Party for the Abolition of Entropan
Party for the Abolition of Entropan | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Benedek Molnár |
| Founded | 19 January 1854 |
| Dissolved | 13 November 1859 |
| Headquarters | Mogyoróska |
| Newspaper | Free Mogyoróskan Press |
| Ideology | Anti-enhetsisme Mogyoróskan nationalism |
| Political position | Centre |
The Party for the Abolition of Entropan (Rockr: Partiet for avskaffelse av Entropan: PAE) was a political party that formed after the end of the Collapse of Entropan to represent factions who opposed the Treaty of Avni, which merged the Mogyoróskan Association, the Liberal Republic of Entropan, and the Kingdom of Uryha under the institutions of the Liberal Republic of Entropan. On 13 November 1859, the PAE became the first party in Entropan to be banned, with the Party for the Abolition of Entropan (Banning) Act 1859 dissolving the party.
Contents
History
Background
In 1852, the Mogyoróskan Association was losing territory to the Liberal Republic of Entropan. The 4 month siege on its capital, Mogyoróska, and the blockade enforced from its southern border, drained resources from it, and led to a country-wide famine. In the Mogyoróskan Council, there were two ideological groupings which had differing approaches to the siege; the Ésszerűség - those who supported a level of compromise, or even surrender, to Entropan, in order to "stop the siege at any cost up to and including the dissolution of the Association as a whole", and the Harcosok - those who were determined to continue fighting against Entropan, at any cost.
After a deadly assault by Entropan in the Battle of Ogóya, wherein 1031 Mogyoróskan soldiers were killed by the advancing Entropanian army, the Mogyoróskan Council - made up primarily of Ésszerűség - voted by 55-41 to declare surrender on 30 March 1853, subject to the terms subsequently negotiated to become the Treaty of Avni. The Harcosok were heavily against this measure, with the informal leader of the group in the Council, Benedek Molnár, declaring it, in a communique published on 3 May 1853, to be "the greatest betrayal to the noblemen of this country in recorded history".
Formation
After the Liberal Republic of Entropan officially encompassed the territories of the Kingdom of Uryha and the Mogyoróskan Association, and the Electoral Commission had been set up in those territories, Benedek Molnár formed the Party for the Abolition of Entropan (PAE). The party was officially registered on 19 January 1854 to stand in the 1856 general election, standing on a platform of nullifying the Treaty of Avni and re-establishing the three previous states that had merged to form Entropan.
Political activity
Molnár held rallies throughout Mogyoróska, with membership of the PAE swelling to over 500 by December 1854. The platform of the party primarily appealed to aristocrats, due to the policies of the new government, headed by the Social Liberal Party under the leadership of Ármin Csonka, wherein focus was given to progressive reconstruction - with the upper-class paying for it through increased taxation - but the overall support for the PAE remained low among upper-class people, due to the existence of the more popular Conservative Party, with an established presence in the National Assembly; and the financial certainty that came with a stable Entropan.
In 1855, Conservative MP Atle Rosett spoke in the National Assembly of the PAE, during a discussion on party registration law: "[they're] petulant children who don't understand a single thing about business, and whose unwise platform would plunge this country right back into the Collapse, right back into the deep pit that was the separation of the historically united countries of Entropan". During the debate about the Political Parties (Registration) Bill 1855, which would establish the First Minister's right to refuse the registration of political parties, the PAE was frequently brought up as an example of a "farcical" political party for those in support of the Bill.
In the 1856 general election, the Party for the Abolition of Entropan took three seats in the National Assembly, in Mogyoróska South, Rockr-Wollen, and Avelancsa, winning by a margin of less than 500 votes in each constituency. The three elected MPs; Barna Zobor, Csongor Szekeres, and Jon Haarstad, set out a platform for the party in the National Assembly, aimed at "making as much noise as possible".
From 1857-1859, the PAE's membership swelled from >500 to >1 000.
Platform
The PAE ran on a platform of nullifying the Treaty of Avni (Anti-enhetsisme), thereby re-establishing the three states that had existed before its ratification. Some factions of the party believed in this due to the progressive policies of the Social Liberal Party, which saw the wealth of the aristocracy decline substantially, preferring a return to the Mogyoróskan Association, which did not have the universal male suffrage that resulted in the election of the Social Liberals. While this was the predominant faction in the party, there was a minority who believed in this due to personal nationalism, including their MP for Rockr-Wollen Jon Haarstad, who described himself as a "dedicated Mogyoróskan determined to stop the embarrassment of Entropanian unity".
Banning
On 1 March 1858, Benedek Molnár gave a speech in southern Mogyoróska where he appeared to give an endorsement of the use of violence to further the goals of the PAE; "In response to this national disgrace, we need to fight, and we need to win: whatever means necessary". This prompted Conservative MP Asgeir Aall to propose a Bill in the National Assembly, the Party for the Abolition of Entropan (Banning) Bill 1859. Despite the radical nature of the Bill, it gained considerable cross-party support, with governmental figures such as Csanád Antal, the Minister of Finance, speaking in favour of it.
On 12 November 1859, the Bill was passed by a margin of 314-301, with the Social Liberal Party being split, and the Conservative Party voting for. The following day, the PAE was officially dissolved. Three months later, Benedek Molnár was arrested and convicted to nine years in prison on charges of incitement to rebellion, despite his solitude following the banning of the PAE.
Legacy
After the PAE was banned, anti-enhetsisme and Mogyoróskan nationalism declined in popularity substantively. No other anti-enhetsisme group has since taken seats in the National Assembly, nor its successor, the National Council. The only active anti-enhetsisme party in Entropan is the Party for the Liquidation of Entropan, which has 71 members, primarily active in the city of Mogyoróska, and the only active Mogyoróskan nationalist party is the Romerist Mogyoróskan League.
The ban of the PAE has been cited by many as an example of anti-democratic and authoritarian actions in the early years of the Second Republic of Entropan, and its passage has been widely criticised in the years since. In 1989, the Party for the Abolition of Entropan (Banning) Act 1859 was officially repealed, and Benedek Molnár was posthumously pardoned, as part of the Holsen Administration's program of governmental transparency.
Currently, the PAE's name is taken by a satirical political party.
