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	ECOTOPIAN PARTY

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The result of a merger between an environmentalist group (the Ecological Party) and a pacifist group (the Utopian Party), the Ecotopians are dedicated to advancing what they call "respect for the world", meaning that they seek to encourage humans to live in harmony both with each other and with nature. They are Lendosa's closest equivalent to a "green party".

The Ecotopian Party is holds five seats in the Senate. It also fills two of the twenty-five Administrator positons, that of Administrator of Nature and Administrator of Agriculture. The party is currently led by Maria Secanto, who currently holds the post of Administrator of Nature. The deputy leader is Albio Ensto. Its Secretary is Susanna Lanatra.

Colour and Emblem

The Ecotopian Party's official colour is green, and its emblem is a stylized drawing of a single leaf.

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The name of the party in Lendian is "lo Partido Ecotopiano". The name is a merger of "ecological" and "utopian". The party is sometimes known as "lo Partido Vertio" ("the Green Party"), following the pattern established in other countries, but this is not an official designation.

Quote

"Following the path of peaceful and harmonious coexistence, both with each other and with nature, is the only way of ensuring our survival as a species. If we ignore this fact, we will eventually destroy ourselves."

Key Policies

Environmentalism
Environmental issues are a key part of the Ecotopian Party's manifesto. The party is dedicated to preserving the environment, and is especially supportive of moves to cut back or eliminate pollution. The Ecotopians are in favour of strong government action to protect the environment, and support a wide range of methods for accomplishing their goals.

• Increase regulation of business and industry in order to reduce the negative impact they have on the environment.
• Increase education in schools and communities about the need to protect the environment, particularly by encouraging recycling, use of public transport, and the conservation of electricity.
• Give more funding to environmentalist initiatives and to the government's own conservation agencies.
• Implement a "carbon tax" to reduce polution.

Pacifism
The other key component of Ecotopian policy is their strong support of pacifism.

• Maintain and reaffirm Lendosan neutrality in foreign affairs, and never enter into disputes or conflicts unless they are related to Lendosa's legitimate rights.
• Promote peace and disarmament around the world, and seek to play an active role in conflict resolution and peace negotiation.
• Reduce the core of the Lendosan military to the absolute minimum size required for our country's defence, leaving only peacekeeping forces outside that requirement.
• Conduct education programs in schools about the horrors of war, and discourage the glorification of violence sometimes found in the entertainment sector.

Welfare
The Ecotopian Party also has an interest in a strong welfare state, being a left-wing group at its core.

• Give assistance to all those who need it.
• Provide free and easily accessable skills training to those in need.
• Introduce a legal requirement for companies to grant their employees a period of paid parental leave.

Economy
The Ecotopian Party is one of the only three parties in Lendosa that opposes the current system of free trade. It believes that the present framework is inherrently unfair and exploitative, and proposes significant reforms, including:

• Create substantial tarrifs on certain things in order to protect Lendosa from multinational corporations intent on soaking up our country's wealth.
• Impose a strict code of ethics on all Lendosan companies, governing the way in which they behave to people, the environment, and each other. Impose an even stricter code of ethics on all Lendosan companies operating in foreign countries, ensuring that they are neither exploiting cheap labour nor unnecessarily depriving Lendosans of employment.

Issues Facing the Party

Of the issues facing the Ecotopian Party at present, perhaps the largest is the split between those who tend towards the policies of the old Utopian Party and those who tend towards the policies of the old Ecological Party. While the two had much in common, some members of the new united party feel that focus is being given to the wrong causes. This is particularly true of some members of the old Utopian Party, who believe that the Ecotopian Party pays too much attention to environmental matters and not enough to pacifism. Tensions were increased after the retirement of the previous Ecotopian Party leader, when Maria Secanto, former deputy leader of the Ecological Party, gained the leadership over Albio Ensto, former leader of the Utopians, despite being considerably less experienced.

Perhaps of lesser importance, but still of note, is the growing division within the environmentalist wing of the party between left-wing environmentalists and centrist or right-wing environmentalists. On the whole, the Ecotopian Party is a left-wing organization, but there is nevertheless a minority that do not identify themselves as such. While the Ecotopian Party as a whole tends to oppose capitalism as harmful to the environment, the minority believes that this is not an intrinic part of capitalism. They claim that environmentalists should work with the commercial world to "convince businesspeople that it is in their own interests to look after the world we live in". Because the Ecotopian Party is primarily focused on environmentalism and pacifism, rather than left-wing or right-wing ideology, there is not much tension between the two camps, but as the Ecotopian Party broadens its policy base (mainly in an attempt to fight the perception of it as a single-issue fringe party), economic beliefs are coming more and more into the spotlight.

Subparties

Ecological Subparty
A subparty based around the old Ecological Party, one of the two groups that merged to form the modern Ecotopian Party. The subparty focuses its attention on matters relating to the environment.

Utopian Subparty
A subparty based around the old Utopian Party, one of the two groups that merged to form the modern Ecotopian Party. The subparty focuses its attention on promoting pacificism and progressive social values.

Eco-Capitalist Subparty
A subparty based on the belief that environmental issues are best served by cooperation with commerce and industry, and that development and environmental protection are not mutually exclusive. According to the Eco-Capitalist Subparty, traditional environmentalism has been anti-progress and anti-development, whereas the correct approach is to promote sustainable development and encourage a world in which nature and technology can coexist. The Eco-Capitalist Subparty does not support the left-wing economic policies followed by the rest of the Ecotopian Party.

History of the Party

The Ecotopian Party was established in 290 AP, when two other parties, the Ecological Party and the Utopian Party, agreed to merge. Both the Ecological Party and the Utopian Party had substantial histories behind them.

The Utopian Party was one of Lendosa's oldest parties, established in 236 AP. It was founded primarily as a pacifist party, having been set up by Mario Lamano, a prominent figure in the pacifist movement. It existed primarily in opposition to the expansionistic wars fought or supported by Emperor Carigo, who had taken power two years earlier. It was quickly declared subversive, and was made illegal, but it continued to survive in hiding. In 252 AP, when the Imperial Council wrested more control away from Emperor Carigo, the party was legalized again, primarily as a means by which the Council could work against the emperor. In 269 AP, when Carigo regained predominance, the party could have been banned again, but the relative peace of the Council's reign meant that support for the Utopians had dwindled to the point that Carigo was not concerned. The fact that Carigo was too busy fighting the Council to wage war meant that the Utopians did not gain much more power. Towards the end of Carigo's reign, however, fighting against communist rebels in the Empire's Uhlanian territories intensified, and Utopian support grew as a result of increased public concern. Emperor Carigo died shortly after this, however, and so no restrictions were placed on the group. Slowly, fueled by increasing opposition to the war in West Uhlan, the Utopian Party grew larger.

The Ecological Party, a newer party, was the political wing of the Sepuro Movement, the Lendosan Confederation's most prominent environmentalist group. It was established by the Sepuro Movement in 262 AP, when Sepuro decided that none of the existing parties adequately represented environmentalist voters. To begin with, it met with little success, but occasionally candidates would gain entry to the Imperial Council. Towards the end of the 270s, however, the party experienced a decline in support, partly attributable to the increased attention given to environmental issues by other parties (thus undermining the need for a separate environmentalist party). This trend continued throughout the 280s.

In 289 AP, the Ecological Party and the Utopian Party began to work together on several issues. Many members of the anti-war movement were also environmentalists, and many environmentalists agreed with pacifism, leading to similar policies. The following year, it was proposed that the parties be merged into a single pro-nature pro-peace party, to go under the name "the Ecotopian Party", a merger of the two existing names. Party members were asked to vote on the proposal. A substantial number of them opposed the idea, saying that the merger would reduce the focus on the areas each individual party wanted to promote, but a slim majority approved, and the parties were united.

Initially, the united Ecotopian Party performed well, mostly as a result of the ongoing war in West Uhlan. When the Democracy Party began to agitate for political reform and genuine democracy, the Ecotopian Party supported it, with many Ecotopians joining the massive demonstrations that eventually caused Emperor Xavier to agree to the Imperial Council's proposal for reform. Following the dissolution of the Empire, the Ecotopians still continued to do well, primarily as a result of the pro-imperialist revolt and subsequent conflict led by General Bonoduro. Now that peace has been established, however, Ecotopian support has lessened.

List of Past Leaders

• Ricardo Danteo (290 - 299)
• Maria Secanto (299 - )