Pantocratoria First Party

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Pantocratoria First Party
pantocratoria.jpg
Parti Pantocratorie-Première
Established 2004
Defunct 2005
Economic ideology Liberal Conservatism
Social ideology Catholic Integralism / Populism

The Pantocratoria First Party ended life as a minor Pantocratorian opposition party, occupying 15 seats in the Imperial Parliament before it was dissolved in 2005. For most of 2004 it was the dominant force in Pantocratorian politics, until its crushing defeat in the November 2004 elections. It was a populist morally conservative party, formed out of the extremist wing of the old United Christian Front.

The Founding of the PFP

The Pantocratoria First Party was founded in early 2004 by Princess Irene, who convinced a majority of the parliamentary United Christian Front to leave the party and rally behind her as the leader of the new Pantocratoria First Party and Imperial Chancellor.

Government

First Term (2004) and Election of the 106th Imperial Parliament

In the lead-up to the elections for the 106th Pantocratorian Imperial Parliament, the Pantocratoria First Party government surged ahead in the polls after Pantocratoria fought and won a popular and brief war against Espario. The Loyal Christian Front wasn't equipped for an election - it had been over 12 years since the 105th Pantocratorian Imperial Parliament was elected, and none of the members of Prince Basil's loyalists had been prepared to fight another one. The Party's first term in government was also marked by an expansion of the powers of the Ministry of Cultural Development, racist anti-elf policies, and the cementing of the Pantocratorian Excalbian Alliance.

Second Term (2004)

The Pantocratoria First Party's time in opposition was markedly less successful than the early 2004 election campaign. Prince Basil and his opposition's front bench lead a mounting attack on the credibility of the Government, particularly over the unpopular powers of the Ministry of Cultural Development. But it was the Knootian Boycott Act which became the Opposition's most deadly weapon. Prince Basil had close working relationships with many Pantocratoria First Party backbenchers when they were members of the United Christian Front, and as a result he knew that he could count on the votes of more than a few of them in support of a private members bill condemning the actions of the Dutch Democratic Republic of Knootoss in Tanah Burung. The act was passed without Princess Irene or the rest of the party's leadership's support, which was immensely embarassing to the Government. Prince Basil further exploited the divisions within the Pantocratoria First Party to pass a motion of no confidence in Sir Jacques Antoniou, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, when it was revealed that he had had correspondence with his Knootian counterpart in which he opposed the Boycott Act. The party's unity collapsed, and Princess Irene was forced to call an election.

Election of the 107th Imperial Parliament

Thanks to new laws which allowed the formation of political parties by ordinary citizens, instead of only Knights of the Order of the Pantocrator, peers of the realm, and members of the Imperial Family, the Pantocratoria First Party was faced with an election environment it didn't expect. Princess Irene misjudged the appeal of the newcomers, the Constantinople Party and the Pantocratorian Socialist Alliance, and regarded the Loyal Christian Front as the only credible adversary until too late. In the eyes of many voters, the Loyal Christian Front and the Pantocratoria First Party both represented the past, the former United Christian Front government, and the new parties enjoyed a kind of public support which neither the Government nor the Opposition enjoyed. The Loyal Christian Front managed to maintain its relevance, however, whereas throughout the campaign Princess Irene and the Pantocratoria First Party resembled a political dinosaur, unable to see the meteor about to render it extinct. The party was demolished in the elections, losing all but 15 seats in the Pantocratorian Imperial Parliament.

After the election, after the public dummy spit which was Princess Irene's concession and resignation speech, the Pantocratoria First Party elected Isaac Comnenus, former Treasurer in both the Pantocratoria First and the United Christian Front governments, to lead it. Pantocratoria First agreed in principle to form a coalition government with the Loyal Christian Front and the Constantinople Party, but the Constantinople Party declined the invitation, and instead formed a coalition government with the Pantocratorian Socialist Alliance.

Opposition

The 107th Imperial Parliament sat for the first time in December 2004, with the Pantocratorian Socialist Alliance and Constantinople Party sitting on treasury benches as the Government. The preferred option for conservatives was a Loyal Christian Front-led coalition consisting of the Loyal Christian Front, the Pantocratoria First Party, and the Constantinople Party, in which arrangement, the Pantocratoria First Party would be the junior of the three partners.

Reformation of the United Christian Front (2005)

In late 2005 the leaders of the Loyal Christian Front and the Pantocratoria First Party met and negotiated the terms under which the United Christian Front would be reformed as one party. Each party room agreed, and the United Christian Front was reformed. Prince Basil was elected as leader, and Pantocratoria First Party leader Isaac Comnenus was elected as his deputy. There is still much enmity within the United Christian Front between the two groups.

Leaders of the Pantocratoria First Party