Free Voters (German: Freie Wähler, FW) is a political party in Germany. It originates as an umbrella organisation of several Free Voters Associations (Freie Wählergemeinschaften), associations of people which participate in an election without having the status of a registered party. These associations are usually locally-organised groups of voters in the form of a registered association (eV). In most cases, Free Voters campaign only at local government level, standing for city councils and for mayoralties. Free Voters tend to achieve their most successful electoral results in rural areas of southern Germany, appealing most to conservative voters who prefer local decisions to party politics. Free Voter groups are active in all of the states of Germany.
History
In the 2003 Bavaria state election, the FW association received 4.0% of the vote (411,306 votes), barely missing the 5% threshold required to enter the state Landtag.[7]
In the 2021 federal election, the Free Voters received 2.4% of the national vote (1,125,667 votes in total), winning roughly half of those votes from the state of Bavaria, where it received 7.5% (566,880 votes) of the vote and came 5th. The Free Voters hence became the most voted for party that failed to receive Bundestag seats.[24][25]
In the 2024 Saxony state election, the Free Voters entered the Landtag of Saxony for the first time. Despite failing to reach the 5% threshold with only 2.3% of the vote, the party won a direct mandate in the Leipzig Land III constituency, electing Matthias Berger to the Landtag.[27]
Ideology, platform and policies
The Free Voters are a conservative party,[28] supporting devolving more power to the local level.[29] As of 2019, the party was in opposition to the European Union's financial policies.[30] In 2024, the party was described by Euractiv as including both liberals and conservatives.[31]
The Free Voters believe that local self-government should be strengthened, and demands that the European Committee of the Regions should be given a permanent position in the EU Parliament.[35] Furthermore, the party supports broader online access to official information for voters to make more informed decisions.[36]
On the European Union, the Free Voters oppose the accession of Turkey, while supporting the Union's enlargement by including more Western Balkan states into the Union.[37][38] The party supports Ukraine in the Russian invasion of Ukraine and believes that Ukraine should have its full, pre-war territory restored.[39] The party also supports recognizing Taiwan as an independent nation.[40]
The party calls for the introduction of referendums on European policy issues, a strengthening of the European Parliament, and the limitation of EU responsibilities to core issues such as promoting the internal market and migration and security policy. Furthermore, the party supports the creation of a European army.[41]
The Free Voters believe in immediate action toward organized crime, and support the "maximum use of the penal framework". They support more power to the police and judiciary system.[36]
The Free Voters support an immigration policy based off the Canadian model.[42] They demand a limit on family reunification for asylum seekers and want to create return assistance.[43] They push for stricter border protection for the EU, including asylum procedures, which they believe should primarily take place at the EU's external borders.[41]
The Free Voters support laws that ensure age-appropriate use of the internet and media and promote the expansion of addiction and violence prevention, and want to expand intergenerational care networks.[36]
The Free Voters do not contest state elections in Brandenburg due to the close cooperation with the BVB/Free Voters, who only compete in the state elections in Brandenburg.
^Lisa Peyer, Jörg Hebenstreit, Dr. Tim Niendorfer (15 August 2022). "FREIE WÄHLER" (in German). Retrieved 7 February 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Sylvia Kritzinger; Carolina Plescia; SKolja Raube; James Wilhelm; Jan Wouters, eds. (2020). Assessing the 2019 European Parliament Elections. Taylor & Francis. p. 263. ISBN9781000057263. As in 2014, seven minor parties with vote shares below 5 per cent gained seats in the European Parliament, ranging from single-issue parties like the Animal Protection Party (one seat) or the Family Party (one seat) to the satirical 'Die Partei' (two seats) or the liberal-conservative 'Free Voters'.