Patriotic Union Vaterländische Union | |
|---|---|
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| Abbreviation | VU |
| President | Thomas Zwiefelhofer |
| Secretary | Michael Winkler |
| Founded | 5 January 1936 (1936-01-05) |
| Merger of | Christian-Social People's Party Liechtenstein Homeland Service |
| Headquarters | Fürst-Franz-Josef-Strasse 13 FL-9490Vaduz[1] |
| Newspaper | Liechtensteiner Vaterland[2] |
| Youth wing | Youth Union[3] |
| Women's wing | Women's Union[4] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre[9] tocentre-right[10] |
| European affiliation | ALDE–PACE[11] (in theCouncil of Europe) European Democrat Union |
| Colours | Red |
| Landtag | 10 / 25 |
| Mayors | 7 / 11 |
| Municipal Councilsa | 43 / 104 |
| Website | |
| vu-online.li | |
a. Municipal Councils = Number listed onrespective website subtracted by number of elected mayors (who serve as members on their respective local councils, but are elected separately from other council members) as of 2 April 2023. | |
ThePatriotic Union (German:Vaterländische Union,lit. 'Fatherland Union',VU) is aliberal-conservative political party inLiechtenstein.[6] The VU is one of the two majorpolitical parties in Liechtenstein, along with themonarchist-conservativeProgressive Citizens' Party (FBP). The VU is the relatively moreliberal of the two parties, supporting aconstitutional monarchy and advocating for greaterdemocratic governance.[12][13] Since 2021, it is led byThomas Zwiefelhofer and holds ten seats in the 25-memberLandtag of Liechtenstein.
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The Patriotic Union was formed by the 1936 merger of theChristian-Social People's Party (VP) with the minor partyLiechtenstein Homeland Service (LHD).[14] While the VP was the larger and more popular party, following the merger members of the LHD took prominent positions in the leadership of the new party.[2]
After decades of being second to the Progressive Citizens' Party, the VU became the largest party in theLandtag for the first time as a result of the1970 general elections. Although it lost the1974 elections to the FBP, it won the1978 elections and retained its Landtag majority untilFebruary 1993. However, early elections inOctober 1993 saw it regain its majority, which it held until2001. After the2005 state elections, which brought in an all-time low of votes, the VU provided 10 of the 25 deputies and was represented by Deputy Prime MinisterKlaus Tschütscher and Hugo Quaderer in the five-member government. The VU emerged as the clear winner from the2009 state elections and had an absolute majority in the state parliament for the 2009–2013 legislative period with 13 seats and provided the new head of government in the coalition government with the FBP. The Patriotic Union lost five seats in the state parliament in the2013 state elections and was then represented with eight seats and provided two of the four government councillors. In the2017 state election, the Patriotic Union was able to slightly increase its share of the vote by 0.2%, but still retained 8 of the 25 seats in the state parliament. In the2021 state elections, the VU achieved 10 out of 25 mandates and recorded a 2.1% increase in votes compared to the 2017 state elections.
Currently, its memberDaniel Risch is the head of government. Furthermore, the party also has two members (Dominique Hasler andGraziella Marok-Wachter) as government councillors.
The party is liberal-conservative but has members that are moresocially conservative, especially when it comes toLGBT rights. It is alsoeconomically liberal, advocating a modern liberal market economy with abalanced budget.[15]
| Election | Leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Rank | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 | Otto Schaedler | 4 / 15 | New |  2nd | Opposition | ||
| 1939 | 7 / 15 | 3 |  2nd | Coalition | |||
| 1945 | 1,285 | 45.28 | 7 / 15 | | 2nd | Coalition | |
| 1949 | 1,285 | 47.07 | 7 / 15 | | 2nd | Coalition | |
| Feb 1953 | 1,229 | 42.60 | 7 / 15 | | 2nd | Coalition | |
| Jun 1953 | 1,541 | 49.57 | 7 / 15 | | 2nd | Coalition | |
| 1957 | 1,537 | 47.64 | 7 / 15 | | 2nd | Coalition | |
| 1958 | 1,537 | 45.53 | 6 / 15 |  1 | 2nd | Coalition | |
| 1962 | 1,448 | 42.73 | 7 / 15 | 1 | 2nd | Coalition | |
| 1966 | Franz Nägele | 1,581 | 42.79 | 7 / 15 | | 2nd | Coalition |
| 1970 | Alfred Hilbe | 2,008 | 49.57 | 8 / 15 | 1 | 1st | Coalition |
| 1974 | 16,356 | 47.26 | 7 / 15 | 1 | 2nd | Coalition | |
| 1978 | Hans Brunhart | 18,244 | 49.15 | 8 / 15 | 1 | 1st | Coalition |
| 1982 | 20,997 | 53.47 | 8 / 15 | | 1st | Coalition | |
| 1986 | 46,793 | 50.19 | 8 / 15 | | 1st | Coalition | |
| 1989 | 75,417 | 47.15 | 13 / 25 | 5 | 1st | Coalition | |
| Feb 1993 | 73,217 | 45.43 | 11 / 25 | 2 | 2nd | Coalition | |
| Oct 1993 | Mario Frick | 78,898 | 50.12 | 13 / 25 | 2 | 1st | Coalition |
| 1997 | 82,786 | 49.3 | 13 / 25 | | 1st | Majority | |
| 2001 | 76,402 | 41.35 | 11 / 25 | 2 | 2nd | Opposition | |
| 2005 | Heinz Frommelt | 74,162 | 38.23 | 10 / 25 | 1 | 2nd | Coalition |
| 2009 | Adolf Heeb | 95,219 | 47.61 | 13 / 25 | 3 | 1st | Coalition |
| 2013 | Thomas Zwiefelhofer | 65,118 | 33.55 | 8 / 25 | 5 | 2nd | Coalition |
| 2017 | 65,742 | 33.73 | 8 / 25 | | 2nd | Coalition | |
| 2021 | Daniel Risch | 72,361 | 35.89 | 10 / 25 | 2 | 1st | Coalition |
| 2025 | Brigitte Haas | 79,478 | 38.32 | 10 / 25 | | 1st | Coalition |
| Years | Leader | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| 1936–1965 | Otto Schaedler | [16] |
| 1965–1974 | Franz Nägele | |
| 1974–1992 | Otto Hasler | |
| 1992–2001 | Oswald Kranz | |
| 2001–2005 | Heinz Frommelt | |
| 2005–2011 | Adolf Heeb | |
| 2011–2015 | Jakob Büchel | |
| 2015–2021 | Günther Fritz | |
| 2021–present | Thomas Zwiefelhofer |
 |
| Years | Leader |
|---|---|
| 1953–1957 | Ivo Beck |
| 1966–1974 | Roman Gassner |
| 1974–1978 | Herbert Kindle |
| 1978–1982 | Franz Beck |
| 1982–1986 | Georg Gstöhl |
| 1986–1989 | Hermann Hasler |
| 1989–1993 | Reinhard Walser |
| 1993–1997 | Peter Wolff |
| 2005–2008 | Doris Beck |
| 2009–2013 | Peter Hilti |
| 2013–2017 | Christoph Wenaweser |
| 2017–2018 | Violanda Lanter |
| 2018–2020 | Günter Vogt |
| 2020–2025 | Manfred Kaufmann |
| 2025– | Dagmar Bühler-Nigsch |
| Represented in theLandtag | |
|---|---|
| Other parties | |
| Defunct parties | |
