History
The elements liberal, radical and 'free-thinking' (German: freisinnig) in the party's name originate from the conflicts during the period of Restoration (Switzerland) between the Catholic-conservative cantons and the liberal cantons. This conflict led to the foundation of the Swiss federal state in 1848 after the victory of the Protestant-liberal cantons in the Sonderbund war.
From 1848 until 1891, the Federal Council was composed entirely of Radicals. The radical movement of the restoration was radical, and stood in opposition to the conservative Catholic Conservative Party. They were otherwise heterogeneous, including and classical liberal 'Liberals', federalist 'Radicals', and social liberal 'Democrats': placing the radical movement on the 'left' of the political spectrum. It was not until the rise of the Social Democratic Party in the early 20th century that the FDP found itself on the centre-right.
The FDP was the dominant party until the 1919 election, when the introduction of proportional representation led to a leap in the representation of the Social Democrats. In 1959, the Free Democrats joined the other major parties in agreeing the 'magic formula' to divide up the seats of the Federal Council, with the FDP permanently receiving two of the seven seats.
After the federal election 2003 FDP and Liberal Party formed a common faction in the Federal Assembly. In June 2005, they strengthened their cooperation by founding Radical and Liberal Union They merged on 1 January 2009 to form FDP.The Liberals.
Read more about this topic: Free Democratic Party Of Switzerland
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“I believe that history might be, and ought to be, taught in a new fashion so as to make the meaning of it as a process of evolution intelligible to the young.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)
“The disadvantage of men not knowing the past is that they do not know the present. History is a hill or high point of vantage, from which alone men see the town in which they live or the age in which they are living.”
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)
“Modern Western thought will pass into history and be incorporated in it, will have its influence and its place, just as our body will pass into the composition of grass, of sheep, of cutlets, and of men. We do not like that kind of immortality, but what is to be done about it?”
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