Conservative Party (Laeral)
Conservative Party Parti Conservateur | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President | Gwendoline Schneider |
| Vice President | Victor Bailly |
| Leader in the Commons | Cesaire Borde |
| Leader in the General Assembly | Jean-Christophe Vezinet |
| Chair of the Conservative Governor's Association | Jean-Dominique Esnard |
| Founded | September 10, 1975 |
| Split from | Laeralian National Congress |
| Headquarters | Laeralsford, Laeral |
| Youth wing | Conservative Students' & Youth Movement |
| Rén Wing | Association of Rén Conservatives |
| Veteran's Wing | Conservative Veteran's Association |
| Membership (2018) | 1,300,000 |
| Ideology | Christian Democracy, Liberal conservatism |
| Political position | Center-right |
| Religion | Catholicism |
| Colors | Light blue |
| Anthem | "Laisser des Traces" |
| Assembly of Commons | 38 / 386
|
| General Assembly | 14 / 66
|
| Provincial Governors/First Ministers | 3 / 33
|
| Website | |
| particonservateur.org.lr | |
The Conservative Party (French: Parti Conservateur) is a Laeralian center-right, Christian-democratic political party supporting largely by Arrivée voters. The party's primary rival on the right is the multiracial Laeralian People's Party. Founded in 1975 during the break-up of the Laeralian National Congress party, the Conservative Party became a major party of the right and elected Paul Evrard as president for two terms from 1980 to 1988, as well as serving in numerous coalition governments.
The Conservative Party includes both socially moderate and socially conservative elements, and currently serves as a part of the governing coalition alongside the New Democratic Alliance, Progressive Party, and Green Party/Laeralian Ecology. During the 21st century, the Conservatives have experienced declining electoral fortunes, with their result of only 38 of 386 seats in the National Assembly marking their poorest electoral showing since the 1970s.
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.