Chief Ministers (Heads of Government) of the Affiliated States of Boreoamerica
List of Chief Ministers
Early Chief Ministers and the Democrat-Whig Party System
Armand Linville (Democratic-Illinois) 1864-1871 Dem maj.
Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau (Democratic-Canada) 1871-1875 Dem maj.
William Walker (Democratic-Huronia) 1875-1882 Dem maj.
James A. Garfield (Whig-Upper Connecticut) 1882-1886 Whig maj.
Ely S. Parker (Whig-Iroquoia) 1886-1887 Whig maj.
Samuel Tylden (Democratic-Massachusetts) 1887-1893 Dem maj.
Steven Cleveland (Democratic-Maryland) 1893-1899 Dem maj.
John Carlisle (Democratic-Upper Virginia) 1899-1902 Dem maj.
Pascal Chastain (Whig-Allegheney) 1902-1917 Whig maj.
Wilfrid Laurier (Whig-Canada) 1917-1921 Whig maj.
Dougal McAdoo (Whig-New Scotland) 1921-1922 Whig maj., then Whig min.
Gamaliel Harding (Democratic-Ohio) 1922-1928 Dem maj.
Henri Voclain (Democratic-Illinois) 1928-1932 Dem maj.
Chief Ministers of the Democrat-Socialist Party System
Urban Stendahl (Socialist-Christiana) 1932-1946 Soc maj.
William Martin (Democratic-Plymouth) 1946-1951 Dem-Whig coalition
Norman Thomas (Socialist-Ohio) 1951-1955 Soc maj.
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. (Democratic-Massachusetts) 1955-1966 Dem maj.
David Gambrell (Democratic-Carolina) 1966-1970 Dem maj, then Dem min.
Lindon B. Jordan (Socialist-Muscogia) 1970-1973 Soc maj.
Michel Herriot (Socialist-Upper Louisiana) 1973-1979 Soc maj.
Anika Lucas (Democratic-Dakota) 1979-1983 Dem maj.
Jack Reagan (Socialist-Illinois) 1983-1988 Soc min, then Soc maj.
Valentin Michaud (Socialist-Dakota) 1988-1992 Soc maj, then Soc min.
Rhein Paul (Democratic-Allegheney) 1992-2001 Dem maj.
Martin Harman (Democratic-Arques) 2001-2009 Dem maj.
Suzie Bellamy (Socialist - Upper Country) 2009-present Soc maj.
Armand Linville (Democratic-Illinois) 1864-1871 Dem maj.
Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau (Democratic-Canada) 1871-1875 Dem maj.
William Walker (Democratic-Huronia) 1875-1882 Dem maj.
James A. Garfield (Whig-Upper Connecticut) 1882-1886 Whig maj.
Ely S. Parker (Whig-Iroquoia) 1886-1887 Whig maj.
Samuel Tylden (Democratic-Massachusetts) 1887-1893 Dem maj.
Steven Cleveland (Democratic-Maryland) 1893-1899 Dem maj.
John Carlisle (Democratic-Upper Virginia) 1899-1902 Dem maj.
Pascal Chastain (Whig-Allegheney) 1902-1917 Whig maj.
Wilfrid Laurier (Whig-Canada) 1917-1921 Whig maj.
Dougal McAdoo (Whig-New Scotland) 1921-1922 Whig maj., then Whig min.
Gamaliel Harding (Democratic-Ohio) 1922-1928 Dem maj.
Henri Voclain (Democratic-Illinois) 1928-1932 Dem maj.
Chief Ministers of the Democrat-Socialist Party System
Urban Stendahl (Socialist-Christiana) 1932-1946 Soc maj.
William Martin (Democratic-Plymouth) 1946-1951 Dem-Whig coalition
Norman Thomas (Socialist-Ohio) 1951-1955 Soc maj.
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. (Democratic-Massachusetts) 1955-1966 Dem maj.
David Gambrell (Democratic-Carolina) 1966-1970 Dem maj, then Dem min.
Lindon B. Jordan (Socialist-Muscogia) 1970-1973 Soc maj.
Michel Herriot (Socialist-Upper Louisiana) 1973-1979 Soc maj.
Anika Lucas (Democratic-Dakota) 1979-1983 Dem maj.
Jack Reagan (Socialist-Illinois) 1983-1988 Soc min, then Soc maj.
Valentin Michaud (Socialist-Dakota) 1988-1992 Soc maj, then Soc min.
Rhein Paul (Democratic-Allegheney) 1992-2001 Dem maj.
Martin Harman (Democratic-Arques) 2001-2009 Dem maj.
Suzie Bellamy (Socialist - Upper Country) 2009-present Soc maj.
origins of the modern Chief Ministry
The position of Chief Minister was originally appointed by the unelected Congress of Nations, which was chosen by the states, but after pressure from the ambitious middle class got too much, the Congress appointed a reformist Chief Minister, Armand Linville. Linville, backed up by the middle-class-based Democratic Party, reformed the national system so that it was less a collection of nations and more a confederation, with the Parliament becoming stronger and the Congress dwindling in strength before being abolished in 1899, by that point becoming a patronage appointment without any real power. Linville successfully convinced all states who lacked it to allow the middle class to vote. This led to another landslide for Linville's Democrats. However, he died in 1871, leaving a power vacuum that was taken over by conservative Democrats who accepted Linville's electoral roll expansion, but opposed any further reform. This angered the reformists (who loved Linville, as he was one of them) and they left to form the Whig Party, creating Boreoamerica's first "modern" party system between the conservative Democrats and reformist Whigs.
When the Whigs entered government in 1882 under James A. Garfield, they were very conscious of the class below the middle class, as they were getting angrier. Labor strikes increased amidst increasing economic domination by monopolies. Garfield's Whigs was interested in reforming the system so that it could appeal to all Boreoamericans, and one of their ideas was expanding the national franchise to all male Boreoamericans. Garfield proposed it in 1885 and it had a big backlash from the states (acting in their self-interest) and the establishment, with the Democratic President successfully dismissing Garfield. This only served to anger the working class even more, and in 1889, the Socialist Party was born "in the gutters of forgotten Boreoamerica", in their future Chief Minister Urban Stendahl's words.
Democratic dominance from 1887 to 1902 saw some states give way to rising working class discontent and grant them the vote. Not surprisingly, socialists won seats in the Assemblies and in 1895, the Socialist Party won its first three MPs. Discontent between labor and capital was at its highest when the Whigs re-entered government under Pascal Chastain of Allegheney. An experienced lawyer, Chastain was determined to reform the patchwork electoral roll for good.
His Electoral Reform Bill was once again shot down by the GCoS and by some states, but Chastain exploited a loophole in the 1860s Boreoamerican Constitution that some radical Democrats put in (namely, the binding nature of referenda) and called a referendum on a national electoral roll. Some states, namely the ones in the South, opposed this bitterly and tried to fight it coming to their states, but was overruled. By a landslide victory, the working class finally had universal vote. Well, all working class men. The following election, Whigs won another majority and Socialists increased their seats so that they were the clear third party.
Chastain's achievement split his party as many opposed his blatantly federalist approach, arguing that the ASB was a confederation of nations, not a federation of provinces. He managed to fight off his rivals and won another majority in the 1915 election. Socialists lost seats for the first time, with 5 seats lost to the Whigs.
*skipping over the war, for it to be developed later. Laurier took over in 1917*
The war ended with the Boreoamericans on the winning side, but it was intensely controversial. Internationalist Socialists like Victor DuBois and isolationist Democrats like Gamaliel Harding bitterly opposed the war. PM Laurier, on the advice of President Thomas Wilson approved the Sedition Act shortly after the war began. The Sedition Act was considered the most blatant example of national overreach, as it approved the arrest of people who significantly hindered the war effort. This was aimed mainly at the Socialist Party, with Victor DuBois, future Chief Minister Urban Stendahl, Augustijn Claasen and Fleur Blumstein were notable arrests of this.
The war ended a year later, and people was massively displeased with the Whigs for dragging Boreoamerica into a "foreign" war, for violating democracy and states' rights with the Sedition Act and for not even pressing for repartitions in the treaty. The Socialists and Democrats gained much votes in by-elections and successfully won many states' assembly seats. Many left-Whigs pushed for a leadership challenge, and much to their dismay, a "Laurier Whig" narrowly won out. With the election looming, many left to form the Progressive Party half out of principle, half out of self-interest. The election saw the Whigs massively plummet to just barely ahead of the Progressives, with the Socialists winning Opposition for the first time under Victor DuBois. DuBois, the first Socialist Leader of the Opposition, was however unwell and struggled with illness before succumbing to it barely six months after the election. His replacement was Gwilym Forrester, who successfully condensed the Socialist gains and saw off a potential Whig revival. The Democratic government under Gamaliel Harding was noted for its competence and for its clean reputation. When Harding announced that he was stepping down in favour of his Treasury Minister Henri Voclain, he was personally popular but all that would change.
From the old Congress Chief Ministers, through Linville and the Democratic-Whig system, Boreoamerica lacked a concrete "national" identity, with state identity always being stronger. The coming years, the years of desolation and despair, would make Boreoamerica stronger and form its modern identity.
When the Whigs entered government in 1882 under James A. Garfield, they were very conscious of the class below the middle class, as they were getting angrier. Labor strikes increased amidst increasing economic domination by monopolies. Garfield's Whigs was interested in reforming the system so that it could appeal to all Boreoamericans, and one of their ideas was expanding the national franchise to all male Boreoamericans. Garfield proposed it in 1885 and it had a big backlash from the states (acting in their self-interest) and the establishment, with the Democratic President successfully dismissing Garfield. This only served to anger the working class even more, and in 1889, the Socialist Party was born "in the gutters of forgotten Boreoamerica", in their future Chief Minister Urban Stendahl's words.
Democratic dominance from 1887 to 1902 saw some states give way to rising working class discontent and grant them the vote. Not surprisingly, socialists won seats in the Assemblies and in 1895, the Socialist Party won its first three MPs. Discontent between labor and capital was at its highest when the Whigs re-entered government under Pascal Chastain of Allegheney. An experienced lawyer, Chastain was determined to reform the patchwork electoral roll for good.
His Electoral Reform Bill was once again shot down by the GCoS and by some states, but Chastain exploited a loophole in the 1860s Boreoamerican Constitution that some radical Democrats put in (namely, the binding nature of referenda) and called a referendum on a national electoral roll. Some states, namely the ones in the South, opposed this bitterly and tried to fight it coming to their states, but was overruled. By a landslide victory, the working class finally had universal vote. Well, all working class men. The following election, Whigs won another majority and Socialists increased their seats so that they were the clear third party.
Chastain's achievement split his party as many opposed his blatantly federalist approach, arguing that the ASB was a confederation of nations, not a federation of provinces. He managed to fight off his rivals and won another majority in the 1915 election. Socialists lost seats for the first time, with 5 seats lost to the Whigs.
*skipping over the war, for it to be developed later. Laurier took over in 1917*
The war ended with the Boreoamericans on the winning side, but it was intensely controversial. Internationalist Socialists like Victor DuBois and isolationist Democrats like Gamaliel Harding bitterly opposed the war. PM Laurier, on the advice of President Thomas Wilson approved the Sedition Act shortly after the war began. The Sedition Act was considered the most blatant example of national overreach, as it approved the arrest of people who significantly hindered the war effort. This was aimed mainly at the Socialist Party, with Victor DuBois, future Chief Minister Urban Stendahl, Augustijn Claasen and Fleur Blumstein were notable arrests of this.
The war ended a year later, and people was massively displeased with the Whigs for dragging Boreoamerica into a "foreign" war, for violating democracy and states' rights with the Sedition Act and for not even pressing for repartitions in the treaty. The Socialists and Democrats gained much votes in by-elections and successfully won many states' assembly seats. Many left-Whigs pushed for a leadership challenge, and much to their dismay, a "Laurier Whig" narrowly won out. With the election looming, many left to form the Progressive Party half out of principle, half out of self-interest. The election saw the Whigs massively plummet to just barely ahead of the Progressives, with the Socialists winning Opposition for the first time under Victor DuBois. DuBois, the first Socialist Leader of the Opposition, was however unwell and struggled with illness before succumbing to it barely six months after the election. His replacement was Gwilym Forrester, who successfully condensed the Socialist gains and saw off a potential Whig revival. The Democratic government under Gamaliel Harding was noted for its competence and for its clean reputation. When Harding announced that he was stepping down in favour of his Treasury Minister Henri Voclain, he was personally popular but all that would change.
From the old Congress Chief Ministers, through Linville and the Democratic-Whig system, Boreoamerica lacked a concrete "national" identity, with state identity always being stronger. The coming years, the years of desolation and despair, would make Boreoamerica stronger and form its modern identity.
Chief Ministers of the Democrat-Whig Party System
Armand Linville (Democratic-Illinois) 1864-1871 Dem maj.
Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau (Democratic-Canada) 1871-1875 Dem maj.
William Walker (Democratic-Huronia) 1875-1882 Dem maj.
James A. Garfield (Whig-Upper Connecticut) 1882-1886 Whig maj.
Ely S. Parker (Whig-Iroquoia) 1886-1887 Whig maj.
Samuel Tylden (Democratic-Massachusetts) 1887-1893 Dem maj.
Steven Cleveland (Democratic-Maryland) 1893-1899 Dem maj.
John Carlisle (Democratic-Upper Virginia) 1899-1902 Dem maj.
Pascal Chastain (Whig-Allegheney) 1902-1917 Whig maj.
Wilfrid Laurier (Whig-Canada) 1917-1921 Whig maj.
Dougal McAdoo (Whig-New Scotland) 1921-1922 Whig maj., then Whig min.
Gamaliel Harding (Democratic-Ohio) 1922-1928 Dem maj.
Henri Voclain (Democratic-Illinois) 1928-1932 Dem maj.
Armand Linville (Democratic-Illinois) 1864-1871 Dem maj.
Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau (Democratic-Canada) 1871-1875 Dem maj.
William Walker (Democratic-Huronia) 1875-1882 Dem maj.
James A. Garfield (Whig-Upper Connecticut) 1882-1886 Whig maj.
Ely S. Parker (Whig-Iroquoia) 1886-1887 Whig maj.
Samuel Tylden (Democratic-Massachusetts) 1887-1893 Dem maj.
Steven Cleveland (Democratic-Maryland) 1893-1899 Dem maj.
John Carlisle (Democratic-Upper Virginia) 1899-1902 Dem maj.
Pascal Chastain (Whig-Allegheney) 1902-1917 Whig maj.
Wilfrid Laurier (Whig-Canada) 1917-1921 Whig maj.
Dougal McAdoo (Whig-New Scotland) 1921-1922 Whig maj., then Whig min.
Gamaliel Harding (Democratic-Ohio) 1922-1928 Dem maj.
Henri Voclain (Democratic-Illinois) 1928-1932 Dem maj.
The Great Desolation
The Great Desolation started with the high speculation market of Europe and North America reaching a high, before imploding in spectacular fashion. The world economy plummeted and the "Thriving Twenties" came to an end.
The Democratic leaders, President Calvin Coolidge and Chief Minister Henri Voclain, worked together to figure out a way to solve the "economic downturn" as Voclain called it. In the end, Coolidge disputed that there was an actual downturn and Voclain claimed it primarily affected farmers. In the end, actual action was only taken when it affected agrarian areas. Even then, it was not enough. In state elections, socialist parties made gains, and if not them, progressive parties instead. In 1930, Huey Long and his Common Wealth Party won Lower Louisiana's Governor-Generalship in a landslide. The charismatic populist was to prove one of the most recognisable faces of the Desolation.
The death of President Coolidge in late 1930 forced the Grand Council to vote for a new president. Moderate Democrats, Whigs and the sole Socialist sided with Progressives to place Frits Roseveld in the Presidency. Roseveld would lead his nation for the longest of any President. Roseveld's charisma sustained the nation from falling in a genuine depression* and kept people's spirits up.
The Socialist Party replaced its leader with a new one in mid-1929, and it was through the Desolation that everybody would know the name of Urban Stendahl. Stendahl's "Common Good" platform, taking some ideas from Long's policies, proved intensely popular. The Greens under Floyd Olson adopted a more radical policy, portraying themselves as "radical agrarians" and promising to make things better for the average farmer.
The long-standing Liberal government of New Netherlands, there since the fall of the Conservatives in 1899, finally fell in late 1931 to the rising Labour Party under Augustijn Claasen. This proved a shock to Voclain and together with Roseveld, he agreed on a "Good Deal" for the Boreoamerican people, but it proved too little too late and in mid-1932, the red-green wave blew Voclain out of government. Socialists won a majority and Greens reached their highest amount of seats, becoming the third-biggest party. Progressives made major gains, surpassing the Whigs for the first time. The Democrats, beaten and bruised, returned to Opposition.
Stendahl's government is ranked as one of the best in Boreoamerican history, and it is not hard to see why. His government worked extensively with states to pass significant economic reforms, including creating the modern welfare state. Stendahl and Roseveld proved great at working together, despite their differences.
Stendahl won a landslide majority in 1936 with the people loving his "Common Good" policies. The Progressives narrowly inched ahead of the Greens and the Democrats under Jean Garneau was beaten again, losing seats but keeping their Opposition status.
However, as the world stage inched towards war, Stendahl did not want his party to go the way of Laurier's Whigs (punished for taking the nation to war), so he turned to another Whig Chief Minister for inspiration, Pascal Chastain. Socialists were always small-d democrats after all. After consultation with Roseveld, who agreed with Stendahl on the neccesity of a referendum and agreed with him to prepare for war, Stendahl prepared the referendum and had it waiting until the right time.
When the world stage heated up at last and barrels invaded [one of the winning countries in WW1], Stendahl held his referendum on if the nation desired to go to war on the sides of its WW1 allies. "Yes" won by a 53-47 margin (the media empire of Willem Heeren helped with this as they produced pro-Allies news which turned the people against the [name for Axis-ish side]) and the ASB entered war again in 1940, supported in this by its people.
* Depression as in emotional, not economic. That has been replaced by desolation.
The Democratic leaders, President Calvin Coolidge and Chief Minister Henri Voclain, worked together to figure out a way to solve the "economic downturn" as Voclain called it. In the end, Coolidge disputed that there was an actual downturn and Voclain claimed it primarily affected farmers. In the end, actual action was only taken when it affected agrarian areas. Even then, it was not enough. In state elections, socialist parties made gains, and if not them, progressive parties instead. In 1930, Huey Long and his Common Wealth Party won Lower Louisiana's Governor-Generalship in a landslide. The charismatic populist was to prove one of the most recognisable faces of the Desolation.
The death of President Coolidge in late 1930 forced the Grand Council to vote for a new president. Moderate Democrats, Whigs and the sole Socialist sided with Progressives to place Frits Roseveld in the Presidency. Roseveld would lead his nation for the longest of any President. Roseveld's charisma sustained the nation from falling in a genuine depression* and kept people's spirits up.
The Socialist Party replaced its leader with a new one in mid-1929, and it was through the Desolation that everybody would know the name of Urban Stendahl. Stendahl's "Common Good" platform, taking some ideas from Long's policies, proved intensely popular. The Greens under Floyd Olson adopted a more radical policy, portraying themselves as "radical agrarians" and promising to make things better for the average farmer.
The long-standing Liberal government of New Netherlands, there since the fall of the Conservatives in 1899, finally fell in late 1931 to the rising Labour Party under Augustijn Claasen. This proved a shock to Voclain and together with Roseveld, he agreed on a "Good Deal" for the Boreoamerican people, but it proved too little too late and in mid-1932, the red-green wave blew Voclain out of government. Socialists won a majority and Greens reached their highest amount of seats, becoming the third-biggest party. Progressives made major gains, surpassing the Whigs for the first time. The Democrats, beaten and bruised, returned to Opposition.
Stendahl's government is ranked as one of the best in Boreoamerican history, and it is not hard to see why. His government worked extensively with states to pass significant economic reforms, including creating the modern welfare state. Stendahl and Roseveld proved great at working together, despite their differences.
Stendahl won a landslide majority in 1936 with the people loving his "Common Good" policies. The Progressives narrowly inched ahead of the Greens and the Democrats under Jean Garneau was beaten again, losing seats but keeping their Opposition status.
However, as the world stage inched towards war, Stendahl did not want his party to go the way of Laurier's Whigs (punished for taking the nation to war), so he turned to another Whig Chief Minister for inspiration, Pascal Chastain. Socialists were always small-d democrats after all. After consultation with Roseveld, who agreed with Stendahl on the neccesity of a referendum and agreed with him to prepare for war, Stendahl prepared the referendum and had it waiting until the right time.
When the world stage heated up at last and barrels invaded [one of the winning countries in WW1], Stendahl held his referendum on if the nation desired to go to war on the sides of its WW1 allies. "Yes" won by a 53-47 margin (the media empire of Willem Heeren helped with this as they produced pro-Allies news which turned the people against the [name for Axis-ish side]) and the ASB entered war again in 1940, supported in this by its people.
* Depression as in emotional, not economic. That has been replaced by desolation.
Chief Ministers of the Great Desolation and its Aftermath
Urban Stendahl (Socialist-Christiana) 1932-1946 Soc maj.
William Martin (Democratic-Plymouth) 1946-1951 Dem-Whig coalition
Norman Thomas (Socialist-Ohio) 1951-1955 Soc maj.
Urban Stendahl (Socialist-Christiana) 1932-1946 Soc maj.
William Martin (Democratic-Plymouth) 1946-1951 Dem-Whig coalition
Norman Thomas (Socialist-Ohio) 1951-1955 Soc maj.
Purple Fifties and Blue Sixties
Norman Thomas' majority was small, but effective as he reformed many of Boreoamerica's tax industries (Stendahl reformed them effectively, but new reforms were needed in the 50s, reforms that Martin didn't pass.) His administration had less of a cordial relationship to the states than Stendahl did). The President, Edouard Dupont, opposed his policies and there was an openly antagonistic relationship between the two most powerful men in Boreoamerica.
Frustated with this obstructionism, Thomas called an election in 1955 on the basis of "Who Runs This Country?". Apparently people didn't think it was the Chief Minister.
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., was a rock-solid blue Democrat, despite having Whiggish sympathies. He was the leader of the Democratic Party and entered the 1955 election expecting to exit a stronger Opposition. He ended up with a strong minority government. Remembering Martin, he opted not to go with them and instead chose to govern as a minority, a risky choice.
*include foreign stuff about a missile crisis somewhere in the world*
Lodge can be seen as the "Father of Boreoamerican Internationalism" for he dealt with the missile crisis in a very statesmanlike manner and asserted Boreoamerica's place as one of the great powers. He won a majority in 1959, promising to continue Boreoamerica's strong place in the world. His campaign portrayed his main opponent the Socialist leader Adrien St. Martin, as an isolationist when in fact he was a high-ranking diplomat in the Thomas cabinet. This paid off and can be seen to be the origin of all those political mudslinging we see so much those days.
As Boreoamerica entered the 60s, the economy boomed. People hailed a "Roaring Sixties" to rival and outshine the 20s. People credited this to the small-c conservative attitude of the Lodge administration and gave him a landslide majority in 1964 against Arvo Halberg, one of the most leftist Socialists ever to lead the party. The Socialist Party was in a bad time. Lodge's "New Democracy" was popular with the people and there was seemingly no way but right after the landslide defeat of 1964.
In 1966, Lodge chose to retire after 11 years in the premiership and handed over to his protege David Gambrell. Gambrell called a snap election and thanks to a disastrous campaign, plus the Socialists' new leader Lindon Jordan of Muscogia appealing to moderate leftists who previously voted Progressive or Green (or even Democratic!), the landslide majority of 1964 was turned in the razor-thin majority of 1967.
Gambrell's government only lasted four years, but those four years hammered the final nails in the coffin of New Democracy. A disastrous war in [some Asian country] started by Lodge got worse under Gambrell. Jordan ran his party platform on experience and getting a trusted "old hand" in, contrasting his experience with Gambrell's inexperience. Jordan's Southern populism opened doors for the Socialists and their allies down south as leftist parties gained at the expense of old entrenched liberal ones. His "Southern Strategy", applied in a limited extent in 1967, came in full force in 1970 as Socialists won many Southern seats that were formerly unfavourable ground for them. Jordan became Chief Minister in an unbelievable landslide, starting what is known as the "Socialist Seventies" or "Red Seventies" as Jordan and his protege Michel Herriot of Upper Louisiana brought a dose of radicalism to Parliament.
Frustated with this obstructionism, Thomas called an election in 1955 on the basis of "Who Runs This Country?". Apparently people didn't think it was the Chief Minister.
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., was a rock-solid blue Democrat, despite having Whiggish sympathies. He was the leader of the Democratic Party and entered the 1955 election expecting to exit a stronger Opposition. He ended up with a strong minority government. Remembering Martin, he opted not to go with them and instead chose to govern as a minority, a risky choice.
*include foreign stuff about a missile crisis somewhere in the world*
Lodge can be seen as the "Father of Boreoamerican Internationalism" for he dealt with the missile crisis in a very statesmanlike manner and asserted Boreoamerica's place as one of the great powers. He won a majority in 1959, promising to continue Boreoamerica's strong place in the world. His campaign portrayed his main opponent the Socialist leader Adrien St. Martin, as an isolationist when in fact he was a high-ranking diplomat in the Thomas cabinet. This paid off and can be seen to be the origin of all those political mudslinging we see so much those days.
As Boreoamerica entered the 60s, the economy boomed. People hailed a "Roaring Sixties" to rival and outshine the 20s. People credited this to the small-c conservative attitude of the Lodge administration and gave him a landslide majority in 1964 against Arvo Halberg, one of the most leftist Socialists ever to lead the party. The Socialist Party was in a bad time. Lodge's "New Democracy" was popular with the people and there was seemingly no way but right after the landslide defeat of 1964.
In 1966, Lodge chose to retire after 11 years in the premiership and handed over to his protege David Gambrell. Gambrell called a snap election and thanks to a disastrous campaign, plus the Socialists' new leader Lindon Jordan of Muscogia appealing to moderate leftists who previously voted Progressive or Green (or even Democratic!), the landslide majority of 1964 was turned in the razor-thin majority of 1967.
Gambrell's government only lasted four years, but those four years hammered the final nails in the coffin of New Democracy. A disastrous war in [some Asian country] started by Lodge got worse under Gambrell. Jordan ran his party platform on experience and getting a trusted "old hand" in, contrasting his experience with Gambrell's inexperience. Jordan's Southern populism opened doors for the Socialists and their allies down south as leftist parties gained at the expense of old entrenched liberal ones. His "Southern Strategy", applied in a limited extent in 1967, came in full force in 1970 as Socialists won many Southern seats that were formerly unfavourable ground for them. Jordan became Chief Minister in an unbelievable landslide, starting what is known as the "Socialist Seventies" or "Red Seventies" as Jordan and his protege Michel Herriot of Upper Louisiana brought a dose of radicalism to Parliament.
Chief Ministers of the Fifties and Sixties
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. (Democratic-Massachusetts) 1955-1966 Dem maj.
David Gambrell (Democratic-Carolina) 1966-1970 Dem maj, then Dem min.
Lindon B. Jordan (Socialist-Muscogia) 1970-1973 Soc maj.
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. (Democratic-Massachusetts) 1955-1966 Dem maj.
David Gambrell (Democratic-Carolina) 1966-1970 Dem maj, then Dem min.
Lindon B. Jordan (Socialist-Muscogia) 1970-1973 Soc maj.
The Red Seventies
In early 1971, after passing through significant welfare reforms, Jordan promised to solve the "festering sore of blacks being denied the right to vote". Segregationist states managed to interpret Chastain's referendum as refering to the white working class, and some of them added more votes to the rich to "compensate". Martin's government was forced by reliably Democratic segregationist states to exclude the blacks from this harmonising, much to the Whigs' displeasure.
However, Chastain and Martin wished to form a new settlement amongst the states, while Jordan viewed it as an injustice blotting a nation's reputation. To him it was a moral question, not a politicial one. A devout Catholic, he believed fervently in the doctrine of social justice. Alongst with his protege Michel Herriot, they worked out a strategy in order to assert the right of voting belonged to blacks as well as whites.
His announcement shocked several segregationist states, as they believed that Jordan was "one of them" (ie, a segregationist). One state (West Florida) even amended its constitution to allow blacks to vote (but gave whites five more to "compensate"). However, segregationism would die in Jordan's term because of the different approach he took to it.
He invited segregationist leaders to his "Big House" in Muscogia and used tactics to intimidate them into complying. If that didn't work, he brought out some "incriminating" evidence and implicitly offered a deal which also included higher funding for whatever programs they might have planned. He managed to get six states (Choctaw, Lower Virginia, East Florida, West Florida, Upper Louisiana and Arques) to comply, but the states of Muscogia, Carolina, Chicasaw and Cherokee was harder to convince as they desired to keep their states' rights and their discrimination against blacks in favor of Aboriginals and whites. By this time, Jordan knew he was dying and wanted to break the back of segregation before he croaked. He decided to go out in Chastainian fashion by calling a referendum on the issue.
The referendum went 58% for yes, a narrower margin than expected because many people were turned off by rumors of Jordan's "dictatorial" government and potential bullying of governors into submission. However, Carolina and Chicasaw refused to comply (while Muscogia and Cherokee complied in exchange for better funding in the future) so Jordan established a precedent that has shadowed Boreoamerican politics ever since.
He sent the federal army to arrest the Governors of those states, finally asserting the nation had more power than the states over inviolable matters. This instantly became a very controversial decision, with roughly half praising Jordan for standing up for civil rights while another half condemned him for violating states' rights.
However, the Chief Minister would not hear any of the words targetted towards him as one cold wintery night in New Amsterdam, Jordan had a massive heart attack and died, leaving a half-written letter of resignation which named Herriot as his successor.
Presently, Lindon Jordan is one of Boreoamerica's most controversial Chief Ministers, but the ideas behind his actions are mostly approved. A devout Catholic who would break people to assert justice, he embodied the radical faction of the Socialist Party who would not compromise at all.
His protege and successor Michel Herriot found himself responsible for cleaning up the mess that Jordan left. Many people in Southern states reacted to the arrest of the two Governors with fear and displeasure as they saw it as violating what Boreoamerica ultimately stood for. There were even talk of secession from the Common Estate of the Lower Louisianan Estates General (which came to nothing thankfully). Herriot had to use all his charisma and tact in order to soothe tensions resulting from Jordan's actions. This took him two years and then it was election time in 1975. Herriot predicted a landslide loss, with even fearful thoughts of his Socialists falling behind the Progressives or Whigs, but the people ultimately did not feel that Jordan's actions was enough to condemn his successor, and delivered Herriot a greatly-reduced majority. Notably, the Socialists kept several Southern seats despite losing most of them. This was due to those seats being black-majority ones. Indeed, thanks to Jordan, African-Boreoamericans would be a reliably Socialist demographic (before, they were a swing one between Socialists and Progressives).
Herriot's ministry focused on education (including opening education up to blacks) and labor reforms (with his "Co-operative Plan" being a basis) and in both, he had a mixed result. Education reform successfully negotiated the end of class-determined education, but failed to open up Southern universities to blacks, while labor reform managed to get a quite watered down version of his Co-operative Plan, with a labor arbitration board never being established.
In 1979, the tired Michel Herriot and his Socialist Party went to their defeat as the Democrats under moderate Anika Lucas won a strong majority, ending 9 years of Socialist rule and starting the era that would be known as the turbulent 1980s...
Chief Ministers of the Seventies:
Michel Herriot (Socialist-Upper Louisiana) 1973-1979 Soc maj.
Anika Lucas (Democratic-Dakota) 1979-1983 Dem maj.
However, Chastain and Martin wished to form a new settlement amongst the states, while Jordan viewed it as an injustice blotting a nation's reputation. To him it was a moral question, not a politicial one. A devout Catholic, he believed fervently in the doctrine of social justice. Alongst with his protege Michel Herriot, they worked out a strategy in order to assert the right of voting belonged to blacks as well as whites.
His announcement shocked several segregationist states, as they believed that Jordan was "one of them" (ie, a segregationist). One state (West Florida) even amended its constitution to allow blacks to vote (but gave whites five more to "compensate"). However, segregationism would die in Jordan's term because of the different approach he took to it.
He invited segregationist leaders to his "Big House" in Muscogia and used tactics to intimidate them into complying. If that didn't work, he brought out some "incriminating" evidence and implicitly offered a deal which also included higher funding for whatever programs they might have planned. He managed to get six states (Choctaw, Lower Virginia, East Florida, West Florida, Upper Louisiana and Arques) to comply, but the states of Muscogia, Carolina, Chicasaw and Cherokee was harder to convince as they desired to keep their states' rights and their discrimination against blacks in favor of Aboriginals and whites. By this time, Jordan knew he was dying and wanted to break the back of segregation before he croaked. He decided to go out in Chastainian fashion by calling a referendum on the issue.
The referendum went 58% for yes, a narrower margin than expected because many people were turned off by rumors of Jordan's "dictatorial" government and potential bullying of governors into submission. However, Carolina and Chicasaw refused to comply (while Muscogia and Cherokee complied in exchange for better funding in the future) so Jordan established a precedent that has shadowed Boreoamerican politics ever since.
He sent the federal army to arrest the Governors of those states, finally asserting the nation had more power than the states over inviolable matters. This instantly became a very controversial decision, with roughly half praising Jordan for standing up for civil rights while another half condemned him for violating states' rights.
However, the Chief Minister would not hear any of the words targetted towards him as one cold wintery night in New Amsterdam, Jordan had a massive heart attack and died, leaving a half-written letter of resignation which named Herriot as his successor.
Presently, Lindon Jordan is one of Boreoamerica's most controversial Chief Ministers, but the ideas behind his actions are mostly approved. A devout Catholic who would break people to assert justice, he embodied the radical faction of the Socialist Party who would not compromise at all.
His protege and successor Michel Herriot found himself responsible for cleaning up the mess that Jordan left. Many people in Southern states reacted to the arrest of the two Governors with fear and displeasure as they saw it as violating what Boreoamerica ultimately stood for. There were even talk of secession from the Common Estate of the Lower Louisianan Estates General (which came to nothing thankfully). Herriot had to use all his charisma and tact in order to soothe tensions resulting from Jordan's actions. This took him two years and then it was election time in 1975. Herriot predicted a landslide loss, with even fearful thoughts of his Socialists falling behind the Progressives or Whigs, but the people ultimately did not feel that Jordan's actions was enough to condemn his successor, and delivered Herriot a greatly-reduced majority. Notably, the Socialists kept several Southern seats despite losing most of them. This was due to those seats being black-majority ones. Indeed, thanks to Jordan, African-Boreoamericans would be a reliably Socialist demographic (before, they were a swing one between Socialists and Progressives).
Herriot's ministry focused on education (including opening education up to blacks) and labor reforms (with his "Co-operative Plan" being a basis) and in both, he had a mixed result. Education reform successfully negotiated the end of class-determined education, but failed to open up Southern universities to blacks, while labor reform managed to get a quite watered down version of his Co-operative Plan, with a labor arbitration board never being established.
In 1979, the tired Michel Herriot and his Socialist Party went to their defeat as the Democrats under moderate Anika Lucas won a strong majority, ending 9 years of Socialist rule and starting the era that would be known as the turbulent 1980s...
Chief Ministers of the Seventies:
Michel Herriot (Socialist-Upper Louisiana) 1973-1979 Soc maj.
Anika Lucas (Democratic-Dakota) 1979-1983 Dem maj.
The Turbulent Eighties
Anika Lucas entered power hoping to reform government and come to a compromise with the states regarding national government's power.
However, the growing power of the unions proved a hindrance to her plans as they opposed giving states their powers back. Some in her Democratic Party advocated crushing unions in order to balance government, but she recalled the fact that Jordan's actions regarding segregationist governors caused a controversy because it was seen by half of the country as the national government being dictatorial and overriding state governments.
She tried balancing the hard anti-union faction and realistic politicking together, but in the end, some hard anti-unionists defected to form the Conservative Party and the voters went to the rising right-wing populist People's Party. After a general strike that massively affected the Boreal economy, Lucas called a general election in 1983, hoping that she would get away with a minority.
The voters returned a hung parliament, but with the Socialists leading. The Socialist leader and new Chief Minister "Jack" Reagan, came from an Illinoian trade union background and was charismatic. He worked feverishly to soothe tensions between unions and the people. The People's Party lost voters as the Democratic Party, now under a more conservative leader, bit into their votes.
The economy recovered from the hit that the General Strike of 1982 dealt and in 1984, Reagan called a new election, which returned a Socialist majority, but with Democrats gaining from former People's Party voters as the PP fell from third to fifth behind the Progressives and Greens. The Green Party was adapting to the new voters that it sucked off the Earth Party and so gained seats that barely three elections ago, nobody would have even thought they had a chance.
Jack Reagan's "Reaganomics" (as the Democrats jeeringly labelled it) was classic *Keynesianism, with higher tax and higher spending. In the era of Reagan, the Chief Minister reached its peak of importance as even the President (who was the first Socialist to get that office) and state governors was overshadowed by the CM. People who advocated giving power back to the states was afraid of this growth of national power that started in Stendahl's time and now was at a high under Reagan.
After a victory in 1987 over the Democrats under Dorian Romilly (who also led his party in the 1984 election), Jack Reagan's government seemed to on a roll, having created the "perfect formula" for success. However, the revelation that Reagan was funding foreign armies without Parliament's knowledge led to the successful move for impeachment, only passing by 3 votes.
The impeachment of Jack Reagan in 1988 shattered the "feel-good" era of 1983-1988 and led to rising strife. Reagan's successor Valentin Michaud lacked Reagan's charisma and ability to soothe labor-capital relations. That got worse in the 88-92 period as the general strike of 1989 brought the economy down and gave more credibility to hardline anti-unionist "New Right". Dorien Romilly was forced to resign by them who then successfully elected a leader from their caucus.
Michaud's government by the 1990s was on the ropes, with a Socialist majority long gone (due to the defections of the soft-left to the Progressives and Greens and also due to opposition victories in by-elections) and in 1992, the Socialist Party entered what many feared would be its last election as a major party. Thankfully, an unusually healthy margin of 69 seats spared them this humiliation.
After the turbulence of the Lucas years, the "mirage" of the Reagan years and the chaos of the Michaud years, the people turned to someone who offered law and order and a hardline approach to the trade unions (which were slowly losing popularity as a result of the strikes).
Nobody can deny that the 1990s was the decade of Rhein Paul.
Chief Ministers of the 1980s and 90s
Jack Reagan (Socialist-Illinois) 1983-1988 Soc min, then Soc maj.
Valentin Michaud (Socialist-Dakota) 1988-1992 Soc maj, then Soc min.
Rhein Paul (Democratic-Allegheney) 1992-2001 Dem maj.
However, the growing power of the unions proved a hindrance to her plans as they opposed giving states their powers back. Some in her Democratic Party advocated crushing unions in order to balance government, but she recalled the fact that Jordan's actions regarding segregationist governors caused a controversy because it was seen by half of the country as the national government being dictatorial and overriding state governments.
She tried balancing the hard anti-union faction and realistic politicking together, but in the end, some hard anti-unionists defected to form the Conservative Party and the voters went to the rising right-wing populist People's Party. After a general strike that massively affected the Boreal economy, Lucas called a general election in 1983, hoping that she would get away with a minority.
The voters returned a hung parliament, but with the Socialists leading. The Socialist leader and new Chief Minister "Jack" Reagan, came from an Illinoian trade union background and was charismatic. He worked feverishly to soothe tensions between unions and the people. The People's Party lost voters as the Democratic Party, now under a more conservative leader, bit into their votes.
The economy recovered from the hit that the General Strike of 1982 dealt and in 1984, Reagan called a new election, which returned a Socialist majority, but with Democrats gaining from former People's Party voters as the PP fell from third to fifth behind the Progressives and Greens. The Green Party was adapting to the new voters that it sucked off the Earth Party and so gained seats that barely three elections ago, nobody would have even thought they had a chance.
Jack Reagan's "Reaganomics" (as the Democrats jeeringly labelled it) was classic *Keynesianism, with higher tax and higher spending. In the era of Reagan, the Chief Minister reached its peak of importance as even the President (who was the first Socialist to get that office) and state governors was overshadowed by the CM. People who advocated giving power back to the states was afraid of this growth of national power that started in Stendahl's time and now was at a high under Reagan.
After a victory in 1987 over the Democrats under Dorian Romilly (who also led his party in the 1984 election), Jack Reagan's government seemed to on a roll, having created the "perfect formula" for success. However, the revelation that Reagan was funding foreign armies without Parliament's knowledge led to the successful move for impeachment, only passing by 3 votes.
The impeachment of Jack Reagan in 1988 shattered the "feel-good" era of 1983-1988 and led to rising strife. Reagan's successor Valentin Michaud lacked Reagan's charisma and ability to soothe labor-capital relations. That got worse in the 88-92 period as the general strike of 1989 brought the economy down and gave more credibility to hardline anti-unionist "New Right". Dorien Romilly was forced to resign by them who then successfully elected a leader from their caucus.
Michaud's government by the 1990s was on the ropes, with a Socialist majority long gone (due to the defections of the soft-left to the Progressives and Greens and also due to opposition victories in by-elections) and in 1992, the Socialist Party entered what many feared would be its last election as a major party. Thankfully, an unusually healthy margin of 69 seats spared them this humiliation.
After the turbulence of the Lucas years, the "mirage" of the Reagan years and the chaos of the Michaud years, the people turned to someone who offered law and order and a hardline approach to the trade unions (which were slowly losing popularity as a result of the strikes).
Nobody can deny that the 1990s was the decade of Rhein Paul.
Chief Ministers of the 1980s and 90s
Jack Reagan (Socialist-Illinois) 1983-1988 Soc min, then Soc maj.
Valentin Michaud (Socialist-Dakota) 1988-1992 Soc maj, then Soc min.
Rhein Paul (Democratic-Allegheney) 1992-2001 Dem maj.
The Nineties: A Baptism of Fire
The Nineties started with the election of the Democrats with a radical manifesto, written by the New Right, and with a new radical leader by the name of Rhein Paul. After the chaos of the 80s, people turned to the Democrats who seemed to offer actual ideas.
Rhein Paul announced his first budget, which had serious cuts to certain departments, explaining this by arguing that the growth of the national government hurt the economy and that the states needed to pick up the slack. He met with state governors, including the one that led what many mocked as the "People's Republic of Lower Louisiana" (such mocked because the Socialist affiliated party, the Commonwealth Party, dominated the political theatre there).
Paul had fellow New Right ministers in his cabinet to back him up with his meeting with the state governors and he managed to convince them (even the Lower Louisiana Governor-General Felix Mathieu) that the states needed to take back more power from the overburdened national government.
This was the first stage, he announced, of his Covenant with the People. Having successfully decreased national spending and handing some power to the states by 1994, reversing much of the Jordan-Michaud years, he moved on to the second stage, that of dealing with the unions.
Unions since Urban Stendahl's day and even before that, were continuously growing in power and by Paul's time, they threatened the national government itself, having arguably brought down Lucas' government. Paul promised to end this "tyranny of the minority" in his famous "Second Covenant with the People" speech.
After that speech, which electrified his Democratic Party in backing him and dividing the Socialist, Progressive, Green and even Whig parties, he promised to pass a national "right-to-work" bill, labelling it "right-to-work" as it defended the average Borealian's right to work by making all types of strikes illegal.
In early 1995, the ABTU held a meeting and its leader Bernie Severin argued that a mass General Strike was the right type of attack against the "anti-labor" Paul ministry. The General Strike, after a ballot by the workers (Severin wanted the backing of the members first), went ahead in July 1995.
The events of the General Strike of 1995 proves a watershed that massively transformed Boreoamerica. Severin hoped to force Paul to the table and negotiate a compromise that would let unions keep their power and ensure the government would not have any chance to ban strikes.
However, by the time winter came, the Strike proved a failure and when Severin finally got Paul to the table, Paul had the advantage.
The compromise weakened unions and strengthened the governments, but did not ban non-wildcat strikes or any form of unions. Severin after haggling this with Paul, who proved a firm negotiator, went back to the ABTU who after a solemn and silent vote, voted to agree with the compromise.
Paulism was now ascendant as the unions was now weakened enough to offer few resistance to his final stage of the Covenant.
That final stage had to be confirmed by the people, Paul thought, and called a new election in 1996. With the Socialists' main base of support weakened, Paul hoped that another party would surpass them. However, the General Strike polarised the country and saw gains for both the Democrats and Socialists, at the expense of the other parties. With the Socialists' moderate-reformist branch starting to be ascendant with Svend Robinson of the Upper Country becoming the party's leader in 1997, Paul started to lose his appeal and discontent within the Democratic Party started to appear.
In 1998, the final stage in the Covenant was announced. It was a proposal for a new Constitution that would make the current set-up set in stone. This time, Paul's radicalism went too far as even his Democratic Party opposed it. The set-up was a compromise that nobody much liked, but to have it be set in stone was one that everybody opposed.
Sensing the controversy, Paul withdrew it but then cut the budget further, appeasing his libertarian base but making the leftist parties (Socialists, Progressives and the new Parti Francophonie) unhappy. Calling another election in 1999, his majority was cut as Robinson's Socialists gained.
2000 was an uncertain year. The leader of the Democrats, the leader of the country, was losing popularity with important statesmen who saw him as a radical buffoon who were starting to lose the plot. Speaking of plots, there were a lot of them swirling around, mainly focused at the possible deposing of Paul. In 2001, Paul decided to throw the dice once more and called a leadership election, promising to resign if he lacked a majority on the first ballot.
He lacked that by a big margin, and he resigned as leader. The convention elected his successor, a fairly religious man, but very much a moderate.
Martin Harman of Arques was the new Chief Minister, for a new millennium.
Rhein Paul announced his first budget, which had serious cuts to certain departments, explaining this by arguing that the growth of the national government hurt the economy and that the states needed to pick up the slack. He met with state governors, including the one that led what many mocked as the "People's Republic of Lower Louisiana" (such mocked because the Socialist affiliated party, the Commonwealth Party, dominated the political theatre there).
Paul had fellow New Right ministers in his cabinet to back him up with his meeting with the state governors and he managed to convince them (even the Lower Louisiana Governor-General Felix Mathieu) that the states needed to take back more power from the overburdened national government.
This was the first stage, he announced, of his Covenant with the People. Having successfully decreased national spending and handing some power to the states by 1994, reversing much of the Jordan-Michaud years, he moved on to the second stage, that of dealing with the unions.
Unions since Urban Stendahl's day and even before that, were continuously growing in power and by Paul's time, they threatened the national government itself, having arguably brought down Lucas' government. Paul promised to end this "tyranny of the minority" in his famous "Second Covenant with the People" speech.
After that speech, which electrified his Democratic Party in backing him and dividing the Socialist, Progressive, Green and even Whig parties, he promised to pass a national "right-to-work" bill, labelling it "right-to-work" as it defended the average Borealian's right to work by making all types of strikes illegal.
In early 1995, the ABTU held a meeting and its leader Bernie Severin argued that a mass General Strike was the right type of attack against the "anti-labor" Paul ministry. The General Strike, after a ballot by the workers (Severin wanted the backing of the members first), went ahead in July 1995.
The events of the General Strike of 1995 proves a watershed that massively transformed Boreoamerica. Severin hoped to force Paul to the table and negotiate a compromise that would let unions keep their power and ensure the government would not have any chance to ban strikes.
However, by the time winter came, the Strike proved a failure and when Severin finally got Paul to the table, Paul had the advantage.
The compromise weakened unions and strengthened the governments, but did not ban non-wildcat strikes or any form of unions. Severin after haggling this with Paul, who proved a firm negotiator, went back to the ABTU who after a solemn and silent vote, voted to agree with the compromise.
Paulism was now ascendant as the unions was now weakened enough to offer few resistance to his final stage of the Covenant.
That final stage had to be confirmed by the people, Paul thought, and called a new election in 1996. With the Socialists' main base of support weakened, Paul hoped that another party would surpass them. However, the General Strike polarised the country and saw gains for both the Democrats and Socialists, at the expense of the other parties. With the Socialists' moderate-reformist branch starting to be ascendant with Svend Robinson of the Upper Country becoming the party's leader in 1997, Paul started to lose his appeal and discontent within the Democratic Party started to appear.
In 1998, the final stage in the Covenant was announced. It was a proposal for a new Constitution that would make the current set-up set in stone. This time, Paul's radicalism went too far as even his Democratic Party opposed it. The set-up was a compromise that nobody much liked, but to have it be set in stone was one that everybody opposed.
Sensing the controversy, Paul withdrew it but then cut the budget further, appeasing his libertarian base but making the leftist parties (Socialists, Progressives and the new Parti Francophonie) unhappy. Calling another election in 1999, his majority was cut as Robinson's Socialists gained.
2000 was an uncertain year. The leader of the Democrats, the leader of the country, was losing popularity with important statesmen who saw him as a radical buffoon who were starting to lose the plot. Speaking of plots, there were a lot of them swirling around, mainly focused at the possible deposing of Paul. In 2001, Paul decided to throw the dice once more and called a leadership election, promising to resign if he lacked a majority on the first ballot.
He lacked that by a big margin, and he resigned as leader. The convention elected his successor, a fairly religious man, but very much a moderate.
Martin Harman of Arques was the new Chief Minister, for a new millennium.
The Noughties: Hope and Change?
Martin Harman's first ministry was conservative in its changes from Paul's last, with Harman not wanting to upset any of the factions. He considered another general election in late 2001, but chose not to, taking in mind that a 2001 election would be the third one in five years.
His first budget was similarly conservative, with the Leader of the Opposition Svend Robinson mocking him as "following the instructions".
However, Harman was distinct from Paul in the area of foreign affairs. While Paul lacked interest in that area, ensuring Presidents Clark and Hanford had to take up the slack, Harman took a deep interest in foreign affairs, even ensuring the ASB took part in an CoN intervention in Burma that proved clean and quick despite Socialist fearmongering. Harman received a boost for this success and smelling an opportunity, called a new general election for July 2004, three months after the end of the Burma Intervention's war stage.
He won a slightly reduced majority despite the Liberation Party entering Parliament. With Hanford deciding to retire in favour of General Calvin Howell (who took on a Councillorship at the 1999 election) who shared Harman's neoconservative attitude to foreign policy, the Burma Intervention entered its second stage, that of national development. Burma was a former republic that was taken over by authoritarian monarchists barely a decade before the Intervention, so rebuilding democracy was not as hard as many thought. This stage was judged complete by 2006 and the third stage, withdrawal, started to begin.
In late 2006, Harman could have called another election and pulled off a fifth term for the Democrats, something that no party in Boreal history managed. To the curses of many future ex-MPs, he didn't. He would not get another golden chance.
In mid-2007, Harman was forced to devalue the Boreal dollar in order to keep the economy afloat (the economy was stagnating since early 2007) and this created a fiscal scare known today as "Black Wednesday". The economy went down, bringing with it the Democrats' chances of a fifth term.
The Socialist Party's moderates were now in control of the party, with youthful MP Suzie Bellamy of the Upper Country and long-serving Councillor Jo Byquist of Christiana agreeing to a deal in which Bellamy would have the Councillor's support for the leadership only if Byquist was nominated as the Socialist Party's choice for President of the Council. This was called the "dirty bargain" by leftists such as Eliza Herriot (daughter of former CM Michel Herriot) and Joe Mulcair (Governor of Canada).
The leadership election in 2006 (triggered by Robinson's resignation) saw Bellamy win the leadership easy.
In 2008, the Democrats were increasingly seeing a coming election as impossible to win. Harman was being firmly small-c conservative, "driving the boat along its old route straight into an iceberg" in Bellamy's words, and this hurt him and the Democratic Party in the polls as people wanted change.
And in 2009, 5 years after the last election, Howell was forced to call the election due to the "effluxion of time" (the first time this happened, only happened due to Harman's hesistance, knowing his days as CM was numbered. The law regarding this was one passed by Norman Thomas).
The Socialist Party rode into goverment on a high, with many Democratic seats being wiped out, with high-profile Cabinet Ministers being defeated. Upon seeing the Democrats' lowest seats elected, Harman resigned immediately. He even lost his own seat, in which is now known as a "Harmon moment".
Suzie Bellamy's Socialists were now out of the wilderness and now had the biggest majority in Boreal history.
Chief Ministers since 2000
Martin Harman (Democratic-Arques) 2001-2009 Dem maj.
Suzie Bellamy (Socialist - Upper Country) 2009-present Soc maj.
His first budget was similarly conservative, with the Leader of the Opposition Svend Robinson mocking him as "following the instructions".
However, Harman was distinct from Paul in the area of foreign affairs. While Paul lacked interest in that area, ensuring Presidents Clark and Hanford had to take up the slack, Harman took a deep interest in foreign affairs, even ensuring the ASB took part in an CoN intervention in Burma that proved clean and quick despite Socialist fearmongering. Harman received a boost for this success and smelling an opportunity, called a new general election for July 2004, three months after the end of the Burma Intervention's war stage.
He won a slightly reduced majority despite the Liberation Party entering Parliament. With Hanford deciding to retire in favour of General Calvin Howell (who took on a Councillorship at the 1999 election) who shared Harman's neoconservative attitude to foreign policy, the Burma Intervention entered its second stage, that of national development. Burma was a former republic that was taken over by authoritarian monarchists barely a decade before the Intervention, so rebuilding democracy was not as hard as many thought. This stage was judged complete by 2006 and the third stage, withdrawal, started to begin.
In late 2006, Harman could have called another election and pulled off a fifth term for the Democrats, something that no party in Boreal history managed. To the curses of many future ex-MPs, he didn't. He would not get another golden chance.
In mid-2007, Harman was forced to devalue the Boreal dollar in order to keep the economy afloat (the economy was stagnating since early 2007) and this created a fiscal scare known today as "Black Wednesday". The economy went down, bringing with it the Democrats' chances of a fifth term.
The Socialist Party's moderates were now in control of the party, with youthful MP Suzie Bellamy of the Upper Country and long-serving Councillor Jo Byquist of Christiana agreeing to a deal in which Bellamy would have the Councillor's support for the leadership only if Byquist was nominated as the Socialist Party's choice for President of the Council. This was called the "dirty bargain" by leftists such as Eliza Herriot (daughter of former CM Michel Herriot) and Joe Mulcair (Governor of Canada).
The leadership election in 2006 (triggered by Robinson's resignation) saw Bellamy win the leadership easy.
In 2008, the Democrats were increasingly seeing a coming election as impossible to win. Harman was being firmly small-c conservative, "driving the boat along its old route straight into an iceberg" in Bellamy's words, and this hurt him and the Democratic Party in the polls as people wanted change.
And in 2009, 5 years after the last election, Howell was forced to call the election due to the "effluxion of time" (the first time this happened, only happened due to Harman's hesistance, knowing his days as CM was numbered. The law regarding this was one passed by Norman Thomas).
The Socialist Party rode into goverment on a high, with many Democratic seats being wiped out, with high-profile Cabinet Ministers being defeated. Upon seeing the Democrats' lowest seats elected, Harman resigned immediately. He even lost his own seat, in which is now known as a "Harmon moment".
Suzie Bellamy's Socialists were now out of the wilderness and now had the biggest majority in Boreal history.
Chief Ministers since 2000
Martin Harman (Democratic-Arques) 2001-2009 Dem maj.
Suzie Bellamy (Socialist - Upper Country) 2009-present Soc maj.