Christian Democrats (Grundhavn)
Christian Democrats Kristendemokrater | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | KD |
| Leader | Magda Karlsen |
| President | Mikael Paulsen |
| Deputy Leader | Knud Simonsen |
| Founded | April 6, 1884 |
| Headquarters | 6 Central Square, Grundhavn |
| Student wing | KD Students (KD Studerende) |
| Youth wing | Young Christian Democrats (Unge Kristendemokrater) |
| Membership (2021) | 26,000 |
| Ideology | Christian democracy |
| Political position | Centre to centre-right |
| Religion | Ecumenical |
| Colors | Gold |
| City Council | 5 / 56
|
| Quarter Councils (in government) | 0 / 8
|
| Quarter Council Seats | 0 / 78
|
The Christian Democrats (Grundhavish: Kristendemokrater) is a Grundhavish centre-right, Christian-democratic political party. Founded in 1884, the Christian Democrats have only ever elected one Lord Mayor, Name1, and two Supreme Councillors, name1 and name2, but have been part of the City Council almost continually since their founding. Their current leader is Magda Karlsen, elected in 2017. They were founded initially by Lutherans, but accepted Catholics during the early 20th century, leading to the breakaway of the Lutheran People's Party.
The Christian Democrats combine support for a modest social safety net with a moderate social conservatism. The party supports marriage incentives, child benefits, and support for refugees. They oppose abortion on demand, the death penalty, same-sex marriage, and euthanasia. During the last decade, the Christian Democrats, like the Constitutional Liberal Party and the People's Democratic Party, have seen their share of seats in the City Council decline.
History[edit | edit source]
Following the establishment of the Second Allied Provinces of Laeral, the Laeralian National Congress was the dominant political force on the right. A broad-tent party consisting of those opposed to the Rose Revolution and Gramontism, the Congress was hampered while in power by internal dissension, as evidenced by the infighting that led the moderate, incumbent Congress President Georges Auriol replaced as nominee by the more hardline Henri Laniel ahead of the 1968 presidential election. Under the presidency of Progressive Joseph Carlier, Congress split dramatically over the issue of whether to oppose the civil code reform being supported by Progressives, which included liberalization of divorce and abortion law. In addition to a similar intra-party debate over a proposal limiting pensions for former military and civil servants, this led influential Congress politicians such as former Prime Minister Paul Evrard to defect and form the Conservative Party.
The Conservatives initially became quite popular among rural Arrivée voters, particularly Catholics, who bore loyalties to Evrard from his tenure as Prime Minister and from whom the Conservatives sourced many of their members and leaders. As conservative voters began to drift from Congress to the Conservatives, the Conservative vote share increased rapidly, culminating in Paul Evrard's narrow victory in the 1980 presidential election. Successive Conservative governments during the 1980s focused on economic growth coupled with decentralization of public functions and desecularization efforts. The Conservatives were however marginalized on the right by the Laeralian People's Party, which arose in a backlash against the Meihua Movement. By the late 80s, the Conservatives had been forced into minority government status and eventual junior partnership in coalition governments with the People's Party.
The Conservative share of the vote held steady around 25% throughout the 1990s and 2000s, although the Conservatives continued to perform well in the General Assembly due to that body's inherent tilt towards rural provinces. The Conservatives, though rarely able to have a presidential candidate reaching the second round of the presidential election, nevertheless remained an integral part of various coalition governments, notably serving in coalition with the Progressives and Socialists from 2010 to 2018. In the 2018 election, the Conservative vote share reached historic lows, as the Conservatives were reduced to only 38 of 386 seats in the Assembly of Commons.