Freedom – Civil Rights Party for More Freedom and Democracy (''Die Freiheit – Bürgerrechtspartei für mehr Freiheit und Demokratie''), also known as The Freedom (german: Die Freiheit), was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

which identified as conservative-liberal or

classical liberal Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with especial emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, econom ...

. The party, described by German mainstream media as

right-wing populist Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right-wing nationalism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti- elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establ ...

, was known for its

criticism of Islam Criticism of Islam is broadly defined as criticism of the Islamic religion in its beliefs, principles, and/or any other ideas attributed to Islam. Criticism of Islam has existed since Islam's formative stages. Early written disapprovals came fr ...

. It was founded in October 2010 by Berlin city parliamentarian René Stadtkewitz who had been expelled from the conservative CDU for inviting the Islamophobic Dutch politician

Geert Wilders Geert Wilders (; born 6 September 1963) is a Dutch politician who has led the Party for Freedom (''Partij voor de Vrijheid'' – PVV) since he founded it in 2006. He is also the party's leader in the House of Representatives (''Tweede Kamer'' ...

to Berlin. The party seeks the implementation of a direct citizen democracy based on the Swiss model and extensive changes in

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

and integration policy.

History

Freedom was founded in October 2010 by René Stadtkewitz in the wake of the immigration debate spurred by the then-member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank

Thilo Sarrazin Thilo Sarrazin (born 12 February 1945) is a German politician and former member of the SPD, writer, senator of finance for the State of Berlin from January 2002 until April 2009, former member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank u ...

. The Berlin city parliamentarian Stadtkewitz was expelled from the Christian Democratic Union faction in 2010 after inviting

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

politician

of the Party for Freedom to hold a speech in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. A number of other politicians who left their respective parties joined Stadtkewitz, while prominent Islam and immigration critic Thilo Sarrazin refused participation in the new party, but fought to stay in his

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

and stated that the immigration and integration issues had to be discussed inside the major parties. In June 2011, the party expanded, founding state associations in ten German states. The

2011 Berlin state election The 2011 Berlin state election was held on 18 September 2011 to elect the members of the 17th Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin. The incumbent government consisting of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and The Left lost its majority. The SPD lost five ...

was the first election the party participated in. Freedom won 1.0% of the popular vote. In 2016 the party stated that its objectives had largely been adopted by the

Alternative für Deutschland Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist * * * * * * * political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany. ...

party and was subsequently dissolved by its members.

Ideology

Partei Die Freiheit Plakat Kommunalwahl 2014 (12268767053)

Freedom identifies as a conservative-liberal or

party. Stadtkewitz himself has explained that his party would be more liberal than the FDP, less statist than the

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been t ...

and more anti-political establishment than the German Greens. Some of their core issues included:Presentation of the party platform o
DieFreiheit.org
* The introduction of direct citizen democracy based on the Swiss model. * Tougher measures on crime * The reduction of immigration to deal with integration issues. * Support of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. * Stricter social welfare policies. * Withdrawal from the European Union. * Combatting the "

Islamisation Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occurre ...

." The program of the party was modeled after the one of the Dutch Party for Freedom, founded and led by

. Some German media have variously described the party as

islamophobic Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism. The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia'' ...

, and

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

. The party called for critical observation of imams, mosques, and Islamic schools and for a review of Islamic organizations to ensure their compliance with German laws, and condemned efforts to build a parallel legal structure based on sharia.

International cooperation

Freedom received support from Dutch politician

, leader and founder of the Party for Freedom, who announced his intention to include the party in his '' International Freedom Alliance'' project. Politician Oskar Freysinger of the Swiss People's Party gave a speech on the occasion of Freedom's founding event in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

. In 2012, the party took part in a "Global Counter Jihad rally" in Stockholm, Sweden along with other groups such as

Stop Islamization of Nations Stop Islamization of America (SIOA), also known as the American Freedom Defense Initiative, is an anti-Muslim, pro-Israel American counter-jihad organization known primarily for its controversial, Islamophobic advertising campaigns. The grou ...

(SION), and party leader Michael Stürzenberger was simultaneously leader of the German section of Stop Islamisation of Europe (SIOE).

References

External links

Freedom official website

Freedom international website
{{German political parties 2010 establishments in Germany 2016 disestablishments in Germany Anti-Islam political parties in Europe Classical liberal parties Conservative liberal parties National liberal parties Direct democracy parties Eurosceptic parties in Germany Far-right political parties in Germany Anti-immigration politics in Germany Geert Wilders Anti-Islam sentiment in Germany Political parties established in 2010 Political parties disestablished in 2016 Defunct political parties in Germany Politics of Berlin Right-wing populism in Germany Counter-jihad