Workers' Party (Azmara)
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Arbeiderpartii | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Eryk Jorśsun |
| Founded | September 21, 1902 |
| Ideology | Social democracy Pro-Eucleanism Internal Factions |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| International affiliation | Socialist Alternative for Euclea |
| Landsmot | 18 / 75
|
| Folksmot | 56 / 150
|
| Province Presidents | 3 / 12
|
The Workers' Party (Azmaran: Arbeiderpartii, pronounced [ɑɹbɛɪðɛɹpɑɹtiː]), also translated as the Labour Party, is a centre-left political party within Azmara.
The party was founded in 1902 as the political wing of the Bund âb de Arbeiden, a federation of labour unions, and was initially a socialist political party advocating for the social ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange. Amidst eternal divisions it managed to win the 1921 election, forming a coalition with dissident members of Gold Flame and introducing key workers rights legislation and poor relief, but was voted out as the party quarreled over further approach.
Under a more moderate leadership it came to dominate between 1933 and 1951, establishing the Azmaran welfare state and further strengthening workers rights. It alternated power in the decades to come with the other major parties, before the 1978 election of a neoliberal government saw mass deregulation. As the 1990's approached the party moved into the political centre, forming a government in 1993 and forming the "purple coalition" in 1999 with Gold Flame, which saw a period of economic and social liberalism. It left government in 2005, before returning in 2008. In the early 2010's, it saw its support drop to new lows under centre-right coalitions, before a grassroots, anti-neoliberal campaign in 2017 saw the largest rise in a vote percentage in Azmaran history, leading to Eryk Jorśsun becoming Prime Minister.
As of the 2017 election, the party holds 56 seats in the Folksmot and 18 in the Landsmot, and holds the provincial presidencies of Aalmsted, Sompland and Westmaark.
History
Ideology and electorate
The party has been largely categorised as a centre-left and social democratic party, advocating for a strong welfare state and workers' rights. It has declared its key value as being social justice, and cites their support for the welfare state and workers' rights as evidence for this, as well as its record on LGBT rights, womens' rights and environmental conservation. It remains committed to Azmaran membership of the Euclean Community, advocating for a "confederal Euclea" where "the views of all its peoples are taken into account".
Many have noted the divide between the "Reht-Arbeiderpartii" and the "Winster-Arbeiderpartii", describing the former as being more in favour of the Third Way and social liberalism and being dominant between 1991 and 2014, and the latter being supportive of democratic socialism and left-wing populism, having grown in opposition to the neoliberal policies of the 1990's and 2000's, becoming the dominant force after the crushing defeat at the 2014 election.
The party is traditionally the party of the Azmaran working class, gaining large support from unionised and blue-collar workers and the unemployed in many elections. It also gains the votes of many young people and public sector employees. Geographically, its support is concentrated in Aalmsted, as well as the former industrial regions of Groonbank, Sompland and Westmaark. It performs relatively weakly within the provinces of Hytklif, Nordberg and Haadland, due to the lack of organised labour in the provinces and the largely agrarian economies of them.