Patria Votes 2022: SRM foiled again by Social Democrats, Chakra and Green Parties

 “Whose Patria? Our Patria?” But not quite the SRM’s Patria. While the Hindu right “Patria First” SRM won the most seats in the Fifty Second Congress, they ran into a progressive (but not woke) buzz-saw: the “Progress with a purpose” Social Democrats, “Bikes not cars” Greens and “Inquire Within” Chakra Party, who have enough combined seats for a simple (50%) majority in the House. For those bills, constitutional amendments and other resolutions that require a two-thirds majority, they will still need support from the minor parties, Jim Rome’s Jungle, National Unionists and at least a few SRMers. The election really did not change much of the power balance from the Social Democrat-Amrita-Chakra dominated Fifty First Congress, even if the SRM won 34 more seats than in 2018. Despite the demise of the Amrita Party, there will be four IAM – Independent Amrita Members – sitting in the new Congress, who were elected through write-in votes and the party remaining on the ballot in Caesarea. 

The law and order National Union campaigned hard on a “don’t be a pussy” platform, but equating manliness with owning a big dog and supporting the police right or wrong (aka Blue Lives Matter) seemed hardly worth it as they managed to win only one more seat than in 2018. Jim Rome’s Jungle Party finished down one seat from 2018, but at least they took some votes away from the NU, those votes being unemployed or minimally employed adult boys living in their mom and dad’s basement, spending most of the day playing video games. 

The SRM claims its “win” was in large part due to the demise of the Amrita Party. But the real winner was the Chakra Party, who scooped up 43 more seats than in 2018. Most of those votes would likely have gone to Amrita. 

A whopping 22 parties (including the remnants of the Amrita party, known as “IAM”) will be represented in the 52^nd Congress, though nine of those parties hold only a single seat each. Try doing that with first-past-the-post! Thanks to proportional representation, no vote in Patria is ever wasted or elects no one. Even write-ins can win a seat, though this was due to nostalgia for the defunct Amrita Party rather than proportional representation per se.

 Campaign 2022 final score:

 SRM – 90 (+34 from 2018)

Social Democrats – 84 (-12)

Chakra – 76 (+43)

National Union – 22 (+1)

Green – 17 (+1)

Jungle – 10 (-1)

Lilith – 8 (+2)

Libertarian – 5 (unchanged)

Independent (Amrita) – 4**

Chastity – 2 (-1)

Family Values – 2 (unchanged)

Peoples’ Party – 2

Reconstruction Party - 2

Others* – 9

*one seat each: Pottsylvanian Alliance, United Patriots of Pottsylvania, United Farmers of Antioch, Lazurian Independent Party, Patriots Union of Nova Columbia, Incels’ Rights, Victory and Peace, Freedom Party, Popular Front of Caesarea.

** Now-defunct Amrita Party, aka “IAM” (Independent Amrita Members).

Seats won by precinct: 

Fredonia (9)

Chakra – 2, Green – 1, Jungle – 1, NU – 1, SD – 2, SRM – 2

 Haldimania (12)

Chakra –2, Green – 1, Libertarian – 1, NU – 1, SD – 3, SRM – 4

 Pottsylvania (13)

Chakra – 3, Lilith – 1, NU – 1, SD – 3, SRM – 3, Pottsylvanian Alliance – 1, United Patriots of Pottsylvania – 1

 Mauretania (15)

Chakra – 3, Green – 1, Jungle – 1, Lilith – 1, NU – 1, SD – 4, SRM – 3, Peoples’ Party – 1

 Canardiere (16)

Chakra – 3, Green – 1, Libertarian – 1, SD – 6, SRM – 5

 Ambrosia (17)

Chakra – 4, Green – 1, Lilith – 1, NU – 1, SD – 5, SRM – 5

 Antioch (19)

Chakra – 5, Jungle – 1, NU – 1, SD – 5, SRM – 6, United Farmers of Antioch – 1

 Arboria (21)

Chakra – 4, Green – 1, Lilith – 1, NU – 2, SD – 6, SRM – 6, Independent (Amrita) – 1

 Aeolia (24)

Chakra – 5, Green – 2, Jungle – 1, Libertarian – 1, NU – 1, SD – 6, SRM – 8

 Centralia (25)

Chakra – 6, Green – 2, Jungle – 1, Lilith – 1, NU – 3, SD – 5, SRM – 7

 Lazuria (27)

Chakra – 7, Green – 1, Jungle – 1, NU – 1, SD – 8, SRM – 8, Lazurian Independent Party – 1

 Nova Columbia (36)

Chakra – 9, Chastity – 1, Green – 2, Jungle – 1, Lilith – 1, NU – 1, SD – 8, SRM – 9, Patriots’ Union of Nova Columbia (PUNC) – 1, Peoples’ Party – 1, Incels’ Rights – 1, Reconstruction Party – 1

 Federal District of Castoropolis (38)

Chakra – 10, Chastity – 1, Family Values – 1, Green – 2, Jungle – 1, Libertarian – 1, NU – 1, SD – 7, SRM – 10, Independent (Amrita) – 1, Victory and Peace Party – 1, Freedom Party – 1, Reconstruction Party – 1

 Caesarea (61)

Chakra – 13, Family Values – 1, Green – 2, Jungle – 2, Libertarian – 1, Lilith – 2, NU – 7, SD – 16, SRM – 14, Independent (Amrita) – 2, Popular Front of Caesarea (PFC) – 1

As Patria awaits the 52nd Congress Inauguration Day on June 30, a reminder that Patria is not a place for social conservative culture wars. The tired old horses such as modest dress for women and no same-sex marriage left the barn a long time ago.

Battleground Precincts as Campaign 2022 ends

Today is the last day of the race for Patria’s Fifty Second Congress. Tomorrow is Election Day. Just as there are battleground states in the US presidential election campaign, there are battleground or swing precincts in Patria as the SRM, Social Democrats, Chakra and other parties attempt to woo voters from the now-defunct Amrita Party. The following is a brief look at the precincts that could swing the 2022 election.

Arboria

As the home base of the Amrita Party and Amma’s adopted “home” since the party’s formation in 2002, Arboria is one of the leading battlegrounds thanks to the demise of the Amrita Party in late 2021. The Chakra Party and SRM have been battling tooth and nail for Arboria’s 21 seats, with the Social Democrats and Greens also strongly in the hunt. There are likely enough Amma devotees in Arboria longing for the now-defunct party to elect at least one independent Amrita member through write-in votes.

Centralia

Patria’s old de-industrialized Rust Belt. Amrita took 9 of its 25 seats in 2018 while the Social Democrats won 6. The Social Dems are fighting hard for Patria’s former industrial heartland, in an attempt to stave off frustrated, poverty-stricken voters going for the macho-tough National Union and the “Patria First” SRM.

Nova Columbia

Usually a breeding ground for fringe and nutbar single-seat parties such as the Patriots’ Union of Nova Columbia (PUNC), as well as minor parties such as the Lilith, Chastity and Libertarians. With 36 seats up for grabs, a fair chunk of the minor party representation in the 52^nd Congress could come from Nova Columbia.

Pottsylvania

Like Nova Columbia, another hotbed of fringe and nutbar parties. The Pottsylvanian Alliance, United Patriots of Pottsylvania or some other stupid party is likely to take one of Pottsylvania’s 13 seats.

Federal District of Castoropolis & Caesarea

With 99 seats in play – 38 in Castoropolis and 61 in Caesarea – Patria’s largest city and the Caesarean suburbs and exurbs that surround it are the major prize in the 2022 election cycle. Note that unlike the District of Columbia, Patria’s capital city enjoys full representation in Congress. Like most major macro-world cities, Castoropolis is chock-full of liberals and hard-leftists, who will split the vote between the Greens and Social Democrats. The proliferation of yoga studios will translate into votes for the Chakra Party. Minor fringe parties usually pick up a seat or two in the Federal District and Caesarea, and along with Arboria there are some hard-core Amrita supporters who could write in an independent Amrita member or two.

As in 2018, Social Dems are playing the Bernie card.

Typical SRM campaign poster seen all over Patria.

Chakra Party could hold balance of power between SD and SRM.

NU men are tough as nails.

Neither left nor right: minor and fringe parties hold Patria’s balance of power

Thanks to proportional representation, minor parties play a key role in Patria and a vote for one of the pint-size parties is almost never a wasted vote. A coalition government, whether led by the Social Democrats, SRM or even the Chakra Party, usually can’t be cobbled together without the support of at least one such party. When a two-thirds majority is needed for ratification of many pieces of legislation, and even for the bills that can be passed with a simple 50% majority, one vote here and one vote there from a fringe or nutbar party can be crucial.

Patria’s Green Party and Libertarian party need no further explanation, as they share the policies and platforms with their macro-national Green and Libertarian counterparts.

The Lilith Party is a party of radical feminists, as hard-left as they come. Real “womyn” only, born with real vulvas and a full set of xx chromosomes. Trans women should steer clear of them. TERFs don’t come any more TERF than the Lilith Party.

There are a few single-issue parties, such as the Chastity Party and Family Values Party whose platforms are pretty much self-explanatory. They have no real raison d’être other than promoting socially conservative causes for the few who actually care about such things as advocating modest dress for women or banning public displays of affection. Local parties that appear on the ballot in only one precinct, such as the Pottsylvanian Alliance and Lazurian Independent Party, exist mainly to represent the interests of Pottsylvania and Lazuria respectively and try to get the precinct a better deal from Castoropolis. Like Canada, Patria’s version of federalism also includes transfer payments or economic subsidies from the federal government in order to help close the gap between the rich precincts such as Caesarea and the poorer ones such as Fredonia.

 

The fringiest of the fringe parties is arguably the Jungle Party, whose leader is the noted sports talk show host Jim Rome. The typical Jungle party voter is an unemployed or minimally employed 30-something male living in his parents’ basement, playing online games, eating leftovers or junk food, and with no girlfriend to speak of. But the party has apparently drawn men who might otherwise vote National Union.

Single-seat “parties of one” are not unusual in Patria’s Congress. In 2018 the Pottsylvanian Alliance, Lazurian Independent Party, Patriots’ Union of Nova Columbia (PUNC, usually pronounced as acronym), Peoples’ Party, Reconstruction Party and Popular Front of Caesarea took one seat each.