Free Democratic Party Of Switzerland
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The Free Democratic Party (, FDP; , PLD), also called Radical Democratic Party (, PRD; , PLR) was a liberal
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, ...
in
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 ...
. 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. The FDP was formed in 1894 from the Radicals, who had dominated Swiss politics since the 1830s, standing in opposition to the
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
conservatives, and who from the creation of the federal state in 1848 until 1891 formed the
federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
. The FDP remained dominant until the introduction of
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...
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 The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
, leading to their formal merger in 2009.


History

The elements ' liberal', ' radical' and ''freisinnig'' (an obsolete German word for 'liberal', or literally "free thinking") 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 Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
and liberal cantons over the conservative and Catholic ones in the Sonderbund war. From 1848 until 1891, the Federal Council was composed entirely of Radicals. The radical movement of the restoration was anti-clerical, 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 Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...
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 The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
formed a common parliamentary group in the Federal Assembly. In June 2005, they strengthened their cooperation by founding the Radical and Liberal Union. 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 two out of seven mandates in the
Swiss Federal Council The Federal Council is the federal cabinet of the Swiss Confederation. Its seven members also serve as the collective head of state and government of Switzerland. Since World War II, the Federal Council is by convention a permanent grand co ...
(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.


National Council


List of party Presidents


See also

* Liberalism and radicalism in Switzerland


Footnotes


External links


fdp.ch
in German
prd.ch
in French
plrt.ch
in Italian
Young Liberals Switzerland
official site of the youth branch, called jungfreisinnige schweiz (in German/French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Free Democratic Party Of Switzerland Classical liberal parties Radical parties Political parties established in 1894 Political parties disestablished in 2009 Defunct liberal political parties Defunct political parties in Switzerland 1894 establishments in Switzerland 2009 disestablishments in Switzerland ca:Partit Radical Democràtic de Suïssa eo:Radikal-Demokrata Partio de Svislando la:Factio Liberalis Democratica (Helvetia) pl:Radykalno-Demokratyczna Partia Szwajcarii zh:瑞士自由民主黨