The electoral success of “Upwards, Eiria!”, a new national-level Senate bloc advocating for the deregulation of corporatations, the creation of stricter citizenship and immigration law and increased governmental scruitiny of unions shook the Eirian political landscape as the election season drew to a close.
Despite Chancellor Leah Stendē‘s re-election, the emergence of Upwards with 34 seats in the Senate and other electoral shake-ups has left existing parties across the political spectrum scrambling. Both the Formido Party and the Free Moderate Conservatives lost a substantial amount of their legislative power, with the latter losing more than half of their Senate seats.
Senator-elect Peters Purinš, member of the National Willpower party in Kōt-Libre and chairman of the newly-formed “Upwards, Eiria!” party group, celebrated the windfall with a rally in Popōva Square, just four blocks from the Senate building.
“My fellow Eirians, today is the day that we have waited for a very long time to see,” Purinš said to a crowd of a few hundred supporters and journalists. “It’s time to finally see the crowned heads in Liberty Square bow to their constituents with the reverence that they have been deprived of for so long.”
Purinš has long been a controversial figure in Kōt-Libre, with his interpretation of the “Grand Sapphire” model espoused by early Eirian nationalists steeped in ethnicity-based rhetoric. He is also known for his frequent use of the social media platform Septaš, where he has decried policies like Tervali language revitalization, jus soli citizenship and the existence of the Union of Caxcanan States.
Upwards’s support is unique in that it doesn’t stem from the traditional conservative stronghold of Monter Province, but more moderate areas such as Plakanlauki, Krastalen, and even Geminus. By contrast, Monter Province saw an uncharacteristic shift toward the left, with two new left-wing populist Senators who sit with the Socialist national bloc gaining seats.
The current Stendē coalition seems to be safe for the moment, retaining the executive branch with 53.2% of the vote and making up for most of the losses from the Green Party with gains by the ModLeft.
Still, with this level of upheaval on the political right and the growth of the far-right at a scale unseen since the Eirian Civil War, many in the Eirian political world are cautiously watching the coming days.
New Senate makeup:
Socialists for Eiria: 33 (+5)
True Progressives: 44 (-3)
United Greens: 67 (-8)
United Moderate Left: 119 (+7)
United Centrists: 37 (-2)
Allied Moderate Right: 48 (+3)
Free Moderate Conservatives: 17 (-24)
Formido [Practical Strength]: 39 (-15)
Upwards, Eiria!: 34 (+34)
Non-inscrits: 13 (+4)
