The Liberal Party – Freedom to Choose ( fi, Liberaalipuolue – Vapaus valita, ), formerly known as the Whisky Party ( fi, Kansallinen Viskipuolue, sv, Whiskypartiet), is a
classical-liberal
Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with especial emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, econom ...
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
political party, founded in 2015 and admitted to the register of political parties in 2016. Its chairman is Lassi Kivinen.
Platform
The party has a liberal view on alcohol policies, but claims a liberal platform overall. Its platform is to promote
individual freedom
Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and to value independence and self-relianc ...
,
entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...
, and decision-making based on scientific research. It opposes the political power of interest groups.
It aims to decrease prohibitive restrictions, such as limitations on opening hours of restaurants and strict licensing of taxis.
Tax reductions are also on its agenda.
History
![Viskipuolue logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Viskipuolue_logo.png)
The impetus for founding the Liberal Party was a 2014 event dubbed "Whiskeygate" by the media. A beer and spirits convention was banned from using the name Olut & Viski Expo (Beer & Whiskey Expo) by the authorities, because the name was interpreted as being advertising of spirits prohibited by the law. A party was to be founded in protest to what was perceived as overbearing regulation.
Whiskey Party was founded the next year, in 2015. Just before the
2015 parliamentary election, the then not registered party promoted itself by handing out free portions of
Whiskey
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden cask ...
. The party also published a campaigning song, "Vastuullisesti" ("Responsibly").
After the election, the party continued the practice of publicly serving free whiskey to attract signatures for support cards in the cities of
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
,
Tampere
Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...
, and
Oulu
Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...
.
By early February 2016, the party had secured the 5,000 signed support cards needed for registration.
On 11 February, it submitted its application to the
Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry.
Lists of current ministries of justice
Named "Ministry"
* Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia)
* Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan)
* Ministry of Just ...
, which maintains the political party register of Finland. The party was officially registered on 18 March 2016.
Soon after the party had gained enough signatures for registration, it was announced that there will be an election about the official name of the party.
On 14 May 2016, the party adopted a new name: ''Liberaalipuolue'' ("Liberal Party"). The Finnish patent and registration office, however, did not accept the change due to the existence of similarly named associations, such as:
Suomen Liberaalinen Puolue ry (Liberal Party of Finland,
registered association) and
Liberaalit ry (Liberals, registered association).
On 17 June 2016, the party tried to adopt a new name again: The Liberal Party – Freedom to Choose. The name was accepted by the Finnish patent and registration office on 21 June, as the addition to the name was enough to separate it from other associations.
The Liberal Party participated in the
municipal elections in 2017 in major cities and allowed as candidates anybody regardless of political experience.
The party won 4,117 votes and elected 5 councilors. The Liberal Party also seeks to establish regional chapters.
Electoral performance
European Parliamentary elections
Municipal elections
Parliamentary elections
References
Further reading
"Viskipuolueen nimen vaihtaminen liberaalipuolueeksi ei onnistu" hiskey Party's change of name to Liberal Party not possible ''Verkkouutiset''
"Kommentti: Liberaalipuolue törmäsi heti sääntelyyn" omment: Liberal Party immediately ran into regulation ''
Libero''
"Rekisteriin hyväksytty Viskipuolue vaihtaa nimeä ja tähtää kunnallisvaaleihin" egistered Whiskey Party changes name and aims for the municipal election ''
Helsingin Sanomat
''Helsingin Sanomat'', abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of ...
''
"Viskipuolue: Nyt testataan sääntö-Suomi – 'Haluavatko suomalaiset tätä? hiskey Party: Rule-ridden Finland tested – "Is this what Finns want?" ''
Uusi Suomi
''Uusi Suomi'' (Finnish for ''The New Finland'') was a Finnish daily newspaper that was published from 1919 to 1991. The headquarters was in Helsinki, Finland.
History and profile
''Uusi Suomi'' was established in 1919 as a continuation of two ...
''
"Viranomainen torppasi puolueen suuren suunnitelman – Yle: Juhlii tapausta tarjoilemalla viskiä" fficials deny the grand plan of Whiskey Party – Yle: Party celebrates by serving whiskey ''
Talouselämä
''Talouselämä'' (Finnish: ''Economic Life'') is a Finnish language weekly financial and business magazine published in Helsinki, Finland. It has been in circulation since 1938.
History and profile
''Talouselämä'' was established by Finnish b ...
''
"Kolumni: Eipä taida olla viskiveikoista oikeiksi liberaaleiksi" olumn: Whiskey folk is unlikely to be real liberals ''
Aamulehti
(Finnish for "morning newspaper") is a Finnish-language daily newspaper published in Tampere, Finland.
History and profile
''Aamulehti'' was founded in 1881 to "improve the position of the Finnish people and the Finnish language" during Russi ...
''
"Viskipuolue hyväksyttiin puoluerekisteriin" hiskey Party registered ''
Satakunnan Kansa
''Satakunnan Kansa'' (abbreviated ''SK'', literally translated the "People of Satakunta") is a Finnish language regional newspaper published in Pori, Finland.
History and profile
The newspaper was established under the name of ''Satakunta'' in 1 ...
''
"Korkataanko huomenna puolueelle uusi nimi? – Viskipuolue voi muuttua Liberaaleiksi" ill the party pop open a new name tomorrow? – Whiskey Party might turn into Liberals ''Helsingin Uutiset''
"Fundan en Finlandia el "Partido Nacional del Whisky National Whiskey Party" founded in Finland EFE
Agencia EFE, S.A. () is a Spanish international news agency, the major multimedia news agency in Spanish language and the world's fourth largest wire service after the Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse. EFE was created in 1939 ...
"Le premier Parti du whisky voit le jour en Finlande" he first Whiskey Party founded in Finland ''
Le Nouvelliste''
"Politiikan new kids on the block" ew kids on the block of politics ''
Voima''
"Viskipuolue muuttaa nimensä sittenkin – 'Sanaan liberaali ei voi saada yksinoikeutta hiskey Party changes its name afteral – "The word liberal is not exclusive"Yle
External links
*
Registration dataat the Finnish patent and registration office
Whiskey Partyon
YleX
YleX (formerly known as YLEX) is one of the major radio stations of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle) featuring pop music and cultural programming. The station started as Radiomafia, and name changed to YleX in 2003. Programming targets the yo ...
Interview with vice chairman Tuomas Tiainenon
Yle
Yleisradio Oy (Finnish, literally "General Radio Ltd." or "General Broadcast Ltd."; abbr. Yle ; sv, Rundradion Ab, italics=no), translated to English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founde ...
Radio Puhe
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberal Party - Freedom for Choice
Liberal parties in Finland
Political parties established in 2015
Registered political parties in Finland
2015 establishments in Finland
Classical liberal parties