Luthori

[Ligbruderkrieg]

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What will be Holian-Keaty's legacy as he leaves office?
18 September 5715

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Prime Minister Holian-Keaty has resigned as Prime Minister and Labour party leader. Now stands the infamous question of his legacy as Prime Minister, long criticised for his “moderate” credentials within the Labour Party has nonetheless pushed for numerous reforms during his premiership, although has also been criticised for his lack of efforts on other fields, such as the judiciary, a long struggle for the Luthorian left, which has continously wished for the abolishment of the death penalty.

While the death penalty is still present within Luthorian law, the last execution was held in 5677, when Marwa Jirokugi was executed following his death sentence after the murder of two Luthorian-born Mordusian students. Since then, no death sentences were promulgated upon any criminal indicted by Luthorian law enforcement. The government aimed at passing the Death Penalty (Restriction of Usage) Bill, 5609, a proposed law aimed at restraining the usage of penalty to merely acts of espionage, treason and sedition, while removing the threat of the death penalty for murder cases. 

Prime Minister Holian-Keaty and Justice Secretary Taylor Shawn pushed heavily for the bill to be passed in Parliament. It passed the Imperial Diet smoothly in the Imperial Diet, where the large Labour majority easily passed the bill, unfortunately it stalled in the House of Peers, where debates stalled for over a year as Conservative peers tried their best to avoid the bill from becoming law. The bill’s fate was sealed following the resignation in disgrace of Secretary Shawn over a controversial corruption scandal in 5711 – and the House of Peers rejected the bill. Prime Minister Holian-Keaty tried to reach out for a compromise with the Tories in the Peers, as his own left-wing faction was in open revolt in the Diet, but to no avail.

Critics argue that the Prime Minister should have pressed on the subject, as he disposes a large array of powers to force the Peers to concede to his proposed reforms, such as asking the Emperor to appoint more peers to tilt the balance of the House in his favour, although it does goes against Mr. Holian-Keaty's character, which has built himself as a strict believer in the unwritten Luthorian constitutional model and has distanced himself from this sort of political power-play, which he argues are “coming out straight of the little populist’s guide to subdue democracy”.

A failure to engage in subsential judicial reform through the rejection of the Death Penalty Bill was coupled with the failure of the government and the provinces to secure a compromise on a substantial increase in the minimum wage, the government tried to push a policy of a major increase from £12.11 to £15, but the right-wing governments of Orange, Middenriding and Northriding rejected directly this proposal, which, they argued was “economic suicide” - the left-wing governments in Erneshire and Shipleyriding, while more sympathetic to the Prime Minister’s agenda also had reservations. The Labour Party’s disappointing performance in the 5710 local elections, notably in Shipleyriding, where they were forced into a coalition with the Liberal Alliance (local party, affiliated with the national Liberal Party), greatly moderating their platform. 

Due to the failure of what was dubbed the “Stephen Port Summit” - the Prime Minister was forced into a bitter compromise with right-wing Labour elements, which merely increased the minimum wage to £13.11 per hour. His economic agenda wasn’t always met with failures however, the appointment of Dr. Patrick Doll as Governor of the Bank of Luthori, granted a sympathetic actor in the Bank of Luthori for the Labour economic agenda.

The Prime Minister’s agenda was also met with a milestone in foreign policy – for the first time ever, a Luthorian government apologised for its role in the colonialisation of Dovani. Following Emperor William’s lead in the few months following his elections, the Prime Minister encouraged the creation of the “Luthori-Dovani Reconciliation Fund”, spearheaded by his foreign minister, Dr. Henry Schnee. Schnee also oversaw a major change in Luthorian foreign policy, by placing “human rights” and “peaceful development of relations” first through the “PEAK” doctrine.

The Prime Minister also led a deepening comprehension of Luthori’s role in MATO through the appointment of Defence Secretary Peterson in 5713. Peterson oversaw the deployment of Luthorian forces in fellow MATO allied state of Amudim, in Sholemberg, through negotiations with local officials to allow for Luthorian deployment in the area. This move solidified Luthori’s security ties with its MATO allies.

In retrospect, the Prime Minister’s legacy on Luthorian politics is difficult to understand, on one hand, he represents the first left-wing prime minister in over three decades, on the other hand, his premiership disappointed many on the left and angered many right-wing voters. His policy failures, specifically concerning the death penalty have been described as “betrayals” of the progressive cause, leading to long steady decline in his popularity. Furthermore, his shift on defence policy, he who was a long opponent of the Conservatives’ defence-focused policy, angered many on his left-wing flank, leading to numerous disputes between the leadership and the left-wing activists inside Labour. 

For his supporters, his legacy will be one of a progressive champion – who challenged the long-held ideals deep rooted inside Luthori’s consciousness as he arrived following three decades of Conservative dominion over the government. For his opponents, his premiership represented either a decline in Luthorian norms or represented a lost opportunity to change things radically – with opponents claiming that Holian-Keaty's moderation “doomed” Luthori to see “any meaningful change in over 10 years in government”.

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