The Progressive Citizens' Party in Liechtenstein (, FBP) is a
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
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, ...
in
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 ...
. The FBP is one of the two
major
Major most commonly refers to:
* Major (rank), a military rank
* Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits
* People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames
* Major and minor in musi ...
political parties in Liechtenstein, along with the
liberal-conservative
Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...
Patriotic Union. Founded in 1918 along with the now-defunct
Christian-Social People's Party, it is the oldest
extant
Extant or Least-concern species, least concern is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to:
* Extant hereditary titles
* Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English
* Exta ...
party in Liechtenstein.
History
The party was established in 1918 by middle class citizens and members of the agricultural community as a response to the formation of the
Christian-Social People's Party (VP).
[Vincent E McHale (1983) ''Political parties of Europe'', Greenwood Press, p609 ] In addition to being linked to the commercial and rural environment, the party was also firmly anchored in the
clergy
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
. It won the majority of the elected the
1918 elections,
[ Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1182 ] but the VP formed a government following the
November 1918 Liechtenstein putsch.
[McHale, p611]
The VP won elections in
1922
Events
January
* January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes.
* January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...
,
January 1926 and
April 1926, but the FBP won the
1928 elections, and became the party of government until 1938,
[ with Josef Hoop serving as prime minister until 1945. In 1938 the FBP allowed the Patriotic Union (VU) to join it in a coalition government. The two parties governed in coalition until the 1997 elections,][Nohlen & Stöver, p1157] after which the Patriotic Union formed a government. The FBP won the 2001 elections and its leader Otmar Hasler became prime minister. Following the 2005 elections the coalition was renewed,[ with Hasler remaining prime minister. The VU's Klaus Tschütscher held the post between ]2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
and 2013
2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years).
2013 was designated as:
*International Year of Water Cooperation
*International Year of Quinoa
Events
January
* January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
, after which FBP leader Adrian Hasler
Adrian Hasler (; born 11 February 1964) is an economist and politician from Liechtenstein who served as List of heads of government of Liechtenstein, Prime Minister of Liechtenstein from 2013 to 2021. He previously served in the Landtag of Liecht ...
became prime minister.
In the 2017 state election, the FBP lost 4.8% of the vote and was awarded only nine of the 25 seats. However, it remained the party with the most votes in the state parliament, as the Patriotic Union only gained slightly and still had eight Landtag members.
In the 2021 state elections, Adrian Hasler and government councilor Mauro Pedrazzini (also a FBP member) decided not to run for government again after eight years. With Sabine Monauni, the FBP nominated a woman as prime minister candidate for the state elections for the first time. The party nominated Katrin Eggenberger
Katrin Eggenberger (born 8 September 1982) is a Swiss-Liechtensteiner academic and politician who served as the Foreign Minister of Liechtenstein from November 2019 to March 2021.
Education and personal life
Katrin Eggenberger was born in Werden ...
and Manuel Frick as further candidates for the government.
The FBP won 35.9% of the votes in the 2021 state elections and won 10 seats in the Landtag. Mathematically, the FBP was elected by around 100 voters (0.6%) more. The discrepancy arose from the fact that the voters in the Oberland, with 15 votes per ballot paper, had a higher weight on the total party vote result than the voters in the Unterland with ten votes per person. Voter turnout was stable at 78.0%. The FBP and VU formed a coalition government, which appointed Monauni as deputy prime minister. If she had become prime minister, she would have been the first female to hold the position.
In the 2025 elections, former president of the landtag Ernst Walch was the party's candidate for prime minister. The party further nominated Sabine Monauni and Daniel Oehry as government candidates. In the election, the FBP won 7 seats with 27.9% of the vote share, the lowest in its history.
Ideology and policy
The FBP tends to be conservative on social/cultural issues. As for economic issues, it is economically liberal but also claims to follow a social market economy
The social market economy (SOME; ), also called Rhine capitalism, Rhine-Alpine capitalism, the Rhenish model, and social capitalism, is a socioeconomic model combining a free-market capitalist economic system with social policies and enough re ...
policy. The party states its policies are based on Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
values such as solidarity, respect and justice. It also advocates a dualistic form of government, claiming to support both the monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...
and the people as sovereigns.
Women's rights
The FBP was an early proponent of the introduction of women's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...
to Liechtenstein, starting in 1970. However, two separate referendums on the issue were rejected by male-only voters in 1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
and 1973
Events January
* January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
respectively. The Women in the FBP group was founded in September 1982 to represent women's issues within the party, and also to further advocate for the introduction of women's suffrage. The party then again proposed the issue to the Landtag of Liechtenstein in December 1983 and again in April 1984. Following a successful referendum (among men only) in July 1984, women's suffrage was introduced to Liechtenstein.
Emma Eigenmann, belonging to the FBP, was the woman elected to the Landtag of Liechtenstein in 1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
** Spain and Portugal en ...
. In the first Mario Frick cabinet, Cornelia Gassner, also belonging to the FBP, became the first female government councillor. Rita Kieber-Beck was also the first female Deputy Prime Minister of Liechtenstein.
LGBT rights
Compared to the Patriotic Union, members of the FBP are more inclined to support LGBT rights
Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...
:
:a. Percentages do not add up to 100%.
The FBP also voted ''en bloc'' with the Free List
A free list (or freelist) is a data structure used in a scheme for dynamic memory allocation. It operates by connecting unallocated regions of memory together in a linked list, using the first word of each unallocated region as a pointer to the ...
(FL) party on 6 May 2022 to narrowly defeat a proposed legislation (i.e., ''Amendment to the Article 25 of the Partnership Act'') that would have limited adoption and reproductive rights of same-sex couples.
Election results
Landtag elections
Notes
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Progressive Citizens' Party
Political parties established in 1918
1918 establishments in Liechtenstein
Conservative parties in Europe
National conservative parties
Catholic political parties
Monarchist parties
Political parties in Liechtenstein
Organizations based in Vaduz