Free Democratic Party of Switzerland

The Free Democratic Party or Radical Democratic Party[5][6][7][8][9] (German: Freisinnig-Demokratische Partei, FDP; French: Parti radical-démocratique, PRD; Italian: Partito liberale-radicale svizzero, PLR; Romansh: Partida liberaldemocrata svizra, PLD) was a liberal[10][11] political party in Switzerland. Formerly one of the major parties in Switzerland, on 1 January 2009 it merged with the Liberal Party of Switzerland to form FDP.The Liberals.

Free Democratic Party/Radical Democratic Party
German: Freisinnig-Demokratische Partei
French: Parti radical-démocratique
Italian: Partito Liberale Radicale
Romansh: Partida liberaldemocrata svizra
Founded1894 (1894)
Dissolved1 January 2009 (2009-01-01)
Merged intoFDP.The Liberals
HeadquartersNeuengasse 20
Postfach 6136
CH-3001 Bern
IdeologyLiberalism (Switzerland)
Classical liberalism[1]
Conservative liberalism[2]
Political positionCentre-right[3][4]
European affiliationEuropean Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
International affiliationLiberal International
Colours  Azure

The FDP was formed in 1894 from the Radicals, who had dominated Swiss politics since the 1830s, standing in opposition to the Catholic conservatives, and who from the creation of the federal state in 1848 until 1891 formed the federal government.

The FDP remained dominant until the introduction of proportional representation in 1919. From 1945 to 1987, it alternated with the Social Democratic Party to be the largest party. In 1959, the party took two seats in the magic formula. The party declined in the 1990s and 2000s (decade), as it was put under pressure by the Swiss People's Party. In response, the party formed closer relations with the smaller Liberal Party, leading to their formal merger in 2009.

History

The elements 'liberal', 'radical' and freisinnig (an obsolete German word for 'liberal',[12] or literally "free thinking"[5]) in the party's name originate from the conflicts during the period of Swiss Restoration between the Catholic-conservative cantons and the liberal cantons. This conflict led to the foundation of the Swiss federal state in 1848 after the victory of the predominantly Protestant and liberal cantons over the conservative and Catholic ones in the Sonderbund war.

German-language logo

From 1848 until 1891, the Federal Council was composed entirely of Radicals. The radical movement of the restoration was anti-clerical,[6] and stood in opposition to the Catholic Conservative Party, the ancestor of the modern Christian Democratic People's Party. They were otherwise heterogeneous, including and classical liberal 'Liberals', federalist 'Radicals', and social liberal 'Democrats': placing the radical movement on the 'left' of the political spectrum. It was not until the rise of the Social Democratic Party in the early 20th century that the FDP found itself on the centre-right.

The FDP was the dominant party until the 1919 election, when the introduction of proportional representation led to a leap in the representation of the Social Democrats. In 1959, the Free Democrats joined the other major parties in agreeing the 'magic formula' to divide up the seats of the Federal Council, with the FDP permanently receiving two of the seven seats.

After the 2003 elections, lawmakers of FDP and Liberal Party formed a common parliamentary group in the Federal Assembly. In June 2005, they strengthened their cooperation by founding the Radical and Liberal Union.[13] They merged on 1 January 2009 to form FDP.The Liberals.

Election results

In 2003, it held 36 mandates (out of 200) in the Swiss National Council (first chamber of the Swiss parliament); 14 (out of 46) in the second chamber and 2 out of 7 mandates in the Swiss Federal Council (executive body). By 2005, it held 27.2% of the seats in the Swiss Cantonal governments and 19.7% in the Swiss Cantonal parliaments (index "BADAC", weighted with the population and number of seats). At the last legislative elections, 22 October 2007, the party won 15.6% of the popular vote and 31 out of 200 seats.[14]

National Council
Election Votes  % Seats +/– Rank
1896 181,028 47.8 (#1)
86 / 147
 12 1st
1899 183,216 49.7 (#1)
82 / 147
 2 1st
1902 205,235 50.4 (#1)
100 / 167
 16 1st
1905 202,605 49.2 (#1)
104 / 167
 4 1st
1908 202,732 50.9 (#1)
105 / 167
 1 1st
1911 198,300 49.5 (#1)
115 / 189
 10 1st
1914 191,054 56.1 (#1)
112 / 189
 3 1st
1917 210,323 40.8 (#1)
103 / 189
 9 1st
1919 215,566 28.8 (#1)
60 / 189
 43 1st
1922 208,144 28.3 (#1)
60 / 198
 1st
1925 206,485 27.8 (#1)
60 / 198
 1st
1928 220,135 27.4 (#2)
58 / 198
 2 1st
1931 232,562 26.9 (#2)
52 / 187
 6 1st
1935 216,664 23.7 (#2)
48 / 187
 4 2nd
1939 128,163 20.7 (#2)
49 / 187
 1 1st
1943 197,746 22.5 (#2)
47 / 194
 2 2nd
1947 220,486 23.0 (#2)
52 / 194
 5 1st
1951 230,687 24.0 (#2)
51 / 196
 1 1st
1955 227,370 23.3 (#2)
50 / 196
 1 2nd
1959 232,557 23.7 (#2)
51 / 196
 1 1st[lower-alpha 1]
1963 230,200 23.9 (#2)
51 / 200
 2nd
1967 230,095 23.2 (#2)
49 / 200
 2 2nd
1971 432,259 21.7 (#2)
49 / 200
 1st
1975 428,919 22.2 (#2)
47 / 200
 2 2nd
1979 440,099 24.0 (#2)
51 / 200
 4 1st[lower-alpha 1]
1983 457,283 23.3 (#1)
54 / 200
 3 1st
1987 457,283 22.9 (#1)
51 / 200
 3 1st
1991 429,072 21.0 (#1)
44 / 200
 7 1st
1995 384,515 20.2 (#2)
45 / 200
 1 2nd
1999 388,780 19.9 (#3)
43 / 200
 2 3rd
2003 364,493 17.3 (#3)
36 / 200
 7 3rd
2007 364,736 15.8 (#3)
31 / 200
 5 3rd
  1. Tied with the Social Democratic Party.

List of party Presidents
Name Canton Years
1st Christian Friedrich Göttisheim Basel-Stadt 1894–1896
2nd Ernst Brenner Basel-Stadt 1896–1897
3rd Johannes Stössel Zurich 1897–1898
4th Johann Hirter Bern 1898–1903
5th Paul Scherrer Basel-Stadt 1904–1906
6th Walter Bissegger Zurich 1907–1910
7th Camille Decoppet Vaud 1911–1912
8th Félix Bonjour Vaud 1912–1913
9th Emil Lohner Bern 1914–1918
10th Robert Schöpfer Solothurn 1919–1923
11th Albert Meyer Zurich 1923–1929
12th Hermann Schüpbach Bern 1929–1934
13th Ernest Béguin Neuchâtel 1934–1940
14th Max Wey Luzern 1940–1948
15th Aleardo Pini Ticino 1948–1954
16th Eugen Dietschi Basel-Stadt 1954–1960
17th Nello Celio Ticino 1960–1964
18th Pierre Glasson Fribourg 1964–1968
19th Henri Schmitt Geneva 1968–1974
20th Fritz Honegger Zurich 1974–1977
21st Yann Richter Neuchâtel 1978–1984
22nd Bruno Hunziker Aargau 1984–1989
23rd Franz Steinegger Uri 1989–2001
24th Gerold Bührer Schaffhausen 2001–2002
25th Christiane Langenberger Vaud 2002–2004
26th Rolf Schweiger Zug 2004
27th Marianne Kleiner Appenzell Innerrhoden 2004–2005
28th Fulvio Pelli Ticino 2005–2009

See also
  • Liberalism and radicalism in Switzerland

Footnotes
  1. Jan-Erik Lane; Svante O. Ersson (1999). Politics and Society in Western Europe. SAGE Publications. p. 101. ISBN 978-0-7619-5862-8. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  2. Hans Slomp (2011). Europe, a Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics. ABC-CLIO. p. 489. ISBN 978-0-313-39181-1.
  3. Damir Skenderovic (2009). The Radical Right in Switzerland: Continuity and Change, 1945-2000. Berghahn Books. p. 156. ISBN 978-1-84545-948-2. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  4. Hanspeter Kriesi; Laurent Bernhard (2011). The Context of the Campaigns. Political Communication in Direct Democratic Campaigns: Enlightening or Manipulating?. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 20.
  5. Lublin, David (2014). Minority Rules: Electoral Systems, Decentralization, and Ethnoregional Party Success. Oxford University Press. pp. 232–233.
  6. Thompson, Wayne C., ed. (2014). "Switzerland". Western Europe 2014. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 242. ISBN 978-1-4758-1230-5.
  7. "FDP. The Liberals". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  8. Roberts, Geoffrey K.; Hogwood, Patricia, eds. (1997). European Politics Today. Manchester University Press. p. 383.
  9. Lansford, Tom, ed. (2013). "Switzerland". Political Handbook of the World 2013. CQ Press/SAGE. pp. 1400–1401. ISBN 978-1452258249.
  10. Erik Lundsgaarde (2012). The Domestic Politics of Foreign Aid. Routledge. pp. 105–. ISBN 978-0-415-65695-5. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  11. Hanspeter Kriesi (31 July 2012). "Restructuring the national political space: the supply side of national electoral politics". In Hanspeter Kriesi; Edgar Grande; Martin Dolezal; Marc Helbling; Dominic Höglinger (eds.). Political Conflict in Western Europe. Cambridge University Press. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-107-02438-0. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  12. "PONS Online Dictionary German-English". 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  13. "New alliance counters left-right polarisation - swissinfo".
  14. "Nationalrat 2007".
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