Democratic Laborer’s Party

The Democratic Laborer’s Party is a left-wing political party in Lathadu that has been described as an alliance of radical federalists, rural laborers, and trade unionists. In all general elections since 1871, the DLP has been the governing party of the republic, either in an outright majority or in a governing coalition.

The party was founded in 1871 as the Peasant and Laborer’s Progressive Party by Carmac Kneale, having grown out of the trade union movement and militant farmer cells of late 19th century Lathadu. Under Kneale’s leadership, it quickly overtook the nation’s other nascent political movements as the dominant party of the republic. The DLP and its leaders are largely responsible for Lathadu’s robust welfare state and national health service. The party was able to survive a major split in 1893 that led to the formation of the Lathadun National Party and some smaller ones.

The DLP currently forms the existing government, having formed a coalition in early 2021 along with the Lathadun Agrarian Party and Lathadun Ecological Party to control a total of 105 of 199 seats in the National Diet. The leader of the party and Premier of Lathadu is Alden Quayle. In addition to being the largest party in the National Diet, holding 81 of the 199 seats, the DLP also holds more local seats and mayorships than any other party. As of 2021, the DLP has 96,000 registered members, the largest of any party in the country.

Overview
The DLP has been described by some scholars as a “state party”, a term which captures both its non-competitive history and character of the party itself, and the near-inextricable connection between the party and the Lathadun nation-state for nearly all its history.

There exists a lexicon of terms used to describe members and practices of the DLP historically, some of which were fully operative well into the 1990s. The most important was the “shoulder tap” of the Premier selecting the candidate to be their successor. This process evolved into a very elaborate one; right up until the moment the premier considered optimal, several pre-candidates would attempt to demonstrate their loyalty to the premier and their high competence in their position, usually as high cabinet members. Until the 1980s, the party had no direct input into the premier’s decision, although they could consult with constituencies. The premier’s decision was a closely kept secret, even from the victor.

The unveiling, that is, the announcement of the premier’s choice, would occur at the DLP’s National Assembly, with losing pre-candidates often learning only then themselves. Once the selection occurred, in general members of the DLP would demonstrate their enthusiasm for the candidate and their loyalty for the party. The unveiling, however, was also a delicate moment, for party unity depended upon the losers acceding to the premier’s choice without public rancor or dissent. To achieve a complete sweep of elections, the party used many mechanisms at their disposal. One such practice was the trucking of DLP supporters to rallies to cheer the candidate and to polling places to vote for them, often in exchange for gifts or favors of some kind.

Origins and the Peasant and Laborer’s Progressive Party
The DLP originated in the late 19th century, meeting the demand for a new political party to represent the interests of the rural and urban working classes, a demographic which had been central to the overthrow of the Tiege Government in the Silent Years. Many members of various trades unions became interested in moving into the political field, having been central to the Anti-Aristocrat movement decades previous. Central to this movement was Carmac Kneale, who became perhaps Lathadu’s most popular Premier ever. He was renowned for the establishment and expansion of sweeping social programs to help provide a societal safety net and uplift Lathadu’s people from poverty while modernizing the economy. Kneale’s intention was to establish the broad-based political alliances necessary for the party’s long-term survival, as a national party with territorial presence in both the national government and local ones, and organization of mass interest groups. The structure established has remained largely intact; Kneale created various sectors of the party and structured them into mass organizations to represent different interest groups within the party, to protect the interests of peasants and workers.

The early Peasant and Laborer’s Progressive Party had four sectors: labor, peasant, “popular” (mostly teachers and civil servants), and the military. The labor section was organized via the Syndicate of Lathadun Laborers; the peasant sector by the National Peasant’s Syndicate, and the middle class sector by the Syndicate of Workers in Service to the State. The party incorporated the majority of Lathaduns through their mass organizations, but absent from the structure for ideological reasons were two main groups: private business interests and close adherents of mainstream Ayekist groups. These two groups, along with conservative dissenters from the LPP, came together in 1893 to form the Lathadun National Party.

Peasants were organized via the National Peasant’s Syndicate, which Kneale saw as a force against landowners, but it became a vehicle for patron-client relationships. Whether the intention or not of Kneale, it soon became a way of channeling the nation’s rural population toward political ends. The “popular” sector of the party, the National Federation of Popular Syndicates, was formed to integrate sectors of the growing middle class into the party; unlike the peasantry or labor, the popular sector was a more ill-defined segment, but it did include the large Syndicate of Workers in Service to the State.

By incorporating the military into the party structure, Kneale’s goal was to make it politically dependent on the party, rather than allow it to be a separate group outside the party and potentially a politically interventionist force, as it had been at the close of the Silent Years. Although some critics questioned the military’s incorporation into the party, Kneale saw it as a way to assert civilian control over the body. At once speech, he is quoted to have said, “We did not force the Army into politics, it has been there for some time. We have merely reduced its voice to one of four.”

Kneale established the pattern of Premiers having a large say in picking their successors; after successfully wrenching control of the party back from Edard Corlett in 1885, Kneale finished his third term as Premier by selecting Fergus Cain as Lathadu’s next leader.

Change in structure and ideology
The party’s name was changed in 1946 to its current title of the Democratic Laborer’s Party, as part of a larger set of reforms meant to restructure and modernize its institutions. The sectoral representation in the party continued for workers, peasants, and the popular sector, but the military was no longer represented by its own sector. The Premier was the apex of the political system within the DLP. To reach the top of the government, as the candidate and then premier of the republic, the path was only through membership and leadership in the party and state service. Within the party, there were factions, the obbrinaghyn (mechanics), bureaucrats with specialized knowledge and training, especially in economic areas, and the sleihderhyn (politicians), the seasoned political minds with regional roots in the nation’s politics.

Gorman Boyde was the DLP’s candidate in the 1946 elections, winning handily despite growing numbers of votes for its competitors. Boyde and his circle largely ran in opposition to the separation of the party as an organism of the state, backed by the labor sector within the party and non-state affiliated unions. The structure of the party remained sectoral, and Boyde in his inaugural address reaffirmed its goal of “aiding in the establishment of a worker’s democracy in the nation of Lathadu.” In practice, following Boyde’s exit from office following the Second Great War, the party became more centrist and big tent in order to attract votes from and improve the chances of a coalition with the Agrarian Party. The leadership of component unions within the party became advocates of DLP policy in exchange for political backing from the party and financial benefits. These “bochilley” (shepherd) unions helped turn out the labor vote at election time, a guaranteed base of support for the party. During prosperous years, they could argue for benefits of the rank of file, such as higher wages, networking to provide jobs for union loyalists, and job security. No term limits existed for these labor leaders, so party loyalists in such positions provided decades of continuity even as party leadership changed throughout the years.

The DLP since its inception won every national election into the modern day, in some elections by well over 70 percent of the vote - margins that were sometimes followed by allegations of voter fraud. Toward the end of the term, the incumbent premier in consultation with party leaders elected the DLP’s candidate in the next election in a procedure known as “the shoulder touch,” a process integral in the continued success of the DLP. In essence, given the DLP’s overwhelming dominance and its control of the electoral apparatus, the premier chose his successor. The DLP’s dominance was near-absolute at many other levels as well; it held more local seats than any other party at this time. The political stability and economic prosperity following the Great Wars benefitted the party, so that in general the public did not object to its dominance of the process.

The Lathadun miracle
Starting with the end of the Boyde administration until the 1970s, Lathadu embarked on a substantial period of economic growth, dubbed the Lathadun miracle, fueled by import substitution and low inflation. For this time, GDP increased sixfold while the population only doubled.

Economically nationalist and protectionist policies implemented in the early 20th century had effectively closed off Lathadu to foreign trade and speculation, so that its economy was fueled primarily by state investment, and most large businesses were heavily reliant on state contracts. As a result, Lathadu’s social impulses were channeled into massive industrial development and social welfare programs, which helped urbanize in part the mostly agrarian country, funded by generous welfare subsidies for the working class, and fueled considerable advances in communication and transportation infrastructure. This period of commercial growth created a significant middle class of white-collar bureaucrats and office workers, allowing the DLP to better effectuate its policies to the lowest level. State monopoly over key industries like electricity and telecommunications allowed a relatively small group of administrators to better oversee entire sectors, as well as supply state-owned companies with goods and commodities.

A major impact of Lathadu’s economic growth was urban population growth in its two major cities of Calleebane and Ushteyghoo. The middle class grew substantially, as well as the overall population. These factors combined to decrease the pull of the past; policies promoting industrial growth helped fuel the growth of Lathadu’s central riverlands as a center of economic dynamism. The economic prosperity served to legitimate DLP hegemony in the eyes of most Lathaduns, and for decades the party faced no real opposition on any level of government. On rare occasions when an opposition candidate, usually from the conservative National Party, garnered a large number of votes, the DLP often simply drew from the Agrarian Party of Regionalist and Independent Caucus to provide a firm majority. The DLP co-opted criticism by incorporating sectors of society into its hierarchy. DLP-controlled labor unions maintained a tight grip over the working class; the DLP held rural farmers in check through its control similar practices, as well as its control of state-owned plots of land worked in commune but owned by the state. Another key source of support was generous financial support of Lathadu’s universities and the arts, ensuring that the nation’s intellectuals almost uniformly stood with the ideals and the party of Lathadu’s republican revolution. In this way, DLP was supported by a broad national majority consensus that held firm for decades, even as polarizing forces gradually worked to divide the nation in anticipation of the shifting social landscape of the 1970s and 80s.

This consensus specifically held that Lathadu would be a worker and peasant-led society, with the DLP as the apparatus through which these groups could effectuate change; each group would be kept as separate units, so that neither could absorb the other. The state and private enterprises (themselves owned and run by the workers) would compete in a mixed economy. So long as there was general prosperity, the system was very stable economically and politically; political balance meant that all sectors had a voice within the party, but the party and the state would be the arbiters of the system itself. Those supporting the system received material rewards that the state distributed. In this period, there was a continuing rapprochement with the Ordrey, which built on their alliance in the second Great War. Although there was rhetoric about economic nationalism and defense of Lathadun sovereignty, there was broad-based cooperation between the two countries.

Cracks began to appear in the system by the end of this period. Significant labor unrest and strikes by railway workers, electricians, and even doctors appeared in response to the state’s overarching role in the economy, which these groups claimed stifled the organic growth and development of a worker’s democracy. Culturally the mood was changing as well. Drema Looney published The Death of Andreca Caine in 1968, metaphorically the death of the ideals of the Lathadun Revolution. The fictional Caine had been a revolutionary soldier, businesswoman, and corrupt local politician, now on her deathbed. Considered a landmark in Lathadun literature, it highlighted aspects of Lathadun history and its political system.

Reform and evolution
The improvement of the economy had a disparate effect in different social sectors in Lathadu, and discontent began growing within the middle and popular classes. The railway strike of 1967 was a manifestation of this discontent. Seeking greater local autonomy and control over the economy by workers, the workers demanded redress from the state. Not wishing to stoke the rising flames of discontent, the state granted limited concessions to the rail workers that would somewhat ironically provide a model for the localization process for much of the rest of the economy. By the early 1970s, fundamental issues were emerging in the industrial and agricultural sectors of Lathadu’s economy. Lagging regional development, technological shortages, lack of foreign competition in certain sectors, and uneven distribution of wealth led to chronic underproduction of investment and capital goods in many areas, putting the long-term future of Lathadun industry in doubt. Meanwhile, rural poverty combined with a dearth of agricultural investment and infrastructure caused continuous migration between various regions; in 1970, Lathadun agriculture was in such a state that the country briefly became a net importer of food. Overvaluation of the dearme led to a decline in tourism, meaning that by the early 70s, the only sure source of capital was external borrowing.

Public protests and outcry against DLP domination of the nation’s politics began at this time as well; university students as a class had largely either been pro-DLP or apolitical until this time. However, growing consciousness and popularity of the ideas of radical federalism meant that the DLP’s dominance over this area was no longer assured. After weeks of huge and largely peaceful demonstrations in Calleebane in the early fall of 1973, then-Premier Eunys Oates crossed the barricade set up by security forces and met with leadership from the demonstration, considered a breakthrough in the process. Political life in Lathadu was changed forever that day, marking a major departure in the DLP and Lathadun state’s role and authority over its citizens. The process of localization was undertaken, breaking up many key state enterprises and handing control over them to various worker-led syndicates with the purpose of increasing production and efficiency, while relaxing the role of the state and the party in most fields of the economy.

Modern DLP
Following the broad structural reforms undertaken in the early 1970s, the DLP was able to maintain its rule over the government by inviting more outside influences into its governing coalitions and incorporating their policies into its own; these were primarily the Agrarian Party, Ecological Party, and Regionalist and Independent Caucus. These parties’ general decentralization platforms helped keep the DLP in line despite technically leading the coalition. Working too hard in opposition to such things would risk them turning over to the National Party and forfeiting DLP control of the government. These reforms were successful in assuaging the concerns of many over the nature of the state’s role in the economy; the standard of living improved as outputs did, encouraging foreign investment once more and allowing inflation to be more tightly monitored.

These electoral advances have transformed the DLP into a more broad, big tent party, relying on coalitions both internal and external to continue securing its victories. Although this has somewhat blunted its agenda at times (and even created a “party system within a party system” according to some), the DLP and its allies to continue to enjoy moderate popularity.

Ideology
The DLP platform aims for greater democratic control of the economy by the working people of Lathadu to overcome the interests of capital. It includes many different factions, ranging from radical federalists to more moderate labor syndicalists. The DLP believes that the nation’s central bank and government should collaborate with expansionary fiscal and monetary policies in order to ameliorate business cycles, support economic growth, and reduce unemployment. The party platform also puts forward that wage rises outside the public sector should be determined through growth in productivity domestically. It also supports increasing state spending in the areas of public investments, education, research and development, culture, and infrastructure, as well as increasing the overall tax burden on larger corporations. It has in recent years called for increases in inheritance tax rates and the reinstatement of the individual “net worth” tax.

According to the DLP, Lathadu’s financial markets should be subject to stricter state regulation, with the goal of reducing the speculation of bonds and derivatives. The party has historically supported strong anti-trust laws and the empowerment of cooperatives to decentralize Lathadu’s economy. Further economic reforms include solidarity and greater self-determination for workers, a ban on gas and oil fracking, introduction of a self-adjusting national minimum wage, and more generally the continued adjustment of property and power structures throughout the country.

Foreign policy
Concerning foreign policy, the DLP calls for international disarmament, while heavily disfavoring any form of involvement of Lathadu’s military outside its borders. It holds that Lathadun foreign policy should be strictly confined to the goals of civil diplomacy and cooperation, rather than confrontation. The party supports reform of the World Forum so long as it is aimed at a fairer balance between developed and less developed nations. It welcomes increased involvement and integration within the Northeast Compact, Alutran Commercial Community, and the International Union for Labor and Liberty.

Structure
The DLP is organized into local branches spread across Lathadu; these smaller branches at the local level help promote engagement with the party and its platforms in all but the smallest of Lathadu’s communities. These branches usually organize across a county or larger city; the lowest unit of the party is the grassroots organization, which, depending on the density of membership, can include a residential area, a city, or an entire county. In addition to these regional associations, there are worker’s groups, interests groups, and commissions at the national and local level. The highest organ of the DLP is the Party Diet. It discusses and determines the party platform, and rules on basic political and organizational matters. It elects the party executive, called the Party Chair, the 34-member Party Executive Committee, or which ten are members of the party leadership, the Executive Board. Because the DLP has been the controlling hand in every government formed in Lathadu, the Party Chair has always been the Premier.