The Freedom Party of Switzerland (FPS) (; , PSL) is a minor

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

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

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Its president and leading representative is Jürg Scherrer, formerly the head of the security department in the city government of

Biel/Bienne Biel/Bienne (official bilingual wording; German language, German: ''Biel'' ; French language, French: ''Bienne'' ; Bernese German, locally ; ; ; ) is a bilingual city in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. With over 55,000 residents, it is the ...

until 2008. The party is against much government involvement in the economy, especially environmental regulations, but is for strict controls on immigration and strict punishments for selling drugs. The party opposes Swiss EU membership.

History

The FPS was founded 1984 in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

by Dr. Michael E. Dreher and other right-wing politicians as ''Autopartei'' (

Automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

Party). It was intended to counter the then upsurging

Green Party of Switzerland The Green Party of Switzerland (; ; ; ) is a green political party in Switzerland. It is the fifth-largest party in the National Council of Switzerland and the largest party that is not represented on the Federal Council. History The first ...

and the contemporary concerns about

forest dieback Forest dieback (also "", a German loan word, ) is a condition in trees or woody plants in which peripheral parts are killed, either by pathogens, parasites or conditions like acid rain, drought, and more. These episodes can have disastrous con ...

due to

acid rain Acid rain is rain or any other form of Precipitation (meteorology), precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH that exists b ...

. Focusing initially on personal mobility issues, one of its more well-known slogans was "Freie Fahrt für freie Bürger" (''A free road for free citizens''). The party enjoyed success in the cantonal parliaments, particularly in St. Gallen,

Thurgau Thurgau (; ; ; ), anglicized as Thurgovia, and formally as the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts. Its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is part of Eastern Switzerland. I ...

and

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; ; ; ; ), historically known in English as Shaffhouse, is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of Schaffh ...

. The height of its power was reached in the 1991 National Council elections, when it captured 8 out of 200 seats and 4% of the national vote. Afterwards, the party's fortunes started to decline as many leading figures left the party in the course of internal disputes, mainly for the more mainstream

Swiss People's Party The Swiss People's Party (, SVP; , PPS), also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre (, UDC; , UDC), is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Marcel Dettling, it is the largest party in ...

. Despite renaming itself to "Freedom Party" in 1994, the FPS lost all national mandates in the 1999 elections and, as of 2006, retains but a very few parliamentary seats in some cantonal and municipal parliaments. Most of its members, and even entire sections have joined the Swiss People's Party which has incorporated most of the party's agenda.

Agenda

The FPS campaigns on a pronounced

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

agenda, advocating strict asylum and immigration laws, as well as a law and order approach to crime and drugs and strong

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

. It opposes Swiss membership in international organisations such as the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

(however it favors EFTA and even NAFTA membership), but favors a

laissez-faire ''Laissez-faire'' ( , from , ) is a type of economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies or regulations). As a system of thought, ''laissez-faire'' ...

economic policy,

deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...

, tax cuts and a reduction of state spending.Party platform of May 8, 1999
on the party's website The party and its exponents are also noted for their aggressive anti-communist rhetoric, at least compared to that of mainstream Swiss parties. Its leader Jürg Scherrer has been (unsuccessfully) sued several times under Swiss anti-discrimination laws on account of his disparaging statements about

Africans The ethnic groups of Africa number in the thousands, with each ethnicity generally having their own language (or dialect of a language) and culture. The ethnolinguistic groups include various Afroasiatic, Khoisan, Niger-Congo, and Nilo-Sahara ...

and foreigners in general. The following excerpts from a statement of Scherrer's, posted on the party's website in 2006, may serve to illustrate the party's take on current issues:

Notes

References

External links

*
Website of the Freedom Party of Switzerland
{{Authority control Nationalist parties in Switzerland Political parties established in 1984 Right-wing populism in Switzerland Swiss nationalism Conservative parties in Switzerland