2019 Valkyrian general election (Pacifica)
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All 575 seats in the National Assembly, including 42 levelling seats 309 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Turnout | 72.39% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2019 Valkyrian general election took place on Sunday, 7 July 2019. Heading into the election, the Alliance of Social Democrats, led by Margaret Harrison, served as the government, elected after the 2017 general election as a centre-left bloc between the Labor Party, the Populist Left, the Socialist Party, The Greens, and the Liberal Party.
During the election, The Greens and the Liberal Party opted not to campaign as members of the Alliance, choosing to campaign as unaligned parties, leaving the Alliance with three left-wing parties. Meanwhile, the Conservative Party and The New Right formed the New Conservative Coalition in April 2019 as a right-wing counter to the Alliance, which came months after Stella Kaufman's election as the Leader of the Conservative Party in December 2018, succeeding Jonathan Victor, who refused to collaborate with The New Right.
The Conservative Party won 78 seats in the election, taking seats previously held by The New Right and uncontested as part of their bloc agreement and won seats from several left-wing parties and levelling seats. While the Labor Party won seats in the election, their gains were modest compared to the Conservatives, ultimately making the Centrist Democratic Party the kingmaker between the Alliance and Coalition. After a month of negotiations between the Centrist Democrats and both blocs, the party decided to join the Coalition, unseating Margaret Harrison from the premiership and elevating Kaufman, ensuring a right-wing shift in government.
Results
Bloc | Party | Leader | Seats | ± | ||
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New Conservative Coalition | Conservative Party | Stella Kaufman | 140 | +78 | ||
The New Right | Nicole Chancellor | 125 | −21 | |||
Total seats | 265 | – | ||||
Alliance of Social Democrats | Labor Party | Margaret Harrison | 104 | +21 | ||
Populist Left | Taeler Shaw | 69 | −13 | |||
Socialist Party | Amalia Rollins | 61 | −15 | |||
Total seats | 234 | – | ||||
Centrist Democratic Party | Bradley Murphy | 70 | +3 | |||
The Greens | Dominic McKinney | 34 | +6 | |||
Liberal Party | Nathan Martinez | 14 | −10 | |||
Total seats | 617 | – |
Socialist | Labor | Populist Left | Greens | Lib | Centrist Democrat | Conservative | New Right |
61 | 104 | 69 | 34 | 14 | 70 | 140 | 125 |
234 | 118 | 265 | |||||
Alliance | Unaligned | Coalition |
Government formation
Alliance of Social Democrats
For the Alliance to continue leading the Valkyrian government, they needed the Centrist Democratic Party and either The Greens or the Liberal Party to join the bloc. Because the Liberals refused to enter into a government with the Socialist Party, Margaret Harrison attempted inter-party negotiations with the Centrist Democratic Party and The Greens, meeting their party leaders in Sydney. The talks began on 9 July, two days after the election, and continued into August between Harrison, Bradley Murphy, Dominic McKinney, and other party representatives.
While the Alliance readily accepted proposals put forth by The Greens that would essentially give the latter veto power on environmental policy, the Socialist Party and the Centrist Democratic Party could not agree on multiple issues, especially industrial policy. The Socialist Party wanted the Alliance to nationalise industries that the party considered essential, but the Centrist Democratic Party favoured subsidisation. The two parties' failure to agree made it untenable for the Alliance to form a majority government.
In an attempt to salvage the talks, some members of the Labor Party suggested removing the Socialist Party from the Alliance and forming a minority government with the Centrist Democratic Party, The Greens, and the Liberal Party. However, Harrison was reluctant to follow through on their proposal, considering it a "betrayal" to the Socialists and the likelihood of forcing the Parliament to dissolve and hold another election.