Rouge Twenties
The Rouge Twenties, in the NAL, was a period of left-wing ascendancy associated with radical social and economic reforms under the Whig General Moderatorship of Gwilliam Lyon MacDowell. It followed the end of the First Great War and ended with the "Conservative Coalition" of the Conservative Democrats and Progressive Conservatives winning control of Parliament in 1929.
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1921 election
Whig: 106
Conservative Democrat: 70
Progressive Conservative: 62
Socialist: 25
Farmers and Fishermen: 14 [think agrarian Populists, sorta]
Unionist: 8
A very close, very bitter election where MacDowell's coalition [Whigs+Socialists+F&F] only has a majority of two. He courted controversy by making it clear that in the event of a "hung parliament", he would first turn to the Socialists and F&F instead of a grand coalition with the ConDems, but this in the long run was seen as a clever decision, as the deeply controversial Grand Wartime Coalition was barely four years past.
This coalition merely amplified his left-wing streak and made many compare him to McKinley, who too entered in a coalition with the Socialists. However, MacDowell was a more canny politician and knew how to keep the people on side with his left-wing proposals. He argued for "making this country one fit for heroes", namely those who fought in GW1.
The "Conservative Coalition", as MacDowell labelled the ConDems and ProgCons when they agreed to work together to oppose his left-wing policies, ended up failing to defeat him in 1925 as the people rewarded him for his successes and punished the conservatives for their attempt [along with conservative Whigs] at throwing him out via a vote of no confidence over the income tax.
1925 election
Whig: 125
Conservative Democrat: 71
Progressive Conservative: 47
Socialist: 21
Farmers and Fishermen: 12
Unionist: 7
People's Socialist: 2 [left-wing splitter, hardliners]
Now with a majority of fifteen seats and the conservatives humbled, MacDowell now had the political capital to pass laws such as guaranteeing labour rights and national funding for provincial healthcare systems. At a provincial level, the Whigs nationwide took a step to the left and the amount of "social-liberal" [Whig+Socialists (+F&F when applicable)] coalitions at a provincial level increased. The split with the PSP ensured that the Socialists would not turn left and become revolutionary like others around the world.
By 1929, the Whigs was running exhausted as the conservatives started to fight back. The Farmers and Fishermen party was vanishing as the ConDems [who they originally split off from] moved to pick up alienated farmer voters who thought MacDowell wasn't really looking after them, and only for industrial workers. The Socialist grassroots were still radical and after a while of the reforms, they realised that MacDowell wasn't really a socialist, only a social-liberal who wouldn't place industries in workers hands, only tinker with the capitalist system. And the right-wing faction of the Whigs were back after their loss in 1925, ready to take down MacDowell. Sufficient to say, it wasn't great for the left.
1929 election
Whig: 98
Conservative Democrat: 95
Progressive Conservative: 57
Socialist: 17
Unionist: 11
Farmers and Fishermen: 5
People's Socialist: 2
And thus the "Rouge Twenties" came to an end as the ConDems and ProgCons entered in a coalition, with the Unionists unofficially providing support. MacDowell's last years as General Moderator would see him fight against some radical conservatives' attempt at removing him from office.
People expected a ConDem to become General Moderator in 1931, but Franklin Rosenberg exploited the division between the centre-right ConDems and right-wing PCs and managed to get enough of them to vote for him along with the Socialists and F&F [who would officially vote to merge into the Whigs in 1935 after a disappointing result in 1933]. The Socialists would find Rosenberg to be not as hospitable to them as MacDowell was, and even though they voted essentially for most of his policies expanding social programs, they wouldn't be in an official coalition with him nor get any cabinet positions. Indeed, "FDR" preferred to work with the Conservative Democrats.
