to appealing to the left. Larsson would do poorly in the Etrurian debate, while doing well in the Estmerish debate.

Because of vote-splitting, when the results came in on 22 March, 1996, the Democratic Labour Party managed to increase their seat count to 39 from 37, despite only winning 40.2% of the vote. Larsson kept his seat, albeit with only 43.9% of the vote to his rival's 43.4% of the vote.

Second term

File:LarsonInauguration96.jpg

Gerald Larsson's inauguration, 1996

Thus, on 23 April, 1996, Gerald Larsson was sworn in for a second term as Prime Minister of Imagua and the Assimas. His cabinet was unveiled that day, keeping Eleonora Lavorgna as his Deputy Prime Minister, while shuffling some ministers around.

In his second term, Gerald Larsson would focus on building social housing on the outskirts of Cuanstad, seeing social housing as "necessary to ensure that housing prices are affordable to the poorest in our society." However, this was criticised by the municipal government, who concerned about the potential rise of crime, environmental concerns, and by advocates of social housing, who saw the housing estate as being too far from many social services, which were largely concentrated in the city centre. This led to many protests against the planned construction of two thousand houses, which delayed its construction until eventually being cancelled by his successor, Agnes Ingram, in 2000.

As well, Larsson sought to finance the construction of "cultural amenities" such as stadiums, libraries, and schools to help "give a greater sense of connection" between the government and Imaguan communities before "the new millennium." These were more accepted, particularly in smaller communities where in many cases, buildings were starting to crumble due to lack of investment. Part of this policy was the decision in 1999 to permit TV broadcasts on Nativity, whereas previously all television stations were required not to broadcast on Nativity.

However, in 1997, when the National Labour and Sotirian Democratic parties merged to create the Sotirian Labour Party, Gerald Larsson privately knew that "the DLP would be voted out of government next election." In public, Larsson attacked the Sotirian Labour, trying to connect them with the "white supremacy" of the Sotirian Democratic Party and with "the betrayal of Travis Marshall and his supporters," as many of its members had previously been part of the DLP.

By this point, many Imaguans viewed the DLP as having "run out of ideas" and no longer "innovative," while the Baigent Powell scandal in the late 1990s damaged trust in the government, as the DLP was seen as too closely affiliated with hedge funds, banks, and overall political corruption. With anti-incumbency growing, it was certain the DLP would not form a majority government. Despite this, in 1999, Larsson was selected by the party members to become their Presidential nominee, while Ladislao Colacino narrowly beat out his deputy Prime Minister to be the party nominee for the premiership. He would endorse Samantha Bishop to succeed him in his constituency, who would go on to lose the seat to Sotirian Labour candidate Sylvia Patton.

Presidential campaign

File:LarssonCampaign00.jpg

Gerald Larsson on the campaign trail, 2000

On 28 January, 2000, the writs were dropped for the 2000 general election. Gerald Larsson would compete against Erico D'Antonio of the Sotirian Labour Party to succeed Dale Morse as President of Imagua and the Assimas.

From the start, Gerald Larsson faced an uphill battle, due to both a strong anti-incumbency factor as a result of the DLP forming a majority government for every year since 1960, and due to Larsson's perceived incompetence as Prime Minister. However, Gerald Larsson campaigned on "continuity" and pledged to "help transition Imagua" from the "era of DLP majorities to whoever the people decide." D'Antonio, in contrast, sought to "improve Imagua for all," and to support the Sotirian Labour government.

ITS debates were split: while D'Antonio did better in the Etrurian language debates, Larsson did better in the Estmerish debates, although most voters have stated their intention to "not vote for the DLP" in 2000, with the Sotirian Labour consistently polling better than the DLP.

Thus, on 24 March, 2000, the Sotirian Labour won a majority of 36 seats, while Larsson lost with 42% of the vote to D'Antonio, who won with 55% of the vote, making it the first time since 1956 that the Democratic Labour Party lost control of both the Presidency and the Chamber of Commons. Gerald Larsson conceded defeat to Erico D'Antonio, and wished the Sotirian Labour government "the best of luck in running Imagua." He also announced in his concession speech that he would retire from Imaguan politics, saying "it's time for a new generation to lead Imagua to greatness," as well as taking "100% responsibility" for his party's defeat.

Retirement and death

Following Gerald Larsson's defeat in the 2000 presidential elections, Larsson returned to Bronstad, where he would live for the rest of his life as a pensioner. In 2001, he became a Companion of the Order of Imagua due to his long service in politics, accepting it in Cuanstad. He would describe the Order of Imagua as "my greatest honour."

Although he remained active in the Democratic Labour Party, endorsing Pete Tasuku in 2004, Agostina Di Bari in 2008 and 2012, and Douglas Egnell in 2016, Larsson rarely gave interviews to the media, as he did not want to overshadow his successors, and as he did not want to have "the DLP carry my sins."

On 8 June, 2016, after Larsson collapsed at his house, he was taken to Bronstad General Hospital, where he was found to have an abnormally low blood count. He would be diagnosed with leukemia on 22 June, but by the time of his diagnosis, it was terminal. He fell into a coma on 28 June, and would die at 7:53 pm on 2 July.

Following his death, he was taken to Cuanstad to lie in state, before a private funeral service was held on 7 July in Bronstad. A public memorial service was held at the same time in Cuanstad, with Prime Minister Douglas Egnell and President Edmondo Privitera both paying respects to Larsson. He was subsequently interred at the Holy Cross Cemetery.

Personal life

Tabitha Larsson, 2007

In 1966, Gerald Larsson met his wife, Tabita Palamara, during a Democratic Labour Party meeting at the University of San Pietro. After they graduated in 1967, they moved to Bronstad and married the following year, with Tabita adopting the name Tabitha. They had two sons: Dale, born in 1969, and Francisco, born in 1972, and would remain married until his death in 2016.

At the time of his death, he was survived by his wife, his sons, and five grandchildren: two grandsons, one to Dale in 1996 and one to Francisco in 2000, and three granddaughters: one to Dale in 1998, and two to Francisco in 1997 and 2003.

Languages

Gerald Larsson spoke Western Imaguan Creole as his first language, and learnt Estmerish and Etrurian in school. Larsson was fully fluent in Western Imaguan Creole and Estmerish, and was partially fluent in Etrurian, with one contemporary noting that "he could get by in meetings but he would prefer to use Estmerish where-ever possible."

Political views

Gerald Larsson has consistently described himself as being "on the border between democratic socialism and social democracy," saying that "the ideal is that over time, capitalism is dismantled, but right now, the only practical solution is to chain capitalism like you would a dog, so that the rich don't go too crazy." However, as Prime Minister, Larsson maintained many of his predecessors' neoliberal policies.

He was a supporter of environmentalism, the welfare state, and of expanded rights to the LGBT community. He supported maintaining the existing levels of autonomy in the Assimas, but sought to reduce immigration, saying in 1997 that "tourists are more than welcome to experience the country and its beauty, but if you intend to stay permanently, you need a good reason to do so," and said that "Imagua is not a charity."

Religion

Gerald Larsson was born and raised in the Gospelite tradition, as his paternal side ultimately comes from Geatish settlers. Gerald Larsson said that "for most of my life, I've seen my faith as my rock," and that although his mother tried to get him to follow the Embrian Communion, Larsson found "more understanding, more faith" in TBD theology.

He was noted to attend church on a regular basis, although he was not seen as being particularly devout.

Honours

Domestic

• - Companion of the Order of Imagua, 2001