2023 Brazorian government formation
| Date | August 10, 2023 – September 27, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Location |
 Brazoria |
| Type | Government formation |
| Cause | Hung parliament following the 2023 Brazorian general election |
| Organized by | Federal government |
| Participants | |
| Outcome | Creation of the Second Gonzales government |
Attempts to form a government in Brazoria began on August 10 following the August 9 general election of 2023 from the day before, which resulted in a hung parliament with neither political party or coalition achieving a legislative majority. As a result of the outcome of the election, the government of incumbent chancellor Ed Gonzales will remain in office in a caretaker until a new government has been formed.
The 2023 general election saw the governing People's Party retain their plurality in parliament, however they failed to achieve a majority and suffered a net loss of further seats. This, along with their confidence and supply partners in the National Conservative and Libertarian parties failing to achieve enough seats to form a coalition government, left the People's Party and Gonzales overseeing a second minority government. The Democratic Socialist Party made gains, but their allies in the Democratic Cooperative suffered a net loss of eight seats and thus barred the two parties along from being able to form a government. As a result, both the PPB and the DSP chose to negotiate with other parties in hopes of securing their support to form a government, else a repeat election would be held if a government is not formed.
Negotiations ended on September 27 with the creation of the Second Gonzales government between the People's Party, the Federalists, and Green Party with Libertarian backing as well. The Green Party joined due to Gonzales stating his willingness and intent to support legislation and policy proposals to address the issue of climate change within the country. Both the DSP and DC retained their status in the opposition, but expressed willingness to work with the new government on the environment and certain other issues while the National Conservatives criticized the decision and took place in parliament as secondary opposition.
Legal provisions
Post-2023 election developments
Initial positions
After the People's Party of Brazoria won the largest pluralist in the Diet of Brazoria following the general election, the party under Ed Gonzales claimed they had the legitimate right to govern Brazoria, however this would be challenged after it was reported that the National Conservative and Libertarian parties hadn't agreed to form a coalition government, citing the need for the party to make major concessions in order to win over their support. In the election, both the NCP and Libertarians made gains, however they were relatively small and their combined totals would result in a hypothetical PPB–NCPB–LPB coalition being 13 seats short the needed majority at 176 seats. The Democratic Socialist Party led by Robert Whitmore made gains in the election, but their coalition partners in the Democratic Cooperative suffered net losses, forcing them to win the support of another party in order to have a shot at forming a government with the Green Party of Brazoria being viewed as the first and best option for them.
The possible outcomes for the election that were initially hypothesized after the election were:
- A People's Party, National Conservative, and Libertarian minority coalition comprising of 155–168 seats.
- A DSP–Democratic–Green Party alliance with 155 seats with United Landonist confidence and supply.
- A hung parliament and parliamentary deadlock lasting for two or more months after the initial ballot, resulting in a repeat election in late 2023 or early 2024.
Other possibilities such as a grand coalition between the People's Party and one or both of the opposition parties and the abstention of the PPB and DSP from each other's investiture were dismissed as unfeasible, however the possibility of the Federalist Party falling for either side and allowing either the administration or opposition to form a government was seen as a strong possibility given their size in parliament and recent electoral successes.
Robert Whitmore, Leader of the Democratic Socialist Party and Leader of the Opposition, acknowledged that the formation of a DPS-led government would be difficult, but stated that he would pursue it nonetheless and would attempt to form a government if requested to by the King himself. Furthermore, he stated that he would seek to convince the Green Party to join him in a coalition, a proposal that was viewed as possible and worth pursuing by Green Party leader John Reitter only asking that the Democratic Socialists and Democratic Cooperative make concessions on the issue of environmental protection and climate change in exchange for Green Party support. In regards to possibly getting the backing of the Federalist Party, both Whitmore and Democratic Cooperative leader James Floyd stated that it was possible, but acknowledged that contrasting ideological differences would make such a move difficult, more so than courting the backing of the Green Party, along with fear of backlash and internal opposition from liberal and progressive elements in both parties in regards to working with a largely center-right party.
Richard Abbott, Leader of the National Conservative Party, held a press conference on August 10 where he called on the Gonzales government to make major concessions to the NCP in regards to immigration, foreign policy, gun rights, and certain areas of domestic policy. Abbott also called on the People's Party government to give the NCP a greater say in administrative affairs, a request that the Libertarian Party leader Liz Jefferson also made.
On August 12, political magazine El Espejo cited a "People's Party insider who wished to remain anonymous" in reporting that the negotiations between the People's Party and the National Conservatives were "breaking down." The source stated that "there are concessions being demanded which [Gonzales and his advisers] feel are politically infeasible and which threaten the model of good governance which [the People's Party administration has] built [its] image around." The source speculated that representatives of the People's Party would approach the Federalists early in the coming week unless the National Conservatives relented in their demands. Following this revelation, political commentators began to theorize that a People's Party-Federalist Party coalition may present the most "obvious choice, ideologically and politically."[1]
Decision of the Federalist Party
The Federalist Party made notable gains in the 2023 election, winning four seats and increasing their total up to 29 seats in the Diet, making them the fourth largest party in parliament. The Federalist Party's decent performance along with their marginal improvement in recent elections since 2008 made them an ideal coalition partner as their involvement would either help Gonzales form a second government or allow the Democratic Socialists to form a new government for the first time since 2019, albeit a minority government. Federalist Party leader Alexandra Alvarez Jaramillo stated that she is willing to consider both options and would seek discussion and negotiations with both the Gonzales government and the opposition before making her final decision on August 11 with a statement released by the Federalist Executive Committee, the party's governing body, stating that they would support her decision no matter the outcome with 100% cooperation.
The Federalist Party hadn't been in government since the 2000s during the early years after the Pecan Revolution and it was only in the 2010s that the party improved its showing in parliamentary elections that it would be considered a viable contender for a coalition or confidence and supply partner. The idea had been considered by Gonzales in 2019, however the party declined under its previous leader Joseph Schlieffen. After Jaramillo was elected in 2021, she would shift direction and stated her openness to working with the People's Party if possible, but certain concessions would need to be given if necessary. During the 2023 election, Jaramillo stated that she would be open to working with the People's Party if the opportunity had arisen and cited Gonzales' record of multi-partisanship and civil-minded governance as reasons for considering to work with them, however she criticized the National Conservatives and believed that cooperation with them was tenuous due to their deeply partisan rhetoric and right-wing platform.
On August 6, the Federalist Party began negotiations with the People's Party with both parties' leaders meeting during the discussion. The negotiations lasted around four days and on August 11, Jaramillo announced that significant progress had been made and that it was "very likely" that the party would join the People's Party in a new coalition government, but had to consult her own party in order to gain approval. Meanwhile the Green Party had concluded a second round of negotiations with the Democratic Socialists on August 12 and stated that progress had been made, but that they would pursue talks with the Gonzales administration after he proposed a climate plan and stated his interest in wanting the Green Party's input with the offer being accepted and negotiations starting on August 14. The decision was viewed as unexpected given the Green Party's left-leaning political positions and the anti-capitalist stance of its leader, John Reitter, however Reitter defended the decision saying he made it out of a sense of pragmatism and viewed the idea of dismissing Gonzales as "foolish and naive", citing the need to address climate change and Reitter being personally impressed with the proposed plan while also requesting revisions be made in order to gain the party's complete approval and support.