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VALUES PARTY
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The Values Party roughly corresponds to what is sometimes called "the New Right" in some countries, meaning that it promotes a mixture of neoliberal economic policies and moralist social policies. Economic neoliberalism is a strongly free-market ideology, while moralism (in Lendosa) means that the party promotes a particular set of beliefs about morality, ethics, and social order, and wishes to spread these beliefs in the political arena. The Values Party's version of morality is based around traditional Cruisian ideas of how society should be arranged, although the Values Party is not a religious party. The type of moralism practiced by the Values Party may be equated to that of "conservative" parties in many other countries, but the term "conservative" is not appropriate in Lendosa - the morals promoted by the Values Party are not traditional here, and thus are being created, not conserved.

At present, the Values Party only has one representative in the Senate, and holds none of the twenty-five Administrator positions. Because the party is new, however, it was not able to contest the last election - it's sole Senator is from one of the smaller parties that merged to form the new group. As such, this result does not necessarily reflect the Values Party's level of support, which will not be tested until the next elections. The party's leader is Dominico Maleo, who currently is outside the Senate. The deputy leader is Miguel Santana, the party's only Senator. Other important figures include Julio Igano and Quinto Ambreo. The position of Secretary is held by Stuarto Gordo.


Colour and Emblem

The Values Party's official colour is an azure blue. Its emblem is known in Lendian as a malcura, and is a traditional symbol of moralism in the country dating back to its use by the Ultaric Knights.

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The Lendian language name of the party is "lo Partido Valuriano".


Quote

"A large moral vacuum currently exists in Lendosa, and the fabric which holds our society together is under serious strain. We must act to instill a new morality in the people before this problem destroys our country."


Key Policies

Moralism
The Values Party strongly and firmly believes that Lendosan society contains many "evils" and "vices" which must be removed. It believes that modern Lendosan society is degenerate, and believes that most social problems may be fixed by the application of strict moral and ethical guidelines, and a campaign against permissiveness and liberalism.

One of the key causes of Lendosa's lack of morality, the Values Party argues, is the traditionally weak family values. Unlike traditionalist Cruisian ideals about the family, Lendosan codes of ethics have rarely imposed strict guidelines on "family values", something that the Values Party wishes to change rapidly. Because the state allows easy divorce and promotes contraception, the family is under attack, says the Values Party. Their proposals for solving this problem are similar to the ones advocated by traditionalist Cruisian groups.

  • Strengthen marriages by making it harder to obtain a divorce and by encouraging religious weddings rather than civil ones.
  • Restrict access to contraception, as this only encourages promiscuity.
  • Allow abortions for medical reasons only.
  • Educate children about the dangers of promiscuity (things such as unplanned pregancies, sexually transmitted diseases, and so forth).
  • Make prostitution illegal, and impose heavy penalties on both prostitutes and clients.
  • Make all pornography illegal, and impose strict guidelines on acceptable content for films, television, and other media.
  • Impose new restrictions on alcohol, and step up the war on illegal drugs.

    • Ban same-sex marriage.
Economy
The Values Party is a strong believer in the ideas of self-sufficiency, and opposes welfare payments on these grounds. It claims that the welfare system encourages people to expect help, rather than work for themselves, and says that spending taxpayer's money to support these people is "rewarding the lazy with the wealth created by the industrious". It supports minimal state intervention in the economy, saying that it interferes with a person's right to manage their property as they please.
  • Cut all wefare payments to those who are not genuinely disadvantaged through no fault of their own, leaving the state as a "safety net" for those who have been wrongly deprived, rather than a primary provider for those too lazy to earn their own living.
  • Reform the tax system, creating a flat tax rate in place of the present system where the rich pay a higher percentage.
  • Minimize regulation of the economy, as this is unacceptable interference in one's right to advance one's own interests. All Lendosan citizens should be able to control their own commercial dealings without having the government watch over them.
  • Removal of environmental regulations, as these infringe upon the right to use one's property (including land and resources) as one sees fit. Most environmentalism is, in actuality, "theft by stealth", attempting to deprive people of the use of their own possessions.

Issues Facing the Party

The Values Party is a relatively new party, and has yet to make any significant mark on the Lendosan political scene. The party rates its chances of success at the next election highly, claiming that they will become a "major" party instantaneously now that they are united as single entity. Others maintain that they are destined to remain a "fringe party", with no real influence at all.

The nature of the Values Party (that is, a federation of smaller groups) means that it is prone to internal disputes, particularly on the subject of the party's primary focus. The old Capitalist Party, which provided the new Values Party with its only Senator, is keen to pursue free-market economic policy, pushing for a laissez-faire system to be established. It is backed by the Neoliberal Association and the Association for the Free Market. The (officially secularised) fragments of the former Cruisian Party are eager to advance their belief in social change, particularly as relates to the family. They are supported by the Association for Family Values and the Association of Cruisian Moralists. The Association for Free Worship is broadly aligned with the old Cruisian Party faction, but pays more attention to the removal of the laws which ban religious parties from contesting elections.

All of these groups within the Values Party are willing to cooperate, as their policies are, broadly speaking, compatible (there is an element in the Capitalist Party that tends more towards social liberalism, and an element in the Moralist Party remnants that tends more towards religious socialism, but these are minor groups and do not influence policy much). The most serious disputes between the factions arise not from policy differences but from disagreement over emphasis, which each faction giving more importance to different policies.


Subparties

The Values Party does not have any official subparties, although the party is sharply divided in practice.


Current Senators

Miguel Santana - Deputy leader of the Values Party (the party's leader, Dominico Maleo, does not currently hold a Senate seat, and so Senator Santana acts as party leader for all Senate business). Gained position through proportional representation. Formerly a senior manager at Gianmi Corporation's branch in Solaris, but entered politics due to anger at "over-regulation", joining the Capitalist Party. Competed against Paulo Dias for the party leadership after the retirement of Randalo Avico, the founder, but lost. Subsequently took control of the party after party dissatisfaction caused Dias' resignation from the party. Led the party into coalition to form the Values Party after loosing heavily in elections to Dias' new Reform Party. Is the principle advocate of economic liberalism within the Values Party, and tension exists between him and Dominico Maleo.


History of the Party

The Values Party is the newest political party in Lendosa at present, having been established in 303 AP. It was formed when eight smaller groups came to an agreement to merge themselves into a single political unit, adopting the name lo Partido Valuriano (roughly translated as "the Values Party" or "the Principles Party").

The eight groups that joined together represented a fairly wide range of views and interests, although all of them were either moralist in social policy or liberal in economic policy (the moralists, however, made up the larger portion). Specifically, the groups which merged were:

  • the Capitalist Party (a political party based around neoliberal - or "new right" - economic policies but with a social moralist strand)
  • the Moralist Party (a small officially secular group that emerged from the old Cruisian Party, which had been prohibited from contesting elections due to its religious nature)
  • the Cruisian Political Association (a remnant of the Cruisian Party that had decided not to continue the party unless the restrictions were lifted)
  • the Neoliberal Association (a group of economists and academics who advocated neoliberal economic policies)
  • the Association for Family Values (a moralist political pressure group focusing on "family issues")
  • the Association for the Free Market (a group of neoliberal free-market supporters from the business world)
  • the Association of Cruisian Moralists (a moralist pressure group trying to fight crime, drug use, and the decline of religion)
  • the Association for Free Worship (a "non-partisan" group dedicated to removing the restrictions on religious participation in politics)
The Values Party came into existence in late 303, although all eight groups that formed it took advantage of the rules which permit component entities to keep a separate legal status (enabling them to keep their internal organizational apparatus, and to leave the Values Party if they choose).

Of the eight groups, only the Capitalist Party currently held a Senate seat. This was transferred to the Values Party banner, giving the new party represenation in the government immediately. It was expected that this sole Senator, Miguel Santana (leader of the Capitalist Party) would become leader of the Values Party as a whole, but in the vote, he came second to the leader of the Moralist Party, Dominico Maleo. This caused considerable tension between those who had joined the Values Party for its free market policies and those who had joined for the moralist policies - while the moralists had superior numbers, the free market supporters believed that because they provided the only Senator, they should have the leading role. There was considerable complaint about the moralists "catching a ride on [Capitalist] electoral success without giving us anything in return", as one party official put it. The Neoliberal Association almost voted to leave the Values Party in protest, but were persuaded to remain by Santana, who believed that it was in the best interests of all for the dominance of the moralists to be tolerated for the time being.


List of Past Leaders

  • Dominico Maleo (303 - )