Open Loyalist Convention (2042)

The Open Convention of 2042 was the first convention of the Loyalist Party after the Act of the Constitution was drawn by the Emperor. The convention was held in Bruges, in the department of Belgium.

Prelude
The Loyalist Party had already sat in the parliament of the Netherlands before the Batavian Empire was established. In the inter-legislative period the Loyalist Party had been transformed into a nation-wide party. Emperor Saviël-Citus I was the leader till he had to step down because his coronation as Batavian Emperor in 2033. After that there was not really one leader, but rather a group of people which lead the party. After the Act of the Constitution in 2042 the Loyalist Party decided to hold a convention to elect the party leader through the delegates in all departments.

Nominees
Five candidates decided to participate in the race for the leadership. Jonathan Montgromery, Isabella Justine, Friso Northam, Boris Silva and Matt Hansen.

Jonathan Montgomery was seen as the favorite candidate. He came from Amsterdam and had a Dutch origin. Montgomery had already served as Acting Minister of Domestic Affairs in the acting cabinet of Saviël between 2027-2042. He made himself very popular during his term and was seen as the candidate which would mostly fit the job as Prime-Minister. He had also the advantage of serving in the cabinet of the current Emperor which made him likely to be the Emperor's favorite.

Isabella Justine was from Paris and had a French origin. She served as parliamentarian and senator for the French Monarchist Party before the Dutch conquest and later joined the European Parliament in the UEMP-fraction. She was pro-Dutch and helped Saviël with many treaties concerning the French capitulation. After the abolition of the European Parliament she decided to run for leader of the new Loyalist Parry.

Friso Northam was from Londen and had a British-Dutch origin. He served as Shadow-Minister of Defence for the Labour party and was fiercely in favour of the Dutch conquest. He was dismissed by the king after openly supporting the Dutch and was later appointed advisor of Saviël, then regent of the Batavian Empire. He had a major role in drawing treaties to end the Russo-Dutch war. Due to his popularity he was also seen as a huge opponent of Montgomery, who needed a few Russian departments to win.

Boris Silva was from Faro, and had a Portuguese-Dutch background. He was not a real supporter of the Dutch till the victory in Russia. He then joined the Dutch forces and helped them invade his home country. He only fought as a soldier and didn't have many political experience, besides having sat in the municipality council of Faro. Despite his he knew to convince a reasonable proportion of delegates to support his candidacy, especially from his home departments.

Matt Hansen was the last candidate. He was from Trondheim and had Norwegian origin. He wasn't really seen as a match for the top candidates. He disagreed with many points of the Loyalist Party and wanted to change it, to make it more democratic. Matt Hansen could participate in debates because of his money he earned as a solicitor. He had also been an attorney-general in Norway before the Dutch invasion.

Election
Jonathan Montgomery proved to be the strongest during the debates. He had a clear vision in line with the Loyalist party. Matt Hansen was defeated in the debates and his last chances were completely eliminated. As soon as the delegates started to announce their votes it became clear that Montgomery had won by a large number of votes. 227.146 delegates voted for Montgomery, which gave him a 242.630 lead to Isabella Justine, who only managed to take 34.517. The other candidates gave their concession speech and Jonathan Montgomery was inaugurated as leader after the last 814 votes from the West-Pacific were cast for Montgomery.

Aftermath
In the elections for the House of Consuls the Loyalist Party managed to get 221 seats. They became the largest party and after the formation Jonathan Montgomery became the first Prime-Minister of the Batavian Empire. Isabella Justine became Minister of Environment and Energy and Friso Northam Minister of Domestic Affairs in the 1st Cabinet-Montgomery. Boris Silva was elected consul for the Loyalist Party in the House, but was after one year asked by the Emperor to become Imperial-Governor of Algarve, which he did and left his seat. Matt Hansen ran for the State Assembly of Romsdal and was elected majority whip.