Shadow Coalition
The leaders of the current government, though not large enough to rule on its own, the Shadow Coalition, is a renowned compromiser. They support close relations with aliens, full equality for positronics, and the expansion of medical technology. Beyond that, the Shadow Coalition's agenda becomes indistinct, as the many sub-parties that compose it squabble and feud. Detractors call it purposeless, while supporters appreciate the party's moderation and focus on civil rights.
Contents
History
The Shadow Coalition formed as a coalition of some of the most important minor parties in human space, among them the Positronic Rights Group, the Multinational Movement, and the venerable Free Trade Union. The latter two parties are no longer part of the Coalition, although many of their supporters remained with the SC. Joining these parties were hundreds of smaller parties, some insignificant outside of the local level, for everything from Skrellian civil rights to agricultural subsidies to actual Communist movements. The Shadow Coalition, at its inception, promised a new world of technological expansion, and was instrumental in legalizing bioprinting and thus a greatly enhanced human lifespan. It took its name from the concept of a "shadow government" of opposition leaders to the existing status-quo.
The formation of The Sol Economic Organization disrupted the Coalition by switching the allegiance of the FTU and the Multinationals through grandiose promises of a new era of industry and excess fueled by almost unlimited technological development. Since then, the Coalition has grown unfocused, trying to fit the single issue of all of its many constituents into one comprehensive agenda and, by most accounts, failing. The Shadow Coalition is the current leader of the Colonial Assembly, though forced to make many policy concessions to secure their coalition partners in the GAP. Their party leader, Speaker Jun Psamathe, is SolGov's nominal head of government, though their powers are extremely limited.
Almach War and the Skathari Incursion
The Shadow Coalition's characteristically indecisive response to the secession of the Almach Association has been widely criticized. It split into a pro-reconciliation faction, lead by former Speaker Lore_Characters#ISA-5, and to a pro-invasion faction that viewed the Association as an authoritarian regime. The pro-invasion faction aligned itself with the Icarus Front and the SEO mainliners in pushing for the escalation of the Almach Crisis into a full blown war against the wishes of its leadership. The SC-lead government was, throughout the crisis, repeatedly deadlocked over questions of escalation that lead ultimately to the Whythe Superweapon being deployed and the war ending on Skrellian terms.
The next several years, however, saw massive rollbacks in technological restrictions throughout much of Sol space, following the Almachi example. These rollbacks continued during and after the Skathari Incursion, where Shadow Coalition-favored medical technology was key in reducing the disaster's bodycount. The newly formed GAP replaced the SEO as the SC's junior partner in government, and lead to the introduction of the Regional Blocs system to some controversy.
In most respects, Shadow Coalition technological policy has now been implemented throughout Sol space, with the Five Points no longer a matter of law and even cosmetic genetic modification legal. This has, ironically, lead to a drop in support for the party, with its more radically technoprogressive elements and several key coalition partners joining the GAP and leading to the historical SC stronghold in the Sagittarius Heights seceding to form the Five Arrows.
Modern Times
Who Supports Them?
- People from the Golden Crescent region, including Vir.
- Positronics, aliens, and other minority groups
- Genemodders, the wealthy, and others who rely on SC medical technologies.
- Left-wing economic radicals (very begrudgingly)
Party Structure
The central party apparatus of the SC is small and poorly funded. It is essentially a chorus of separate parties, united more by a dislike of the Icarus Front and the SEO than anything else. The party platform is decided by a micro-legislature of representatives from every minor party in the coalition, regardless of how small, and decisions are famously laborious and fraught with contention.
The SC campaigns in a more decentralized fashion than any other party, relying on word-of-mouth grassroots campaigns and strong localist sentiments to maintain their control. Though previously firmly grassroots in funding, it has begun to see increasing injections of corporate capital, most notably from Vey-Medical and Morpheus Cyberkinetics.
