The Libertarians
Encyclopedia
The Libertarians is a liberal
and nationalist
political party in the Italian
province of South Tyrol
committed to the German-speaking minority
.
Its leader is Pius Leitner and its ideology is similar to that of the Freedom Party of Austria
, especially under the leadership of Jörg Haider
, and of the Alliance for the Future of Austria
: a mix of liberalism and nationalism.
(the youth section of the South Tyrolean People's Party
, SVP), Peter Paul Reiner, Pius Leitner and Stephan Gutweniger, left SVP. They were soon joined by disgruntled former members of the Freedom Party of South Tyrol
(FPS), who were marginalized after the merger in the far right Union for South Tyrol
(UfS).
On 7 December 1992 they launched the new party in December of that year. In doing this they were strongly encouraged by Jörg Haider
, at the time leader of the Freedom Party of Austria
, as the name chosen for the party reflects. Gerold Meraner, former leader of FPS who had been a founding member of UfS, considered the new party as the legitimate heir of his FPS.
Under the leadership of Waldner the party won 6.1% of the vote in the 1993 provincial election
and got two provincial deputies elected, Waldner and Leitner. Soon after the election, there were clashes over the party political line between Waldner, who expoused more nationalist attidudes, and Leitner, who was the leader of the internal liberal faction. This finally led Waldner to resign in 1994 and to start his own short-lived party, "Liberals" (renamed "Alliance 98" in 1996).
In February 1997 Waldner was shot dead by his former political ally Reiner, who instead remained a leading member of The Libertarians. This dramatic event was a shock for the party and led it into a decline which seemed irreversible. In the 1998 provincial election
the party's share of vote was only 2.5% and Leitner alone was elected in the Provincial Council.
Since then, however, the party started its resurgence which was completed in 2003, when it jumped to 5.0% in the provincial election and managed to elect two provincial deputies again: Leitner and Ulli Mair, a young woman who had been party secretary since 2001.
In the 2006 general election The Libertarians obtained 5.4%, while in the 2008 general election
the party won the 9.4% of the vote. In the subsequent provincial election, The Libertarians became the second-largest party in the Province with the 14.3% of the vote and had five provincial deputies elected.
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
and nationalist
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
political party in the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
province of South Tyrol
South Tyrol
South Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...
committed to the German-speaking minority
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
.
Its leader is Pius Leitner and its ideology is similar to that of the Freedom Party of Austria
Freedom Party of Austria
The Freedom Party of Austria is a political party in Austria. Ideologically, the party is a direct descendant of the German national liberal camp, which dates back to the 1848 revolutions. The FPÖ itself was founded in 1956 as the successor to the short-lived Federation of Independents , which had...
, especially under the leadership of Jörg Haider
Jörg Haider
Jörg Haider was an Austrian politician. He was Governor of Carinthia on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Austrian Freedom Party and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of Austria , a breakaway party from the FPÖ.Haider was controversial within Austria and abroad for comments...
, and of the Alliance for the Future of Austria
Alliance for the Future of Austria
The Alliance for the Future of Austria , abbreviated to BZÖ, is a conservative liberal political party in Austria. The party has sixteen seats in the National Council....
: a mix of liberalism and nationalism.
History
In 1992 a group of young right-wingers led by the so-called "gang of four", including Christian Waldner, former leader of the Junge GenerationJunge Generation (SVP)
The Young Generation is the youth organisation of the South Tyrolean People's Party , a political party representing the German-speaking and Ladin-speaking population of South Tyrol, an Italian province separated from the Austrian territory and annexed to the Italian Monarchy in 1920 as...
(the youth section of the South Tyrolean People's Party
South Tyrolean People's Party
The South Tyrolean People's Party is a regionalist Christian democratic political party active in the Italian province of South Tyrol.Founded in 1945, the SVP represents the German-speaking population of the province, as well as Ladin speakers. Since the first election of the Provincial Council in...
, SVP), Peter Paul Reiner, Pius Leitner and Stephan Gutweniger, left SVP. They were soon joined by disgruntled former members of the Freedom Party of South Tyrol
Freedom Party of South Tyrol
The Freedom Party of South Tyrol was a regionalist liberal-conservative and national-liberal political party active in South Tyrol.It was launched in 1988 as the continuation of the Party of Independents by Gerold Meraner. In the 1988 provincial election FPS took 1.4% and got Meraner elected to...
(FPS), who were marginalized after the merger in the far right Union for South Tyrol
Union for South Tyrol
The Citizens' Union is a separatist, nationalist and conservative political party active in South Tyrol committed to the German-speaking minority and its right to self-determination...
(UfS).
On 7 December 1992 they launched the new party in December of that year. In doing this they were strongly encouraged by Jörg Haider
Jörg Haider
Jörg Haider was an Austrian politician. He was Governor of Carinthia on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Austrian Freedom Party and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of Austria , a breakaway party from the FPÖ.Haider was controversial within Austria and abroad for comments...
, at the time leader of the Freedom Party of Austria
Freedom Party of Austria
The Freedom Party of Austria is a political party in Austria. Ideologically, the party is a direct descendant of the German national liberal camp, which dates back to the 1848 revolutions. The FPÖ itself was founded in 1956 as the successor to the short-lived Federation of Independents , which had...
, as the name chosen for the party reflects. Gerold Meraner, former leader of FPS who had been a founding member of UfS, considered the new party as the legitimate heir of his FPS.
Under the leadership of Waldner the party won 6.1% of the vote in the 1993 provincial election
Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol regional election, 1993
The Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol regional election of 1993 took place on 21 November 1993.The South Tyrolean People's Party and Christian Democracy resulted the two most voted parties at the regional level. However while thje SVP retained its outright majority in South Tyrol, the DC was the real...
and got two provincial deputies elected, Waldner and Leitner. Soon after the election, there were clashes over the party political line between Waldner, who expoused more nationalist attidudes, and Leitner, who was the leader of the internal liberal faction. This finally led Waldner to resign in 1994 and to start his own short-lived party, "Liberals" (renamed "Alliance 98" in 1996).
In February 1997 Waldner was shot dead by his former political ally Reiner, who instead remained a leading member of The Libertarians. This dramatic event was a shock for the party and led it into a decline which seemed irreversible. In the 1998 provincial election
Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol regional election, 1998
The Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol regional election of 1998 took place on 22 November 1998.The South Tyrolean People's Party and the Daisy Civic List resulted the two most voted parties at the regional level. The SVP retained its outright majority in South Tyrol, while the Civica became the...
the party's share of vote was only 2.5% and Leitner alone was elected in the Provincial Council.
Since then, however, the party started its resurgence which was completed in 2003, when it jumped to 5.0% in the provincial election and managed to elect two provincial deputies again: Leitner and Ulli Mair, a young woman who had been party secretary since 2001.
In the 2006 general election The Libertarians obtained 5.4%, while in the 2008 general election
Italian general election, 2008 (Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol)
The Italian general election of 2008 took place on 13 -14 April 2008.In the province of Trentino the centre-right came first thanks to the strong showing of Lega Nord, while in South Tyrol the South Tyrolean People's Party was confirmed as the largest party, but lost many votes to its right-wing...
the party won the 9.4% of the vote. In the subsequent provincial election, The Libertarians became the second-largest party in the Province with the 14.3% of the vote and had five provincial deputies elected.
Popular support
The electoral results of the party in the Province of Bolzano since 1992 are shown in the table below.| 1993 provinc. | 1994 general | 1994 European | 1996 general | 1998 provinc. | 1999 European | 2001 general | 2003 provinc. | 2004 European | 2006 general | 2008 general | 2008 provinc. | 2009 European |
| 6.1 | ||||||||||||
| 2.5 | ||||||||||||
| 5.0 | ||||||||||||
| 5.4 | 9.4 | 14.3 | ||||||||||
Leadership
- President: Christian Waldner (1992–1994), Pius Leitner (1994–present)
- Secretary: Ullia Mair (2001–present)