Chapter 164: The Current State of the Labor Party
Fortunately, the Senate's review of political party applications has been very strict, and most of the parties with a more frivolous nature have not been approved.
As of the Australian cabinet government elections, Australia has officially established seven legitimate political parties, including the oldest political party in Australia—the Australian Labor Party.
Yes, even the long-established Australian Labor Party had to undergo Senate approval before it could legally recruit members.
While this review system promoted the flourishing of political parties in Australia, it also significantly limited the actual power of political parties, effectively allowing the Australian government, especially Arthur, to keep a firm grip on them.
Currently, the political parties in Australia include the Australian Labor Party, the National Party, the Democratic Party, the Liberal Party, the Independent Party, the Progressive Party, and the Rural Party.
Among them, four parties have members in the House of Commons: the Australian Labor Party, which has thirteen members in the House of Commons, making up less than 7% of the total seats; the National Party, slightly ahead of the Labor Party with fourteen members, accounting for 7% of the House seats; the Independent Party, with seventeen members, holding just under 9% of the seats; and the Rural Party, which has the most seats in the House of Commons, with twenty-three members, accounting for 12% of the total.
The Rural Party represents the low-income population of rural areas, which is why it is popular in Australia. With many low-income citizens in the country, this aligns with Arthur and the Australian government's goals.
Currently, one-third of the members in the House of Commons belong to political parties, and this percentage continues to rise. This was to be expected, as parties, by nature, unite a group of politicians, which gives them significant advantages over independent individuals.
With political parties now legally recognized in Australia, it can be expected that most members of the House of Commons will join various parties, leading to the development of party rivalries in Australian politics.
The formation of political parties was inevitable, especially with European countries already having various political parties that hold significant political power.
In republican countries like France, the power of political parties and capitalists was immense, even controlling and influencing the state. Even in monarchies like the British Empire, parties held substantial power. In a constitutional monarchy, if the monarch did not have overwhelming prestige, the government could hold more power than the monarch.
Europe, the most dazzling gem of the world at the time, would see its political systems and structures spread across the globe.
For Europeans swept by the tide of liberalism and democracy, they were more likely to accept democratic systems than monarchies.
If Australia didn't recognize political parties as legitimate or grant them political rights, it could be seen by Europeans as having authoritarian tendencies.
To strengthen Australia's appeal to immigrants, the legitimacy of political parties was necessary.
However, Australia differed from European countries in one important way: Australia had already firmly established a monarchic autocracy, supported by military power and Arthur's growing popularity among the people.
At least while Arthur ruled, no domestic force could overthrow his control over Australia, which was the strength of a monarch who held both military and popular support.
Political parties in Australia might gain most of the seats in the House of Commons, and some members might even have the possibility of joining the cabinet.
The Australian system was unique in that every position in the cabinet, including the position of Prime Minister, had to go through elections, rather than being appointed by the person holding the position of Prime Minister.
While this system might reduce the unity and cohesion of the cabinet, for an autocratic state, such considerations weren't essential.
This also made it difficult for any political party to completely dominate the cabinet or control most of its seats. Unless they had the right candidates for every position, like other countries' political parties, fully controlling the cabinet in Australia was nearly impossible.
This also meant that Australian political parties wouldn't have immense power, even in the cabinet, where there would still be competitors for positions.
This was Arthur's system of checks and balances, turning potential conflict between the government and monarchy into competition between political parties.
For a political party to gain a larger advantage in government and elections, it would have to rely on Australia's stable monarchy.
Arthur, as the representative of the monarchy, could remain behind the scenes, distancing himself from the power struggle, while still maintaining control over the parties caught in the midst of the political turmoil.
For over two months, news of various parties being established and House of Commons members joining political parties appeared frequently in Australia's most important newspapers, the Australian Daily and the Victoria Newspaper. This reflected the rapid rise of political parties in Australia at this stage.
As the longest-established party in Australia, the Australian Labor Party did not gain a significant advantage in this two-month battle for members. In fact, it currently has the smallest proportion of members among the four parties that have representatives in the House of Commons.
This wasn't entirely the fault of the Australian Labor Party. The original purpose of the party was to promote the unification of Australia's six colonies and to establish a federal government to improve communication between them, while also protecting the interests of workers.
However, with the establishment of the unified Australian Duchy, the Labor Party's original goal was automatically achieved.
Moreover, since the Australian Duchy did not initially recognize political parties as legitimate, and given that Arthur and the Australian government were highly recognized by the Australian people, there was little enthusiasm for joining political parties.
During this period, the Australian Labor Party shifted its focus to protecting the interests of Australian workers and forming alliances with unions. However, what they didn't anticipate was that the newly established Australian Duchy and government also took the welfare of workers seriously, ensuring that workers' interests were well-protected even as the country developed its industries.
The Australian Labor Party now appeared somewhat redundant. In a country where workers' interests were already well-protected—especially with the ten-hour workday policy—there was less need for a party advocating for such issues.
If this were a disordered country where workers' rights were unprotected, perhaps the Australian Labor Party would have been more popular. But the newly established Australian Duchy had already ensured stability, investing heavily in industrial development, education, healthcare, and other key areas, all while safeguarding the rights of those involved in these projects.
Australian workers were enjoying better conditions than their European counterparts, and their wages, while not high, were still above average.
Given this, Australians were less interested in joining political parties and more focused on working hard to support their families.
With its goals already realized by the government, the Australian Labor Party was left aimlessly adrift, uncertain of its role.
Once the largest political party in Australia, it now found itself in a state of confusion. If it weren't for some House of Commons members with higher political ambitions, the Labor Party would likely have lost even more support in Australia.
(End of Chapter)
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