Liechtenstein is a principality governed under a semi-constitutional monarchy. It has a form of mixed constitution in which political power is shared by the monarch and a democratically elected parliament. There is a two-party system and a form of representative democracy in which the prime minister and head of government is responsible to parliament. However the Prince of Liechtenstein is head of state and exercises considerable political powers.
The Progressive Citizens' Party in Liechtenstein 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.
The Patriotic Union is a liberal-conservative political party in Liechtenstein. The VU is one of the two major political parties in Liechtenstein, along with the monarchist conservative Progressive Citizens' Party (FBP). The VU is the relatively more liberal of the two parties, advocating constitutional monarchy and greater democracy. It is led by Thomas Zwiefelhofer and has ten members in the Landtag.
Elections in Liechtenstein take place at a national level within a multi-party system, with two dominant political parties. The Landtag of Liechtenstein has 25 members, elected for a four-year term by proportional representation in two multi-seat constituencies.
Same-sex marriage will soon be legal in Liechtenstein. In November 2022, the Landtag passed a motion calling on the government to introduce a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, with broad support from across the political spectrum. A bill legalizing same-sex marriage was introduced in February 2024 and passed its final reading in the Landtag on 16 May 2024 by a 24–1 vote. It received royal assent from Prince Alois on 9 July 2024, and is scheduled to enter into force on 1 January 2025. Polling suggests that a majority of Liechtensteiners support the legal recognition of same-sex marriage.
The German National Movement in Liechtenstein was a Nazi party in Liechtenstein that existed between 1938 and 1945.
The Landtag of the Principality of Liechtenstein, commonly referred to as the Landtag of Liechtenstein, is the unicameral parliament of Liechtenstein.
General elections were held in Liechtenstein on 8 February 2009. While polls and pundits predicted few changes, the Christian democratic Patriotic Union (VU) gained an outright majority in the Landtag, whilst the national conservative Progressive Citizens' Party (FBP) and the green social democratic Free List (FL) both suffered losses.
General elections were held in Liechtenstein on 31 January and 2 February 1986. The result was a victory for the Patriotic Union, which won 8 of the 15 seats in the Landtag. The Progressive Citizens' Party won seven seats, whilst the new Free List narrowly failed to cross the 8% electoral threshold and did not obtain representation. The coalition government of the FBP and the VU continued.
General elections were held in Liechtenstein in February 1936. The elections took place in two rounds; in the first round on 3 February, each of the ten municipalities with more than 300 inhabitants elected one Landtag member. The second round was held on 16 February in which the remaining five Landtag members were elected in a national vote. The result was a victory for the ruling Progressive Citizens' Party, which won 11 of the 15 seats in the Landtag.
General elections were held in Liechtenstein on 4 April 1939. Although a new system of proportional representation had been introduced to pacify voters at a time when the country was under threat from neighbouring Nazi Germany, it was not used and the elections became known as the "silent elections" as no actual vote was held. Instead, the governing Progressive Citizens' Party and opposition Patriotic Union formed a coalition, assigning a roughly equal number of seats each, in order to prevent the German National Movement in Liechtenstein from acquiring any seats in the Landtag.
General elections were held in Liechtenstein on 29 April 1945. Following the "silent elections" of 1939, they were the first to use the new proportional representation system. The Progressive Citizens' Party won eight of the 15 seats in the Landtag, but remained in coalition with the Patriotic Union.
General elections were held in Liechtenstein on 3 February 2013, using a proportional representation system. Four parties contested the elections; the centre-right Patriotic Union (VU) and Progressive Citizens' Party (FBP), centre-left Free List (FL) and newly created populist alliance The Independents (DU).
The Independents is a right-wing populist Eurosceptic political party in Liechtenstein. In the 2013 parliamentary election, the first they contested, they won 29,740 votes (15.3%) and four seats in the Landtag. DU is headed by former Patriotic Union parliamentarian Harry Quaderer.
The Christian-Social People's Party, often shortened to People's Party, was a social liberal political party in Liechtenstein. Founded in 1918, the Christian-Social People's Party and the Progressive Citizens' Party (FBP) were the first political parties in Liechtenstein.
Events in the year 2013 in Liechtenstein.
General elections were held in Liechtenstein on 7 February 2021 to elect the 25 members of the Landtag. The Patriotic Union (VU) and Progressive Citizens' Party (FBP) both won ten seats, with the VU receiving just 42 votes more than the FBP. The Independents (DU), which finished third in the 2017 elections but then suffered a split in 2018 when three of its five MPs broke away to form Democrats for Liechtenstein (DpL), failed to win a seat, while DpL won two. The Free List retained its three seats, becoming the third-largest party in the Landtag.
The Democrats for Liechtenstein is a political party in Liechtenstein. Formed as a splinter of The Independents in September 2018, the party initially held three seats in the Landtag of Liechtenstein. It won 11.1% of votes and two seats in the 2021 general election.
General elections are scheduled to be held in Liechtenstein on 9 February 2025 to elect the 25 members of the Landtag. They will be the 49th general elections since the ratification of the 1862 constitution.
