Social Democratic Union

Social Democratic Union Социал-Демократический Союз
Chairman	Yevgeniy Tulamov
President of Laiatan	Yuliya Surkova
Vice President	Vladimir Burmakin
Chairman of the People's Council	Kiril Zhutov
Founded	July 9, 1977; 46 years ago (1977-07-09)
Merger of	Social Labor Party and Democratic Union
Student wing	Collegiate Social Democrats
Youth wing	Young Social Democrats
Women's wing	Union of Social Democratic Women
Overseas wing	Social Democrats Abroad
Membership  (2014)	957,102
Ideology	Social democracy Nationalism Liberalism Progressivism
Colors	Green
Seats in the Federal Council	27 / 48
Seats in the People's Council	258 / 450
Governors	9 / 15
Province Upper Chamber Seats	1,615 / 2,754
Province Lower Chamber Seats	2,147 / 3,591
Website
http://www.sotsial-demokrat.lai
Political parties

The Social Democratic Union (SDU) (Laiatanese: Социал-Демократический Союз (СДС), tr. Sotsial-Demokraticheskiy Soyuz (SDS)) is one of the major political parties in the Laiatanese Federation. As of 2017, it is the current ruling party of the Laiatanese Federation. The Social Democratic Union is the largest political party in Laiatan; as of 2017 it holds 258 (or 57.33%) of the 450 seats in the People's Council and 33 (or 55%) of the 60 seats in the Federal Council.

The Social Democratic Union formed April 9, 1977 through a merger of the Social Labor Party and Democratic Union. As of 2017 the Social Democratic Union supports the policies of the presidential administration. The SDU is enjoying its highest popularity in its history, controlling nearly a supermajority (55%) in the People's Council. The party has controlled the executive branch since the 1992 election. It has controlled the legislative branch since the 1996 elections. The party's popularity has been increasing since becoming a significant player in coalition governments since the early 1980s.

History

Origins

SRP emblem 1967-1977.

DS emblem 1974-1977.

The Social Democratic Union came to be in 1977 with the merging of the Social Labor Party (SRP) and Democratic Union (DS). The Social Labor Party was the oldest social democratic political party (founded 1901) in Laiatan, and often ruled as part of a coalition with the various liberal parties of the day. The Social Labor Party was a relatively popular party, advocating for the rights of workers and social justice. The SRP would win anywhere from 10-20% of seats in the People's Council, and would win a similar number in the Federal Council. The Democratic Union was founded in 1940 as a liberal progressive party, and had strong showings in elections. Much like the Social Labor Party, the Democratic Union played a part in several coalition governments during the 1960s and early 1970s.

The 1976 Federation Assembly elections showed a drastic change in the ideology of a large chunk of the country. Democratic Union finished first with 25%, while SRP followed close behind at 21%. The two parties ruled in coalition with a single liberal party. Sensing the change in the ideological direction of the country towards a more social democrat/progressive leaning, the parties announced unification process began in early 1976. This process was completed and finalized on July 9, 1977. The party began operating under the "Social Democratic Union" name, and began campaigning for the 1978 elections.

1978 Federation Assembly elections

The change expected by the newly formed Social Democratic Union (SDS) became a reality when the party took 50.22% of the seats in the People's Council and 53.13% of the Federal Council seats. Widely considered to be the underdog in the election, the win cemented social democracy into the Laiatanese political landscape. While the legislative branch went to the social democrats, the executive branch still remained in the hands of President Mikhail Avenov, a member of the Republic Party. Most of the Social Democratic Union's agenda was unable to be passed, excluding the occasional bill also supported by the Republicans.

1978 Federal Council Elections

Makeup of the 1978 Federal Council.

Political party	Number of seats	Change
SDS	32	32
RP	11	16
SNP	8	7
KPL	5	8
NPL	4	1

1978 People's Council Elections

Makeup of the 1978 People's Council.

Political party	Number of seats	Change
SDS	226	226
RP	60	145
SNP	56	64
KPL	55	15
NPL	53	2

1980-1989

Frustration over the inability to get bills signed into law continued into the 1980s, the SDS losing the three presidential elections that took place during this time period.

1990-1999

2000-present

Current structure

Political positions

Electoral history

President

Federal Council

People's Council

Voter base

Notable members

	Laiatanese Federation
Main article: Laiatan
Important Topics: Culture ♦ Lupine ♦ Laiatanese language ♦ Mahitou ♦ Laiatanese korona ♦ Defense Forces
Government: Cabinet ♦ Federation Assembly ♦ Federal Council ♦ People's Council ♦ President ♦ Supreme Federal Court ♦ Political Parties
History: Pre-Mahigan Laiatan ♦ Kingdom of Laiatan ♦ Laiatanese Empire ♦ Laiatanese Junta ♦ Laiatanese Federation
Important Figures (Past and Present): Yuliya Surkova ♦ Zakhar Kreskov ♦ Aleksey Zukov ♦ Yuri IV ♦ Katerina I ♦ Nika Alkaev ♦ Yura Lainov