[Lauchenoiria]

Lauchenoirian Guardian

Two LDA representatives defect to Liberal Party after Marwick social media row
3rd November 2019

Two Lauchenoirian Democratic Alliance (LDA) representatives have defected to the Liberal Party after President Alex Marwick had come under fire for posting “inappropriate” memes on social media containing “sexist” caricatures of Kerlian Councillors. The two representatives quit the party, joining the Liberal Party after releasing a joint statement claiming that the LDA had “violated all their founding principles”.

The two representatives, Claudia Borrell from Costeno Province and Bernard Wallace from Melissa Province, resigned from the party, which has been losing support since the election. Their joint statement called the party a “mistake”, saying: “the LDA was founded on the principles of democracy and of listening to the people, yet in our name President Marwick has ignored the voices of Lauchenoirians, instead doing as he likes and embarrassing our country. The LDA is a failed experiment, and does not deserve to go on.”

The Lauchenoirian Democratic Alliance received 5.3% of the vote nationally, however at present are polling below 1%. The party was founded in the aftermath of the civil war, with the aim of promoting democracy and creating a party which listened to the people. The party presented themselves as an alternative to the Liberals who were not partly responsible for the war – however, the party has been buried in scandal since the election, and most of their support has reverted to the Liberals, according to polling.

President Marwick has been widely criticised both at home and abroad for his actions, particularly surrounding the extradition of Peter Bloch to Shuell in August. He has also been called “childish” by several opposition politicians, over his tendency to post memes on social media and his lack of knowledge of traditional politics. At 31, Marwick is Lauchenoiria’s youngest ever President, and many have said since his election that he lacks the experience and maturity needed for the position.

His most recent scandal involved the posting of memes on his social media accounts depicting caricatures of Kerlian Councillors with enlarged breasts in revealing clothing, which have been widely criticised as “completely sexist”. The post received a number of responses claiming that Marwick’s actions were “proving Kerlile right about the continued existence of misogyny in the world”.