Mathilde Vieira
Mathilde Vieira | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Prime Minister of Gylias | |
| In office 1 February 1990 – 1 February 2008 | |
| President | Sáe Nyran Gianna Calderara Laura Varnaþ |
| Deputy | Mielikki Salonen |
| Preceded by | Filomena Pinheiro |
| Succeeded by | Kaori Kawashima |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 October 1960 Antánas, Tandar, Gylias |
| Political party | National Liberal Party |
| Alma mater | Anca Déuréy University |
Mathilde Vieira (Gylic transcription: Mətildy Viéiry, born 3 October 1960) is a Gylian academic and politician. She served as Prime Minister of Gylias from 1990 to 2008. Her term was marked by recovery from the wretched decade, and a renewed spirit of national optimism and self-confidence.
Nicknamed the Wunderkind due to her rapid ascent in federal politics, Mathilde led the Liberal Union to a plurality in the 1990 federal election. She formed an unusual "plural coalition": a minority cabinet comprising the Liberal Union, New Alliance for the Future, Love, Nature, Democracy, Independent Regional Alliance for Minorities, and including several ministers from blocs outside the government, including the Progressive Alliance and National Bloc. Although the coalition looked unsteady on paper, Mathilde's charisma and parliamentary talent allowed it to become Gylias' longest government since the Darnan Cyras government.
Mathilde governed as a moderate reformer and frequently presented herself as a technocratic moderniser. Her government's main achievements were the preservation of the Gylian consensus, economic revitalisation, major environmental reforms, and the massive expansion of the Internet in Gylias. She convened the Decleyre Summit and created the Social Partnership Program, influential events in ameliorating public attitudes towards enterprise and wealth.
Mathilde led the LU to four federal pluralities in 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2004, an unbeaten election record, marking the LU's greatest influence since the Donatella Rossetti government in Alscia. She announced she would retire before the 2008 federal election, and was succeeded by Kaori Kawashima. She is considered one of Gylias' most consequential Prime Ministers since independence, and is praised for her protection of the Gylian consensus.
Early life
Mathilde Vieira was born on 3 October 1960 in Antánas. Her ancestry includes Lusitan and German descent, which is reflected in her name, and she grew up learning Lusitan as one of her native languages. Her parents were a civil servant working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a nurse, and she has an older sister.
She was a member of a local scouting organisation as a child, an experience she mentioned as important in shaping her character and career.
She attended Anca Déuréy University, graduating with a degree in anthropology in 1981. While at university, she was a member of the students' union, and joined the National Liberal Party.
Legislative career
Mathilde stood as a candidate in the 1985 federal election, and was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for an Antánas circonscription.
She experienced a rapid political ascent in the 5th Parliament, becoming one of the NLP's high-profile legislators. She was nicknamed the "Wunderkind" and "the girl in a hurry"; her charisma and ambition were in evidence, although her haste grated on some of the older members.
During the Ossorian war crisis, she was given the responsibility to introduce the motion for the formation of the Filomena Pinheiro government, which was successful. She sought a cabinet post, but Filomena Pinheiro was unable to offer her one that would meet the conditions of the Law on Cabinet Representation of 1971.
Strongly critical of the incumbent NLP leader, Mathilde succeeded in forcing a leadership election in 1987, which she won. Afterwards, she took the initiative to organise a collective primary election of the Liberal Union, to have a formal process for selecting a foresitter. She won the primary as well in 1988, officially becoming the leader of the LU. The primary system was quickly adopted by the other electoral blocs as well.
She was a staunch supporter of Filomena's "New Course" policy, particularly the crackdown on the Revolutionary Rally and Front for Renewal of Order and Society.
Her performance in opposition raised her profile, and put her in a frontrunner position as the next federal election approached.
Prime Minister of Gylias
Campaigning on the slogan/unofficial theme song "Chega de Saudade", Mathilde led the LU to a plurality in 1990, the first time since the Popular Progressive Front that the liberals won more seats than the left-wing. However, the greater election victory belonged to the Non-inscrits, who collectively won a plurality of first preference votes and seats as voters punished established blocs for the wretched decade.
Mathilde first aimed for a reconstruction of the old PA–LU–IRAM alliance of the Golden Revolution, believing that would be the most reassuring option for Gylians. However, negotiations to include the PA in the coalition were unsuccessful, so she settled for accepting their confidence and supply from outside the government. Finally, she proposed a minority coalition mainly relying on several non-inscrit parties, which won parliamentary approval. Taking office at the age of 29, she was the youngest Prime Minister of Gylias, a record later surpassed by Toni Vallas in 2012.
Plural coalition
Mathilde's government was nicknamed the "plural coalition" due to its unusual composition. Whereas prior governments had aimed for a majority at least in the Chamber of Deputies, Mathilde's was a minority from the start. Officially, it was composed of the Liberal Union, New Alliance for the Future, Love, Nature, Democracy, and Independent Regional Alliance for Minorities. However, it also included some ministers from blocs that were officially outside the government, such as the Progressive Alliance and National Bloc.
Although it appeared shaky on paper, Mathilde's talent for parliamentary negotiation and dealmaking, combined with her charisma and media-savvy, helped keep the coalition together for a record four terms in office, making it the longest Gylian government since the Darnan Cyras government. Her parliamentary skill brought in the era of the "liquid Parliament", in which the other blocs took an ambiguous role, alternately supporting and opposing the government depending on issues, blurring the line between government and opposition.
Domestic policy
Upon taking office, Mathilde launched a massive stimulus program to revitalise the economy and overcome the lingering effects of the wretched decade. The bulk of the stimulus focused on public works projects, and brought vast improvements in transportation infrastructure. High-speed rail was subject to notably aggressive expansion and modernisation, as the government sought to have the GNRTS' high-speed rail services replace domestic air travel — realising much of Eðe Saima and Kōichi Nishida's Grand Design of 1968.
Another major component of the stimulus was massive investment in computers and the internet, driven partly by the fear that Gylias had fallen behind technologically in the wretched decade. A nationwide program was launched to install internet connections in households, educational institutions and community spaces, while P&T successfully migrated the user base of the Infotel onto the internet. The great growth of the internet also contributed to significant growth in digital democracy and decentralised planning.
Reacting to the growth of the Green Party, the government put a new emphasis on environmentalism in its economic policies. Environmental regulations were considerably toughened, and new measures were introduced, including: ecotaxes, nationwide recycling and waste-to-energy programs, the replacement of fishing by controlled aquaculture, and the Law on Night Sky Protection of 1995. The resource minister Aishwarya Devi carried out a difficult policy of reducing consumption for sustainability purposes, to reorient society towards collaborative consumption and minimising waste.
Though controversial when first proposed, a 1991 referendum approved the government's plan to build thorium-based nuclear power plants as part of a push to make renewable energy the sole source of Gylian electricity. The speed and strictness with which the environmental policies were introduced caused several "molehill parties" to form, including the Coastal Rally for Fishing Preservation, Party of Consumers for Freedom, and the People's Party for a Flourishing Nightlife, but backlash was minimal — only the PPFN survived and became a significant non-inscrit party.
Mathilde took the initiative to organise the Decleyre Summit and set up the Social Partnership Program, a new form of public-private partnership that strengthened the public sector's guidance of the private sector. These were influential in ameliorating public attitudes towards enterprise and wealth. The SPP brought the consolidation of key private partners for the public sector, including Agsa for the National Capital Investment Board and Miyashita Industries for the Office of Industrial Production Coordination. Tax Day was also established as a public holiday, serving as a "carrot" for rich Gylians to participate in the SPP with the threat of social ostracism and criminal investigations if they didn't.
Mathilde's government succeeded in preserving the Gylian consensus and revitalising the economy. Average GDP growth was 6,2% for 1990–1999 and 3,7% for 2000–2009. Unemployment fell and the þaler was stabilised within the Common Monetary System. Harnessing the digital revolution breathed new life into the Gylian consensus, while the SPP brought a neo-Donatellist element to economic policy.
Several constitutional and legal reforms also reached fruition, including a Senate reform project spearheaded by Mielikki Salonen that took effect in 2000, the Law on Legal Review and Expiration of 1992 and Law on Privacy Protection of 1993, and the introduction of neighbourhood elections for Gylian Police. The significant modernisation of intellectual rights with the Law on Cultural Protection of 1992, coupled with the creation of the publinet, provided a boon for Gylian popular culture, driving a renewed Gylian Invasion. Much 1990s pop culture reflected the atmosphere of renewed national optimism and self-confidence that marked the decade, and looked back nostalgically to the Groovy Gylias era, seeking to modernise it for contemporary tastes.
Foreign policy
Mathilde's term saw the completion of repairs to foreign relations damaged by the wretched decade, and Gylias once again taking a significant role in proposing further integration of the Common Sphere.
Relations with Delkora were the last traditional friendship that hadn't been mended under Filomena Pinheiro, and initially Mathilde and Chancellor Ulrik Andersen had an acrimonious relationship. The latter sent a telegram attacking her for her brief role in the Siege of Gothendral, to which she replied with equal bluntness. Relations finally improved when Chancellor Emma Jørgensen took office, attaining what some analysts called the greatest closeness between the two countries.
Under Mathilde, relations with Allamunnika also attained their diplomatic peak. Mathilde enjoyed a close friendship with Eleanor Henderson, and to an extent looked to Eleanor as a mentor. The National Archives of Gylias recorded that most of Mathilde's telephone conversations while in office were with Eleanor, and the two talked a great deal about their personal lives as well as political and diplomatic matters.
It was during her term that the Neyveli Agreement was made public in 1998. Responding to criticism of it as a "deportation for money" scheme, she defended it on humanitarian grounds, as it allowed Mansuriyyah dissidents to escape persecution through deportation to Gylias.
Mathilde initially worsened relations with Quenmin by supporting ARPAGHARCON during the Rice and Oil War, and condemning the democratic backsliding of the Nguyễn-Thạch Sĩ Chiến government. Relations later improved under Lê Tấn Nguyên. Similarly, a diplomatic incident with Ossoria during the Rice and Oil War led to a halt in further reconciliation attempts; tensions between Gylias and Ossoria dissipated over time.
Public image
Mathilde was Gylias' youngest Prime Minister upon taking office. She was described by cultural commentator Keie Nanei as "the first Prime Minister to enjoy the job" — in contrast to her predecessors Darnan Cyras and Filomena Pinheiro, who rejected conventional leadership and sought to present themselves as public servants.
Mathilde cultivated the image of an easygoing bonne vivante, one which both fit the tenor of her times and made opponents underestimate her considerable parliamentary and negotiating skills. She was known for her quizzical and ironic facial expressions, particularly during parliamentary debates, which once led Chizuru Ogawa to remark in an interview that if not for politics, she would've made a skilled comedian.
Quite famously, Mathilde only wore Marlene Amberg AmbA clothes, and generally preferred to wear androgynous suits with pants. Her brand loyalty was a frequent target of humour. Delkoran chancellor Emma Jørgensen joked about it during one joint press conference, calling it proof of Mathilde's commitment to improving Gylias-Delkora relations.
Mathilde took on a very public role as Prime Minister, and for most of her term enjoyed great popularity with Gylian voters. She strove to speak in plain language. Her avoidance of jargon and verbosity aided her popularity, but it also created a speaking style that lent itself more easily to sound bites.
Behind the scenes, she focused on assembling a strong team of cabinet ministers and setting the broad direction of the government, leaving the details to her ministers. She notably recruited several strong personalities with distinctive images that sometimes overshadowed her, including deputy premier Mielikki Salonen, finance minister Mireille Boulanger, resources minister Aishwarya Devi, public administration minister Leri Monyn, ministers without portfolio Moana Pozzi and Ilona Stahler, and Makiko Nishida, one of the few federal politicians to occupy different cabinet posts.
She gathered together an influential group of advisors, the Tetramazones, who were often described as the successors of the ferroses. The Tetramazones' high profile and public role earned them popularity, and they were seen as a kitchen cabinet with great influence over decision making. Mathilde had the Tetramazones attend all cabinet meetings to avoid bad feelings, and they succeeded in ingratiating themselves with the rest of the cabinet.
In a symbolic repudiation of Aén's conflicts with the Gylian labour movement, Mathilde built a close relationship with General Council of Workers' Unions and Associations Secretary-General Patsy Reilly. She acknowledged Patsy's cooperation was crucial in the success of her environmental policies. The two had the closest friendship of any Prime Minister and GCWUA Secretary-General in Gylian history.
End of term
Mathilde's government won re-election in 1995, 2000, and 2004. She announced in late 2007 that she would retire at the upcoming election, and did so. She was succeeded by Kaori Kawashima, the new LU leader.
Later life
Mathilde has remained active in public life after the end of her term, albeit in a lesser capacity. She was re-elected as a deputy in 2008, before leaving Parliament entirely in 2012.
She wrote her autobiography, which was published in 2015.
Private life
She is married, with no children. Her husband is a doctor, and continued to work full-time during her term as Prime Minister, avoiding campaigning or media attention.
She is mainly a practitioner of Concordianism.