National Party of Wizlandia

National Party
Abbreviation	NAT
Leader	James Ward (Leader of the Opposition)
Deputy Leader	Harold Stevens (Senate Minority Leader)
Founded	2012
Newspaper	The National Post
Think tank	National Institute
Youth wing	Young Conservatives
Ideology	Majority  • Conservatism  • Economic Liberalism  • Social Conservatism Factions  • Liberal Conservatism  • Christian Democracy  • Paleoconservatism  • Agrarianism
Political position	Centre-Right
European affiliation	European Conservatives and Reformists (Observing Member)
International affiliation	International Democrat Union
Colors	Dark Green
Slogan	"Building a stronger Wizlandia together."
House of Commons	204 / 800
Senate	30 / 120
State Legislatures	1,156 / 4,826
Political parties

The National Party, abbreviated NAT and formerly the Independence Party, is one of the three major contemporary political parties of Wizlandia, along with its main political rivals the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party, and is the oldest party in Wizlandia. Prior to the Second World War, the Independence Party dominated the political landscape of Wizlandia, and advocated for Wizlandian independence from British and Dutch imperialism. After the fall of the Communist Dictatorship in 1958, the Independence Party rebranded as the National Party of Wizlandia. The party is currently the junior partner in coalition with the Liberals.

The National Party's ideology is Conservatism, which incorporates both economic liberal, social conservative, and agrarian policies. The party sits on the centre-right of the political spectrum, with both the Liberal and the Social Democratic Party to its left, though other scholars argue such left-right dichotomy is misleading as the Liberal Party tends to be more pro-market than the Nationals.

On economic policy issues, the National Party's supports the current school voucher system in addition to the small-medium welfare state. However, they advocate implementing agricultural subsidies and low-level tariffs towards foreign agriculture, redirecting some education spending to healthcare, pensions, rural infrastructure, policing, domestic security and counter-terrorism. Culturally conservative the National Party favours drug criminalisation, a tough-on-crime stance, a pornography ban, a fetal-heartbeat law, increased restrictions on immigration, with some also supporting a rollback on LGBT adoption and marriage rights, though this is both a contentious issue in the party and a red line for both the Liberals and the Social Democrats in any coalition agreement.

Nationals tend to be hawkish on foreign policy, they advocate for a neoconservative foreign policy, an increase in military spending in order to aggressively promote Wizlandian foreign interests, and maintaining Wizlandia's status as a nuclear weapons state. Though the party supports continued membership in the World Assembly, the Liberal Democratic Union, the South-Asian Union, the Trans-Asian Free Trade Agreement, and the International Defence League, it stresses Wizlandia's right to act unilaterally should it be in its interests. The Nationals maintain that resolutions passed by the World Assembly are not legally binding in Wizlandia, and oppose giving up fiscal or other domestic policymaking powers to supranational institutions.

Political Positions

Constitution

The Constitution of Wizlandia was enacted in 2013 by a Liberal-National coalition government, and the National Party are in favour of maintaining the current constitution, although factions of the party have also advocated amendments that would make it easier for the federal government to enact immigration restrictions, and amendments that would give greater freedom to the States on social policy, such as whether to recognise gay marriage, polygamic marriage, in addition to freedom to enact harsher criminal sentences. The National Party oppose amendments that would lower the threshold of passing a bill from a three-fifths supermajority of both houses to a simple majority, and they oppose amendments that would weaken the Constitutional provisions restraining federal power.

Economics

The National Party lean towards the right on economic issues, and is broadly in favour of free trade, low taxes, a small to medium sized welfare state, and oppose increased regulations and the creation of a minimum wage. Despite being mostly in favour of free trade, the National Party support agricultural subsidies and low tariffs on foreign agriculture, and they advocate redirecting education and anti-poverty spending towards healthcare and retirement protection. On taxation, the National Party support eliminating the Land-Value Tax, which they have criticised as harmful towards the agricultural sector, in addition to reducing the Value-Added Tax, and replacing the lost revenue with an increase in the income tax and the creation of a 10% corporate tax.

Environment

Most Nationals acknowledge the existence of anthropogenic climate change, but the party has no common climate change policy. Some factions of the National Party support the current carbon tax, while other factions prefer reducing the carbon tax and instead enacting green subsidies. The National Party support nuclear and hydroelectric power, and oppose a ban on fracking, which they describe as both an important job creator and intermediary step in transitioning towards green energy.

Immigration

The National Party oppose the current open-borders policy, and wish to establish a points-based immigration system and decrease immigration into Wizlandia. Moderates, such as the New Conservatives, wish to limit immigration to two million immigrants a year, while more conservative factions would reduce that to 500,000 yearly migrants.