Unionist Party

The Unionist Party was a former regional party in the state of Seven. Founded in 1912, it was originally a broad-based movement with the sole aim of removing Oliver Flint from his gubernatorial position. After they finally won the 1915 state elections, the party began to adhere to a set of specific policies.

History
After Henri James Rutherford, Jr. became the first Unionist governor, the Unionists were able to maintain their position as the leading political party for three terms. One of their leading slogans was simply 'Equality' and the party was responsible for establishing a formal constitutional basis for the state with the passing of the Seven Basic Law. The unpopularity of Samuel Sawyer, however, resulted in the party losing an election to fascist candidate James Nelson. This was regarded as a freak event and the Unionists felt confident that they could regain power the next election. However, a split had begun to form between the left- and right-wings of the party over the best way to deal with the economic crisis threatening to overwhelm Seven. One part, led by party leader Henri Burton, maintained that progressive taxation and government intervention were crucial, while the other, led by Erick Simon, preferred classical liberal policies. The highly public dispute tarnished the image of the party, and when Burton was defeated by Nelson in the 1923 election, he loudly blamed the liberal wing for not supporting him enough and split off to form his own Socialist Party.

Both parties struggled to gain popularity after the events that had occurred and in the face of Nelson's charisma. In 1927 Nelson was finally defeated and replaced by independent Horatius Domingo, but after Domingo died in his first year of office and was replaced undemocratically by Nelson, Simon grew desperate and agreed to endorse Burton at the next election in return for concessions on the State Council.

Burton's victory in 1929 led to seven terms of Socialist dominance. He defeated the embattled Simon in both the 1931 and 1933 elections, and his successor William Trumbel in the next four. It was not until 1943, after 22 years in opposition, that the Unionists finally put their candidate Trumbel into the governor's position.