The Christian-Social People's Party (, CSV), often shortened to simply the People's Party (, VP), was a

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 ...

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, ...

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

. It tended to be more popular in the Oberland, and supported closer ties with

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 ...

as opposed to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. Founded in 1918, the Christian-Social People's Party and the

Progressive Citizens' Party The Progressive Citizens' Party in Liechtenstein (, FBP) is a Conservatism, conservative List of political parties in Liechtenstein, political party in Liechtenstein. The FBP is one of the two major party, major List of political parties in Liech ...

(FBP) were the first political parties in Liechtenstein. In 1936, it merged with the Liechtenstein Homeland Service to form the Patriotic Union.

History

Formation and putsch

The party's roots originate behind the ideals of lawyer and politician Wilhelm Beck when he formed an opposition group around himself in 1914 with its newspaper '' Oberrheinische Nachrichten'' against the government of Leopold Freiherr von Imhof. The party itself was established in February 1918 as an off-shoot of the trade union movement.Vincent E McHale (1983) ''Political parties of Europe'', Greenwood Press, p609 In the 1918 Liechtenstein general election, the first it contested, it won 5 out of 12 of the seats in the Landtag of Liechtenstein. Paul Vogt (1987). ''125 Jahre Landtag.'' Vaduz: Landtag of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The party conducted a de facto

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

against Imhof's government in November 1918, which forced his government to resign and replaced with a provisional executive committee led by VP member Martin Ritter, the first Liechtensteiner native head of government.

Political history and ideology

The VP advocated for an expansion of democracy and progressive social policies, and was also supportive of the country's constitutional monarchy. Due to its pro-democratic social liberal leanings and party colours, party members were often referred to disparagingly as " Reds". It first formed the country's first and only government following the 1922 elections under Gustav Schädler with Beck as President of the Landtag of Liechtenstein and remained in power until losing the 1928 elections. The party lost significant credibility when his government was the subject of an embezzlement scandal involving the National Bank of Liechtenstein, primarily by party chairman Anton Walser in 1928. Johann II forced his government to resign in June 1928 as a result, and early elections were called. In 1935, the VP formed an alliance with the Liechtenstein Homeland Service (LHD), which was referred to as the 'National Opposition'. This alliance pushed through an initiative to introduce

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 ...

within the country. However, the subsequent 1935 Liechtenstein electoral system referendum was narrowly rejected by voters.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An ex ...

& Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1172 Motivated by a desire to unite the opposition prior to the 1936 Liechtenstein general election, the VP and LHD merged on 1 January 1936 to form the Patriotic Union. In addition, the respective party newspapers merged to form the

Liechtensteiner Vaterland ''Liechtensteiner Vaterland'' (; lit. "Liechtenstein Fatherland") is the largest daily newspaper in Liechtenstein. Published by Vaduzer Medienhaus AG, it is the official newspaper of the Patriotic Union party. History In January 1936, Christi ...

History

Formation and putsch

Political history and ideology

Electoral performance

References

Further reading