The two centre-right parties; the Conservative Party, and Together for Lauchenoiria, are to form a coalition with confidence-and-supply from the Liberals in what will be Lauchenoiria’s first right-wing government since the 1952 Communist Revolution. Conservative leader Thomas Averforth will become Prime Minister with Sandra Pavía as Deputy Prime Minister. The two parties, which are closely aligned on economic issues, differ on some social issues, the coalition strategy towards which will be set out in an agreement which is yet to be published.
The Liberal Party has agreed to provide confidence-and-supply to the new coalition, citing “stability” and implying the threat of the Communists in light of the 2018 civil war. The Liberals are currently in the process of a leadership election, with this decision being made collectively by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC), a body which is elected by party membership annually. While it is unknown who will be the next leader, it is highly unlikely that any contender will oppose the decision given the party’s well-known prioritisation of stable government since the civil war.
It is expected that the new coalition will speed up the privatisation of state-owned enterprises and premises which the Liberals began after the 2017 “capitalism referendum”. Under the Liberal governments, a fifteen-year timescale was implemented for the privatisation of most state businesses. The Liberals also kept “critical infrastructure” out of the privatisation drive; planning to keep drinking water, railways, postal services and healthcare under public ownership. The Conservatives, on the other hand, support full privatisation and a faster timescale. Together for Lauchenoiria has stated they wish to retain some critical state-owned companies, but to also allow competition in most of these areas.
On social issues, the new coalition will have the most disagreements. Together for Lauchenoiria generally takes progressive positions on LGBT+ rights, immigration and gender equality. The Conservatives, however, still have MPs who are openly against gay marriage. Additionally, the Conservative manifesto committed to a “review” of abortion services with the intention to “implement greatly needed restrictions”. The Conservatives also want immigration caps, and while Together does support heightened border security, they oppose limits on legal immigration.
The new coalition does have one further commonality beyond economic issues – security. Both parties are in favour of increased funding to all the country’s security services; police, military, and intelligence. Pavía is widely known to favour interventionism abroad to “defend democracy” and “oppose communism”. Together for Lauchenoiria’s manifesto promised support for increased surveillance and anti-terrorism powers after last year’s WOE incidents and the Xiomeran base in Kerlile. The Conservatives also support surveillance powers, though their manifesto is less specific on what form this should take.
Over the coming week, the coalition agreement will be released which should provide further clarity on some of the promises of the new government. It is also unknown what, if any, concessions the Liberals have asked for in exchange for confidence-and-supply. This is likely to also be set out by Averforth and Pavía over the coming week.
