Free Market Party

Free Market Party Páirtí Margadh Saor in Aisce
Founded	1996
Dissolved	2019
Youth wing	Free Youth
Ideology	Laissez-faire Right-wing populism Conservatism Nationalism Eucloscepticism
Political position	Right-wing
Euclean Parliament group	Alliance of Euclean Nationalists
Colours	Gold,   Black
Politics of Caldia Political parties

The Free Market Party (Ghaillish: Páirtí Margadh Saor in Aisce, PMSA) was a right-wing populist political party in Caldia. The party described itself as socially conservative with a nationalist and free market foundation, though it has been characterized by some as far-right, national-conservative, and anti-immigration. The party was involved in a series of controversies, most notably regarding the 2016 Spálgleann Attacks. It faced significant losses in the 2017 Comhthionól election where the party saw its seat count and primary vote share collapse. A number of PMSA politicians began to defect from the party, joining other parties or forming new ones. The party voted to dissolve itself before the 2019 snap election.

It was founded in 1996 by the economist Eoin Ó Corráin who was dissatisfied with the nation's approach to Euclea. Originally a single-issue Euclosceptic party, over the years the party platform was expanded to appeal to the broader right wing. The party was known for its Eucloscepticism and actively worked against the Euclean Community. It was staunchly opposed to the euclo and called for Caldia to leave the Euclozone. In 2005, the Caldish Independence Party split off from the party as some of its members became disenfranchised with the new platform. Internal party fights saw a second split and the formation of the National Party in 2017. The party has since began to strengthen its appeal with white working class voters, who most of its policies are tailored to. The party saw its highest support in the Highlands and historically industrial centres such as Shanbally.

It was the first right-wing populist party to enter the Tionól since the Liberty Party in the 1937 general election. Unlike the Liberty Party, the Free Market Party continued to move gradually to the right while it was in the Tionól.

History

Foundation

The Free Market Party was first registered with the Electoral Commission in September 1996. It was established by Eoin Ó Corráin, a well-known economist who closely advised the government of Patricia Flowers. Ó Corráin was a strong supporter of a free market and laissez-faire economic policy. He had a high public profile as a former adviser to Flowers, frequently acting as a spokesperson for her government on economic issues. Other prominent allies of Flowers who thought membership in the Euclozone would see Caldia transition to a social democracy and the loss of sovereignty over the phasing out of its national currency, the Crown.

The PMSA was initially founded as a single-issue party in opposition to prospective Caldish membership in the Euclozone and maintained a general distaste for the greater Euclean Community. Ó Corráin was a vocal critic of the Gaullican social market economic model, taking a strong stance against government policies aimed at creating a strong welfare state and equal opportunity. He also supported privatization of government owned companies and some government services, such as infrastructure maintenance. The party first contested the 1997 election but failed to make significant headway and received fewer than 5,000 votes.

In the Tionól (2002-2016)

The party rose to prominence during the 2007 Comhthionól election, where it managed to gain 17 seats. Previously, the party held 2. In the years after, the party saw continued electoral success, winning a total of 44 seats in the 2012 Comhthionól election.

Downfall (2016-2019)

The party has a strong showing in the 2016 seanad elections, winning three of the elected seats. It also increased its vote margin significantly in a number of counties, where it placed second or third. Opinion polls continued to show support for the party grow in the polls, getting as high as 19%. However, the way the party responded to the 2016 Spálgleann Attacks began to mark a shift in support for the PMSA dropping. Ní Baoighill gave a live interview in the immediate aftermath of the attacks and blamed it on foreign-born extremists, hinting that they practiced Irfan. Violence soon broke out in Shanbally in a neighborhood of the city with a significant immigrant population. Ní Baoighill was condemned in a joint statement issued by all other party leaders for her comments. Caldish authorities later announced it was a small group of far-right extremists who had conducted the attacks. Two of those responsible had ties to the PMSA, with one being a current member and one a former party candidate for Shanbally City Council. Amid growing criticism from the press and pressure from within her party, Ní Baoighill submitted her resignation.

Saorla Ní Chadhla was party leader from 2016-17 and oversaw the party's decline.

Saorla Ní Chadhla was elected as party leader following a postal ballot. She defeated Liam Ó Cuillinn, an MEP, and TC Bairre Ó Raghallaigh. Ó Cuillinn was more in line with Ní Baoighill and was expected to maintain the status quo while Ó Raghallaigh campaigned on bringing the party back to its anti-Euclozone roots. Ní Chadhla pledged to move the party further to the right on a number of issues including healthcare, unionized labor, and education. Her extreme positions on these issues alarmed rivals within the party. Ó Cuillinn became a vocal critic of the new leader, expressing his concerns that she would isolate the working class support the party had built up since the 2005 Financial Crisis. He was expelled from the party in January 2017 for criticizing Ní Chadhla. Ó Raghallaigh left the party in protest of Ó Cuillinn's expulsion soon after.A group of four TCs published an open letter in An Náisiúnach further criticizing Ní Chadhla for her positions, rhetoric, and the expulsion of Ó Cuillinn in February. These TCs were also expelled from the party. Less than a week after their expulsion, they joined Ó Cuillinn and Ní Baoighill in forming a new political party known as the National Party. They began to attack the PMSA from the centre and began to take support away from the PMSA in the polls. Support was also lost to the Caldish Independence Party, and several prominent legislators defected to the party. A messy campaign and Ní Chadhla's unpopular leadership saw the party's vote-share collapse in the 2017 general election. The party lost 37 seats and Ní Chadhla resigned as leader.

The PMSA then entered a prolonged period of decline. The party struggled to select a new leader. Muirís Ó Raghallaigh after Ní Chadhla's resignation but it was in an acting capacity. After over six months as acting leader, he was officially made party leader when no other candidates filed with the party executive. The collapse in support for the PMSA in the 2017 general election and lack of direction saw all PMSA city councilors in Shanbally resign from the party in March 2018. Elected officials at the county and municipal level followed, forming new parties with a local focus. By July 2018, all PMSA county commissioners had resigned from the party. Facing financial hardship, low-polling, and internal crisis the PMSA voted to dissolve itself in the run up to the 2019 snap election, which it did not contest. It officially dissolved on 15 March 2019. At the time it had two senators, who were forced into a by-election due to the change in party affiliation.

Ideology

Initially, the party had no official ideology and was a catch all party for those opposed to the euclo and increased centralization of the Euclean Community. However, the party expanded its focus on economic issues starting in 2002. Unlike most other right-wing parties, it prioritized economic issues over cultural issues. This gradually changed over time, when the party expanded its platform to support right-wing positions on social and cultural issues.

Euclea

Founded as a single-issue anti-euclo party, the PMSA had a long history of Eucloscepticism. It was founded in opposition to the introduction of the euclo. It also opposed to further integration of the Euclean Community outside of free trade agreements and areas. Ó Corráin argued that the euclo was a violation of national sovereignty and the "beginning of the end of the Caldish nation". He was highly critical of the Euclean Commission and called for its abolition.

Consistent in all of its platforms, the PMSA supported a referendum on leaving the Euclozone. During the 2010 Estmerish referendum on leaving the Euclozone, party leader Pádraigín Ní Baoighill endorsed the leave campaign. She argued that the Euclozone would be declared dead with an Estmerish exit, and claimed a Caldish exit would follow suit. When the referendum was defeated, she publicly questioned the authenticity of the vote.

Taxes

The PMSA was a strong supporter of the flat tax implemented by the Flowers Government. The party's first leader, Eoin Ó Corráin, was central in the creation of the flat tax. After his exit as leader in 2002, the party began to shift away from being a single-issue anti-euclo party. The party began to call for a constitutional amendment to make it significantly more difficult for the flat tax to be repealed. In June 2004, party leader Áine Ní Raghallaigh said she believed that the "right to capital" was a natural right and that is must be protected by the constitution.

Ní Raghallaigh was the first leader to make laissez-faire capitalism an official part of party's ideology. Despite his own views and prominent role in the Flowers Government, Ó Corráin created a big tent party to unite people across the ideological divide against the Euclozone. The party officially shifted away from this position after his exit and it became a major advocate for right-wing economics. It supported a low corporate tax rate and privatization of government services it identified as non-essential. Such policies remained in place until 2016 when Saorla Ní Chadhla supported government spending on programs aimed at supporting families. She argued that maintaining the current tax rate, as opposed to lowering it as factions within the PSMA had wanted, would allow Caldia to sustain its population and avoid mass immigration.

Law and order

As the party began to adopt a more-right wing platform, it supported law and order policies. The party came out against the Caldish rehabilitation prison model, arguing instead that incarceration and isolation were not only more effective, but deserved. Ní Baoighill called herself the "law and order candidate" heading into the 2012 general election and claimed it was only her tough on crime approach that would counter crime in urban centers.

The party supported the imposition of severe penalties for violence crime and what it labeled as "gangster activities". It also supported life imprisonment for the most violent offenders.

Immigration

With Ó Corráin's exit in 2002, the party took an anti-immigration stance. It was initially on economic grounds, and was not based on cultural or religious objections to immigration. While some members of the party did make those arguments, the party platform took the position that immigration costs and social services required to assimilate immigrants were expensive and counter to the party's belief in a small national government. Ó Corráin's successor, Ní Raghallaigh, heavily downplayed issues of culture, ethnicity, and religion. She supported the arrival of refugees, but argued they should be given temporary residence permits and integrated into Caldish society or returned immediately following the end of a conflict in their home country.

The party's outlook on immigration changed after Ní Raghallaigh was ousted in 2005. Seán Mac Diarmaid began to emphasize the incompatible nature of non-Sotrian, non-Euclean immigrants. In a 2006 interview, he expressed his "displeasure" with the "ethnic distribution" of the Caldish population compared to other Euclean countries. Mac Diarmaid was also critical of the government's long-standing decision not to officially collect data on the ethnic distribution of the population in the census, and said that "[the Caldish people] have a right to know what others are living in their country". The party also took a hard stance against the freedom of movement within the EC for non-EC citizens and campaigned on returning powers to member states to restrict the movement of non-Eucleans. Anti-immigrant sentiment was further stoked by Ní Baoighill when she became leader in 2009. She called for the end of immigration from what she argued were dangerous countries. In a 2011 speech, Ní Baoighill said that "Irfanic values are not compatible with Caldish values". She was criticized for her comments after the murder of a police officer and a mass-stabbing in Garrafrauns in July 2016. Ní Baoighill blamed Irfanic extremists for the 2016 Spálgleann Attacks, resulting in violent clashes between PMSA supporters and police in Shanbally. She resigned as party leader after it was revealed right-wing extremists carried out the attacks but was replaced by Saorla Ní Chadhla, who moved the party to its extremist views on immigration. She called for the end of immigration to Caldia and the expulsion of refugees.

Controversy

The PMSA initially maintained a low public profile and drew little media attention. However, as its ideology expanded it drew immense criticism from many different aspects of Caldish society. The party was heavily criticized for its anti-immigrant stances, often labeled as xenophobic or racist by its opponents. It was also criticized for its rhetoric during the 2012 general election and for bringing unusual levels of hostility to the campaign.

The party was regularly accused of politicizing violent crime and for blaming it on immigrants. It was strongly condemned for its reaction to the 2016 Spálgleann Attacks. In a rare occurrence, all sitting parties in the Tionól issued a joint condemnation of the PMSA for its response and called on Ní Baoighill to resign as leader and as a TC. While she did eventually resign, the Caldish government opened an inquiry into the PMSA's involvement in and potential responsibility for anti-immigrant violence that broke out in Shanbally after the attacks. A number of party members and two city councilors who belonged to the PMSA were arrested for their involvement. The O'Reilly government specifically investigated Ní Baoighill for her comments and false claims made about Irfanic extremists being behind the attacks. The report found that while she did provide false information in the middle of a national emergency, she did not technically violate the law or personally incite violence. Local PMSA officials in Shanbally were found to be responsible.

The party was also scrutinized for Ní Chadhla's combative approach to the party leadership, her racist rhetoric, and the way she conducted herself in the 2017 campaign. A leak during the 2017 general election saw thousands of emails between PMSA party officials leaked. In many of the emails, officials made overtly racist, Irfanophobic, Atudophobic, and sexist comments and jokes. Ní Chadhla boycotted the rest of the debates during the campaign, claiming without any evidence that the Caldish intelligence community was behind the cyber hack to benefit the Liberty Party.

Electoral History

Election year	First Pref votes	%	# of overall seats won	+/-	Government
1997	4,887	0.1	0 / 399		in opposition
2002	204,271	3.3 (#7)	2 / 399	2	in opposition
2007	359,926	5.9 (#5)	17 / 399	15	in opposition
2012	847,900	13.9 (#3)	44 / 399	22	in opposition
2017	278,555	4.5 (#8)	7 / 399	37	in opposition

Leaders

• Eoin Ó Corráin (September 1996 - June 2002)
• Áine Ní Raghallaigh (June 2002 - April 2005)
• Seán Mac Diarmaid (April 2005 - November 2009)
• Pádraigín Ní Baoighill (November 2009 - August 2016)
• Saorla Ní Chadhla (August 2016 - June 2017)
• Muirís Ó Raghallaigh (June 2017 - February 2019)