Socialist-Farmer-Labour Party (Atlantica)
Socialist-Farmer-Labour Party | |
|---|---|
| File:Sósíalistaflokkurinn.png | |
| Leader | Matteus Gunnlaugson |
| Founder | Indriði Steinsson |
| Founded | 7 March, 1870 |
| Headquarters | Workers' House, Stórkostlegurborg, Atlantica |
| Student wing | Socialist Students |
| Youth wing | Socialist Youth |
| Union Wing | Atlantican Federation of Labour |
| Ideology | Social democracy Democratic socialism Left-wing populism Internal Factions: Evolutionary Socialism Market socialism Codifinism |
| Political position | Fiscal: Centre-left to Left-wing Social: Left-wing |
| National affiliation | Red-Green-Socialist Alliance |
| International affiliation | Alliance of Esquarian Socialists |
| Colors | Red |
| Althing | 34 / 300 |
| Website | |
| http://www.sósíalistaflokkurinn.al | |
The Socialist-Farmer-Labour Party (Atlantican: Sósíalistaflokkurinn) is a major social democratic and democratic socialist party in Atlantica, and the largest member in the current governing coalition in Atlantica. Founded in 1870, primarily to support the labour movement, it's since grown to become one of the largest parties in Atlantica, creating the welfare state under Gunnar Ólafursson, and being the main architect of the "Atlantican Model", also under Gunnar Ólafursson. This has led to it to being consistently one of the largest political parties in Atlantica since the 1920s, and the governing party for 67 years during the 20th century, as well as the governing party for all years in the 21st century except for the period from 2010-2013, all in coalitions with numerous other political parties.. This has lead it to be called (sometimes derogatorily), "Atlantica's natural governing party".
Originally a Marxist party, advocating for a full transition to Socialism and eventually a communist society via the withering away of the state, since the 1920s, it has moderated somewhat, becoming a social democratic and democratic socialist party. It has, however, strongly rejected Third Way politics, arguing against privatization and other neoliberal measures, especially since the 2000s.
The party's main support base has traditionally come from blue-collar workers and students. The party has also sought to expand its base since the 1980s to young workers and the elderly, with high rates of success. However, the party has lost much of its support from students to other left-wing parties, most notable the Communist Party, Socialist Left Party, Friends of Esquarium and the Green Party since the 1990s.
Ideology
The Socialist-Farmer-Labour Party is considered to be considerably more radical than most other social-democratic parties, and is generally to considered to support "Old School" (Pre-Third Way) Social Democracy and is generally considered to support both social democracy and democratic socialism. The Socialist Party has essentially rejected all Third Way politics, advocates for continuing Atlantica's codetermination and works council policies that it created, still has explicit and strong ties to unions and still advocates for a very strong public sector where all utilities, mining and drilling are government monopolies, whilst the Socialist Party continues to use radical socialistic rhetoric and publicly and openly calls for the abolition of Capitalism, the creation of a socialist society and common ownership of the means of production; however, the Socialist-Farmer-Labour Party has not abolished capitalism or created socialism during its long terms in office, despite having clearly been able to do so, as most of the SFL's coalition parties have generally been more radical than itself. The Socialist-Farmer-Labour Party also strongly supports (like virtually all Atlantican political parties) the massive Atlantican welfare state which it played a leading role in creating, is strongly supportive of unions and supports a system of social corporatism which it largely developed in Atlantica.
The Socialist Party is also quite socially liberal and supports LGBT rights like virtually all Atlanticans (Atlantican culture has never been homophobic), fully legalised abortion (which it has legalised), and liberal divorce laws. The Socialist-Farmer-Labour Party also supports and has legalised Prostitution and all drugs. Many believe that the Socialist-Farmer-Labour Party's support of legalised Prostitution and all drugs is pragmatic in order to help boost Atlantica's strong tourism industry. However, the Socialist-Farmer-Labour Party supports Atlantica's current tough immigration laws, mostly at the pressure of the ASA, which would be threatened by competition from immigrant, mostly nonunion workers.
The Socialist-Farmer-Labour Party, like all Atlantican political parties generally advocates for continuing Atlantica's policy of armed neutrality; however, the Socialist-Farmer-Labour Party, although opposing free trade agreements with newly industrialised and developing countries in order to protect Atlantican workers and prevent outsourcing, generally supports some integration with order Nordanian and Germanic countries, and as such led Atlantica to join the Nordic Alliance and Germanic Union.
History
Early History
The Socialist-Farmer-Labour Party was founded in 1870 by ASA General Secretary and political theorist Indriði Steinsson in order to support the labour movement and create a political wing of the Atlantican Federation of Labour (ASA), as well as a political wing of the Atlantican Independence Movement and further Marxism within Atlantica. The ASA formally affiliated with the SFL shortly after the founding of the SFL. The Socialist-Farmer-Labour Party grew exponentially in the 1870s and 1880s thanks to its support of Atlantican independence (mostly in the 1870s) and support by the ASA, especially after 1880 when the Socialist-Farmer-Labour Party offered to support the Liberal Party on all confidence and budget motions for the 1880-1883 parliamentary session if the Liberal Party agreed to vote for a SFL-proposed bill that would ban yellow-dog contracts and the use of strikebreakers, as well as mandating collective bargaining and requiring employers to recognise a specific trade union if the majority of workers in a secret-ballot election voted to recognise that specific trade union, a deal which the Liberals agreed to. This had the intended effect of massively increasing the power of Atlantican unions, who to this day generally support the SFL more than any other political parties. However, this also had the unintended effect of a faction of the Socialist-Farmer-Labour Party breaking off from the Socialist-Farmer-Labour Party in protest of the SFL "collaborating with bourgeois capitalists" and forming their own political party; this party would eventually becoming the Atlantican Communist Party. The SFL continued to grow in the 1890s and 1900s as Atlantican unions grew and became the second-largest political party in Atlantica by 1908, but a Liberal-Blue grand coalition, which would later form the [[Moderate Alliance (Atlantica)|Moderate Alliance] was formed in order to prevent the SFL from gaining power, whilst this grand coalition engaged in numerous popular progressive reforms in order to successfully stunt the growth of the SFL (and other leftist parties), but after 1917 in which a recession hit Atlantica and in 1920 when Lawspeaker of the Althing Guðmund Geirsson enacted an unpopular Austerity program and repealed his own popular progressive reforms and inadvertently caused Atlantica to slip from recession to depression. From 1924-1925 the ASA declared a general strike in protest of Austerity and Geirsson's Government fell in 1925 as new elections were called in which the Socialist-Farmer-Labour Party was elected and formed a coalition with the Atlantican Communists and the newly-formed Socialist Left Party, which formed in protest of the SFL formally dropping support for the ideas of Indriði Steinsson; this resulted in the formation of the Red-Green-Socialist Alliance.
The era of Gunnar Ólafursson
SFL Leader and Atlantican Lawspeaker of the Althing Gunnar Ólafursson soon implemented promised policies of restoring the cut programs under Geirsson and nationalised dozens of industries, implementing codetermination, single-payer healthcare, a basic income guarantee and passing pro-union laws, including a ghent system. During this time, the SFL prospered as all of their platform was enacted and they were consistently the senior partner in a coalition government with the Communists, Socialist Leftists, and an increasing amount of left-wing parties. The SFL also presided over a period of social liberalism and legalised all drugs and gradually legalised forms of abortion.
Recent History
In 1965 the SFL was out of power for the first time since 1925, although they remained (and have remained ever since) Atlantica's largest political party. However, in 1967 an ASA general strike ensued and the SFL were returned to power in 1968 as the SF. became more radical than ever in the 1970s, although they moderated in the 1980s. However, economic growth in the 1980s stagnated and in 1989 the SFL was voted out of office, whilst the new government implemented right-wing reforms and privatisations. The SFL additionally lost the Red-Green-Socialist Alliance leadership election in favour of the more moderate Social Democratic leader Katrin Árnisdóttir, and the RGSA (and thus the SFL) were voted back into power in 1994, following a general strike that resulted in new elections, whilst Árnisdóttir implemented a flexicurity system and did reverse most of the 1989-1994 right-wing government's reforms, except the partial privatisation of AtlanticaOil, which she kept. However, in 2003 she was challenged for the RGSA leadership election by SFL Leader Matteus Gunnlaugsson from the left, who renationalised the privatised shares of AtlanticaOil in 2005 and reformed internal RGSA rules so that the three leadership positions would automatically go to the two largest parties, widely viewed as favouring the SFL, the Communists, and the Socialist Left Party. Following the 2009-2010 economic recession, however, the SFL was voted out of power, but Gunnlaugsson stayed on as party leader. In 2013, however, rallying against an unpopular Austerity program and promising a minimum wage, 30-hour workweek and "closed shop" for the public sector (Atlantica's public sector was closed shop from 1925-1994 and 1998-2010, and had been union shop in between 1994-1998 and 2010-2013), the SFL was returned to office.