Progressive Party of Latium
Progressive Party Partitis Progressivo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Flavia Lepera |
| Chairperson | Michael Caecilius |
| Founder | Samuel Velius |
| Founded | 14 September 1991 |
| Split from | Liberal Party |
| Headquarters | 414 Via Belisarius, Castellum, Latium |
| Student wing | Young Progressives |
| Membership | 388,407 (2016) |
| Ideology | Progressivism Social democracy Pro-Belisarianism |
| Belisarian affiliation | Party of the Belisarian Left |
| Colors | Green |
| Senate | 226 / 794
|
| Castellum Assembly | 30 / 50
|
| Imbrosian Assembly | 25 / 90
|
| Local government | 8,479 / 23,565
|
| Website | |
| www.progressivo.org.il | |
The Progressive Party (Latin: Partitis Progressivo) also know as the Progressives, is one of the two main political parties in the Latin Empire. The Progressives formed out of a split in the Liberal Party in 1991, following a poor electoral showing by previous leader and former Consul Jordan Duronia. The party first achieved electoral success by winning the 1998 snap election resulting in Nicetas Tanetus being appointed the party's first Consul. Currently, the party is led by Flavia Lepera who serves as Senate Minority Leader.
History
In 1991, the Liberal Party lost its majority in the Latin Senate, which it held since 1976, by a massive margin losing over 130 seats. After the abysmal results in the 1990 general election, leader of the party's progressive wing, Samuel Velius, ran to replace Jordan Amalii as leader. The number of candidates in this leadership election was as high as twelve at one point, though Velius was the was of the favorites to win. By the fifth round of voting, the party chairman elected to hold a vote among sitting Liberal Party Senators - opposed to continued popular voting for leader. When Velius lost his leadership bid, he blamed the party chairman for "altering the rules mid-race," and the next day announced that he was leaving the party, with fourteen others. By the time the next Senate was sworn-in, nearly forty-nine more Liberal senators left and joined Velius and the Progressive Party was formed.
The party participated in its first election during the local elections of 1991, which it earned very little in the way of county or city councilors - barely topping out at 100 of over 2,500 potential seats. As the 1995 general election began to creep forward, the Progressives under Velius' leadership had earned nearly 1,500 local councillors of 20,565 total, which placed it third behind the Conservatives, and Liberals. In its first general election, the Progressives had won 159 seats, second most in the Senate after the 358 of the Conservatives and above the 109 of the Liberals. In 1998, a snap election was called by Emperor Jason Augustus following the XYZ Affair that implicated nearly xxx senators of varying parties, including Consul Justin Seius and all but one member of the Conservative leadership. The 1998 snap election resulted in a majority for the Progressives, making it the first time that a party other than the Conservatives or Liberals had achieved a majority. Then leader Niketas Taronites was appointed the party's first Consul.
Ideology
The Progressive Party is considered to be left of center. It initially formed out of the labor-wing, and leftist wing of the Liberal Party due to fears that the party was turning its focus towards the center to better compete with the Conservative Party. In it's early days, the party had a significant socialist element to it, though this has not been part of the party platform since the leadership of Anna Petralia. At the onset of its formation, the Progressives leaned on democratic socialist economic ideals, but in the late 1990s adopted free market policies. The party still strongly supports labor unions in Latium, regularly earning their endorsement - a few of the largest unions send representatives to party conventions and often hold seats on the party's board of directors. When it comes to policy, Progressives support there being tougher regulation on corporations, affordable education, scientific investment and environmentalism, network neutrality, increased wages, equal pay, collective bargaining rights, defending social safety-net programs, marriage equality, immigration reform, and unabridged access to reproductive healthcare. Additionally, progressives strongly oppose political corruption, and therefore seek to advance electoral reform including campaign finance reform and voting rights. Since taking over as leader, Flavia Lepera has made it her goal to fight against income inequality.
There is also a sizable centrist wing to the party, of which had control of the party during the leadership of Theodosius Fieraru. These centrists of the Progressive party are more pro-business, pro-growth, and often more fiscally conservative than most members of the party. This group, however, is still more socially liberal than members of the Conservative Party, or even the Liberal-Labor Party.
Organization
Electoral history
| Senate of Latium | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Election | Leader | Seats won | +/− | Rank | Government | Notes | ||
| 1995 | Samuel Velius | 160 / 673
|
 160
|
#2 | Opposition | |||
| 1998 | Niketas Taronites | 348 / 673
|
188
|
#1 | Government | |||
| 2001 | Constantine Otacilius | 358 / 673
|
10
|
#1 | Government | |||
| 2005 | Constantine Otacilius | 333 / 673
|
 25
|
#1 | Government | |||
| 2010 | Constantine Otacilius | 340 / 673
|
7
|
#1 | Government | |||
| 2013 | Constantine Otacilius | 259 / 673
|
81
|
#2 | Opposition | |||
| 2015 | Theodosius Fulvio | 239 / 673
|
20
|
#2 | Opposition | |||
| 2017 | Flavia Lepera | 226 / 794
|
46
|
#2 | Opposition | |||
a Election voided following investigation of Latin First Party and wide-scale electoral fraud, resulting in a ban of the Latin First Party and caretaker Consulship of Marsella Augusta and the 2001 snap election.