Logo of the party in German, French, Italian, and Romansh | |
| President | Susanne Vincenz-Stauffacher co-president,Benjamin Mühlemann co-president |
| Federal Councillors | |
| Founded | 1 January 2009; 17 years ago (2009-01-01) |
| Merger of | Free Democratic Party,Liberal Party |
| Headquarters | Neuengasse 20 Postfach 6136 CH-3001Bern |
| Youth wing | Young Liberals |
| Membership(2015) | 120,000[1] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre[6] tocentre-right[7] |
| European affiliation | Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party |
| International affiliation | Liberal International |
| Colours | Azure |
| Federal Council | 2 / 7 |
| National Council | 28 / 200 |
| Council of States | 11 / 46 |
| Cantonal executives | 38 / 154 |
| Cantonal legislatures | 512 / 2,544 |
| Website | |
| |
FDP.The Liberals (German:FDP.Die Liberalen,French:PLR.Les Libéraux-Radicaux,lit. 'LRP.The Liberal-Radicals',Italian:PLR.I Liberali Radicali,Romansh:PLD.Ils Liberals) is aliberal[8][9]political party inSwitzerland.
The party was formed on 1 January 2009, after two parties, theFree Democratic Party (FDP/PRD) and the smallerLiberal Party (LPS/PLS), united. InVaud andValais, the parties retain separate organisations. Its youth organisation isYoung Liberals. With 120,000 members as of 2015, the FDP has the most members of any party: 20% more than the second-placedChristian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland (CVP/PDC).[1] The Liberals (through its FDP predecessor) are the only party that has participated in every federal government since1848 and since 2003 have been represented in theFederal Council by two members. They are the fourth-largest party in theNational Council and is the second-largest in theCouncil of States.
The party is a member of theAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE Party) and an observer member of theLiberal International. The party's co-Presidents areSusanne Vincenz-Stauffacher[10] andBenjamin Mühlemann.[11] The current FDP representatives in theFederal Council areIgnazio Cassis andKarin Keller-Sutter.
The party was formed in 2009 from the merger of theFree Democratic Party (FDP) and theLiberal Party. Theradical Free Democratic Party, also called the 'Radicals', was Switzerland's major establishment party.[12] Founded in 1894, the party'sclassical liberal predecessors had governed Switzerland outright for most of the 19th century, and had been the guiding force behind the creation of modern Switzerland.[12][13] The Liberal Party, known as the 'Old Liberals', represented the French-speaking establishment: again rooted in theconservative liberalism of the nineteenth century. It also had a distinctly liberalProtestant outlook.[12]
In the2003 federal election, the two parties formed anelectoral alliance. In the election, the Liberals were reduced to four seats, below the five required to form an official grouping in theFederal Assembly, so the two formed a joint caucus.[14] In June 2005, the two founded theRadical and Liberal Union, which aimed to promote liberal goals through deeper cooperation.[15] In 2007, the women's arms of the parties merged, while the youth wings merged the following year to form theYoung Liberals. Agreement on the merger of the federal parties was agreed in October 2008.[14] The agreement was adopted on 28 February 2009, applying retroactively to 1 January 2009.[16] FDP PresidentFulvio Pelli ofTicino became the party's first leader, while Liberal PresidentPierre Weiss was named one of four Vice-Presidents.[16]
Separate Free Democrat and Liberal branches remained in competition with each other inGeneva,Valais, andVaud. In May 2011, the party's two Geneva branches –Liberal Party of Geneva andRadical Party of Geneva – merged to form a single FDP.The Liberals cantonal branch.[17] In the2015 federal election, the FDP increased its share of the popular vote by 1.3%, the first time it had increased since the1979 federal election.[18]
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As a classically liberal party, the FDP wants to protectcivil liberties and individual responsibility. The FDP calls for mutual tolerance of people with different opinions and self-identities,entrepreneurship,social responsibility, therule of law, andparticipatory democracy.
The party supportsneutrality, federalism, direct democracy, and the tax sovereignty of eachcanton. It believes that national security should be credibly guaranteed by a skilled and strong militia. The party is for a "cosmopolitan Switzerland", which benefits from the opportunities that globalization provides. The FDP supports close cooperation with the EU through bilateral treaties, but rejects accession to the EU. The immigration policy of the party is based on the integration of immigrants, requiring clear and effective rules by means of an "integration law". The FDP calls for consistent action against abuse of laws in Switzerland by immigrants, and in repeated cases calls for deporting foreign criminals in accordance with international law. The FDP supports a peaceful foreign policy, which increases the security of Switzerland and prevents an increasing number of refugees.[citation needed]
The party believes that anopen society andeconomic freedom are more conducive to prosperity, and greater economic and social stability, rather than aredistributive andregulative state. The FDP promotes freedom of choice over restrictions in all areas of private life. According to the party's stance, self-responsibility and competition should dictate the actions of individuals, rather than bans. The FDP wants to ensure that personal initiative is rewarded and not restricted by paternalism. Start-ups, particularly by young people, are to be encouraged.
The party stands for a simple tax code, low taxes, and fortax competition among thecantons. It calls for a more citizen-friendly state without excessive bureaucracy and excessive regulation, and for a lean state with lower government spending, which offers only those services which citizens and the private sector cannot provide. The party, which calls for a competitive and sustainable market economy, wants to strengthen Switzerland as a financial and economic hub with as little government interference as possible. It also calls for the reduction ofpublic debt and fiscal deficits. In general, it believes that tax incentives are better than subsidies in creating incentives. The party saw opportunity in the2008 financial crisis and to carry out financial and tax reforms quickly to improve the situation of companies in Switzerland, and to create 40,000 new jobs by 2015. The main objectives ofenergy policy are security of energy supply and increasing energy efficiency. The party wants to support the research ofalternative sources of energy for electricity production which generate no carbon dioxide.
The FDP works toward a society offering genuine opportunities with flexible choices in education, work and family support. It is also aiming at more and better jobs, a sustainablesocial welfare system which will result in strong national cohesion that counteracts see the divergence of society. This includes stabilizing premium costs in the healthcare sector and combating the abuse of social welfare systems, but alsointergenerational equity. The motto of the party in matters of social security is: "Solidarity where it is necessary" and "self-reliance where it is possible".[citation needed] As a profitable investment for the future of society, the FDP wants to promote the highest quality education at all levels, since it considers human capital the most important resource of Switzerland. It considers innovation as a crucial asset for prosperity and wants to improve the position of Switzerland as one of the leaders of innovation.[citation needed]
The party is, in principle, in favour of ending marijuana prohibition to encourage safe and legal free enterprise as opposed to a costly war on drugs;[19] instead, it emphasizes personal and family responsibility over life choices, as opposed to making such choices a state power. However, many in the party may not be in favour of full legalization, such as in theU.S. state of Colorado, but justdecriminalisation such as the approach inPortugal.[citation needed]
The FDP supported makingsame-sex marriage legalin Switzerland.[20] They are also in favour of institutingcivil unions as an alternative option to marriage for all couples (whether same-sex or opposite-sex).[21]
The FDP opposes Swiss membership in theEuropean Union, saying that Switzerland can only remain a world leader if it remains outside the EU.[22] It strongly supports the bilateral accords that Switzerland has with the EU, however.[23] In the2001 referendum, the FDP campaigned against opening negotiations to join the EU.[24] The FDP believes that international law takes precedence over Swiss law, although it states that Swiss voters should approve international law before it takes effect.[23]
| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 368,951 | 15.1 (#3) | 30 / 200 | New |
| 2015 | 413,444 | 16.4 (#3) | 33 / 200 |  3 |
| 2019 | 366,303 | 15.1 (#3) | 29 / 200 |  4 |
| 2023 | 364,053 | 14.25 (#3) | 28 / 200 | 1 |
| Canton | 1971 | 1975 | 1979 | 1983 | 1987 | 1991 | 1995 | 1999 | 2003 | 2007 | 2011 | 2015 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 21.8 | 22.2 | 24.0 | 23.3 | 22.9 | 21.0 | 20.2 | 19.9 | 17.3 | 15.8 | 15.1 | 16.4 | 15.1 |
| Zürich | 16.8 | 18.5 | 22.4 | 21.8 | 20.3 | 18.7 | 18.1 | 17.8 | 16.2 | 13.2 | 11.6 | 15.3 | 13.7 |
| Bern | 17.3 | 17.6 | 18.0 | 15.1 | 16.1 | 13.7 | 15.6 | 17.2 | 14.8 | 15.1 | 8.7 | 9.3 | 8.4 |
| Lucerne | 30.0 | 29.1 | 31.7 | 28.6 | 29.8 | 27.9 | 25.5 | 22.6 | 23.1 | 21.8 | 18.4 | 18.5 | 15.6 |
| Uri | 95.2 | 76.0 | 39.0 | 84.7 | 85.5 | 93.2 | 86.0 | 81.7 | 36.6 | 87.3 | 74.3 | *a | *a |
| Schwyz | 20.4 | 21.3 | 28.0 | 26.0 | 24.3 | 25.9 | 24.0 | 19.1 | 15.4 | 16.7 | 15.5 | 20.6 | 23.1 |
| Obwalden | 32.5 | * | * | * | 30.4 | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | 11.6 |
| Nidwalden | * | * | 39.0 | * | * | * | 48.1 | 90.4 | 88.5 | * | 35.2 | * | * |
| Glarus | 42.4 | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| Zug | * | 23.1 | 32.8 | 33.6 | 34.1 | 32.9 | 22.5 | 25.7 | 22.4 | 21.5 | 19.2 | 17.6 | 14.7 |
| Fribourg | 24.7 | 22.1 | 23.0 | 20.0 | 16.7 | 16.1 | 15.9 | 14.8 | 12.8 | 13.8 | 12.8 | 14.2 | 15.4 |
| Solothurn | 34.3 | 38.7 | 39.0 | 37.2 | 36.3 | 32.8 | 25.4 | 25.4 | 24.0 | 21.0 | 18.4 | 21.2 | 18.5 |
| Basel-Stadt | 11.5 | 11.4 | 14.1 | 13.5 | 11.2 | 15.8 | 12.2 | 12.1 | 9.9 | 11.3 | 12.3c | 9.8c | 6.0c |
| Basel-Landschaft | 23.0 | 23.9 | 26.7 | 25.1 | 22.0 | 24.8 | 19.6 | 22.1 | 19.9 | 17.0 | 11.5 | 15.8 | 16.5 |
| Schaffhausen | 33.1 | 40.1 | 32.3 | 26.2 | 34.3 | 28.6 | 31.9 | 40.4 | 29.1 | 26.7 | 12.3 | 12.9 | 11.0 |
| Appenzell A.Rh. | 62.6 | 45.8 | * | 36.0 | * | 30.8 | 36.4 | 32.8 | 41.1 | 72.0 | 51.5 | 33.6 | 48.4 |
| Appenzell I.Rh. | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| St. Gallen | 23.6 | 25.1 | 27.6 | 27.5 | 24.0 | 20.0 | 17.0 | 16.9 | 14.7 | 13.6 | 12.3 | 14.3 | 15.0 |
| Graubünden | 14.8 | 18.1 | 22.9 | 20.1 | 18.3 | 18.1 | 16.5 | 15.1 | 15.8 | 19.1 | 11.9 | 13.3 | 13.6 |
| Aargau | 15.9 | 17.7 | 20.5 | 20.2 | 20.3 | 16.4 | 15.8 | 17.2 | 15.3 | 13.6 | 11.5 | 15.1 | 13.6 |
| Thurgau | 16.9 | 14.4 | 16.9 | 18.3 | 18.5 | 16.5 | 15.3 | 14.7 | 11.9 | 12.1 | 11.2 | 13.0 | 11.5 |
| Ticino | 38.4 | 39.1 | 36.3 | 37.9 | 34.8 | 29.4 | 30.5 | 27.7 | 29.8 | 28.1 | 24.8 | 23.7 | 20.5 |
| Vaud | 26.0 | 25.6 | 27.1 | 30.4 | 27.6 | 26.4 | 23.5 | 25.0 | 18.5 | 14.6 | 16.3d | 26.8 | 23.3 |
| Valais | 19.3 | 18.9 | 22.7 | 25.2 | 24.6 | 25.9 | 24.2 | 18.8 | 17.1 | 16.0 | 18.8 | 18.1 | 16.5 |
| Neuchâtel | 24.3 | 22.4 | 20.6 | 19.4 | 20.4 | 22.5 | 25.7 | 20.5 | 14.8 | 12.7 | 26.9 | 24.4 | 22.3 |
| Genève | 19.2 | 16.6 | 14.7 | 16.2 | 18.0 | 12.8 | 13.5 | 12.7 | 7.3 | 7.7 | 18.6 | 20.5 | 17.9 |
| Jura | b | b | 30.9 | 28.8 | 33.4 | 35.1 | 29.5 | 19.5 | 16.3 | 13.4 | 9.5 | 16.8 | 9.1 |
| National Council (200 seats) |
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| Council of States (46 seats) |
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