Liberal Party of Switzerland

The Liberal Party of Switzerland (German: Liberale Partei der Schweiz, French: Parti liberal suisse, Italian: Partito Liberale Svizzero, Romansh: Partida liberala svizra) was a political party in Switzerland with economically liberal policies. It was known as a party of the upper class. On 1 January 2009 it merged with the larger Free Democratic Party (FDP/PRD) to establish FDP.The Liberals.

Not to be confused with FDP.The Liberals.

Liberal Party of Switzerland
German: Liberale Partei der Schweiz
French: Parti liberal suisse
Italian: Partito Liberale Svizzero
Romansh: Partida liberala svizra
Founded8 October 1913 (1913-10-08)
Dissolved1 January 2009 (2009-01-01)
Merged intoFDP.The Liberals
HeadquartersSpitalgasse 32, Case postale 7107
3001 Bern
IdeologyLiberalism (Switzerland)
Libertarianism
Soft Euroscepticism
Political positionCentre-right
European affiliationEuropean Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
International affiliationLiberal International
Colours  Blue

It was strongest in the Protestant cantons in Romandy, particularly in the cantons of Geneva, Vaud and Neuchâtel. In contrast, the ideologically similar FDP was successful nationwide. The Liberal Party was a member of Liberal International.

History

In the 2003 federal election, the party had a joint slate with the Free Democratic Party. The party was the junior partner of the faction, with only 2.2% of the vote compared with the FDP's 17.3%. However, in their strongholds of the cantons of Romandy and the canton of Basel-City, they were particularly successful. Their best performance was in Geneva, where they received 16.8% of the vote. It won 4 seats (out of 200) in the Swiss National Council, but was represented in neither the second chamber nor in the Swiss Federal Council, the government's cabinet.

After the election, the Liberals and FDP founded a common caucus in the Federal Assembly. In June 2005, they strengthened their cooperation by founding the Radical and Liberal Union.[1] They finally merged on 1 January 2009 with the Free Democratic Party of Switzerland to form the "FDP.The Liberals".

Presidents

See also

Footnotes
  1. New alliance counters left-right polarisation, swissinfo.org


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