Zasper Ertigon (2205-2293) was co-founder and later leader of the Kirlawan Popular Front (from 2278 to his death). He was Curator Pacis of Kirlawa from 2290 to his death, and his name was lent to the political philosophy of 'Populist Socialism known as 'Ertigonism'
Early Years
Ertigon was born to a middle class family in Deltaria, but at the age of five he was sent to Kirlawa. His father was murdered, but his mother later joined him, and they settled in Zobegon, Uwakah province.
He was an enthusiastic student, and attended Zobegon's university, but soon became disillusioned by the prevailing libertarian regime in Kirlawa. He became a student leader of the 'Socialist Front', and argued that unchecked capitalism was causing much harm to society.
Academic Career
He gained a doctorate from Zobegon and lectured at a union-sponsored college in politics until 2240, when the college closed due to lack of funds. At that point he devoted his time to active politics, and became a full time official of the Uwakan Workers Congress. The UWC was a group of trades unions which united in order to oppose the dominance of the CandyKids.
Political Career
In 2241 the UWC was involved in various disputes, and at one strike Ertigon met Danivon Luze, a young political activist with a history of illegal direct action.
The two soon became firm friends and political allies. With Ertigon's theoretical knowledge, and Luze's fire and enthusiasm, they slowly built a network of left-leaning groups around Uwakah and further afield in Kirlawa. By 2245 this network launched itself as an official political party, the Kirlawan Popular Front.
Having gained some support, the KPF followed Ertigon's political credo of 'Populist Socialism'. Most Kirlawans were strongly socially liberal, if not libertarians, and the communist state intervention in people's lives was not something that would be accepted.
By 2250, the UWC was bankrolling the KPF and they were able to launch an effective election campaign. 24 KPF MPs were returned to the 474 seat parliament, among them Ertigon.
Ertigon was a prime mover of legislation on the national stage, and his first major successes were in the area of the constitution - reinstituting elections for the Curator Pacis in 2251 and outlawing political appointees in the civil service.
In the 2260s and 2270s the KPF went through some turmoil. The main basic cause of this was that the various affiliated groups were often at odds with each other, particularly over policy. When Danivon Luze promoted his wife, Arla, to the national committee, many affiliates threatened to leave. Ertigon brokered the deal by which Arla would remain until an election and the party would remain united, but this only kept some dissidents happy for a while.
Danivon Luze stood down as leader in 2278, and Ertigon was elected as his successor.
Leadership and Legacy
Ertigon's period of leadership was both the most successful for the KPF and the most fractious.
Despite massive internal turmoil, the party obtained over 30% of the vote consistently in the late 2280s, and Ertigon was elected Curator Pacis in 2290. The KPF programme of policies included a series of budget changes to overhaul the tax system and to increase the budgets of Health and Eductation to over 1 trillion Kirlawan Dinars per annum. These all passed, and for year after that point the KPF policies were upheld by successive governments of the centre and left.
However, the completion of their programme led to a major problem for the Popular Front, and one that Ertigon could not solve - the various affiliated groups making up the front ranged from libertarian to communist, and no common policy could be agreed. The strain of trying to hold the party together and the effects of age told on the Curator Pacis, and he died in office aged 87.
With Ertigon's death, the KPF ceased to be a credible force in politics. Danivon Luze was infirm, and many of the affiliates either dissolved or just left. There's no official end date, but it is estimated that within 4 months of Ertigon's death, the KPF was over.
However, in 2298, Aris Luze refounded the KPF, this time with a more centralised structure and with a greater emphasis on combating the rise of fascism. 'Ertigonism' is still the core principle of the Popular Front to this day.