theflyingmongoose's Test Thread

[theflyingmgoose]

The 1953 Iranian Coup d'etat was a Soviet-backed regime change effort in the Imperial State of Iran. The Government of Mohammad Mosaddegh had announced an intention to restrict Soviet access to resources, which caused them to act. Several thousand sympathetic soldiers assisted by thousands of KGB operatives under the command of the brutal Vasyl Tkachenko (OC) stormed Tehran, executing Mosaddegh and much of his government. The Shah managed to escape, kicking off the Iranian Civil War.

 

[theflyingmgoose]

March 1, 1954 - Finnish General Election:


PRIME MINISTERS OF FINLAND:
Urho Kekkonen (AG) - 1950-1953
Agrarian Minority (Swedish People's and National Progressive Supply-and-Confidence) - 1950-1951
Agrarian-Social Democratic Coalition (Swedish People's and National Progressive Supply-and-Confidence) - 1951-1951
Agrarian-Social Democratic Coalition (Swedish People's Supply-and-Confidence) - 1951-1953
Reino Oittinen (SDP) - 1953-?
Social Democratic-Agrarian-National Coalition Grand Coalition - 1953-?

A parliamentary election was held in Finland on March 1, 1954, roughly three years after the last one. The incumbent government of Urho Kekkonen had attempted to maintain good relations with the Soviet Union, something that grew decidedly more unpopular following Soviet actions in Hungary and Iran. Because of this, the Social Democrats pulled support in late 1952. On election day, the Communist-affiliated People's Democratic League was absolutely annihilated, losing nearly three quarters of its seats. The Social Democrats were the big winners, consolidating the votes of the majority of the left. A Social Democratic-Agrarian-National Coalition government was arranged, with the Social Democrats taking the Premiership and welfare policy, the Agrarians rural and internal policy, and the National Coalition foreign policy.

 

[theflyingmgoose]

March 27, 1954 - Belgian General Election:


PRIME MINISTERS OF BELGIUM:
Jean Van Houtte (CSP) - 1952-1954
Christian Social Majority 1952-1954
Paul Henri Spaak (BSP) - 1954-?
Socialist Minority (Liberal Supply-and-Confidence) - 1954-?

An election to the Belgian Parliament was held on March 27, 1954, approximately four years after the last one. The incumbent center-right government of Jean Van Houtte- despite winning the largest number of seats- was defeated. The new government was dominated by the Belgian Socialist Party, with Liberal confidence. Due to the continuation of the government relying on the Liberals, a moderate Socialist in Paul Henri Spaak was chosen as Prime Minister.

 

[theflyingmgoose]

April 5, 1954 - Soviet General Election:


LEADERS OF THE SOVIET UNION:
Joseph Stalin (CPSU) - 1922-?
Communist Majority - 1922-?

Indirect elections were held in the Soviet Union on April 5, 1954. Voters were presented with a list of pre-approved candidates, with blank votes counting towards the Communists. Despite this, a record 26 million Soviet voters chose to either leave their ballot blank or vote against, according to government statistics. This is blamed on the aggressive policies of Joseph Stalin and his underlings, including the Iranian Civil War and the Soviet Holocaust. Vast sanctions imposed on the regime harmed living standards, which reduced the party's standing further.

 

[theflyingmgoose]

May 4, 1954 - Turkish General Election:


PRIME MINISTERS OF TURKEY:
Adnan Menderes (D) - 1950-?
Democrat Majority - 1950-?

 

[theflyingmgoose]

May 18, 1954 - Irish General Election:


TAOISEACHS OF IRELAND:
Eamon de Valera (FF) - 1951-1954
Fianna Fail Minority (Independent Supply-and-Confidence) - 1951-1954
Liam Cosgrave (FG) - 1954-?
Fine Gael-Labour Coalition - 1954-?

A general election in Ireland was held on May 18, 1954. The incumbent government of Eamon de Valera, a founding father of the Irish state, was defeated. This was despite the fact that de Valera's Fianna Fail party won the most seats in the Irish Parliament. The new government was a coalition between the centrist Fine Gael and the leftist Labour party under Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave.

 

[theflyingmgoose]

May 29, 1954 - Australian General Election:


PRIME MINISTERS OF AUSTRALIA:
Robert Menzies (L-C) - 1948-1954
Coalition Majority - 1948-1954
H.V. Evatt (LAB) - 1954-?
Labor Majority - 1954-?

Parliamentary elections were held in Australia on May 29, 1954. The incumbent majority government of Robert Menzies and his Coalition ran for another term. The Labor Party under H.V. Evatt ran a strong campaign based on social reforms and a pro-western foreign policy. In a shock to polls, Labor ran ahead of the Coalition by four points, gaining a majority four seats higher than required.

 

[theflyingmgoose]

May 30, 1954 - Luxembourg General Election:


PRIME MINISTERS OF LUXEMBOURG:
Joseph Bech (CSP) - 1953-1954
Christian Social People's-Socialist Worker's Coalition - 1953-1954
Eugene Schaus (DG) - 1954-?
Democratic Group Leading Christian Social People's-Socialist Worker's Grand Coalition - 1954-?

Elections were held in Luxembourg on May 30, 1954. The incumbent coalition government led by Joseph Bech ran for a full term. In the end, the Socialist Worker's Party and the Christian Social People's Party both increased their seat share, the former mostly at the cost of the Communist Party, which collapsed completely. Such a close result eventually led to a 50-50 split in the cabinet between the two largest parties, with the leader of the centrist Democratic Group serving as Prime Minister.

 

[theflyingmgoose]

June 25, 1954 - South Korean General Election:



PRIME MINISTERS OF SOUTH KOREA:
Paik Too-chin (IND) - 1952-1954
Independent Leading Liberal Majority - 1952-1954
Pyon Yong-tae (IND) - 1954-?
Independent Leading Liberal Majority - 1954-1954
Independent Leading Liberal Minority - 1954-?

Legislative elections were held in South Korea on June 25, 1954. The Liberal Party of President Syngman Rhee ran on a record of increased spending on education and social services. The opposition, led by Chang Myon, charged that the Liberals were abusing their power. On election day, the Liberals were cut to only 40% of the total seats, restricting their options. However, the President re-appointed Prime Minister Pyon Yong-tae as the leader of a new minority government.

 

[theflyingmgoose]

The Iranian Civil War was an armed conflict in Iran between 1953 and 1955. It began following the Soviet-backed overthrow of Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddegh in November of 1953, which quickly led to a full-scale war. While the Iranian government initially held the upper hand with the help of western assistance, a full-scale Soviet military assault ran by KGB Chief Vasyl Tkachenko enabled the encirclement and capture of Tehran. Tkachenko's heavy-handed tactics- including the carpet bombing of civilian areas- is said to have permanently damaged the Soviet Union in the 'PR Cold War'.

 

[theflyingmgoose]

November 2, 1954 - United States General Election:




Elections were held in the United States on November 2, 1954 for a variety of offices. Over the past two years, President Robert Taft had become incredibly unpopular, with his intense conservatism generating fierce backlash from leftists and organized labor. The political skill of Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson also ensured that none of his proposed policies made it to his desk. His isolationism- though having moderated- was greatly unpopular in the face of Soviet advances, particularly in Iran. However, Taft's death- and the subsequent policy changes of Richard Nixon- brought the polling back down to earth. On election day, Democrats and left-wing Republicans gained a combined majority in both houses of Congress.

 

[theflyingmgoose]

November 14, 1954 - New Zealand General Election:


Elections were held in New Zealand on November 14, 1954. The incumbent National government of Sidney Holland- which had been in office since 1949- ran for another term. The National Party was defeated in a shock upset by the Labour Party. The Social Credit Party- while netting a solid 10% of the vote- failed to gain any seats.

PRIME MINISTERS OF NEW ZEALAND:
Sidney Holland (NAT) - 1949-1954
National Majority - 1949-1954
Walter Nash (LAB) - 1954-?
Labour Majority - 1954-?

 

[theflyingmgoose]

January 6, 1955 - United Kingdom General Election


A general election was held in the United Kingdom on January 6, 1955. The incumbent Conservative government of Anthony Eden ran for re-election, despite Eden himself having been in office for a mere two months. A strong Liberal campaign enabled the fiercely left wing Aneurin Bevan to win a solid sixteen seat majority, despite gaining a mere 45% of the vote, down from the previous election.

PRIME MINISTERS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM:
Winston Churchill (CON) - 1951-1954
Conservative Majority - 1951-1954
Anthony Eden (CON) - 1954-1955
Conservative Majority - 1954-1955
Aneurin Bevan (LAB) - 1955-?
Labour Majority - 1955-?

GOVERNMENT FORMATION TIMELINE:
January 6, 1955 - General Election
January 8, 1955 - Declarations show that Labour has won the most seats
January 9, 1955 - Labour crosses the majority threshold
January 11, 1955 - Anthony Eden resigns, Aneurin Bevan assumes office

 

[theflyingmgoose]

February 10, 1955 - Japanese General Election:


PRIME MINISTERS OF JAPAN:
Shigeru Yoshida (LP/K/LH) - 1948-1954
Katsuo Okazaki (LP/K/LH) - 1954-1955
Kanju Kato (RS/LS) - 1955-?

 

[theflyingmgoose]

February 19 1955 - Canadian Federal Election:


A general election was held in Canada on February 19, 1955. Over the last two years, the Liberal-Cooperative Commonwealth had been led by left-wing independent Tommy Douglas. During the government's tenure, multiple left wing policies including universal healthcare and free secondary education had been enacted. However, further leftward movement was halted by the Liberals, who forced a general election. On election day, they retook a majority.

PRIME MINISTERS OF CANADA:
Louis St. Laurent (LIB) - 1948-1953
Liberal Majority - 1948-1953
Tommy Douglas (IND) - 1953-1955
Independent Leading Liberal-Cooperative Coalition - 1953-1955
Louis St. Laurent (LIB) - 1955-?
Liberal Majority - 1955-?

 

[Time Enough]

Jotaro Kawakami (RS/LS) - 1955-?

Kawakami is unlikely to be Prime Minister, given his connections to the Japanese War Effort and his deep guilt over it and the mild distrust he had from the Left of the party I could see that clouding any coalition.

However someone like Kanju Kato (formerly a member of the Japanese Left Socialist factions, shifted rightward and was a member of the Right Socialist party but would still possibly being a unifying figure due to his background) or most likely Inejirō Asanuma who was a member of Kawakami’s faction, but was willing to work with the Left Socialists and be a unity figure (plus he was called the Human Locomotive which is fun).

 

[theflyingmgoose]

Kawakami is unlikely to be Prime Minister, given his connections to the Japanese War Effort and his deep guilt over it and the mild distrust he had from the Left of the party I could see that clouding any coalition.

However someone like Kanju Kato (formerly a member of the Japanese Left Socialist factions, shifted rightward and was a member of the Right Socialist party but would still possibly being a unifying figure due to his background) or most likely Inejirō Asanuma who was a member of Kawakami’s faction, but was willing to work with the Left Socialists and be a unity figure (plus he was called the Human Locomotive which is fun).

Yeah, Kato fits much better with the organized labor direction the Japanese left is taking ITTL. Inejiro Asanuma has some more... controversial foreign policy beliefs that probably don't go that well in a timeline where the USSR is taking a much more belligerent approach.

 

[theflyingmgoose]

March 1, 1955 - Maltese General Election:


PRIME MINISTERS OF MALTA:
Giorgio Borg Olivier (N) - 1950-?
Nationalist-Workers Coalition - 1950-1953
Nationalist Minority (with Workers Supply-and-Confidence) - 1953-1955
Nationalist Minority (with Progressive Constitutionalist Supply-and-Confidence) - 1955-?

 

[Time Enough]

Yeah, Kato fits much better with the organized labor direction the Japanese left is taking ITTL. Inejiro Asanuma has some more... controversial foreign policy beliefs that probably don't go that well in a timeline where the USSR is taking a much more belligerent approach.

Asanuma baffles most people with his foreign views, the general opinion was that he was doing a mixture of preaching the Left Socialist message for unity reasons and got a little carried away and that he was quite Anti-American and alongside a side of ‘Pan Asian, Anti-Imperialism’ type ideas.

Kato works better, even if his relationship with organised Labour was rocky as Minister of Labour.

 

[theflyingmgoose]

July 26, 1955 - Israeli General Election:


PRIME MINISTERS OF ISRAEL:
David Ben-Gurion (M) - 1948-1953
Mapai Leading Grand Coalition - 1948-1949
Mapai-Religious Front-Progressives-Sephardim-Democratic Coalition - 1949-1951
Mapai-Mizrachi-Aguda-Poalei Agudat-Democratic-Progress & Work-Agriculture & Development Coalition - 1951-1953
Moshe Sharett (M) - 1953-1955
Mapai-General Zionists Coalition - 1953-1955
David Ben-Gurion (M) - 1955-?
Mapai-Mapam-Progressive Coalition - 1955-?