Freedom – Civil Rights Party for More Freedom and Democracy (), known as The Freedom () for short, was a political party in Germany which identified as conservative-liberal and

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

. Described as

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 ...

, the party was known for its

criticism of Islam Criticism of Islam can take many forms, including academic critiques, political criticism, religious criticism, and personal opinions. Subjects of criticism include Islamic beliefs, practices, and doctrines. Criticism of Islam has been present ...

. The party was founded in October 2010 by Berlin city parliamentarian René Stadtkewitz who had been expelled from the centre-right

Christian Democratic Union of Germany The Christian Democratic Union of Germany ( , CDU ) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is the major party of the centre-right in German politics. Friedrich Merz has been federal chairman of the CDU since 31 ...

(CDU) for inviting the Dutch politician

Geert Wilders Geert Wilders (born 6 September 1963) is a Dutch politician who has led the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) since he founded it in 2006. He is also the party's leader in the House of Representatives. Wilders is best known for his right-wing p ...

to Berlin. The party sought 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 usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

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 The Deutsche Bundesbank (, , colloquially Buba, sometimes alternatively abbreviated as BBk or DBB) is the National central bank (Eurosystem), national central bank for Germany within the Eurosystem. It was the German central bank from 1957 to 19 ...

Thilo Sarrazin. The Berlin city parliamentarian Stadtkewitz was expelled from the Christian Democratic Union in 2010 after inviting Dutch politician

of the

Party for Freedom The Party for Freedom ( , PVV) is a right-wing populist, far-right political party in the Netherlands. Geert Wilders is the founder, party leader, and sole registered member of the party. Founded in 2006 as the successor to Wilders' one-ma ...

to hold a speech in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. 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 Form ...

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 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 for Germany Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...

(AfD) party and was subsequently dissolved by its members. Some former Freitheit politicians switched to AfD, like the now AfD-MP of Brandeburg state parliament Lena Kotré.

Ideology

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 and more anti-political establishment than the German Greens. Some of their core issues included:Presentation of the party platform on * 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, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

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

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

." The program of the party was modelled on that of the Dutch

, founded and led by

. Some German media have variously described the party as

, islamophobic, and

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

. 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 party received support from Dutch politician

, leader and founder of the

, who announced his intention to include the party in his International Freedom Alliance project. Politician Oskar Freysinger of the

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 ...

gave a speech on the occasion of Freedom's founding event in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

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

References

External links

*
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