[GENERAL ELECTION, 1672] Parliamentary Elections Thread

[Alfonso Velez]

LIBERTY & DEMOCRACY PARTY PLATFORM:

Campaign Platform:

During this campaign, the Liberty and Democracy Party have released a manifesto taking these policy positions:

-Commitment to expanding free trade with other nations
-Promote deregulation of businesses to allow Alduria's economy to thrive
-Privatize most remaining state owned enterprises, especially Alduria's oil companies. Use revenue from selling these companies to stabilize the economy and build a strong navy. Give preference to selling Alduria's oil companies to Aldurian based companies.
-Prioritizing Defense spending, particularly naval spending with an emphasis on escort ships for trade routes.
-Avoid unnecessary foreign entanglements that could result in conflicts with other nations. Avoid armed conflicts unless they are directly related to Alduria's security or overriding trade interests (ie, responding to attacks on shipping)
-Lower taxes for citizens and small businesses
-Help small business owners by offering legislation to ease regulatory burdens and provide exceptional tax relief during a business' first years
-Move more power away from the National Government to provincial and local Governments, particularly when it comes to welfare programs. The National Government would provide funding for local/provincial directed welfare programs that meet the specific needs of that locality/province rather than a "one sized fits all" policy.
-Place an emphasis on "Alduria First" when it comes to our foreign relations. We won't close ourselves off from other nations--but we will always make sure that our interests are first in mind. This won't stop us from cooperating with other Governments and certainly won't stop us from signing free trade deals--but we have to look out for Aulduria first!
-Use money from privatizing industries to build needed infrastructure in areas that aren't strong economically. In economically strong areas, partner with the private sector to pool resources for infrastructure building. This mutually beneficial arrangement will save the taxpayers money and help businesses by providing infrastructure support to areas that can directly help their businesses too.
-Respect the total separation of Church and State and push back against any legislation that would seek to legislate morality or infringe on people's religious liberties.
-Continue to support the development of Biscarrose and Napoléon by private businesses
-Promote, support, and respect the privacy and liberty of all citizens. Oppose all legislation that infringes on these liberties.
-Promote an open immigration policy and particularly encourage the immigration of skilled workers. Promote programs that help immigrants integrate into Aldurian society.
-Provide tax credits to families so they can grow and prosper without government interference.
-Strongly support and expand settling corporations and ease the requirements for creating such a corporation.
-Invest in medical advancements and create a business-positive atmosphere to attract medical companies to come to and invest in Alduria to help our healthcare system.
-Support a vibrant private insurance industry that is suitably regulated. Ensure greater competition between insurance companies to make costs competitive. Move social safety net programs to provincial levels to better meet the unique needs of their citizens with funding provided by the national government.
-Allow provinces greater autonomy, particularly in the areas of taxation, education, and infrastructure.
-Support freedoms for all people regardless of sex, gender, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Oppose any laws that infringe on these freedoms.

Campaign Efforts & Candidates:

The Liberty & Democracy party has relied heavily on both corporate and "small donor" contributions and while the party has not pulled in as much money as the "big parties" of Alduria, its young enthusiastic voter base has provided a lot of grassroots outreach on social media and elsewhere. The L&D party under Velez's tenure has made it a priority to have candidates stand in almost every electoral district in Alduria--even in places where there is little chance of winning. While the party provides candidates in long-shot districts few resources, Velez sees it as important for these candidates to introduce themselves to their communities to help spread knowledge of the party and its ideals.

The party has struggled to recruit candidates who avoid going into the fringes. Velez's election marked a turn in the party from a focus on being a fringe Libertarian party to more of a "big tent" Libertarian-minded party. While the majority of the party has been on board with this, a vocal minority faction has not been and has been able to field a small number of candidates whose views are far outside the mainstream. While the party has mostly been able to ensure that these candidates have not ended up in seats where the party has a serious chance of winning that seat, some of the press coverage of these "no hope" fringe candidates may not play well in the media. Fortunately, the party has managed to recruit strong candidates in many seats that are realistically in play. The majority of the party's candidates are successful business people, intelligent young millennials (the party boasts one of the largest slates of LGBTQ+ candidates as well as two transgender candidates), and citizen-activists with a general lack of any "career politicians." The party has invested considerable money and resources into its party re-branding, and hopes that these efforts, along with Velez's personal appearances, will convince voters that the Liberty & Democracy is no longer a fringe party and is a new mainstream party that has just the right amount of maverick energy that Alduria needs to succeed.