Luthori

[Ligbruderkrieg]

Labour chose Howe as party leader; liberals and environment activists sorely disappointed.
October 7th, 5669



Miles’ successor has been chosen and the Labour Party seems to have rallied behind the candidacy of Mr. Patrick Howe (49), freshman senator from Orange, as their next party leader. Mr. Howe, running on Mrs. Miles’ high popularity among party members, was able to fend off leadership challenges such as Mr. Pawlenty and Mr. Bercow’s respective bids for the leadership of the Labour Party. The Senator for Orange, even with his unorthodox views on energy and national security still nonetheless successfully repelled any of his foes’ attempts at winning the leadership instead of him. Backed by a strong coalition composed of unions to the Luthorian middle class, his strong promises of “unionisation” of the workforce and of economic liberalism reassured both sides of the Labour’s electorate, while his empty positions on social issues made him lose the support of most progressives in the Labour Party already.

Mr. Howe will become Mrs. Miles’ appointed successor on October 14th, when Emperor Richard II will officially receive the outgoing Prime Minister to receive her resignation and welcome the next Prime Minister and formally invest him with the responsibility of forming a government in his name. Mr. Howe becomes Prime Minister in an environment where the Labour Party and the Green Party, coalition partners since Miles’ impressive victory in 5660 are embroiled in tensions over PM Miles’ perceived weaknesses on environmental issues, an issue that hasn’t been addressed much by the previous administration, due to tensions between the two political formations on the road to take, the Labour Party, dominated by Red Labour votes, mostly emphasised the humane cost of clamping down on the coal industry, that the Greens pushed for, Foreign Secretary Coverty also repeatedly pushed the government towards “more concrete actions” in the environment field.

The future Prime Minister will have to handle numerous files upon entering office - from handling Luthori’s economic growth and industrial investments, guiding the nation through a more troubled world environment and mend the divide between the Gold Labour and the rest of the party, alongside the Green-Labour tensions that have recently spiked following Foreign Secretary Coverty’s announcement of retiring from the Green Party’s national leadership board by 5670. The Green Party, frustrated with over a decade of national leadership and very few progress on the level of both the environment and societal issues, is likely to elect two leaders this cycle, Jo Peterson and Martha Umball, running in an anti-Coverty platform, promising to “not let Labour get away with nothing in return”, slaming Coverty’s weak “influence” within the Cabinet, influence that didn’t allow him, in their view, to push for major and serious reforms.

With Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Coverty leaving the government - Mr. Howe has the opportunity to place yet another Labour minister within the Great Offices of State, further cementing Labour’s control over the government’s agenda and priorities. Mr. Howe’ perceived “liberalisation” twist, as he was once promoting Miles’ economic agenda is mostly seen as a result of his close relations with the booming tech sector, a sector that has seen increased investment and attention from the government in recent years. Mr. Howe once stated that he “hoped” to see Luthori become a “technological hub” in Artania during his tenure as Prime Minister, an increased effort into the development of the high tech sector should be awaited when talking about the future head of government’s economic strategy. The likely appointment of “Rocks Labourite” Donald Dole as Chancellor of the Exchequer is certainly going to lead to a far more restrained government in terms of public spending and a more business-friendly administration, in the great relief of the City of Fort William.

In the Times’ latest poll about the popularity of political figures, Mr. Howe rated low among the electorate with only 37% of the answers being positive. Most analysts explain this was caused by the newly-elected leader’s ambiguity in terms of economics and environment affairs and his preference for the status quo in social affairs, all of these making his stances unpopular with the left-wing establishment and failing to boost his credentials with the right-wing and center voters, who continues to support the Liberal Party and the Tories.