Summary
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 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | LP |
| Chairperson | Vytautas Mitalas |
| Vice Chairpeople | Tomas Vytautas Raskevičius Monika Ošmianskienė Ieva Pakarklytė Tomas Lekavičius |
| Founded | 1 June 2019 |
| Split from | Liberal Movement |
| Membership | 3313 (2022) |
| 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 | 0 / 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 edit
The 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 joined coalition with the Homeland Union and Liberal Movement.
On 11 December 2021, the Freedom Party officially became a full member of the ALDE Party.[13]
Platform edit
According to Freedom Party's program, the party stands for the following:[14][15]
- No new taxes
- Legalising same-sex partnerships
- Carbon neutrality by the year 2040
- Decriminalising drugs
- Possibility to perform military service as a civilian service, e.g. in hospitals or school
- Recognizing the statehood of Taiwan (Republic of China) as a country separate from the People's Republic of China.
Election results edit
Seimas edit
| Election | Votes[a] | % | Seats | +/– | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 107,057 | 9.4 (#5) | 10 / 141
|
New | Coalition |
- ^ Proportional representation votes.
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 edit
References 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.
- ^ "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]
- ^ "Programa". Laisvės Partija (in Lithuanian). 2020. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
- ^ "Laisvės partijos" (PDF). www.laisvespartija.lt. 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-23.