Alfonso Txurrónes

Alfonso Fernando "Txori" Txurrónes (18 August 1952 - 6 July 2014) was a Laiorian Labour politician who was Prime Minister of Laioria from 4 January 1991 until 19 November 1996, having been Governor of Laioria from 1987 until 1991. He was leader of his party from 12 September 1986 until 19 November 1996.

His leadership of Laioria from 1987 until 1996 was acclaimed for his calmness and personal charisma. He led Laioria to independence from Daricajuce and negotiated the debate over its recognition to get Laioria internationally recognised by major Western powers.

Biography
Txurrónes was born to a working-class family in Sacriston, during its administration by the United Kingdom as part of the Dominion of Daricajuce. He joined the Labour Party aged 16 and rose through the ranks as a progressive in the Socialist Party of Daricajuce, he was elected leader of the Laiorian wing in 1986.

Once leader, he started to support a more progressive and pro-independence agenda than any of his predecessors. At the 1987 general election, the Socialist Party won the majority of Laiorian seats and Txurrónes became Governor of Laioria.

His gubernatorial years were marked by his campaign for Laiorian independence from the United Kadersaryinan Federation, a position his party generally supported.

Independence campaign
From 1987 Txurrónes made his desire for Laiorian independence clear. Laioria at the time was part of Daricajuce, a satellite state of the UKF.

During the 1989 revolutions in the Kadersaryinan Islands, Txurrónes sided Laioria with the pro-democracy side, along with fellow left-wing nations Bairan, Gaburayon, Jahydifaef, Jalraiser, Lainyathia, Loagbevaeshcat, Tametlryedia and Tashein; backed by the. Txurrónes made clear that Laioria would not be an active participant in the revolutions, to give it time to build itself as a nation. Due to the Daricajucean government still supporting the UKF and Jaymawakin supporting the communist faction, fighting for independence now was a gamble worth taking. Daricajuce expected Txurrónes to take little interest in the revolutions, and were taken by surprise when Txurrónes declared his country would side against the UKF.

In 1990, the Prudence Maledsa government in Daricajuce collapsed, prompting Txurrónes to declare independence. Txurrónes issued his now famous statement, "I call upon Laioria to realise the dream. Battle for your rights. There is light at the end of this tunnel. Fight for your national destiny."

Txurrónes spent much of the revolutions planning a welfare state, whilst fighting for Laiorian independence. He drew up a draft constitution, and set about nationalising healthcare, railways, ports and utilities: whilst this raised eyebrows in the USA, Txurrónes assured President Bush that he was not taking Laioria in a Communist direction, famously remarking "I am not driving Laiorians away from freedom, I do what is right by my people."

Txurrónes' approach to the Revolutions kept investor confidence in Laioria more than other Kadersaryinan countries, and the country became the fastest-growing economy in the Kadersaryinan Islands during the revolutions. Txurrónes became an international icon of the pro-democracy side of the Revolutions, and his popularity soared.

Prime Minister
After Laioria received its independence in 1991, Txurrónes started to reorganise Laioria, passing a constitution in 1992 to set in stone his democratic vision, and rebuilt the city of K'hals'si as Laioria City, which became the capital. Due to this change of identity to seem more cosmopolitan, it started to become repopulated using innovative environmental ideas, including skyscrapers which dig into the ground as well as to the sky, and rooftop gardens and gardens on balconies. Txurrónes ran the 1992 election as a referendum on his revisioning of Laioria, and the Socialists, now renamed the Labour Party, won a landslide.

The welfare state founded by Txurrónes remains in operation today. The Florida Keys Telecommunications Complex was a cash cow for his premiership, as it provided a strong telecommunications network throughout the Island of Daricajuce which, due to Laioria's economy being the strongest in the Kadersaryinan Islands, could not be rivalled; and the strength of communications mediums including the Internet on the islands depended on Laioria, giving it the strongest balance of power. The Laioria Water Corporation, Laiorian Telecoms, Laioria Energy, and Laioria Transport were all the brainchild of Txurrónes, and have been praised by many international eyes.

Txurrónes resigned in 1996, having achieved his main aims and not having had an approval rating of less than 50% since 1988. He was succeeded as Prime Minister by his long-time deputy Mervyn Selwyn.

Out of politics
After his resignation as Prime Minister Txurrónes resigned his seat in the Tynwald. His legacy remained popular. His death in 2014 caused Laioria to enter three days of mourning, with current Prime Minister Phil Wienewski calling him "the true King of Laioria".

Public image and legacy
Txurrónes was praised by his contemporaries for providing a human face to peaceful revolutions and someone whom the Laiorian anti-UKF movement could get behind. His lack of experience, it is said, made him much better at understanding what the people needed and wanted from a free Laiorian nation.

He had unusual friendships with world leaders. US President liked Txurrónes greatly, despite their differing political views: it was argued they both came from the same background of limited political experience and understood each other. Txurrónes attended Reagan's funeral in 2004. However, he did not enjoy the same relationship with British Prime Minister : it was said that he found Mrs Thatcher obstinate and inconsistent with her messaging - apparently a reason why the British Government did not support Laiorian forces in the 1989 revolution. However, his relationship with her successor was much more cordial after Laioria's independence from the UKF.

Revisionist historians have, however, criticised Txurrónes in retrospect. Some feel his government gave too much ground to nationalists that he could not make peace with Jaymawakin, a situation that has not fully been resolved to this day, and could not quell fears of what happened the previous time Laioria was independent centuries ago.