Laeralian National Congress
Laeralian National Congress Congrès National Laeralien | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | CNL |
| Founder | François Guirard, Marcel Branchard |
| Founded | April 15, 1934 |
| Legalised | 1935 |
| Dissolved | August 26, 1980 |
| Succeeded by | Conservative Party (Laeral), Laeralian People's Party, Moderate Party (Laeral) |
| Headquarters | Laeralsford |
| Membership (1980) | 4,500,000 |
| Ideology | Liberal Conservatism, Economic Liberalism, Anti-Gramontism |
| Political position | Big tent, center to right-wing |
| Colors | Sky Blue |
The Laeralian National Congress (French: Congrès National Laeralien) was a center-right, liberal-conservative political party in Laeral from the 1930s until 1980. Founded during the Republican Period in opposition to the policies of the Gang of Five and the Social Democratic Party, the party became the second legal opposition party ahead of the 1937 presidential election of the Republic of Laeral. Although the Laeralian National Congress never won the presidency or control of the National Assembly during the Republican Era, it won local and provincial elections and was a powerful voice for dissent at the federal level. Following the formation of the Second Allied Provinces of Laeral, the LNC became the dominant right-wing party until the 1980s, thrice electing a President of Laeral. Its founder François Guirard was elected the first president of the Second Allied Provinces of Laeral, and LNC figures served repeatedly as prime ministers.
Although the party won great popular support, its efforts were often hampered by infighting, notably 1967 when moderate, incumbent Congress President Georges Auriol was replaced as nominee by the more hardline Henri Laniel ahead of the 1968 presidential election. The party's fatal schism occurred in the late 1970s, when Congress split dramatically over the issue of whether to oppose the civil code reform supported by Progressive president Joseph Carlier, which included liberalization of divorce and abortion law, as well as a separate intra-party debate over a proposal limiting pensions for former military and civil servants. Following its formal dissolution in 1980, the party was largely succeeded by the Conservative Party (Laeral).