Republic Party (Laeral)
Republic Party Parti de la République | |
|---|---|
| Mandarin name | 共和黨 |
| Abbreviation | PR |
| Founder | Ren Jian-kuan |
| Founded | June 29, 1968 |
| Dissolved | September 1, 1986 |
| Preceded by | Social Democratic Party (Laeral) |
| Headquarters | Laeralsford |
| Membership (1982) | 2,200,000 |
| Ideology | Gramontism, Social Democracy, Democratic Socialism |
| Political position | Center-left to Left-wing |
| Colors | Dark Red |
The Republic Party (French: Parti de la République; Mandarin: 共和黨/Gònghé dǎng) was a Laeralian Gramontist political party active from 1965 until 1986. The legal successor to the Social Democratic Party, the Republic Party was an attempt by the Hong, or "vermilion" faction of the Social Democrats to reform the party following its 1968 constitutional ban. The reformists of Zhou Wei-lin's "scarlet" faction had previously left the party to form the Progressives. Despite facing increasing competition from the Progressives for the demographics who had long supported the Social Democrats, the Republic Party experienced consistent electoral success throughout the 1960s and 1970s, with Republic Party leader Ren Jian-kuan becoming Prime Minister from 1971 to 1973 under the "Twin Roses" coalition agreement of 1969. Alongside the Progressive Party and Laeralian Communist Party, the Republic Party took part in one of Laeral's most left-leaning coalition governments from 1976 to 1980. The Republic Party largely died out following a poor showing at the 1984 parliamentary election, with its officeholders defecting to the Progressives, the Rén nationalist Justice and Advancement Party, and the Progressive Democrats.
A separate "Republic Party" list which received ownership of the party name and identity contested the 2004 parliamentary election yet failed to gain representation in the Assembly of Commons.