Alslandic Section of the Workers' International
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Alslandic Section of the Workers' International Aalslânske Seksje fan de Arbeiders Ynternasjonaal Töötajate rahvusvahelise Alslane sektsioon | |
|---|---|
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| Abbreviation | ASAY TRAS |
| President | Olari Lippmaa |
| General Secretary | Krynke Hofman |
| Parliamentary Faction Secretary | Oark Molenaar |
| Presidium | |
| Press Representative | Adele Briede |
| Founded | December 10, 1904 |
| Legalised | April 9, 1920 |
| Headquarters | 1 Mai-hûs, Yndyk |
| Youth wing | Democratic Young Pioneers of Alsland |
| Labour wing | Alslandic Trade Union Federation |
| Membership (2020) | 725,000 |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Left-wing |
| National affiliation | Left Alliance |
| International affiliation | InterCon |
| Euclean Parliament group | Mixed Radical Left |
| Colors | Red |
| Slogan | "The worker's struggle has no borders" |
| Folkssenaat | 34 / 201
|
| Federal Council | 14 / 96
|
| Regional Parliaments | 101 / 608
|
| Euclean Parliament | 3 / 24
|
| Flag of the Alslandic Workers Republic | |
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| Website | |
| asaypartij | |
The Alslandic Section of the Workers' International (Dellish: Aalslânske Seksje fan de Arbeiders Ynternasjonaal, Martish: Töötajate rahvusvahelise Aalslane sektsioon), is a councilist party in Alsland.
The party advocates for a democratic society based on ideals of pacifism, democratic socialism and labourism. The party has rejected all non-parliamentary means of gaining power and has actively participated in the parliamentary system since the end of the ODRE movement in Alsland. ASAY opposed violent revolution but instead calls for a "liberation by the ballot box" after which it hopes to create a "democratic, parliamentary society that serves to help the people of Alsland regardless of distinction". The party is one of the most steadfast defenders of Alslandic neutrality and rejects membership in any military alliance.
During the Great War the party was one of the most influential in Alsland, between 1934 and 1988 the party was the largest opposition party in Alsland and formed an unofficial coalition of equals with the governing National Bloc between 1942 and 1968. The bloc achieved its best electoral result since 1968 in 2006 when it won 92 seats in the Senate. The party's leader Jabik Nieuwenhuis became Premier after the election and became the first councilist head of government in the Euclean Community. Since 2010 the Bloc has been the largest opposition party in the Folkssenaat. ASAY enjoys close relations to the Alslandic trade union movement, the largest trade union in Alsland, the Alslandic Trade Union Federation, is supportive to the Party. It is currently the largest councilist party in the Euclean Community, the largest non-governing councilist party in the world as well as the largest political party in Alsland in terms of membership.
History
Opposition and persecution
Government of national unity
Growth and coalitions with Workers' Party
Present
Ideology
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The Bloc's official constitution commits the party to a councilist ideology and instructs the Bloc to work towards the establishment of a federal, classless, multicultural and councilist workers state through the use of democratic and lawful means. The party has abandoned and rejects all forms of revolutionary socialism and supports the parliamentary system. Prior to the ODRE movement the party had adopted a middle-line between revolution and reform but after the movement's failure it abandoned revolutionary politics. The party's post-ODRE ideology is largely based off of the principle of popular socialism.
The party's 2022 manifesto featured a 9-point plan for the party's legislative aims as well as issues the party wanted to address. They include:
- Ending the economic inequalities between different regions in Alsland through massive spending programs to grow the standards of living for local residents. The party believes successive centre-right governments are directly responsible for a failure to develop the entire nation equally. It also wants to close the gender pay gap as soon as possible.
- Addressing the climate crisis by adopting policies such as the Just transition plan and creating new jobs in green energy sectors. To do this the party proposes nationalising various energy companies and directing them to focus on expanding the country's renewable energy capacity. According to the party they could achieve this by 2030 and meet Alsland's net-zero target ahead of schedule.
- The party wants to raise taxes for the top 5% of earners in Alsland and increase the country's corporation tax to fund public programs and policies to help ordinary people. ASAY points to its so called "Billionaires tax" as evidence these policies can work in the real world. The party also wants to simultaneously begin to establish workers' councils in every type of workplace and points to the success and prevalence of cooperatives in Alsland as a model to be emulated by other countries.
- Abolishing tuition fees for Alslandic Universities which had been abolished during the Nieuwenhuis government but reintroduced during the government of Liekele Ykema. The party also wants to support students seeking other forms of tertiary education by promoting trade schools and ending societal stigma of trade schools.
- Implementing a nationwide single-payer healthcare system in Alsland within its first term of government and replacing the current healthcare system.
- The party supports intersectionality and wants to expand LGBT rights in Alsland as well as introduce stronger anti-hate speech laws which would make public displays of racism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, sexism, ableism and classism punishable by police.
- Create a directly elected constitutional convention to write a new constitution for Alsland that would enshrine workers rights, marriage equality as well as other anti-discrimination policies into the constitution. The party also wants to use this new constitution to introduce a form of direct democracy, give more power to elected workers' councils, enshrine Neutrality in the constitution and therefore withdraw from the ECDTO and finally enshrine council democracy as part of the Alslandic political system. In this new constitution the party wants to keep freedom of speech, expression, religion and organisation which it claims are key parts of a councilist society.
- Push for reforms to the Euclean Community to support workers' rights and minority rights across the community. The party wishes to retain Alslandic membership of the community as well as keeping the Euclo as Alsland's national currency. It is critical of the Popular Victory government in Paretia and calls for the threat of complete and immediate expulsion from the Community if the government pursues an authoritarian path.
- Create an independent body to investigate the government's actions during the SYFA spying scandal and prosecute any crimes committed during the scandal.
The party is on the left of the Alslandic political spectrum and has been the largest left-wing force in Alsland for most of its history unlike in other Euclean countries due to the lack of an organised and independent social democratic political movement outside the National Bloc. The party is officially a big tent party of the left and has members from various different leftist political ideologies. The bloc has been described as the most moderate political movement within InterCon and has criticsed other InterCon members over certain policies and has repeatedly threatened to withdraw from the group over what it calls "undemocratic influence". Following the December Revolution in Champania it condemned the revolution and opposed the Champanian government whilst also maintaining relations with other InterCon members who did not oppose the revolution.
It has been debated whether the party can be classified as a councilist party in the same light as other councilist parties in Euclea. Margo Nurmsalu of the University of Yndyk claims the party is best described as standing in between the social democracy of the Socialist Alternative for Euclea and the moderate socialists of the Mixed Radical Left groups in the Euclean Parliament. Historically the party has cooperated with both factions and their predecessors. Critics of the party have claimed its rejection of revolutionary politics makes it unable to claim to be a councilist party. Former Senator and Socialist revolutionary Oense Tigchelaar claimed the party was: "no more than a social democrat dressed up with a red flag and the Trijepylken."
Support base
Due to the party's close ties to the Alslandic Trade Union Federation it is supported by trade union members. The party also has a large support base amongst the working class, it has consistently been the most popular party for low-income voters throughout its history. The party also has close links to the co-operative movement in Alsland which it has backed and supported since the movement became widespread and mainstream following the Great War. The party is popular in so called co-operative communities established in Alsland, due in part to the party pushing for official status for these communities which it achieved in 2008.
In the 2022 Alslandic legislative election the party was the most popular party for younger voters under the age of 34 as well as pensioners and retirees who backed the party for its policies on strengthening and securing Alsland's state pensions. It also has a strong support base in the Neeves and the east of the country in part due to its support for infrastructure development in these areas as well as the "regional support fund" for isolated communities.
The party claims to have registered around 750,000 members making it by far the largest political party or group in Alsland. This figure has been backed up by independent analysts who however pointed out the party also included members of its trade union wing in its membership total. The AFBF has said in response to this that all its members agreed to also become members of the party when they joined the union.
Criticism
ASAY has been criticised for its apparent deviation in ideology compares to other councilist parties.
The party has on numerous occasions threatened to withdraw from the Congress of the Workers' International and its delegates have dramatically walked out of meetings with other left-wing parties on numerous occasions such as in 1983 in protest over the Valduvian government's response to the 1983 Kirchhof attacks and subsequent genocide. It was the most vocally opposed party in Alsland to Valduvia during this period going so far as to temporarily change its name to the New Alslandic Socialist Party to disassociate itself with the Valduvian Section for several weeks in 1984 before reversing the name change due to opposition from the membership. During the Valduvian genocide it established a permanent protest outside the embassy although this was criticised as simply performative action. The party did not return to the Congress of the Workers' International until 1986 and did not fully restore ties with Valduvia until 1989 with the creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Valduvia. The party's first official delegation to Valduvia following the row occurred in 2002 as part of a wider parliamentary mission to Valduvia.
The party is amongst the most centrist councilist parties in terms of economics and supports a very limited role of capitalism in society such as with small businesses and markets.