The Liberal Party – Freedom to Choose (, ), formerly known as the Whisky Party (, ), is a

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, econ ...

Finnish political party, founded in 2015 and admitted to the register of political parties in 2016. Lassi Kivinen was elected chairman in 2022. The party was de-registered in 2023 after failing to win seats in two consecutive parliamentary elections. It was re-registered in January 2024.

Platform

The party has a liberal view on alcohol policies, but claims a liberal platform overall. Its platform is to promote individual freedom,

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, 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 a part of 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, which is prohibited by the law. The party was to be founded in protest against what was perceived as overbearing regulation. Whiskey Party was founded the next year, in 2015. Just before the 2015 parliamentary election, the not-yet-registered party promoted itself by handing out free servings of

Whiskey Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...

. 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 () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

, and

Oulu Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki, River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-regio ...

. 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 justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

, 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 five councilors. None of its candidates were elected in the municipal elections of 2021.

Election results

Parliament of Finland

European Parliament

Municipal elections

References

External links

*
Website in English

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 ...

Interview with vice chairman Tuomas Tiainen
on

Yle Yleisradio Oy (; ), abbreviated as Yle () (formerly styled in all uppercase until 2012), translated into English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founded in 1926. It is a joint-stock comp ...

Radio Puhe * {{DEFAULTSORT:Liberal Party - Freedom for Choice Liberal parties in Finland Political parties established in 2015 2015 establishments in Finland Classical liberal parties Registered political parties in Finland