During the 1943 and 1946 general elections, National slowly eroded Labour's parliamentary majority. While the Labour Party still remained in power, it was forced to contend with a more vigorous opposition National Party. Under Holland's leadership, National repeatedly attacked the Labour Party's socialism, "big government" bureaucracy, collectivism, and the power of the trade unions. Some important policies propagated by the National Party included individual freedom, a free market, minimum bureaucratic intervention, restriction and regulation, and an acceptance of the welfare state. During the successful 1949 general election, Holland capitalized on the threat of Communist expansion in Eastern Europe, the government's perceived unwillingness to counter the militant waterfront unions, persisting wartime restrictions, and rising inflation. This strategy secured National's electoral victory on 30 November 1949.