The period since 1918

The party landscape after 1945

The period since 1918
Until 1918, there were no political parties in Liechtenstein. However, already in the parliamentary elections of 1914, the tendency toward future formation of political parties could be felt. This year also saw the end of the news monopoly of the "Liechtensteiner Volksblatt", since a second newspaper, the "Oberrheinischen Nachrichten" was founded. This new newspaper was intended to function as the voice of liberal views and also to present other viewpoints. The "Volksblatt" oriented itself completely according to the policies of the Government and had dominated national opinion since 1878 as the only newspaper in the country.
Three years before entry into force of the new Constitution (1921), direct and secret elections were introduced, a personal initiative by Prince Johann II that he granted to the People. Since then, the People have elected their representatives directly to Parliament. The new voting rights and the announcement of elections for March 1918 enabled and promoted the development of political parties.
The economic plight in the years before and during the First World War, the foreign governors, and the absence of the Reigning Prince even resulted in sporadic voices calling for the abolition of the monarchy.
Already in February 1918, Dr. Wilhelm Beck founded the "Christian-Social People's Party" (Christlich-Soziale Volkspartei). Dr. Beck and many members of this party had learned about democratic and social institutions through their stays and professional activities in Switzerland. Accordingly, the members of the People's Party demanded the development of democratic rights and an increased say in the Government and Parliament, which was also manifested in the slogan "Liechtenstein for the Liechtensteiners".
At the beginning of the 20th century, these ideas were regarded by the rather conservative and rural society of Liechtenstein as socialist and therefore "red", which is understandable from a historical perspective. The more middle-class and conservative circles explicitly professing allegiance to the monarchy clung to the "Liechtensteiner Volksblatt".
The "Liechtensteiner Volksblatt" had previously spoken out vociferously in favor of keeping Liechtenstein free of political parties, since these would only destroy the unity of the country. However, the "Volksblatt" then published its own list of parliamentary candidates before the elections. Accordingly, the first campaign in Liechtenstein for the parliamentary elections of 1918 was not conducted between two new parties, but rather between the People's Party and the "Volksblatt" list. In the "Oberrheinischen Nachrichten", the opponents were described as the "Party of Lords" and the "Vaduz Alehouse Party". The "Volksblatt" in turn warned the population about the threat of socialism coming from the People's Party.
The results of these first secret and direct elections were unambiguous. The People's Party attained six out of seven seats in the Upper Country and two out of five in the Lower Country. Three Members of Parliament were appointed by the Reigning Prince.
At the end of 1918, troubled times both domestically and abroad led to the founding of a second party: On 22 December, the "Progressive Citizens' Party" (Fortschrittliche Bürgerpartei, FBP) was formed, which was also jointed by members of the People's Party. Due to the social conditions  in those years, the FBP was mainly composed of middle-class and conservative population groups: the "Blacks", as they were called as an alternative to the "Reds".
The initiative to found the FBP had been taken by the editor of the Liechtensteiner Volksblatt, Prof. Dr. Eugen Nipp, and by a number of Vaduz citizens. The basic idea consisted in clear allegiance to the monarchy on the one hand, and on the other hand in support for the progress of the country, taking into account the demands of the era and the welfare of the country.
Almost simultaneously in January 1919, the Christian-Social People's Party and the FBP published their party platforms in their newspapers. Although both parties agreed on fundamental points, such as the affirmation of democracy and Catholicism and the desire for progress, certain differences remained in individual points and formulations, which became especially apparent later in the debate on a new Constitution. The ideas and democratization demands of both parties must be considered as radical and in part even as revolutionary from the perspective of 1919. Both parties worked intensively on the development of a new Constitution. They were able to enshrine a large part of their ideas in the Constitution of 1921.
It is therefore all the more surprising that the party system and its significance were not included in the Constitution. Only in the constitutional revision of 18 January 1939, which introduced proportional representation, are the terms "electoral group" or "party" used. The importance of the parties is also emphasized by the Proportional Representation Act of 1939, according to which candidates can only be assigned a seat in Parliament if their name is on a list (of the electoral groups taking part in the election).
In the following decades, there were repeated attempts to get representatives of a third or even a fourth party elected to Parliament: At the end of 1933, a new group, the "Liechtenstein Home Service" entered the political scene and even published a newspaper for a time. Its party platform, "Get rid of the parties that have only wrought disaster" only spoke to small groups in the population, however, since the goals were too undemocratic and unclear. In addition, the established parties had already become too strongly rooted in the population over the course of fifteen years. The Home Service was increasingly accused of representing imported ideas and of aiming to establish a class State. In 1936, the Home Service and the People's Party merged to create the "Patriotic Union" (Vaterländische Union, VU). The party platform did not contain any essential novelties compared to the platform of the People's Party.
Hitler's invasion of Austria made Liechtenstein an immediate neighbor of the Third Reich. Although Parliament unanimously proclaimed the preservation of sovereignty and loyalty to the Princely House, the domestic party conflict concerning a fairer participation of the VU in the Government and a concomitant revision of the electoral system appeared to divide the country politically. A compromise reached by the two parties in the following year brought about the necessary domestic peace: FBP and VU agreed on a coalition Government and unanimously adopted the Proportional Representation Act in 1939.
Shortly after the annexation of Austria by the German Empire, a "German National Movement in Liechtenstein" (Volksdeutsche Bewegung in Liechtenstein, VDBL) was founded, which disseminated National-Socialist ideology through its own newspaper, "The Upheaval" (Der Umbruch). Since only so-called "silent elections" were held in 1939, this party did not have a chance to stand for election. These "silent elections" were made possible by a joint nomination of only 15 candidates by both parties. The nominated candidates were declared as elected by a Government decision. In 1943, the Reigning Prince extended the term of office of the incumbent Parliament by means of a Princely Decree for an indefinite period of time.
In 1939, representatives of both parties joined together into a non-partisan initiative committee, the "Liechtenstein Loyalist Movement" (Heimattreue Bewegung Liechtensteins) or the "National Movement" (Nationale Bewegung). This committee pushed for a collection of signatures to demonstrate to foreign countries that the Liechtenstein population wanted to retain its sovereignty. This campaign especially helped calm the relationship between Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
The cooperation between both parties proved itself especially during this politically charged time; the coalition survived from 1939 to 1997. Both parties helped safeguard the existence and sovereignty of the country and helped preserve democracy. After the parliamentary elections of 1997, in which the VU attained an absolute majority, the FBP became an opposition party. The VU did the same after the FBP won the elections in 2001.

The party landscape after 1945
The party of "Non-Self-Employed Workers and Small-Scale Farmers" (Partei der Unselbständig Erwerbenden und Kleinbauern) participated in the parliamentary elections of 13 February 1953, but fell far short of the 18 percent threshold.
In 1961, the "Christian-Social Party" (Christlich-Soziale Partei, CSP) was founded, which could not offer any fundamentally new platforms, but fancied its chances to become an actual opposition party, which was lacking in the coalition system.
After the parliamentary elections of 1962, in which the CSP was able to attain 10.09 percent of the vote, the CSP laid claim to a remainder seat in both election districts; it filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court, which then voided the 18 percent threshold as unconstitutional. However, since the CSP had been unable to obtain a seat in either election district, it was also denied a remainder seat. The CSP continued to run in parliamentary elections until 1974, but was never able to obtain a seat.
The two parliamentary parties FBP and VU have become people's parties that are open to all social groups. The formerly highly symbolic "Red" and "Black" labels are a leftover of a bygone era and can no longer be transferred to modern circumstances. In fundamental questions of State, these two large parties generally agree. However, there are differences between the platforms of the two parties. Electoral success of one party often depends on the extent to which the presented electoral platform could actually be realized or just remained on paper. After four years, voters are called upon to evaluate the work of the Members of Parliament and the party and to compare it with the electoral promises made.
A significant difference between the parliamentary parties inevitably lies in the personality of the candidates, who are more accessible in a small State and whom voters can hold more personally responsible, which is possible due to the candidate-based proportional representation in the Liechtenstein electoral system. In particular the work, statements, and personalities of the top candidates are carefully scrutinized by the opposing parties.
Large and small parties are interested in having as many voters as possible exercise their right to vote. Especially due to the relatively small number of voters, each voter is important, since he or she can give fifteen votes in the Upper Country or ten votes in the Lower Country to a party or to the parties running for election. Therefore, each vote is courted - in the case of the large parties, for a majority in Parliament; in the case of the small parties, to reach the necessary 8 percent threshold of votes.
The Free List (Freie Liste, FL ) was founded at the end of 1985. Various small political groups combined to run jointly in the 1986 parliamentary elections. According to the founders of the Free List, many voters were waiting for an alternative to the two large parties. However, the Free List just missed the 8 percent threshold in the 1986 and 1989 parliamentary elections. The FL managed to enter Parliament in the elections of 1993. The FL party platform takes the side of the disadvantaged. It fights for the environment and aims to achieve more participation in all areas of life and consistent equal rights of men and women. It is engaged on behalf of immigrants and refugees and demands fair trade with economically weaker countries.
In the early parliamentary elections of 1989, the "Non-Partisan List of Liechtenstein" (Überparteiliche Liste Liechtenstein, ÜLL) ran for the first time. The candidates of this interest group classified themselves as an "uncomfortable, but constructive opposition" whose goal was to prevent the absolute majority of a party by obtaining seats in Parliament. The interest group found too little support among the population, however, and did not run in 1993. It dissolved in 1999.