Union of Social and Liberal Democrats (Batavian Empire)

The Union of Social and Liberal Democrats (USLD) is one of the main and largest political parties of the Batavian Empire. Since the Act of the Constitution, they have always been a large party, but the became the largest party after the elections in 2048. The Union of Social and Liberal Democrats is the largest governing party at the moment and purvey the Prime- and most of the other ministers.

Ideology
The Union of Social and Liberal Democrats are a progressive party. They have two main 'wings'. The first is the classic-liberal wing which supports a free market economy with as less state influence as possible, some are even so extreme to support laissez-faire economy. There is also the social-liberal wing which is moderated and leans more toward a mild social-democratic view. They support a mostly free, but state regulated economy. The USLD is torn apart as soon as it concerns matters of state. Half of the party wants more democracy, like referenda and chosen mayors and the other half leans toward a more conservative view. Since they decided to govern after winning the most seats in the 2048 election they strove toward a more unified party to make sure they would back the government in the House.

Leadership of the USLD
Just like other parties, the leader of the USLD is elected a few months before the main election. The leader is chosen by the members of the party during a so-called 'open convention'. This is only since the 2048 election, before that the leader was chosen by the determined candidate-consuls. The Social and Liberal Democratic Committee (112 representatives of the departments and Amsterdam) nominate party members to become leader. The first open convention (November 2047) was held in Munich. During the open convention nominated candidates can debate with each other, and at the end all the present members can vote, all other members cannot vote. The leader of the party becomes the first person on the list and becomes floor leader after the election. He can, afterward, decide to stay in the House or become a member of the government. The current party leader, Arthur Fornost, became Prime-Minister-Elect and later the third Prime-Minister of the Batavian Empire.

Committee vote 2041
Before the election of 2042 the Committee voted Christopher Schultz to be the party leader. In the elections the USLD won 101 seats and became the second largest party. They were however not asked to join the coalition with the Loyalist Party, which almost won with an absolute majority of 221 seats. However, during the term 15 consuls splitted from the party and became their own caucus: the Libertarian Party. Leaving them with only 86 seats.

Committee vote 2046
Due to the resignation of Christopher Schultz, the Committee chose Benjamin Negau to lead the party. This was however disputed due to his extreme Zionist background. The USLD won 116 seats votes, so they had grown with 15 seats, but with 30 if you count the lost seats which the split costed. Prime-Minister Jonathan Montgomery of the Loyalist Party asked Benjamin Negau to become coalition partner, which would leave them with a super coalition with a 310 seat majority. Benjamin Negau wanted this, but his caucus actively fought it. At the end the Committe did a poll in which 61% of the members were negative regarding governing. Benjamin Negau left the party after this. He took his seat and formed the Free Caucus, but joined the Independent Jewish Group. Arthur Fornost (number 2 on the list) was then appointed floor leader by his caucus.

Open Convention of 2047
The Open Convention of 2047 in Munich was the first to be held. Arthur Fornost battled with Gary Woodland and Jaqueline Roße to gain the leadership of the party. Arthur Fornost won by a huge margin of 87% of the vote against 7% for Gary Woodland and 6% for Jaqueline Roße. The party won 113 seats in the election and due to the loss of the Loyalist Party they became the largest. Arthur Fornost left the House and became Prime-Minister.

The USLD in the House of Consuls
The USLD is the largest party in the House with 113 seats, just one seat more than the Loyalist Party. They are seated in the centre(left) between the Social-Democratic Party and the Loyalist Party. The leader elected before the elections of 2048, Arthur Fornost, left the parliament after a few weeks to become Prime-Minister of a cabinet formed together with the LP, CD and GPP.