Violet Gardner
Leader of the Republican Party, MP for Sunderland East
Name: Violet Marie Gardner, née Winter
Birth: January 20, 1973 (age 45)
Party: Republican
Family: Edward Gardner (husband), Lily Gardner (daughter)
Seat: Sunderland East
Occupation: Journalist
Violet Gardner was born Violet Marie Winter, the daughter of a middle class family from Sunderland. Born close to the end of Admiral Blakelee's regime, her father, history professor Andrew Winter (staunch supporter of Chairwoman Hedrock and the moderate elements within the Transnational Government) instilled a deep interest in politics on his young daughter since she was little, allowing Violet Winter to try and make sense of the turbulent 1980's and 1990's in Lamarna on her own terms and with her own beliefs. Studying to become a journalist to cover the topics that had interested her father so much, Winter began to form a set of firm political views on account of her experiences travelling across Lamarna and the Pacific. She also met her husband, businesssman Edward Gardner on one of such journalistic trips, eventually marrying him and giving birth to her daughter Lily on 2000. Despite an accomplished career writing for one of the biggest newspapers in Lamarna, she soon felt the need to participate herself on politics, and joined the Republican Party after 2005. Running for Parliament and winning the seat of Sunderland East in 2011. Fighting her way into becoming a rising star in the party, Mrs. Gardner ran as a darkhorse candidate for the party leadership on early 2017, winning a surprise victory to lead the Republican Party on her first election as party leader.
Political positions:Economics: Gardner considers herself a staunch economic liberal, favoring free-market solutions, low taxation and responsible spending as the key to a strong economy (while remaining critical of full-blown neoliberalism as too extreme for her taste). She authored the "Yellow Book" alongside two fellow pro-free market Republican MPs, championing (among other policies) economic liberalism as the guiding light of the Republican Party on economics.
Government: Convinced of the benefits of small, decentralized government as the key to preventing another dictatorship or civil war to ever happen again in Lamarna, Gardner is enthusiastic about her belief to cut down the bureaucracy, and increase the power of local governments across the nation through increased devolution of power and autonomy on several key domestic issues.
Foreign Policy: A committed internationalist who is nonetheless wary of the role played by China and the United States as world powers in Oceania, Gardner counts herself among those who not only believe Lamarna ought to be constantly engaged with foreign affairs, but also among those who dream of achieving the goal of an federal "Oceanic Union" so the different peoples of Oceania and the Pacific can combine their political, social, cultural and economic influence to their collective benefit. Gardner, however, stops short of being part of the pro-OU old guard, asserting that such a union could only be created through binding referendums and with the consent of the people.
Refugees/Immigration: Gardner has been a constant critic of the Duterte regime in the Philippines, often denouncing the Filipino President before reporters whenever news arrive of human rights violations or controversial decisions by the government. As such, Gardner strongly supports giving political asylum to the Filipino refugees, while arguing the solution is not to be found on permanent residence by rather on applying enough international pressure to force Duterte to resign. On a general sense and regarding immigration, Gardner is on the more conservative wing of her party as, while passionately arguing for the benefits of legal immigration and its expansion, she criticizes illegal immigration as breaking the laws of Lamarna.
Health Care: Taking good care of always singing the praises of the public healthcare, Gardner is nonetheless an enthusiast of private healthare as an ideal alternative to help the public system and "shoulder the load", arguing to expand the participation of the private sector particularly on rural areas where the national government has been less successful in terms of coverage and quality.
Social Policy: In line with the self-proclaimed "Liberalism" of the Republican Party Gardner identifies as a social-liberal, significantly influenced by her background as an agnostic. As a result, she supports policies such as repealing the ban on same-sex marriage and allowing its legalization.
Energy/Environmentalism: Considering the Republican "bright green environmentalism" as one of the party policies that make the more sense to her, Gardner strongly supports the idea of techologic advance and achievement as compatible with taking care of the environment. As a result, she strongly opposes the exploitation of energy reserves in protected ecosystems, arguing Lamarna can reach energy independence through renewable energy without having to resort to fosil fuels. She is also in favor of tough laws regarding environmental protection.
