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

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

External links

*
Registration data
at the Finnish patent and registration office
Whiskey Party
on

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 Tiainen
on

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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