Socialist Labour Party (Hennehouwe)
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Socialist Labour Party Socialistische Arbeiderspartij Parti ouvrier socialiste | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | SAP |
| Leader | Rupert van Bleiswijk |
| General Secretary | Sigrid Visser |
| Deputy Leader | Katrijn Pauwels |
| Founded | 21 October 1918 |
| Merger of | Social Democratic Party Working People's League General Trade Union Political Interest |
| Headquarters | Mauritskade 25, Oudestad, s'Holle |
| Student wing | Socialist Labour Students |
| Youth wing | Future SAP |
| LGBT wing | QueerSAP |
| Ideology | Social democracy Pro-Eucleanism Trade unionism Factions Democratic socialism Third way |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| Euclean | Socialist Alternative for Euclea |
| Colors | Red |
| First Chamber | 21 / 60
|
| Second Chamber | 49 / 180
|
| Regional legislatures | 159 / 633
|
| Euclean Parliament | 6 / 26
|
| Website | |
| http://sap.he | |
The Socialist Labour Party (Hennish: Socialistische Arbeiderspartij; Gaullican: Parti ouvrier socialiste; SAP) is a social democratic political party in Hennehouwe. Presently, it is the largest party in both houses of the Senate and is the senior member party of the Hennish government. The party is led by Rupert van Bleiswijk, the current Premier.
The modern day SAP traces its origins back to the founding of the original Social Democratic Party (SDP) and various other left-wing groups including the Hennish Section of the Worker's International (HSAI) in the 1880's, as part of the growing labour movement that swept across Euclea during the late 19th century. Often split and divided, efforts to unite the various socialist parties and organisations mobilised during the 1910's. The SAP was the product of these efforts, in principal being a merger of the SDP, the Working People's League and the General Trade Union Political Interest, the latter of which being the political wing of the Hennish General Trade Union Association (HAVA). Its popularity grew steadily thereafter, especially following the Great War when the party won an overall majority in both the constituent assembly election and the inaugural election of the Third Republic in 1935, thus being the only party to achieve such a feat. Though its support fluctuated, it held its position as the dominant party in the state until the merger of the formerly-segregated parties of the centre-right in the 1960's. Since 1935, the SAP has been in government at the federal level for 61 of 85 years, and has held the premiership for 52 of those years.
Initially an outwardly socialist party of the left-wing, the SAP has gradually moved towards a more centre-left approach over the last century. Historians and analysts have credited the success of the party to its long-running big tent approach, whereby it attracts votes from a broader electorate than many other Euclean centre-left parties. Under the leadership of Nanko Reins and Grete Stielstra, the SAP moved towards a more centrist, market economy-driven policy platform in the 1980's. This approach was repealed by the party after it lost the 1998 election, following which the party moved back towards the centre-left. Despite a brief surge in support during the mid 2000's, the SAP has seen its electorate drop from one-in-three in the 1980's to one-in-five in the late 2010's. This is attributed to the rise of newer parties such as the Green Party on the left, and the Patriot's March on the far-right.
In addition to being the senior party in the federal grand coalition with the Progressive Democratic Party, the SAP form part of the governments of eight of Hennehouwe's ten regions, and holds the governorship of five regions, including in all four of Hennehouwe's most populous. The SAP also hold six seats in the Euclean Parliament and is a founding member of the Socialist Alternative for Euclea.