Conservative Party of Kirlawa

The Conservative Party of Kirlawa, sometimes referred to in legal documents as the Conservative and Independent Party of Kirlawa, is a centre-right, liberal conservative and radical centrist party represented in the General Assembly of Kirlawa. It was founded in April 3785 by Malagasy Thatcher and Alexander Magnum. The party's main aim is to "withdraw Kirlawa from all major international treaties".

Generally, the party has a laissez-faire economic attitude, and are moderately secular. Their social policies are conflicting - although it is officially stated to be centrist in nature, it has veered drastically from progressive to conservative, depending on the era and leadership. The party is relatively militarist and traditionally leans towards small government, although they classify themselves as Third Way at various times. The party is anthropogenic in terms of environmental policies.

Beginnings (3785 - 3821)
The party initially began in April 3785 as a liberal conservative party, with liberal economic and social policies. Started by a consortium of intelligentsia, including Alexander Magnum and Malagasy Thatcher, the party had its roots in populism and libertarianism. It contested the 3787 Kiralwan elections and won 90 seats and 12.85% of the popular vote, unprecedented for a new party at the time. This continued for a while, and Alexander Magnum, the Chairman of the Party, was elected as President from July 3790 to January 3784.

The initial hype surrounding the party gradually declined and settled around 6-7% of the popular vote for around twenty years. Following this, the party embarked on a heavy campaign and shifted its focus to increasing civil liberties and adopting progressive policies, resulting in sharp, consecutive rises in vote share from 3809 to 3818. Alexander Magnum once again became President after an astonishing victory of 148 seats and 20.64% of the vote share. His tenure only lasted for one year, after which a snap election was called and the CPK fell in the polls.

Alexander Magnum retired from his capacity as Chairman of the Party in 3821, triggering the Party's first leadership elections. His son, Alexander Magnum II, won the most votes and subsequently succeeded his fther.

Social conservatism and Isolationism (3821 - 3832)
Alexander Magnum II's reign was marked by drastic shifts in party policy, moving it closer to the right both socially and militarily. He also began "Kirlawan Isolationism", an ideology synonymous with the CPK to this day. He advocated for the withdrawal of Kirlawa from major international treaties that bound the legislature to international regulations. This drew widespread support within the Party, and the "Isolationist Group" was founded in 3825. It soon became the biggest subgroup within the party.

This was not well-received by voters, however; although the Conservatives regained several seats in subsequent elections, its performance was tamed compared to previous results. The inability to revitalise the Party from its previous errors, and the increasing stagnation of the leadership, led to a vote of no confidence for Magnum II. He lost that vote, triggering yet another leadership election. Malagasy Thatcher, who served as Leader since the Party's founding, contested and successfully won the elections, thus serving concurrently as Chairman and Leader.

Laissez-faire Economics and Deregulation (3832 - 3875)
Malagasy Thatcher moved the party from a populist to a convictionist platform. Her resounding speeches and unwavering beliefs drew support from both inside and out of the Party. She promoted "free-market economics", which included privatisation of large chunks of the state and deregulation of various industries. She also continued on with her predecessor's isolationist and militarist policies, although she moved the Conservatives back from the right to the centre in terms of social policy.

Her efforts began to show in the 3838 and 3842 elections, where the Conservative Party won 153 and 181 seats in the General Assembly. The 3842 elections were the best for the Conservatives ever, earning the second largest margin of the popular vote and becoming the largest opposition in the GA. From there, the Party's performance was mixed and varied greatly. This could be attributed to a flux in the political climate at the time as a swathe of new parties entered the scene.

The party's worst defeat came in 3864. Abstentions were rampant and discipline not tightly enforced. Vote share fell by 13.21%, and the Conservatives were left with only 19 seats. They rebounded quickly in the next elections, increasing the seat count to 106. By the 3874 elections, Malagasy Thatcher stated her desire to retire and abdicated from her post as Chairman in April of 3875, followed by her post as Leader in September. The first elections for the post of Leader, and the first dual leadership elections were held.

Thatcher was never either Prime Minister nor President of Kirlawa during her 90 years in the Party.

Internationalism (3875 - )
Li Guanyao won the post of Chairman whereas Malthus Mabella won the post of Leader.

Leaders

 * Malagasy Thatcher (Leader: 3785 - 3875; Chairman: 3834 - 3875, 3882 - ): Founded the party, along with Alexander Magnum II. She embraced the free market and adopted a centrist social policy, but maintained the isolationist foreign policy of her predecessor. Halfway through her tenure, she moved violently from a populist approach to a convictionist one. She won the leadership election for Chairman and served concurrently as Leader and Chairman until 3875, where she died of old age, triggering the party's first dual leadership elections.


 * Alexander Magnum (Chairman: 3785 - 3821): Founded the party, along with Malagasy Thatcher. Adopted a progressive social policy and embraced permissive rights while pursuing an internationalist foreign policy. Abdicated, citing old age, calling the party's first leadership elections.


 * Alexander Magnum II (Chairman: 3821 - 3832): Son of the previous leader, and first to be elected by popular vote. Moved the party closer to the right in terms of social policy, and restricted freedoms for stability. Pursued an isolationist foreign policy. Lost a vote of confidence, triggering a snap leadership election.


 * Malthus Mabella (Leader: 3875 - ): Became Leader of the Party alongside Li Guanyao. Has expressed a desire for an internationalist foreign policy and progressive social policy.


 * Li Guanyao (Chairman: 3875 - 3882 ): Became Chairman of the Party alongside Malthus Mabella. Has expressed a desire for increased civil liberties.

Divisions
Although the party is considered to be very unified in their approach to various policies, there maintains to be a number of divisions within the party itself with differing beliefs.

Mainstay
The Mainstayers form the bulk of the party's members. They are moderately centrist, with a diverse range of views but are almost unanimous in the following beliefs:


 * Kirlawa must remain as, and will continue to be, a liberal democracy.
 * Policies must not be made according to the party's ideals but for the benefit of the country.

In this respect, the Mainstayers advocate for a loosening of the party whip and more freedom guaranteed to members.

Seculars
The Seculars is comprised mostly of irreligious and secular party members who seek for the separation of religion and government as far as possible.

Radicals
The Radicals are radical centrists who aim to make the party as centrist as possible, such that all left-wing policies implemented will be balanced by right-wing policies.

Free-Marketers
The Free-Marketers believe in free-market policies and maintain the ideals of deregulation and less red tape. Malagasy Thatcher is a Free-Marketer.

Economic
The party is staunchly rooted in laissez-faire economics, i.e. the heavy deregulation of the market. It is to promote efficient competition and progress, while ensuring that important components such as Health and Safety remain.

The party is also committed to curbing the power of trade unions, and deregulate workers' policies, such as allowing employers to fire workers with grounded cause etc.

In terms of taxation, the party wishes to establish a new tax band of 5% for those earning >5000SEN, remove tax bands above 70%, followed by tax bands above 60%. They also seek to introduce a new 5% sales tax on essential goods and services, while lowering the tax on luxury goods to 35% and corporate tax to 25%.

The party is open to free foreign trade and investment.

Social
Unlike other traditional conservative parties, the Conservative Party of Kirlawa's policies are generally progressive in nature, and civil liberties of all types championed. One of its most crucial policies is to allow the use of genetically modified organisms, which has been proven to be medically safe for consumption and production. It supports minority rights, including racial, religious and sexual minorities, and adopts a secular social policy, by considering all religions (or lack thereof) as equal under the law.

Political
The party seeks to reduce the legislative size to an even number, preferably 700 or below., and is committed to proportional representation, with a D'Hondt system using Open Party Lists. There is also a desire to reduce legislative terms from 42 months to 21 months, to enable more responsive governments.

The party's current main aim is to return Kirlawa's sovereignty by removing ourselves from major international treaties which inhibit the right of the legislature to make new laws. This means withdrawing Kirlawa from as many legislatively binding treaties as possible.

Presidential

 * The party did not contest nor endorsed another candidate in presidential elections on July 3857.
 * From January 3861 to July 3874, the party failed to list a candidate for the presidential elections during that period to focus on gaining parliamentary strength. An endorsement was given to another party up until July 3867. The party did not contest nor endorse another candidate during the January 3871 and July 3874 elections.
 * The position ranking represents the party's position in the *latest* round they had competed in. If they had achieved 1st in the first round of voting but 2nd on the second round of voting, the position will be listed as "2nd", and vice versa.