People's Democratic Party

The People's Democratic Party (PDP; Parti démocratique populaire, PDP; Demokratische Volkspartei, DV) is a centre-left liberal political party in Mobius. Controlling both the post of Prime Minister and the bicameral Jesston State Hall, it is the majority ruling party in the country.

Founded in 1976, the PDP is one of two major parties in Mobius, along with the declining Mobian Justice Party. Prior to 1997, it was associated with the old quasi-authoritarian regime, being one of the only three parties allowed. Ever since 1997, it has been associated with strong advocacy of human rights, social welfare, anti-communism, and liberal democracy. The incumbent Prime Minister and current leader of the PDP, Geoffrey St. John, is the second member of the PDP to hold the office, and is also the longest-serving prime minister in Mobian history.

The PDP is a long-term member of Socialist International, the Progressive Alliance, and the Party of European Socialists. The PDP is widely classified as socially liberal because of their strong support for human rights, including support for marriage equality. They are also proponents of the Nordic model. In addition, the PDP is more than willing to increase military expenditures to defend against potential invasions, and on foreign policy favors closer ties with the United States, Spain, France, and the United Kingdom.

History
The PDP's roots were in the many centre-left parties throughout the Mobian Archipelago, the major parties of the region included the Albion-based Social Alliance of Mobius, the Liberals of Voxia, and the Progressive Alliance. With the signing of the Knothole Accord, the three parties would form a coalition which eventually culminated in the creation of the original PDP manifesto on 30 May 1976, merging the three parties into one, though right-wing members of the LV party would split from the party and join the Mobian Liberal Democrats at the same time. Initially a social-democratic party lead by Georges D'Mont, the PDP would end up becoming more of a centrist party during the First Confederation era in order to not get banned by the increasingly right-wing government, replacing D'Mont as leader of the party with Hank Stephenson.

The PDP lead the first official opposition after the congressional election with Stephenson becoming the first leader of the opposition against Rosemary Prower who lead the MJP. The next congressional election lead to the party dropping to third party status with the MDP becoming the official opposition, leading to Stephenson being replaced by James Forsythe as party leader. Unlike Stephenson, Forsythe was much younger and more charismatic, garnering support from all over the country, though like Stephenson he too was a centrist.

1985-1989: first minority government
The PDP won its first minority government after the 1984 election with Forsythe becoming the country's second prime minister with the MDP as the party's coalition partner. Due to many differences between the two parties, there was little that could be done beyond some very limited trade policies and interactions with the European Union, moves that made the PDP very unpopular. Despite that, the coalition was able to remain throughout the next four years, ensuring that a snap election wouldn't be called.

1989-1997: back to opposition
The PDP would be relegated back to third party status in the 1988 election which saw the MDP forming its first and only government in Mobian history. Forsythe was eventually replaced by Georg Steinhauer in 1989. The party was able to regain some seats and return to the official opposition in the 1992 election, though the party was unable to provide much of an opposition to the leading MJP due to the latter party's supermajority in the Jesston State Hall.

With the advent of the Lavender Revolution of 1994, the PDP experienced yet another leadership election which saw Steinhauer being replaced by Geoffrey St. John. Unlike his predecessors, St. John is a social democrat who vowed to return the PDP to its original roots, reviving the ideals of D'Mont after nearly 20 years of being sidelined by centrists. St. John was able to capitalize on the stigmatization of the old quasi-authoritarian regime as well as making promises to reform the Mobian system for the 21st Century.

1997-2001: second minority government
The 1996 election saw the PDP winning its second minority government with the MJP, which has embraced Christian democracy as its main ideology, as its coalition partner. Unlike the last PDP government, which saw little change in policy, this PDP government was able to implement social welfare, and reform the nation's administrative divisions which promoted the Autonomous islands of Mobius to the three separate states of Angel Island, Manilia and Hautensburg, dissolved the Extraterritorial areas of Mobius and splitting it into the states of Walford and Patoburg, and even making Jesston into a separate federal district. Another part of the reforms was to change the composition of the House of Peers from a system where the amount of Peers Temporal in each state is determined by its population to a system where each state has the same amount of Peers Temporal so as to ensure that each state has equal representation in the House of Peers. The reforms were highly popular, further cementing PDP rule and Mobius' transition towards liberal democracy.

2001-present: in majority government
The 2000 election saw the PDP winning its first ever majority government, pushing the MJP into the official opposition. Each subsequent election would see the PDP retain its growing majority. With the PDP finally in the majority, St. John could now focus on a more pro-Western foreign policy which focused on building up relations with the United States, Spain, France, and the United Kingdom, though the party would have a soft Eurosceptic policy where Mobius can trade and interact with the EU, but it wouldn't replace its currency, the Mobian Ring, with the Euro let alone join the EU.

On 8 July 2020, St. John has announced that he would retire from politics after the 2028 election, which would end his career after 33 years, which would make him the longest-serving head of government in any liberal democracy.