Liberal Forum
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Liberal Forum
Liberales Forum |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Leader | Angelika Mlinar |
| Founded | 4 February 1993 |
| Dissolved | 25 January 2014 |
| Split from | Freedom Party of Austria |
| Merged into | NEOS |
| Headquarters | Dürergasse 6/10 A-1060 Vienna |
| Ideology |
Liberalism Classical liberalism Libertarianism |
| Political position | Centre |
| European affiliation | Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe |
| International affiliation | Liberal International |
| Colours | Yellow (light blue until 2001) |
| Website | |
| http://liberale.at | |
The Liberal Forum (German: Liberales Forum, LiF) was a liberalpolitical party in Austria. The party was active from February 1993 to January 2014, when the party merged into NEOS – The New Austria. The party was a member of the Liberal International and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party.
The Liberal Forum (LiF) was founded on 4 February 1993, when liberals in the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), including five members of the National Council of Austria, left the party. The five Nationalrat members were Heide Schmidt, Klara Motter, Friedhelm Frischenschlager, Hans Helmut Moser, and Thomas Barmüller. Heide Schmidt (who was third president of the Nationalrat until 1994) became the party's first chairperson.
The reason for the split within the FPÖ was growing disagreements between the liberal wing and the nationalist camp. Jörg Haider launched a petition-drive against foreign immigrants in Austria, the so-called Austria First Referendum (Österreich Zuerst Volksbegehren). This in turn was unacceptable to Heide Schmidt and her followers. The founders of the new party wanted to be a liberal party in the classical sense, which the FPÖ had ceased to be since the resignation of Norbert Steger and the rise of Haider.
LiF was the first party in the history of the Second Republic (since 1945) to achieve immediate seats in parliament without prior elections. After some initial confusion, the chairs of the house accepted the new formation as an official party, thereby granting access to public financial means of support. The FPÖ left the Liberal International and LiF took over its membership in its place. The party managed to gain 11 seats in the 1994 parliamentary elections, and with 5.51% of all votes cast 10 seats in the 1995 elections.
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