The Progressive Citizens' Party in Liechtenstein (, FBP) is a conservative political party in Liechtenstein. The FBP is one of the two major political parties in Liechtenstein, along with the liberal-conservative Patriotic Union. Founded in 1918 along with the now-defunct Christian-Social People's Party, it is the oldest extant 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. 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 1918 Liechtenstein putsch.McHale, p611

The VP won elections in 1922, 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 and 2013, after which FBP leader Adrian Hasler 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 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 policy. The party states its policies are based on Christian values such as solidarity, respect and justice. It also advocates a dualistic form of government, claiming to support both the monarchy and the people as sovereigns.

Women's rights

The FBP was an early proponent of the introduction of women's suffrage to Liechtenstein, starting in 1970. However, two separate referendums on the issue were rejected by male-only voters in 1971 and 1973 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 first woman elected to the Landtag of Liechtenstein in 1986. 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:

+ Differences between the two main political parties in Liechtenstein on LGBT rights Subjects on LGBT rights Progressive Citizens' Party Patriotic Union Motion to introduce a Registered Partnership law (24 October 2007) 10 For, 2 Against 6 For, 4 AgainstResponse to the candidate survey conducted by the Youth wing of the Free List party (leading up to the 2021 general election), containing the following question: Should same-sex couples have the same rights as heterosexual couples in all areas? 20 candidates; 18 (9 'Yes', 9 'Rather Yes') to 2 ('Rather No') 22 candidates; 15 (8 'Yes', 7 'Rather Yes') to 7 (6 'Rather No', 1 'No')Response to a voter poll conducted in February 2021 by the Liechtenstein Institute, regarding the same survey question listed in the row above. 74% (47% 'Yes', 27% 'Rather Yes') to 27% (13% 'No', 14% 'Rather No')a 68% (41% 'Yes', 27% 'Rather Yes') to 32% (15% 'No', 17% 'Rather No')Signatories on a motion submitted on 21 September 2022 (i.e., to ask the Landtag to introduce legislation that would legalize same-sex civil marriage) (60%) (100% of sitting members, excluding their three (3) substitute members) (20% of sitting members, excluding their three (3) substitute members)Amendment of the General Civil Code and the Partnership Act (Equality of same-sex couples in adoption law) 10 For, 0 Against 7 For, 3 Against a. Percentages do not add up to 100%.

The FBP also voted en bloc with the Free List (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.

Presidents YearsLeaderRef1918–UnknownFranz VerlingUnknownBernhard RischLudwig MarxerFerdinand RischAlphons Kranz1945–1970Richard Meier1970–1982Peter Marxer1982–1986Herbert Batliner1986–1987Josef Biedermann1987–1992Emanuel Vogt1992–1993Hansjörg Marxer1993–1995Otmar Hasler1995–1999Norbert Seeger1999–2001Ernst Walch2001–2006Johannes Matt2006–2009Marcus Vogt2009–2013Alexander Batliner2013–2015Elfried Hasler2015–2019Thomas Banzer2019–2021Marcus Vogt2021–2023Rainer Gopp2023–2024Daniel Oehry2024–Alexander Batliner

Election results Landtag elections Election Leader Votes % Seats +/– Rank Status 1918Franz Verling New 1st 1922Josef Ospelt 3 2nd Jan 1926Bernhard Risch 2 2nd Apr 1926Ludwig Marxer 2nd 1928Josef Hoop 5 1st 1930 4 1st 1932 2 1st 1936 2 1st 1939 3 1st 1945 1,553 54.72 1st 1949Alexander Frick 1,555 52.93 1st Feb 1953 1,458 50.54 1st Jun 1953 1,568 50.43 1st 1957 1,689 52.36 1st 1958 1,839 54.47 1 1st 1962 1,599 47.18 1 1st 1966Gerard Batliner 1,791 48.47 1st 1970Walter Kieber 1,978 48.83 1 2nd 1974 17,332 50.08 1 1st 1978 18,872 50.85 1 2nd 1982 Hilmar Ospelt 18,273 46.53 2nd 1986Herbert Wille 39,853 42.75 2nd 1989 75,417 42.13 5 2nd Feb 1993 Markus Büchel 71,209 44.19 2nd Oct 1993 Josef Biedermann 65,075 41.34 1 2nd 1997 Thomas Büchel 65,914 39.20 1 2nd 2001Otmar Hasler 92,204 49.90 3 1st 2005 94,545 48.74 1 1st 2009 86,951 43.47 1 2nd 2013Adrian Hasler 77,644 40.00 1 1st 2017 68,673 35.24 1 1st 2021 Sabine Monauni 72,319 35.88 1 2nd 2025 Ernst Walch 56,983 27.48 3 2nd

Notes

References

External links Official website