Social Democratic Party (Caldia)

Social Democratic Party Páirtí Sóisialach Daonlathach
Leader	Stiofán Mac Suibhne
Secretary-General	Aingealag Ní Bhraonáin
Founded	1912
Headquarters	Síocháin Building Spálgleann, Caldia
Youth wing	Young Social Democrats
Membership (2015)	65,612
Ideology	Social democracy Democratic socialism
Political position	Centre-left
Euclean Parliament group	Socialist Alternative for Euclea
Colours	Red
Seanad Glítteann	23 / 60
Comhthionól Náisiúnta	218 / 399
Euclean Parliament	9 / 20
Politics of Caldia Political parties

The Social Democratic Party (Ghaillish: Páirtí Sóisialach Daonlathach; PSD), usually referred to as just the Social Democrats (Daonlathaigh Shóisialta) is a social-democratic political party in Caldia. The party is the largest in Caldia's parliament with 218 seats in the lower house. Founded in 1912, the party is the second oldest active political party. The PSD has a close relationship with the Caldish Trade Union Confederation, the largest in the country.

Alongside its main rival, the Liberty Party, the PSD has been one of two parties to form a government since the 1930s. The first Social Democratic government was formed in 1935. As of 2020, there have been eight PSD taoiseachs.

Traditionally, the party is committed to social democratic ideals. It supports a strong welfare state, public ownership, and a social market economy. Starting in the 1980s, the party began to support economic liberalism. This was abandoned in the 2000s and the party continued to advocate for a strong governmental role in economic and social policy.

The current party leader since 2017 is Stiofán Mac Suibhne, who has served as Taoiseach of Caldia since 2019. He led the party to its first electoral victory since 1997 in the 2019 snap election. It has 23 seats in the upper-house and sends 9 MEPs to the Euclean Parliament. It is a member of the Socialist Alternative for Euclea and cooperates closely with other social-democratic political parties in Euclea.

History

Origins

The PSD was originally founded in 1912 by the leaders of the Caldish Trade Union Confederation as the group's political wing. Historically, the party boasts strong ties to organized labor and the nation's unions. It was established following a split within the Caldish Section of the Workers' International between the trade unionists and the councilists.

Post-Occupation

The Social Democrats overtook the Caldish Democrats after the rise of the Liberty Party in 1937. The party's first Taoiseach Seamus Macaulay took power in 1952. Under Taoiseach Mary O'Neil, the Social Democrats established an expansive welfare state. The reforms were very costly and were targeted by Taoiseach Flowers, who moved to totally abolish the system. Taoiseach Niamh Nic Uilliam, who was elected after Flowers, rebuilt the Caldish welfare state to be smaller and more efficient. She also launched a massive overhaul of the education system, raising it to global prominence.

Under Taoiseach Nic Uilliam the party began to pursue Third Way policies in order to offer what Nic Uilliam called a "humane alternative" to the neoliberalism of the Flowers Era. As a result, the party saw massive internal discontent and eventually the more left-wing faction of the party split off to form the Industrial Labour Party.

21st century

The Social Democrats suffered a landslide defeat in the 2002 Comhthionól election and Nic Uilliam was taken out in a leadership coup. Since then, the party has begun to abandon its neoliberal platform and moved farther left. It has not formed a government since 2002 and faced its fourth consecutive defeat in the 2017 general election. The party saw a rough campaign under Darragh Ballíck, who began feuding with the unions over his electoral alliance with the Greens.

Electoral History

Comhthionól Náisiúnta

Election year	Votes	%	# of overall seats won	+/-	Government
1982	1,396,420	26.55 (#2)	124 / 399	55	in opposition to Liberty government
1987	1,669,804	31.14 (#2)	148 / 399	24	in opposition to Liberty government
1992	2,311,083	42.36 (#1)	221 / 399	73	in government with a majority
1997	1,822,054	32.03 (#1)	173 / 399	48	in government as senior coalition partner with Greens
2002	1,200,281	20.60 (#2)	102 / 399	71	in opposition to Liberty government
2007	1,539,822	23.69 (#2)	124 / 399	22	in opposition to Liberty-Centre government
2012	1,510,076	22.21 (#2)	129 / 399	5	in opposition to Liberty-Centre minority government
2017	1,365,627	20.23 (#2)	117 / 399	12	in opposition to Liberty-Centre-DC government
2019	3,140,869	48.80 (#1)	218 / 399	101	in government with a majority

Euclean Parliament

Election year	Votes	%	# of overall seats won	+/-	Government
2019	1,936,818	39.04 (#1)	9 / 20	4	in government with a majority

Leaders

Stiofán Mac Suibhne, the current party leader

• Fionntán Mac an Oighre (April 1912 - June 1932)
• Tomás Mag Fhearadhaigh (June 1932 - June 1942)
• Colmán Mac Carthaigh (June 1942 - June 1947)
• Seamus Macaulay (June 1947 - June 1957)
• Máire Ní Néill (June 1957 - May 1972)
• Ruairí Mac Ailín (May 1972 - September 1975)
• Mícheál Ó Muilleoir (September 1975 - June 1982)
• Fíona Nic Chonsaidín (June 1982 - 1987)
• Niamh Nic Uilliamn (June 1987 - August 2001)
• Séamus Ó Faoláin (August 2001 - June 2002)
• Fionnbharr Mac Seáin (June 2002 - June 2007)
• Mícheál Ó Domhnaill (June 2007 - June 2012)
• Darragh Ballíck (June 2012 - June 2017)
• Stiofán Mac Suibhne (July 2017 - Present)

Social Democratic Taoiseachs

• Tomás Mag Fhearadhaigh (March 1935 - June 1937)
• Seamus Macaulay (June 1952 - June 1957)
• Máire Ní Néill (June 1962 -June 1972)
• Rory Mac Ailín (June 1972 - March 1975)
• Mícheál Ó Muilleoir (June 1977 - June 1982)
• Niamh Nic Uilliam (June 1992 - March 2002)
• Séamus Ó Faoláin (March 2002 - June 2002)
• Stiofán Mac Suibhne (February 2019 - Present)