Radical Party Of Geneva
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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 A major party is a political party that holds substantial influence in a country's politics, standing in contrast to a minor party. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Major parties hold a significant percentage of the vote in election ...
in Switzerland, on 1 January 2009 it merged with the
Liberal Party of Switzerland The Liberal Party of Switzerland () or Swiss Liberal Party (; ; ) was a political party in Switzerland with economically liberal policies. It was known as a party of the upper class. On 1 January 2009 it merged with the larger Free Democratic ...
to form FDP. The Liberals. The FDP was formed in 1894 from the
Radicals Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...
, 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 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 civilizati ...
, and who from the creation of the
federal state A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governing status of the c ...
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 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 ...
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 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 ...
. 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 Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...
' 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 The rise of Switzerland as a federal state began on 12 September 1848, with the creation of a federal constitution in response to a 27-day civil war, the ''Sonderbundskrieg''. The constitution, which was heavily influenced by the United 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 The Sonderbund War (, , ) of November 1847 was a civil war in Switzerland, then still a relatively loose confederacy of cantons. It ensued after seven Catholic cantons formed the ("separate alliance") in 1845 to protect their interests against ...
. From 1848 until 1891, the
Federal Council Federal Council may refer to: Governmental bodies * Federal Council of Australasia, a forerunner to the current Commonwealth of Australia * Federal Council of Austria, the upper house of the Austrian federal parliament * Federal Council of German ...
was composed entirely of Radicals. The radical movement of the restoration was
anti-clerical Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historically, anti-clericalism in Christian traditions has been opposed to the influence of Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, ...
, 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 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 ...
'Liberals',
federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...
'Radicals', and
social liberal Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice, social services, a mixed economy, and the expansion of civil and political rights, as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited g ...
'Democrats': placing the radical movement on the 'left' of the
political spectrum A political spectrum is a system to characterize and classify different Politics, political positions in relation to one another. These positions sit upon one or more Geometry, geometric Coordinate axis, axes that represent independent political ...
. It was not until the rise of the
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 ...
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 Federal Council may refer to: Governmental bodies * Federal Council of Australasia, a forerunner to the current Commonwealth of Australia * Federal Council of Austria, the upper house of the Austrian federal parliament * Federal Council of German ...
, 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 The National Council (; ; ; ) is a house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, representing the people. The other house, Council of States, represents the states, preventing more populous parts of the country overpowering the rest. As the p ...
(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 A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General 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