Valruzia

[Aethan]

Mapping the Left in Valruzia

This piece is part of a three-part analysis of the parties represented in the Sejm

January 5638

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The left in Valruzia does not follow the typical path in other Terran nations with a strong centre-left party and a smaller more left-wing party. Instead, it is quite the opposite. Two parties dominate this space: the Communist Party of Valruzia (KPW) and Dignity and Progress (GiP), reformist social democrats. Once united against the Morawski regime leftovers, they now battle for the soul of Valruzia's working class. In this article we will analyze their ideology, their differences and their possible future.

 

Communist Party of Valruzia - the pragmatic revolutionaries

Although their honeymoon might come to an end soon according to the most recent polls, the KPW is arguably one of Seleya's more successful communist parties in a democratic regime. Right now, the party is the second largest force in the Valruzian Sejm, holds the presidency of the Kampania region and its former leader Karolina Pietrzyk is the current Head of State of Valruzia. Thorough its electoral history, from its surprising 16% result during the constituent election to its solidification as Valruzia's second largest force, many scholars have attributed its popularity within Valruzian society due to the fact that after a dictatorial regime, the KPW advocates for a peaceful transition to communism instead of a violent revolt, as is the case of many communist parties around Terra. And in a society longing for freedom, wording does matter.

The party, whose statutes define itself as a "communist" and "scientific socialist" party, is generally regarded as the most progressive party in Valruzian politics. Its founder and initial candidate, Karolina Pietrzyk, can be blamed for the party's initial and lasting popularity. A labor lawyer, Pietrzyk was one of the last promotions of female students allowed to study law before the regime banned women from such studies (although it eventually allowed them back in 5612). Afterwards, she took part of the Valruzian protests that ended up toppling the regime and was arrested twice by the regime police, although she was freed both times.

Following the downfall of the Morawski regime, she was one of the founders of the party, being elected in Kampania for the constituent Sejm, where she led the party to become the most-voted force in the Voivodeship. As deputy, she managed to gather the support of the other political parties to enshrine in the Constitution the right to State intervention in private companies when in the public interest and the facilitation of access by workers to ownership of the means of production. This represented the first cornerstone for the KPW and for her own figure. However,  she truly became widely known for the general public following the 5627 Valruzian coup attempt, after she was one of the four political figures in the Sejm that refused to comply with the order given by coup leader Lt. Strzele to lie on the floor, instead remaining in her seat. This simple act made her popularity skyrocket and polls started placing her among the top two favorites to win the first Valruzian presidential elections, which she ended up doing and became the first democratically elected Head of State of the post-Morawski era, a communist as President democratically elected by a nation of more than 130 million people. The party's popularity grew thanks to this association, and the KPW became stronger in the 5630 Valruzian elections, amassing more than 20% of the vote and barely missing the second spot by a mere 1% against the conservative National Renewal. This time, however, it was not Karolina Pietrzyk the woman who led the party, as she retired from the leadership following her election as President; it was a then unknown Tobiasz Bernas, the man who was trying to fill in Pietrzyk's shoes. And he has done so far. He was behind the decision of lending external support to the first Nowik cabinet - a minority coalition government of Sovereign Valruzia and Dignity and Progress led by Chancellor Szymon Nowik - and he was widely credited with the approval of the same-sex civil unions after he had threatened the government with removing the KPW's support if such bill was not presented to the Sejm. The party positions during that legislature - support for the main Nowik's initiatives, including the Valruzia 5700 economic plan or the mandatory military services - sparked some controversies among the most radical leftists and members of communist circles, but proved to be successful after the party became the only one to resist Szymon Nowik's sweeping attack in the 5635 Valruzian elections - while the minority coalition partner, Dignity and Progress, suffered a 50% loss of votes, the KPW held its own and even managed to win 1 deputy, which added to the fall of the center-right National Renewal allowed it to reach the second position for the first time.

However, thanks to Sovereign Valruzia's agreement with National Renewal for this new legislature, the votes of the KPW are no longer necessary, since the new government already has a comfortable parliamentary majority. And where does this leave the KPW? Its leader Bernas is well aware that Chancellor Nowik will turn from time to time to his party in order to ask for support whenever National Renewal refuses to do so, although its influence this legislature has shrinked significantly. He still holds some leverage though: in the end, he is the elected Marshall of the Kampania Voivodeship, not once but twice, and the most popular regional Marshall so far. But that's where the KPW's key lies: the Kampanian Voivodeship.

This region is home to 1 out of every 4 votes the KPW receives nationwide, its the only region where the party is the largest force in parliament and it's where the KPW headquarters lie, for obvious reasons. This does not mean the KPW performs poorly in the four other Voivodeships, but Kampania is its salvation and its kryptonite. The moment the KPW performs badly in the region, they might as well be in serious trouble, as this region has so far granted them around 25% of its total seats. And with current polls now placing them in a downward trend, how will the KPW and its leader Tobiasz Bernas tackle this? The Communist Party of Valruzia has cimented its popularity among the general and especially among leftist voters based in their hardline stance, and that is what has granted them the domain in the left-of-centre field, barely leaving anything else for Dignity and Progress. But how longer will this hold? How will the KPW balance compromise with radicalism, its communist positions with more moderate ideas?

 

Dignity and Progress - Social democracy in crisis

Born from labor unions and dissident intellectuals at the end of the Morawski regime, GiP once seemed determined to lead Valruzia's left. Its founder Amelia Korzeniewska crafted a social democratic platform that briefly managed to seduce 14% of the voters during the Constituent elections. But a decade later, it's been squeezed from all sides (See also our special report: "The loneliness of Social Democracy: Why Valruzia’s Dignity and Progress party is fading into irrelevance" for more information):

Basically, Dignity and Progress can be blamed with three fatal miscalculations, all of them attributed to its founder Korzeniewska:

First of all, while governing with Sovereign Valruzia under the leadership of Szymon Nowik, the party failed to take pride in its achievements, or even acknowledge them. While the KPW presented every single achievement, no matter how small it was, as their personal print, Dignity and Progress was just "happy to be there", with Amelia Korzeniewska, in theory Deputy Chancellor of Valruzia, nowhere to be seen or heard. For a government that had to be powerful enough to convey a strong message in the first post-Morawski cabinet, only Sovereign Valruzia understood that. 

But despite polls already predicting that, GiP failed to see the huge blow that was coming in the form of the 5635 elections, which were supposed to be the citizens' rating of the first Nowik government. Result? Dignity and Progress lost 30 seats, more than they were left with (27 seats), while Sovereign Valruzia happily collected 27 seats. Voters had determined that Dignity and Progress was not worth their time, having the senior coalition partner and the Communist Party as more viable options to rely on. Rejecting KPW's coalition offers in some rural areas and focusing on urban middle-class issues which alienated its blue-collar base were also commonly cited as reasons for its downfall.

But despite this result, it took longer for Amelia Korzeniewska to step aside. With some sparks of internal revolution already flaring within the party, she only decided to take a step aside right before the 5635 Presidential elections, in a move that did not even let her own party choose a different candidate. Calculated as a form of revenge or not, Korzeniewska legacy will not be easily weighted by her successors. 

Ernest Greger is her successor, chosen just a few months ago in an attempt to reverse the catastrophic polls, and his methods seem to be working, or at least partially, as the party now is predict to achieve over 6% of the vote. Not a big result for many of the Valruzian political parties, but a breath of fresh air for the "traditional socialdemocracy", and yet another delay on the idea that flies over some more radical members inside Dignity and Progress, who keeps whispering about merging with KPW's reformist wing — a move that very well could reshape Valruzia's left entirely.

Prof. Anja Kovac said it in our previous report: "

They want to be the respectable left in a country that despises lukewarm politics. They want a breakaway from their past and something to be proud again. And Dignity and Progress offers neither. When the choice for left-of-center people is between revolutionary fervor (KPW) and patriotic pragmatism (Nowik), the middle ground becomes a no-man’s-land."

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Don't miss the other articles:

• Mapping the Right in Valruzia: National Renewal, National Salvation and Valruzian Alliance
  

• Mapping the Outliers in Valruzia: Sovereign Valruzia, Agrarian Voice and Liberal Alliance