The Freedom Party[8][9] (Lithuanian: Laisvės partija) is a political party in Lithuania, founded on 1 June 2019 and led by former Liberal Movement member Aušrinė Armonaitė.
Freedom Party Laisvės partija | |
|---|---|
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| Abbreviation | LP |
| Chairperson | Aušrinė Armonaitė |
| Vice Chairpeople | Tomas Vytautas Raskevičius Monika Ošmianskienė Ieva Pakarklytė Tomas Lekavičius |
| Founder | Aušrinė Armonaitė |
| Founded | 1 June 2019 |
| Split from | Liberal Movement |
| Membership (2022) | 3,313 |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre[2][5][6][a] |
| European affiliation | Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe |
| Colours | Pink and yellow |
| Seimas | 10 / 141 |
| European Parliament | 1 / 11 |
| Municipal councils | 13 / 1,473 |
| Mayors | 0 / 60 |
| Website | |
| www | |
^ a: It has also been described as a centre-left[5] and as a centre-right party.[7] | |
History
editThe party has its roots in Vilnius mayor Remigijus Šimašius's list "For Vilnius, which we are proud of!", which won the Lithuanian capital's council and mayoral election. In November 2018 Aušrinė Armonaitė announced intentions to found a new party.[10]
By the summer and autumn of 2019, the party established its branches in cities and their surrounding municipalities.[11]
The party was accepted as a full member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe in October 2019.[12] The party saw success in 2020 Lithuanian parliamentary election and obtained 11 seats. After this, the party formed a coalition with the Homeland Union and Liberal Movement and delegated three ministers - Armonaitė, Ewelina Dobrowolska and Marius Skuodis - to the Šimonytė Cabinet.
On 11 December 2021, the Freedom Party officially became a full member of the ALDE Party.[13]
Platform
editThe Freedom Party is socially liberal and supports legalization of same-sex marriage and recreational marijuana, as well as strengthening of transgender rights in Lithuania. At the same time, it is extremely economically liberal and advocates for pro-business policies such as cutting taxes and loosening the labour code.[14] It supports European integration and recognizing the statehood of Taiwan (Republic of China) as a country separate from the People's Republic of China, and is strongly opposed to Russian aggression in Ukraine[15]. It supports the European Green Deal.[16] It has been described as neoliberal[17], social liberal[4], progressive[18] and libertarian[19].
Within the Šimonytė Cabinet, it criticized its coalition partners, namely the Homeland Union and the Liberal Movement, for insufficient adherence to progressivism, as well as their "left-wing tax policy".[20]
Election results
editSeimas
edit| Election | Votes[a] | % | Seats | +/– | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 107,057 | 9.4 (#5) | 10 / 141
|
New | Coalition |
- ^ Proportional representation votes.
European Parliament
edit| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 54,797 | 8.1 (#4) | 1 / 11
|
 1
|
Seimas members (2020–2024)
edit| Parliamentarian | Previous mandate | Current mandate from | Constituency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artūras Žukauskas | - | 2020 | Nationwide |
| Aušrinė Armonaitė | 2016 | 2020 | Lithuanians abroad |
| Ewelina Dobrowolska | - | 2020 | Nationwide |
| Ieva Pakarklytė | - | 2020 | Nationwide |
| Kasparas Adomaitis | - | 2020 | Nationwide |
| Marius Matijošaitis | - | 2020 | Savanoriai |
| Monika Ošmianskienė | - | 2020 | Nationwide |
| Morgana Danielė | - | 2020 | Nationwide |
| Tomas Vytautas Raskevičius | - | 2020 | Nationwide |
| Vytautas Mitalas | - | 2020 | Nationwide |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Conservatives top Lithuania's party rankings". Lithuanian National Television and Radio. 2022-07-18. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
- ^ a b "Samoškaitė: How did the Freedom Party indirectly organise the Family Defence March?". Lithuania Tribune. 2022-06-03. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
- ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2020). "Lithuania". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ a b "Media Monitoring in Lithuania". The Beacon Project. 2020-10-12. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
- ^ a b O'Leary, Naomi (2022-08-03). "Why Lithuania is willing to risk China's fury". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2022-08-27.
...conservative-liberal Liberal Movement, and centre/centre-left Freedom Party when it came to power in 2020.
- ^ "Lithuania country profile". BBC. 2022-12-02. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
[...] and two centrist groups, the Freedom Party and Liberal Movement.
- ^ "Lithuania Has Voted for Change". Konrad Adenauer Foundation. October 2020. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
[...] the centre-right parties (TS-LKD, LP, LRLS) voted into the Seimas were reluctant to address the issue of coalition formation.
- ^ "New liberal party to be founded in Lithuania". 17 April 2019.
- ^ "Home". laisvespartija.lt.
- ^ "Konkurentų prognozės gimstančiai naujai partijai".
- ^ "Laisvės partija įsteigė Kauno skyrių | KaunoDiena.lt".
- ^ https://www.aldeparty.eu/news/alde-welcomes-new-member-parties-1 [dead link]
- ^ "ALDE Party – Liberals and Democrats for Europe on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on 2022-04-27.[user-generated source]
- ^ Šuliokas, Justinas (21 September 2020). "Who's who in Lithuania's 2020 parliamentary election – explainer". LRT.
- ^ "Laisvės partijos 2020 metų Seimo rinkimų programa" (PDF). www.laisvespartija.lt. 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
- ^ "Laisvės partija". Mano balsas (in Lithuanian). 2024.
- ^ "Freedom Party Lithuania". Clean Energy Wire.
- ^ "Lithuania's liberal and conservative parties sign coalition agreement". LRT (in Lithuanian). 9 November 2020.
- ^ Kluonis, Mindaugas (30 October 2020). "Lithuania turns right: urban-rural cleavage, generational change, and left-wing perspectives". Foundation for Progressive European Studies (in Lithuanian).
Lithuania's young people turned against the ruling party and voted massively for the surprise start-up of these elections, the libertarian Freedom Party (LP), which has openly declared its support for same-sex unions, the reduction of penalties for the possession of marijuana for personal use, and a commitment to remove restrictions in general.
- ^ "A. Armonaitė believes that the Freedom Party can become a "unicorn"". Made in Vilnius (in Lithuanian). 16 September 2023.
As for the coalition partners, I see that the Homeland Union is still looking for itself. On the one hand, rather left-wing tax policy and narratives, on the other - a strong and growing Christian Democrat wing... As for the Liberal Movement, on the one hand, there is a very clear liberal part of the faction, but at the same time, a very conservative and even Christian Democrat part of the Liberal Movement faction in the Seimas. It influences decisions and possibly prevents the implementation of a progressive agenda. In turn, the Freedom Party can be said to be a political force that consistently represents its political position and program.
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