Catholic Social Party (Werania)

Catholic Social Party Katholische Soziale Partei
Abbreviation	KSP
Leader	Georg von Kupferblum (first) Walther Ritter von Dittmann (last)
Founded	1860
Dissolved	13 June 1951
Merged into	Liberal Democratic Party of Werania
Headquarters	Westbrucken
Newspaper	Stimme des Volkes
Armed wing	Soldaten des Reichsbanners (unofficial)
Ideology	Political Catholicism National conservatism
Political position	Centre-right to right wing
Religion	Solarian Catholicism
Colours	Gold
Political parties

The Catholic Social Party (Weranian: Katholische Soziale Partei) was a political party in Werania that existed from its creation as the Catholic Party to its dissolution in 1951 when it merged into the Liberal Democratic Party of Werani. Throughout its existence it was one of the main political parties in Werania and served in every government from 1914 to 1951 save from a nine month period from 1918 to 1919.

The Catholic Party was founded as the ultramontane opposition to the Primce of Oppolzers cabinet. It soon became the main faction of the parliamentary right leading several cabinets in the 1880s and 1890s befote allying with the National Liberal Party against the ascendent Radical and Socialist parties.

The Catholic Party was reformed into the KSP. Its supporters were therefore found within the petite bourgeoisie and the traditionalist rural population. In the aftermath of the Great Collapse it entered government with the liberal and peasants parties; however it struggled to implement its political programme and was ousted from government in 1918 by the left-wing popular front between socialists and radicals. The KSP would sit in opposition until 1919 when the election that year produced the most divided legislature in Weranian history, with the far-right and socialists dominating. The KSP as the largest of the "constitutionalist" (i.e non-radical) parties became the largest party in the minority governments that governed in the leadup to the Great War (1922-1926). During the Great War the KSP was again the largest of the coalition parties that governed during that period.

Following the Great War the KSP became the largest non-socialist party in the Bundestag and led several centrist governments following the 1935 election before coming out of power from 1939-42. This resulted in the party moving to the right and when it re-entered government in 1942 as part of the "Fatherland Bloc" it implemented more authoritarian and reactionary policies under its chairman Franz Rössler.

In 1950 following the Colonels putsch and collapse of the national bloc governments the KSP became instrumental in the formalisation of the Tripartite governments between the Weranic Section of the Workers' International (OSAI) and Social Democratic Party of Werania (SPO). The Tripartite governments would oversee the expansion of the welfare state and the consolidation of a social market economy, the latter of which was keenly supported by the KSP who began to explicitly model themselves off the Gaullican Catholic Labour Union.

In 1955 KSP leader Konstantin Vogel withdrew the party from the Tripartite alliance and entered government with the Conservative Party and National Liberal Party. The three parties agreed to merge into a single centre-right party in 1957 which became named the National Consolidation Party (NKP) thus ending the KSP's existence. The NKP inherited the KSP's Sotirian democratic profile and for the majority of its existence the NKP has taken the strongest influence from the former KSP - only in 1983 with the election of a left-wing government did Werania for the first time since 1922 lack any ministers of a Sotirian democratic background.

Ideology

The Catholic Social Party positioned itself as a Sotirian democratic party supporting a programme of political Catholicism. The KSP self-identified as opposing the ideals of the Weranian revolution promoting "Gott, Familie, Heimat" over "Freiheit, Gleichheit, Brüderlichkeit". However the party over its lifetime acquired a reputation of ideological heterogeneity particularly on economic and social issues reflecting the shifting nature of the Catholic Church during the early 20th century.

The KSP supported a conservative social programme based on Sotirian moral principles; it favoured bans on divorce and pornography, vehemently fought against liberalisation of Sunday trading laws, supported control and censorship of cinemas and theatres and promoted combatting alcohol and drug addiction, prostitution and gambling. On economic affairs the KSP was seen to strongly support corporatism and class collaboration rejecting both lasseiz-faire economic liberalism and socialism based on class struggle. Following the Great Collapse the KSP came out in favour of social reform and of greater government intervention in the economy, a stance it maintained during and after the Great War. Generally speaking the KSP was divided between those who more concentrated on its moral agenda who tended to support alliances with right-wing parties and those who concentrated on social and economic reform who were more willing to ally with the centre-left. The party's strong base of support amongst the petite bourgeoisie and farmers' meant it supported subsidies for farmers and shopkeepers as well as protectionist policies in trade.

The KSP strongly supported the monarchy and was considered somewhat nationalist, with factions advocating for a greater Werania particularly following the Great War. The KSP's attitude to democracy changed over time. At its founding it openly opposed the concept of popular sovereignty but became more accepting of democracy as it became the largest of the "constitutionalist" parties in the 1920's. However following the Great War with the death of Chancellor Otto Röttgen the party became more critical of democracy and began repressing domestic opponents. The KSP Chancellor Franz Rössler during his term implemented increasingly authoritarian measures under the pretext of preventing the country becoming socialist. This changed again after the failed Colonels Putsch with the KSP subsequently reaffirming its support for liberal democracy.

On foreign policy matters the KSP traditionally supported neutrality in contrast to liberals and radicals who supported alliances with Estmere and Etruria, conservatives who favoured Gaullica and socialists who favoured revolutionary internationalism. Following the Kirenian-Weranian War however the KSP became strong supporters of the Euclean Community playing a key role in Werania's entry into the bloc. Prior to the Great War the KSP heavily favoured the colonial empire seeing it as Werania's mission to enlighten colonial populations through Sotirianty. Following the war the party became divided between those who supported the existence of the status quo in the empire and those who wished to reform it to be less repressive, although decolonisation was not supported by the party until the advent of the Tripartite governments when it reluctantly implemented such measures.

The KSP's overall nature shifted over time. At it's foundation it was an oppositional party that opposed the political domination of liberal secularists within government garnering legitimacy by undermining support for the liberal agenda. However particularly after 1922 the KSP became the main establishment party (sometimes being nicknamed as the "pillar of the establishment") and so often adapted in that role supporting the Leopoldist programme following the immediate end of the Great War before shifting with the authoritarian and right-wing tendencies popular in the 1940's. Following the failure of the Kirenian-Weranian War the KSP again reinvented itself modelling its programme on the Catholic Labour Union.

Election results

Election	Volkstag					Rank	Government	Leader
	Votes	%	±pp	Seats won	+/−
1911	1,406,748	15.38%	New	94 / 597	New	#3	Opposition	Thomas Bechtold
1914	2,268,572	22.77%	TBA	139 / 597	45	#1	Coalition government	Erich Schätzle
1918	1,709,515	16.94%	TBA	104 / 597	35	#2	Opposition	Erich Schätzle
1922	2,338,472	23.84%	TBA	154 / 621	50	#1	Coalition government	Thomas Bechtold
1925	2,257,253	22.13%	TBA	142 / 621	12	#2	Coalition government	Thomas Bechtold
1935	4,596,028	27.90%	TBA	167 / 584	25	#2	Coalition government	Otto Röttgen
1938	4,268,317	26.48%	TBA	160 / 584	7	#2	Opposition	Franz Rössler
1942	5,138,294	27.16%	TBA	163 / 621	3	#2	Coalition government	Franz Rössler
1946	4,557,562	26.31%	TBA	162 / 597	1	#2	Coalition government	Franz Rössler
1950	4,956,432	25.29%	TBA	155 / 597	7	#2	Coalition government	Johannes von Günther
1954	5,643,821	26.91%	TBA	162 / 586	8	#2	Coalition government	Johannes von Günther
1955	5,784,921	26.83%	TBA	161 / 586	1	#2	Coalition government	Konstantin Vogel