Federal Democratic Union
 |
|
| President | Hans Moser |
| Founded | 1975 |
| Headquarters | Frutigenstrasse 8 3601 Thun |
| Membership (2011) | 3,000 |
| Ideology |
Christian right Right-wing populism National conservatism Social conservatism Euroscepticism |
| Political position | Right-wing |
| European affiliation | European Christian Political Movement |
| International affiliation | None |
| Colours | Swiss Red |
| Federal Council |
0 / 7
|
| National Council |
0 / 200
|
| Council of States |
0 / 46
|
| Cantonal legislatures |
19 / 2,609
|
| Website | |
| www |
|
The Federal Democratic Union of Switzerland (German: Eidgenössisch-Demokratische Union, EDU; French: Union Démocratique Fédérale, UDF; Italian: Unione Democratica Federale, UDF; Romansch: Uniun Democrata Federala, UDF) is a Christian-right, national conservative political party in Switzerland. Founded in 1975, the party's current president is Hans Moser. The UDF is a eurosceptic political party.
The EDU was founded in 1975 as a split of the Republican Movement and the Nationale Aktion. The EDU maintains that it split from the Evangelical People's Party.
At the beginning of its existence, the EDU's platform was strongly influenced by the ideology of Otto Strasser, revolutionary nationalism, and solidarism. Despite being nationalistic and patriotic, the party supported socialist economic policies as opposed to capitalism or communism. In the early 1980s, the EDU underwent an ideological shift, with fundamentalist Christianity and the Bible becoming the most important parts of its ideology. It promoted socially conservative policies. At the same time, the EDU adopted right-wing populist positions on issues such as immigration, integration into supranational unions, and Islam. It adopted strongly pro-Israel views.
In the 1970s and 1980s, support of the EDU grew particularly with conservative free-church groups, both traditional and newly established. The language of the EDU was influenced during this time by a directive and on the basis of interest in dispensationalism from an eschatological tone.
In 1991, the EDU entered the Swiss National Council with one seat, and in 2003, it gained a second seat. Despite remaining a small, fringe party, it grew from having section in nine cantons in 1991 to twenty-three in 2003. The EDU had its greatest electoral success in the Canton of Bern and became relatively strong in the canton. In addition, its party newspaper, the EDU Standpunkt, had a circulation of between 31,000-45,000 and even up to 500,000 during national elections. The party created a French newspaper with a circulation of about 10,000. The EDU sponsored several referendums, attempting to block socially liberal legislation, but its attempts were unsuccessful.
...
Wikipedia