Liberal Forum
Encyclopedia
The Liberal Forum is a small classical liberal
party in Austria
. The party is currently led by Angelika Mlinar, and is a member of the Liberal International
and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
.
within the Freedom Party of Austria
(FPÖ), including five members of the National Council of Austria
seceded from the party. The five Nationalrat members were Heide Schmidt
, Klara Motter, Friedhelm Frischenschlager, Hans Helmut Moser, and Thomas Barmüller. Heide Schmidt (who was 3rd president of the Nationalrat until 1994) became the party's first chairperson.
The reason for the split within the FPÖ was growing disagreements between the liberal wing and the nationalist
camp. Jörg Haider
launched a petition-drive against foreign immigrants in Austria (the so-called "Österreich Zuerst Volksbegehren" "Austria First Referendum"). This in turn was unacceptable to Heide Schmidt and her followers. The founders of the new party wanted a liberal party in the classical sense, which the FPÖ had ceased to be since the resignation of Norbert Steger
and the rise of Haider.
The Liberal Forum was the first party in the history of the (since 1945) Second Republic to achieve immediate seats in parliament without prior elections. After some initial confusion, the chairs of the house accepted the new formation as an official party, thereby granting access to public financial means of support. The FPÖ left the Liberal International
organisation and the Liberal Forum took over that membership in its place. The party managed to gain 11 seats in the 1994 parliamentary elections, and with 5.51% of all votes cast 10 seats in the 1995 elections.
However, following the resignation of Schmidt as chairperson and the elections in 1999, the party's support has plummeted and it failed to gain any seats. In the elections of October 3, 1999 the party obtained 3.65% of all votes and therefore failed to overcome the 4% mandatory threshold in order to enter parliament. In the elections of 2002 it obtained 1% of the vote and got no seats. As a consequence it also lost votes in state elections and is only represented on the communal level. In Vienna
the party lost all seats on the district level in the elections of 2005.
According to its founding charter
the Liberal Forum propagates political liberalism
and advocates a free market
economy. Only if the economy and business fare well, are the foundations for social welfare of the people provided. Furthermore the party wants environmental protection
and supports world peace
. http://www.liberale.at/charta.pdf
The LIF decided not to contest the European Parliament election in 2009
, focussing on refounding and building up the party instead. The Young Liberals
(Junge Liberale, JuLis), the LIF's student and youth organisation, contested the election independently instead.
. The left bar shows all the chairpersons (Bundessprecher, abbreviated as "CP") of the Liberal party, and the right bar shows the corresponding make-up of the Austrian government at that time. The red (Social Democratic Party of Austria
, SPÖ) and black (Austrian People's Party
, ÖVP) colours correspond to which party led the federal government (Bundesregierung, abbreviated as "Govern."). The last names of the respective chancellors are shown, the Roman numeral stands for the cabinets
.
|----- bgcolor="#DDDDDD"
! colspan="3"| Results of the LIF in National Council
elections
|-
! align="center" | Year
! align="center" | Percentage of votes received
! align="center" | Mandates
|-
| align="center" | 2008
| align="center" | 2,1% (+2,1)
| align="center" | 0 (-1)
|-
| align="center" | 2006
| align="center" | did not run
| align="center" | 1 (Alexander Zach
got a seat of the SPÖ
's list)
|-
| align="center" | 2002
| align="center" | 0.98% (-2.7)
| align="center" | 0 (-)
|-
| align="center" | 1999
| align="center" | 3.7% (-1.8)
| align="center" | 0 (-10)
|-
| align="center" | 1995
| align="center" | 5.5% (-0.5)
| align="center" | 10 (-1)
|-
| align="center" | 1994
| align="center" | 6.0% (+6.0)
| align="center" | 11 (+11)
|}>
Classical liberalism
Classical liberalism is the philosophy committed to the ideal of limited government, constitutionalism, rule of law, due process, and liberty of individuals including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and free markets....
party in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. The party is currently led by Angelika Mlinar, and is a member of the Liberal International
Liberal International
Liberal International is a political international federation for liberal parties. Its headquarters is located at 1 Whitehall Place, London, SW1A 2HD within the National Liberal Club. It was founded in Oxford in 1947, and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties and for the...
and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
The European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party is a European political party mainly active in the European Union, composed of 56 national-level liberal and liberal-democratic parties from across Europe...
.
Founding
It was founded on February 4, 1993, when liberalsLiberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
within the Freedom Party of Austria
Freedom Party of Austria
The Freedom Party of Austria is a political party in Austria. Ideologically, the party is a direct descendant of the German national liberal camp, which dates back to the 1848 revolutions. The FPÖ itself was founded in 1956 as the successor to the short-lived Federation of Independents , which had...
(FPÖ), including five members of the National Council of Austria
National Council of Austria
The National Council is one of the two houses of the Austrian parliament. According to the constitution, the National Council and the complementary Federal Council are peers...
seceded from the party. The five Nationalrat members were Heide Schmidt
Heide Schmidt
Heide Schmidt is an Austrian politician.A lawyer and formerly a prominent member of Jörg Haider's Austrian Freedom Party , in 1993 Schmidt was one of a group of politicians who, because of Haider's increasingly right-wing verbal politics, seceded from the FPÖ and founded the Liberal Forum.From...
, Klara Motter, Friedhelm Frischenschlager, Hans Helmut Moser, and Thomas Barmüller. Heide Schmidt (who was 3rd president of the Nationalrat until 1994) became the party's first chairperson.
The reason for the split within the FPÖ was growing disagreements between the liberal wing and the nationalist
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
camp. Jörg Haider
Jörg Haider
Jörg Haider was an Austrian politician. He was Governor of Carinthia on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Austrian Freedom Party and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of Austria , a breakaway party from the FPÖ.Haider was controversial within Austria and abroad for comments...
launched a petition-drive against foreign immigrants in Austria (the so-called "Österreich Zuerst Volksbegehren" "Austria First Referendum"). This in turn was unacceptable to Heide Schmidt and her followers. The founders of the new party wanted a liberal party in the classical sense, which the FPÖ had ceased to be since the resignation of Norbert Steger
Norbert Steger
Norbert Steger is an Austrian lawyer and former politician for the Freedom Party of Austria . He was the FPÖ party leader from 1980 to 1986, and Vice Chancellor and Minister of Commerce of Austria from 1983 to 1987....
and the rise of Haider.
The Liberal Forum was the first party in the history of the (since 1945) Second Republic to achieve immediate seats in parliament without prior elections. After some initial confusion, the chairs of the house accepted the new formation as an official party, thereby granting access to public financial means of support. The FPÖ left the Liberal International
Liberal International
Liberal International is a political international federation for liberal parties. Its headquarters is located at 1 Whitehall Place, London, SW1A 2HD within the National Liberal Club. It was founded in Oxford in 1947, and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties and for the...
organisation and the Liberal Forum took over that membership in its place. The party managed to gain 11 seats in the 1994 parliamentary elections, and with 5.51% of all votes cast 10 seats in the 1995 elections.
However, following the resignation of Schmidt as chairperson and the elections in 1999, the party's support has plummeted and it failed to gain any seats. In the elections of October 3, 1999 the party obtained 3.65% of all votes and therefore failed to overcome the 4% mandatory threshold in order to enter parliament. In the elections of 2002 it obtained 1% of the vote and got no seats. As a consequence it also lost votes in state elections and is only represented on the communal level. In Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
the party lost all seats on the district level in the elections of 2005.
According to its founding charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
the Liberal Forum propagates political liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
and advocates a free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
economy. Only if the economy and business fare well, are the foundations for social welfare of the people provided. Furthermore the party wants environmental protection
Environmental protection
Environmental protection is a practice of protecting the environment, on individual, organizational or governmental level, for the benefit of the natural environment and humans. Due to the pressures of population and our technology the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently...
and supports world peace
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
. http://www.liberale.at/charta.pdf
The LIF decided not to contest the European Parliament election in 2009
European Parliament election, 2009 (Austria)
The European Parliament election of 2009 in Austria was the election of the delegation from Austria to the European Parliament in 2009. Austria will have 17 seats in the European Parliament, instead of 18 that the country had before the re-allocation of seats....
, focussing on refounding and building up the party instead. The Young Liberals
Young Liberals (Austria)
Young Liberals Austria is a liberal Austrian party that was founded as the youth wing of the Liberal Forum .However, in 2009 JuLis contested the European Parliameent election with their own, separate list, directly competing with their former mother party LIF. They were supported by LIF's then MEP...
(Junge Liberale, JuLis), the LIF's student and youth organisation, contested the election independently instead.
Some viewpoints of the Liberal Forum
- Promotion of privatisation
- Legalisation of cannabisCannabisCannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
- Equalisation of homosexuals
- Liberalisation of shopping hoursShopping hoursCustoms and regulations for shopping hours vary from country to country.-Shopping days and impact of holidays:Some countries do not allow Sunday shopping. In Islamic countries some shops are closed on Fridays during noon...
- Increase of the voting age
Chairpersons since 1993
The chart below shows a timeline of the Liberal chairpersons and the Chancellors of AustriaChancellor of Austria
The Federal Chancellor is the head of government in Austria. Its deputy is the Vice-Chancellor. Before 1918, the equivalent office was the Minister-President of Austria. The Federal Chancellor is considered to be the most powerful political position in Austrian politics.-Appointment:The...
. The left bar shows all the chairpersons (Bundessprecher, abbreviated as "CP") of the Liberal party, and the right bar shows the corresponding make-up of the Austrian government at that time. The red (Social Democratic Party of Austria
Social Democratic Party of Austria
The Social Democratic Party of Austria is one of the oldest political parties in Austria. The SPÖ is one of the two major parties in Austria, and has ties to trade unions and the Austrian Chamber of Labour. The SPÖ is among the few mainstream European social-democratic parties that have preserved...
, SPÖ) and black (Austrian People's Party
Austrian People's Party
The Austrian People's Party is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Austria. A successor to the Christian Social Party of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it is similar to the Christian Democratic Union of Germany in terms of ideology...
, ÖVP) colours correspond to which party led the federal government (Bundesregierung, abbreviated as "Govern."). The last names of the respective chancellors are shown, the Roman numeral stands for the cabinets
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
.
Parliamentary election results
! colspan="3"| Results of the LIF in National Council
National Council of Austria
The National Council is one of the two houses of the Austrian parliament. According to the constitution, the National Council and the complementary Federal Council are peers...
elections
|-
! align="center" | Year
! align="center" | Percentage of votes received
! align="center" | Mandates
|-
| align="center" | 2008
Austrian legislative election, 2008
A legislative snap election for the National Council in Austria was held on 28 September 2008. The previous election was held on 1 October 2006. The election was caused by the withdrawal of Austrian People's Party leader Wilhelm Molterer from the governing grand coalition on 7 July 2008...
| align="center" | 2,1% (+2,1)
| align="center" | 0 (-1)
|-
| align="center" | 2006
Austrian legislative election, 2006
The 2006 general election for the National Council in Austria was held on 1 October 2006.Following the Austrian legislative election, 1999, the Austrian People's Party had formed a coalition government with the Austrian Freedom Party , and later the Alliance for the Future of Austria .As a result...
| align="center" | did not run
| align="center" | 1 (Alexander Zach
Alexander Zach
Alexander Zach is an Austrian politician and former member of the Austrian Parliament . He has been the head of the Liberal Forum from 2001 to 2008. Although his party did not run the elections of 2006, Zach was given a seat on the SPÖ as a result of an alliance whose aim was forestalling another...
got a seat of the SPÖ
Social Democratic Party of Austria
The Social Democratic Party of Austria is one of the oldest political parties in Austria. The SPÖ is one of the two major parties in Austria, and has ties to trade unions and the Austrian Chamber of Labour. The SPÖ is among the few mainstream European social-democratic parties that have preserved...
's list)
|-
| align="center" | 2002
| align="center" | 0.98% (-2.7)
| align="center" | 0 (-)
|-
| align="center" | 1999
| align="center" | 3.7% (-1.8)
| align="center" | 0 (-10)
|-
| align="center" | 1995
| align="center" | 5.5% (-0.5)
| align="center" | 10 (-1)
|-
| align="center" | 1994
| align="center" | 6.0% (+6.0)
| align="center" | 11 (+11)
|}>
See also
- Liberalism in AustriaLiberalism in AustriaThis article gives an overview of liberalism in Austria. It is limited to liberal parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in parliament. The sign ⇒ denotes another party in that scheme...
- List of liberal parties
- Liberalism worldwideLiberalism worldwideThis article gives information on liberalism in diverse countries around the world. It is an overview of parties that adhere more or less to the ideas of political liberalism and is therefore a list of liberal parties around the world....
- Contributions to liberal theoryContributions to liberal theoryIndividual contributors to classical liberalism and political liberalism are associated with philosophers of the Enlightenment. Liberalism as a specifically named ideology begins in the late 18th century as a movement towards self-government and away from aristocracy...
External links
- Liberal Forum official site