| Union of National Solidarists | |
 | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | UNS, National Solidarists |
| Chairman | Marc Thomassen |
| Founded | December 2010 |
| Ideology | |
| Ideology | National solidarism, nationalism |
| Spectrum | Far-right |
| Lovian Politics | |
| Predecessor | Iron Guard Party |
| Close to | IGP (nationalism/rightism) CCPL (social conservatism, economic views) |
| Far from | Positive Lovia |
| MOTC | 1 / 100 |
| Members | |
UNS leader Marc Thomassen being interviewed
Thomassen at the foundation congress
The Union of National Solidarists (UNS) is a break-away party of the IGP. The party is led by Marc Thomassen who didn't agree with the IGP leadership and the way they reacted on the trial against them. The UNS also holds extreme-right and nationalist ideas but claims to be 'solidarist instead of fascist'. The official doctrine of the UNS is described as 'national solidarism' and is a mixture of conservative values and the endorsement of the nation as community. The national solidarists have a radical image but denounced the use of violence. 'We wish to unite the people for our cause in a democratic way', said Thomassen. After supporting the unsuccessful rebels in the Lovian Civil War, the death of one of the main heads of the party, I. G. La Blaca, and a devastating and overwhelming defeat in the 2012 Federal Elections, Thomassen and the few remaining members decided to dissolve the UNS; in 2015, however, Thomassen refounded the party and declared his intent to stand in the 2015 federal elections.
History[]
The Union of National Solidarists was founded in December 2010, just a few weeks before the federal elections started. The break-away party found its origins as a pressure group within the Iron Guard Party. IGP politician Marc Thomassen advocated for a more democratic and popular strategy but bumped onto the party leadership. He gained support after the scandal following the trial against the IGP. Thomassen and other people dissatisfied with the course of things created a faction inside the party, called the Union for New Solidarity (UNS). Believing that this would be sufficient to make the top see its mistakes, Thomassen declared the following:
- They behave as if they are the center of all creation, always glorifying themselves. With their heads that far up each other's asses, how could they be capable of defending the true needs of the people? You may label them 'fascist' or 'nationalist' but they just look as a bunch of underaged college anarchists to me: unorganized and in no way aware of reality.
Hoping that the program of 'new solidarity' could turn the IGP away from its fascist affiliations and gain support from more moderate voters, the UNS wanted to endorse Thomassen as chairman in the next elections. It never came that far because the IGP was shut down by court order. With the old party ruled out and its elite behind bars, all noses turned into Thomassen's direction. He started organizing friendly forces around his person and officially announced plans for a new party in September 2010. The abbreviation 'UNS' now stood for 'Union of National Solidarists' as the new party program was presented in December 2010.
The party's first MOTC was I. G. La Blaca, one of nine MOTCs who served in the 2011 Provisional Congress. He set a standard for moderate nationalism, and led the UNS to a surprising victory in the 2011 Special Federal Elections, where they won seven seats out of one hundred. Many of the former IGP members who became MOTCs for the party served in absentia as they were still jailed following the The People v. IGP Trial.
The Lovian Civil War, despite originally increasing the power and the popularity of the UNS, eventually delivered a near-mortal blow to the party. After the defeat of the rebels, which the UNS supported, two of the seven MOTCs that the UNS were dead and three more were jailed. The UNS's popularity descended to a record low. After the 2012 Federal Elections, the UNS suffered a devastating defeat, winning zero seats. Following this, on February 5, 2012, Marc Thomassen and the remaining members decided to dissolve the party. It is believed that most people migrated to either the Conservative Christian Party of Lovia or the Conservative Nationalist Party.
The party was reactivated by Thomassen on April 1st, 2015. He declared the necessity for a 'strong force to guide Lovia through the storm' and announced the UNS would be standing in the 2015 elections. It won one seat in the 2015 Congress.
Image and divides[]
The UNS is often perceived as the 'IGP light' but a closer look shows honest attempts at becoming a broadly supported party. The content of the party is a reprint of nationalist and conservative views but in its program it is clearly distanced from Anti-Cabalism. It also takes an outspoken leftist stance when it comes to economic issues. This places the UNS somewhere in between the IGP, the CCPL and the CPL.nm. The resulting ideological patchwork is both a strength and weakness of the party: the National Solidarists can appeal to many different people in the electorate but only at the cost of lowering the consistency of its program. It also means the party is divided over many issues. Internally the party members are divided over two tendencies:
- A popular left-wing with a centre-left economic program; represented by Thomassen and currently in charge.
- An extremist right-wing that holds on to the IGP-tradition; this group also holds some republican views and is represented by I. G. La Blaca.
In spite of Thomassen being part of the bigger popular tendency he is regarded as a consensus figure. He combines the image of popular party and the leftist economic course with anti-parliamentary and republican views to keep all members satisfied. The National Solidarists have one of the most radical programs in the whole country. Also, the party and its leadership are often accused from populism by political opponents. This is probably due to its demagogic style of leadership, the rather vague discourse and its methods of anti-politics. A well-known supporter of the party was famous and controversial artist Kim Dae-su who spoke favourably of the UNS. He did not join, however, as he beliefes the party to be "contaminated by modernism".
After the Lovian Civil War, the extremist right-wing was largely wiped out, and their heavy influence in the rebel side of the war was instrumental in causing the disbandment of the party. Upon the recreation of the party, most members agreed on a level of economic control equivalent to centre-leftism, though identifying as right-wing or far-right, expressed through their social views.
Government participation and relation to other parties[]
No radical party has ever managed to obtain any official position in Lovia. Nonetheless, the more moderate approach of the UNS serves as a means to change this for the better in the future. Thomassen has a small support base but it is a very determined one. Though most analysts don't mind about a possible election participation at all, some say the UNS might profit from the situation the political landscape is in: 'for me a leftist vote is out of the question and I find the CCPL not believable enough', a party militant says. It was for a while unknown whether the UNS would participate in the 2011 federal elections but on the last day of nominations, Thomassen announced he would not run.
The UNS had asked its support base to boycott the elections by voting invalid with the following words:
- People of Lovia, do not fall for the crooks that run this nation! Our people can only overcome the many obstacles that threaten us if we look beyond our divides and unite. Economic crisis, migration waves, rising criminality,... modernity has failed to solve these problems because they are enshrined in modernity itself. There is no voice of reason, there is just us the people. I say let us live according to our noble nature. Why support a statist democracy that oppresses its people? Support the UNS and abstain from voting!
The Union of National Solidarists has no political allies at all. The established parties consider the UNS to be extremist and also shy away from the republican views it holds. Cooperation with other radical or anti-establishment parties such as the Oceana Nationalist Party is made impossible due to the leftist economic course and the radical unitarianism of the UNS. The ideological split between popular party of the masses and social conservatism make it very hard to find any partners.
Party program and goals[]
The official ideology of the UNS, national solidarism, is a societal doctrine that opposes both socialist and liberal views. The UNS seeks to reform Lovian society in an organic sense and heavily contests the leftist tendency. The Union wants to conquer power by 'being the voice of the people' and putting forward strong and charismatic figures. The views of the UNS are closely related to the idea of a 'conservative revolution'. Several core ideas can be linked to nationalism, populism and personalism. The biggest difference with the Iron Guard Party is that the UNS focusses on culture when talking about 'the nation' and not on race. Important views of national solidarism are:
- The Lovian people, currently divided over class and parties, can only overcome future obstacles if it unites.
- The king should abdicate and replace his phony Congress by men who truly represent the people and our nation.
- The people's authority should be restored by creating a corporative society and directly electing the leadership.
- A more transparent political system that can take clear and strong measures to secure the needs of its people.
- A take-over of core industries by the state and a strong control on economic and financial developments.
- A stop of the corrupting leftist influence that is spread by the media and our current political elite.
- The forging of a tight community that can protect the individual, based on a strong national identity.
- Put an end to the dreams of multiculturalism and the practice of affirmative action
- Instil in our youth, the flower of our nation, a healthy sense of racial pride and pride of their cultural heritage and their national history
- A written canon of Lovian and world-history has to be created to educate the Lovian youth on the history of the world in a proper way and present them the proper information
- Promoting the arts and giving it a prominent place in class as it is instrumental in developing a good character in our youth and instil in them creativity
Themes often touched by the UNS discourse are migration, criminality, alienation of the youth, lack of solidarity, individualization, economic crisis and corrupt government.