National Party of Craftia

The National Party of Craftia (known as the Nationals and colloquially the Nats, formerly the McArthur National Party until 1962) was a centre-right nationalist political party in Craftia. The party was formed in 1951 largely as a personal party for founder William McArthur, but developed into a centrist liberal conservative party after his retirement in 1962. It became notable for its heavy nationalist campaigning in the late-1960s and 1970s, which contributed to the growing anti-colonialist sentiment and calls for Craftian independence. However, after independence in 1987, the Nationals found themselves under siege from both sides of the political spectrum, having to compete with the new centre-right Craftian Conservative Party and the centre-left nationalist National United Party. The party had lost most of its political support by the turn of the new millennium, as a result of being 'squeezed' out of the political landscape and having many of its members defecting to the two new parties. Its caucus merged into the Conservative caucus in 2009 (losing its status as a standalone party but maintaining its own party organisation), and was dissolved in 2019.

Party formation
In its early days (circa late 1940s), the politics of the Province of Craftia was dominated by the labour movement, which culminated into the centre-left National Labour Party, and the conservative, anti-socialist farmers who coalesced into the right-wing Protection of Craftia Party. This left a large gap in the centre of the political spectrum, with no major party for liberals and centrists living in urban areas, as well as business owners. These voters tended to lean towards the Labour Party mostly due to the Protection Party's perceived extremism. William McArthur, the founder of the McArthur Mineral Corporation and a former military officer, took a particular interest in provincial politics and at the urging of many small business owners throughout cities across Craftia, decided to form a new centrist political party, dubbed the McArthur National Party, with policies largely based on McArthur's personal philosophies. The party was formed on 1 January 1951, in time for the upcoming general election in May. Urban voters flocked to the new party, which was causing Protection MPs serious concern over the split in the non-Labour vote. Although McArthur was fairly conservative, the National Party's policies were largely centrist and based on classical liberalism. In the election, Labour came out on top with 27 of the 57 seats, two short of a majority. The fledging MNP won 15, while Protection won 14. In the deadlocked parliament, potential conservative coalition would have 29 seats, just enough for a majority. Incumbent Governor Michael Turning refused to call a new election, amidst increasing concerns over electoral security. In the end, the McArthur and the National Party were thrust into government just five months after its founding, after Protection agreed to join in a coalition government with outgoing Premier Percy Raymond becoming Deputy Premier.

McArthur Government
McArthur proved to be a fairly successful orator, although a surprisingly poor legislator, with many of his policies being questioned by the opposition Labour Party and even backbench Protection MPs, who were often at odds with the more moderate frontbench. Although McArthur himself was relatively popular among the public, the coalition agreement with the PCP proved to be electoral poison, as many National supporters were looking for an alternative to the PCP and were instead met with a coalition between the two parties. The razor-thin majority also proved troublesome, and many pieces of McArthur's proposed legislation failed to pass due to rogue Protection MPs. In addition, Deputy Premier Raymond was rumoured to have leadership ambitions once more, and frequently disagreed with McArthur over several key policies. By 1953, the coalition was unfeasible, with barely any legislation passing the parliament, and an early election was called. Both the McArthur Nationals and Protection were severely punished, both being reduced to less than 10 seats each, and the Labour Party won a decisive majority, claiming more than 70 percent of the seats in Parliament. McArthur remained in firm control of the party leadership and became the Leader of the Opposition.

Fluctuating in opposition
The dominant Labour government, led by the charismatic Allen Wilson, remained far more popular than the National and Protection parties throughout the 1950s, as voters still remembered the disastrous McArthur-Raymond coalition government. Tensions flared between the liberal and conservative factions of the National Party as it rocked between supporting and opposing the Wilson Government's socially progressive policies, especially the scaling back of the White Craftia Policy and women's emancipation. The uneven nature of the party's support caused it to drop to third place in the 1956 election, before emerging back in opposition in the election the following year, on the back of a large swing to the National and Labour parties from women, who were first eligible to vote in 1957.

By the late 1950s, Wilson and Labour had gradually declined in popularity and voters were seeking a fresh government. McArthur, who was approaching his mid-sixties and was the oldest of the three party leaders, was at a disadvantage against his younger rivals, who were able to campaign much more energetically and frequently. During the campaign, McArthur made numerous gaffes and alienated more conservative voters in the regions by going back on his prior promises to not raise taxes. This caused a formidable swing to Protection in the last days of the campaign, giving Gary Smith a one-seat majority. The McArthur National Party lost 5 seats on a swing of 7 percent and fell back to third place.

During the 8th Provincial Parliament, McArthur made little effort to improve the party's standing, and, convinced that the Craftian public had grown tired of him as leader, retired following the 1962 election, where the Nationals lost a further two seats to finish with only 9 seats and 19.63% of the vote, its lowest ever at that point. He was replaced by the much younger Wilbur Joyce following a leadership election.