Party for Popular Action (Gylias)

Party for Popular Action
Founded	1968
Dissolved	1989
Newspaper	Action
Youth wing	Iuvenis Populares
Volunteer wing	Popular Volunteers
Ideology	Left-wing populism Distributism Pro-rationing Law and order
Political position	Syncretic
Colours	Dark blue
Politics of Gylias Political parties Elections

The Party for Popular Action (French reformed: Parti pour l'action populaire), abbreviated PPA (PAP), was a Gylian political party, part of the Non-inscrits bloc. It was a localist party in Riáona, Ḑarna.

Established in 1968 by Riáona Mayor Peggy Carter, the party served as a vehicle for her policies, and a means to secure a majority in the city council. It lost the 1988 municipal election, and subsequently disintegrated in opposition, having spent its entire existence in government.

History

The PPA was established in 1968 by Mayor Peggy Carter of Riáona. Having previously been elected in 1966 as an independent, she had trouble assembling coalitions in the city council to support her policies. She announced the party as a "like-minded formation" for her supporters, and welcomed members from "all constitutional parties".

The party won a plurality in the city council in the 1968 municipal election, while Peggy was re-elected. It functioned as a minority government, preferring to rely on support from independents to get its programs approved.

The PPA was seen as a personal party with little coherent ideology, existing only to promote Peggy's policies. It was jokingly claimed that its acronym stood for "Pretext for Peggy's Actions" (Prétexte pour les actions d'Peggy). Other mocking nicknames was "Party for Unpopular Action", on account of some of its policies, and "Party of Peggy's Automatons", due to its leader-centric nature and undistinguished councillors.

The 1970s were arguably the party's heyday: it consistently secured upwards of 40% of first preference votes, and Peggy managed to win relection with more than 50% of the first preference vote. It steered a middle course in the context of the region's closely competitive socialist–conservative politics.

During the 1980s, its popularity began to slip, especially as Peggy ceased to win re-election in the first round. It was defeated in 1988, reduced to a minority while Peggy lost re-election after 22 years in office.

Having spent its entire existence as a party of power, the PPA failed to adapt to a role in opposition. With Peggy choosing to retire from politics, the party collapsed, and was disbanded in 1989.

Ideology

The PPA was a syncretic party, described by analysts as being left-wing and statist on economic issues, and moderately conservative on social issues.

Peggy's signature issue was support of rationing as an egalitarian policy. She believed the egalitarian spirit of the Liberation War and National Obligation period had to be preserved, and "wasteful prosperity" would corrode solidarity and be destructive to society. Economically, the party was broadly distributist, supporting cooperatives and syndicalism while opposing concentration of wealth.

The party's rhetoric often drew on Peggy's wartime service and reputation as a private detective. It made law and order a trademark concern, but in a unique Gylian interpretation — "Law of Jante and spontaneous order". It advocated fighting crime through increased social programs and crackdowns on white-collar crime, which it saw as the greatest threat to society.

The party had an often vitriolic rivalry with The Federal Informer, which heavily criticised what it considered to be "authoritarian trappings". It operated its own newspaper, Action; a youth wing, Iuvenis Populares; and infamously, a voluntary group of militants, known as the Popular Volunteers but often referred to as "blueshirts" due to their uniforms.

Symbols

The PPA used a dark shade of blue as its official colour, and an eagle as its symbol. The choice of the eagle was controversial, as its previous use by Xevden and the Tymzar–Nalo regime had made it a taboo symbol among Gylian parties, while conservatives themselves avoided it since it was perceived as too aggressive.

Popular support

The PPA existed only in Riáona. It became a distinctive local phenomenon, maintaining a balancing act that attracted both socialist and conservative voters. At its peak, it won 40%–45% of first preference votes in elections, while Peggy consistently won reelection with over 50% of first preference votes, her highest tally being 53,5%. Its dominance prevented the established electoral blocs from making headway into the city council for a long time.